27 videos, step by step, beginner cane workshop
What people are saying about this tutorial.
jennifer rose
Just finished this first workshop on how to make canes, and I must say I learned so much. This is exactly what I have been looking for, someone who could explain cane making in a step by step that process that I could replicate. I watched the videos, went into my studio and began to create all of the canes Alice showed. I finally have results I can be proud of, and I say thank you so much for doing this workshop. My only question now is when do we get more workshops. If you are only going to take one online class let it be this workshop. Thank you Alice for your hard work, and your dedication to helping others learn the joys of polymer clay.
This pendant was made by combining a black polymer clay base and black and white canes together, then drawing the split face onto white polymer clay squares.
The combo has proven to be well received and I’ll be teaching the pen and ink technique along with cane mapping mosaic class at Barbara McGuire and Ellen Prophater’s Woman Creative Art and Jewelry Center in Buford, GA.
For more information and to sign up visit BarbaraMcguire.com . If you aren’t able to attend one of my classes, you might be interested in the other classes offered by some very exciting instructors.
I ‘ve been doing lots of new pieces involving the mosaic technique that I share with you when you sign up for my newsletter. I’ve made this fish and placed it on the underside of a 6×6 plate. It will make a perfect desert plate or a catch all for a dresser.
I have other things I’m working on that I want to share with you soon. Just wanted you to know I’m busy working at my clay table.
I was making inchies for the International swap and fell in love with the little squares. After I finished all my valentine squares for the swap, I couldn’t wait to put some of my girls on the little squares and make some beads. This bracelet is for sale in my Etsy Shop.
And naturally they have to be friends, a blonde………
Another blonde………
And one with black hair…….a twist on my girlfriends bracelets.
And how could I not include a set of big lips???
I used buna cord for stinging. I didn’t want to have to make four more focal beads or a bunch of little ones. It seem to have worked very well. I wore it around the studio all day yesterday and it was very comfortable.
This is a bracelet made from Zentangle canes I made several months ago. I don’t know why I haven’t made more in all this time, too busy making other things I guess. But a tutorial is on my list. I’ve listed this one in my Etsy Shop.
I’ve also listed black and white cuff in the picture below in my Etsy shop. I don’t care how many bracelets I make like this, they still continue to sell well.
They’re fun and bold and really stand out with a pair of black jeans and a crisp white shirt, my favorite look still.
Here’s another cane I made last year sometime and couldn’t ever figure out exactly how to finish it. I did know however, that I wanted to make something for the wall and I had already sliced and baked the whole cane, so like the canes from yesterdays post, I’ve moved them out of the shoe box and onto my wall.
Again this is just for me, so I give myself permission to do whatever I want. 🙂 And I’m having fun just playing around with foam core and cheap frames. Who knows all this playing around could just lead to something exceptional……or not….but the key word here is FUN! Go have some today.
Oh and I am still working on the idea I told you about yesterday. It’s a way to use the mosaic that you made from my free video you watched when you signed up for my newsletter. You did make something didn’t you? *g*
If you have been playing with clay for awhile, you have to have a box full of bits and pieces of things that are half finished or half burned or just a big question mark. If you’re like me, you can’t even remember doing some of them.
Anyway….I’ve been cleaning and rearranging and wondering if I should just throw some of these older “probably never going to finish” bits away. When I came across this piece that I was messing around with (see it here) and decided that instead of throwing it away or putting it back in the shoebox, I’d combine it with other slices of old canes and make something just for me to hang on the wall.
So here it is, a sample board of canes I’ve made or I like to call it a story board because it’s kind of a story of where I’ve been.
I’ve mounted them on a piece of black foam board that I got from the dollar store and put it in a dollar store frame. So there isn’t much money involved but I’ve rescued some canes and I get to look at them from time to time.
Next….another idea I’ve been working on. See ya’ then.
All the canes on this dish are from a cane swap in 2001 in what was then know as the MSAT clayart yahoo group.
This post is for luny (Mickie McClain). She let me know that the face cane I used for my Santa ornament was made by Melanie Taylor .
luny also said she made several canes for this swap and I’m posting this covered dish that I covered with slices of all the canes except the face. I can tell you some of the people that made some of the canes, but not all. I’m hoping that luny will tell me if one of these is hers.
The animal skin canes are from Nora Jean, leader of the group. The Egyptian canes are from Donna Worth, who I was fortunate to meet in Montana. The blue rose is from Jeanette Roberts who I exchanged lots of emails with and I don’t know who made the rest.
I thought I was so clever to save the canes in this way, I just wasn’t clever enough to write down who made what. But I thought this was fun and I keep it on my desk filled with paper clips.
Today was back to work a little for me. I have a project I’m working on for a publication. Nothing giant, just a small part, but fun and flattering. More about it later.
Here’s the other side, if you know who any of these canes belong to, or if they are yours, let me know. I’d love to add your name to the list.
A friend saw my Catbleu she wanted a couple for her sister. So I made these guys and they’re ready for the oven. Cats have always been a popular subject, people love their cats. I couldn’t resist caning these two guys. Very Alice in Wonderlandy.
I want to play around with this technique some more, combining canes with figures. 2d with 3d marry to create interesting possibilities.
Have a happy Sunday and just think Christmas with be over by this time next week. Are you ready?
I started out yesterday to continue to list more items in my Etsy Shop, but ended up here instead. I had this idea…..I know, so what else is new? I’ve been wanting to make larger items to hang on the wall for quite some time. The clay part of this one is 8″x 10″
It was another one of my wild ideas that turned into The Most Fun. I find that when I let go of the goal of making something to sell, I enjoy myself so much it makes me laugh out loud and realize that I should Never, Ever, Worry about sales. There are many things that I would do differently, but I learned alot and had a ball.
But taking sales out of the equation is a hard thing to do since it’s what I’ve done all my life. And now is really no different, I have to sell things, it’s just the way it is.
I’ve always known that letting go is the best way to create, I just have to keep remembering it. This one was for me…..however, I was thinking about turning this into a greeting card…….(grinning here) ……….. what do ya’ think?
It was a busy day yesterday as I uploaded item after item to my Etsy Shop. This Flame Necklace is an interesting piece with large unusual beads.
It will prove to be the same tomorrow I believe. Most of the items I’ve made in the last few months and just haven’t taken the time to do all the legwork needed to get them ready for Etsy.
This pendant was made by combining a black polymer clay base and black and white canes together, then drawing the split face onto white polymer clay squares.
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