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.
I didn’t have as much time today as I wanted to spend with my face cane. Had to help with some yard work. It felt good to be outside in the wonderful weather. I did have time to paint this canvas and mess around with her neck and blouse. Colors still aren’t right, but I’m just going ahead with her and after she’s baked I’ll shade in under her chin with some wash.
I need to add wings and I want to do some flowers or something. I’m going to cure what I have so far and then add the other elements. I’m finding because I’ve been handling this one so much I need to get it cured.
I have been inspired by several folk artists and am trying to create my own folk angels. One of my favorite artists is Campbell Jane, I just love her work.
I know…you’re wondering why on earth I would post this vase with these kind of scary looking faces on it. Well to tell the truth, they’ve grown on me and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. They remind me of the journey.
I made this first face cane over ten years ago. I didn’t put a date on this vase so I’m guessing. This vase still makes me laugh, in fact the better I get at making face canes, the more I laugh when I see these girls.
I thought they were wonderful. They didn’t turn out anything like I wanted. I wanted this cane to be beautiful, painterly, with gradual color change, but as you can see…………….but it didn’t matter, I actually took colored clay messed around with it and made this face that when I sliced through the cane, I got face after face. I was so excited. Are you kidding me? It was the coolest thing, I was hooked. Even though I was working somewhere else, I continued to work on my face canes.
My friends had to put up with me giving them things with very strange faces on them. My mother who loves beautiful angels was shocked I know, when I gave her a bracelet made of face beads. They were not beautiful angels, but yet another test face cane. But bless her, she smiled and said thank you. So that’s why I made this first “pretty” faced angel for her. I think she’ll like this better and forgive me for giving her the others.
I also didn’t know very much about the clay. The eyes are made with translucent clay and the rest of the face with regular. Today I know it’s better to try to use the same type of clay or a mixture of both.
As you can see by my post from the other day, I’ve been working on another face. Even though I’m very happy with the way I finally figured out to make faces, and I really enjoy sharing the process in my Profile Face Cane Tutorial, I still want to make a face that is painterly, with more color. So I’m experimenting. I haven’t got it right yet, but when I do I’ll post pictures.
I’ll work on it for an hour or two, mixing colors and trying to figure out an easy way to do it so I can make another tutorial, then walk away for awhile.
In the middle of the night I woke up and started thinking about how I could accomplish the look I was trying to achieve and another idea hit me for something not even related to the face. So yesterday I spent time playing with that idea before I forgot it. geez…….
But it’s all good, I’m where I’m suppose to be, doing what I’m suppose to be doing, taking as long as I need, it’s all fun and a great adventure. I ask you, what more could I ask for.
This week is my birthday week, there are parties planned and things to do. I’m thankful! Thank you for stopping by today!
Here’s a new video showing how to attach pc to metal bracelet blanks. Just a quick note, I get my bracelet blanks from The Clay Store. Tell them I sent you.
This is the first thing made from my face cane from Barbara McGuire’s class. It’s a 5 x 5 plaque headed for my mother’s house.
I certainly enjoyed making this angel, and I’m sure I’ll be making many more things from this face cane. But right now I’m mixing colors and putting together a face that I have been dreaming of for years. Wish me luck and stay tuned, you never know what I’ll come up with.
I’ve left Barbara McGuire for last because I had a chance to get to know her better than the other artists at Fandango. I’ve already posted about the incredible face class I had the opportunity to take with her and how much fun it was.
One of the demos Barbara McGuire gave was placing one of her faces on a base to make a large focal bead like the one in the photo above. I purchased this one from Barbara that night. She used her new stamp on this one and demonstrated those as well.
But before that, I was truly excited to watch her demonstrate her color mixing techniques. This demo had Barbara with her pasta machine and an array of colored clay. After watching Sarah Shiver and Julie Picarello mix their colors using the skinner blend method, I was finally driven TO the edge by watching Barbara. It actually took attending that small face class to send me OVER the edge and soaring into a world that I have been just sticking one tiny finger in. I haven’t been this excited since I made my first face cane almost 10 years ago. The combination of all of the artist’s techniques came together for me and I was gobsmacked.
I loved learning how to make a face the way Barbara does, but I have my own voice that I am still training. I may never produce anything but jingles, but I will continue to strive for a symphony. Just this last few days I feel like I’ve been set free. Mixing colors will never be the same again.
It was such a pleasure to get to know Barbara and I appreciate all that she shares with us.
I feel that finding our own creative voice and a way to use it is what we are all striving for and I know Barbara has started a new publication to help us do just that. She was kind enough to share a bit about her Woman Creative postcards in the following video. Enjoy.
To find out more about Barbara, her products, where she’s teaching next visit her website. Be sure to take a minute to check out Woman Creative.
Maureen Carlson was one of the demonstrators at Orlando Clay Fandango. She entertained the classroom students in the evenings and the retreat only attendees during the day. Wish I could have been everywhere at once. I did manage to attend at least one demo each day of both Maureen’s and Barbara McGuire.
I had not met Maureen before the retreat, but had featured her on my other blog The Figurative Artbeat. We conversed by email several times. I also sent her pictures of my failed attempt at polymer clay and paper mache to include in a presentation she was doing for Synergy. So we knew each other but had never met.
We ran into each other on the first day of Fandango and I introduced myself. She said, “oh you’re tall”, I said, “yes I am”. We laughed and that was, I ‘m happy to say the beginning of a fun filled three days enjoying Maureen’s sense of humor and her vast creative talent.
(Just so you know, I AM very tall and it is unexpected at times, it makes me laugh)
The first evening we were treated to one of her famous Storyclay® Tellings. She weaved a delightful audience participatory tale about the little guy in the picture above. She constructed him as the story unfolded. She had everyone laughing out loud and extremely happy to be entertained by this master story teller. At the end someone in the audience took the purple Weefolk® home to live with them. Thanks to Tanya Johnson for his photo.
The next time I saw her demo, she was showing us how to sculpt a face. What a master she is, with quick sure strokes she turned a ball of clay into a face that looked ready to talk to me. She makes you feel that you could maybe create a face too.
I have to thank Maureen again for leading the artists to talk about themselves in my video. She was terrific to do that for me. It was a perfect ending to a perfect retreat.
She and her husband owns Maureen Carlson’s Center For Creative Arts in Jordan, Minnesota. I know you would have an incredible experience should you be lucky enough to be able to visit her there. If you can’t go to her, check out her calendar to see if she’ll be near you this year.
Day three at Orlando Clay Fandango puts Christi Friesen at the teachers desk. By this time my class had our heads full of color blends and sheeting and slicing and drilling and we are ready for Christi. And she is ready for us.
We get straight to the fun part, playin’ and smoshin’ and pinchin’ the clay. We all become clay warriors, fighting with nothing by our fingers and our sense of design.
I think most of us in my classroom planned it this way..Sarah first, so we would be mentally fresh to understand the complexities for her techniques, Julie, because we still needed the edge to comprehend her methods and then..tada…Christi, freedom from perfectly placed and constructed clay.
by this time we are crazy funny, all of us, with Christi putting us over the top. To describe her sculpting techniques she uses technical words like, “wiggly scribbly stuff, mossy bits and funky stack-up and bead plant thingys.” Thingys being a favorite word of mine for a very long time and I am proud to say I use it often.
But don’t think that this was not a serious class with serious stuff to learn, oh no…. many of my fellow classmates worked until almost 11:00pm, not because it was hard..oh no..but because they were having such a great time creating Friesen-like masterpieces. And trust me, some of them were more than fabulous.
Me? I was following the instructors around trying to gather them up for a video. Actually it took me two days to do it. “Yeah Alice, right after supper.” “In ten minutes Alice.” “After my demo, I promise.” “I just have to finish showing everyone how to make this mouse. Alice, geez….”Okay, here we are, where do you want us?” “Your extention cord doesn’t work, Alice are you kidding?”
What a great group, seriously, it wasn’t about them, it was about making sure their students were taken care of first. Ya’ gotta admire that. Thanks ladies, it was worth it.
Oh yeah, Christi, if you want to laugh, this is the instructor, if you want to unleash your inner, playful, creative soul, this is the instructor. If you have a chance to take a class with Christi, don’t hesitate, you’ll have a blast.
Visit Christi’s website for more information, to buy her products and to see if she’s coming to a location near you!
It was the second day at Orlando Clay Fandango and in my classroom we had an new teacher. Julie Picarello had moved into the teachers chair and we all gather around to see what’s was in store for us.
Julie’s tips on color mixing was worth the price of admission. Her knowledge combined with her clear instructions made her class a joy to take. She shows you simple techniques that enable you to create a finished piece of work you can be proud of.
By lunch time we were all so into what we were doing and Julie said we needed to finish the step we were on so it could rest, none of us left for lunch, including Julie. The other classes made fun of the “detention” class and Julie instantly was branded as a slave driver. ( Don’t misunderstand, we wanted to stay, we were “into” it) We finally went to lunch! And we did get to dinner on time, and like Sarah, Julie was back after supper ready to help us with whatever we needed.
Needless to say the teasing continued on into the next day, with lots of laughter and friendly class competition.
Julie provided a great handout that takes you through the process with colored pictures. This certainly helps when you get home because you are learning so much in such a short period of time that it’s difficult to remember all the steps. Sarah and Christi made sure we went home with instructions also, but Julie included a handy source list as well.
I haven’t finished my pieces yet and I have lots of slices ready to mount, but I’m pleased with the results. Including the lizard tail….
Another fabulous day at Fandango, and I haven’t even begun to tell you about the demonstrations at night with Maureen Carlson and Barbara McGuire
To see Julie’s work, find out her teaching schedule, and what she’ll be up to next, visit her website.
My first class at Orlando Clay Fandango was with Sarah Shriver. We learned “to mix beautiful colors of polymer clay using Sarah’s in depth Skinner blending techniques”.
Okay, so mine doesn’t look anything like Sarah’s sample bracelet. (third one down on the linked page) But I had to make my shape a little bit different and do another piece with my cane. Plus I didn’t take a very good picture of the bracelet.
I still have miles of cane left and am going to spend some time trying to remember what I’m suppose to do with it. Most of the other students produce beautiful pieces.
If you haven’t taken a class with Sarah, I want you to know that you should. She is such an experienced polymer clay artist that she just naturally is able to explain her process easily. Just her color mixing approach alone is worth seeing.
She has a quick wit and is very entertaining. She moves her class along but has time to spend with anyone that needs it. After class she was right back at her desk to answer questions and help anyone that wanted it. Everyone had time to drill holes in their beads and end up with a finished piece.
Visit Sarah’s website for more information about her classes, her DVD’s and her Show Schedule.
This is one of the masks that I made for the mini mask pin swap at this year’s Orlando Clay Fandango in Florida. The Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild had lots of fun things planned for us to share with each other plus several competitions. I ran out of time and only participated in the mini mask swap and the brown bag swap.
Mini Masks by Karen Hampton, Pat Ghadbane, Kathryn Peters
I received these three fabulous mini mask in exchange for three of mine. I saved all the names, but somehow lost the name of the woman who made the mask on the bottom. If anyone from Fandango know who made this mask, I’d love to list her name, so let me know.
Update…. Mystery solved, Katy commented on this post to let me know it was her mask. Whew, I’m glad that’s taken care of. I didn’t like losing her name. Thanks Katy.
Brown Bag Swap - Bracelet by Pat Ghadbane
I was lucky to win two beautiful items from Pat Ghadbane. Isn’t this bracelet lovely? I love the beads on the end and the button closure. I’d say I was lucky all the way around and came home with some fabulous artwork from some talented women.
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