Polymer Clay Etc.

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.

Sarajane Helm’s 2011 Mini Mask Swap

WARNING!

If you were in Sarajane Helm’s 2011 mini mask swap and

HAVEN”T RECEIVED YOUR MASKS YET
STOP NOW

or your surprise might be ruined.

Whew, glad I remembered that some people might not have their masks back yet. But not everyone will be receiving these masks. There are 1,000 masks involved in this adventure and there are only 30 shown here.

I had the most fun yesterday opening my package of mini masks from Sarajane Helm and her husband Bryon. As I’m sure you know, Sarajane is the host of the annual mini mask swap and the author of A Collection Of Polymer Clay Masks.

Thanks to my friend Leila Bidler I found out about the swap in enough time to join in. And I will be forever in your debt Leila, because these masks are all incredible. I have to step up my game to be in it next year I can see that.

I was in three groups of 10 and that meant I sent in 30 masks and got back 30 masks including one of each of the ones I made. Here’s group one.

Sarajane Helm's 2011 Mini Mask exchange 1

Group1

Are these not the best??? I just enjoy each one so much, looking at how they made them and believe me they are all different.

Of course you could pick my brightly colored crazy design out of the line up I bet. Nothing earthy and tribal for me. Okay so I tried to be tribal with this next one, but couldn’t stay away from the color.

Group 2

Again……a wonderful group of fabulous faces. If anyone knows who the gold masks with all the cool faces belongs to, I’d love to know.

In this next group I combined sculpting, mold making, pen and ink and markers. Lots of fun.

Group 3

Aren’t these all so interesting? I wish you could see each one up close, the details are what grabs you. I love the time and effort that went into every one, and now I get to look at them all the time.

Here’s a picture of all of my masked man, just because they are all different even though they are all made from the same mold.

Sarajane Helms 2011 mask swap - Alice Stroppel

My guys

Now I know exactly why Sarajane wants to be the hostess for this swap. there are 1000 masks exchanged and she gets to keep one of each. If the ones I’ve received are this fantastic, I know the rest of them are just as wonderful.

Thank you, thank you, to all who took the time to be in this swap and for those of you whom I managed to be lucky enough to get your mask, I’ll be emailing you personally.

A special thank you to Sarajane for hosting such a fun exchange and Bryon for helping her.

Almost Like Paperdolls – Polymer Clay Doll

I know I said I wasn’t going to post today, but I wanted to say Happy 4th of July to everyone here in America. It’s a grand day for our country so celebrate and enjoy.

Plus…….I finished this girl last night and wanted to share.

When I was little my sister had a set of paperdolls that she drew herself. She created a girl and a guy and the girl had the most wonderful clothes. I loved the way they looked and wanted so badly to be able to draw just like my big sister. The paperdolls aren’t around anymore, I wish they were I’d love to look at them again.

When I made this girl I was reminded of my wish to be able to draw my own paperdolls, somehow I feel like that little girl wish from years ago kind of came true. The difference is her clothes are made from polymer clay and can’t be removed. Still having fun here and fulfilling dreams.

Combining Polymer Clay and Pen and Ink

When I tell you I have too many ideas in my head, it’s the truth. I was inspired and reminded by Vicky in my class the other day that I love playing with color on faces. I love her faces.

Vicky

She said she was inspired by a face cane I did and an artist friend of hers. Here’s a bracelet I made with that face cane.

I was inspired when making the face cane by a fabulous watercolor artist friend of mine, Janet F. King. Here’s a sample of her work. Look at all the different colors in her faces.

Boys in the Band - Janet F. King

And so it goes, inspiration is around us everyday and in everything. The problem is finding the time to execute all the ideas. Which brings me back to the first picture on this post. This is a painting with pen and ink and markers on canvas coated with polymer clay, then accented with polymer clay canes. The layering inspiration came from a Kathleen Dustin class.

Combining lots of ideas got me here and I really, really, really like doing these and can’t wait to make more.

I was going to wait to post this next idea until tomorrow, but since it’s the 4th of July, I probably will be outside all day so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now.

I am just as excited about these women as I am about the canvas woman. I’ve cut out the shape from polymer clay, used pen and ink and markers, then added polymer clay canes again. I’m excited! It’s why I love polymer clay, the possibilities are truly endless.

Face Patterns For Pen and Ink on Polymer Clay

Face Patterns

These are some of the sample items I made for my class last weekend and I think they are a good mix of styles from the same group of patterns. The face on the bracelet in the middle is the same face that is one the figure in blue surrounded with black and white canes.

If you are a student in my P&I class the patterns in pdf form are emailed to you after class, usually the next day. If you can’t make it to the South East anytime soon, you may want to consider my tutorial and these patterns. Both are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Now that I’ve started coloring on clay, and I kind of feel like I’m 10 and have all these wonderful coloring book pages in front of me and all the colors to go with it. I just can’t stop.

Fun with Faces!

Pen and Ink on Polymer Clay class - June 2011

Carole, Ellyn, Charlene, Sydney, Tyra, Marty, Terri, Vicky, Pat, Karen

It was a hot day in Central Florida, but we had enough fun to make up for it. This was a great group of woman who created some fabulous work. I’m always inspired by the diversity of the pieces. Even though we all start at the same place we end up with such different creations, it’s a joy to witness.

Most of these shape were created with Barbara McGuire’s Antique Door Plate stamps. You can purchase them from me, just leave a comment on this post if you’re interested.

Here are the works of art in the order of the stairs ….. pendants first.

Carole

Carole wanted a blue surround and made quick work of putting together blue canes for her soulful girl. Love her eyes.

Ellyn

Ellyn and I are on the same wave length, I love mermaids and this one is going to be such fun to wear.

Charlene

Charlene freehanded this cool ribbon cat and step away from the rest of the group with a gold surround for her face. Charlene is President of the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild that sponsors the Fandango retreat. You should think about attending next year.

Sydney

Okay, so Sydney just kept adding until hers is now too big to wear and is going to grace the front of a journal. A mixture of canes and ink and markers, can you tell which is which? Can’t wait to see the finished piece. Sydney is involved in the Florida Gulf coast Polymer Clay Guild , if you live in that area you should check it out.

Tyra

Tyra created her own drawing of this interesting mythical character and we were all impressed. Lots of wonderful detail.

Marty

Marty kept saying she couldn’t draw and didn’t like her pendant at first, but by the end of the class she walked out with it around her neck. I think she was mistaken about the drawing part.

Marty is owner of Beads, F.O.B., Inc. in Sarasota. If you’re over that way stop in and tell her and Karen I said hi.

I don’t have a pendant picture for Terri. Terri, if you have a picture send it to me….. please.

Vicky

Vicky created these fabulous faces on her own shapes. I just love the colors and her imagination. Vicky has a website with more of her beautiful work displayed.

Pat

Pat outlined her face in red, a great accent against the black. Fun! Love those lips.

Karen

Now Karen’s face is right up my alley too. It’s strange and funky, and yes very cool, I love that.

Terri

Terri created this sweet girl and used her imagination to cover a mistake in coloring. I know she’s going to love wearing this bracelet.

Carole

Carole combined the pen and ink with a hair cane to come up with this unique bracelet. There is three different faces, it’s really cool.

Ellyn

Ellyn has three faces on her bracelet as well. I love the softness of this face and the coloring of the hair. She emailed me the next day saying she wore it home and it made her smile. YES!!! that’s my goal, so mission accomplished.

Ellyn works at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, check out what they have to offer.

Not everyone finished their bracelets in class but will finished them at home I hope. Send me pictures everyone.

Thanks to Sydney for taking pictures of everyone work, I had to borrow some of hers. She also has an album she created. Take a look.

A Video – Pen and Ink on Polymer Clay

I’m busy making samples for my classes and drew the faces in the video to go with Barbara McQuire’s stamps. Yesterday I wanted to see they might look on a bracelet.

I decided to show you this new bracelet in a video because it’s hard to capture the look in still photos. The face patterns will be available for purchase next week sometime. I’ll post more about them when I’ve added them to my Etsy Shop.

I’m excited to tell you that I’ll be teaching two 1 day workshops at Mount Dora Center for the Arts in Mount Dora, FL in October 15th, Pen and Ink and November 12th, Cane Mapping, details to come.

I’ve Strayed – Cats, Red Hood and Pen and Ink

Red Hood

This morning I started to do samples of what we are going to be doing in class on Saturday but I ended up drawing a grown up Red Ridding Hood. Grown up you might ask, well the story goes that the wolf died and she lived to grow up right? So here she is, with a silver frame ready for the eye pin and a chain.

Okay so the truth is the hood just showed up by itself and I colored it red. I use photos or pictures as my guides, but I don’t sketch out my work ahead of time. I just dive right in and begin and correct as I go letting the piece create itself.

That’s why I like working with polymer clay as a base and my pen and ink technique, I can easily correct most lines and sometimes colors. I do most of the black work first and add color at the end, then reapply black here and there.

I probably would benefit from more planning including sketching the ideas in my head instead of just making notes, but then I’m not so sure how things like the red hood would ever happen. But it’s something to consider.

International Polymer Clay Association’s Polymergence editor Suzanne Ivester wrote a wonderful article in this month’s newsletter entitled All About Sketching! It’s an interesting read, you’ll enjoy it.

This cat just called to me, no explanations, no excuses. I’m going to post this and get back to my original plan..samples…step by step samples.

Preparing for Pen and Ink on Polymer Clay Class

I have my work cut out for me for the next few days, I’m going to lay out the steps for my class on pen and ink on polymer clay. I have been busy making blanks from white pc in all different shapes as well as covering bracelet blanks with white. The more I do the better I like it and the more ideas jump into my head.

I haven’t been so busy that I haven’t had time to enjoy the lake and our beautiful oak trees. I love swimming and playing with our dog, but I love sitting and watching my guys play too.

On Going Polymer Clay Cane Mapping Experiment

I’m trying other ways to display the fish that I shared with you the other day. I still like the black background so I decided to see how a lone fish would look in a square frame. I can see a group of these on the wall. I like this as well as the larger grouping.

Still, nothing is permanent yet, plus I used very small glue dots to hold the pieces in place. They are used in scrapbooking and it only takes one or two to hold each item and I can easily remove the polymer piece if I want to. They will mess up your background though so keep that in mind.

This is a 9″ x 9″ frame and the fish is only about 3 1/2″ from lips to tail, so you could use several in a grouping.

For a Friend – A Butterfly

This butterfly is for a friend, in appreciation. I started by making just the character in the middle and then decided to try some wing stamps by Barbara McGuire that I brought home from my visit to Woman Creative in GA. Well once I added the wings she got quite large.

I decided to place it in a frame so that she can hang it on the wall or wear it if she’s brave enough. (It’s big, really!) I hope she likes it.

Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners

Online Workshops with Alice Stroppel

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