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.

Working on the Top

Step one on the table top is finished. I’m going to love having this table around with samples of my faces. Lots of fun here, great therapy for sure.

I’m constructing and baking everything right on the glass. When it’s cool I’ll pop it off and glue it to the table top. I think I might have a piece of glass cut to fit to protect it.

See ya’ back here soon.

Arty Becca’s Hollow Forms

Here’s a necklace I made right after seeing Arty Becca’s (Rebecca Watkins) hollow forms. I needed to make one more of the smaller beads to finish it off and I finally did that last night. I use black rubber O rings in between the beads and extruded black clay bits as spacers.

Extruded black clay bits you ask? I use an adapter made by Makins for their extruder. They come in all different sizes and you can use several different dies with them. I used a square die to make a long piece, bake it and then slice off what I need. Cool.

Old Things New Again – WIP

This is a silly little table that my husband and I used as a telephone table when we were first married. Most of you can relate to a telephone table, but some of you may not remember a time when you had an actual phone connected to the wall.

We had a cord that could reach all the way into the living room. That was the only way you could talk for more than 5 minutes, I could cook, fold clothes, and watch the kids playing.

When we moved to our new house we didn’t need the table anymore. My Mother, Father, sister and brother-in-law bought a three story victorian house together and they had tons of room. The table went to stay with them and now it’s come back to live with me.

I’ve painted it lots of fun colors and have covered the bottom shelf in polymer clay with one of my faces and some of my colorful canes. I’m starting to work on the top when I have time and I’ll also be adding bits of PC on the legs.

It’s a piece that has been touched by every member of my family at one time or the other. No hurry on this piece it’s just something that will capture a lovely memory in time and link it to the present.

A colony of flamingos and a muster of peacocks

Look at these great flamingo bracelets made by my friends Sydney Carter, Emma Simpson, Charline Ahlgreen, Tyra Ahlgreen, Sara Pietruk and Linda Eastman. We had so much fun they all wanted to do it again the next day only this time it was Peacocks. I just love how each one turned out.

A giant thank you to Polyform and Iris Weiss for donating the clay for this workshop. Everyone was delighted and they used every bit making canes and Skinner blends for these funky, fun bracelets

Charline decided to made something different with her peacock. So cool…

Thanks everyone and I’ll see you again soon.

Other World – Polymer Clay Wall Art

I created this new piece while I was in the Rocky Mountains on retreat. At least the main rectangle was created there. Today I framed it and added some polymer clay covered buttons.

I’m happy with this unconventional framing even though it would not have been my first choice. When I started looking for a frame for it, I didn’t have one that would fit. I had just spent a small fortune on frames and didn’t want to run out to buy another one.

I started to center it on the mat but then I began to play around with it and decided to put it at an angle. It needed something else, having the raw edges showing and because they were so straight I covered some buttons with clay and added them.

If you double click on the picture you’ll be able to see it closer.

I was influenced by my fellow retreater in many ways. I hope to explore and expand my wall pieces and continue to add texture and interest.

Polymer Clay Ribbons – Bendable Polymer Part 2

Well this was productive. I have two tall cylindrical glass vases that I wrapped the thin strips of polymer clay around and around. I layered paper between each revolution.

These strips are 29″ long, that’s as long as I could make the strips because I was using sheets of Skinner blends. I’m going to see if I can make even longer ones with solid colors.

Of course I had to add some Stroppel Cane to one of the strips. hehehe

More to come…..

Bendable Polymer Clay

Here’s another idea I’ve had in the back of my mind. I just ordered the new Lark 500 Paper Objects and was inspired by Lydia Hirte‘s incredible work. She creates some fabulous Jewelry sculptures with paper.

I wanted see if I could do something similar in polymer clay. I really want to do a large scale piece for the wall using these thin pieces, but first I was experimenting to see how thin I could get the clay and what I could make it do. I used Premo and it really is amazing to work with. It bends and doesn’t crack at all.

This piece is incredibly light and it’s been so much fun to play with. It’s very bright I know and I’m not really a pink girl, but this certainly says, “Here I Am!” It would stand out on black for sure.

I’ve just spent a ton of money on quite a few frames and have way too many ideas. I’m already working on a giant 27 x 39 piece that I’m very excited about and will tell you more later. Let’s see which project wins out.

A Polymer Clay Portrait .. part 2

So here I am with the finished portrait. I’ve learned a couple of important thing about this process and I’ll share them with you. I had a great time doing this and I’ve managed to make an anniversary present for my husband. He actually liked it very much, reminds him of all the years we’ve been together, 44 years is a bunch.

I somehow lost track of my shades of gray and didn’t follow through with the right shade on the top right. By the time I got to the bottom and the arm I realized my mistake and didn’t have enough of the lighter shade mixed so… I just continued with the darker shade. It’s okay, I’m still happy with the over all outcome but lesson #1…mix enough clay. It was just hard for me because I had trouble mixing that much gray from perfectly good black and white new clay. I actually have enough scrap gray thank you very much! If it would have been any color, I could always used the left overs for something else.

I believe I might do it again just to see how different it will look if I actually follow the picture. Whaaat? follow the pattern, pheeew.. but this time it’s going to be a color.

Part of Lesson #2 I already knew, there will be places that you have to fill in. The lesson came in when I realized I was in a big hurry to finish it last night and didn’t take enough time to cover well at all. I had to spend that time this morning filling in anyway. So Lesson #2 is take your time. HA!

Part of the problem was it was hard to see, the paper picture on the back of the glass didn’t let light through and it was night time. ( cant’ think of any more excuses for this one)

I have this little light box that came in handy for finding the holes to fill in. I just placed the piece on top and filled away.

Here it is a little more than half way finished. First I lay out my clay following the picture and then stipple it with a knitting needle, my fingers are not very happy with me.

I think you might really enjoy giving this a try. It was pretty easy to do and not as time consuming as other techniques. You could do it with a drawing as well, or a photo of a landscape, it doesn’t have to be a portrait. And it doesn’t have to be a large wall piece.

A Polymer Clay Portrait

I have way too many ideas, i just can’t get to them all fast enough. I laid out a wall piece for my older son Brad who is a Master Scuba instructor. It’s lots of my funky fish and I can’t wait to get started on it.

But before that I really wanted to try something new. After I posted my first large wall piece, Wall Flowers, almost everyone that saw it in person commented on the texture in-between the flowers. When more than one person mentions something, I usually pay attention. I called it stippling for lack of a better word and stipple actually describes pretty well.

I wanted to use the artistic cutout filter in Photoshop to change a photo to a graphic picture so I could stipple it in either shades of gray or monochromatic. I decided on shades of gray. So here’s the beginning and I thought I’d share it with you.

This one isn’t as large as the first one, I need to get to Tampa to buy new frames, it’s only 12″ x 16″. But this will work out just fine in case it isn’t a keeper.

To get the photo large enough, I imported into Illustrator, enlarged it and then tiled it to print. I taped it together and then taped it to the back of the glass from the frame I’m going to use.

I’m hoping that when the picture gets completely covered that it will looks like a person….check back, I’ll post more as I get it finished. I promise…even if it isn’t what I expect. Trust me, I’m having way too much fun to care and besides, polymer clay is not precious, there’s more where this came from.

Polymer Clay Friends Are Great Fun

My friend Christine Kaczmarek spent a couple of days in my studio playing with clay. She brought along a project she was working on for her father with a favorite family saying and a pretty fabulous tree. There even is a bit of a Stroppel Cane across the bottom…go figure.

She also tried out the recipe for Premo Sea Green and we both think it’s pretty close. It’s one of the discontinued colors that I really miss. I have two block of it left, so I hope the recipe will work.

Christine has been experimenting with stamps and oil paints with some pretty cool results. I love this one and the saying just makes me laugh. She a true dog and cat lover and sell great doggie and kitty pendants in her Etsy shop.

We had a great time clayin’ and laughing. Thanks for coming to see me Christine, see you again soon.

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