Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners 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.
Online Workshops with Alice Stroppel
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 Explorations – Alice Stroppel This is the second large wall art piece made of polymer clay. It’s 9″ x 20″. About half the size of the first picture, Wall Flowers. It’s totally random pops of color that has already been speaking differently to each person. I began working on it with this view as the way it should be hung.
 Explorations – Alice Stroppel But when I posted it on Facebook yesterday, people started telling me they thought it should be hung a different way.
 Explorations – Alice Stroppel Nikolina Otrzan , Orson’s World, said she saw it hanging like below, and I quote, “because those “eyes” look to me like Pink panther in distress. Nik, you’re so funny.
Yvette Macy wants to sing, “We all live in a yellow submarine.”
 Explorations – Alice Stroppel Maybe I should take a vote. voice your opinion, leave a comment. I think it will be interesting to see what ya’ll think and what you see. I’ll tell you what I think in a couple of days.
In the end, my son Jason will decide because this one is going to him.
 Top – Linda Boyd, Middle – Monica Sauls, Bottom – Barbara Snapp Every Monday evening, three friends i’ve known since we were kids, Barbara Snapp, Monica Sauls and Linda Boyd, come over to my studio and we play with polymer clay. I was so excited by these cane mapping pieces they finished last Monday, I just had to share them with you. Remember these are relatively new clayers.
It’s the same technique I use to make my large Wall Flowers and I teach in one of my workshops.
How they ended up spending time in my studio in the first place is pretty funny.
Sebring, where I live, my home town, my mother’s home town, is pretty small. Granted, it’s grown quite a bit over the years, but it’s still a small town by most standards. Even so, most people don’t know that I work with polymer clay or even what polymer clay is or can become.
Shortly after I was on the cover of Polymer Cafe, I was walking through Home Depot (looking for stuff to use with polymer I’m sure) and ran into Monica. She asked me if my ears were burning from being talked about. I smiled and worried what I might have done now!!!. She told me how Barbara was in Books-a-Million, (yes we finally have a large book store) and picked up several craft magazines including Polymer Cafe´. It wasn’t until she got home that she really looked at the cover. She said, “That’s Alice!!!”. Too funny.
I’m showing you this cover so you can imagine how funny it was for Barbara to see my face staring back at her.
So Monica said she and Barbara and some others might be interested in learning more about polymer clay. Music to this “polymer clay is for everyone” crusader. Besides as much as I love the internet and all you guys, it can get lonely working in my studio without another polymer clayer to share with. So the thought of new pc players coming to spend time with me in the studio was exciting.
It’s been several months now, with a pretty steady exploration of polymer clay. Gradually, canes are being stockpiled and things are starting to really come together. I really think they’re having as much fun as I am. Linda said, “I didn’t like Mondays very much and now I know I get to play with clay, so I can’t wait.” Makes my heart sing.
Here’s wishing you all have someone to clay with from time to time.
This is my newest adventure, I pushed myself to create something large and more complicated than in the past. I used my Cane Mapping technique with an added twist.
It’s a large piece, 19″ x 27″, framed it’s 20 1/2″ x 28 1/2″. I bake my polymer clay in a regular kitchen oven, but even so I had to construct it in pieces like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
After baking a pieces, I constructed the next piece on a piece of glass and by fitting it to the last piece. I placed a roughly drawn pattern behind the glass, but as you can see by this picture, I didn’t follow it exactly.
I continued this way until all were pieces were baked and then glued them to a back board. Actually this board came with a frame I bought. Here’s a look at each step as it was completed.
After completing and taking a picture of this step, I realized how disjointed some of the yellow flower petals looked. So before I baked it, I made some corrections.
Not completely satisfied, but knowing this was as good as it was going to get, I baked it and moved to the next section. Once again I used my and for size reference.
And once again the finished piece. I certainly learned a lot and look forward to making many more.
I was cleaning up my work space after covering the hand in the last post and made this Stroppel Cane Jelly roll Cane.
From my pattern business years ago I still have hundreds of brass button covers that for some reason I still have. Okay I admit, it’s because I’m a keeper of “things I might be able to use in my art projects” kind of person. I also have lots of rubber cording. I decide to combine the two making these “beads” removable and interchangeable.
Of course your cording has to be thin enough and flexible enough for the clasp to close.
The second thing I have a few of are brass button on a shank. I pushed one through each slice of my cane and baked them
All I had to do is run the cord through the button shank and tada. The cord was just tight enough to keep everything in place and keep them from sliding. Both of these necklaces lay well and look very interesting.
There’s a discussion on FaceBook about Buna Cord or Rubber cording. Several people say that years later the cord gets brittle and falls apart. I’ve heard this before, but I haven’t had it happen to me.
You might want to consider a different cording material if you are going to make anything like this and offer it for sale. These are just for me.
I bought two hand molds at a flea market several months ago with the intention of coming right home and covering them with clay. It certainly wasn’t right away but believe it or not, I’m proud I actually got one of them covered before the year was out. Usually projects like this sit around staring at me forever.
This is one hand, I’m just showing you both sides at the same time. I still have some work to do on it before I begin on the second one. I have a bit of ……*choke, cough, choke* ………sanding to do and buffing it up. You see how much I wanted these, I do not like to sand or buff. but it will be worth it.
These are colorful, funky and a perfect sampler of many of my canes. I’ll be happy to have it to remind me of them all.
These hand are molds for rubber gloves. The flea market vendor had about 20 of them and I wanted to buy them all. I know, I know, I’m having trouble finishing two so what would I do with 20? Anyway, I’m glad I bought the two. You can find plenty of these glove molds online should you be so inclined to cover one.
Even if you didn’t cover them, they would make great display pieces just like they are. Hang your necklaces or bracelets from the fingers.
now…..what should I do with the second one. Black and white? more color? hmmmmmm.
Isn’t this beautiful cover? Marie Segal’s new book the Polymer Clay Artist’s Guide will be released in August You can preorder it from Amazon today.
I’m delighted to say that one of my pen and ink pieces is included, thank you Marie. I can’t wait to see what yummy techniques you’re going to share with us.
Just so you know what to look for if you aren’t on the side of the world, this book is also being release in the UK at the same time and this is the cover for that printing.
You can follow Marie’s adventures on her blog, Art from my Heart. Or you can be friends with her on Facebook.
I always enjoy spending time with the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild. Their group has so much fun together and there are always new members to meet and old friends to greet.
Once again I want to thanks Polyform Products and Iris Weiss for sponsoring this class with a generous amount of Premo clay.
Many thanks to Kem Eid for all the bookwork, manning the ovens and help, Eva for sending out notices….and all the rest of the group for making the day a delight.
And because of Crazy Nancy we have a group picture. I reminded and she remembered. It takes two….:-) I also managed to get a photo or two of some of the work, thanks guys for reminding me before you left.
It sounds like I have a really bad memory, okay I do, but…I’m also busy at the end of class and before I know it, people are gone. Forgive me if I don’t show your work here, we had some great pieces and lots of fun as always. Send me your Pictures and I’ll update this post.
Here’s just some of the work….
 
Just a quick picture of a new pen and ink pendant. I’m getting ready to go spend some time with the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild. A little bit of ink and a little bit of clay……The main shape is a stamp by Barbara McGuire
These are talented people and I look forward to sharing some of their work next week. Have a get weekend and a fun 4th of July.
I have a slide exchange coming up and I have been experimenting with different designs. They have to be black and white with one color. The exchange is with a very talented group of polymer clay artists and I want to make something new and different. Different for me anyway.
This was the first idea that I had and I made a bracelet to go with it. I saw a pendent like this except instead of my dot-dot-dot cane there were real diamonds draped around. I like this one and got several compliments when I wore it.
Next I made these three, once again using my dot, dot, dot, cane in each one. I like the one in the middle the best.
 Yesterday I made these hoping they look a bit like ceramic bisque.
And then this “just a bit crazy” one that uses… what else but the dot, dot, dot, cane again. 
And the experiments continue.
I’ve always love fairytales and Alice in Wonderland, ( I wonder why) so I’m playing with some of the characters.
I tried some Sculpey original white clay for the rabbit. It takes the alcohol ink differently than the white Premo. I need to play with it more to see which I like better. There are pros and cons to both it seems.
I’ll let you know.
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