Saturday 24 August 2013

Latest polymer clay jewellery experiments

Not content with finishing my rabbits project, I have also been enjoying experimenting with polymer clay, having seen some new techniques and equipment which I wanted to try out.  Above is a Sutton slice (named after the creator) which is made using an unmounted stamp which you push the clay into and then cut it flush with the surface, then use another piece to pull it out of the stamp. (That probably makes no sense, but there are tutorials on the internet if you are interested).  It creates a highly textured, patterned surface.
 I have also been trying new cane techniques, such as spiral and wrapped.  Any offcuts were made into beads.
 This pattern was made by wrapping thin pieces of two colours of clay in a wave pattern.
 This is a kaleidoscope cane, made into a repeating pattern - well named, I think.
 These were some offcuts from the second pendant, but I liked the colours, so made another repeating pattern using blocks of the colours.
 You may remember this scabious which I saw at the Market Rasen Open Gardens.  It made me think of a Ginger Rogers dress and I said at the time that I would like to try to make a pendant, inspired by it.
 Here are two pendants, using a simple technique of blending colours into each other.  I didn't quite get the colours to be a perfect match for the scabious, but the end result was pleasing.
 Another new technique, the Stroppel cane (again named after the creator).  It is a good way to use up ends of canes.  The pendant on the right has a very 1980s feel to me - it makes me think of leg warmers and leggings for some reason!  That one was made by putting the Stroppel canes through my clay roller so that the pattern became wider.
 This was the simplest new technique, but I think it is my favourite.  It is stamped with an unmounted stamp and then a teal/blue/green mica powder was applied to the top surface which highlighted the pattern.  I have now got lots of different colours of mica powder so am going to see what they look like on different background colours.
Finally, some beads made from offcuts. 
I have also found another new technique using alcohol inks which can make lovely backgrounds and can then be stamped over...watch this space.

14 comments:

  1. Wow Ellie, how pretty!! Love how all the colours work with each other.
    It looks so smooth and tactile, doesn't it?
    You are a very clever lady! Love from Mirjam.

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    1. Dear Mirjam
      Thank you. I am really enjoying all the experimenting with different things and am also improving my technique as I practise. I still need to work on getting the surface really smooth, but I think that will come in time. Polymer clay really suits me as I do like tactile crafts.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  2. You clever thing, those are lovely, especially the 'Sacbious' one on the left, that is delicious. Do you make your own canes? You can tell that I know nothing about this medium!

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    1. Dear Toffeeapple
      Thank you. Yes, I do make my own canes, which are simply rolled up clay 'sausages' in different patterns such as spiral, bulls eye, kaleidoscope, stained glass etc. You can also buy canes which other people have made, as the clay will store (in a type 5 plastic box) for ages. It means that there is very little waste and that canes can be used in lots of different designs. The clay itself is like Fimo, only the one I use is called Sculpey. Once the designs are made, the clay pieces are baked at a really low temperature and then, once cool, can be varnished or left as they are. There are some amazing polymer clay artists out there, using the clay to make all sorts of things, as it is a very versatile medium and it has a huge following in the USA. If you're interested, an internet images search can find some amazing work.
      I am looking forward to improving my skills as I practise more.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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    2. Thank you Ellie, I shall investigate other images - I love to see originality at work.

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    3. Dear Toffeeapple
      You're welcome. Lisa Pavelka and Donna Kato are two makers that immediately spring to mind (they have designed their own stamps and/or range of clay and have both written books), but there are hundreds (probably thousands) of others out there. Enjoy investigating!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  3. They are gorgeous, such pretty colours and patterns.

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    1. Dear Anne
      Thank you. I love working with polymer clay as there is so much you can do with it. Sometimes you can create something lovely almost by accident, which is always a nice surprise.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. beautiful work! I must research some of these techniques

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    1. Dear Wendy
      Thank you and welcome! I have only recently discovered these techniques but am enjoying experimenting. The internet has lots of examples in video form - Lisa Pavelka, Donna Kato et al. Enjoy!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  5. HI ,What to videos call to use polymer clay out of the the stamp s like u mention in the top pic of the flower .

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    1. Dear Monique
      Hello, welcome and thank you for your comment. The video where Lisa Pavelka shows the Sutton Slice (and a couple of other techniques can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI6dCXA0Zd4. If you copy and paste the address into your browser, it should work. If not, write in 'Lisa Pavelka texture stamps' and that should find it. I hope you have fun experimenting!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  6. Wow these are fabulous. A whole lot of techniques I am going to have to research....

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    1. Dear leeanne
      Thank you. I discovered the other day that I have been using polymer clay for a year now and my techniques have improved so much since my first rather chunky pendants. I love experimenting with new techniques and am looking forward to finding more.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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