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Really, I'm serious...it is possible. I use lots of Sculpey III in my mokume gane so I'm always needing sheets of this stuff.
Sculpey at in the best conditions is an extremely soft clay. Add a warm environment or warm hands and you've got a potential gooey mess on your hands. I know I have warm hands...sometimes they are hot like FIYA!
Hey, now, huh-huh
Hey, hey, hey, no, (Ow, now)
Hey, now, huh-huh
Hey, hey, hey, no
Fire (Uh) [Uh]
Fire (It’s all about) [Uh, uh]
Fire (Woo, woo, woo)
Fire
Sorry bout that but couldn't resist tossing a little Ohio Player's "Fire" lyrics in there.
Ok, back to the lovable mushy sticky Sculpey III . those of you that have been working with different brands of polymer clay, probably groan at the though of using Sculpey III and scream in horror even considering putting it through a pasta machine.
But it can be done...with out you having to use choice words as you disassemble you pasta machine trying to get out the 3/4 of the package that has gotten jammed up in there.
You really only need three things to create a thin sheet of sculpey using a pasta machine:
1. acrylic rod or roller
2. Patience (huh, what....don't worry I'll explain what I mean by this)
3. Wax or deli paper
How to do it and keep your sanity
1. Let's start with the stickiest, mushiest offender of the Sculpey III family (can I get some dramatic music inserted here)....translucent!
Ok no body head for the hills, it will be alright.
The suspect:
2. Start by flattening the translucent with an acrylic rod or whatever you usually use to flatten clay. Oh, you may want to take it out of the package first.
3. Roll the flattened sheet through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. The fold the sheet and roll flat again with the rod. Here's when you insert some of that patience. Remember that sculpey turns to mush, so instead of immediately sticking it back in the pasta machine, let it sit a minute or two. Then roll it through the thickest setting repeating this entire step 2 or 3 more times, remembering to let the clay rest.
4. Reduce the setting in the pasta machine by 1. Roll the sheet of clay through the pasta machine again and then let the sheet rest. Repeat reducing the setting, rolling through the pasta machine and resting until you reach about the mid point of setting on your pasta machine. (My pasta machine goes from 1-9, with 1 being the thickest. So I do this until I reach setting 4 or 5. It will depend on how warm my krapht room is. If is pretty warm. I'll stop at 4)
5. Cut a piece of the clay sheet. I generally work in 4-5 inch lengths. Now you want to grab your wax paper and tear off a strip of paper about 2 to 3 times longer than the legnth of you clay. This will let your clay elongate on the wax paper...otherwise you'll be digging clay out of your pasta machine anyway.
I fold the paper in half lengthwise then once again. I cut just enough of the folded long edge off so that the strip fits into my past machine.
(cut waxed paper.jpg)
6. Place you clay on the wax paper about 1 inch from the bottom of the paper. Add the 2nd piece of paper on top of your clay.
7. Feed the bottom of the paper through the pasta machine just until the clay hits the rollers. Now turn the pasta machine to the next smaller setting.
8. Roll just a bit of the clay through. Then separate the clay from the wax papers and begin rolling the clay through. Insert a little more patience and let the clay rest a moment or two.
9. Remember the setting you are on, then open you pasta machine back up to a setting large enough for the bottom of the paper to fit in again. Now go to next lower setting than you started with at the beginning of this step. Separate just the top sheet from the clay and Again roll the clay trough.
If at any time you get one of these pesky puckers, just separate the clay and bot sheets of paper again and roll through. Uh-huh you know the routine...let the clay rest
10. Continue to reduce the setting, separating the top sheet, rolling through and letting the clay rest until you have reached your desired thickness.
You have now just beat Sculpey III at it's own game. No more sticky, gunked up pasta machine.
Hope this helps.
Went sleep got the better of me and I completely forgot about it. Fast forward to the next afternoon after I get home from work, I go to the freeze to pull out some salmon to cook....and I'm standing there trying to figure out what the heck is the bowl of frozen water in here.
Well Duh? Who'd thunk water would freeze if left in the freezer that long.
- Mood:
amused
I haven't named this lady yet...I'm open for suggestions, if anyone has any.
This was a difficult piece to sand. She's about 20" long. and the scarf has lots of hills and valleys. I had to be extra careful when sanding her so that I didn't break the scarf. But I managed to get her done and ta-da....here she is!
I made her some time ago, but had been putting off sanding because of the challenge she presented. I can't remember what brand of clay I used for her, but I'm pretty sure the backing for the scarf is Kato polyclay. The mokume gane is probably a mix of premo and kato with some silver leaf thrown into the slab.
- Mood:
sad
http://www.overstock.com/Clothing/Carlo
It has been sooooo long since I've bought a pair of shoes. At least 4 months. Yea, ya heard me right....4 months. Must be some kind of new record for me.
You know, I think i want both of these too:
http://www.overstock.com/Clothing/G
Time to clean out the shoe closet so some new ones can fit in.....not that I have a lot of pairs of shoes mind you....{looks around for the lightening strike}
So for the past couple of weeks or so, some pretty great kids came over to “clay” with me….and man are they awesome. They are the children of several of my friends and are very dear to my heart.
Ok now on to the good stuff...be sure too click on the pictures to go over to my flickr page and check out the closeup details on these pieces.
Let me start by introducing the players:
Diva “R” is the first artist and you can’t help but to be jealous of her because she’s all that. She sassy (in a good way only), smart and creative. WOW, what a combination. She’s got some cool sculpting skillz. Hey Diva “R” the next time we play in the clay, I need for you to teach me how to make figurines like yours.
She is also the texture queen...check out these pieces:
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Diva “K” is up next and she’s also very smart and creative. She is like me and likes color. Girlfriend puts together these cool collages. I’m thinking I need one of them for my wall. And, she is quick to uses what’s around her to make her art more stable. Now that’s what I call resourceful.
Now are you as clever as Diva "K"? She used toothpicks to make her piece sturdy:
Check out the detail in this sculpture, loving the bow topper:
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Diva “S” has been claying with me a little longer the others. But she is also smart and very creative. She can take some left over clay and work it into a masterpiece. Diva “S” took most of her pieces with her before I got to photograph them, but believe me they are awesome. She has got the marbling technique mastered.
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Prince “D” is the dude of the bunch…and he’s “da man”! Watch out all you clay-mation wannabes, Prince “D” is on the scene and he is in charge. Like the others, he is very smart and creative. And his inspirational work just makes you want to cry, it’s really touching.
Ok, pull out your tissue, this is so precious, you may cry:
Now, I was not able to get a good image of the writing on the angel, but it says "Love 4 the Lord. In God we Trust."
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These guys started using Sculpey III, but their work is so great and complex, they need a stronger clay. I think this class has graduated to Premo. We’ve got a little to learn about conditioning clay, but they catch on super fast and I’ll probably have it a little pre-conditioned anyway. Hey, I just thought of something….their parents are doing any claying…..hmmm I’ll have them condition the clay, that give us more time to play in the clay. By George, I’m brilliant. {Takes a bow}
Also, for the next go around, they’ll all be pleasantly surprised. I purchased a new pasta machine, so now I have 3. One of these will go into their clay tool box for their play.
{Whispers} Shhhhhh….next time, they’ll get to add stuff in their clay. I won’t tell them what, but they’ll have a ball. Watch for their next set of work to have lots of “bling”. I've given them their own little corner on my flickr site....so check back now and then to see the marvelous work they've done. Da Kidz Kreative Korner
I've been trying to convince folks of how much fun sanding is, but alas, there have been no takers.
{Sigh} I'm on 800 grit and only plan to go up to 1200. Hopefully by Friday, I'll be done.
But a minor...no make that a major miracle happened this weekend. I FINALLY GOT IT! I CAN NOW INTENTIONALLY MAKE A SWIRLY!
My new theme song: {Gotta picture me in a leotard and leg warmers Flashdance style} "She's a maniac, a maniac, for sure. And she's swirling like she's never swirled before!"
No, no, no....let's leave the leotards alone (keeping the leg warmers though.) Jump to something a little funkier "Girl get your swirl on. Get your swirl on!"
Problem is, now that I can swirl, I can't seem to stop. Help I've swirled and I can't get up...
- Mood:
confused
You’ll notice most of my creations involve Mokume Gane. This technique is a favorite of mine because one slab can generate and endless number of patterns. When you look at a mokume gane piece and come back and look a few minutes later, you’ll notice something different about the pattern. (Plus I tend not to follow instructions as written and mokume gane is pretty much stack and slice….can’t mess that up to bad can I? ;) )
Mokume Gane (pronounced "moe-KOO-may GAH-nay"), translated as “wood eye”, is an ancient Japanese metal working technique developed in the 17th century by Denbie Shaomi to decorate swords belonging to the legendary samurai warriors. The beautiful wood-grained ring patterns quickly made their way into other areas of decoration, especially the jewelry world.
To see the striking work in the metal world, please check out the following links. It gives you a greater appreciation of the work in Polymer clay when you see the technique done in metal work.
http://www.mokume-gane.com/Pages/What_is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokume-gane
The versatile nature of polymer clay has allowed it’s users to replicate the beautiful patterns created by traditional mokume gane metal working artist. In it simplest form, this is achieved by rolling thin sheets of clay, usually on a pasta machine (but can be done without one) and stacking them. Small ball of clay are placed under the slab to create hills and valleys. Thin slices are then taken from the top of the slab to reveal the mokume gane pattern.
However, polymer clay allows artist to take mokume gane to another level. PC enthusiasts have found that there is no limit as to what other mediums you can add to the mokume gane slabs to create infinite patterns. Metallic leaf, paints, inks, mica powders, glitters are amongst some of the most popular choices. Mossy Owl (Michael) has created a top 10 list of popular additions to polymer clay mokume gane. See http://mossyowls.blogspot.com/2007_07_01
Also you don’t have to use the balls of clay to create hills and valleys. Simply poking holes into the slab and then compressing, will also help to create a pattern. Rubber stamps can be impressed into the top of the slab and the slab then sliced away to create beautiful patterns. Clay shape cutters can also be used. Again an endless number tools can be used tools can be used to create a mokume gane pattern.
There are some Polymer clay artist out there that should be noted for their mokume gane creations. This list is by no means complete these are just a few of my favorites, so if you know of another noteworthy artist please add them to the list.
I’ve already mentioned Mossy Owl. However, please take a moment to visit her flickr website. http://www.flickr.com/photos/93262411@N0
Juile Picarello’s use of opaque colors in mokume gane are simply breath-taking. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8528368@N08/
http://www.yhdesigns.com/
Ruth Tarragano is another polymer clay artist that creates stunning mokume gane pieces. She creates beautiful stones made of pebbles collected from the
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=510
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruth-tarrag
http://ruth-t.blogspot.com/
I am a member of a flickr group for Mokume gane lovers. http://www.flickr.com/groups/mgpc/pool/. This group is made up of many very talented folks that have a love for this technique. So when you have a moment, browse through and check out the great works of this group.
Interested in trying to create some Mokume Gane yourself? You can just Google polymer clay and mokume gane and you’ll find dozens and dozens of how-to’s.
In the meantime, I’ll paste some of my favorite tute links for Mokume Gane:
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/mokume
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclop
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/mini_m
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/mar200
http://www.thepolyparrot.com/mudpile.htm
http://www.artistcrafts.com/polyclay/tut
http://www.good-night-irene.com/mywork.h
http://www.polymerclayweb.com/this_n_tha
- Mood:
energetic
Not sure why, but I decided to call her Sophie.
These scarves that have some dimension to them are difficult to sand. However thanks to Joyce's little sanding tool, the job was a lot easier.
The white clay in the mokume gane started buring. I bake these on ceramic tiles so they will hold their shape and the tile gets extra hot. I forgot to add cardboard and card stock under the scarf. You can't really tell that it's burned, it actually looks good, more muted in color.
Well, once I bake this little lady, she's gonna give me some issues when it comes to sanding. The sheet ended up thinner than I'd planned and even though I started with a pretty smooth sheet, I pretty much mess that up, trying to get the scarf arranged the way I wanted.
She's hasn't been baked yet. I love the way the scarf turned out. I'm using Kato Polyclay as the backing and the mokume gane is made from Sculpey III and Fimo Soft (next time I'll probably uses polyclay in the mokume gane). You'll definitely want to use a clay with some body that will hold it's shape. I didn't even use forms to hold the scarf in place and it's been sitting overnight and hasn't slumped at all.
- Mood: excited
(Cat is working on a tutorial for these, so when she posts it, I'll drop a link on the blog for anyone that wants to give it a try.)
These are made with Fimo Soft translucent clay, iridescent flakes and the green ones have alcohol inks.
I am really digging this piece. I love the color depth and the sparkly flakes. Still gotta buff it some more to bring out more shine.
This latest MG slab is called "Tequila Sunrise". My margatritas, better know by my friends as "Des-a-ritas" were actually the inspiration for this piece....a Peach-Mango one to be more specific.
Who says nothing good comes from drinking, my muse was very bubbly and creative.
See the Tequila Sunrise Mokume Gane for addtional pictures.
- Mood: bouncy
Kosta Boda ain't cheap, but I got it at a steal on base at Fort Knox.
The Lady of the Lake was made with Fimo Soft polymer clays in: emerald, peppermint, windsor blue and tanslucent, sliver leaf sheets, and alcohol inks in stream, lettuce and eggplant. There is something funky about the emerald, the color in the raw clay stains everything. I thought it might be the one bar I had, so I opened the others and they are that way too. Haven't had this problem with emerald before so must be a bad batch.
Anyway, I ran the clay sheets on the two thinnest settings on the pasta machine. On several of the silver leaf sheets I randomly dropped the alcohol inks. I then stacked the sheets, always topping the sliver leaf with a translucent sheet. I trim the sides of the log and ball them into small beads to use on the undrside of the slab. This is what creates the mokume gane pattern. The slab should look something like this when stacked:
I began slicing the slab after letting it rest for about an hour (probably should let it rest a little longer, but I'm always to anxious to see what the slices look like). They were beautiful.
The slices were then applied to a sheet of windsor blue. I usually roll with and acrylic brayer to smooth the sheet and then send it through thickest settings on the pasta maker. The sheets always look so yummy, I'm tempted to bake them as is.
Close up before baking:
Close up after baking:
- Mood: pleased
When you go....and yes that's when and not if (make it a priority if you haven't already), be sure to experience it all. No two views of the falls are alike. You can walk as little as 5 feet and it's completely different.
