Julie Eakes

Thin Is Great For People - Not for Canes

2012-01-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

I have a wolf update for you. So I remade my wolf cane. This time I gave up on the play dough and filled with a background. Now I decided to keep the cane thin like last time. This made the cane much easier to make but not easier to reduce. I was really feeling optimistic since the reduction of the previous wolf went pretty well. Well not so much this time. I packed the cane with scrap clay as before but it just didn't go well. In the picture you can see all the sections of cane that have the gray scrap clay coming through. There was 10 ounces of clay in the original cane and I ended up with 3 ounces of usable cane. Oh the waste. Oh well. It is what it is. At least I have enough for my Red Riding Hood cane.

First Lesson for 2012 - Don't Be Stupid

2012-01-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. As we tend to do each year I came up with some new resolutions. One seems to be the same every year - lose some weight. Another for me are to update this blog. I really need to update the slide show that appears on the right. My flickr pictures are all old so I need some work there.

I have a lot of ideas for canes this year. I thought I'd do some with a fairy tale theme. I love the new show on ABC "Once Upon a Time". So I have a preliminary sketch and I dive into the clay. (This also keeps my hands away from the food!) I spend most of the first day of 2012 working on a section of the cane. It is of a wolf that I hope to work into the larger "Red Riding Hood" cane. Trying to figure out how to do this I decide to keep the cane very shallow. It is between 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. This allows me to cut into the clay using an exacto blade. Everything is going fine. I build the cane.

Then I get stupid. I really don't know exactly how this segment is going to fit into the whole cane so I have this brilliant idea to use the play dough technique. If you haven't tried this before, this is where you wrap the cane with play dough, reduce the cane and then remove the excess clay. I stupidly thought I would be able to fill in the reduced wolf with the selected background color later. You can see the play dough is the orange around the wolf. The cane measure 9 X 4 X 1/2 inches. I pack the entire clay with scrap clay. This is necessary because of the shallow depth of the cane. (at least it is necessary for me)

The good news is that I learned that I can reduce a cane this shallow but the bad news is that I learned that it will be too hard to repack the reduced cane later. The play dough did work great so I will keep that in mind for future projects. I may try baking the wolf pieces and see if I can slice off the baked clay. I have a little bit of the cane still encased in scrap clay that I should be able to slice off, soak off the play dough and then use for something.

I have to start the cane over but I did learn some lessons today. Stay tuned and I hope to post more about my Red Riding Hood cane.

Grand Mama What Big Eyes You Have

2011-11-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

I never knew my maternal grandmother but I always loved this little pin that belonged to my mother. It was a picture of my grandmother when she was just a girl. I also always wondered why she didn't pass on her good looks and peaches and cream complexion to me. I decided I would try to do a cane of her. Like most of my canes it was not an easy thing. I have talked about my recent frustration with the inconsistency of clay. I happened on some Fimo classic on sale and bought up a bunch of cream colored clay. I liked the feel of it in the package but I wasn't sure how it would do mixed with my Kato. I did some preliminary testing and the color seemed to be OK after baking and it also took the higher Kato temperatures. I liked working with it. The clay was firm but would stick together when I wanted and yet I could pull it apart for "surgeries" that were required. Of course the big test will be when I try to reduce this "mother". (pun intended) I will let you know how it goes with the reduction.

I built the cane in six sections. You can see them all together as slices in the one photo. On previous mosaic canes my extruded pieces were made up of combinations of color. I decided to extrude individual colors to maintain the more muted palette of the pin. I don't think I quite captured her beauty but I hope she is looking down and appreciating the effort her granddaughter made.

Not sure of the market value of this cane but since I don't sell too often I guess it won't affect my pocketbook too much. Of course everyone in my family can expect something made out of it for Christmas whether they want it or not.

Like a Proud Parent

2011-09-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

I started this post about a month ago. (as it was recently brought to my attention) I was going to try to post from my Ipad. I couldn't figure out how to post pictures from my ipad so the first word was as far as I got. Then my Ipad decides to keep losing wireless. UGH!! So I am back to my computer to try to finish this post.

As I was saying.....I felt like a proud parent after my face cane class that I gave to my local guild. They all did such a good job I thought I'd post some pictures. That isn't to say my other students haven't done as well, but I was just slack about taking pictures. Now a good parent would remember whose canes these are....I think one belongs to Sharon Sully and the other's Cheryl Smith. I apologize if I got this wrong and I am sure I will hear about it.

The black and white necklace picture was sent to me by Kim Koval Keane who made it after purchasing my book, Classic Clay. I thought she did a great job. She also has some Zentangle pieces that are really nice.

I am planning on going to the opening at RAM in Racine in a few weeks. Since I am the NPTIPC I knew I had to make a stupendous piece to wear. This is also so that the museum people recognize my great talent and insist on putting a piece of my work in their museum. (We can all dream can't we?!) I hope to have pictures up soon.

Like

2011-09-18T18:45:00.001-07:00

A Frame is Worth a Thousand Words?

2011-07-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

Geeesh! It's been since May 1st since I posted. I better get on the stick or I will lose the multitudes (well... the 200 plus) who follow this blog.

I have to say I have been busy at least. I took a 16 day cruise which started in Rome, went around Spain and ended in France. Had a wonderful time and actually got inspired. (not hard to do) Here is a picture of a cathedral in Florence, Italy. I was inspired by the many layers/moldings. Not sure what the architectural term is. I thought that I would give them a try for some of my mosaic faces. I like the way they turned out. It took several steps to make them.

First I had to make some canes. Now I wanted them to be detailed but I knew I was going to reduce them down so it was a challenge deciding the right amount of detail so that all the work could still be seen at the tiny size. Of course some of it is lost but I think of it like my eyeballs in my faces, I know it's there and I convince myself it adds to the cane. I have some books on renaissance designs and borrowed from there for some of the designs. I need to add to my stash of canes if I keep this up.

I made each "frame" separately so that I could sand them before putting them together. I put them together (another baking) I added canes along the sides of last frame. (another baking)

Added the back (another baking) and then sanded again.

As I said I liked the way they turned out. They are a little thick and I may try to scale them down some more.

I have to go condition some clay for a face cane class I am giving my local guild this weekend.

Until next time.

Don't Worry. We'll Fix It In Post.

2011-05-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

As I told you in my last post I was going to work on a Pop art face cane. After I drew the sketch the look on her face made me think she had a sad look. This got me to thinking about a swap that I had signed up for. I had thought about molding an Egyptian pharaoh type face that I would put canes on, Then I thought about the 20 masks that I had to make and I decided I would make this cane. (after all I'm Julie Eakes face caner!) I decided I would call it "Mask in the City".

Well the idea was that this was going to be easier. Laugh laugh! Now I've written about the new mush that they call Kato clay. I know my students have had problems with it and I have problems with it. The white I was using was very soft. I tried leeching it but you know that doesn't do it right either. I plowed on and made the cane. You can see a picture of the cane prior to being reduced. I thought it looked OK. Alright I know what you are thinking. "what were you thinking with those color choices for the curtains"? I'll admit I was using up some clay that I had leftover and I wasn't really happy with it. It had taken me days to build it and I just wanted it finished.

The next morning I reduced the cane. Now this was a rather tall and slender cane so expected it might be a little difficult to reduce. It seemed like it was going fine. I was beating my clay on the bathroom floor. All seemed to be coming along fine.

Then I cut it open to take a look. You can see the results in the second picture. The corner had disappeared, she had a big eye and I don't know what was up with the cityscape behind her. It looked like a nuclear plant behind her. Well that would explain the mutant big eye! There is no explanation for my color choices. Before I reduce my large canes I put scrap clay on the ends. The idea is that the scrap clay would end up being the distorted part and there would be more of the "good" cane. I decided to slice into the scrap clay. You can see in the picture that the softer (mostly white clay) side of the face bulged out faster into the scrap clay. This is why she looks like a big eyed mutant monster.

So much for easy slices for my mask swap. But fear not friends there is help for this cane. Fortunately it is a stylized version of a face. (although for some reason I kept thinking of Celine Dion when I was building it. Sorry Celine!) After reduction I had about 12 - 14 inches of cane. Didn't end up with anything close to that in usable cane. I cut off about a two inch segment and pushed in the smaller eye side. This made this side bigger. You can see in the picture how I did this. I then evened up the ends. It isn't perfect solution but by doing this I removed some of the excess clay in the darker half (the side with less white and therefore stiffer clay). Now I knew that there would be more tweaking necessary of each slice. So long easy swap idea. Fortunately with my handy dandy slicer I was able to make thins slices. For each of these I put onto a backing of black clay. I could then "tweak" the cane some more. Mostly around the eyes. Once I got her looking fairly normal I baked her face down. I knew that there would be an uneven back and I wanted the face part to be as flat as possible. Again I knew that now I would have to sand each piece. UGH! (**&%#$ Kato clay)

I finally got twenty slices looking "OK" so I can continue with my swap. Since I ended up chopping off most of the cityscape I have renamed her "mask of a lonely woman". I hope my swappees are alright with it. Still have some sanding to do. UGH! (#$%^& Kato!) I just wanted to share my frustrations and my attempts at corrections with you.

Take care.

I don't know much about art but I know what I like

2011-04-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

First I have to say that I am happy with the sales of my class on CraftEdu. Thank you to all of you who have taken it. I haven't heard anything so I am going to assume that y'all loved the class and made beautiful canes. And if you didn't I surely wouldn't write about that here! It took me a long time to do the class and I have an idea for another class. This one will be more project oriented. And hopefully won't take me as long to finish. Of course I have several other projects in the works so there is no telling when I will get that class up. Stay tuned if you are interested.

If you are reading this (and it amazes me that people do read this) you know that I am into face canes. I like doing face canes because they are a challenge. I don't do shows to sell my work but I do put some items up for sales at various events that I might be teaching at or attending. Recently I was teaching at Cabin Fever in Baltimore. I have to admit I am glad that I don't do shows because I would hate trying to figure out what people like. Now I had a few items made up with my latest mosaic cane, the birth of Venus. Now this is my favorite cane. Up until now my favorite had been my African woman. I sold only one piece. Not too surprising since I have decided to up my prices a bit. But what surprised me was the reaction of my donated auction piece. This was made out of a cane I made last year. It is a mostly black and white "graphic" image. I think I could have sold several if I had had any with me. People commented that it was more wearable which I guess is true. But the amount of work that went into the birth of Venus cane and the end result (at least to me) puts it up there as a work of art. (sorry if I sound pompous here) I still like my mosaics better but I have decided to do a "pop art" piece next. I think I just wanted to be more whimsical not just bending to the desires of the public. (But hey if I sell some that wouldn't be bad either) I guess the other thing is getting that thicker skin that is required when people look at your work. Everyone in Baltimore was complimentary of my work but I have to tell you a story. As I have told you I am a bit of a media whore and I check my blog stats to see how many hits I get each day. Well not long ago I had large increase. I checked Polymer Clay Daily which is what has caused bumps in the past but that wasn't it. The best I could determine was that I had gotten mentioned on a Russian website that must be big in polymer clay. After a while I found the link. I had to use Google translator to translate a comment. Basically it said that my mosaic "wasn't that hard to do just tedious". I had a few comments for the author (I don't think Google would have been able to translate what I said!) It just brings me back to how grateful I am that I don't have to sit at table and listen to people remark on my work. My hat is off to those off you who go through that.

If you are still reading I have to assume you have no life. Sorry that I got to rambling on this post. Now go work on some clay!

New Class on CraftEdu

2011-03-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a long time coming but I finally finished my class for CraftEdu.com, 5 from 1 Cane Building Class. It shows you how to make five complex canes from one simple cane. Starting tomorrow for 24 hours you will be able to purchase the class for a reduced rate. I think it is a good class. It has over an hour of detailed instruction. The class will be posted here sometime tomorrow (3/29/2011)

New Pieces

2011-02-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to showcase my canes in larger form so you can see the individual canes better. I decided to put them in frames and I really like them. The smaller pieces are pins that can be worn as pendants. I get torn when it comes to putting these canes into finished pieces. Part of me says make some beads or something else to go with the focal bead but the other half of me says that something else would detract from the face. I think of them as the "new cameo". I made some simple ribbon cords to use if you want to wear them as a necklace. I hope you like them.

Here She Is!

2011-02-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

Somebody got it right. My latest cane is of Botticelli's Venus. You can tell that she is a favorite of mine. I had previously done a cane of her as shown in the second picture. For the mosaic version I opted to make it in the 6 segments which allowed me to take a couple of slices off before I joined the pieces prior to reduction. I cut off the end as I had done on the da Vinci cane. Because I built it in pieces I was not totally happy with the way the pieces looked when I put them together. You can sort of see where the segments were joined. I will try to remember to post a picture of this at some time. I am happy to report that the reduction went well. I was a little worried because some of my Kato clay of late has been a bit mushy. I don't know why the companies can't come up with a consistent product. I really think I am going to have to give fimo classic a try. I am trying to get a few finished pieces with this new cane to take with me to Cabin Fever Clay Festival where I am teaching next Saturday.

Final two pieces

2011-02-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

No guess yet on what my latest mosaic is. I will tell you that I did the reduction this morning and she came out beautifully. I have to say she is my favorite cane so far. I will be debuting pieces for sale at Cabin Fever Clay Festival in Maryland in a few weeks. That is if I can get some pieces finished by then.

parts 3 and 4

2011-02-08T20:31:00.000-08:00

OK Here are the next two parts. Can you tell what it is yet? I'll be posting the final two parts soon. I am actually going to try to do the reduction tomorrow.

One step closer

2011-02-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

Here is the next part of my latest mosaic. Can you tell what it is? I ended up having to replace quite a few pieces in this one. I am a little concerned that I don't have the contrast right. I actually have 5 of the six segments completed I just haven't taken their pictures yet. As usual I am worried that it is not coming out right. But I am pressing on.

The other picture is a credit card holder that I made for a friend of mine. I covered a bungee type card holder with a sutton slice veneer. It looks better in person. I wanted to show that I do more than just canes.

CaBezels

2011-01-31T22:13:00.000-08:00

My apologies go out to Wendy Orlowski for not writing about this sooner. I don't know if y'all know about cabezels or not. I was introduced to them at a retreat I was attending and fell in love with them right away. Wendy was nice enough to send me some to try out. I keep meaning to post some pictures of some of my finished pieces but I keep selling them before I get a chance to take pictures. I know I really need to work on that. I promise I will get some up on this site. If you have been following my blog you know that finishing is not my strong point. But I am getting better. Cabezels are nifty little molds that come in different shapes. They give you you the cabochon shape and then its corresponding "bezel". I like them because they are clear which lets you see thru them to aid in positioning your work before pressing them into the mold. If you find yourself "finishing challenged" like me give them a try. They can be found here.

Oops!

2011-01-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well I am 1/6th of the way thru with my next mosaic. Can you tell what it is? I have worked two weeks on it and this is what I have to show for it. Look back at my earlier post about a "leap of faith". I am tackling this cane in a different way. Instead of making the whole thing which will be too large for the slicer I have decided to build it in 6 segments. I can then take slices off of each segment before I put them together. Keep watching here for further segments to see if you can see her face take shape.

I have learned that there are times when the exact color of the selected extruded piece isn't that critical but there are times that it is. I decided that there were a couple of pieces that I didn't like but it was about 4 rows back in the cane. Fortunately I was able to pull it apart and replace the few extruded pieces with better ones. Hey, it's why I make the big bucks. (Insert alphabet code here like LOL or :) or OMGTFFW (OK I made that one up))

Happy New Year!

2011-01-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

So it's 2011. As I tell my kids...Odd years are always better than even. I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year's eve. Although it appears from my blog that I haven't been doing anything, I have been very busy. I leave tomorrow for Dallas, Tx to teach my face cane class. I am glad it was this weekend instead of last because I think both Charlotte and Dallas got hit with a snow storm. I know it may not seem much to you Northerners (which I was once) but for us Southerners is can be crippling. Everyone runs to the store to buy bread and milk. Whereas I know the two things I can't run out of are toilet paper and diet coke. But I digress...as far as my claying I have been in copy mode. I made a necklace for my daughter-in-law for Christmas that I stole the idea from Carol Blackburn. It was one of her spirally (is that a word?) type. I did write and tell her that I was stealing her idea. As I told her I thought my daughter-in-law would like her art better than mine. She did like it but I forgot to take a picture of it to show you. I have also been channeling Carol Simmons and her kaleidoscope canes. I have pictured several of the disks that I have made from a Carol inspired cane. My plan was to make some pendants for some friends. I got behind. They got nothing. Geesh what kind of friend am I?

I have started work on a new mosaic cane. I am excited about this one. It will be a few weeks before it is done. I am constructing it a little differently so that I will be able to get some slices of it before it gets reduced. I will keep you posted.

I also have pictured a collaborative piece that I worked on with Hollie Mion. Sorry it's not a better picture. I was too lazy to pull out the lights. I gave her some of my da Vinci cane and she mounted it in silver. I love the way it turned out. I am hoping to get into silver work. The silver clay kind because Santa brought me a kiln for Christmas. As I tell my children when they see all their loot under the Christmas tree, "I (They) must have been better than I remember this year!"

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. I will try to be better this year.

Christmas Gift Ideas

2010-11-27T13:37:00.000-08:00

So Thanksgiving is over. Anyone feeling overstuffed? It was a quiet one for me, just my son and husband. Did our traditional big meal and then fell asleep to "A Christmas Carol". Life is good!

Now it's on to the important stuff - Christmas shopping! Now if you are pressed for ideas or hints to give your significant other, let me help you. Why not ask for a "Face Cane Class" taught by yours truly. What a magnificent idea you say! Tell me more. Well there are two opportunities coming up in the near future to do just that. I will be teaching a two day Face Cane workshop in Texas on Jan 15 and 16, 2011. This is being hosted by the North Texas Polymer Clay Guild. This will be two fun filled and jam packed days where we will build a complete face cane. See the picture above. I really like these black and white graphic canes. You can easily add color punch with a border around or leave them plain when making your pendants and other jewelry. If you are interested in this class )and I think there are still a few spots left) contact Babette Cox at Babette@BabetteCox.com Here is a web page that tells more about it.

If you are on the East Coast I will be teaching a one day face cane class as part of Cabin Fever Clay Fest in Maryland on Feb 19. Come join me along with other polymer artists such as Judith Skinner, Jeff Dever, Sarah Shriver and more. (I just love having my name associated with such great artists) In this class we will building a cane with just the features of a woman. I have been to Cabin Fever many times as a student and it is very well run. To hear more go here.

These classes are not made for the beginning clayer, But if you have been claying awhile and you want to take your caning to the next level (and have one Hell of a good time) then ask your Hubby to give you a class with Julie Eakes for Christmas this year!

Niche Award Finalist

2010-10-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ok I don't know how to tell y'all something I find hard to believe. Today I received an email informing me that I am a finalist in the 2011 Niche Awards for polymer clay. I barely made the cut off for the entry but boy I am glad I did. I am very honored. The winners will be announced in Feb. These are the two pieces that I entered. I am not sure which one was selected. It has motivated me to get back to creating my own art. I have enjoyed teaching but it sure takes up a lot of time.

Speaking of teaching I just got back from Wisconsin and the Polymer Clay Fest. I had a great time. It was a small gathering but a good group. I had my first problem with TSA and clay. I had some clay that I needed for class in my carry on bag and they wouldn't let me take it thru. I told them I had taken clay on several flights but all they said was "well you're not taking it on this one". Insert expletive! That meant checking another bag (and $35) and going thru security for the second time. Insert expletive! Now don't we all feel safer now. Now I have two knee replacements so I am used to delays at security but coming home it was the first time I ever got a full body pat down. I had to listen to this woman explain how she was going to use the back of her hand for sensitive areas like my buttocks and breasts. Oh what fun. Yes you can insert expletive here too. I hated to tell her that I could have had a grenade between my boobs that she would not have felt but I didn't want to push it. I couldn't believe that they couldn't afford a metal detector wand. OK that's enough bitching about my flight. Back to the good news - A Niche Finalists Wow!

It's Here! It's Here!

2010-10-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Oh happy day! My Simmons Slicer is here! I got it put together and I was slicing away in no time. I have two retreats coming up that I am teaching at. (Clay Fest in Wisconsin and Clay Carnival in Vegas) Both are having swaps. Now if you know me at all you know I haven't even thought about what I am going to do for my swaps. Well after today I don't have to worry about it. This baby can slice up any cane into thin and even slices. It's just a matter of making the back and applying the slice. And I can get so much out of an inch of cane.
I have been working on finishing some pieces for sale at above mentioned retreats. I will definitely make use of my slicer. I will post some pics when I get them finished.
It's back to slicing.

Come See Me!

2010-10-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well it's only a few weeks until Cabin Clay Fest in Wausau, Wi. I will be teaching a caning class there. Kathryn tells me that there are still a few spots left so I hope y'all can join us. It's going to be a great time. (Of course it will! I will be there!) There is also a pre-confernece class with Jeff Dever. I have taken many classes over the years and I have to say that Jeff's class is one of the best that I have ever taken. I just love his style of polymner art and he is a wonderful instructor. I don't think he teaches many classes and you should really take advantage of the opportunity.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CLAY FEST GO HERE.

Other news - I am still waiting for my Simmon's Slicer. A few changes were made and I think it will be here soon. I can hardly stand the waiting. That's the good news. The bad news is I think that I have become allergic to something in my studio. It seems like I am well one week and then I work on a project and BAM! the nose starts running, I'm sneezing, sinus headache, etc. At first I thought it was the super glue but I wasn't using that the last time. I was baking though. Maybe my oven needs to cleaned out from all the polymer residue. Anybody else out there ever experience this?

I will be going to Asheville this weekend for our October Clay Play day. It has been a long time since I have been able to make a meeting so I am excited. It's a special day and is open to anyone if you are in the area stop by.

Check out this link that Cynthia Tinapple sent to me. I loved it.

That's all for now.

Finished Pieces

2010-09-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

I know it is rare for me to finish many pieces but here are two. One is a pendant the other a wall hanging. For the pendant I tried to give it a look of a framed masterpiece. I worked up some intricate caning for the "gilded" frame. The other is my "end piece" mosaic. I added it to a canvas that I covered with clay.

I just got back from a class with Kathleen Dustin. It was in Santa Fe and it was wonderful. She was trying to help us all find our own voice with our art. I came with an idea of doing an organic piece but after talking with Kathleen I had renewed vision of my mosaics. I only had a small section of my latest cane with me but I worked on some new shapes and designs with it. I left with a new plan for more mosaics. To tell you the truth it was hard working in Santa Fe because we were on this lovely porch overlooking the mountains. I know... life it hard sometimes.

I am back home now putting the finishing touches on my book and my class for craftedu.com. Yes there are still boxes to unload but I figure they aren't going anywhere!

Another SLICE of Heaven!

2010-09-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you have been following my blog you have read about my trials and tribulations over slicing one of my canes. Well you can see by the pictures that I have finally found a solution. Last May I met the Caner Extraordinaire Carol Simmons at a retreat. If you haven't seen her work you should crawl out of that rock that you are under and Google her. Her canes are amazing. Her technique is one that you want to slap yourself in the head over. (But you'll have to learn that from her. I was lucky that I heard her speak at Synergy this year.) Anyway, I was happy to be invited to her lovely home in Colorado. (Did you know that Denver, the Mile High city, is really flat??? I need to get out more. ... I know I digress.) Carol has been working with a friend and engineer on a new slicing machine. Well I almost slipped on my drool while using it. It is hard to explain how thin these slices can be. In fact, Carol kept asking me why I was dialing them up to be so "thick". I told her my brain just couldn't handle the really thin slices. Actually the makeup of the mosaics meant that they need to be a little "thicker" so as not to come apart. And by "thicker" I mean really thin. We put the largest cane I had with me which was my first mosaic cane. I'd say about 4 inches high. It sliced thru it like butter. Thin! Even! Easy! Drool! Drool! I have signed up to buy the first slicer. Now I don't think that this will be the must have item for all clayers but for me it was invaluable. Nothing worse than working three weeks on a cane to have it fall victim to crappy slicing. If you think about all you could do with thin, even slices you took will fall in love with this machine. Think of the things that you could cover. If you don't have equal slices when you go to apply them to an object you get distortion when smoothing them in. Or perhaps Mokume Gane is your love. Get your hanky out because I see drool coming. So far there are only two or three of these things in existence. I know we came up with a few modifications that need to be made. Ok now you have come to the end of this commercial... you know the part when you hear the bad news. I think it is going to sell for around $700. I bet that stopped the drool in mid-spit. For me it was worth it. Keep an eye on Carol's website for more information.

Mosaic in progress

2010-08-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been so nice with the comments about my latest cane. I thought I'd share this picture with you. It's not the greatest photo but you can see the scale of the cane a little better. The piece in the chair is the "dimensional" slice that I made with each row as I completed it. You can see the actual cane on the table to the right of the chair. When you see it in person it is much harder to see the image of the face up close but when you step back from it there it is.

Thanks again for all the nice words.

Success!

2010-08-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the reduced cane. The cane originally was about 7 by 8 inches. With less than 2 inches in depth. The slice on the right is about 2 inches high. I am happy. (I guess I have to go back to unpacking now!) Of course my next obstacle is slicing the booger. I am going to see a friend who has come up with a new slicer. I am going to bring some of my cane in hopes that she needs one to demo on. I'll let you know how it goes.

A Leap of Faith - DaVinci Mosaic

2010-08-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest mosaic cane. I am very pleased with the way she came out. I went with a more artistic interpretation with my use of colors. When I was building this cane I had to take a leap of faith that it was coming out right. At first when you just have a few lines it is hard to see the face. I remember when I had about 1/4 of the cane finished I had it sitting on my work table. When I came back to work on it and I turned on the light, from across the room I could see the face clearly. Of course up close it was difficult to see. Fortunately I had faith and kept working. As I said I am very pleased with the way she turned out. Since I had so much trouble with my last mosaic with taking a slice of the full size cane that this time I decided to save it by cutting off each line as I built it and saving it onto a sheet of clay. This resulted in a mosaic made up of uneven bits and pieces. I have included some pictures of this. One you can see from the end how uneven it is. Again from across the room the face is visible. I like the way the pieces are uneven. I hope you do too. I will try to reduce the cane tomorrow. Wish me luck.

I got my fix!

2010-07-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I got my fix of clay last night. I unpacked my dream machine and some clay. Unpacked enough boxes so I could set up my table and I got back to work on a new mosaic face cane that I started last May. Boy it felt good. For awhile I could forget the pile of boxes looming all around me.

Registration will begin soon for Clay Fest in Wisconsin this year. I will be teaching there for the first time this year. Jeff Dever is have a pre-conference workshop. I took his class at Cabin Fever last year and it was WONDERFUL! He was wonderful too. Very sharing with all of his techniques and he was also an excellent teacher. If you get a chance I recommend his class. (After you sign up for mine that is) I will be teaching a class I call "Falling for Caning". It will cover my new kaleidoscope technique using fall colors. The Festival takes place Oct 21-24. Go here to read more about it. I hope to see y'all there.

The Move Is Over - But not the work!

2010-07-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

OK first I must apologize for the look of my website. Something got screwed up and I can't seem to get the background image back up.

Now on the more non-clay related news, I have moved into the new house. 95% of the boxes ended upstairs in my craft room. That's because that's where they belong. OK 95 is a bit of an exaggeration. If you look at the pics you can see why I NEED 25 ft of heaven. I can't wait to get it unpacked but so far I haven't found my toothbrush yet so there are a "few" higher priorities.

I hope to post soon about teaching at the Fall Clay Fest in Wisconsin this October.

The Price Is Right!

2010-07-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have a free tutorial posted at Craftedu.com. It is on cane reduction. Go here to learn everything that I know about cane reduction. Ok not everything but a lot! Nothing earth shattering in it but for those new to polymer clay I think it will be helpful. I am still working on my 5 from 1 cane class. In between packing boxes. I can't believe how much s#!t I have accumulated over a mere 28 years. Although I was glad I was a saver when I found a note written by one of my sons when he was little. It said "You are the best Mom I've ever had". Awww! I love that boy. And yes I did keep the note! To Hell with throwing things away!

Come Join Me in Vegas

2010-07-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

As you know I am going to be teaching in Vegas this year at the Clay Carnival. Here is the class that I am going to be teaching. I am calling it "Kaleidoscope - the Next Generation". We will "boldly go" where no cane has gone before. I will show you how to make a simple cane and then turn that cane into several other canes. It is similar to my 5 from 1 Cane class that I hope to have up on Craftedu soon. Of course with the time and clay constraints I had to approach it in a different way. You will still end up with several coordinating canes that I think are quite special. So make you plans to come to Vegas Nov 4-7. Registration is now open. Go to ClayCarnival.com for more information. If you have never been to Clay Carnival you don't know what you've been missing. This is the year you should go. If you've been before (and I'm talking to you Rowdy Room) you already know what fun there is. I hope to see y'all there.

25 Feet of Heaven

2010-07-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well I am knee deep in cardboard boxes. I can't find anything. (actually I never could) The place is a wreck. (OK it's a wreck most of the time) We close on the house in a three weeks. I know I should be going through closets and drawers and throwing things away. I just can't seem to get going. It's the same thing when ever I try to clean. I always say I have ADD (as in Attention Deficit Disorder) when it comes to cleaning. I start packing one box. I see something needs to go into another room. I get up walk into that room. About this time I forget what I came in here for and start doing something else. My sister has always said I should "pretend" that I am moving which supposedly would make me do what I am failing to do right now. Pretend or real moving is a bitch. I keep reminding myself of the 25 feet of heaven that I will have at the new house. Pictured is the unfinished attic space that we plan to convert into my studio. It is 25 feet long. I assured my husband that ALL of my craft stuff will fit into this room. Man I hope that is true. I have stuff in just about every room of this house. How does this happen? Don't answer that. Have they ever made a polymer clay tool that I could live without? Not to mention hobbies of the past. This is where I should cut down but you know...ADD and all. I figure if it doesn't get done now it will when I unpack the boxes. I think there is a circle of Hell that has you in a room with endless cardboard boxes to open. 25 feet of heaven.. 25 feet of heaven. 25 feet of heaven. 25 feet of heaven. OK I feel better now. Back to the Hell...I mean the boxes.

Progress and Possibilities

2010-06-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

While I was away on vacation I heard some exciting news. I had won first place in the "Progress and Possibilities" contest for my "Mosaic Face Purse" in the function objects category. I also won third (by the judges) and first (by the members) for my art jewelry piece, mosaic pendant. You can go here to see all of the winners. Needless to say I was very happy about it.

I also have my Maasai woman necklace on display at the gallery in Lexington, Ma. I had a bit of a scare when it didn't arrive at the destination. Who knew that when you pay for insurance at the post office that that doesn't include tracking. If you want that you have to pay something more. Duh! If I want insurance doesn't it make sense that I want to know where it is? Of course no one at the PO suggested that to me. Fortunately it did show up at the PO in Lexington. I had the wrong zip code. OK it's the "first mistake I ever made".

I should have a free tutorial up on cane reduction at Crfatedu.com soon. The 5 in 1 class is coming along between packing for our move.

Sneak Peek (OK I'm an idiot - a sneak peak would be a hidden mountain)

2010-06-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek of the new CraftEdu.com class that I am working on. It is going to be on cane construction. (It's a shocker, I know) I will teach step by step how to build a fairly simple cane. Then I will show you how to manipulate that cane into five other canes. You can see the finished canes here. I was pleased with the way they came out and I hope y'all will like it too.

I still haven't had a chance to work on "my own" clay projects. I have another mosaic that I started working on at the retreat last month, but I haven't touched it since I have been home. I also need to post some pictures of the fantastic trades I made. Very happy with those.

My book is at the publishers. They are talking about making it longer than originally planned. I take this to mean they were pleased with what I had done. Unfortunately it will mean it won't be out until later. I'll keep you posted.

Turning the Tables on Cynthia

2010-05-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm Baaaaack! Well I just spent a fabulous week on a clay retreat. What can be better than spending a week claying with friends, having a bell ring when food is ready (with no dishes to wash!) and learning new and exciting techniques from some talented clay artists? Not much! Throw in some chocalate and you one happy camper! I thought I take the opportunity to turn the tables on Cynthia Tinapple. I am sure that most of you know her from her website PolymerClayDaily.com. She has been nice enough to feature some of my work so I figured the least I could do would be to repay the kindness. While on retreat (when she wasn't stuck on page 23) she was working on polymer rocks. These were similar to rocks you might find on hills or mounds. Or perhaps found between crevices or creases in the well formed earth. Some may even be found deep in the valleys. Although some may find smooth and rounded rocks to be of their liking, Cynthia prefers flat rocks with petroglyphs. When strung together, Cynthia's rocks create a lovely curve. We all hope Cynthia rocks on with her stones. Although I am sure there are some who'd prefer to get their rocks off.

My class is up!

2010-05-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

My class at craftedu.com is up and ready for purchase. Yea!! Like everything in life it took longer than I thought. It was bad enough having my fingernail nubs in it but recording my voice was like fingernails on a blackboard. (If I had fingernails that is!) What is it about hearing your own voice that is just not right? I tried hard to stay away from what I call a preachers cadence. You know what I mean. When preachers get that dah, dah, dah daaaaah cadence. Of course I did leave a little Eakes humor in there. I didn't want to make it too dry. As I said Donna suggested I make it a for pay class. It's only $25 and I think you get your money's worth out of it. There are some other great classes at craftedu.com so AFTER you have taken my class you should give them a try. I hope to get some more complex caning classes up there soon. I am going to take a break from claying for others and clay for me for a change. The book is in the mail, my first class is done and I am heading for a retreat next week. Let's have another Yea!! I am so looking forward to it. I need to get my car in for service before I leave so I thought I'd clean it out. Pathetically I found the directions to the retreat in the backseat. (left over in there since I went LAST YEAR) Let me expound on my favorite saying and say "a clean car is a sign of a life misspent!

Some good news. My Maasai Woman piece pictured here has been selected as a finalist for the "Polymer Revolution" Gallery Exhibit at the Lexington Arts and Craft Gallery. It will be on display June 15-27. This is a new thing for me and I have to thank Libby Mills for encourageing me to submit an entry.

Now for the bad news. The house we were going to buy didn't appraise so the deal has fallen through. No new craft room just yet. Oh well life goes on.

CraftEdu.com Here I come!

2010-04-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well let's see...CraftEdu is about to go live with their Beta Site and I am not thru yet with a single tutorial. I am about 1/3 of the way thru with my free tutorial. It is going to be called "10 tips for Cane Construction". Catchy title? I hope y'all will check it out - love it - demand to see more - and then shell out the bucks to see another tutorial.

Well that is the idea, isn't it?

(There is some good news/bad news here. After talking to Donna, I have decided to add the cane to my tutorial. The bad news is that will no longer be free. Sorry but it won't be much and I hope you will feel that it will be worth it!)

Of course I have to get one out there to satisfy the demand. I have it planned out. (in my head) It is going to be a class on how to turn a single cane into five other canes. I was going to do ten but I realized you'd have to start with about 3 pounds of clay. (OK maybe I exaggerated a little!)

As for the book - it is finished! I am sending it to the publisher's tomorrow. For some reason I got a kick out of saying "Hold on, I am on the phone with my publisher". Something very ...I don't know... snooty about it. Like I'm really hot s#$t. Those who have followed me, know that I am TNBTIPC after all!

Oh yeah I almost forgot - I gave up on the fake nails for CraftEdu. What you see, is what you get. Nubs and all. It was just too much of a hassle.

My hubby and I just bought a new house. When most people are downsizing, we up size. Never was one to follow the crowd. Stayed up to 3 planning my new craft room. What fun! Of course the thought of going thru the junk that is in this house terrifies me. 27 years of accumulation. "I better not throw it away because I might need it someday" (of course I won't be able to find it!)

I guess that's it for now. The picture is the cane I used in my free tutorial. It's not really a "how to" but if you watch it you should be able to reproduce most of the cane. Maybe I'll do a "how to" here for those who are interested. Let me know if you are.

Clay means never having to say you're sorry.

2010-04-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

But I am sorry about many things. First I have been meaning to write about Linda Hirschfield and her generosity. I am sorry it has taken me so long to acknowledge her thoughtfulness. I think it was two years ago at Clay Carnival that I passed out some poker chips that had some of my face canes on them. Linda received one, took it home and created a lovely silver pendant with it. She wore it to Clay Carnival the next year and I was touched that she took such time and effort to create the necklace. I do not know how to work with silver and I loved what she did. I ran into Linda at Synergy and she blew me away when she gave me the necklace. I promised to send her another cane slice. Here comes sorry number 2. Sorry Linda I will get it to you soon but I have just been so busy that I haven't gotten around to it. I know I also owe some cane slices to some people from Cabin Fever. Sorry number 3. Sorry number 4 to Cheryl I still plan on getting that cd of pics to you. I am also sorry (that's number 5) for taking so long to post to this blog.

Here come lame excuses 1 thru whatever. As you know I have been working on a book. Now this is not a large book but it is nonetheless very time consuming. Fortunately I am getting near the end with that. I am also thrilled to announce that I have been asked by Donna Kato to be one of the instructors on her new website called CraftEdu.com. (I will tell you more about that in a later post) I am way behind where I should be on that project. Just got back from my yearly trip with my friends to the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament. (Had a great time. Took my computer. Didn't get anything done!) And if that isn't enough, my husband and I have been house hunting.

Excuses finished. Sorry.

I'm writing a book --- and it's a nail biter!

2010-03-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

OK the title is a bit misleading. Yes I am writing a book but it is about polymer clay. (Shocker!) My problem (and if this is my biggest problem I am in good shape) is that I bite my nails. I know a nasty habit. My husband always asks me why I am so nervous. I, of course always explain, "because I am married to you!" No I really don't know why I bite my nails. It's worse when I am watching movies and TV. Well I am sure this is what you came to my polymer clay site - to read about my marriage and nails. I am not going to talk any more about the former but as for my nails they have created a problem for my book. Since it is a "how to" book you can imagine that it must include photos. Well there are just certain times that you have to get your hand in the picture. Ah yes it is all becoming clear. What do I do about the "nubs"? Great solution - press on nails. Good except they don't exactly stay on and I can't work with them on. That meant a little dab of superglue. Have you ever been successful at getting just a dab when you are in a hurry? Let's just say it is lucky that I have all of my fingers to type this stimulating blog and that they are not still stuck to my work surface.
So I press on (press on ... get it?) with my photo shoot with lovely fingernails on my thumb and first two fingers. I figured I could keep the rest out of the picture. Well when it came time to looking at the photos that I took dealing with cane reduction I noticed that one shot showed all of my fingers. No problem - a quick "manicure" via photoshop took care of that. I don't know if it will make it into the book or not but I thought I'd share.
I have so much more to talk about but I also have so much to do and I think they are deserving of their own entry so y'all come back now.

Treasures from Synergy

2010-03-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

For those of you who missed Synergy here is another reason to start saving your nickels and dimes for Synergy 2012. Here are some of the treasures that I acquired while at Synergy. Some are items I purchased in the gallery. Others were purchased from Elise Winters personal stash at rediculously low prices. I am sure most of you know about Elise Winters and her attempts to raise polymer to a higher artistic level. She spoke at Synergy about being a DINK (double income no kids) and her fear of her polymer collection ending up on a garage sale table. Because of this she has donated a large portion of her collection to the Racine Arts Museum just outside of Chicago. She also presented attendees with the opportunity to purchase some of her collection at very low prices. The sale was a bit of a feeding frenzy. Picture drooling polymer enthusiasts racing to the tables for their chance to own some polymer treasures. I still can't believe that I let petite Bridget Downey block me out and grab the beautiful necklace created by Carol Simmons. It was a rare case of restraint on my part. Bridget emerged unbruised and I walked away with some treasures of my own. I was able to snap a pair of earring made Judith Skinner. Earrings by Judy Belcher and Debbie Jackson. A pin by Gwen Gibson and a necklace by Donna Kato. I will not tell you how low the prices were but I will tell you that there was a big smile on my face. Elise can rest well tonight knowing that her pieces are loved and appreciated. And to the artists whose work was represented I am sure there are others like me who now own little works of art that we may never have had it not been the generosity of Elise.
I did break down and purchase a pendant by Carol Simmons so that Bridget could quit worrying ab out me ripping hers off her neck! I also purchase a pin by Sarah Shriver and some earrings by Jenn Dorian who lives in the town next to my home town.

Throughout my blog I have made the attempt to drop the "clay" and just call it polymer. This idea was raised during Synergy with the thought this would help to not confuse us with earthen clay. I would like to call it polymer art clay. I think this makes it different and I think sounds better than just polymer. It's just a thought.

Gallery Items

2010-03-04T23:32:00.000-08:00

When I was at cabin Fever and Synergy I was able to put some items in the gallery for sale. I am happy to say that I did sell a few items. Here are some pictures of some of the items. The purse was not for sale but I took it to the banquet on the last day of Synergy. I have never been a purse person. (say that ten times fast!) My cell phone didn't even fit! I did get quite a few compliments on it so I thought I share it with you.

Cabin Fever and Synergy

2010-03-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

Well I am back from Cabin Fever Clay Festival and Synergy. What can I say? It was a fabulous time. I am still recovering (catching up on sleep) It started with a two day work shop with Jeff Dever. He and Kathleen Dustin were the top two artists on my "must take a workshop from" list. Neither let me down. Jeff is just a really nice guy. He like Kathleen is very open and willing to share with all of his students. I love his style (and I am not referring to his matching pink socks and shirt as lovely as they were) but to his artistic style. His pod necklaces, pins and such are both simple and complex in thought. His attention to detail and finishing is evident when watching him work. As a class we opted to hear and learn as much from him as we could in the two days rather than being given more time to work on our own projects. Therefore I have nothing to show (at this time) from his workshop. I do plan on finishing something. (I know famous last words from me!) If you ever get a chance to attend a Jeff Dever workshop I would recommend you jump at the chance.

Cabin Fever had an excellent lineup of instructors this year. I took classes from Louise Fischer Cozzi, Sarah Shriver, Maureen Carlson, Grant Diffendaffer, Lisa Pavelka and Ronna Sarvas Weltman. Other instructors there were Kathryn Ottman, Cindy Silas, Nan Roche, Tony Aquino, Maggie Maggio, Jana Roberts Benzon, Lindly Huanani, Dayle Doroshow and Laurie Mika. In addition to being an instructor Nan Roche was a frequent student. She attended Jeff's class right along with us. It was surreal when the woman who literally wrote the book on polymer clay is sitting right next to you in class. It was also a tad bit amusing when Nan raised her hand to ask "what do you do to get it out of the form when you have forgotten the release agent?" I guess we all make mistakes. The classes were varied. From making rings and bracelets to intricate canes and faux raku.

I met some new friends Foremost was Katie Way from Alaska. She has excellent taste. (She purchased one of my "mosaic" necklaces) and she didn't complain when my stuff spilled over into her work area. OK I admit I liked her right away when she told me she used my picture of my mosaic cane as her wallpaper on her computer. (I told you she has great taste!) I hope to get up to Alaska to teach a class. Come join us!

Stay tuned for more on Synergy.

In Memory of Mary Lee Forsythe

2010-01-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

It has been a sad day for me today. Earlier I received a call from a member of my Asheville Guild that one of our own had passed away. Mary Lee Forsythe has died from a massive heart attack. Those of you not fortunate enough to know Mary Lee have missed knowing her kind and generous soul. She always had a smile and a hug for those of us from Charlotte who made the trek up to Asheville to attend a guild meeting. She was a very talented clay artist and had even tackled silver smithing. Something I had hoped to get her to teach to me. After all we had plenty of time didn't we? Well as God sometimes does He had other plans for Mary Lee. We had also planned to go together to Cabin Fever and Synergy at the end of February. I was looking forward to getting to know her better. I am sure we would have had a fun filled time together. At our last guild meeting she showed me some necklaces that she had made using some of the beads I had made. I told her that we made a great team. I could make the beads and she could string them. She knew that finishing things is not my strong point. I meant to take pictures of the necklaces. Oh well we had plenty of time for that didn't we? Please go to the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild site to read some very nice words (better than I can say) about Mary Lee.

Mary Lee's passing has made me think a lot about the friendships I have made because of polymer clay. I have a friend who sent me a note talking about the friends we have. It talked about how when we were young we had our "best friend". She was the one we played with, had sleep overs with, talked about boys to and everything else you did together. Now we have different sets of friends. I still have my close friends that I share everything with (well almost everything). But I also have my tennis friends and my clay friends. I started meeting new clay friends in 2006 when I went to my first Clay Carnival in Vegas. I now know that my clay friends mean a lot to me even though we may only see each other in Vegas. (Vickie, Lisa, Donna etc) I love doing clay and I love meeting people who love clay. My clay friends have grown right along with the number of retreats and classes I attend. Some I just get to know and then they move away. (Cheryl Medvedeff if you are reading this I have lost your email please write!) My clay friends here in Charlotte (Maggie, Cheryl, Brenda etc) I thank you for being here and putting up with me more often than anyone should have to. And to my clay friends in Asheville we will have a hard time because of the gap left in our lives but we will get thru it together. And perhaps we will learn that we don't always have plenty of time.

I'm published!

2010-01-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

You can find a piece of my polymer clay art in Lisa Pavelka's new book that I believe came out today. I haven't seen it yet but someone from my guild got their copy today and told me about it. Not too bad for somebody who couldn't even get an honorable mention in a cane contest in the magazine Polymer Cafe.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well it's hard to believe I have had this blog up for over a year. Thanks to all who follow along and specially to those who take the time to leave a comment. I certainly got a lot of comments and great suggestion about my latest mosaic face cane. I just wanted y'all to know that the cane has been reduced and all is well. I didn't mean to give the impression that I was stressed out about my cane and my failure at slicing. It was able to get a slice at the original size and still have more cane than I know what to do with. I reduced it down to about 3 x 4 inches. I then took part and reduced it down more. The smallest slices are about 2 1/2 inches tall. It reduced OK. (Thanks mainly to Jana Roberts Benzon - but I need to talk to you about getting the slices off the big canes. See you at Synergy and CFCF!) Not surprisingly it was difficult to keep the little lines of mosaics straight. And her chin got a little out of whack! But I can live with it. (like what's my alternative!?!)

I have posted some pictures to show the different sizes. I have just started sanding the big slice so the colors look a little dull. There is also a picture of three slices from my smallest cane. There is also a picture of what I call funky slices. One is the butt end of the cane after I had reduced it to the 3 X 4 size. It reminds me of a woman in a harem peeking out from behind her veil. The other was just a failed slice that I plopped down on some scrap clay.

The last picture is a slice I started playing with. I was trying to get it to look like a pixelated picture that was rather falling apart. I am not sure if I like it. I made a few canes with some of the extruded ends I had left over. I don't like the way the pattern is repeated so often in my floating bits. I didn't feel like putting together any more ends to get different combinations. It was then I realized what a massive project that I had just completed. It took a lot of color combinations and extruded ends to get all the color variances I used in this cane. It's funny when I am working on a project I often don't pay any attention to the work involved but once it is done it's like I am done and any more work on it is hard for me. I guess that is why I am so bad about finishing things. It's the creation I enjoy.

I really didn't mean to ramble on so but once I get started.....

What I Did! OOHHH! What I Did!

2009-12-31T08:22:00.000-08:00

OK. So I was having a great week. I was playing great tennis (for me) on Monday. Something that hasn't happened for awhile. I finished my mosaic cane and I liked they was she came out. I took pictures and posted to my blog. I was getting great feedback. (thanks for all the nice comments) I got an email that they were going to be putting me up on Polymer Clay Daily. I was thrilled. I'll admit it - I am a media whore. I love the attention. I am the "Bubble Boy" of polymer clay. I check my stat counter several times a day to see how many people have visited my site. My head swells so much I have to duck walking into rooms. I know I am the "next big thing in polymer clay". I think to myself "people will spend hundreds of dollars (well make that tens of dollars) to see me do a video. INSERT LIGHT BULB HERE! A brilliant idea. People love my blog. I'll add a video of me taking a slice off my mosaic cane.
So now I have this great idea just how am I going to take a slice of this mother of a cane. I am not very good at slicing canes. Most of the time it doesn't matter for what I am doing. When I am using some of my face cane slices I usually cut fairly thick slices because I have to do some tweaking to the cane. You know - pull up a droopy mouth or eyebrow. Fill in a gap etc. So I know I am going to have to take a thick slice off my mosaic cane. Too often in times past I have tried to get more use out of my canes by slicing thin. Well as I said I am not a great cane slicer and very often I end up screwing up the "thin" slice and wasting more of the cane. So I have this cane that is approx 5 X 8 X 2 inches. The first thing I did was add a layer of translucent around the entire cane. One reason is so that I can take a thicker slice and not use as much of the actual cane. Later I found a better reason and that was the all the little extruded pieces wanted to fall apart and I was glad that I had a layer of translucent to help hold them together. But I get ahead of myself.
I decide I need to make some sort of contraption to help me take this slice. I take a trip to Hobby Lobby to see what I can find there. I purchase some foam core, wood slats, and an acrylic ruler. My brilliant plan is to cut out the shape of my cane into the foam core. I can make several of these and stack them up to help support the cane while I slice. Picture in your mind a several picture frames stacked up with the cane in the middle. Then I used the wood slats on either side of the cane to get to the right height for slicing and offering support for my blade. Ah the blade. Here was the first problem with my plan. My cane is over 5 inches wide and so is my blade. There just wasn't enough blade to hold on to. I thought it over. I could try to reduce the cane just a little or add handles to the blade. (of course option 3 would have been to search for a longer blade but I didn't even know if any existed and besides I was on a roll. You know I was "the next best thing in polymer clay" the world couldn't wait.) Now when I reduce a cane I add a lot of scrap clay and beat the heck out of it. There is always more waste each time you stop to take a slice and then restart the reduction. Now since I have decided that I was going to reduce the cane (how much still isn't decided) I really didn't want to start and stop just for one slice. Besides I was TNBTIPC. (think about it it will come to you!) So I decide to bake on some handles to hold the blade.
Now I have the holes cut out of the foam. I have the wood pieces in place. Lastly I put an acrylic ruler on either side of the cane so that my blade will slide easily across the ruler to make this precise slice. I have the whole thing clamped down. I am ready to go! Since I am TNBTIPC I get my camera ready to record the "slicing event". INSERT DRUM ROLL HERE!
Well as for what happened next...let's just say you don't see a video posted do ya? Oh I set it up and recorded TNBTIPC describing my slicing contraption. I even move everything into the spare bedroom so that the video won't show my trashy work room in the background. I put the camera on a tripod and get ready to make history. I start to make the first incision. Incision? Ha? I laugh at the comparison to a surgical procedure. I have to start and stop the video several times while I make adjustments. Taking out some wood pieces adding back foam core pieces. Well it was not going well! I decide to turn off the camera. (maybe I was getting nervous) So I start to make the slice and I am finally making some headway. So I decide to turn the camera back on. Big mistake. Since I had stopped the slice the blade was stuck in mid-slice and I didn't have that "free flow" of the blade. I don't know how to describe it but if you have ever sliced canes you should know what I am talking about. Oh yes and I should mention my brilliant idea of the handles...not so much! There just wasn't enough of the blade to hold on to and they kept falling off. At this point the camera gets shut off for good and what can only be described as a hatchet job ensues. Cleaner cuts were made on "The Texas Chain Massacre". The blade bent. There were gouges made. The term "uniform slice" never was spoken. The extruded slices were coming apart. As I said earlier this is where I was glad I had put a layer of translucent on first because it helped hold the hatchet job together. When it was over I had a slice of my three weeks to build mosaic cane. It varied in thickness from about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch. And I am not talking about a gradual increase in size. There were hills and valleys and gouges galore. I took a deep breath and very carefully proceeded to take small slices off the main slice and using them back on the remaining cane to fill up holes. By the time I was done I finally had my slice (albeit a honking big slice) and a cane that was about 1 1/2 inches thick. This is not a lot to work with but I am going to try to reduce that. I have it there waiting for me but I wanted to get this posted first just in case it comes out even worse. I think I am more nervous about this reduction than I have ever been.
OK so this is the end of my ramblings. If you are still reading I thank you for sticking by me. I guess I am not TNBTIPC but just someone learning and sharing what I know about polymer clay.

What to do? What to do?

2009-12-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of my latest face cane. As you can imagine it was quite tedious to make but I am really happy with the way it turned out. It only took about three weeks to finish. It took quite a lot of planning. As you may have guessed I used an extruder. Over and over and over and over...... The finished cane is 5.5 X 8 X 2 and weighs just under 4 pounds. Now I have to decide what to do next. I really want to take a slice off of it at its current size. Not an easy thing to do. Plus the more I take off of its height the less I have to work with and the harder it will be to reduce. So then I have to ask what I want the end result to be. I could reduce it and make jewelry out of it or leave it large, see how many slices I can get out of it and make wall art. Maybe both? Decision! Decisions! Of course there is no greater fear than to put that much work into a cane and either screw up the reduction or take the reduction too far and lose the effect or the details. I am also worried about the gaps between the mosaics. Of course I tried to eliminate them as much as possible but I know that there are gaps. Stay tuned to find out what I end up doing next.

Queen City Clayers

2009-12-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

Well we had our Queen City Clayers meeting here in Charlotte last Sat and I taught my poinsettia cane. I believe a good time was had by all. We had hoped for a contingent from Asheville to come to our meeting but unfortunately they had about a foot of snow dumped on them and they couldn't make it. Here in Charlotte the roads were clear so we pressed on without them. I promise to teach them at a later time if they want me to. Now even though I approached the cane as a tutorial and took pictures I had never really "taught" it before and I learned some things along the way. Since many have read the tutorial (and I thank all of those who took the time to leave such nice comments!) I thought I'd pass on a few more tips.

1) OK I know we all have our clay preferences. But really if you are going to cane I would have to suggest that you use Kato clay. Or a least combine Kato with Premo. I know Premo is easier to get at Michael's and A. C. Moore but several brought Premo and to be honest I just don't see how you use it for caning. I think they all get sick of hearing me call it MOOSH! (a new claying technical term) Yes it easier to condition (that's because it's moosh!) Yes it comes in more colors. But really if you are conditioning the clay anyway how much harder is it to add colors together. And trust me the time you spend conditioning is worth it if you canes maintain their shape after all the work you have done! Now to those Premo lovers out there I must confess that I am using Premo more and more. I use it often to back my pieces or when making beads and other stuff. I know there are people who cane with Premo. Kathleen Dustin (who I consider one of the greates polymer clay artists out there) canes with Premo. I would have to bet she leeches tfirst and this takes time when teaching and trying to get something finished in 3-4 hours. CLUMP!!! What's that you ask? That's the sound of me getting off my soapbox!

2) There seemed to be some confusion when it came to assembling the half petal shape. I have a posted a picture which I hope helps explain the process. Cut all of the reduced cane into about nine segments. Start with the smallest piece. put the next largest segment next to it with the flattened side facing the same way. Stack the remaining segments in the same way. I hope this helps.

Well that's enough on the poinsettia cane. You can see pictures from our meeting if you visit our blog QueenCityClayers.blogspot.com. I hope you all enjoyed the tutorial and I'd love to see pictures if any of you made your own canes.I am going back to work on my latest project. I have already worked on it for a week and I'd guess I am about one third of the way finished.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

poinsettia part 5

2009-12-08T23:14:00.000-08:00

OK so now you have your completed cane. Now what? Well I will now show you how I finished off some pendants. First I made a Skinner blend that went from dark blue to light blue. I kept the blend thin (3 - 4 inches from darkest to lightest) I cut off a portion of the blend and wrapped gold foil around both sides. I then ran this thru the past machine several times to work the foil into the clay. (remember to maintain the skinner blend) The first ones I made taught me a few things not to do on the next ones.
First I made my slices too thick. Polymer clay artist Lynne Ann Swartzenberg says she can get a ridiculous amount to slices off an inch cane. I can see now why that is important. My first slices were too thick and they kinda got smooshy when I applied them to the background. Thinner also keeps you from getting bumps where the canes are applied.
Second The first ones I surrounded with scrap clay before rolling in. Later I decided this wasn't necessary.
You can see that I added some poinsettia leaves and holly leaves and berries. I didn't go over how to make them but if you search the net you can find many tutorials on making leaves. One thing I did try with the holly leaves was reducing them with play dough. This worked well for maintaining their shape. I didn't slice them until they were reduced and I didn't take the time to soak off the play dough which I should have done. Oh well it's all about learning.
I used the completed sheets to make pendants/pins.

TRICK - since I didn't soak off the play dough and some slices were too thick I was having a little problem getting the slices completely integrated into the background. There was a persistent groove around some of the slices. I discovered that if I put a thin coating of liquid polymer it filled in these grooves and made the sanding go much smoother. For some reason I couldn't quite get a super shine on them but I was happy with the look (and the less sanding).

I have also posted some photos of some dimensional pendants that I made with the canes too. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and that you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Poinsettia tutorial part 1

2009-11-30T20:03:00.001-08:00

So it's the day before Thanksgiving and the house is a wreck. What do I do? Clean you say? Hell no! I decide to make a poinsettia cane. Well actually five. Then I decide I'd post it as a tutorial to share. Now you certainly don't have to make all of the shade variations but why make it easy when complicated keeps you away from the housework longer.

So to start with you will need 4 skinner blends that are in four shades of red. (dark, med dark, med light and light) Have each blend go from dark to a lighter shade. To make the different shades start with your basic red. To this add small amounts of black and green to make the darker shades or add white to make lighter shades. Experiment. Don't be afraid of mixing colors. Just add in small increments. Make a bulls eye cane with the lighter in the middle. Roll out a thin sheet of clay in a shade darker than the cane.

poinsettia part 2

2009-11-30T19:55:00.001-08:00

Take each cane and reduce and stretch it out until it measures around 9 inches long tapering down on one end. Flatten on side so that a cross section has a tear drop shape. Cut into nine segments that are approximately 1 inch long. Combine to make a half petal shape.

poinsettia part 3

2009-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

At this point you should have four canes in varying shades of red. Dark, Medium Dark, Medium Light and Light. Reduce each cane to double it's length and cut in half. From these you will combine two halves to make the following combinations.

light/med light

med light/med dark

med dark/ dark

dark/dark (you will have to reduce and cut in half again to make this cane)

light/light (you will have to reduce and cut in half again to make this cane)

On the first three canes which I will call "combo canes" I added a tapered stem matching the color of the veins.

poinsettia part 4

2009-11-30T19:22:00.000-08:00

Combine equal amounts of gold and translucent clay. Roll this out on the thinnest setting of your pasta machine. Stretch the sheet out to make it as thin as you can. Wrap each cane with this thin sheet. You can see all the canes that will go into making my Christmas poinsettia pins/pendants. My next post will explain how I used these slices.

Clay Carnival 2009

2009-11-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that I will be one of the instructors next year in Vegas at Clay Carnival 2010. I was thrilled and honored to be asked by Donna Kato to join them next year. Now I have to come up with something that will fit into a four hour window. Now I know I am known for my face canes but a simplified cane can be taught in a 2 and 1/2 day class but not in four hours. I still think I can come up with something that will show how I go about making my complex canes. I will teach some of the hard lessons I have learned to save others from my mistakes. (Glowing boobs anyone?) Well I have until next year so keep watching my site for more info.

I have posted some pictures of some of the poker chips I exchanged on the final night of Clay Carnival this year. I also posted some pictures of some pendants that I made with my Grecian Urn cane and also my Blue and White cane. I just realized that I made the blue and white cane to put into the library exhibit in Asheville but I am going to miss the meeting on Sat and won't be able to deliver. Oh well..the best laid plans...

Grecian Urn

2009-10-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a scan of my latest cane prior to reduction. I am calling it Grecian Urn. Why...? Why not? Looking at the scan gives you a new perspective after looking at the actual cane for a week. Now I realize she really has some junk in her trunk. Oh well none of us are perfect. She actually has a face (which needs some tweeking) but I think once I reduce all that detail will be completely lost. As I said before I am hoping to do a series like this if she reduces out well. Look for pictures of the reduced cane soon.

I am a finishing machine!

2009-10-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

The Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild met last Saturday for its October play day. One of the things we do is have an auction to raise money for our guild. I sent the call out to some of my talented clay friends and I have to say they came through with some beautiful donations which helped raise over $700. Thank you Jana, Sue and Cathy. I got into a clay zone and actually finished several pieces. I also did some experimentation with paint and crackling. You can see that in the pastel piece. I can't say my photography has improved much. It's now just my stuff on top of some granite. I don't think it's helping show off the work any but I am learning as we go.

I have started working on my "full figure" cane which I hope to be one of a series. What I am calling her ironically is my slender girl cane. I still have 80 or so poker chips to do for Clay Carnival in Vegas next month and I have actually done a little work on those.

Hope you enjoy these photos.

Blue and White - cane 3

2009-10-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

Ok this is the last of my new canes. Our Asheville guild puts a display up in the local library each year. It was decided that we would do a blue and white theme this year. I was still in an anti-face cane mood so I came up with this. I think I really need to buy one of those door peep holes like Judy Belcher talks about in her DVD. I can see that a lot of my work was wasted time once it got reduced. Although sometimes it's the little blends and details that can give depth to the cane. I did like working in the monochromatic color scheme because it was real easy to use up your scraps. The cane ended up weighing over three pounds and after reduction I had over five feet of cane. Didn't do a great job matching up when it came to kaleidescoping but I think it ended up with fairly good results. Using eight sections allows for easy conversion to a square which is nice for variation. I also made a cane up with three squares on top of each other to make an elongated pendant. I think most of this cane will end up as poker chips for the Clay Carnival in Vegas this year.

I hope you like it. I am going back to face canes or make that figure canes. I think I will do a little less detail on the next one but make a full figure. (That is a whole body as opposed to one with big breasts ala "full figured gal")

Side note - I like to see where people come from who read my blog. My stat counter gives frequent search words. After looking over this post I realized that I may get some strange visitors. Like those who search for peep holes and big breasts! Ahh the internet is a wonderful but sometimes creepy thing.

cane - part 3

2009-09-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well here are some beads that I made using the cane I built. I used up some of the left over clay to make another cane. I didn't post pictures of this cane as I built it because I was just winging it. I made some bracelets using this cane. I was able to make three different canes from each original cane. I need to post some more pictures of these canes. I am not completely satisfied with the colors of the second cane. It was meant to be coordinating with the first cane but since I was being el cheapo and using left overs the colors got muted and don't match the first cane. They are all right by themselves though.

It is quite an accomplishment for me to actually finish some pieces. I have gotten much better about that. I even did a pattern on the back. I have donated the beads to the bead jar for the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild which will be auctioned off next month. I plan on donating a bracelet too.

Cane 1 - part 2

2009-09-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well here is the rest of my cane. I scanned it into the computer and put it together to see what it might look like if the reduction works. I hope it looks that good. As I said I was inspired by Carol Simmons' work as I found in the new Color Book. Well I may have been inspired by her but I can see I have a log way to go. I searched the Internet to see if I could find some more examples of her work and I found this link to her William Morris inspired cane. I don't think anyone will confuse my cane with one of hers. Her detail is exquisite.

cane #1

2009-09-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so I spent the first two days deciding on my color formulas and conditioning what I hope will be enough clay for three canes. (I don't think I am going to make it) As I said I am posting some pictures of the creation of this cane. Sorry about the lousy photos but I didn't want to take time out to set up lights just to take these pictures. I have to say working with these canes is a lot easier than face canes. Of course I am trying to follow my pattern but I don't think it will matter as much as when I am constructing a face. (At least I hope it won't) You can see where I marked with an arrow (about pic #7) where I did not do a good job packing the cane and there is a bit of a dip. Now for this cane I am hoping that it won't detract from the cane. Had this been say an eye and I had a dip my face could easily end up with a scorned look on her face. Of course it has been a while since I did a complex cane like this one so lets keep our fingers crossed that what I say is true. The first one I did from Jana Roberts Benzon's Arabesque Caning DVD. (A great DVD for caning and reducing) You can also see between the last two pics that I performed some "surgery" on my cane in order to add a dark green line. It called to me that it need this. It also helps smooth out some of the bumps. The first picture show how I build my canes. I put my pattern under glass and build up on this. For latter pictures I moved the cane under the light for the photos.

Stay tuned for more pics!

Enough with the face canes already!

2009-08-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

I received my copy of Lindly and Maggie's color book and I have to say it is fantastic. I haven't read it all but I can't wait and it has inspired me to do some different kind of cane work. I love the canes of Carol Simmons. I thought I'd try to do a series on canes with the same color scheme. I have a coral colored sweater that I thought I'd like to make something to wear with it. I started out first by going to the website colourlovers.com. It's a great site that lets you create a palette. I then went into their create a pattern section to see what the colors looked like together. It was interesting to change the color order and see the results in the pattern. Anyway my palette consists of a coral, purple, green and yellow. I then made a sketch of my cane. Scanned it into the computer. Tweaked it a little. Then I duplicated it like a kaleidoscope. When I first started this blog I had just had my should surgery and had only one arm to work with and that was when I did the One Armed Bandit Cane. As usual I never did much with the cane but I think people liked me posting pictures of the creation of the cane so that is what I am going to do for these canes.

Here is Lindly and Maggie's book on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Clay-Color-Inspirations-Techniques/dp/0823015017/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251647751&sr=8-1

Maasai Woman Necklace

2009-08-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ok It's been awhile so I should have gotten something done. Here is a necklace I made form my Maasia woman cane. I have to restring it because I used a magnet closure and it wasn't strong enough to hold together. I like it but I don't think I'll ever actually wear it. It's too big for my taste. (even though I know big is in, it just doesn't go with my usual t-shirt and jeans) I have another necklace almost done that is brighter in colors. I'll post soon.

Maasai Woman - part 1

2009-07-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my Maasai woman's face. I usually do the more detailed parts large then reduce it. I am pleased with the way she came out. It wasn't until I was looking at the photos that I took that I realized that her nostril needs to be lowered but this should be something I can fix later. I have to admit I have become pretty good and fixing my canes whether its with some surgery into the cane or just by manipulating the slices. This is only part 1 because I plan on finishing her head and my end result (if the face reduces OK) she will have a baby on her back. When we stopped at the Maasai village when we were in Africa I was struck by their beauty. I hope to incorporate some of their bead work into my design. At this point I don''t know if I will do this by caning or with actual beads. Who knows I may do both. Also the Maasai clothing just screams to be caned. The beautiful red plaids and stripes are a stark contrast to the earth tones of Africa. Actually they wear red to keep the lions away.

This has been a challenge for me because of the skin tones but I like it and I hope you do too. I let my canes rest overnight and I will reduce her tomorrow.

Big Amber Beads!

2009-07-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ok while I am still working on my Maasai woman (and yes I did redo her lower lip) I thought I'd post another picture. These are my Big Amber Beads from Tory Hughes' workshop at cabin fever. Now I have to let you know my big is quite different from Tory's big. Hers were about twice the size of mine. I like the beads but as usual for me I never did anything with them.

Patient Caner

2009-07-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! Sorry I don't have any pictures this time. I have been working though. I have been working on the face of a Maasai woman. For the Birth of Venus I tried to do shading with Skinner blends. On this piece I thought I'd go for a more "painterly" look. Theresa, the President of Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild, has said that I am the most patient caner she knows. Usually I'd have to say that I am not patient about anything but I have to admit I am willing to put in the time. Two days ago I spent about four hours working on my cane and do you know how far I got?.........Well I got her lower lip done. I continued to work on it for the last two days and after looking at it all I can say is that I am not happy with her lower lip. UGH! (please feel happy to insert stronger word here. I know I did) Now I have to decide whether to cut it off and start again or learn to love it. Wait - I think it's looking better already.

Birth of Venus

2009-06-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

It's taken me a while to post but here are some pictures of my latest face cane. She is inspired by the painting "The Birth of Venus". I think I had some success with the shading which is the hardest part of face canes if you ask me. I did the cane in two parts. First I created just the face. I reduced this and then added the hair and background. I have some of the face left over and have to decide what to do with it.

I plan on posting some pictures from my WONDERFUL week I spent at Shrinemont. I met some fantastic polymer clay artists and made fast friends with my tablemates. I also spent a fantastic week with Kathleen Dustin. She is a gifted artist and is very willing to share her knowledge with others. Of course as we all know - knowing Kathleen's techniques doesn't mean your work will look as good as hers. I do plan to do more of her "translucent techniques".

My brain is overflowing with ideas after my trip to Africa. I definetly plan on redoing a Maasai woman. I'll keep you posted.

Back from Africa

2009-06-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Well it has been quite awhile since my last post and I am afraid I am not here to write about any clay news. I just got back from Africa and let me tell you it was a trip of a lifetime. I have uploaded some of my pictures to http://www.flickr.com/photos/eekski/3585524107/in/set-72157619018923913/ Please take a look. I am off next week to Albuquerque to take two classes from Kathleen Dustin. When I get back from that my husband is scheduled for knee surgery. Hopefully once he gets squared away I can get back to my clay. Africa has given me a great deal of inspiration.

Sutton Slice

2009-04-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some samples of work made using the "Sutton Slice" method. One is a business card holder that I made in Lisa Pavelka's class during Cabin Fever. I took the technique one step further by using a skinner blend to make the leaves. I used a stamp that I bought from Barbara McGuire. It is necessary to use deep stamps with this technique and Barbara has some really nice stamps. As usual for me I didn't finish the leaves off but I liked the technique. The round bead was made with some left over scraps. If you like the technique you can read about it if you search Carol Duvall's HGTV's database.

I have been busy working on a new face to take and show at my first visit to Shrinemont retreat. I believe it is called Orkney Springs retreat now. I don't really have time to go since I leave for my Africa trip on May 19th and I don't get back from Orkney Springs until the 17th but since you have to be invited to go and I wasn't sure if they would ever ask me again I decided that I had to go. I am really looking forward to it. Like I do all my retreats. I have also made some masks for an exchange. I will try to get some photos up before I leave because I obviously won't have time before my next BIG trip.

Until next time.

Julie

Face Pendants

2009-04-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

For those who know me you know it's rare when I actually finish something. Well I actually finished something! Several somethings! This Sat I am going to Asheville NC for one of our guild's twice yearly clay "play days". We have a silent auction where members bring in pieces for the auction to help raise money for our guild. I decided that I should make a couple of face pendant pieces to donate. (Along with one of my Obama pins) Here is what I have made. You can see pictures of my "Gibson Girl" cane below. The other face (with the hat) is one I made during my face cane class in Albuquerque. The last was made with my DaVinci cane. Since I used some surface treatments (gold and silver leaf) I needed to seal the pieces. I used two methods. Some I did with liquid Kato and a heat gun. The darker Gibson Girl and DaVinci pieces I used Lisa Pavelka's magic gloss. This was the first time that I have used this product and I have to say that I have high hopes for the product and I do like the look and feel of the gloss. I think liquid Kato has a bit of a rubbery feel that I don't like but at least I have finally learned how to get it clear by using a heat gun. The Magic Gloss I purchased while at Cabin Fever. It has to be exposed to UV light. I used good old sun light. It worked as far as hardening. Applying it wasn't as easy as I liked. The product wants to "dome up" and therefore pulls away from the side or creates what I call islands of gloss. If you keep adding the stuff you can finally get it covered except for the sides. It's not cheap so I tried to use as little as possible. The instructions say you can add multiple coats but I found it hard to get it smooth without putting another full thick coat. As the instructions say you can sand it which is good. It also said you could re bake the piece. When I did this you can see how much it darkened. I think this was because I baked it at 325 degrees which is what I bake my Kato pieces at. As I said I do like it but I have to learn how to work with it. I guess that's enough rambling about Magic Gloss. If anyone reading this has any advice on using it please let me know.

They are the masters of their clay!

2009-04-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Below you will find some pictures of my wonderful students from my class that was held in Albuquerque, NM. We all had a great time and I think they all made some lovely face canes. It was wonderful getting to see that part of the country. Thanks to MyChelle for letting me stay at her house and taking me to Santa Fe. I will no longer think that we have changeable weather here in Charlotte. We had 5 inches of snow one day followed by temps in the 70's the next. I look forward to coming back in June for Kathleen Dustin's class. I hope the weather will be a little more predictable. In the mean time I am trying to reload everything that I lost when my computer crashed right before I left for New Mexico. Thanks again to all my new friends in Albuquerque I had a wonderful time and I hope you did too.!

workshop

2009-04-01T15:59:00.001-07:00

Face Cane Class

2009-03-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well folks I have been a bit negligent on my posts to my blog. Sorry about that. I will get some pics up from my creations that I made at Cabin Fever but I wanted to show you my latest face cane. I will be teaching a class in Albuquerque at the end of this month. I wanted to show my students some diversity in the face cane we are making. During class we will be building a lady with a hat. Ever since watching Donna Kato's video which included how to do Ikat canes I was curious if that would work on hair for my face canes. So far I am pleased with how it came out. It may lose all definition after reduction but I won't be reducing this cane until I get to Albuquerque. Since the cane has to rest I knew we wouldn't get to this point with our class but I wanted a finished cane so I could show them how I reduce my canes. In the past I have made triangles out of my canes to reduce the Jana method but I had success with Obama as a rectangle so I am going to try it again. Now I am trying to get some printed instructions for the class and then I have to prepare my own clay for the class. This teaching a class stuff is a lot of work. My hat is off to those who do this all the time. I bought myself a birthday present yesterday - a Blackberry Storm. If I can figure out how to use it I hope to post pic to my blog from class. Until later - Happy Claying!

The Senator and me!

2009-02-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well I am back from Cabin Fever Festival where I had a great time. The teachers were excellent and I met several wonderful and talented people. One of these people turned out to be Senator Kathy Sgambati from New Hampshire. I was thrilled when she commented on how much she liked my Obama pin. It just so happened that I had an extra pin which I gave to her. (note the word "gave" I made no money from this transaction so let's not get into Obamagate again) I was then even more thrilled when she said she would wear it when she went back to the senate. Thank you Kathy!

I learned some wonderful techniques at Cabin Fever and I promise I will write about them later.

Cabin Fever Clay Festival Swap

2009-02-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I have been gone for so long but I have been busy. I am attending the Cabin Fever Clay Festival that is held in Baltimore next week. Part if the festivities is a swap held the last night. We are suppose to bring 70 items to swap. The theme is Mardi Gras. I had originally designed a cane that had a black and white mask on it. As I stated in an earlier post I @$%#ed it up. So I came up with this fleur de lis design. Last year we made zipper pulls. To be honest I only used one of them. It was a beautiful butterfly made by one of this year teachers Kim Korringa. I had it hanging off my pocketbook until it broke off and I lost it. We had no instructions on what to make this year other than the Mardi Gras them so I made pendants. Of course I missed count and made too many. Dummy! You can see the cane above. When I made the actual pendants I tried something new. I added a little Genesis paint to give them an aged look. I didn't have the patience to sand all of the pieces this year so I used cornstarch prior to baking to give them a nice matte finish. I will be gone until Mar 7th so I probably won't post again until after that.

Time to get down out of the clouds

2009-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

What a difference a day makes. Well I have to tell you yesterday I was flying high. I was getting great feedback from a cane that I was very proud of. My stats were thru the roof for me (868 page downloads) I had been working for two days on a cane to make some swap items for cabin fever festival. Well....lets just say my swelled head lead to a swelled head. I tried to do a masked face and broke my rule again about the starting thickness (my rule says not to be less than two inches) I had gotten away with it on the Obama cane. That and the fact I was too impatient and didn't let my cane rest long enough when I reduced it the face was out of whack (swelled head...get it) Oh the waste of time! Oh the waste of clay! (this is where I would insert a frowny face if I knew how)

Then this morning I get up and read an email acusing me of plagiarism and telling me I could be sued if I made any profit from my Obama cane. Now I know why I don't try to sell my stuff. I was going to give most of it away to friends and family anyway. I was just pleased with the way it came out and wanted to share it with those who read my blog. I also thought I was being nice to show pictures of my process. I also am a fan of President Obama.

Oh well back to my swap cane.

Thank You Al Gore!

2009-02-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

The internet is a wonderful thing. Since I have started this blog I have received wonderful emails from around the world. It touches my heart that people take the time to write or comment about my work and I want to let everyone know how much I appreciate that. I have a little confession to write. As I said it makes me happy to read a nice comment that someone has written. I was curious to see how many people look at my blog. So I signed up at statcounter.com so I could see the number of user who look at my blog. Figuring that some didn't lean comments but it would be a positive reinforcement to my ego if people just showed up. The first day there were 7 visitors. OK not bad. Since no one had left a comment at least it was nice to see some had looked. The next day it shot up to 70. Wow! I had hit the big time! I was curious what I would find if I googled myself. (don't laugh - I am sure we have all done it) That's when I found that I had been mentioned on Kim Cavender's blog. Thanks Kim. Ok now I know why the sudden growth in visitors. After that I was still checking my stats. OK I confess I was checking my stats every few hours! I was averaging about 50 visitors a day. What a pleasant surprise when I woke up this morning at the crack of 10:30 and there were 365 visitors to my site today already. Thanks I feel must go to President Obama. Thanks to all of you too. Those who come to my site and those who tell others about my site. Thanks for the pat on the back.

The Making of the President

2009-02-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

Ok here is my latest cane. I guess you can tell which way my politics lean. But regardless I hope you can appreciate the work. I have included some pictures that I took along the way so you can see a little bit how I work. I did this one a little differently than past canes in that I worked in rectangles instead of triangles. The reduction process still isn't easy but I am happy with the results. I also broke my own rule of never making a cane that starts less than 2 inches. I think this cane was about 1 inch thick before final reduction. I think I was able to get away with it because I had packed (and reduced) the individual parts so well. The final cane is about 1 X 2 inches and I am happy to say I have about of foot of cane to work with. Much better than my Da Vinci can which left me with about 3 inches of workable cane.

Say Hello to my little friend.

2009-02-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is a gadget I splurged on before I had my shoulder surgery and I have to share with you what a wonderful splurge it was. I got it from Wal-mart and I think I paid about $35.00. It's a Black and Decker food processor. Now I never had that much trouble conditioning my clay. I usually beat it with a mallet, cut into small slices and then feed it thru the pasta machine. My problem is making my specific (and repeatable) color combinations. You may have read in earlier posts about my problems getting colors to match and how I need a lot of clay when I am doing my face canes. Well I used the food processor to grind up the clay. I first weigh the clay on a cheap diet scale to get the right proportions for the color I need. I grind it up and the food processor mixes it up so well that I can dump the "clay beads" into a bag and each handful that I pull out to condition pretty much has all the colors dispersed throughout. I don't even have to condition all the clay at one time. I have found the colors to be close enough. Well I just thought I'd share this tip with you.

Da Vinci cuff

2009-01-29T14:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my latest cuff bracelet. I wish I could take better pictures. I like the way it turned out. I don't do a lot of Mokume Gane but I like the way it came out on the bracelet sides. Hope you like it too. The nose still bugs me. But my friend Maggie says I am too hard on myself. I think when I look at something for a long time I begin to see only the flaws and not what was good about it when I first looked at it. Oh well that is why I avoid mirrors!

New Pieces

2009-01-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Well here are some not so great pictures of some new pieces I am working on. The pendants don't have any backs on them yet but I wanted to share with y'all. I have done a lot of different things with my One Armed Bandit cane and this cuff bracelet is one of them. I have also done some with smaller slices of the cane and also some with kaleidescoping. (is that a word?) I'll try to get some pics up soon. Lately I have been trying to get my act together so that I am somewhat prepared for Cabin Fever Clay Festival which takes place at the end of Feb. I am going to try to make some stuff to sell. I don't do this very often. I did this last year at Synergy and I can't explain the insecurities that brought out. Here I was at show where I was right next to Jana Roberts Benzon and Maggie Maggio. I almost groaned. OK I admit it I did groan. It was a fabulous experience to see and purchase pieces from some of my favorite polymer clay artist. I came home with a pendant from Jana, earrings from Lindly Haunani, a necklace from Maggie Maggio and earrings from Elise Winters. I actually sold two of my pieces. Thank You to whoever you are!! I promise I will share more about my experiences at Synergy. I think my work has improved since then so I hope I won't be as embarrassed this year. Until next time happy claying!

Da Vinci

2009-01-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Gang. Well here are some slices of my newest cane. I have included my inspiration which is a sketch by Leonardo Da Vinci. What do you think? I was trying to get that "sketchy" look. I am somewhat satisfied with her. I think her nose is a little too big and man did I end up wasting a lot of clay. That's because of the way I did some reduction. I was too impatient for my shoulder to heal and I ended up trying to do a rectangular reduction instead of my usual "triangle slamming" technique. I didn't want the clay to look "clean" so I added some embossing powder and some ground up clay. I think I like this but I think I went too light with the color on her forehead and cheeks. (you think I would have learned this from my African woman!) I like her nose (besides the size) which is definitely a hard part. I am actually going to make something from this cane so keep an eye out for some finished jewelry. Rarity for me. I also have some pieces that I have started made from my One Armed bandit cane. I'd love to hear your comments about my canes so please post if you have time.

A Lesson Learned...or Do Fairies Boobs Glow?

2009-01-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ok I am going to share with you a hard lesson I have learned with my face canes but first I want to tell you more than you want to know about how this cane came about. Last September I was lucky enough to spend some wonderful time in Utah with several polymer clay artists. One of these was Lori O Follett who makes beautiful fairies and mermaids out of polymer clay. I was inspired by her work and decided that when I returned home I would do a fairy cane. Now you have read about my troubles with matching the browns on my African woman cane so I decided to go back to the Kato flesh color. (I knew I had plenty) Well one of the things I am trying to tackle with my face canes is shading. I want to have shading so they don't look quite so cartoony. The above picture is a picture of a the cane before it was reduced. (Ignore the green blobs and other stray blobs of clay - I can't keep my work surface clean!) Now notice the lovely shading in her arms. See the lovely shading and shape of her breasts. Notice now the lovely fingers and detail in her fingernails. You can alos see the folds in her clothing. Oh Yes, this was some time consuming work and attention to detail here. I think I spent a week building this particular cane. OK now comes the reduction. OK not too bad the middle of the cane where her mouth and nose must not have been as warm as the rest of the cane so her eyes ended up being a little big but I think to myself well she's a fairy. A mythical creature. Maybe they have bigger eyes. But then the killer (and the hard lesson) comes. When I bake a slice of her I see that since I used Kato flesh and this has a large amount of translucent in it so everywhere that I added white to lighten it became more opaque. Thus the "glowing" boobs. I don't have a picture to show you. Anybody who was at Clay Carnival and got one of my poker chips with my fairy is now nodding their heads and agreeing. Well she is mythical so maybe fairy boobs do glow. The lesson of course is that now I mix all my flesh colors (with formulas so I can make more). Here endith the lesson.

It's done!

2009-01-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Ok First I have to apologize for last nights whining. Did I fail to mention I also started a diet. Thanks for those who wrote and advised me to step away from the clay. I took you up on that and I returned with a blade. GOODBYE GRINCH! Here is the finished "One Armed Bandit" cane. I will admit I did have a little use of my right hand by the end but the name remains the same. As you can tell I did cut down on the size a little. I am pleased with the way it turned out. Removing the Grinch made the colors better. The one small part I am not completely satisfied with is the small squares that I used the extruder on. It was early on when I made that portion and I really only had one arm and I used a vise to hold the extruder to the table so I could use it with one arm. The finished can is 4 X 4 X 2. I won't be able to reduce it until my shoulder is more healed. I plan on making some cuff bracelets for the auction at Cabin Fever Festival which they are having to raise money for charity. Some have written and asked why I made the cane in the form of a triangle. To answer this I say look to my friend Jana Roberts Benzon. If you haven't seen it yet I would highly recommend her DVD on Arabesque Caning. I owe the success of my face canes to the techniques I learned from her.

I need help.

2009-01-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

Is it OK to whine on your blog? I am stuck on my one armed bandit cane, my shoulder aches and I am beginning to think my cane looks like I vomited leftover canes. I want it to be colorful but have I gone too far? I was all set to post on this "mother" of a skinner blend. (Which I really loved) when the whole thing started to look like too much. And I repeat I don't like the Grinch green! Well I thought to try to incorporate more of it (that's real smart huh if you don't like it add more?) I made the "brainy" parts with a skinner blend of yellow and this grinch green. Didn't like it(what a surprise) Didn't take a picture of it either. I will post some of the skinner blend and a modified cane idea. Please if anyone is still reading please give me your thoughts. I think I suffer a little of caning ADD (as in attention deficit disorder) I really want to get back to my face canes. I have been doing a lot of thinking about that and if what I want to do comes out like a planned it it will more than make up for the Grinch Green! OK I'm rambling and I have reached my limit of parenthesis for this post! (just kidding!)

The bandit continues

2009-01-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

OK so I'm not crazy about some of my color choices. The green reminds me of the Grinch but alas I said I would plod on and if it turns out like @#$% then I have done it in public. Here are some pieces to this One Armed Bandit puzzle. The pieces are not packed well because this is hard to do with one hand. I know I am going against my therapists orders and using my right hand too much but it's hard to keep from using it.

One armed bandit cane

2009-01-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

Finished a little section of the cane. Here is a picture of a slice of it. Did someone say COLOR?

2009-01-02T16:41:00.001-08:00

Africa here I come!

2009-01-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine and I are going to Africa in May. In honor of this trip I made two canes. The first was a lion that I entered (and won) in Polymer Clay Central's monthly challenge. The second was of a Masai woman. I tried some new things with this last cane mostly with how I did some of the shadings and her nose. Let me tell you noses are the hardest when it comes to face canes. One of the problems that I had with this cane was matching colors. Unlike some of my previous face canes I used Kato brown straight out the package. I thought I was making it easier on myself because one of the challenges in my face canes is the shear quantity of clay it takes and being sure you have enough of the same color. Well my problem came when I ran out of brown and the old formula brown did not match the new formula brown. I am not really happy with her forehead because of this but it is another lesson to be learned. I did like the way her fabric turned out and I do hope when I actually get back from Africa I can tell you more about the beaded neck rings they wear.

Color, Color, Color???

2009-01-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

Do y'all struggle with color? I do. I am pretty good at mixing colors but not great at coming up with a pleasing palette. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. For my one armed bandit piece I decided to go with the bright colors. The cuff bracelet that I have posted pics of here was one of the first pieces that I made that I really liked. I had discovered the greatness of fine grit sandpaper and I loved the smooth finish I got. Unfortunately it was before I discovered Kato clay and the bracelet cracked. The canes were just a mish mash of canes but I liked the vibrant colors and thought I'd go for a more planned attack for this cane but get similar end results. (And hopefully better results). I have included a pic of a colored in picture to give me a better look at the colors. I use my computer a lot when planning my canes but with one arm I went back to colored pencils for this. It still gives me a look to follow. I also have included some Ikat cane slices that I made. I made these after watching Donna Kato's DVD. (I just have to add that I just love Donna Kato! It was watching her on Carol Duvall that got me into polymer clay and for that I thank her. Well more on her later) Sometimes I have a habit of creating too complex a design and it gets lost in the final results. That may be happening here but we shall see.
I hope you all had a Happy New Year!.

One armed bandit cane

2008-12-31T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is my new project that I am working on that I call "one armed bandit" cane. Alright y'all are thinking Where's the face cane? Well I had shoulder surgery on Dec 2nd and have had my arm in a sling since then which really cuts down on your claying. Well I made this little sketch of a complex cane just for something to do and then I figured out I could do some skinner blends and Ikat canes with the use of my one arm and my trusty motor. I will post some pics of my canes later that I plan on using as components of this massive cane. I hope you enjoy the process of seeing it come together in later posts. Until then Happy New Year.

The New and the Old

2008-12-31T07:31:00.000-08:00

It being Dec 31st you can't help but think of the old year you have left behind and the new one that is ahead. I have decided at least for awhile that I will make two post one about an old project and then one about a new project I am working on. If all go well you will see the cane grow from concept to completion. That's a little scary for me because what do I do if my cane turns out a complete bust? Well...hopefully we will all learn from my mistakes.

Ok now for the old. Here is a picture of my second face cane. I was trying to get a little more depth with shading around the jaw line and under the folds over her dress. I was pleased with the way she came out. I had intended to cut her away from the scrap clay I used when I packed the cane but I later decided I liked the look. Or maybe I was just lazy. You will find out as you get to know me that I am not great at finishing pieces. I like the creation of the canes but then I don't know what to do with them.

In the Beginning...

2008-12-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well I finally have my blog up and I beat my Jan 1st resolution date. I will use this blog to keep those interested in my polymer clay work up to date with my latest work, interests, classes and anything else clay related.

First a little about me. I have been doing polymer clay work for several years but I guess I am most "known" for my face canes. I did my first face about a year ago and you can find a picture of it at the top of this page. Now you may ask yourself "where's the other half?" Well as I said it was my FIRST face cane. If you put her all together she was quite wacky. Not a bad first try and half looks pretty good. I have learned a few things since then enough in fact that people actually want me to teach a class. So thanks to my new friend Annie Hooten I will be doing just that in Mar of 2009 in Albuquerque, NM. If you'd like more information about the workshop email me or Annie. I will be telling you more about the workshop in later posts. I will also be telling you about any current projects that I am working on. Above is a picture of a more current face cane like the one we will be creating at my workshop.