Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Beauty Of Polymer Clay



I've had tons of fun exploring the possibilities of polymer clay for the past couple of weeks. My ultimate goal has been to learn to make elements which will enhance the kind of jewelry work I've been doing already. What I didn't want to do was veer off in another direction altogether, which was a very tempting possibility.

After my recent post, I sat down to sand, buff, and acrylic coat everything that's been baked so far. Three different grades of sandpaper yielded a silky smooth surface. The acrylic coating protects the finished clay pieces from skin contact and provides a nice glossy shine.
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I've listed three new pieces in my Etsy shop which feature clay components:


The green pendant looks wonderful on Glennis Dolce's shibori silk ribbon. And as a final touch, I had a sterling silver box clasp in a drawer with the very colors found in the pendant! It's as if they were made for each other. *wink*

(Sorry folks, this one sold already.)
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I had some leftover trimmings from a bead making experiment which I sent through the pasta machine a couple of times. What came out was a sheet of clay with a beautiful watercolor effect.



I made two focal elements from that and did some beadweaving around them to enhance them. This was the type of thing I was hoping would happen when I added the clay work to my studio time.
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Finally, I'd made a complex bullseye clay cane last weekend and sliced some of it up into tiles to make a bracelet... add some made-to-match spacers, and you've got a fun and quirky bangle.



Lots more to come in the near future...


copyright 2009 Shibori Girl

10 comments:

Christie Minchew said...

Sheesh, come for air, for pete's sake! You're making the rest of us look like sloths!! (Everything looks absolutely wonnnderful :))

T.Allen said...

Wow Kate! I'm with Christie...I come up for air after slamming my head on the work table over my latest project and here you are at mastery level! Care to share what's in your mug?! It all looks incredible, kudos on implementing a new technique into your work!

Unknown said...

You seemed to have fully grasped these techniques...I am so impressed!

I am curious (as I used to do similar work with the banding on shrine pieces) do you work on ultra suede?

Gabriela said...

Hello Kate,

Fabulous pieces, Turquoise is one of the colours of 2010!


~ Gabriela ~

lori vliegen said...

don't you love it when you come across something new that you're really excited about.....and then you realize that you can actually incorporate it into what you're already doing?!! that's never actually happened to me, but i'm so glad to see that the concept exists and you've got it mastered.....

your work is gorgeous, kate!! hugs, :))))))

Alice Stroppel said...

They look wonderful, you're on a roll.

High Desert Diva said...

LOVE the water color focal bead necklace.

Shirley said...

Katie, we couldn't be more proud of the work you're producing. You're living up to your every potential. Never stop having fun.

www.shiborigirlstudios.com said...

i like how you've used the ribbon here- lots of color matching possibilities here between the ribbons and the lovely clay pieces. as always, your craftsmanship shines through!

Gold Charm Bracelet said...

I like the burst of colours...very nice and colourful and vibrant to suit the beautiful spring that is here.