Elegantly Wired: 9/12/10

When creating with polymer clay I have discovered that it is very important not to discard your work while in production. There will be times when you feel like you have not achieved your intended look, or the clay does not move you in it's present state and you might feel like scraping it and starting over. I have done this many times and have used the clay as scrap for creating the bases for cabochons, or for filling gaps, things like that. It was not until I started to experiment with fabrications that I noticed the transitions that the clay goes through, it has this amazing reaction to the heat generated by the buffing wheel that really changes it's total appearance and not just a bit.


Unfinished clay, no sanding or buffing.

Same cabochon, sanded and buffed!

I was trying to achieve a twist on a Chatoyant cane (Donna Kato's technique, it means to "shine like a cats eye") that was as reflective as a cats eye. I was creating pieces inspired by Mars and Aliens, and I figured that this would be a great addition to this collection. It seems to me that there is an inner glow coming from Mars and I wanted to interpret that. When I started to sand and buff the baked clay that was mica shift, I could see a difference in the clay just after sanding and it changes with every grade of paper you use. Then when I was done with three grades of paper and started to buff them, all of a sudden there is depth, and texture, and your work starts to take on a more solid and substantial look.
And the more you buff the more detail comes out. Also if you add heat to the surface, ( I use a blow dryer on high) and get it really close to the clay, it makes the translucent more transparent, adding even more depth and removing any cloudy areas!

Chainmialle... lace finishing touches, but not yet sanded or buffed.

The depth in these pieces is achieved by mixing the clays with 50% translucent clay before mica shift, then skinner blend the clays together, stacking them and slicing in the diagonal. However, without sanding and buffing these pieces, or applying heat, they would be simply flat looking pieces of clay. It is all in the finishing touches with polymer clay, you could do all the blending and mica shifting you want, but if you are not going to apply these finishing touches, your blending and mica shift won't show up as much!

Take a little time to try these finishing touches and see the difference in your work, I am enjoying the tangibility of my polymer clay pieces now and do not stop shy of finishing every piece. Never make a jugement about your piece until it is completely finished, it will come to life if you give it a chance! Look at the pic's of the same cabochon, before and after finishing touches, it is amazing!