The Learning Curve... Sand or Gloss?

Sanded and Buffed cabochon, what looks like gloss is actually liquid translucent clay.

 The idea of sanding your polymer clay pieces, can be a little intimidating and some what confusing.
If you have never used sand paper on polymer clay it can be tricky at best, but with practice and of course trial and error you to can master a beautiful sheen or high shine on any polymer clay project. The difference between sanding/buffing and glossing is a personal choice, but one is better then the other... if you are dedicated to your clients and your work ... a gloss just wont do!

First of all let me start by saying, "never dry sand, polymer clay" the particles that are released are toxic, so you must use water when sanding. This means purchasing wet/dry sandpaper at your local auto parts shop.
You can do most all of your sanding with 320, 400, 600, grits there is no need to buy a higher grade.
I have found this is all the paper you need to give your projects a professional looking shine.... if your technique is right and you have the proper tools... yes, knowledge is a tool, probably thee most important tool you have!

First thing is to make your sanding area clean and easy to navigate, try and have a format in place to keep your time to a minimum. I also would suggest that you sit while you are sanding, leaning over a bowl of water for hours sanding can cause some serious back pain, trust me! The water level does not have to be a lot, it can be a little puddle as long as you do not let the sanding area get dry, you will be fine. I use the sink in my laundry room, I place about one inch of water (cold water, warm water will make the clay too soft and mar your work) I work methodically, but with a very light hand, especially when using the 320 grit, as it can leave deep crevices in your work that are difficult to remove completely!  Remember it is only clay and not much pressure is needed!

The baked surface of polymer clay is equal to 400 grit paper, that is not to say that you can't start with 400, but I have found that starting with 320, brings up more definition and luster. So in my opinion 400 grit should be the second or middle grit. If 320 grit is used it will take the first layer of  clay down to the patterning and into the layering, bringing out the effects of the clay to  stunning effects.

When sanding, it is important to know a couple of important things to be sure your sanding will not destroy but enhance your piece to a level of excellence! I can not stress enough how important is it to use a light hand, with light, and even strokes, let the paper do the work. Never skip grades of paper when sanding, as each grade removes the ridges created by the previous grade. If you skip grades, it will be removing only the top part of the ridges and you will see these striations in your finished design.

When starting to sand use long strokes in the same direction for every grade of paper, and change directions with each grit. In other words, go from right to left with 320, then from top to bottom with 400, then right to left with 600, switching it up with every grade of paper. Each consecutive grit of paper will be sanded in the opposite direction as the one prior. This will allow you to see when the sanding has removed all the marks of the previous paper. Once all the marks made in the opposite direction are gone, you can proceed with the next grade.... But not before!

I have learned that you can achieve a great shine with the right tools and not too much work. I have been creating my own tools for making this process easier and I must say that the right tool for the job makes all the difference in the world. I will continue to share tips and tricks with you all, for creating and making it easier to create, more effectively! I would love to hear from you all, your comments mean a lot!

Sanded and buffed, to a high shine, with 320, 400, 600, and look at that beautiful finish!

What do you use to buff with? I have created a buffing wheel that is amazing and is the reason for me being able to achieve all my high shine finishes.  Before I created this buffing wheel, I could not achieve this shine. I spent hours trying to achieve a high shine, and got nothing but a cloudy looking, overworked piece.  But with this buffing wheel, I don't need any more then a 600, grit paper to achieve this look, most need to sand all the way up to1200 grit to get this shine. The right tool for the job makes all the difference in the world!

Want to know what this buffing wheel is, or how you can create one for yourself? It will elevate your finished pieces by leaps and bounds!  Ask me about it and I might make a tutorial on it! Every polymer clay artist should own one, maybe I should think about marketing it huh??? =)

If you have any questions please feel free to comment, post your questions and I will answer them. If I do not have the answer I will search high and low for the right one! Have a great day and remember to create daily!

Putting It Out There... BeadDreams 2011

Metallic Clay, copper and gold, unbaked cabochons.

I have decided to enter the BeadDeams competition this year, I have never tried to enter a competition, other the FireMountianGems, contest. Of which I only earned a 3rd place and an honorable mention. This was with my bead work and was many years ago. This BeadDreams competition has several categories and I am going to enter pieces in three of them. I have been really inspired by my work with polymer clay and am curious to see how it fairs, or what others think of my work. I have only been working with it for about 6 months but really believe that I can do well, in this competition. All of my work is detail oriented,  completely finished pieces and  they are made extremely well. So, I am going to try it out.

Metallic clays, Skinner blend, mica shift medallion, pre Colombian inspired.

Being curious for a while about my polymer clay work, wondering if others can see what I am trying to achieve with polymer clay. I often see these extremely bright colored pieces, with organic shapes and several patterns going on. Often times there is a "favorite" method of caning like the extruded cane, that gets over used and under worked and seems to be on every web site. Another example would be Mokume Gane in neon colors and ghost imaging, I see a lot of necklaces that feature these methods.

What I am trying to achieve with my polymer clay pieces, is to elevate the look of polymer clay to "Fine Jewelry" not just the characterful, whimsical and trendy looking pieces that is is currently associated with. This is what I want my polymer clay work to become and what I am always striving for.

Jurassic Opal fabrication, my own technique.

As of last week, the level of polymer clay respect has been earned, and the negative reaction it had toward some artists, will now pale in comparison. With the announcement of polymer clay being accepted into Museums, and new areas being created in the museums to house polymer clay collections, will definitely change the minds of many  artists who thought of it as just a craft item! Elevating the importance of polymer clay as an art medium, had been a long time goal of many artists for many year! Congratulations!

So I think this is the perfect time for me to step out and introduce my style of art to the people who know good work. I feel my work will do well because my work is not like other polymer clay work. My creations are not loud and covered with wild patterns, my polymer clay work is sophisticated,  innovative and all are one of a kind. Please don't get me wrong, I love those designs with the bold colors and patterns, it is just not my style.... It makes me feel really good when I come up with my own techniques and am able to apply them successfully to a design. I feel great when I look at my work and I see beautiful settings, lovely stone fabrications, and my inspiration, combined. Well just have to see what others think! =)

In any case it will be fun and an experience waiting to see what happens and who wins. I am not expecting to win, but am expecting to have a lot of fun! Wish me luck and say hello! I will be posting pic's of the pieces I am working on for this event! So check back often.

Sometimes.... it's all in the finishing touches

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!

Sanded but not yet buffed, they will be shined up nicely!

Remember to always create, and take time to finish each piece!

Learning Folded Beads!

These are amazing beads and really important, in my opinion as they are ancient and some of the very first decorative beads around. Ancient Islamic Folded Beads, have captivated many an artist, with their seemingly impossible to replicate construction. I have read many stories of artists trying to replicate them, even spending years dedicated to reproducing these amazing beads, that seem to elude most.

I must admit, I love a challenge and decided to try and see if I could discover how to create them, if only for my own sense of accomplishment. I am not a glass artist, so I thought about polymer clay and how it adapts so well to the other glass techniques, like cane work... that look of milifiori, actually was achieved with molten glass. So in conditioning my clay, I was trying to put myself in the shoes of these Islamic artists who created this technique.... not an easy thing to do. I started to play and create with my clay, I tried stacking it in snakes and layering it, cutting the snakes and redistributing the lines to try and create the same pattern, but nothing looked even similar to them.


Well, I finally was able to create my won folded beads that look a lot like these original ones! Since discovering this method, I have created so many different shapes methods and techniques for creating unique and original folded beads.... not ancient, but these are as close to them as I have seen.
I have been blessed with a tenacity that does not allow me to quit, and i am thankful for that!

Here are some of my folded beads, please do a search to see more pic's of the original folded beads and compare them to min and you will see the similarities are very apparent... I am jazzed!

I can teach anyone to create them.... maybe a class!??? By the way, round beads are to simple, I wanted to create differnt shapes and am even creating connectors that are folded and pendant... really fun!

Here is a necklace with 3 fabricated  Ivory Folded beads, these beads are the ones pictured in all white!
Let me know what you think... I would love to start a class.... any interest!??
Don't forget to comment, say hello or follow! =)

Reproductions... Amazing!

I wanted to try my hand at reproducing early jewelry pieces, like form the pre Colombian era, and pre Classic eras. Those hard to find ornately decorated and expertly crafted pieces of wearable art.

I purchased a book by Daniel and Serga Nadler, Silver, from fetish to fashion. It is a book about their travels and their found love for Ethnic Jewelry, together they fell in love with each other and jewelry collecting. With their bond and love for one another they have amassed a huge collection of primer, gallery quality, pieces of Silver masterpieces.

Their collection has inspired me so much that I want to now recreate them, but in polymer clay and metals, and try my best to make them look close to the actual pieces. I have always been one to challenge myself, and this will be a challenge, as these are the finest pieces of jewelry I have seen, and they are actual pieces form their origination. They would travel to India, Pakistan, S.E, Asia, just every where, and would deal with tribes people and collectors to get the very best pieces they could find from all over the world.
This is my first try at creating with this book as inspiration... what do you think, i can use some feedback, really I could. Please feel free to comment... Thank you so much.