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My Midnight Garden Pendant

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Back to the books

I've felt a bit stuck in a rut creatively of late as I've had so many other important things going on I just haven't been inspired to clay. However i decided yesterday that I should go back to the books and work on some projects.

I chose Donna Katos - The Art of Polymer Clay - Millefiori Techniques as I love caning but wanted to try some simpler techniques, so I chose the Pop Art Pin and here is my version

I did have some trouble with spotted cane for this technique, it took me a few tries as I just couldn't get the red spots to stay round when reducing the cane, this could have been because I was using soft clay for both the red and black. I finally settled on getting the spots as rounded as I think they could be.  I will definitely have to try this cane again with a firmer type.

Playing with inks and foils

Testing out some alcohol inks on foils and silver leaf.
The sheet pattern looks good, still not dry but I'm wondering how I can get this onto to a round shaped bead?.
The blue bead was a test to see if I could achieve the same effect as the sheet, but the blue kind of flowed sliver the bead, still looks good and will try to add some other effects once it's dry maybe some stamps. Both these were done using a foil.
The purple bead is not going so well, I've used silver leaf on this and of course it cracks very easy and not really liking how the colour flows on this one.
I like the bubble effect on the sheet so gonna keep trying to get it onto a lentil bead.

My attempts at a Bettina Welker Technique

I fell in love with Bettina Welker's Nightgarden Pendant when I first saw it on Flickr and when I saw she had a book coming out with the Nightgarden Pendant and lots more I had to have it.

Once it arrived my first thing I did was chck to see I had what was needed to create my own pendant.  I set about searching the internet for coloured liquid clay here in the UK and I couldn't find a supplier anywhere, so I decided to improvise! here are my attempts at using translucent liquid mixed with the smallest amount of oil and acrylic Paint.

Actually some of them don't look too bad, but just not quite right.  So for a few months I put it aside and then recently decided to trawl the internet again for liquid clay determined to get some even if I had to purchase it from overseas.  This time my luck was in I have found a UK supplier, I was so happy I ordered a few colours and once they arrived I started practising the technique again, it's not as easy as it would seem.  I just fell like I am missing something maybe from the amount of colour I am using or the technique in spreading.  One piece I was happy with and created this pendant from it.

This technique reminds me of looking at the clouds and finding shapes from them and every time I look I see something different.  I also tried it out on a round bead just to see what it would turn out like here

I am pleased with the bead too, needless to say further attempts at the technique have just not turned out quite right so lots more practise will be needed.

The Shape Shifting Peacock Eye

Polymer Clay Canes

I attempted to make a peacock feather cane, which didn't quite work out

I seem to had made the center far too large, and it was going so well too.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet I'll let it sift around my brain and I'm sure I'll come up with some new ideas.

In the meantime I took a cut and decided to reduce some of the cane and used it to create a Shifting Cane, which I am really pleased with here's some pieces i created using my new Shifting Peacock Eye Cane.

Want to read more about my Polymer Clay Canes

• Creating a Handcrafted Item of Jewellery 
• A Colour Dilemma
• My Kalediscope Cane needs Something More