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Supplies:
- 2 sheets of 8"x11" typing paper
- Wide cellophane tape
- Scissors
- Narrow cellophane tape (optional - you can use the wide)
- 2 ounces translucent clay
- 2 ounces of opaque clay in the same brand as the translucent
- 1/2 ounce of a second opaque clay, also in the same brand as the translucent (optional)
- A jar for rolling out the clay (or a pasta machine if you have one)
- Long, thin cutting blade
- 2 small pieces of plexiglas or mirror or glass for reducing
"Why," you ask, "must you use the same brand as the translucent?" When you are making canes, it doesn't matter which brand of polymer clay you use. What does matter is staying with the same brand for all the clays used in the cane. As an example, you would not mix Fimo Classic clay with Fimo Soft as they are actually two different types of clay. Or Sculpey III with Sculpey Superflex since they, too, are two different types of clay. While Premo and Sculpey III are similar in consistency, they are not compatible in canework. Again, you ask "Why?"
Different clays are made with different ratios of chemicals, so some "move" faster than others. The softer clays will squish out faster than the firmer clays. Think of a sandwich. You put cream cheese on one slice of bread and mayonnaise on the other. Jam them together and squeeze. The softer spread - mayonnaise - will squish out faster than the cream cheese. Canes work along that same principle. Therefore, when you use the same type of clay - all Fimo Classic or all Sculpey III or whatever - you are using clays made with the same characteristics.
A word of caution, though. Even if you use the same brand of clay, different colors will move at different speeds unless the cane is allowed to "rest" before you begin to reduce it. Also, it can depend on how much you have conditioned and then worked a color - this, too, can contribute to its moving faster. So just let it sit overnight to let the different sections reach the same consistencey. If you're in a hurry pop it into the freezer and leave it sit for 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of your cane.
--sunni
Making Guides For Rolling Out Your
Clay
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1) Fold the paper lengthwise in half and, leaving it folded, fold in half again. |
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2) Leave the paper folded, and repeat with two more folds until it looks like the completed guide on the left. |
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3) Place the still folded paper in the middle of a length of wide cellophane tape. If the tape is too long, that's ok. Bring the tape over the side of the paper away from the fold, taking care to keep the paper tightly folded. Looking at the picture above, that would be the edge facing away from the demonstrator. If the tape is a little too wide, that's ok. Next, grab the edge just covered and roll the paper back onto the remaining tape to give you a perfectly aligned edge and insure a nice, tight, smooth covering. |
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4) Snip off any tape (this step is optional) extending beyond the ends of the guide. |
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5) Tape the guides parallel to one another on your work surface. Be sure to tape both ends. I made sure the tape was even with the work surface between the guides in case the clay completely filled the space inbetween. |
Folded lengthwise and wrapped in tape will yield the
thickness equivalent on a 9 setting Atlas pasta machine
as....
1 fold = 9 (thinnest setting) These guides also make excellent straight edges for cutting and marking your clay.... |
Making A Jellyroll Cane | ||
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1) In this demonstration I am using Premo! clay. My opaque color is the Premo Pearl White. My translucent is the Premo Bleached with fine microglitter included into it. Making sure you have the same amount of both clays, condition them by squishing, squeezing and folding until you can roll them into a fat log and bend it in half without the clay splitting along the outside of the fold. |
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2) Roughly roll your clay into a log and place it in the center between the guides. |
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3) Smash it down with your fingers to get a good start, taking care not to smash any of it too thin. |