Making art with polymer clay

The last few days I've been playing with polymer clay in an artistic way. I have always loved textures and am inspired by nature. So, I pulled out my beach shells and got some ideas.

Using the stack and shave method (?) I got some interesting wavelets in subtle greys and creams. I used pearl and translucent clay in the mix . WOW!!! very delicate look.

I would then build the shaved bits up to make interesting hills and valleys - complete with little flaws and finds. Sort of the underwater look of sand. I'm learning to be patient with this - sanding does not remove flaws.

I don't think I would use the for pendants - but maybe mini art - aceos? I'll put a background color behind each piece and see how that looks.

Wish me luck!

first curing samples!

Day one curing:

The little blue / yellow / black dots were my very first beads. I thought they would work clustered and dangling from earwires. They came out okay.

There are an assortment of red / blue / gold ones - some I cured with metal findings - pendant testing. The large pieces in red with gold should fit together on top of a backing bead. Will try this again.

The shimmery green / gold / blue are the ones I did using the layering technique - just testing.

I'm on a roll - playing with textures and imprints

I'm now the proud owner of a "Collection" of Polymer Clay books! Three!

- Look, Learn & Create - Polymer Clay 101 - by Angela Mabray and Kim Otterbein

- Making Polymer Clay Beads - by Carol Blackburn

- Patterns in Polymer - Imprint & Accent Bead Techniques - by Julie Picarello

I have learned to do the Skinner Blend (I really love playing with colors - continually amazed by the variances).

I am working on layering colors. I stack the layers and then impress with various tools to make Abstract Art (ta da!!!) This is right up my alley....

You then slice the stack into thin layers - to create a series of beads or pendants in a series of colors that changes with every slice!

I recommend Patterns in Polymer - it describes this technique much better than I just did. I am also trying some strong color combos because of this book. So a big thank you to Julie Picarello for the inspiration.

Tomorrow is the day to cure my creations (it's been very hot here the last few days - tomorrow will be cooler and low humidity) - perfect!

wish me luck!