Yonat Dascalu Clay Fabric workshop

Last Saturday this workshop was conducted by Yonat Dascalu. She demonstrated the clay fabric technique with simple canes. A good technique to use and create beautiful patterns even out of scrap clay. It was a 3 hour workshop and at the end she handed out a CD with the complete technique on video. Till date I have been an internet learner and I do also try and experiment a lot omy own. This one is my first workshop and I really enjoyed it. The Hamsa was made there, baked and brought home. 

Layering effects

I have been trying various layering effects with different types of canes. These are pieces of jewelry that I made using a striped background on which flower, leaf and butterfly canes were layered.

The black and white striped base cane offered the right kind of contrast for the burgundy roses and transparent leaves, maintaining a very delicate balance with the tiny lilac flowers.

 The base cane in this piece was created out of a skinner blend using Fimo turquoise and emerald green.  Liked the combination so much that  I decided to use only transparent flowers so that there are no other

colors that interfere with the base combination.

Next came the green base, a skinner blend striped cane using white, avocado green and sap green for the stripes. The base looked more or less like a lawn and decided to make it bright and colorful. Added some slices of brightly colored flower canes and this turned out to be a really nice.

Created another set with the same base cane but with a different set of flower canes, this time with bright yellow and transparent , with a leaf here and a leaf there. The leaf shaped pendant and earrings added dimension to the green skinner blend base and guess what!....It is already sold.

Well, this one is my favorite, with the blue green and white striped base, a few teal flowers, white flowers and the gorgeous blue butterfly emerging from the garden.

I did make a square pendant and earring set with just a butterfly on blue green stripes too and that one is all sold, but here is the picture.

Most of these pieces are listed on my etsy shop,  please go ahead and take a look.

http://www.claybazaar.etsy.com/

Etsy shop CLAYBAZAAR

I have been busy in the past two weeks with an art show and setting up of my Etsy shop  CLAYBAZAAR. The shop is up and running and two sets got sold the day they were listed and I am just glad about the great beginning. The shop is a joint venture with a dear friend who lives in the US. We have about 23 items listed for sale as of now and I am looking at this shop as an outlet for excess canes and jewelry. There are many plans to diversify later. Right now we have some jewelry including a turtle set in animal print listed there.
Look at the shop if you have a minute.
http://www.claybazaar.etsy.com/

Pearl-ex and texture effects

There are about a dozen texture sheets in my desk that I always wanted to use. Tried some mokume gane using one of the sheets some time ago and that was all I did with those wonderful tools. Couple of days back I pulled out the sheets and some pearl-ex powders from my stock and this is what I ended up with.This turquoise pearl-ex is tried and tested and I love this color particularly in contrast with the black base. I did a similar piece long time ago and posted the picture on flickr. The stamp is from the Barbara mcguire collection. I just love this stamp. It has about five different patterns flowing and works so well with polymer clay.

Next came the copper powder and the Spring Morning texture sheet by Sculpey. This is another texture sheet that I love. It creates nice sharp impressions on clay. The effect of copper on black and the impression of leaves translated into the shadow of a tree branch and I am glad I tried this combination.

How would it be to have two different colors of pearl-ex on the same piece? Well, this is what it looks like. This stamp is also from the Sculpey collection. The combination of gold, copper and black made the piece look kind of antique but the pattern very ethnic with the arabesque motifs.This one is my favorite. This piece looks a lot metallic than the rest in my opinion.

The next piece was made with a burnt pinkish shade of pearl-ex and by the time I reached this piece I got so bored of the cutters and the monotony of the common shapes. Cut out the pieces in a way that the shape flows with the pattern,with no symmetry and I think it looks good this way. Added a pearl at to each piece while stringing. I may get tired of the shapes but not the stamp. This is my favorite stamp and Thanks to Barbara McGuire.

I made a few more of these in other color and patterns. For pictures, visit my flickr album

Journey of the butterfly

The butterfly cane that started out a couple days ago as two sheets of skinner blend has come a long way (the actual process of metamorphosis). It grew spots all along the edges of the wings, got a little body and is all ready to fly away now. What fun it was, making this fantasy butterfly cane. I am happy that in the process I could make a tutorial too.

Butterfly wing cane tutorial

Many were curious about how I made these butterfly wings www.flickr.com/photos/malsarts/3662799486/in/set-72157615943466756/
Here is the tutorial ( in a different color scheme for obvious reasons). I have outlined just the basic cane. Add bull's eyes to the periphery if you like your butterfly that way. Let your imagination and creativity run wild.

Leave a comment if you like this tutorial. Visit again if you would like to see the completed butterfly cane. Happy butterflying!

Grazing turtles

The kaleidoscope cane ends metamorphosed into these cute little turtles. They looked rather dull and drab when I tried photographing them on a piece of fabric, so sent them out to the lawn to graze. These are meant to be used as paper weights and so filled their tummies with some metal balls to add to the weight element.

Calculated canes

These canes are the outcome of yesterday's play. Kaleidoscope canes in different color combinations. With kaleidoscopes some canes turn out the way you expect and some leave you wondering if you should have taken more time to decide how to put the triangles together . The blue one matched my expectation while the lavender and grey is a disappointment. The flaming square is my favorite. Love the glow of yellow inside the red streaks. Now I need to look at what can be done with these canes..

Sculpted roses and cane leaves

Did some useful work after a really long break. Sculpted the roses out of a petal cane and added some leaf cane slices. The tear drop beads and pearls add a touch of richness to the dusky pink roses. Made another set of roses in complementary colors, a lighter blend of pearl and sedona but yet to add the hooks. Happy with the way this turned out. Click on the image to view the pearlescent shimmer on the roses.

Today's experiment (Gerald the giraffe)

Trying more combinations with sculpting and canes. This cute little giraffe is the latest. The entire piece with the background is about 3 inches in length. Can I call this a 'mini' wall piece? The giraffe again has a touch of CF. Time to think of a name for him. Any suggestions?
29 Aug '09
Thanks to Dorothy who came up with the name Gerald for this baby giraffe. Suits him so well..