April 7, 2008

Class Review: Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg

Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)

I took a 2-day intensive “hybrid” class from Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg (River Poet Design) this weekend through the South Bay Polymer Clay Guild. This was the first time Lynne has taught this particular class–it is a hybrid of the 8 From 1 Flower Cane workshop and the Floral Tile Jewelry Construction and Design workshop. We made three floral canes, learned Lynne’s special tricks on composing and constructing the tiles as well as the finished piece. Lynne also demonstrated how to make one of her faux wood grains.

I really enjoyed this class. First, Lynne’s very laid back style made her approachable. She clearly demonstrated the techniques, but instead of having us sit for an hour demo, she broke the steps of the projects and processes down into manageable chunks to enable us to see the demo and immediately apply it. I think this approach enabled everyone to achieve the desired results AND have the opportunity to retain as much information as possible. I found the pacing to be a little slow due to these stops and starts and due to the various rates of speed in which people completed the steps, but the methodology was the best way to teach complex techniques.

For a small materials fee, Lynne provided us with a number of tools and materials to use as well as an extremely detailed hand-out complete with color copies of examples of finished canes, and critical steps in creating the finished pieces. We also had the opportunity to buy some of her favorite tools she uses to make her distinctive and beautiful floral designs, and after she explained their function and value, we all were sold.

Aside from the obvious value of the class–making great canes, creating wonderful backgrounds and finished pieces–the tips and special techniques Lynne taught us were worth the price of admission. I now know how to create a smooth, finished composition using cane slices with little distortion of the slices. In the past, my slices would become ENORMOUS. I also know how to properly pack canes to minimize distortion while reducing, how to best slice VERY thin slices, and how to preserve my valuable assets in creating a finished piece.

I think that if you have the opportunity to take a class from Lynne, you should–even if you’re a caning pro. I think we all can learn something valuable from a class, and Lynne’s 17 years of experience with clay is something she readily and generously shares with her students.

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February 14, 2008

CHA Quickie Review

I just got back from the Craft & Hobby Association show in Anaheim, and boy, am I tired! Lots of walking, lots of conversations, and more scrapbook paper than one would ever want. After a few days, everything is a blur. However, there were a few stand-outs. I’ll do full reviews of these products after I test them, but these are the things that caught my eye.

Magic-Glos

Lisa Pavelka is now marketing a new UV cured resin, Magic-Glos. This resin is used to create a hard, clear finish on our pieces, and when cured, the surface is more like an acrylic and even harder than EnviroTex or other two-part epoxy resins. HOWEVER, it requires you to cure it using a UV light source–a UV nail lamp, direct sunlight, or a UV florescent black light 40 watts or higher. Lisa conveniently sells lamps and replacement bulbs on her site as well. I’ll report more on the product after I test it, but I like the hard finish of the product.

Kato Polyclay introduced a line of Colored Liquid Polymer Clay.  I know that this was in the works for some time…Tony Aquino, the product guru at Van Aken, had brought samples to the South Bay Polymer Clay Guild for us to play with.  Using some aluminum window channels, we made the most awesome flexible bracelets with this stuff.  The colors are transparent and come in red, yellow, blue, orange, violet and green along with opaque black and opaque white.  You can make opaque colors by adding the transparent colors to white or pearlescent colors by adding mica powders.  I can’t wait to play more with the colored liquid clay!

La D’ore International had some beautiful new colors of gold leaf–cranberry (kind of a violet color) and a phenomenal deep orange. The owner debuted the products at CHA and will have the site updated soon (both products are not on the retail site yet). HOWEVER, when it does come up, he offered National Polymer Clay Guild Synergy attendees a 20% discount off their order. Just put SYNERGY20 in your order comments and mention the discount. He can’t re-process orders, so if you forget, you don’t get the discount. You’ll love these new colors…they are stupendous!

Patera Deep Pendant

Nunn Design has some great Patera deep pendants that are perfect as bails for our polymer clay. They come in gold, copper and silver finishes. Nunn Design sells wholesale, but one of my favorite companies, JudiKins, sells them online.

Avery has a new flexible/stretchable t-shirt transfer paper. On fabric, it has no “hand” whatsoever. I have a sample, and I’m going to try it on polymer clay as yet another image transfer medium. More to come! However, JudiKins Tranz-It Rinse Away Paper still remains my favorite. In fact, I demonstrated it at the Kato Polyclay booth during the show and made Donna Kato and Tony Aquino from Van Aken jump for joy! I called it the “worlds fastest and easiest image transfer.” And it was.

Golden Paint is coming out with one of the most innovative products I’ve seen in a long time. They have some new mediums–called Digital Grounds–that you paint onto surfaces that enable you to run them through your inkjet printer. It will come in White (matte), Clear (gloss) and for Non-Porous surfaces. With these products, you will be able to print onto most anything you can fit into your inkjet printer. At their booth, Golden had samples of everything from iridescent film to thin foil and even a sheet of dried acrylic paint! Wow. I can’t wait to get my hands on some of this stuff. Imagine putting a sheet of cured clay through your inkjet printer? I can’t wait!

I’m sure I’ll remember more as I recover, but these were the real stand-0uts to me!

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October 4, 2007

Product Discovery: JudiKins TranzIt Rinse-Away Paper

5 Stars Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

TranzIt Rinse Away Paper

There are TONS of ways to transfer images to polymer clay. Inkjet, waterslide decals, toner with alcohol, toner with gin, direct…and on and on.

I have discovered a NEW way to get extraordinary and fast transfer onto polymer clay–JudiKins TranzIt Rinse-Away Paper. Designed for use with TranzIt gel for image transfers, TranzIt Rinse-Away Paper is the perfect transfer medium for polymer clay. Retailing for $7.75 for 5 sheets, it’s not inexpensive. However, you will be thrilled with using this paper.

The paper is made from cellulose. When it comes into contact with water, it immediately breaks down. Thus, you can only use this paper with a laser printer or toner-based color or black-and-white copier. You cannot, I repeat cannot, use this paper with an inkjet printer–it will forever gum up your printer and render it useless. Now for the good news. You can have an image transfer in five minutes. Yes, you read correctly. Five minutes.

Here’s how:

  1. Print your images onto the paper using a laser printer or laser/toner copier (color or black-and-white). Most likely, a copy center will be reluctant to put this paper into their machines, but you could give it a try. I have a color laser printer, and it worked well. The paper buckled and curled a bit with the heat from the printer, but the images transferred easily and well.
  2. Cut out your image, leaving NO white space.
  3. Roll out a sheet of conditioned, light-colored polymer clay on your desired thickness setting. Place it either on your work surface, a baking surface like a tile, or on a deli sheet or waxed paper–depending upon how you’ll be using the transfer. I use light colors of clay (white, pearl, translucent, ecru or even silver or gold for a different look) since the transfer is translucent, and any backing clay color will show through the image.
  4. Place your printed image face-down on your conditioned clay. Cover it with a sheet of deli paper, plain paper, etc. Burnish the image through the paper using a bone folder or other burnishing tool. I do this so the tool doesn’t drag across the raw clay as I go past the edges of the conditioned clay. Burnish from the center of the image out towards the edges to ensure that you do not trap any air between the image and the clay. Remove the cover paper.
  5. Wait at least 5 minutes. DO NOT WAIT MORE THAN 20 or 30 MINUTES. I let a piece wait for too long (an hour or so), and the image smeared.  15 minutes was fine.  I haven’t ventured past 20 minutes since the smear incident. :-(
  6. Take your image to the sink and run water over it. You will see the paper dissolve and rinse away.
  7. Make sure all of the cellulose material has rinsed away. You may find remnants sticking to the dark areas of your image. Gently wash/wipe these away.
  8. Form your piece with your image and bake. You can also cover the image with a VERY thin layer of liquid polymer clay to protect it.

Now, wasn’t that easy? I thought so. I’ve been experimenting with this paper a bit, and if I find different issues with it, I’ll report back here. However, I do have to say that this is the EASIEST image transfer I’ve ever created on polymer clay.

I’ve linked to JudiKins’ retail store so you can get your own (no, I don’t get commission for this…I just don’t know who is stocking this stuff, and I thought it would be easiest for you got get it from the source).

Have fun!

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July 27, 2007

Book Review: The Art of Polymer Clay – Creative Surface Effects

5 StarsRating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Buy from Amazon Surface Effects Book

Yes, another 5-star book. Are there books I don’t like as much? Yes. Have those been published lately? No.

It has been a decade–yes, a decade–since Donna published her first book, The Art of Polymer Clay. This second book takes us to Donna today. Her style is elegant, her techniques are innovative, and her instruction makes her projects accessible. I’ve taken two classes from Donna. In fact, I joined my local clay guild when I first started claying just to take Donna’s class–and I haven’t looked back.

Donna’s book is like a portable Kato class. Donna taught many of these techniques in the classes I took from her. However, having this indispensable reference book enables me to review the class at my leisure and further experiment with her techniques. She approaches each technique in a straightforward manner–teach techniques, then apply them to a project. This enables us not only to complete a sample that masters the technique, but also a very beautiful finished piece that will get people talking.

Donna splits the book into seven different sections:

  • Polymer Clay Basics
  • Mica Shift Techniques
  • Transferring Images Onto Polymer Clay
  • Creating Texture
  • Paints, Inks and Pigment Powders
  • Special Effects with Liquid Polymer Clays
  • Sculpture and Mold Making

I love Donna’s techniques. They are the result of hours of experimentation and development on her part. The book details both how to do something–and why. For instance, Donna makes a mold from her rubber stamps using polymer clay and THEN uses that mold to create her pieces. She goes into detail about why she does this, and what the results are molding directly from a stamp versus taking an impression from a polymer clay mold made from a rubber stamp. It’s something I never considered, but it makes great sense.

The twelve beautiful projects are accompanied by step-by-step instructions and photographs that walk you through each major component. While some projects are simple, others teach you techniques in constructing complex pieces like her coveted Japanese Inro boxes.

Peppered throughout the book are awe-inspiring inspirational pieces, including the pieces submitted for two of Kato Polyclay’s artists contests/exhibitions–one focused on shoes (Feat of Clay) and one focused on boxes. I was honored to be the 2nd-place winner in the box contest, and my “Donnelly’s Sampler” is included in the book.

The only small issue I had was that one of the products Donna uses in the book, Kato Clay Concentrates, is not available yet. However, given the beautiful colors of mica shift clay she’s achieved, I don’t mind waiting–much.

Aug 3, 2007 UPDATE: Kato PolyClay Color Concentrates are HERE! I spoke too soon!!! They are now on the Prairie Craft website and other Internet stores! Yay!!!

This is yet another book that will stay in my permanent library. I love having a Donna class on my shelf, ready for me at any time.

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July 27, 2007

Book Review: Making Polymer Clay Beads

5 Stars Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Buy from Amazon Making Polymer Clay Beads

Why do I love polymer clay books? I learn well from written instruction. In fact, most of what I’ve learned has been through a combination of books, experimentation and discussion. I have only taken a few classes over the years, and while each class has given me a huge infusion of techniques and ideas, books fill in the gaps on a daily basis–inexpensively, and at my own pace.

Carol Blackburn has authored a real winner here. It’s another book in my library that I will go back to over and over again.

Why do I like this book? Part of it is the actual design of the book. The subtitle to this book is “Step-by-step techniques for creating beautiful ornamental beads.” This is a true and accurate description of the book. From the basic information that we see in all polymer clay books (clays, equipment, conditioning, etc.) to the techniques, the exceptional photography and clear, concise instructions make this book both a visual feast and an excellent primer for both people who learn best by visual stimuli as well as those who learn best by detailed instruction.

This is a technique-oriented book. If you’re looking for a book that focuses on finish pieces complete with design ideas, this is not the book for you. While there are finishing ideas and instructions in the back of the book, the core of the book is about learning and using a variety of techniques to make polymer clay beads. Techniques are laid out in a single- or double-page spread. On the top of each page, photographs of the beads made using the techniques are artfully presented. Below, descriptions of the technique, a tools and materials list and then the step-outs of the process used to make the beautiful beads are presented in a flowing, easy-to-follow manner. Each step is chronicled using clear, professional close-up photography, and is accompanied with detailed instructions to complete the step. If warranted, tips are presented with a specific step; for instance, when a tip about sealing silver leaf to prevent tarnishing accompanies the finishing step for a mokume-gane bead. On the bottom of the page, references to other useful information are cited, including page numbers for the helpful techniques.

What I also like about this book is that the techniques and accompanying beads are approachable by beginning clayers as well as inspirational for experienced clayers. It’s an excellent reference book for techniques, and inspirational book for jewelry artists, and a visual feast for all.

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