'i am always doing that which i cannot do,
in order that i may learn how to do it.'
- pablo picasso
in order that i may learn how to do it.'
- pablo picasso
my experiments with polymer clay are continuing... the first night i decided to try darker clays & was thinking i was going to have something called pearl-ex to use as a highlighter... however, at the two craft stores i went to, they didn't have it... from the depths of my mind was something whispering 'alcohol based ink'... i figure that had to have come from reading a post by heather at humblebeads or lynn at llyynn ... because they really are the pros... so i went back to the craft store and got some of them along with some lighter colored clays... i applied some different colored inks to some of the darker clay beads to see what would happen... the blue bead in the upper left corner has slate on it, the one under it has the meadow green on it...
when i applied the inks to a lighter clay bead, it put the light color into relief... the inks have a watercolor type finish the way i did it using a felt pad... some of the beads are just testers to see how the ink colors come out after baking... and what they look like on different base colors... they got much more subtle... so i am wondering if i should be applying them afterward sometimes... i am not sure if i like the green... & the different effects you can get... i like the way they bleed... my favorites are from the top two rows... zoa art today had a post showing a current mag containing an article on polymer clay, so i think i will try to grab that...
these beads happened when i applied ink to the rubber stamp itself... then i added some extra color to the one on the right... i do like the kind of distressed look they have... the middle one was a thought for the abs challenge this month - then i realized it's the 29th already!re: a cube - that was trickier than i had realized as you have to push into the stamp to get the imprint... as you turn sides, it got sloppier - i was ok with how it was by 3 sides, sometimes... am going to keep at this... just to see what happens...
did you do anything different today?
i'm new to polymer clay too, i haven't been happy with my results yet. practice, practice, practice, thank goodness it's inexpensive.
ReplyDeleteno doubt! i think that was why it was easy to get going with... at $1.25 a bar, you cannot beat it! and it has such potential...
ReplyDeleteMaire, I think these are great! I especially like the ones where you put ink on the stamp and stamped the colour into the pattern. That's giving me a little idea about porcelain. This blogging stuff is great, eh?
ReplyDeleteAbout those square beads. This is what I do. I make 2 stamps that are the same. I form the bead into the square shape and then stamp from opposite sides. Then I rotate the bead and stamp into the remaining blank sides. Doing it this way puts the bead back into shape when I do the blank sides. And I've just started making one flat stamp that can sit on my work surface. Then I put the bead on top of that one and stamp from the top. You can make stamps from the ones you are using out of polymer clay. I make an impression into polymer, bake it, and then use that to make another stamp that is virtually idendical to the original. I don't know if any of that makes sense. If this sounds like something that would work for you, I'm more than happy to give you more information. Just email me.
Good work and have fun!
LeAnn
oh maire!!! they are beautiful!!! they're so you!! i love it love it love it!! love the earthy tones and yes... inking the stamp does give it a more unique effect! you can do that with pearl-ex too :)) oooo... looking forward to see these in your jewelry!
ReplyDeleteI just love to learn from others - I see some great effects here and I particularly like the effect you got by inking the stamp.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing this progress!
the blues are just beautiful! I always like an earth tone, but there is magic with the blues.
ReplyDeletethank you for all of your comments! i like the inked stamp best too - it reminds me of an illustrated manuscript or something old...
ReplyDeleteleann, i will be contacting you... and the suggestion for the cube - so brilliant! that hadn't even occured to me... and so i thank you very much... will start my extra stamp making today... i really appreciate the time you took in your response...
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ReplyDeleteMaire, these are great! You are a pro already! The great thing about polymer is there are no mistakes! Only fun new ideas! :) If we were neighbors, I would invite you over and we could exhaust all my stored away tools and supplies! Watch out! The tools and "extras" can be very addicting! ;) So are you going to put these into jewelry- I hope? They are really beautiful!
ReplyDeletecindy,thanks so much... i would love to hang with you and work together... there are a few i am considering working into the bracelets i make with all different art beads... today i am going to do a different experiment if time allows... which i am hoping it does...
ReplyDeleteI didn't do anything different today, so I'll simply choose instead to bask in your creative sunshine and get my Fly Art on vicariously through Mairedodd...again :)
ReplyDelete