But what new adventure, you ask? It is right there in the post title! Last September I had the chance to take a class at ArtBliss, with the wonderful Christine Damm. It was very first experience with polymer clay and I loved it. We had so much fun creating textured shapes and using pastels to color them. I knew then and there that I wanted to play some more. I didn't have the time or money at that point to buy a bunch of supplies, so I put it on hold and added some of what I needed to get started to my wish list. Instead, I read anything about creating with polymer clay that I could, browsed Pinterest, found lots of great tutorials, etc. Plus, here at AJE, we have our own wonderful PC artists! Rebekah, Kristi, Sue, Jenny...and now Linda is interested too! I can't wait to see what we all make in 2014!!!
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| The pieces I completed in Christine Damm's ArtBliss class! |
So, fast forward to Christmas...Santa/Jesse brought me a big block of white Sculpey, and an assortment of 24 Premo colors. He also brought a cool cutting blade set with handles. After Christmas, I got myself a pasta machine. I had some tools/cutting shapes I bought for the class, and mold-making material I bought for another project. The only thing I haven't gotten is an oven.
So, the past couple of weeks I have been playing. Without a dedicated oven, things are only complete up to shaping. I know I can use my own oven, but I need to get a thermometer to make sure the temperature is accurate, and I will need to take precaution about fumes. The first thing I did was make a few molds...man this is addictive! I keep walking around the house trying to find interesting textures and objects!
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| Molds...so much fun! |
Then I started playing! I decided to use 2 green colors...here is what I came up with.
Once they are baked, I am going to antique them and maybe add some gilder's paste...I can't wait!
Then I made up a batch of ivory using Christine's recipe she shared...luckily I had the correct ingredients in the assortment Jesse got me! These are going to be layered in some way, I think.
Oh, another cool thing about playing with polymer clay? Ben wants to play too! He brought me a skull he wanted to make a mold of and he made these 2 last night! He also played with free-forming flame shapes. He has already been hammering metal, so we may have a new artist in our midst!
Well, thanks for stopping by. Check back in a few weeks, I hope to have a baking system and have some completed pieces.
What about you? What new things are you going to try in 2014? I would love to hear?
Melissa Meman
Melissa, Great post. I did earth clay for 40 years, off and on, and made the switch to polymer a year ago. I love it, too. I wrote a comprehensive health care guide for women who craft. It won a Gold Medal for Health Communication, so from that standing place I say this: I use my regular oven to bake my polymer. If I need to use the oven for baking food, I preheat it for 15 extra minutes. I self-clean it before big use days, like Thanksgiving. I now use my toaster oven for heating "little things" like fish sticks. Susan Delphine Delaney, author, "Rx for Quilters: Stitcher Friendly Advice for Every Body". C&T Publishing. Best of luck with your polymer!
ReplyDeleteThese are great, Melissa! I was thinking about what I want to do with PC last night, and ended up not being able to sleep. Too many ideas running around in my mind! Its going to be a fun journey for all of us! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteFabulous beads! I would really love to try making my own beads but even now I can't seem to find the time to make jewelry. How does life get so busy?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Looks like you are having loads of fun, Melissa :) Can't wait to follow the further adventures of both you and Ben!
ReplyDeleteI'll be very interested to follow your polymer progress and to get any tips you might want to pass along. Polymer is going to be my new adventure this year. I'm excited.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Melissa. I have admired your metalwork many times. it will be interesting to see what you do with polymer clay.
ReplyDeleteI am planning on putting patina on some metals. I bought some metals that I plan on altering. When I finish that I want to devote the remainder of the year to polymer clay. I have my supplies and hope to find the time. Congrats on your challenging yourself. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteOh Melissa I love where you are going with all the pieces!!!!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it awesome stuff to play with? I would like to do more with my clay as well. I have had some ideas on the back burner for some time and I think that now is the time to make them front and center. I also want to make more time for metal. Almost every class I ever take is related to metal in some way and I think that I need to focus on that for some time. I usually pick a word for the year but I am having a hard time with that this time. Maybe because I don't feel that I achieved what I should have with the one last year. Actually, two words have popped out at me and I am going to keep meditating on that a bit. Thank you for sharing your new passion! Enjoy the day. Erin
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