Welsh Claydays
Our next clayday in Garthmyl will be announced soon
We are on the A483 which is the main road through Wales.
From the North go through Welshpool and Larkrise (where the meeting is) is on the right, seven tenths of a mile from the Nag's Head (at the Montgomery turning) on the A483.
From the South go through Newtown and Larkrise is approximately 8 miles from Morrisons in Newtown - look out for the golf course that is on the right, which is directly opposite Larkrise.
If you drive down the lane, and into the carpark (Larkrise written on a slate at the entrance). Walk down past the garage and you will see us all in the conservatory!
If you are new to the claydays we start at 10am and go on till 4pm (ostensibly - people just don't go home......). Healthy Natural biscuits provided! If you are new to polymer clay we will lend you tools and give you clay on your first visit. Or you can buy clay here. If you are already au fait with polymer clay bring your favourite tools, your pasta machine, your clay, a tile to work on, and preferably some surgical spirit to clear up any clay. Bring your efforts too to put on the 'show and tell' table: this is a table where everyone put their work and can boast about how they did what they did!
Parking can be on the grass verge opposite my house. There is limited space in my car park if you are unable to walk far or get here early!
It is useful if you get in touch before you come so we know how many people will be there: 01686 640745
We look forward to seeing you.....
We are on the A483 which is the main road through Wales.
From the North go through Welshpool and Larkrise (where the meeting is) is on the right, seven tenths of a mile from the Nag's Head (at the Montgomery turning) on the A483.
From the South go through Newtown and Larkrise is approximately 8 miles from Morrisons in Newtown - look out for the golf course that is on the right, which is directly opposite Larkrise.
If you drive down the lane, and into the carpark (Larkrise written on a slate at the entrance). Walk down past the garage and you will see us all in the conservatory!
If you are new to the claydays we start at 10am and go on till 4pm (ostensibly - people just don't go home......). Healthy Natural biscuits provided! If you are new to polymer clay we will lend you tools and give you clay on your first visit. Or you can buy clay here. If you are already au fait with polymer clay bring your favourite tools, your pasta machine, your clay, a tile to work on, and preferably some surgical spirit to clear up any clay. Bring your efforts too to put on the 'show and tell' table: this is a table where everyone put their work and can boast about how they did what they did!
Parking can be on the grass verge opposite my house. There is limited space in my car park if you are unable to walk far or get here early!
It is useful if you get in touch before you come so we know how many people will be there: 01686 640745
We look forward to seeing you.....
25th August 2018 - impromptu clayday
Debs got in touch and said she was missing the claydays so we rang around and a small group of us got together with no theme in mind. A quiet group - 5 of us with me, but we all managed to achieve something. Hazel was experimenting with pink foils. Tony was mixing colours and Debs produce some beautiful veneers from a YouTube tutorial by Jessima. And we met Maeve, Tony's wife who has been introduced to Polymer clay and loves it!
26th May 2018 - Clayday with Helen Breil
Helen Breil contacted me and asked me if I would undertake an experiment with her with a view to her doing something similar elsewhere. We agreed to find up to 10 people to buy her Pendants video tutorial (there is the bowls one too) and for us all to make the pendant at a clayday. At the end of the day Helen came and joined us for around 40 minutes to show her what we had been making and answer any questions we had. It worked well. We all enjoyed the day and enjoyed our chat with Helen. There were lots of pendants made, but not enough photos taken! Eileen, predictably, made lots of pendants in advance and you can see the options presented in the slideshow below. Meanwhile, here we have the work in progress
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Jayne work in progress
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7th April 2018
This is Tony holding court on what was a really excellent clayday. Everyone of us did something different, and a new addition to our Group, Wendy, was a delight - and delighted with Polymer clay. All the photos are pretty grim because sadly I have dropped my camera and am waiting for the repair to be completed. However, you will get the gist.
tony was telling us about how he produces such lovely veneers to cover his pens (Tony is a wood turner) and you will see an example of his latest veneer below. It is amusing that his wife insisted that he always chooses dreary colours, so we encouraged him to use magenta for a change with stunning results!
Sonya and Pam sat and watched Fiona-Abel Smith's tutorial on painting with polymer clay and as a result Pam produced a superb facsimile of Fiona's work. Sonya, however, returned to producing her delightful face pieces, the latest of which are decorating glassware to great effect.
Wendy produced her first ever cane and subsequently made some earrings with it.
And Finally Debs had found a tutorial on the Net and produced blue beads from it. However, yet again it brings up the vexed question of people copying the work of those who make their living by their creativity, for I recognised it immediately as being the work of Mel West, yet the tutorial was not. To copy someone's work and teach that work is quite unacceptable.
tony was telling us about how he produces such lovely veneers to cover his pens (Tony is a wood turner) and you will see an example of his latest veneer below. It is amusing that his wife insisted that he always chooses dreary colours, so we encouraged him to use magenta for a change with stunning results!
Sonya and Pam sat and watched Fiona-Abel Smith's tutorial on painting with polymer clay and as a result Pam produced a superb facsimile of Fiona's work. Sonya, however, returned to producing her delightful face pieces, the latest of which are decorating glassware to great effect.
Wendy produced her first ever cane and subsequently made some earrings with it.
And Finally Debs had found a tutorial on the Net and produced blue beads from it. However, yet again it brings up the vexed question of people copying the work of those who make their living by their creativity, for I recognised it immediately as being the work of Mel West, yet the tutorial was not. To copy someone's work and teach that work is quite unacceptable.
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17th February 2017
Polymenia intervened and thus I have taken so long to show you what we were doing this month that I can't remember who did what. I remember some distinctive pieces for Sue was being very original (she simply used available Kato mixes experimenting with colour) and we had the rare pleasure of Jayne's company and as ever she came up with clever ideas, some skinner blend translucent canes. Rhian was quite clear what she was dong for she was making tiny knitting markers. The rest of us were experimenting with all sorts of interesting and experimental pieces. These days are an absolute pleasure when different individuals come up with new ideas to share. So - one slide show to show how creative we all are!
13th January 2018
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We had a creative clayday, but started by being shown this lovely piece of patchwork that Val has made since we saw her last: a beautiful piece of work.
Back to the clay we had some complete beginners and some fascinating work by the experienced artists. The show and tell that was brought showed an delightful collection of very capable work. So three slideshows, one from beginners, one from more advanced workers and finally the show and tell work |
Saturday25th November 2017
I think everyone was preparing for Christmas this month (or were laid low with colds) , but nevertheless Pam arrived, and later Sue and Roz (Roz was continuing with her fabulous covered eggs_
Roz and Sue, to my relief, were available for our two new comers, Alley and Rhian. The new comers both completed a random cane and continued to experiment thereafter. You will also see that Alley brought with her her great little animal collection - how talented she is!
Roz and Sue, to my relief, were available for our two new comers, Alley and Rhian. The new comers both completed a random cane and continued to experiment thereafter. You will also see that Alley brought with her her great little animal collection - how talented she is!
Alley's little animals
Saturday 7th October 2017
We had a strangely split Clayday with only four people in the morning and then an influx of more people at lunch time - so it was a long day. We were experimenting - firstly with Oyumaru the rather clever molding material' Eileen's efforts were most effective. One soaks the little bars of material in hot water until they are maliable and then make a mould from the material - Eileen chose to make a mould from the button top left. Having made the mould (top right she then put polymer clay into the mould and produced the button shown at the bottom of this picture. Having made what you want you can soak the moulding material in hot water and start all over again. All very clever!
The fabulous Anglie Scarr sent examples of her tiny templates (that's a 5p on the edge of it) - and as you can see an example of her fabulous work in the tiny plant in its pot. One or two people experimented with the templates (one covers them in oil to protect them before using) but the consensus was that there was a limited usage for people whose main work is jewelery making. However they were interested in her 'Goo' so we may well play with that in the future
Christine was a new member of our group and she pitched in early to our delight and showed us something she had found on YouTube - how to make a bezel made of clay. She gave us authentic stones to use. Eileen experimented.
Christine'/s bezel
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Eileen's bezel
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We all seemed to be doing something different which is interesting and exciting because we can share ideas. Here are some of the things we were doing
And then there was the show and tell - rather limited, but never the less interesting
Sonia has been making more faces
Eileen did a 'make and take' at Kiddermiinster using glass pieces and glitter
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Another face made by Sonya
Debs piece of mokume gane with the most meticulous finish - a reminder of how important sanding is
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Saturday 12th August 2017
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Pam brought inspiration with her - some natural, some otherwise, and we spent the day making pods with grateful thanks to Doreen Kay-Kassell who gave me permission to show what I had been doing during my week in France with her. The results were superb and just everyone said they enjoyed the day.
Val, however, you will see, chose to make a teapot! |
Show and tell - well Jayne was wearing the first ring she has made for herself. Silver and Gold is now her way forward.
Eileen has been prolific - she showed us so much of her new work, and whilst she was here she tried out a Sutton Slice which was then rolled - very effective.
Saturday 24th June 2017
Our new visitor, Sonya commented what a really lovely group we have - there weren't so many of us today but a lot was achieved. Sonya and I were working in the other room where we gave Sonya an introduction to polymer clay. She is an artist who primarily uses 'real clay' and her artistic interest is faces. Having established the basics of what is possible with polymer clay she just 'flew' - certainly, for one, I am very envious of such talent. Below is her first cane and a really beautiful face piece.
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Everyone else was experimenting. Cath picked an idea by Val as well as doing some extrusion. Hazel was producing interesting pieces with scrap. Pam made a lovely bangle with a scrap cut out piece. And Val made a couple of interesting bangles with her favourite sideways cuts of her canes.
Val showed us a bangle that she had made which is entirely out of her 'comfort zone' - it was an idea she picked up from Hazel, with excellent success:
Finally I asked Hazel to come up with an idea using these new pyramid sheets we have, and she produced a piece of mokuke gane using the pyramid sheet as a texture
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Saturday 20th May 2017
I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of the people who come to our claydays - look at the feast we had this time (and a lot of it had already been eaten!). There were 10 of us this month. Helen Cruikshank had sent us some copies of a tutorial that she has written with a view to us testing it. However, only one person chose to do so - we have a anarchic group! However, Debs made a turtle from the instructions and it was admired by all!
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Jo was new to the group this time and the inevitable random cane was made as her introduction to polymer clay. As you know we never know how they are gong to turn out, and both hers (left and mine (right) were very pleasing.
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Tony was up to his usual creativity with foils and produce a quite beautiful laminate (left) and made some covers for pens. Hazel used some of his scrap and produced the two lovely pieces on the right
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Hazel was being particularly prolific for she made a bangle (and taught Roz how to make one too), she 'knitted' a heart (sorry about the date across it!) and made a couple of pendant pieces
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Bee chose to make a variation of Helen's caterpillar - and left it on one of my plants! ( I so love Bee's creativity!) Ad Liza was busy making a collection of earrings, but what attracted me was the mathematical piece she created(see right)
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Finally, a collection of experiments
Saturday 18th March 2017
It was Hazel's birthday and her daughter made us cakes - and there were a lot of us: 13 people were squirreled into every corner! However there was lots of activity with new people learning new skills and veterans producing beautiful pieces.
The slide show below features the 'show and tell' - mostly Eileen's (she is so prolific!), but also the wonderful piece with slices of canes produced at Polymania which were put together for me for my birthday. I was so thrilled - and so spoilt
The slide show below features the 'show and tell' - mostly Eileen's (she is so prolific!), but also the wonderful piece with slices of canes produced at Polymania which were put together for me for my birthday. I was so thrilled - and so spoilt
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Debs was doing some extruding and when we all expressed interest in what she was doing she chose to show us: so simple yet so effective. She extrided colourful snakes and laid them out to make a veneer. That was then cut into pieces which would eventually be made into interesting jewelery.
Finally, below are the pieces that different people in the group made. A couple of people copied Helen's lovely little caterpillar (she gave us permission!) and Roz was given instructions to make one of Helen's owls and produced a beauty. Kath was new and made her fifrst cane, and Pat also produced her first pieces under the direction of Val. Tony, as usual, went off on a tangent and started to make some malachite!
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Jaunary 14th 2017
It was a very productive day. Jayne came and showed us wonderful examples of simple yet effective ways to make jewelery to sell. She brought a plethra of examples which are shown here in this slide show:
Jayne demonstrated how to exercise a sutton slice. She then showed us how to burnish foil (we used holograph foil which sadly didn't show up well in photos), and then Jayne coloured hers with Pan Pastels. You can see her process here, and then you will see other people's results:
We used to see Jayne regularly at our Claydays, but Jayne is into 'the big time' now for she is at the Bimringham jewelery school learning to create using silver and gold. The ring on the left was created for a customer and had a small diamond inserted into the hole bottom right. It is wonderful seeing successes among our people. ;We were delighted to see her and wish her all success in her new career.
But Jayne was not the only person to demonstrate. Hazel did too. She showed us how she does her 'embroidery' - a little different from Hazel's famous dragons! Initially she put some black clay into a bezel (see picture on the left) and then with lots of patience she proceeded to create a design on the black clay making and cutting small pieces using tools she has created for the purpose (the one on the right is simply a sewing needle with a comfortable handle). The result is lovely and took very little time. Our thanks to Hazel for showing us those Below Hazel's pieces you will see what Debs created as a result
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And finally on the left you will see the lovely buttons that Eileen made before she left in the late afternoon. And on the right Debs brought with her to show us the prize winning fish pie she made for a WI competition!
November 20th 2016
Its been a wonderful year for claying. We have met lots of new people, we have tried out lots of possibilities, and the comradary has been quite something. Today, no pictures - not much claying done, but lots of ideas discussed, lots of food eaten (including home made chocolate and special dates) and of course everyone wishes everyone a very special Christmas, and for next year to be productive and peaceful!
Sunday 9th October 2016
Look what we made as a result of Helen Cruikshank's tuition
Helen Cruikshank visited ClayAround for the weekend (with her lovely husband Iain) and she kindly chose to teach us how to make her famous owls. She had put so much effort into preparation for this day that we were quite overwhelmed and everyone was so delighted. As you can see above all of us were cajoled into making owls despite our lack of experience in doing 'modelling'
You will see from the photos below how committed she - and all of us - were.
You will see from the photos below how committed she - and all of us - were.
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Helen brought with her some examples of her owls - they really are quite something. But first let me show you what she made for me on Saturday - it is, undoubtedly, the new mascot for ClayAround. All we can do is to thank her.
Sunday 18th September 2016
Two new people joined us for today's clayday: Jean and Beryl. Beryl in particular, who has never touched polymer clay was bowled over by it: we have another convert!
Beryl's first beads
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Beryl's first pendants
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Jean, too, enjoyed maiking beads and a pendant:
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Eileen decided she wanted to create something using batik techniques. She spent the day persisting and not always having much success, but eventually she produced something she was happy with. The first one she said looked like some child's efforts. With the second one she was getting the hang of the idea = and using a slightly different technique she produced a piece she was delighted with:
first effort
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second effort
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success!
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Val was her usual prolific self and produced a rather nice piece from scrap, whilst Roz was experimenting with pure colours (zinc yellow, cobalt blue and fuschia)
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And then there were lots of ideas from the show and tell table
Saturday 30th July 2016
It was a small group, but one with lots of ideas. From re-creating an idea I learned at Euro Synergy to experiments with foil and with extruding. We had a very productive day
Saturday 25th June 2016
Debs has decided her extrusion needs to be put through the pasta machine!
Val has discovered a delicate collection of colours when extruding
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Penny is experimenting with cobalt blue, cad yellow and fuschia - this raw clay is the result of the extruded mix
Val's squares from her extrusions
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Pam's experiments with faux stones
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Pam's playing with hearts
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Roz is creating faux wood
A small but enthusiastic group,some of us chose to experiment with extrusions (see the top). Below you will see what was on the 'show and tell' table.
Eileen entered this lovely piece into a competition and it didn't get anywhere because they didn't realize she had created and made each of the beads herself!
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Penny is still experimenting with cobalt blue, cadmium yellow and fuschia
Val has been making pieces with her extruder
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Roz has been sharing with us her work in progress. She is producing the most amazing pieces cut from goose eggs (from her own geese) and is experimenting with amalgamating polymer clay with them. We are all very excited about her new project.
Saturday 21st May 2016 - Ginger visiting again
Saturday 7th May 2016
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We experimented with 'true colours' this month. Eileen's lovely cane is on the left and below left sue played with those colours and on the right you will see what Val achieved with only three colours.
Further below you will see what Ros has been doing with her goose eggs (what an advantage she has having a small holding!) and as ever Val has shown us how prolific she is when working at home!
Further below you will see what Ros has been doing with her goose eggs (what an advantage she has having a small holding!) and as ever Val has shown us how prolific she is when working at home!
Sue's colour experiments
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Val - using three colours only
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roz's goose eggs
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val's textured bowls
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Do not forget our new comers - a beautiful piece b Cath
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Another new comer: Isobel's first efforts
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Finally it isn't log ago that Bee came to us having never worked with polymer clay. She is a consummate artist who is creative - she doesn't read books or use tutorials. She comes up with ideas and runs with them. Look at this necklace on the left just one example of her skills. And she is already teaching others! |
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Correction
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Saturday 26th March 2016
We had an incredibly creative day today with lots of ideas evolving and shared. The atmosphere was buzzing and we ate far too much as well (thanks so much to those who brought goodies with them!). In particular I showed everyone the piece here on the left which was produced by Bettina Welker who made it using the new Sculpey Gold liquid clay. She drew the design on a hot tile and cured it for a short period of time before using as part of the work she was teaching. Predictably Hazel and Eileen took the idea and ran. click on the pictures below to see what they did:
Before I show you anything else I want to show you what I bought at Polymania - from Claire Wallace. Claire just doesn't realise just how brilliant is her work. It is imaculately finished, but these are canes - how does she do it?
And now here are some of the pieces that were brought to the 'show and tell' table evidencing some of the wonderful work that has been produced since we met last
And finally look at all the creative ideas that emerged during the day. In particular we all had a play with some glitter with delightful results. We also need to remember that a number of our people are absolutely new to polymer clay.
Saturday 30th January
It was my intention that we made signature canes this month - and of course no one did. Well, the week before jayne and I tried it so here are the results:
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Here are some of the different things that were made during the day:
And finally these are the wonderful pieces that were on our show and tell table:
Saturday 5th December
Party time! We had a really good day. We were covering baubles, doing some silk screen work, some cane work, and Tony showed how to cover pens . We welcomed Liza who is comparatively new to Polymer clay, a Mair.
Val and Deb brought with them examples of other crafts they have been working on - and I couldn't resist showing them their stunning work.
Ros (our 'cane queen') has been experimenting and has produced some nice effects with Mica - she used Mel Muir's lovely texture stamps with her experiments.
Hover over the pictures to see whose work theiy are!
Roz experimenting with mica and Mel Muir's texture sheets
roz's bracelet
Val's beading - a very special bracelet
Los of examples of val's beading
Sunday 18th October
We had a lot of fun testing the new Stampies at this clayday. See the examples in the slide show below. Some of us even had a go at mokome gane using the stamps. These Stampies are produced with a 3d printer and are created by two young local entrepreneurs. They have been well tested, and improved, as a result of the feedback from your clayday 'girls'
The beginners had a go at some canes and we all admired the canework of Ros who has become quite an expert.
As ever Ros and Val have been busy and brought some of their work with them - Val's meticulous beading in particular was admired.
As ever Ros and Val have been busy and brought some of their work with them - Val's meticulous beading in particular was admired.
Val's piece using Kor roller
Ros's cane - she is becoming a real expert
Pat's first cane
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Val experimenting with foil and alcohol inks
Serendipidy - this was the scrap being put into a mould!
Isobel's first cane
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Isobel's mokome gane
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Val's purple piece with beading around the edge
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Sunday 6th September 2015
The slide showWe had another new member, Fiona, this time. Fiona is a free style machine embroiderer (we really do have some talented people who come to our group) but like so many of us dabbles in lots and lots of crafts.
We persuaded Ros to show us how she makes one of her many canes this time. She was experimenting with a fish cane and showed us how she compiled the pieces. The slide show below shows you what we have been up to.
Further below are from our 'show and tell' table - on the left Val has done quite lovely work combining her braid making with her delicate beading on this polymer piece. and on the right are examples of how Eileen's work goes from strength to strength with these hair slides.
We persuaded Ros to show us how she makes one of her many canes this time. She was experimenting with a fish cane and showed us how she compiled the pieces. The slide show below shows you what we have been up to.
Further below are from our 'show and tell' table - on the left Val has done quite lovely work combining her braid making with her delicate beading on this polymer piece. and on the right are examples of how Eileen's work goes from strength to strength with these hair slides.
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Saturday 25th July 2015
Claydays are getting more and more popular and space is limited. We had two new people today Pam and David. David has been working with Polymer clay for quite a while (although his main interest is papier mache!) Pam, however, has been to one of the demonstrations I did for a WI and is choosing to learn more. She was interested in doing some screen printing (and I didn't take any pictures!) It was a 'bitsa' day - the theory was that we would make inchies with Ann's new inchie cutters (see here) but we went off at all sorts of different tangents.
Tony has been experimenting with inlays into boxes he has made (he's a wood turner). He is also an artist so he painted a picture and has done image transfer to inlay into the top of his box (see above) This is what he produced whilst with us: he is such a talented man!
I showed everyone how to cut straight lines with clay - a technique shown to me by Jana Lehmann. Ros showed us how she adds detail to her beads cutting out tiny dots with a cutter or strips with her wavy cutter. Meanwhile Tony was also experimenting with moulds.
Finally, below is a slide show of the lovely necklaces that David has been making for his very lucky wife.
Tony has been experimenting with inlays into boxes he has made (he's a wood turner). He is also an artist so he painted a picture and has done image transfer to inlay into the top of his box (see above) This is what he produced whilst with us: he is such a talented man!
I showed everyone how to cut straight lines with clay - a technique shown to me by Jana Lehmann. Ros showed us how she adds detail to her beads cutting out tiny dots with a cutter or strips with her wavy cutter. Meanwhile Tony was also experimenting with moulds.
Finally, below is a slide show of the lovely necklaces that David has been making for his very lucky wife.
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Saturday 18th July 2015
Kerrie Venner, the new President of the British Polymer Clay Guild chose to come and spend a couple of days with us, so predictably we had an impromptu clayday. Kerrie is very knowledgeable and I think we all benefited from the useful hints and tips she offered us. She is currently concentrating on an Egyptian project. She showed us am amazing book she was given and we all took inspiration from the colourways in the book and make valiant attempts to produce something vaguely egyptian. None of us could possibly compete, however, with the piece that Kerrie produced (albeit it is still not finished.) Below are some of the pieces produced by our valiant group:
Debbie
Alice
Val started a bracelet on the day and kindly sent me a photo of the finished piece (see right) It is astonishing just how different are all the ideas all from one set of colourways, an Egyptian theme, and so many creative people. Kerrie wants to know what people want of the British Polymer Clay Guild - if you have any ideas then let her know here Below you will also see the 'show and tell' pieces that people brought with them. |
Debbie again
Jayne
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Alice
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Eileen
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Hazel
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Alice again
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Saturday 20th June
Eileen arrived absolutely bubbling with excitement because she was one of the few people who completed the wonderful course put on by Christine Dumont of Voila. You can see some of the work on Christine's site. Eileen brought with her the piece I liked best (see left) but also some other pieces ( see right) If you scroll down through the last couple of years a look at her work you will see just how she had developed her skills and design ability |
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We were very creative on this Saturday, playing with with the Pan Pastels and with the Silk Screens. It was a lovely sunny day and just about everyone did 'their own thing'
We did have one new member, Barbara, who was delighted with her first efforts:
We did have one new member, Barbara, who was delighted with her first efforts:
However, the other beginner was sanding and polishing and finishing what she made from her first cane which she scrambled because she didn't like it and look what she has finally produced (on the left):
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And thus motivated she was on a roll and produced these three pendants!
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Tony was doing some fascinating stuff - he even did an instant land/seascape with tje pan pastels, but what fascinated us was his clever idea with a piece of black clay, on which he places some gold leaf, then impressed onto it a pavelka stamp and finally simply placed celotape over the top of it all to take off the foil on the highlights: most impressive. (sorry about the pun!)
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Then there were the silk screens by Tony (left, Eileen top right and Ros bottom right
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Ros was also playing with making knots - she has become very accomplished at doing this! (top left) Debbie was enjoying extruding (top right) and Hazel, who arrived late, had a 'work in progress' (bottom left). Pam was not with us, but she has been busy at home and emailed me a picture of her latest project: she is doing modelling (bottom right) - here 'little swimmer'
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Sunday 3rd May
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Holiday time and lots of people emailed to say they couldn't make it - and they missed Cara who dropped in to see us. We chose to play with the new Helen Breil silkscreens and learned from Cara's experience. Bee was her usual creative self. A number of these pieces have more than one colour over another. The other pieces are mine, mostly single screens but the possibilities are endless, and very quick and easy.
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Wednesday 15th April
Jayne and Pam came for a mini clayday and we spent a lovely day experimenting
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Pam brought with her a very beautiful pendant she has made (above):
Easter Monday 6th April 2015
'I'm missing the claydays' was the cry from more than one person - including me. So admidst the chaos of the building I tentatively put out a request for anyone who would be interested in us meeting on Easter Monday. After a slow response in the event there were seven of us! In theory the theme was making flowers from an on line tutorial. But this group is independent so all sorts of goodies evolved! Here, for instance are the beautiful beads Hazel made from a rainbow cane. It doesn't show well in the photo but they are bicone beads)
We had two beginners join us - they predictably made their first random cane both with great success. Valma eventually made a pendant from hers (left) and Margaret simply rolled out the result and made this very classy (yet to be finished) shield.
We had two beginners join us - they predictably made their first random cane both with great success. Valma eventually made a pendant from hers (left) and Margaret simply rolled out the result and made this very classy (yet to be finished) shield.
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To the left is another piece by Margaret. Margaret is a neighbour who has lived here for getting on for four decades and Polymer is a new discovery - she is delighted with the results. |
Val was her usuall prolific self and we chose this as being the best of the bunch below (left)- she is fond of mokume gane! She also brought with us for 'show and tell' one of the bags she has been making with button to match
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And finally (there was more but I didn't take enough photos!) Ros brought with her this stunning necklace which really doesn't show its full glory in the photo. Wonderful colour conmbinations
There is rarely any structure to our claydays but we always find ideas and skills to share. Everyone is very generous with their knowledge Despite the set backs, may they continue!
There is rarely any structure to our claydays but we always find ideas and skills to share. Everyone is very generous with their knowledge Despite the set backs, may they continue!
Saturday 7th February 2015
We had a small group- a lot of the 'regulars' couldn't make it. And we were very productive having chosen to play with extruders.
Bron's daughter Keri joined us for the first time and made the inevitable first randon cane - and Bron proudly showed us what she had made with her first cane since we met last.
Bron's daughter Keri joined us for the first time and made the inevitable first randon cane - and Bron proudly showed us what she had made with her first cane since we met last.
Keri#s first cane
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Look what Bron did with her first cane
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We started with making designs with square extrusions. Ros played with this, whilst Helen produced a standard Klimpt cane. I had a go with the jigsaw disc from Lucy Clay and Val showed us how she cuts her extrusions with a wavy blade to good effect.
Ros's extrusions
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Helen's Klimt
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Lucy jigsaw pieces
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val extrudes pieces,puts them together and cuts them with a wavy blade
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Helen produced a delicate piece using the extruded leaf shapes she had produced.
Helen's delicate extrusions
And finally our show table was dominated by Val and Ros who have both been busy:
A necklace with faces by Ros
Val is so prolific
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Ros's green man
Clever flower by Val
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Clayday Saturday 10th January 2015
Hazel looking after all the new people
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More people in the kitchen
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Eileen and Ros tucked away in a corner!
We had a record number of people at the Clayday today and a number of new people - all of whom went home very happy and promised to come again. Where will I put everyone? We were very industrious too having chosen to make things from scrap to start the year. It is astonishing what different results we had - as ever lots of ideas from lots of people. We taught the new people the standard 'random cane' and developed this with a random cane using old canes 'mushed' together. Margaret, who has never touched polymer clay before, chose to make beads from her cane. If you look at the picture you will see the slices (sliced with the lucy slicer!) on the left have serendipitous butterflies! they are all on the slide show below.
We then had a go at producing work by mirroring - some interesting results. Eileen had also brought with her a piece she had made a la Julie Picarello I inevitably I had to do a natashia bead for the new people! Again - see the slide show below
Not satisfied with all of that we decided to do some mokume gane. Kim, who has never touched polymer clay before, went away very excited with her pieces, intending to make earrings and pendant to match (and maybe make some clothes to go with them!).
Kim 's mokume gane
Hazel and her lovely colour choices, and Bee was her usual creative self - how does she manage to use black so effectively?
Hazel's mokume gane
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Bee's creativity
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Ros ihas joined the '52 week cane project' on Facebook and is learning lots of interesting stuff. Her mokume gane reflects that, as does the piece she made from sheep that she has just learned
ros's mokume gane
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Ros's sheep
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Inevitably we have some lovely work brought in for our 'show and tell' table.
Debbie's extruded brooch: Debbie is comparatively new to polymer clay
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Hazel finished her necklace
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eileen's imaculate work!
We mustn't forget Tony who is constantly experimenting with colour and shapes and invariably comes up with interesting results.
Finally I just have to mention the lovely little bottle that Ros gave me - she bought them, and decorated them to use for putting baking powder in to use as a release etc - what a great idea? Thank you Ros.
Finally I just have to mention the lovely little bottle that Ros gave me - she bought them, and decorated them to use for putting baking powder in to use as a release etc - what a great idea? Thank you Ros.
Clayday 13th December 2014
The December Clayday was, predictably, a party. We were quite a crowd too - I worried that we would all fit in, but with lots of heating in the conservatory we managed. Everyone was asked to bring a small plate of food - and as on previous occasions everyone brought a lot of food so we had a feast. Val, yet again, brought a sugar free cake for me - I have to hide at least a few slices because it is so tasty it gets eaten very quickly! And Eileen wore her traditional Christmas jumper which attracted lots of compliments.
We had decided to cover glass Christmas decorations, although invevitably some people went of at tangents. The creativity was considerable as usual.
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Meanwhile, Ros was making square beads with embossed alphabet letters, whilst Hazel was experimenting with square beads too.
~ros's alphabet beads
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Hazel's square beads
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On our 'show and tell' table Tony showed us the simply excellent pens he had made having combined his wood turners skill with his newly acquired polymer clay skills. Val had been prolific as usual as had Eileen - some lovely work.
tony's pens
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Val has been busy!
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Eileen's lovely work
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Clayday 8th November 2014
Our Clayday people are so very generous - I couldn't resist a photograph of the goodies that people had brought this month - for all to enjoy - all Pam's scones were warm when they arrived and all but one eaten before I managed to take a photo. Val has taken to making lovely sugar free cakes and those beautiful specimens on the right are made by Tony's wife who ran a local tea room for many years.
the other thing we do regularly is have a show and tell table where people show what they have been up to. Eileen is particularly prolific - she is making more and more really lovely pieces. One she was particularly pleased with is the red pendant with glitter captured by magiic-glos. This month, nothing to do with Polymer clay, Val brought a bowl that she had decorated with her lovely beading - stunning work.
As a result of experimenting with making moulds this month, Hazel made this lovely black and gold piece: she make a mould of a dragon that Tony had and then produced the piece which she subsequently decorated.
As a result of experimenting with making moulds this month, Hazel made this lovely black and gold piece: she make a mould of a dragon that Tony had and then produced the piece which she subsequently decorated.
Eileen's heart with wire embelishment
glitter captures with magic-glos
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Eileen tells us these necklaces are selling well
Hazel's brilliant dragon from a mold made from Tony's original piece
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Val is a beading expert - and doesn't it show!
We had a new member this month - Helen, all the way from Aberstwyth. She is new to polymer clay so predictably was taught the random cane - look at her brilliant effort. We also taught her how to make a flower cane:
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We do get ourselves into a mess when we are claying:
Our main project for the day was to experiment with liquid clays. These were our variable results:
Clayday 5th October
We are back up to full strength - 10 people turned up to the clayday today - some in the kitchen and some in the conservatory. We welcomed Ros for the second time. She is self taught so far and very keen, developing ideas all the time. .
We chose to play with lace and with some lovely results:
We chose to play with lace and with some lovely results:
We also had a go at making signature canes with varied success. I think it is fun to see the development of Bee's work:
Interesting how themes seem to emerge. Both Hazel and Bee produced some lovely black and white work:
We always have a 'show and tell' table and what were outstanding were the latest pieces by Pam.
It is amazing how many ideas there are at these claydays, and also the interesting new pieces we see on the show and tell.
Our car park facility will be lost this month so we have to see what happens next......
It is amazing how many ideas there are at these claydays, and also the interesting new pieces we see on the show and tell.
Our car park facility will be lost this month so we have to see what happens next......
Clayday 13th September
Holiday time obviously took over and only Hazel arrived for today's clayday! But despite this we had a great day developing ideas. Still working with foils we produced some interesting pieces - Hazel's far more successful than mine:
We then returned to some historic canes and experimented with ideas for their use. We discovered that by putting a cane into the 'Patch mould' we had instant buttrflies!
A couple of weeks earlier I was doing a demonstration to a collection of card makers - It is not my 'scene' but I made an effort with my polymer clay:
Clayday 8th September
There were just three of this at this mid week clayday. However we had one of the lovely days that September brought and were able to play in the Conservatory. Poor Eileen, who is vulnerable to the sun, and didn't bring one of her many wonderful hats, submitted to using her scarf. Doesn't she look exotic?
We had a constructive day and spent a lot of time with colours in all sorts of media. Eileen produced some really lovely hearts using foil and acrylic paints (see below) and Val, as always, did lots of experimenting.
So many of our clayday people are very prolific and Val in particular always brings her latest creations. Her lovely candle holder was one, and a beautiful pendant was another. Eileen's work is distinctive as her colours are easily recognised viz the pendant that matches her scarf!
So many of our clayday people are very prolific and Val in particular always brings her latest creations. Her lovely candle holder was one, and a beautiful pendant was another. Eileen's work is distinctive as her colours are easily recognised viz the pendant that matches her scarf!
Val's candle holder
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foil and alcohol inks by Val
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Eileen's lovely hearts
Val's experiments
Clayday 2nd August
Well holiday time intervened as we had a very small group (and I forgot to take photos - so Hazel sent me hers Hazel was being so very productive having decided that we were going to make peacock canes - so look at examples of her work below. I didn't get very far (surprise!) and went off at a tangent - but actually managed to complete some earrings.
What was good was I had had a phone call from Beryl, a new customer, the day before, and she asked if we did any 'workshops'. I explained about the claydays and she opted to come and join us - from Manchester. Not much fun getting here however because apparently the motorway was closed, but she was here in time for lunch and some of the best loaf I have made in 50 years of baking bread! Tony dropped in too, as did Sue so it was a companionable day. We will, I am sure, be back to our full complement of people in September!
What was good was I had had a phone call from Beryl, a new customer, the day before, and she asked if we did any 'workshops'. I explained about the claydays and she opted to come and join us - from Manchester. Not much fun getting here however because apparently the motorway was closed, but she was here in time for lunch and some of the best loaf I have made in 50 years of baking bread! Tony dropped in too, as did Sue so it was a companionable day. We will, I am sure, be back to our full complement of people in September!
An 'actual' peacock with the canes we made.
We were experimenting with the peacock cane and these were made with the 'left overs
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More interesting work with the left over s of the peacock cane
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Hazel's 'show and tell' - yet another of her lovely dragons (thought she tells me this is a sea horse!
Clayday 21st July
Eileen chose to demonstrate to us a technique using alcohol inks and foils. It was particularly hot in the conservatory (hence Eileen had on one of her many interesting hats) but we stuck it out for the sheer joy of having the sun on our backs. The pieces below are by Pam (left) and Val
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Above left you will see Jayne's work - she always shames us by finishing some pieces before she leaves - and then invariably sells them to her many enthusiastic customers. On the right are the trollies - I couldn't resits - the 'girls' bring all their equipment with them every time: that shows dedication!
Mini clayday 12th July
When we went to Malta to the international conference, Jayne, sadly had to come home within a couple of days because of her mother's iserious illness. Jayne had booked on a number of workshops. Between us Cara Jane and I agreed to teach her what she had missed, and Cara came to us and the three of us had a teaching session. Jayne, hungry for knowledge, and always proactive, made this necklace as a result - a design by Klavdija.
Clayday 22nd June
This was a little close to our day with Ginger so there were not so many people there - however, we nevertheless had three new people, not the least Theo. I met Theo when I was doing a demonstration and he was obviously hooked on the craft - hence he and his mother came to our clayday. He spent the whole day being very creative and put us all to shame.
We spent the day producing a facsimile of the button I made a long time ago - but forgot where I found the method! We made a gallant effort to reproduce it with varying results.
And the Show and Tell table was made up of work from both Brenda and Val |
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Clayday 19th June
This was the clayday organised specifically to welcome Ginger Allman who was visiting the UK from the USA. Ginger has a particularly popular blog where she not only shares her knowledge but sells wonderful tutorials.
You can see it here
She had posted on FB asking if there were any 'stores' she should visit, so I extended an invitation to her to come to beautiful Wales, and she accepted. She and her husband and daugher, Labnie stayed for a couple of nights. We spent the day exchanging ideas and picking up hints and tips from Ginger. Everyone was thrilled to meet her. What was interesting was that Lanie was comparatively new to polymer clay so she sat in the corner and learned some basic skills.
Below the picture of Lanie is a picture of the 'show and tell' table - we were all showing off!
You can see it here
She had posted on FB asking if there were any 'stores' she should visit, so I extended an invitation to her to come to beautiful Wales, and she accepted. She and her husband and daugher, Labnie stayed for a couple of nights. We spent the day exchanging ideas and picking up hints and tips from Ginger. Everyone was thrilled to meet her. What was interesting was that Lanie was comparatively new to polymer clay so she sat in the corner and learned some basic skills.
Below the picture of Lanie is a picture of the 'show and tell' table - we were all showing off!
18th May - Clayday at Bee's
I ommitted to take any photos. Bee has the most beautiful of environments about 15 minutes down a 'dirt track' to an isolated barn which she and her husband have been converting for a number of years. She has a lot of space and a very welcoming home.
We had a number of new people came to the clayday so we covered a lot of basic work whist the 'experts' did their creative best encouraged by Bee and her artisitc talent.
She encourages us to have more claydays there - better in the summer however!
We had a number of new people came to the clayday so we covered a lot of basic work whist the 'experts' did their creative best encouraged by Bee and her artisitc talent.
She encourages us to have more claydays there - better in the summer however!
19th April - 22nd clayday
We had no theme this time and all seemed to be doing 'our own thing'. Val as ever was turning out pieces at a rate of knots - she loves her colours: and there were two lovely necklaces by our newcomer Josie, The show and tell table was full of what people had been doing since we met last. We seem to fill our claydays with lots of activity, lots of sharing, and lots of experimentation - always a success!
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7th april - impromptu clayday with Jude
Jude gave an impromptu lesson to those who were able to come for yet another day of claying and she introduced us to fractals. The results are in this slide show:
6th April - Jude came to teach us.
This was a slightly different clayday because it was a workshop. Jude gave us the benefit of her creative mind and taught us one of her inventions. She is a fund of polymer clay information and we learned so much from her on a lovely and very busy day
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This is what we produced - unusual ribbed pieces:
21st Clayday: 15th March
Our claydays are going from strength to strength with more interest from month to month. Thank goodness not everyone can make every meeting or I would have to build an extension to the house. We have our 'regulars' and this month Val kindly offered to show us her colour combinations when she is extruding. Predictably we all went off at tangents and came up with some interesting conbinations
Eileen
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Tony
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Hazel
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Wendy-
only second
play with clay!
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Wendy came for the first time. She is new to polymer clay and made the 'mandatory' random cane as well as some coloured butons. She said, however, that she was 'clayed out' by the end of the day!
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Pam brought two lovely pieces to the 'show and tell' (right and above) and top left is an interesting texture from Val whilst below it is Brenda's experiment with gold foil. As ever, everyone went away saying what a great day they had had! |
Eileen brought with her a 'portfolio' of her work that she has had made - very professional.
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20th Clayday - 15th February 2014
I was privileged to be selling at Jan Lehmann's workshop this month and bought the piece (left) made by her. Her work is immaculate - so precise. Interestingly she will only use Pardo clay. So as a theme I simply brought out this piece and suggested that our clayday people see what they could produce in Black and white. Below are our efforts. Most impressive and creative:
Hard at work!
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The joy of Polymer clay - Bee will be making all sorts with this little lot!
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We had a new member join our group. She has never touched polymer clay before and yet after only a few hours she produced this piece on the left. She is already, she tells me, making gifts for her friends and is very proud of what she has produced. It really is such an exciting medium.
And below are some more examples of what our people have been doing meanwhite - pieces from our 'show and tell' table.
And below are some more examples of what our people have been doing meanwhite - pieces from our 'show and tell' table.
eileen's pendant
Bee's cane
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Eileen's box
Pam's experiment
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Eileen's fold bead
Pam's jigsaw piece
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19th Clayday - 19th January 2014
We always have a 'show and tell' table at our claydays - and Eileen didn't need to put her beautiful necklace on the table. Her work just gets better and better!
For the day Val found the work of a french clayer on line (whose name escapes me, sorry ) and she suggested that we emulate her work. She piles process on top of process and makes fascinating collages. We came up with some fascinatingly different images -on the left are some examples of what we achieved in what was a really ejoyable day. On the right are some more from our 'show and tell' table.
For the day Val found the work of a french clayer on line (whose name escapes me, sorry ) and she suggested that we emulate her work. She piles process on top of process and makes fascinating collages. We came up with some fascinatingly different images -on the left are some examples of what we achieved in what was a really ejoyable day. On the right are some more from our 'show and tell' table.
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And that's not all: On 25th January we had a clayday at Bee's house. We introduced three people to polymer clay (by now Bee is an expert!). On the left is their efforts. On the right is us all enjoying a fabulous day of sharing and learning:
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18th Clayday - 14th December 2013
It was party time and we did the 'Mash Up' courtesy of the London Polymer Clay Group model. Not many people brought blanks so I had some glass baubles available - so it was baubles galore! Predictably, lots of interesting results. The way we did it was one person created some coloured sheets of clay and passed them onto person two. She (or he - Tony was with us) created a cane or a piece of 'walpaper' which was passed onto person three. Because there were so many baubles I put a blank and a bauble into my hands and had people choose (blindly) - so everyone had something random to cover with the cane they were handed. So the results are below left and all of us at work on the right:
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The 'show and tell' table was loaded with interesting work - everyone has been so busy. I think the favourite piece was a candle holder by Valerie and of course for expertise we have to give Pam the credit for the piece she made on the workshop with Janna. Pam also showed us some experiments with her extruder. Val has been busy with all sorts of work, and Eileen went for black and white - which is rarely her colour choice.
Of course we all enjoyed our day, exhausted at the end, yet looking forward to the next one. We are going to experiment with having them on Sundays as there are so many clashes on Saturdays. New year - new ideas....
Of course we all enjoyed our day, exhausted at the end, yet looking forward to the next one. We are going to experiment with having them on Sundays as there are so many clashes on Saturdays. New year - new ideas....
17th Clayday - 9th November 2013
The plan for our day was to see if we could emulate the work of Bettina Welker - she made some really lovely earrings using skinner blend bulls eye canes. Inevitably, whilst we had a go, we all went off at tangents. These are the pieces made by Hazel which are the nearest we got to Bettina's very clever idea.
However, having been shown some very basic skills, our newest recruit, Bee, just 'flew'. Bee is an artist, and her creativity stimulated all of us. she is going to be such an asset to the group. See below lwhat she created, being completely new to polymer clay and having been taught to make skinner blend bulls eye canes:
However, having been shown some very basic skills, our newest recruit, Bee, just 'flew'. Bee is an artist, and her creativity stimulated all of us. she is going to be such an asset to the group. See below lwhat she created, being completely new to polymer clay and having been taught to make skinner blend bulls eye canes:
Meanwhile Tony was experimenting with his bulls eye canes (they are there if you look for them!) adding foils and experimenting with cutting pieces - to great effect
Val had Christmas in mind (see above) whilst Pam was experimenting with all sorts of abstract concepts
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Predictably we all joined in with the foils, and Bee rolled some silver onto clay and added alcohol inks. Hazel produced one of her fabulous dragons.
Penny had just returned from a couple of days at the NEC with the British Polymer Clay Guild. Cara was there and was demonstrating with Penny. Cara produced this rather clever cane (right) so Penny spent most of her day working out how to do it too - her effort is on the left.
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Oh, and Pam taught Val how to make hollow pendants - and this is Val's first effort: a truly abstract design.
As you can see we had a very creative day and went away absolutely buzzing!
Christmas is on the way - we will be having a party next time (although every meeting seems to be a party........)
As you can see we had a very creative day and went away absolutely buzzing!
Christmas is on the way - we will be having a party next time (although every meeting seems to be a party........)
16th Clay day - (well thereabout) - 28th September 2013
Well - as a life long teacher I should know oh so well not to be only one step ahead of your students ( - or indeed being one step behind at one point!). We decided to have a go at Cara's wonderful Delft cane - and as ever I didn't make time to practice in advance so 'taught' it as I went along - with a rather sad result. But doesn't it make you realise how skilled Cara is? And more to the point we really had a great day. So here are the canes by those who did them. Aren't the differences interesting?
Penny's effort
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Hazel - the star!
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Valerie's precision
but different!
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Pam - always different
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Val (we have two Val's now - one allows us to call her Valerie and arrived today all the way from Prestatyn - we were delighted to meet her.) made the initial cane but then went off on tangents (see left).
We are all very proud of ourselves: we giggled a lot, shared a lot and ate a lot (so many cakes were brought - what a generous crowd!). My instructions slipped up at one point so Jane didn't half her skinner blend and landed up with a rather long 'ribbon' - but true to form, nothing is a mistake in Polymer clay: she made two lovely potential pendants from the ensuing plug.
We are all very proud of ourselves: we giggled a lot, shared a lot and ate a lot (so many cakes were brought - what a generous crowd!). My instructions slipped up at one point so Jane didn't half her skinner blend and landed up with a rather long 'ribbon' - but true to form, nothing is a mistake in Polymer clay: she made two lovely potential pendants from the ensuing plug.
Jane's potential
pendant
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Jane's ribbon
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another potential
pendant
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Tony, meanwhile, is a non-conformist, and chose to make a leopard cane from which he made really lovely beads.
As you can see, we had a productive and enjoyable day.
Impromptu Clayday 17th August
We were contacted by a new clay enthusiast who couldn't wait till the end of September so we organised an immediate day with local people - just our new lady, Valerie, and Pam and Hazel. Predictably we were very busy. Val expressed a desire to learn about finish off products so Pam brought with her some pieces - example left - of a quality finish and of course brought her posh Buffing machine! But we also went off at all sorts of tangents. We had another go at Sutton slice - below left is a nice piece Pam produced with one of the new stock of Pavelka texture plates ('Roundabout') and Hazel was experimenting with some canes (as well as showing us her latest dragon) - below right.
Below those you will see Hazel's lovely sea horse, To the right of that is a nice piece of crackle Val did during the day, and to the right of that some pendants she made (notice the kumihimo cord). Below those are two more pieces by Pam - some more Faux and a nice spin off from the work she did with Ronna. As you can see, a lot of ideas to share.
Below those you will see Hazel's lovely sea horse, To the right of that is a nice piece of crackle Val did during the day, and to the right of that some pendants she made (notice the kumihimo cord). Below those are two more pieces by Pam - some more Faux and a nice spin off from the work she did with Ronna. As you can see, a lot of ideas to share.
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15th clayday - 3rd August 2013
We thought it was going to be a small group today because of the holidays, but it was a lovely day with people coming and going all the time - so we exchanged so many ideas and learned lots from each other. Barbara has not been to our claydays before. She learned polymer clay through us - and through being self taught- and now sells jewelry and beads as a business. She brought with her some of the lovely pieces she has made, a couple of pictures of which are here.
Showing the flair that Barbara has!
Pam has made yet another of the lovely pendants she learned from Ronna (left) and Eileen brought with her the latest bangle she has made (below left) Hazel has been making little cats (middle) and experimenting with translucent (right)
We were experimenting with the Big Daddios and Pam and Barbara came up with some creative work - Pam with the fan shape and Barbara with the teardrop. Added to that, I repeated variations on Ffion's cane - Tony wanted something quite specific for his pens, and Hazel, as ever, was lapping up every thing she could learn. Look at the lovely cane Jayne made (bottom left) and the beads Eileen made (bottom right) with the cane she produced (she demonstrated a really simple cane to us) As you can see, we have a particularly productive day and really enjoyed ourselves.
We were experimenting with the Big Daddios and Pam and Barbara came up with some creative work - Pam with the fan shape and Barbara with the teardrop. Added to that, I repeated variations on Ffion's cane - Tony wanted something quite specific for his pens, and Hazel, as ever, was lapping up every thing she could learn. Look at the lovely cane Jayne made (bottom left) and the beads Eileen made (bottom right) with the cane she produced (she demonstrated a really simple cane to us) As you can see, we have a particularly productive day and really enjoyed ourselves.
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14th Clayday 6th July 2013
This pendant is produced by Lin, our newest convert - lovely work from a beginner. She also made some superb beads as a result of our last clay day - pure amber! (and I forgot to photograph them - sorry!)
Lin and her sister Sue brought with them lots of bits and pieces that they uise for their card making. I tried some 'Angel Hair' as an inclusion - albeit not as effectively as sue has. As you can see from the photo on the left below, they have used their clay very effectively on their cards. On the right is a pendant created by Hazel - the silver is entirely pearlex
Lin and her sister Sue brought with them lots of bits and pieces that they uise for their card making. I tried some 'Angel Hair' as an inclusion - albeit not as effectively as sue has. As you can see from the photo on the left below, they have used their clay very effectively on their cards. On the right is a pendant created by Hazel - the silver is entirely pearlex
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I found an idea of Polymer Clay Daily which I have since tried very hard to find again so I could credit it, but it was the extruding of left over canes. One then wound it round a base, sliced into it and smoothed it off - or not. Lots of variations appeared, all acceptably interesting. And I didn't photograph those either - sorry! Oh, and, not for the first time, Lin arrived with wonderful chocolate goodies and banana cake -our thanks to her for the opportunity to put on extra inches!
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As ever, being adventurous we tried something different and I simply squashed my beads and made a rather effective button. We returned to, and experimented with extruding 'klimt' like pieces. Pam was away on a Ronma Weltman workshop - lucky lady! |
13th ClayDay 1st June 2013
We had a sunny day so it was warm in the conservatory but we were very productive. Below is some of our work.
I took some pictures of different crystals from the internet and challenged people to imitate it - ideally not from books, but from our own observations. We had some excellent results, particularly Hazel who sat quietly (feeling off colour) producing some lovely malachite.
But that was not all - Jane had made a cane as a result of the work with Sarah Shriver and put it into a bezel, so we experimented with Lisa Pavelka's resin.
And most delightful of all is |Brenda's cat. She was commissioned to produce a model of a very old cat belonging to a friend - her work is quite lovely (and the photo doesn't do justice to the detail). Brenda is a very talented lady.
We had a sunny day so it was warm in the conservatory but we were very productive. Below is some of our work.
I took some pictures of different crystals from the internet and challenged people to imitate it - ideally not from books, but from our own observations. We had some excellent results, particularly Hazel who sat quietly (feeling off colour) producing some lovely malachite.
But that was not all - Jane had made a cane as a result of the work with Sarah Shriver and put it into a bezel, so we experimented with Lisa Pavelka's resin.
And most delightful of all is |Brenda's cat. She was commissioned to produce a model of a very old cat belonging to a friend - her work is quite lovely (and the photo doesn't do justice to the detail). Brenda is a very talented lady.
12th Clayday -27th April 2013
What a great day
We had five new people . Ffion came all the way from Swansea. Aren't we privileged Sue and her sister came from Mold which is also quite a treck. We had a mixture of skill levels too so some of us were keeping warm in front of the log fire whilst learning basic skills white the more advanced people were seated in the sun baking in the conservatory - will we ever know what to expect of the weather?
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Ffion's work:
Ffion is self taught and this was the first time she had joined a group of clayers - the buzz today was quite incredible - new ideas - new hints and tips - exciting revelations and so much sharing. Between us Pam and I came up with canes which we had encountered - and apologies now for not being able to credit them - I really don't know of their origins.
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Canes we have known....
We made lots of variations of Skinner blends. Then we demonstrated (and made) bullseye canes, zipper canes, random kaleidoscope canes, rose canes, leaf canes, brain canes, translucent jelly roll canes (with inclusions) and Pam showed off the lovely canes she had made when with Sarah Shriver.
Our 'Token male'!
Tony suffered all the gossip whilst 'doing his own thing' - he really has become an expert in covering pen kits beautifully. Here he is showing off some of the work he has been doing.
His next area of research is image transfer - lets hope he comes up with successful techniques
His next area of research is image transfer - lets hope he comes up with successful techniques
Eleventh clayday 16th February 2013
Yet another stimulating clayday. I had all sorts of plans about showing the 3D cane which I found (produced by Wanda) but we didn't have time to do that because Pam showed us how to create a cane using glow in the dark clay and alcohol inks. As was pointed out by Pam it is fascinating that, when everyone does 'the same' the results are so very different. And the only one I photographed was mine - sorry!) Although Pam used black where I used orange and we simply produced a 'skinner blend of glow clay with multi coloured alcohol inks painted on it, and rolled them together. Very effective.
Eileen bringing more of her work to show us. She has been doing work motivated by Helen Breil (see Helen's work here) You will see below that she has done lots more too. She really is prolific.
We had a new beginner, Jane, who is an absolute natural having had only one morning's introduction to polymer clay with me the previous week she was off on creative tangents very quickly. Watch this space!
Eileen bringing more of her work to show us. She has been doing work motivated by Helen Breil (see Helen's work here) You will see below that she has done lots more too. She really is prolific.
We had a new beginner, Jane, who is an absolute natural having had only one morning's introduction to polymer clay with me the previous week she was off on creative tangents very quickly. Watch this space!
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And finally, Pam had us guessing as to how she produced this lovely pendant using a tutorial she bought off the Net. I haven't worked out how its done yet - can you? |
Tenth Clayday 5th January 2013
We didn't have a theme - but so many ideas emerged. Tony has been covering pens - look at these beautiful examples, and Tony is absolutely new to polymer clay. One is mokome gane and the other is gold leaf crackle. And of course Eileen arrived with her latest creation - a necklace in which she has used wire knitted tube on intermittent beads - she really is inventive. She was also trying out a new idea - to make mokome gane using skinner blend plugs flatterned - but it took so long that she decided that Mel Muir's simply idea of flat strips of colour was much easier and quicker. Pat produced lots of swirls with the help of Pam and inspired by yet another Eileen's creations, and I was experimenting with my special cutter, made by one friend, and a frame made by another - there's a lot to learn yet from those. They are my version of how to cut slim slices of mokome gane.
Pam generously (and the guise of having to diet) gave us Christmas Cake and Stollen so we feasted yet again. These claydays are such a wonderful forum for exchange of, and development of ideas - long may they continue.
Pam generously (and the guise of having to diet) gave us Christmas Cake and Stollen so we feasted yet again. These claydays are such a wonderful forum for exchange of, and development of ideas - long may they continue.
Ninth Clayday - 8th December
We were a small , but industrious group. We made an army of teddies, and despite comments from a couple of people that before they came they really weren't interested, everyone commented that they had a great day (maybe that is why we had a small group - were the beginners daunted by the prospect of making teddies?). More importantly Brenda was able to give us the benefit of her expertise in sculpture for, whilst I came up with a basic design, she taught us how to make them properly! Brenda also showed her the completion of her first major project - a lovely blue necklace. And Eileen also showed us a green necklace she made using the cane we made on our jubilee day meeting.
We had a party - I made punch and some crackers (everyone brought - or made at the meeting - a little something to put in the crackers) and each of us brought some food. A pleasant restful - and warm (we had the log fire going) meeting.
We had a party - I made punch and some crackers (everyone brought - or made at the meeting - a little something to put in the crackers) and each of us brought some food. A pleasant restful - and warm (we had the log fire going) meeting.
Eighth Clay Day 6th October
Pam did a wonderful job teachng us 'Sutton Slice' (discovered by Lisa Pavelka and somre really excellent work was produced. Everyone had a go at doing some image transfers with the new Lazertran Silk transfer paper. Images have to be soaked to release the backing and I put all the images into one bowl causing them to lose part of their images. Lesson learned - only put one picture in a bowl at a time!
We had some really excellent 'show and tell' as well because Eileen has been experimenting. She made a necklace using square extrusions which she painted with Inka Gold, twisted some and made them into a lovely necklace.
Eileen also has been experimenting, as promised, with tiles. She has produced some really interesting ones.
Meanwhile Jayne showed us lots of her pieces, a number of which are shown here too.
And Pam brought with her the cuff she made with Bettina and was wearing a lovely necklace she made with Alison on Alison's PolyPlay workshops.
We had some really excellent 'show and tell' as well because Eileen has been experimenting. She made a necklace using square extrusions which she painted with Inka Gold, twisted some and made them into a lovely necklace.
Eileen also has been experimenting, as promised, with tiles. She has produced some really interesting ones.
Meanwhile Jayne showed us lots of her pieces, a number of which are shown here too.
And Pam brought with her the cuff she made with Bettina and was wearing a lovely necklace she made with Alison on Alison's PolyPlay workshops.
Seventh Clayday - 8th September
We had yet another great day. I was having nightmares about how many people would come this month - whether there would be room for us all. In the event we just about fitted in, although we did discuss the possibility of using a different venue, which, of course, would mean we would be charged. We are subject to our own success.....
Nevertheless, we welcomed Nina who came from Rugby, and Jean and Tash were introduced to Polymer clay and are keen to come again (Jean brought some delicious cake for us too...) And Anna came for the first time to our delight.
The picture above is us all listening to Suzanne who gave us some very valuable advice on what to use when stringing beads and/or bracelets.
Below is Eileen demonstrating Betinna Welker's lovely cane. Eileen at work, the cane she produced together with the bracelet she made from last month's cane.
Nevertheless, we welcomed Nina who came from Rugby, and Jean and Tash were introduced to Polymer clay and are keen to come again (Jean brought some delicious cake for us too...) And Anna came for the first time to our delight.
The picture above is us all listening to Suzanne who gave us some very valuable advice on what to use when stringing beads and/or bracelets.
Below is Eileen demonstrating Betinna Welker's lovely cane. Eileen at work, the cane she produced together with the bracelet she made from last month's cane.
Pam has been busy as usual - look at the faux jade in the top right hand corner. Pam is off to Alison's Polydays - (details here ) so will, we hope, have some new ideas for us next time we meet! Although someone mentioned image transfer? Maybe.....
Sixth clayday 4th August 2012
Lunch time in the kitchen on yet another stimulating clayday with more new people. It is interesting how we seem to settle on around eight people, all different every time. Brenda arrived with a piece she had been experimenting with. I am so excited because we have been told about her skills and this is the first evidence of it. This unicorn is around 2 inches square and is sculpted - look at the detail. Quite superb. This is her first effort with polymer clay! We look forward to great things.
We were delighted to welcome Suzanne who runs a beads and findings website (details here) and who was able to give us some hints and tips in the middle of a rather frenetic day - she says she will come again which is great. |
Brenda's Unicorn
Eileen made a cane using Betinna Welka's tutorial (see here) in lovely yellow and purple - we look forward to seeing the bracelet she intends to make from it. |
Pam emulates Carol Blackburn's work
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Eileen has been experimenting
The earrings at the bottom are made by using a home made texture plate and folding circles over - clever!
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Penny's plaque
This is a piece of black painted with Inka Gold, a couple of drops of alcohol ink and then impressed with a home made texture plate. So simple.
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Fifth ClayDay 2nd June 2012 - The Queen's Jubilee, so we had a Party
We had a Jacob's Join. Everyone who could attend brough with them a plate of food for one person - in theory - but in fact brought so much more. But we managed to eat it all! Pam even rbought union Jack serviettes.
Debbie's shoe
Then Someone noticed the sole of Debbie's shoe - look at that as a potential texture sheet! Predictably, we were all looking at the soles of our shoes after that!
Sue's earrings
Sue Made some lovely earrings and also taught us that one can cure in a container full of sand |
Some people even wore red, white and blue - see Pam's beads.
Jayne's cane
Jayne then extended the use of her cane by making it into these lovely hair pins. Sanda has been at work again. Look here
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Fourth Clay Day 12th May 2012
The sun was out and it was quite lovely in the Conservatory. Although we had a 'beginners group' in the kitchen as well: our group is growing and every week we have different people, often 'newbys' who are catching the bug. Pam is really excellent at teaching our new people.
The intention was to make snake hides today! Claire and her husband ran with the idea of making hides for their 19 snakes - and Greg managed to make one and was very happy with it.
And Sanda stole the show again with a piece that she finished during the week, and whilst we watched Jayne sat quietly producing some beautiful and delicate earrings using Pardo Professional Art Clay Translucent and a Stroppel Cane - aren't they lovely?
The intention was to make snake hides today! Claire and her husband ran with the idea of making hides for their 19 snakes - and Greg managed to make one and was very happy with it.
And Sanda stole the show again with a piece that she finished during the week, and whilst we watched Jayne sat quietly producing some beautiful and delicate earrings using Pardo Professional Art Clay Translucent and a Stroppel Cane - aren't they lovely?
Jayne showed us some of the wire work she does on the necklace she was wearing (left) and the beautiful Heart necklace she produced from the Pardo Professional Art Clay. Eileen was wearing an unusual necklace too (right) reflecting her flair with colours
Third ClayDay 30th March 2012
Look at this produced by Sanda - there is no stopping her now she has discovered Polymer Clay.
Isn't it interesting how stlyes differ from country to country (Sanda originates from Rumania)? And Sanda brought us all little Easter gifts too.
Eileen brought the double sided bracelet she made with her Stroppel Cane (see tutorial here)
and Pam showed us the bowls she has been making.
The intention was to try out the new Pardo Professional Mica clay, and as you see above, Sanda produced a lovely brooch. The general response to the clay was good - it was found easy to condiion, yet remains firm to use. Sanda used the Platinum clay with a little colour added. For more information about the Pardo Professional Art Clay look here
Second Clayday 3rd March 2012
Well, there was such a buzz: exchanging ideas and sharing skills.
Pam showed us the necklace she made inspired by Carol Blackburn (see bottom left of the picture) - see her wonderful work on her website here
Meanwhile Eileen has been experimenting with 'polo mint' designs (see the right hand side of the picture).
Our 'new to clay' member was unstoppable once she had learned a couple of basic skills!
First Clayday
4th February and it was cold, so our ClayDay was held round the large wooden scrubbed kitchen table with the log burner roaring.
Beginners and experts alike travelled miles to be with us. There was lots of sharing, and in particular, Sanda showed us what she had learned from Julie Picarello's book.
We also experimented with the CaBezels ( available here - but be warned you could get caught with inport tax!) . And we investigated possibilities with resins (including Lisa Pavelka's Magic-glos (see her tutorial here)
We welcomed Cara who gave us a personal demonstration of her cat tutorial ( which you can find here)
Beginners and experts alike travelled miles to be with us. There was lots of sharing, and in particular, Sanda showed us what she had learned from Julie Picarello's book.
We also experimented with the CaBezels ( available here - but be warned you could get caught with inport tax!) . And we investigated possibilities with resins (including Lisa Pavelka's Magic-glos (see her tutorial here)
We welcomed Cara who gave us a personal demonstration of her cat tutorial ( which you can find here)
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