Teaching and Learning New Things in Polymer

There are several things I love about working with polymer clay.  I love how I can create so many different colors and color blends.  I love how I can feel the clay in my hands when I work with it and how it is soothing to touch and not sharp or jagged.  What I like most of all is how it can take on so many different forms.  Many techniques I have developed myself or mastered from other ideas and have written tutorials to share them with you.  Other techniques I felt would take too long to figure out and have learned from others who have mastered those.  I have learned over the years that with the polymer community, there is plenty of sharing and exchanging of ideas.  We are all learning from each other and I believe that is how we hone our skills and grow as artists.

Before I discovered polymer clay, I use to spend most of my days sewing and had a real love for fabric and textiles.  It is so cool how one can imitate many of these looks in the clay.  I have tried various techniques and ways to imitate the Ikat fabric but with not much success.  I really liked the look that Lindly Haunani achieved with her Rainbow Ikat technique and finally decided to give it a try.  I must say that I was most impressed how it turned out the very first time.

To make the Ikat pattern that Lindly shows in the lesson, you need to start with three colored clays, a pink, blue and yellow.  I was working with the Pantone fall 2013 fashion colors at the time so decided to try those.   For my pink I used Vivacious, for the blue I used the Mykonos blue and for the yellow, I used the Pantone color Linden which is actually a green but is mostly yellow (click on each of the names to see the clay color recipes).

When working with a lesson, I find it is helpful to follow the original instructions as closely as possible.  Once I feel I get the idea as to how it works, I can begin to play around with it a bit more and experiment with different variations.  This is how one can eventually develop their own "style".  So this is the Ikat "leaf" pattern that Lindly shows how to make which I turned into a scarf clip.

And here is another scarf clip made from the same Ikat cane.

I've had many people ask us where we get the scarf clip findings.  Well I will be revealing that to you very soon and will be sharing a free tutorial on how to attach them so stay tuned.

Polishing Your Polymer Clay Pieces With a Dremel

For some time we had been searching for the perfect finish for our polymer clay.  We prefer a more natural sheen when a piece has been sanded smooth and then buffed with a soft cloth.  But after some time we found the pieces would go dull and look lifeless.  We started experimenting with various varathanes and glazes but were not totally satisfied.  We found if you didn't put it on just right it would leave streaks and if the glaze was too thick it looked too much like shiny plastic".

I then came across an article posted by Lindly Huanani titled "Stop the Glop".  As soon as I read it, I knew we were finally on to something.  The article was regarding how so many people try to add all sorts of glazes on their polymer clay pieces when you really do not need anything at all.  She went on to mention about using an archival type wax such as Renaissance.


We decided to give it a try and were amazed at the beautiful finish it gave!  This is what we discovered and how we prefer to use it.


1.  Sand your pieces first until you have a nice smooth finish.  You will find instructions on sanding your pieces in the "Polymer Clay Tips" section at the top of this blog. 


2.  Apply the wax to your clay pieces and allow to "dry or soak in" for a minimum of 10 minutes.  The longer you leave it, the better the finish.


3.  To remove the wax we use two different cloths.  One is a piece of a cotton rag for wiping off the excess wax .  The second cloth is used for buffing such as an old rag t-shirt or piece of denim.


4.  For a high shine, after (or instead of) the second buffing by hand with the cloth, you can buff your piece with a buffing wheel.


We use a simple dremel set-up in a drill press for easier handling (as shown).

We did not like the buffing pads that you buy for the dremel as they were too harsh so we followed Desiree McCrorey's instructions for making your own.  The most difficult part was finding the right material.  We tried various types of fabrics and discovered they are all not the same.  Some of them were so harsh they would actually damage the clay piece.  When we found the right material we could not believe the difference it made.  Our pieces buffed up to a high shine in a matter of seconds when using just the "lightest touch".


You can make your own buffing pads like we did, or if you would prefer to purchase them already made we now have more available in our ArtFire studio.  We sell them in a pack of three so they will last you a while.  (Just click on the  photo below to order.)