Summer Solstice- Rune tiles and beads

Summer solstice the longest day of the year

from Science world http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/

Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations in the northern areas have for centuries celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer (see Shakespeare), St. John's Day, or the Wiccan Litha.

From http://www.chiff.com/

I love Runes. I like the way they feel and look and it brings me back to an ancient time.

I like pieces of polymer clay that look like they have been dug out of the ground or are replicas of a time gone way by. My pieces have been a reflection of that. I used to call my creations "Ancient Myth with a Modern twist".

These do have the modern twist.

I love letters and words also so this is just the ticket for me. If you have noticed I have been focusing on Pinata inks and this is a continuation of that too.

I also LOVE this lady's stamps. ERA Graphics
She has a rune stamp 246-001k

here is the link to her site, http://www.eragraphics.com/

Please tell Roberta I sent you. She is a talented artist and a nice woman trying to make her way in the world, just like me and I am sure, also a few of you!

It is also an Angel stamp company.

You can get stamps unmounted.

You will need:

Porcelain White Cernit

Pinata inks of your choice

5/8" round cutter

Lumiere or Ne-Opaque acrylic in the color/colors of your choice

Rune Stamp 246-001k from ERA Graphics

Products in Bold print are available from Clay Factory http://www.clayfactory.net/

1. Color your white clay with the ink.

You can follow this post http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2009/06/lapis-lazuli.html

as a matter of fact I am going to use some of the Lapis Lazuli to make some of the runes.

When your clay is colored with ink to the shade that you like, remember they will darken after baking so 3- 5 drops is great for most colors, but I probably used 15 for the Lapis Lazuli,

2. Roll out your clay on the thickest setting in your pasta machine and double the sheet to get a thicker sheet or roll out by hand to about 1/4" thick.

3. Cut out round shapes.

4. Roll into little barrels.

5. Cut the stamp into rows of Runes this way.

6. Press the little barrels on to the rune. You are pressing to make the impression not flatten so use a gentle hand.

If you get a little heavy of hand, recondition the clay and do it again or press gently with you fingers on the sides to push back in to a square shape. You can "drill" the holes with needle or needle tool before they are baked or drill with a small bit after they are baked and cooled.

7. Line up on a piece of cardboard and bake in a 275F degree pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Shut off the oven and let cool.

After they are cool antique with the Lumiere or Ne-opaque

Here is how to antique your baked pieces. You can see the results of the different colors of Lumiere and Ne-Opaque above.

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2008/10/lumiere-as-antiquing-medium.html

If you like heavier runes you can cover small light colored river stones or glass pebbles with the Pinata colored clay and stamp, bake, and finish by antiquing. Coming next post.