ToolTime with Marie #1- WS tool

I carry a ton of tools at the Clay Factory, I thought it might be nice to show you a few of them.
This first one on the list is mini wire tool, used for Sgrafitto, the wiki definition for the word, give it a click.
Or for carving out small areas, like around the eyes when sculpting. I am also playing with tool for texturing.
This is the way I learned sgraffito on Ceramics back in the early 70's.
This is a lovely little wire tool with many applications and many possibilities.
 
I am going to show you "A" way to use it with Polymer clay-Cernit, Pinata inks, and the WS tool, called a wire stylus by the manufacturer.
Here is the link the the picture of it.
http://www.clayfactory.net/kempertools/pages/WS.htm
Here is how much it costs from my Clay Factory
http://www.clayfactory.net/kempertools/Page9.htm 
Scroll down the page a little 

You will need:
WS tool
Pinata Inks
Porcelain White Cernit
Pasta machine or stainless roller
Ruler
LED night light w/clear acrylic shade
sharp blade
glue- e6000 or scotch quick drying paper glue or Ultimate glue from Crafter's Pick

Step 1. Condition and roll out your clay on the thickest setting in your pasta machine.
Step 2. Make the sheet if clay 2 3/4" tall by 2" wide.

Step 3. Ink it, I am going to draw a basic Mountain scene for the project, please feel free to go nuts. Draw in the blue line for the sky. I am using Baja Blue Pinata.

Step 4. Blur the line with a cotton swab. I waited between pictures awhile, and the ink had dried partially

Step 5. Add more ink and blur. Fill the sky

Step 6. Using now, Lime green, I fill in the mountain.

Step 7. I used the Baja blue side of the cotton swab to blend the mountain and gave some variation to the green color of ink

Step 8. Once I make the sheets I let them dry. it only takes a hour or so to be completely dry or in my area right now about 10 minutes. The ink will also dry out the surface a bit and make the scratches easier and cleaner while carving.

Step 10. Start carving, the tip on mine bend down a little I like this. Cut in to the clay lightly with the wire and in one stroke with out turning the head  of the tool pull the tool towards you at the same level.

Step 11. Start carve in the outline of the mountain. It is harder to turn the head of the tool as you go so go slow and steady and not too deep. With practice you will be amazing. If you work on cardboard you can turn the cardboard while you are carving. The wire tip needs or works best when it parallel

The more detail you put in the better it looks. You  zentanglers are going to love this.

Step 12. Finish off the picture, it is a practice one anyway, Practice!

Step 13. You will have little bits of porcelain clay colored by inks so... to leave nothing to waste. Roll a ball of clay porcelain or another color in the little bits to clean them up and to use them up.

Step 14. Picked up.

Step 15. Roll in to the ball.

Step16. Flatten a little, make a hole in it, and cure in the oven at 275 degrees for 30 minutes.

Step 16. Bake your piece on the curve of the jar. I made this from one of my glass vitamin jars and I pressed the jar in to 1/2" logs of clay. They will stick so you can bake this piece with out gluing it.
Once the legs or logs on the bottom side of the jar are baked I glue with Scotch paper glue and let dry. That way I can re-bake this and use it over and over again.


Use the glues mentioned above to glue the Clay piece to the clear acrylic shade of the NightLight.
Do not block the Sensor with the clay sheet.

This night light is done with a mandala rubber stamp stamped right in to the porcelain colored clay.
The stamp is from Studio G, and distributed from Hampton Art Inc. Another great source of stamps for Polymer clay is Rubber Stamp Plantation in Honolulu Hawaii. Tell Deb, Marie sent you!
After stamping and carving while the clay is raw drop on colors of ink and spread, wipe off extra ink with clean up solution added paper towel. Do not scrub with paper towel, but wipe off gently!

As beautiful hanging out during the day!

 As it is lit up at night!

Have a great weekend, it is a holiday in the US, drive careful and be nice while you are out and about, you may give another being a reason to live another day by your miracle of kindness.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem fish bones! Part 2

This tutorial post is continued from
Dem bones, dem bones, dem fish bones! Part 1

Spooky fish skeleton that is not just for Halloween.
At least that is what I think anyway.
I love this cane.
I hope you have fun making it too.


You will need:
Black Cernit
Opaque White Cernit
Porcelain Cernit
Biscuit Cernit
Clay slicing blade
Clay machine
Ruler if you wish

I mixed the black clay with Biscuit and the white clay with porcelain in equal parts
Condition and roll out the black in to a sheet on the thickest setting in your clay machine.
This is the last picture from part 1 here
Dem bones, dem bones, dem fish bones! Part 1

Add a sheet of white to the center of the cut on one side. The sheet will be rolled out on the 3rd thickest setting.

Put the stack back together with the white sheet in the middle...

Roll a 1/2" coil of the white clay and press in to a triangle with your thumb and forefinger.

Add the triangle point up to the fish bones. Like this.

Roll a 3/4" coil of black.

Press that coil into a triangle too.
Make the points of the triangle pretty sharp.

Trim the triangle black piece to fit the stack of rib bones.

Cut that triangle piece in half.

Make the points even sharper if you have too.

Add one half to one side of the tail and the other half to the other side of the tail. Press in to the tail evenly.

Add a sheet of black clay rolled out on the thickest setting in the pasta machine to the bottom of the tail.















Like this!

Roll a 1" coil of white clay and trim to the length of the stack of bones and tail.

Press this in to a triangle shape and see if it is the same size as the stack of bones and tail.

Cut straight down and cut off one point of the triangle.

Like so!

Place a bamboo skewer or brass rod on the cut side of the big triangle on the top 1/3 of the triangle.
Press the rod gently in to the triangle.

Add the other cut sections right back to the triangle with the brass rod still in place.
Form the 2nd cut half around the rod to form a half circle cell in the both pieces of the triangle.

Peel the one section off the other section and remove the brass rod.
Roll a coil of black clay the size of the brass rod about 1/8" and place in the channel of the big part of the white triangle.
Cut off the black coil so it is the length of the white triangle piece.

Place the smaller section of the triangle together with the larger one leaving the black coil inside.

This will be the eye for the fish bone cane.

Using your blade again cut into the opposite side of the cane at more of an angle. Cut all the way through to the bottom edge of the white triangle.

Like so.
Pull off the small section while never changing the orientation of the pieces.

Roll out some black clay on the 3rd thickest setting and place a strip about 1/4" in width on the length of the small cut off white piece of the larger triangle.

This piece will slide under the bigger white piece of the triangle, so the black strip will go along the outside edge of the small piece.

Like so!

Using your thumb and forefinger compact everything together. Shaping back in to a triangle and pressing the small piece with the black together with the large piece of the triangle as if it is one piece.














Place the triangle head in the center of the bones on the stack.

Roll a black coil that is 1 1/8" in diameter and the length of the stack of fish bones.

Press in to a triangle shape and cut the pieces in half.

Make the points of the triangle more defined.
Place one half on each side of the head of the fish.

Wrap all sides with a sheet of black rolled out on the thickest setting.














Reduce by compressing all sides one at a time with the palm of your hand and then flipping the cane from end to end and compressing all 4 sides of the cane again.
Repeat this slowly and gently until the cane is smaller by half the size.
It is best to be more forceful in the center of the cane to force the inside of the cane out.
As Katherine Dewey once told me "Oh, you are pressing on the "x" and the "y" axis which forces the "z" out through the center".
EXACTLY!

This is the inside of that cane using that method!
Enjoy and have a safe and fun Halloween!


Boos and hisses!