A Note Of Thanks!

I want to say, "Thank You" to EVERYONE from around the globe who came to this blog to view, study and hopefully begin working with the tutorial I blogged freely to ALL. 

Please do not hesitate to ask me questions if there is anything you do not understand or can't seem to grasp the information I have presented in the tutorial.  There are a number of ways to bring your inquiry to my attention; you may post directly within the blog site itself, email me on google+ or catch up with me over on Facebook.

I have recently created a closed Facebook group for those wanting to learn more about this technique and/or share your works created after working through the tutorial and want to talk with other like-minded artists, feel free to come join us!  The group is Mokume Gane - Advanced Techniques and is subject to administrative approval upon your request.

Again, Thank you,

Marilyn


* I will continue to strive; to push my mind, and imagination as I hope it sparks your creativity and artistic voice!

A tile I made from the tutorials stack



The Tutorial - Part 3 Mokume Gane, Alcohol Inks and Translucent Polymer Clay

Thanks for sticking with me into this home stretch!

12.  What you want to do with your slices you have taken off your stack is figure out what background color you want to come through when the translucent clay is baked.   First thing I do is roll out, like in this case, a sheet of white polymer clay on a medium setting (6) on my pasta machine. Then, I arrange my slices on to that sheet, cover it as much as I can with all my slices.  Trim off the excess.  I then take me acrylic roller and lightly go over the sheet because I do not want a lot of distortion with added pressure. I just want to even out the slices in order to cut my pendants and earrings from it.

I am very curious to see just how this section will turned out once I have a piece baked!?

this section of my sheet equally intrigues me . . . will be interesting!



13.  As you can see from the images taken above here, I have some very interesting areas I want to capture a few pendants and earrings from.  Soooooo . . . let's do it!

14.  These are the shapes I am currently working with from templates I created myself and used my "mud" as the medium.  Now, you go, do, and be free to create yours!!!!  Meet ya' back!

Here are mine, from the above sections I was very interested in







 15. Don't forget to sign your pieces!

The Artist Formerly Known As, Marilyn



 16.  Ready to Bake.  Follow manufacturers directions for temperature and time.  Here is my setup and it has worked excellent from the prior pieces that have been shown here and other network websites.   First, I have a temp gauge for interior of oven, second I have foil on the baking rack itself third, 4x4 ceramic tile with parchment paper.  I place my pieces on that and then "tent" my pieces, just to add protection to the translucent as it bakes at higher temperatures. Try not to let your pieces over bake as soon as mine are ready, I pull them . . .



my setup for smaller pieces



 17.  Remove from the oven safely and have a bowl or pot of cold water with ice cubes ready to plunge your pieces into the icy water, and stop the process thus, the pieces discontinue to bake.

simple saucepan with ice water - you can see already how transparent the polymer clay baked



18.  Here are my finished pieces.  I have recently went down to a 300 grit wet/dry sandpaper to lightly sand the tops, then graduate to the finer grits - 1200 usually.  I buff these on my buffing wheel and apply lastly, a coat of triple thick glaze.  Done!

Thank you! And I hope you enjoyed working along side of me as we created some beautiful pieces with Polymer Clay, Translucent polymer clay, And Alcohol Inks using the Mokume Gane technique adapted for polymer clay. 

Back to Beginning (Part 1).

The Tutorial - Part 2 Mokume Gane, Alcohols Inks and Translucent Polymer Clay

I hope you enjoyed the Intermission!  Okay, we are actually reaching the home stretch, if you have stayed with me thus far . . . thank you! Now, onto Part 2.


6.  Remember the B/W sheets we put together and set aside? Now we are going to work that sheet we created.  Put it through the pasta machine on the thickest setting which should reduced it to a thickness of 1/8 inch (manually it should end up approximately that thickness). It will almost be doubled in length.

7.  Place that sheet we just created, lay on top of your dried alcohol inked transparent sheet of polymer clay. Then, put that through the pasta machine on the thickest setting whereas, this is  the "compression" in metalsmith terminology of what we are actually doing to the polymer clay.

8.  Once again, your sheet will almost double in size.  After which, you can trim the sheet up, cut in half and stack it, making sure your black is always on top. *see image 9.

9.  This is where you can get out all your cutters, old credit cards, needle nose pliers and create your unique stamp on your polymer clay stack. *use the blunt side of cutters to better drag the colors throughout the stack, same for anything you are going to be using for design purposes.

10.  You can, before you begin slicing, lightly use your acrylic roller (any) to compress the stack a bit and that in turn helps hold it to the table.  You can also elevate your stack by placing it on scrappy clay as to not dug quite so deep unevenly through the stack . . .there is a video showing exactly how to do this, I'll have find it.  Using a sharp tissue blade taking the thinnest slices possible underneath the top sheet, begin slicing through your stack as I have pictured below. Turn your cut slices over to reveal the patterns and colors.

11.  Here are my slices from my stack, yours may be very different from mine and that's a good thing.  But, the fun isn't over quite yet.  We now have to use these slices in creating a piece, the magic begins in the baking of the translucent polymer clay with the alcohol inks and don't forget our leafing sheet!



** to be continued in The Tutorial - Part 3 Mokume Gane, Alcohol Inks and Translucent Polymer Clay  . . . Thanks!

continue to Part 3 of this tutorial

Polymer Clay - Mokume Gane

Here are some of my created pendant sets using, what I would call traditional Mokume Gane meaning, the stack and compression of the polymer clay itself by use of manipulating the stack with objects that would create patterns, designs and/or textures to the clay. Then, slicing across the sheet to reveal one's creation! But, what is this all leading up to!? My Tutorial . . . I'm working on it as we speak!

Sooooooo . . . stayed tuned!

Welcome!

I should introduce myself, I am Marilyn and I am an artist.   

It's been thrilling, and I have met a lot of wonderful people along the way.  I continually learn and believe educating oneself is the essence to unlocking more and more of the creative imagination that comes from within each and every one of us. Expressing myself creatively through art, whatever form that may take, is important to my well-being.

These are "snippets" into the "WHY" I am an artist and do the things I do in life.  I hope you will walk with me on this adventure, whilest enjoying the images of unique, whimsical at times . . . jewelry I design and create  . . . for you!