Mokume gane - again....

You can read my article about the mokume gane and how I mastered it here - http://www.carajane.co.uk/2011/02/mokume-gane-again.html on my new blog - www.carajane.co.uk

Successful mokume gane sheet!

I used the shavings on sheet of scrap clay and love this too!

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This weeks colour palette creations

In my last post I told you about the Color Palette a Week Group on Flickr. Well here is this weeks colour palette - it's bright and I didn't think I liked it but you have to try these things.

I mixed up the colours with some pearl clay included to make them a little softer and because I was in a shimmery type of mood. I also used the opportunity to try out some of the things on my 'want to try' list.

Here's what I made

Thin stripes, yes all 3 colours are in there but it's hard to see the pink especially. I wasn't sure how to string the donut type pendant other than the obvious way which I am not overly keen on. Tried it on black buna cord, black suede,  grey suede and pink rattail before I decided perhaps red looked best as it saved introducing another colour.

This is a very experimental piece. I finally tried using metal leaf for crackles and I think you will be seeing more of that! The top part is a Sutton slice which worked beautifully thanks to the tips in Lisa Pavelka's -The Complete Book of Polymer Clay, I used another of her texture stamps to do it, the back is textured with the same stamp btw. I then tried out using a layer of  liquid polymer clay as a varnish/protective layer over the gold crackles. I baked the piece as normal and the liquid clay was still a little milky so as recommended by Donna Kato I got the heat gun on it and wow - before my eyes it transforms to become clear and shiny.  I'm not sure you will see a piece quite like this again but I will be using all those techniques some more. I didn't like this at all when I first made it, it was a playing about piece but now it's growing on me and I almost like it.

A hollow oval donut  in mokume gane. These colours don't really suit mokume gane as there isn't enough contrast but it is a technique I am keen to improve. I thought after I had stacked them a second time - should of put another colour in to lift it but it was too late by then. I rescued the rest of the clay I had stacked to make the striped pendant above. I see so many stunning examples by other people and am never really that happy with mine. The Lisa Pavelka texture stamps are better to work with than most of the other stamps I have as they are deep so you get a good impression.  I look forward to wowing you with something stunning one day.

Whilst shaving the mokume gane I created a pile of shavings which looked rather appealing, they became this funny little pendant, another one I'm not totally sure about but it's different!

So nothing I am totally in love with, they aren't my colours but they did make me push some boundaries and try some new things so it was a worth while exercise. If nothing else the scrap clay from the 3 colours together makes a lovely red!

More Mokume Gane

I have been playing about with mokume gane again (along with making some beads and a zebra cane - I'll post about those tomorrow). This time scrap Mokume Gane from the tutorial I bought from Tonja's Treasures. I will have another go at a bangle sometime soon, I just have to sort out a bracelet form to make it the right size!

Scrap Mokume gane pendants

Improved Mokume Gane

Today I have been playing with Mokume Gane (I meant to make a ghost flower cane but...). I am much happier with my results. I cut and restacked a lot more times (thanks Arlene for the tip!)

I'll make some things with it later - off to pick up the kids from school now

New texture sheet and Mokume Gane

I often admire other peoples Mokume Gane pieces but am always dissatisfied with my own. I've played about with the mokume gane technique a few times and tried various different  colours and methods.

Finally I got round to buying some texture sheets and decided to have another go.

Starting stack before rolling

The swirl texture sheet and the clay stack after passing through the pasta machine

The end sheet after slicing

Not quite sure what I will do with it (she'll probably cover a spoon handle you are probably thinking if you have read this blog for a while..) It still doesn't grab me as much as some others I have seen but I quite like it. Colours are a bit wacky! I think I should of had more layers in my stack to start with. The texture sheet is pretty thick which means it gives a nice deep impression but only just goes through the pasta machine. Perhaps I ought to roll it by hand.

Mokume Gane and Belated Easter Eggs

I had a go at Mokume Gane again the other day. I often see things I love made with the Mokume Gane technique and I have read several tutorials but never come up with anything that has made me go 'Wow!'. I think next time I shall take a tutorial to the work bench with me and try and follow it more directly and use the same colours too.

I used Fimo (trying to use up  my stash) in white, gold, and translucent and also used a
sheet of gold foil, first time I have used metal foils. I made a stack of the different colours and then rolled them through the pasta machine and cut in half a restacked and then cut in half and restacked again so I had 12 layers of clay. I used my sculpting tools to impress balls and circles of different sizes and made needle tool dot patterns and filled in some of the larger patterns with small balls of gold clay.

I then took slices with a tissue blade and laid them on a sheet of white clay. I did try shaving slices with an old potato peeler (a tip I read on someones blog - can't remember who sorry) but  it was too blunt - I will have to get a new one to try it. It worked out OK, it's quite interesting but again no wow factor for me - but then I don't really like gold so not sure what I was thinking there!

I hadn't really planned anything with it so I covered a spoon, you may have realised that's one of my default activities by now ;) What should I do with the rest? I cut out a few pendants but didn't like the shapes, I must spend some time making myself some cardboard pendant templates instead of randomly cutting things that are uneven or unbalanced or too wide...

I decided to cover an egg for my lovely husband for Easter (this was the Thursday before - I like a tight deadline!).  I blew a real egg - phew had forgotten what hard work that was having not done it since I was a teenager! I thoroughly washed the egg and then dried it in the oven for a good long time.

A sheet of mokume gane and a covered but not smoothed egg

I read several tutorials on covering eggs and tried a few with some scrap clay, but I kept getting bits that were much thicker and ruined the shape of the egg.  In the end because the pattern of the Mokume Gane was random and could take overlapping without ruining it I just wrapped a piece round most of the egg and tore bits off to fill the gaps left.

I just rolled it around in my hands to smooth it

I was quite pleased with it at this stage and made a matching stand and put it in the oven to bake.  Excellent, Easter sorted for my husband at least.

Well that was until I got it out of the oven - the one thing I forgot, probably the most important thing, the thing that I was conscious of trying to remember until the last minute - the air hole! The result...

Egg with warts!

Without the air hole as the air in the egg expanded in the heat of the oven it had nowhere to go - it expressed itself in a series of 'warts'. The stand was also too big. No time to do anything else so I gave it to him anyway, he was kind of grateful I had made the effort I think. I love the feel of it though it is so light. It would be awesome if I could sand it smooth and buff it to a shine. I will have a go again sometime, another thing to add to my polymer to try list!

Anyway I hope you all had a great Easter. We had a lovely time at my in laws