The great reveal - Zentangle on polymer

I decided to try two different types of image transfers. Both were printed on a laser printer, as toner works far better than ink jet. I have heard of options for ink jet users - but never paid it much mind as I have a toner based printer anyway. If you have any links to share for ink jet users, please feel free to comment below.

In both instances I used Kato White Clay. I've got to admire you Kato Clay users out there....It is not easy to condition, but once you've got it conditioned - it really has a nice feel and workability.

Both were heated in the oven for 20 minutes @ 300F.
Both were applied to unbaked clay.
I used regular decent quality laser printer paper (the $10 a ream variety, not the super cheap copy paper)
To apply either - add a few drops of transfer medium to clay, then carefully burnish the paper onto the clay. I was a little more generous with the oil, and applied it both under the image, and over top of the image.

Test 1 - Image transfer using Kato clear liquid clay

You'll notice that the paper did not come off cleanly. I picked as much off as I could, then ran it under warm water while rubbing with my fingers. One of them smudged a bit, but not the other. This was most likely caused by not baking long enough. I think a few extra minutes would do the trick. You'll also notice that they are now pinkish in tone. Not quite what I was hoping for.

Test 2 - Image transfer using eucalyptus essential oil
The paper pulled off of these easily, and cleanly. Nice! They are still pink though - again not what I was hoping for.

Using Diamond Glaze on both
I haven't yet had a chance to let these dry, but the image is staying put with no lifting or smudging of the ink.  This part at least was successful. Diamond glaze, or resin should work fine with the image transfer method.  I still need to figure out how to do with with nice clean black lines though.


Edit: I just realized that the pink tones are where I had shaded my zentangle!  I'll try it again with a tangle that has not been shaded at all. Doh!  My laser printer is a colour laser - it would have used another colour to obtain the shading.

Zentangle on polymer

As you may remember from my posts just before Christmas. I ordered myself an official Zentangle kit for myself as a Christmas present. It arrived just after Christmas, and I've had a bit of a chance to do some tangles - both on paper, and on polymer clay!
Here are some of my very first 'Zentangles' that  I posted on Flickr



I tried tangling directly on a polymer clay pendant, rather than use an image transfer. For the first one, I let the ink dry for about 30 minutes, then tried doing some shading with pencil. This didn't work. As soon as I went to blend the pencil shading in, the ink smudged. I guess fired polymer isn't porous enough to actually let the ink dry properly. I then poured on a layer of diamond glaze to seal the ink - another fail! The ink started lifting as soon as I poured the glaze. You can see in the image all of the smudges and general ickyness.

I was pretty determined at this point to get it to work, so I used a heat gun for a few minutes to try to really dry the ink. This seemed to work a bit better, but you can see in the picture around the rim of the pendant hole has discolored. I do think the best method may in fact be an image transfer process.  I'll try that later tonight, and if it works, I'll outline the steps for you.  Another option would be to prime the surface of the polymer clay first with something. I'm not sure what exactly...

Stay tuned tomorrow for more attempts at getting this to work :-)

Not beads

I know I promised pics today - Life got in the way yesterday, and I don't have them ready. Instead I have a Friday linky love post.

The first is the blog of Dawn Schiller - Odd Fae and Autumn things - Dawn makes art dolls out of felt and polymer clay. Very cool stuff!

Second up (and this one does have beads) is the blog of Zuleykha - Zuleykha is a polymer clay artist as well, and you should check out the teeny tiny cupcakes she made!

If you want to know more about polymer clay in general - Polymer Clay Central is where it's at!

New link just added! My goodness, how could I have forgot Helen!  Helen Breil is a TBS member, and is very active in both the beading, and polymer clay communities. Check out her beads, eye candy, and fabulous tutorials!  Thank you Heather for reminding me :-)

More playing around

I don't have any pics today, but they will come tomorrow. I've been playing around a bit more with resin, and polymer clay! I've always been extremely challenged when it comes to polymer clay. Everything I've ever made looks like it was made by a child ;-) What was always most frustrating about this, is that I have seen some fabulous work combining polymer clay with metal clays. My problems usually occurred during baking. It would bubble up, and/or burn, among other problems.

I recently came across a tutorial from an artist whose patinas I've long admired. Shannon Levart of Miss Fickle Media. She takes bare copper, and solutions of chemicals to create absolutely fabulous colours on copper. She of course also had a tutorial on how to manipulate polymer clay. It was so worth the money, as I realized I was being too hasty in my handling of the clay. Her tips were worth the price of admission 10 times over.

(edited note:)
I just poked through Shannon's etsy site again, and I discovered she also has a tutorial on how to emboss on the polymer clay bases (which was the tut I was talking about it). Check it out!

 I have to say, resin on top of polymer clay looks incredible! The colours just pop, and it's just oh so shiny... :-)  If you're a poly clay newbie, you may want to check this out.  Shannon used rub on transfers for her demonstration pieces. That was one thing I didn't have, Instead I used some rubber stamps, and embossing powder.

Once I finish playing around with the polymer, I've got a few ideas swimming around in my head to combine the resin, polymer, and metal clay.

I've also got a wee update on my metal clay/resin hearts. I decided to give up on the transparancy idea. I couldn't get them cut out properly, and it just didn't have the look I was going for. I stuck with using the regular paper...coated in ice resin of course. I was going to post them on my etsy site, but of course I ran out of sterling lobster clasps....sigh.  And of course, when I come in to buy the clasps, I'll find at least another $50 (hah...) worth of stuff I need/want. Who wants to take a bet I manage to leave the store having only spent $50? ;-)