Polymer clay didn’t enter my world until I was 55 years old; but, when it DID, it hit me like a tidal wave. I first saw a millefiori cane on the cover of a craft book. (I’d love to know which book that was; but I’ve never seen it since.) I was at a friend’s scrapbook shop. Now, believe me, I’m talent-free at scrapbooking. Maybe that’s why seeing that book made such an impression.
My first glimpse of cane whispered to me “You were made for this”. At the time, I had no computer and no smart phone. I learned caning from library books. I spent every spare moment and every spare dollar on polymer clay for years. By 2013, my clay world opened up with sponsorships, teaching gigs and a running column in Polymer Café magazine. It was, and still is, a dream come true.
So, behold the humble cane. This one is made with Sculpey Souffle in Cherry Pie, Mai Tai, Jade, Lagoon, Canary and Turnip.
Souffle is easy on my hands. It’s softer and easier to condition and reduce, yet it retains fine detail as well as my other fave clay, Sculpey premo! The cane is 1-1/2” wide by ¾” tall. Here’s what I made with it.
For the bowl and earrings, I laid slices on a #2 (second thickest) sheet of Souffle in Poppy Seed.
The cuff bracelet is half slices attached to my special blend of metallic, which is 2 parts Sculpey premo! Yellow Gold Glitter and 1 part premo! 18K.
Fun stuff, right?
In the next blog, we’ll be talking about the joy of bits and pieces. Stay tuned.
