Go Make Something » Polymer Clay

Toner Transfers on Clay

Lisa Vollrath — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 00:59:39 +0000

This week, I put a roof on my big Amaco shrine.

I found a large metal planter that, when flipped upside down, was shaped very much like a mansard roof. The folks at Amaco provided me with quite a few CDs filled with images from their archives. I decided to cover the roof with clay, and then transfer the images onto it, so the roof would be a big collage of company history.

I started by covering the metal planter with white clay. I conditioned the clay really well, then ran it through the pasta machine to create long sheets. The sheets were draped over the planter and trimmed to size. I did this with as few overlaps as possible, to avoid too many seams in my collage area.

I set the clay covered roof aside, and printed images. I grayscaled all of them and heightened the contrast, then printed them on plain paper using my laser printer. The images that had text in them were reversed, so the text would transfer correctly.

I placed the trimmed images onto the clay, toner side down. This is a pretty permanent thing—once the toner touches the unbaked clay, it starts to transfer itself. Don’t shift your images around once you’ve placed them against the clay. I applied a light coat of rubbing alcohol to each image, using a cotton makeup pad as an applicator.

The alcohol evaporated very quickly, and the images were dry and ready for a second application of alcohol in just a few minutes.

Once the alcohol was dry again, I wet each image completely with alcohol, and gently peeled the paper away. If the image didn’t seem to have transfered completely, I let the paper roll back into place, and applied a bit more alcohol to the back, rubbing gently.

Once all the transfers were applied, I put the whole roof into the oven to bake according to the directions on the clay package.

Here are all four sides of the roof, with transfers, a little ink toning, and some rubber stamping. The front section also has a metal frame applied to it:

Want a little color? These two test pieces were colored before baking:

This one was painted with tube watercolors.

This one was colored with alcohol inks. I dripped the inks right onto the clay, and then blended them with a cotton swab.

Marbled Clay Tiles

Lisa Vollrath — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 00:57:46 +0000

This week, I did a lot of work on the shrine I’m doing for the folks at Amaco. I showed you the metal work last week—well, once I finished making the metal happen, I felt as though the exterior of the shrine needed some color. I took the leap, and broke open the polymer clay they sent me.

I haven’t worked with clay in about five years. I did a fair amount of miniature work with it when I was writing for About, but as a paper artist, I don’t tend to think of clay when I’m developing a project. I decided to start with something relatively simple: marbled tiles, to do borders in three places around the edges of the shrine.

To make the marbled tile shown, I used three colors of clay: bright yellow, lime green, and black. I started by conditioning the clays, getting them good and soft by kneading them in my hands.

I rolled out the yellow clay with a pasta machine (which is dedicated to clay work, and has never made an actual batch of pasta). I placed the flat piece on a glossy ceramic tile, which makes a great work surface, since the clay won’t stick to it. I poured a bit of gold glitter over the surface of the clay.

To work the glitter into the clay, I first folded the two ends inward, then pressed down. This is to encourage the glitter to stick to the clay, rather than rattle around dry, and end up all over the floor when I try to knead it. After a few folds and presses, I could knead the clay normally, with very little glitter escaping. If some fell out of the clay onto the tile, I just wiped it up with the clay and kept on kneading.

To get the marbled effect going, I broke off small pieces of conditioned clay, and stacked them one on top of the other, alternating colors.

Doesn’t this look like a lovely marbled tile in the making? This blob contains random pieces of glittered yellow, lime and black clay.

Next, I rolled the clay out into a long rope. You can see the stripes of different colors forming. These need to be less stripey, and more rippled.

Here’s how I acheived the ripples: I doubled the clay back on itself, then twisted it.

I rolled the clay out again, then flattened it with my hand, preparing it to go through the pasta machine.

The pasta machine presses the clay, makes it a uniform height, and flattens out all the ripples I created through twisting. It’s always a treat to see the clay come out the other end looking so lovely. Quite a change from that big blob a few steps back!

The clay goes back on the tile, where I measured it out and cut it using a clear quilting ruler and a craft blade.

This piece was cut into tiles of several different sizes, to match the three borders I wanted to create. I cut so there was a tiny bit of waste between tiles, which I removed with the tip of the craft blade. This way, I could square up the edges with the blade.

Finished tiles, sealed with a coat of Diamond Glaze and glued to the shrine:

Polymer Clay Basics

Lisa Vollrath — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 00:52:21 +0000

Since polymer clay is a little off the beaten path of most paper artists, here’s some basic information to help get you started:

There are two major brands of polymer clay on the market: FIMO and Sculpey. Although there are other brand names, these two have been around the longest, and one or the other will be stocked at your local craft store.
Polymer clay isn’t generally affected by contact with the air, and I often leave it sitting out on my work table all day while I’m working on a piece. Since it’s designed to stay soft until baked, the less contact with heat or sunlight the unbaked clay has, the longer it will remain soft.
Clay should be prepared by warming it. Begin by rolling it gently in your hands. As the clay starts to become warm, make long snakes, twisting back and around to make sure that the clay is completely warmed, with no cold spots. If the clay crumbles while you are working with it, that is a sign that it is still cold. Keep at it—some clays take a great deal of conditioning before they’re ready to be worked.
If you are working with old clay, you can add a couple of drops of glycerine to bring it back to life. The FIMO line also has a softening agent that can be worked into stiff clay.
Follow the manufacturer’s baking instructions on the clay package. Be sure your oven is set at the correct temperature, and do not overbake the clay. In general, thinner clay applications take less time to bake, and thicker chunks take a little more.
Leftover polymer clay should be sealed and stored in a cool place. Some people store their clay stash in the refridgerator.
If clay sticks to your hands when you are working with it, dust them lightly with corn starch.
Do not eat from any cooking tools that have been used for baking polymer clay.
For cutting, use a straight razor, available from hardware or medical supply stores, rather than Exacto blades. Straight razors give an even cut from top to bottom, while Exacto blades tend to bend under pressure.
The best work surface is a spare ceramic tile with a smooth surface, like a bathroom tile. This tile can be used for a cutting or rolling surface, as well as to cook on. Keep the tile clean.
For small projects, a round dowel makes a great rolling pin. For very large items, or multiples, a pasta machine can be used to roll out the clay in a large, even piece.