Southern Ontario Polymer Clay Guild

Here are the notes for Barb's faux wood class!

These techniques have been adapted from Bob Wiley's at www.pcpolyzine.com and www.hgtv.com.

Start with the pearl/mica clay. If you are blending colours, do so now, then run the clay through on the THICKEST setting to thoroughly blend the colours and to align the mica particles in your sheet. TURN YOUR SHEET 90 DEGREES and start to roll a log, making sure that you don't trap any air while your are rolling. Squeeze the ends to force out any air there. Start twisting the log, doing short areas at a time. If the log breaks just push the two pieces back together and hold it while you continue to twist the rest of the log. THE TWISTS SHOULD BE VERY CLOSE TOGETHER.

Lay the log on top or your pasta machine and using the widest setting roll the clay through. Continue to roll the clay through at narrower settings to achieve a sheet of wood that has a grain through it.

Mixing various colours of clay will achieve different 'species' of wood. Sof the types that I have attempted are a very pale 'maple', 'oak', 'Brazilian rosewood', 'cherry', and some that are just 'wood'. Amazingly enough, the red and green pearl mixed together make a nice accent to other clays.

Recipes:

1- pearl with a smidge of gold for a very pale wood
2- 6 parts pearl to 1 part gold
3- 1 prt ecru : 1 prt silver : 2 prts pearl
4- 1 gold : 4 white : 2 pearl
5- 1 gold : 1 translucent : 1 ecru : 1 pearl
6- 6 black : 1 silver makes anthracite
7- straight gold
8- 2 copper : 1 silver make a cherry sort
9- 4 burnt umber : 1 gold
10- mix red pearl and green pearl 1:1 (not entirely mixed) : 8 gold (ie. 1 prt mix : 8 prt gold)
11- #6 anthracite with a smidge of Alizaron Crimson and burnt umber make a Brazilian rosewood
(Cut random sized wedges out of the sheets of anthracite mix and burnt umber. Make up a sheet of the two colours using random pieces next to each other. Burnish the pieces together. Straighten the bottom edge of the sheet and roll up into a log. Proceed as before.)

Maybe someone who took pictures could post them???