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Mica Shift Basketweave by Tonja Lenderman As seen in the April 2004 issue of Jewelry Crafst Magzine
Materials:
1 - 2 oz. Premo Sculpey(TM) Gold
1 - 2 oz. Premo Sculpey(TM) Black
1 Pin back - 1"
1 Barrette back
Necklace size length of 2 mm cording - leather, rattail or similar
Cyanoacrylate Glue - (super glue) gel type
Necklace findings - Optional
Tools:
Clay blade (tissue blade, 1-sided razor blade, scraper blade, etc.)
6" Work surface- (Smooth), plexi-glass, ceramic tile, glass, marble or mat board
Paper - typing, freezer, parchment, deli wrap.
Dowel or skewer - 1/8" diameter, 2"- 3" long
Roller - brayer, acrylic rod (solid or hollow), straight-sided glass or vase.
Storage - 2 plastic baggies to store unused clay.
Wet Wipes - Wet OnesÔ are ideal because of the alcohol content.
Ruler - optional
Pasta Machine
1- Place a sheet of paper on your work surface. It will make it much easier to handle and move your sheets of clay. Cut your blocks of clay into 3 pieces. It's easier to condition clay using small amounts (thin pieces) rather than conditioning the entire block at once. 2 - Condition clay by hand by folding, twisting, stretching, and repeating until soft and pliable.
To make long sheets, roll gold and black clay separately through a pasta machine on the thickest setting. Set aside the black sheet of clay for later.3 - Trim one side of the gold sheet so you have straight edge to start from. Cut off 20 strips, between 1/8" and ¼" wide works well. The strips don't need to be exact, but you can use a ruler if you like. Set aside the rest of the gold sheet for later.
4 - Making the basket weave.
Start by placing 10 strips vertically on your work surface, pressing the top ends down to hold them in place. Now weave the 11th strip under every other vertical strip. Repeat this step with slices 12 - 20 alternating the vertical strips you go under. Press down on the ends of each strip after you weave it so it will not move. (see pictures)
5 - Use your roller to smooth and flatten the basket weave and to close the gaps. (see pictures)
6 - Take the remainder of the gold clay sheet and roll it through the 3rd to largest setting on the pasta machine and place the smoothed basket weave slab onto this sheet. Use your roller to smooth and work the bubbles out from between the 2 layers. Now, roll the combined sheets through the pasta machine on thickest setting; rotate 90° and roll slab through pasta machine on 2nd to largest setting. 7 - Cut the sheet in half and then one half into quarters. The large piece will be used for the barrette and the quarters will be used for pendant and pin. (See Picture)
8 - Cut a pleasing shape from each quarter section (pendant and pin). Cut another shape from the half section for your barrette. Note: You may want to lay the pin & barrette backs near by to cut the pieces the right size. Put the trimmed of pieces into a baggie for a future project.
9 - Place each of your gold clay shapes onto the black sheet of clay. Mimic the shapes by cutting them out of the black clay leaving at least an 1/8" black showing around the gold clay. (see pictures)
10 - Cut a small rectangle from the black clay scraps. Fold the rectangle around your dowel or skewer leaving a "tail" of clay which will be attached to the back of your pendant. Now press the "tail" onto the back of your pendant. Be gentle so you don't distort the shape. Rotate the skewer to stretch clay and form a loop for hanging. Leave skewer in place while baking. (see picture) Place the rest of your black scraps in a baggie for use in another project.
11 - Turn you barrette clay piece back side up and place the barrette back onto the center and gentle press it into place, just enough to make it stick. You will have to slightly bend the piece to mimic the curve of the metal barrette back. (see picture) Bake the barrette with the clay on top so the baked clay mimics the curved shape of the barrette. This process is not necessary for the pin back. The clay will be permanently mounted to the metal barrette and pin backs with glue after baking. 12 - Bake your pieces according to the manufacturers recommended time and temperature. Let the pieces cool. Clay will not stick to metal permanently, so it must be glued. Before you glue on the pin and barrette backs, lightly sand the metal where it will come into contact with the clay. This will help the metal hold the glue. You may either brush on a clay-friendly gloss finish or sand and buff to a high shine.
Barrette
Pin
Pendant
All material herein © 2005 is owned by Tonja Lenderman