Clay Vessels and Sticks

Clay Vessels

Materials:

Fimo Soft polymer clay in choice of at least six colors, plus white and black
scrap clay
pasta machine
Nublade Kato clay knife
acrylic rod
straight-sided glass or cardboard core
paper to fit around glass or cardboard
round cutters
polyester batting - four inches wide and approximately four inches longer than the diameter of the base of the vessel

1. Condition packages of two colors of Fimo Soft polymer clay.

 - To condition the clay by hand, divide the package into four pieces, knead each piece in hands and mix the pieces together.

 - To condition the clay with a pasta machine, slice the block in half, compress each half to a thickness of 1/4 inch with an acrylic rod. Roll the clay through the thickest setting of the pasta machine. Reset the machine to a thinner setting and roll the clay through. Reset the machine again to a medium-thin setting and roll the clay through once more. Finish by folding and rolling until the sheet is soft and pliable.

2. Roll each color into a square sheet that measures 1/8 inch thick.

Skinner blend sheet
1. To create a Skinner Blend sheet, cut each sheet to form right triangles of the same size (figure A).

2. Place the slanted edges of the triangles together offset so that about one inch of each triangle's diagonal edge remains untouched (figure B). Cut off untouched ends so that the two triangles together create a rectangle.

3. Roll the combined clay through the pasta machine at the thickest setting, making certain that both colors physically touch the rollers (figure C).

4. Fold the sheet, same color edge on same color edge. Place the clay on the rollers and roll through. Repeat until the sheet is smoothly graded and there are no streaks. This will render a Skinner Blend sheet (figure D).

Skinner blend bull's-eye cane
1. Fold it as if preparing to continue blending but instead of rolling the fold first, roll the sheet through placing a solid color edge on the rollers.

2. Reset the machine to a thinner setting and roll the clay through again in the same manner as in step 1.

3. Choose a color to appear in the center of the bullseye. Inspect the sheet, and at the point where the center color begins to blend into the opposing color, cut the clay away. If you do not, you will have too much of the center color in the finished cane.

4. From the center color, roll up tightly to the other color. You have now made a Skinner Blend bull's-eye cane.

5. If desired, make several more of these canes (figure E).

Striped loaf

1. Using 1/2 package each of caramel and black clay, roll each color through the thickest setting of the pasta machine. Place one sheet atop the other and, using the clay knife, trim to make a tidy square or rectangle.

2. Roll the sheet through the thickest setting once more, making the stripes thinner.

3. Cut in half and stack one half atop the other. Repeat two more times to make a striped loaf (figure F). Trim the four sides to make straight edges.

Embellishing the vessel

1. Cut the canes into thin slices and position them on the sheet (figure G).

2. Cut a thin slice from the striped slab. Cut "matchsticks" and arrange them on the sheet. When satisfied with the arrangement, roll it smooth with knitting needle or rod.

3. Roll a cylinder of black and white clay. Place them side by side and roll to smooth. As you are rolling, twist to make a candy cane stripe. This will need to be long enough to wrap around the sides and the upper edge (thinned edge) of the vessel. Wrap around and trim (figure H).

4. Cover the glass or cardboard with paper. Tape to secure.

5. Wrap the rectangle of clay around the form, pressing the clay firmly where it overlaps (figure I). If necessary trim the bottom and refine the upper shape.

6. Roll a 1/4-inch thick slab of black clay. Cut two sizes of circles from the slab, larger than the bottom of the vessel. Stack the smaller circle on top of the larger circle. Roll a snake of black clay and wrap it around the edges of both circles, trimming neatly.

7. Press the vessel to the base, making sure that the walls of the vessel do not wrap around the interior paper covered form (figure J).

8. Place the vessel in the oven and, if the walls are very tall, wrap with batting to ensure that the vessel walls do not fall. Secure the ends of the batting with a heavy item such as a mug.

9. Following the clay manufacturer instructions, bake to cure.

Clay Sticks

1. Roll a cylinder of scrap clay and cover it with slices cut from the striped slab.

2. Roll it out to thin and lengthen the cylinder. Taper both ends.

3. Cut thin slices from the bullseye canes and press them to the cylinder. Roll to smooth.

4. Twist and curl one end. Place the cylinder on polyester batting and bake following the clay manufacturer instructions.