Polymer Cafe Monthly Challenge

I just got my December 2012 issue of Polymer Cafe and was thrilled to see that I won fist place in their monthly challenge whose theme was Black and White.  The three intricate main beads were created using two techniques from my tutorial "Jan's Jacob Ladder Variations" which is a fun, and easy way to create highly patterned polymer clay designs. 

If you are interested in giving it a try, the tutorial is for sale in my Etsy shop www.jangeisen.etsy.com

SPECIAL EFFECTS PALETTE KNIFE EXPERIMENTATION

I finally got a chance to start playing with my new set of Special Effects Palette Knives.  (See photo of the tool set from my January 5, 2012 post for a photo).  Here are photos of what I did using two of the knives.  I used multiple colors of gilder's paste to patina the surfaces.

I like the cross hatching pattern (on the left). It made a nice background for my blue and copper scraps.  I am making it into a collage pendant.  The piece on the right is okay.  I think it is telling me that it wants to be cut apart and only use the right side.

  The straight impression of the palette knife (on the left) is really ugly.  Maybe it will become a usable scrap some day.  Right now I just want to throw it out.  I really like the other pattern (middle photo) that I got by making multiple impressions at right angles to each other.  It makes a nice area of interest, in contrast to the flat area, on what will become a pendant. 

NEW TEXTURING AND MOKUME GANE TOOL

I just got my order from Jerry's Artarama for a special effects painting palette knife set.  It looked really cool and I thought it would be great for texturing and impressing clay for mokume gane.  I need to try using it for texturing colored liquid clay also - to paint with clay.  It is available online at: http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/brushes-and-palette-knives/palette-knives/creative-mark-fx-special-effects-palette-knives.htm