Savarick class, Day Three

Dateline: Damascus*

Intrepid international blogger Cynthia Blanton was felled by a sniper's bullet while reporting from a clandestine meeting of the ASPCA.** Not really. I just WISHED someone would shoot me. During the afternoon of the third day of class, I developed a wicked case of food poisoning and became overly familiar with the toilet facilities at the Artway Studio. I totally missed the last two hours of class which apparently had something to do with tassels. In my fevered condition, the only use I could think of for tassels had nothing to do with polymer clay.

I had planned to photograph everyone's finished projects, but I was too sick and besides, nobody finished anything. The class was really about process and technique, so we were intent on learning as many different methods as possible. My approach to workshops is to siphon every last drop of information out of my teacher's brain and worry about finishing things or having the most original design when I get back home. I'm hoping the class participants will send photos of their projects when they finish them.

The highlight of the class was learning the source of Seth's Secret Sauce (aka S3), a magical liquid he uses to smooth clay surfaces. We are sworn to secrecy, so the only way to learn about this wonderful formula is to take one of his classes.

I'm glad I had a day off between class and Synergy because I'm still recovering. Tomorrow will be a full day of seminars, speeches, panel discussions and the opening of the gallery of artist's work. Most of my clay heroes are here and I can't wait to see their work in person.

* Damascus, Maryland
** American Society for Polymer Clay Addicts

Savarick class, Day Two

Whew, I'm pooped. We had a full day of vessel construction in class today, and I was so busy, I didn't take any photos. Each student is trying to make three vessels with different shapes and features. Each one requires multiple layers of clay, so we switched back and forth between them, working on one while another one was baking. Seth Savarick, the instructor, is a computer jock as well as an artist, and he makes good use of the computer for designing objects and silkscreen patterns. In addition, he prints out useful templates for measuring and marking components of the clay pieces. Because each layer of the vessel builds upon the prior one, it is critical to make the "foundation" layers as precise as possible, and the templates help with that process.

Tomorrow we learn how to make lids and bottoms and apply decorative veneers....

Seth L. Savarick's class

Today was the first day of Seth L. Savarick's 3-day class at the Artway Studio called Inner Spaces/Outer Voices, Creating Personal Containers to Wear or Carry. Seth makes a variety of beautifully finished, gallery quality inro, lockets, minaudiere and vanity purses. Most of us were expecting to see tiny little vessels, but his are actually larger than the photos on his website suggest. We began with a discussion of his design process, learned how to properly leach and condition clay (I thought I knew how, but he taught me some things), and then we began learning a variety of ways to make core forms, the shapes around which he builds the vessels.

The teaching facilities at the Artway Studio are quite good. In addition to a long room with our work tables, there is a lecture room with an overhead mirror, the kind you find in cooking classes, and a variety of chairs, including some tall ones towards the back of the room. Smart. I think everyone had a good view of the demonstrations. And of course, any supplies we needed were instantly available in the store.

Tomorrow we start building vessels.....

Road Trip

I'm on the road for the next couple of weeks and I'll be reporting from the clay classes I'm taking and from Synergy. I arrived in Maryland today and stopped into the Artway Studio/Polymer Clay Express to stock up for my classes. Things were a little hectic in the store as Wilma and Rob were scrambling to get ready for Synergy, Cabin Fever and the two classes they are hosting this week. Busy times in the clay world. Shopping at the store in person is wonderful - I felt like a kid in a candy store. They have lots of things that aren't in the online catalog. I saw a couple of things I couldn't identify, but as soon as I find out what they are, I'm sure I will need them.

Snowflake Cane Ornament

Sandy, one of my guildmates at the Southern Ontario Polymer Clay Guild, taught us how to make snowflake canes and apply them to glass ornaments. This is a "disc" ornament. It looks like a flattened glass ball - sort of a flying saucer shape. I put slices of the snowflake canes onto a thin blue sheet of clay, cut out a large fluted circle, and applied it to the back of the ornament. I wrapped it around to the front a bit so it will never come off. Then I put some iridescent flakes inside. Fun.

More on BOH stoppers

I received a nice note from Louise who linked me to her blog where she shows another method of improving Bottle of Hope stoppers. Scroll way down to see her method.

I forgot to say "Thanks" to Georgia (aka iggy) for her suggestion about the tiny rubber bands.

Improved Bottle of Hope Stopper

The problem with stoppers like these is that clay does not stick to them well. Also, they tend to fall out if a heavy top is placed on them. Here is a method to make them work a little better. It sounds complicated, but it really is quite fast.

Get a leather punch, a hammer and a small block of wood. My “Maxi” leather punch set came from Michaels and I use the largest tip with it. (You will punch a hole in the stopper and you want it to be as large as possible. The Mini punch set is too small.)

Place the piece of wood on the floor or a very sturdy table; place the stopper on the wood with the top of the stopper down; center the punch in the inner ring of the stopper and whack it a couple of times with the hammer.

Roll out a snake of clay about the diameter of the inner ring of the stopper. Taper one end so that it is small enough to fit through the hole in the stopper. Insert the narrow end of the clay through the stopper from bottom to top.

While holding the clay firmly in the stopper, mash down the narrow part on top. You can spread it out as wide as you want. Just don’t disturb the core of clay going through the hole. Trim the bottom part of the clay to about 1/4 inch. Make sure the bottom part of the clay is the same diameter as the inner ring of the stopper. Insert it into the bottle to make sure it will fit, but DO NOT put the stopper all the way in. If you do, you will tear the inner clay core when you try to take it out for baking.

You can stop here, but you can make one additional enhancement if you wish. Use a needle tool to make a channel around the bottom part of the clay. After the stopper is baked, place a tiny rubber band in the channel so it will act as an O-ring. You will have to wrap the rubber band twice to make it tight. The tiny rubber bands can be found in a dollar store in the hair accessory section. You will have to experiment a bit to find the proper size for the channel.

You can bake before decorating the top or after. The clay you put on top will now be anchored to the stopper by the core of clay going through the center. If you bake before decorating, use liquid clay to make the new clay stick to the button on top.

Let the stopper cool thoroughly before trying to insert it into a bottle. If the clay is warm, you can tear the inner core by trying to pull it out.