Polymer Clay Challenge

I recently joined several Facebook groups dedicated to polymer clay that I didn't know about before! There are a few that have weekly projects and while I have been unable to do all of them, I did attempt a couple that challenged me. One was for a 52 week caning site, and I saw a beautiful cane that I had not seen before and decided to try it. I have mostly done faux projects and some molding, but doing a cane with extruded shapes was HARD. Especially comparing mine to the beautiful example on the site! Here's the link if you are on Facebook and would like to join us! I don't know how to share the beautiful cane she made but this is my attempt at it.  The original artists name is Jessica Almqvist-nilsson. She posted a photograph tutorial showing how she constructed this cane. Since it is hers, and she shared it on Facebook, I am not going to share it here. You'll have to join the group to see it! :) (UPDATE: I found her Flickr page so here is a link to the pictorial regarding the composition of this cane!)

This cane is what happens when I get tired and my eyes stop working properly late at night. I did okay until it came time to reduce the cane into six pieces to make the shape in the photo. And once I get tired, i get less particular and less patient...I think one of the sections was actually a piece I was going to toss because it was the warped end. Sigh. But at least I learned a lot...which is true of most of our mistakes, right? 

For instance, I learned to budget enough clay the first time to make the entire project.  I used different types of clay, too - pearl and some was Souffle. Maybe that's why it didn't reduce nicely. Triangles are hard, though! I also usually use those clear blocks you put stamps on on the ends of my canes to reduce them and I couldn't find them - impatience again. 

I also had a big chunk left I was going to make either a pendant with or use to cover up the ding in my covered metal mint box (pictured below) and I left it in the oven too long and burned it. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sometimes, you should just stop, and pick things up the next day! 

Also next time I'll let it cool down before trying to cut it....and I am going to have to make one of those Lego slicers to cut any future canes! I wasted SO much cane cutting it unevenly by hand...

Thanks to Jessica for showing us this cool way to put a cane together! Like I said, I learned a LOT.

(UPDATE: Since I posted this, I found a new technique for reducing odd-shaped canes. If I had known about this I might have had an easier time reducing the triangular cane! Details here.) 

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