Stamping on Clay

Impressions of
Beauty
Art from stamped clay
By Karen Sweeny-Justice
•
I
t used
to be that when people thought
of working with clay the image that
sprang to mind was one of getting one’s
hands dirtied with globs of mudlike sub
stances along the lines of the unforget
table clay scene depicted in the movie
Ghost
How times have changed!
Today’s artists can choose from syn
thetic natural and other clays made from
diverse materials—polymer clay is the
leader—that range from pure white to a
veritable rainbow of colors and hues
Among the brands are Creative Paperclay®
•
Sculpey Fimo and Crayola Model Magic to
name just a few [Editor’s note: See the
Resources sidebar for more]
Sculpey Premo and Fimo are baked
until hard while Creative Paperclay® and
Model Magic are airday materials
Regardless of type it’s important to
follow manufacturer instructions while
working with modeling compounds
Additionally clays typically need to be
conditioned before molding Many artists
use a dedicated pasta machine to roll out
their clay before stamping while others go
the traditional way kneading clay by hand
Impress Me Box
by Chris Hines
Impress
Me Box
hered with layers of
everyday Future floor
wax. When the lid was
cool, she burnished a
paper border on the rim
and painted the underside.
“If something happens unexpectedly or
in error,” Hines says,
“try to use it as an integral part of your art.
Reuse your clay scraps as
experiments. Take any
and all the classes you
can, as you can use every
technique in many different applications.”
Chris Hines, a resident of Galesville,
Maryland, first started
playing around with clay
in high school, and has
been working with polymer materials for about
two years. To create the
beautiful box featured
here, she combined polymer clay with other materials she’s gathered in
three years of stamping.
“This box uses
several of the techniques
(Stamp credit: Stamp
I was playing with [when
plate—Embossing Arts [I
the call went out]: unBrake for Stamps].)
mounted molding mats,
Thinking of You,
Pearl-Ex, inks on clay,
and tissue,” says Hines,
by Rosemary Marino
an instructor at the
Florida artist RoseQueen’s Ink in Crofton,
mary Marino also used
Maryland. “I taught a class at the store and all the
multiple mediums when she put together the Thinking
boxes turned out fabulous!”
of You card pictured here. Dried flowers actually reach
Beginning with Premo, Hines conditioned the
out of the clay vase Marino sculpted with Sculpey
clay, rolled it out on a pasta machine until it was large
polymer clay, while decorative fibers weave their way
enough to cover the box lid, and impressed it with a
through a punched border.
printmaking plate. (Rubber stamps and molding mats
Following instructions for working with Sculpey,
can be used in lieu of a printmaking plate, and clay
Marino prepared the clay and impressed it with an
can be kneaded and manually rolled out if you aren’t
inked stamp. She trimmed excess clay away from the
using a pasta machine.)
impression, and colored the image with chalks. She
Hines then spent time embellishing the clay with
then baked the clay, again following instructions.
Jacquard Pearl-Ex powdered pigment and inks. She
When the clay had cooled, Marino cut an
applied glue to
opening in the vase using a craft knife,
the lid top and
then applied a coating of Sculpey satin
“If
something
happens
rim, then afglaze. When the glazing was dry, she infixed the clay
unexpectedly or in error
serted the dried flowers, taping the ends to
to the lid. The
the back of the finished vase.
try
to
use
it
as
an
integral
sides of the lid
The vase and floral arrangement
were then
part of your art’
were attached to a strip of wallpaper, then
edged and the
mounted to a piece of cardstock. That
excess clay was
piece was mounted to the front of a folded
trimmed off.
card that was stamped with a background image.
Hines sprinkled Suze Weinberg’s Ultra Thick
To finish the card, this resident of the Tampa
Embossing Enamel on the surface of the lid, then
area stamped the “Thinking of You” sentiment inside.
baked the top following manufacturer instructions.
While the box top was in the oven, she decorated the
(Stamp credits: Vase—Magenta; Thinking of You—Rubber Stampede; background—PSX.)
bottom of the box using decorative tissue papers ad-
Thinking of You
ioned way. “I enjoy the strength training I get from
hand-conditioning clay,” she jokes.
After the conditioning process, Fitzgerald placed
For Joyce Fitzgerald of Sevierville, Tennessee,
the
clay
between two sheets of waxed paper and rolled
rubber stamping is a passion that began five years ago
it
out
to
her
desired thickness with a rolling pin. She
when she purchased a set of Chinese characters. A year
then
sliced
a
rectangle from the clay and stamped the
ago, she discovered the fun and excitement of creating
Chinese
lettering.
with polymer clay.
“I dusted the stamp with a little cornstarch to
“It is not necessary to create giant sculptures or
prevent
it from sticking to the clay,” she notes. “I
to design an elaborate frieze to get the satisfaction that
pressed
the stamp gently into the clay, applying even
polymer clay provides,” she says. “Something as simpressure
until I had a good impression. Stamps with
ple as a bookmark can give me that same tingly feeling
bold
lines
tend to make a better impression on unbaked
that I get when a handmade card comes together the
clay
than
ones
with more detail. For a detailed stamp, I
way I want.”
bake
the
clay
first,
then stamp the image.”
Fitzgerald worked with white Sculpey for the
After
stamping,
she used a toothpick to create
bookmark shown here, and conditioned it the old fashthe hole at the top of the future bookmark, and then
baked the piece following manufacturer instructions.
Once it had cooled, she used a black gel pen to trace
inside the bottom of the stamped characters, and sanded the rough edges using fine-grit sandpaper. Fitzgerald cautions that one must be careful not to breathe in
the fine dust produced in this stage.
Because she loves tassels in bookmarks, Fitzgerald selected a double-tassel from Gotcha Images from
her collection, then colored the bookmark in a matching tone with ColorBox Fluid Chalk. Before attaching
the tassel, she painted the clay with thick artist glaze,
for a glossy finish.
“Whenever I give a book as a gift,” she
says, “I always include a bookmark. Using
“Whenever I give a
clay and my stamps, I can make a
book as a gift I always Sculpey
unique bookmark to add a personal touch to
include a bookmark” the gift.”
Four Seasons
(Stamp credit: Four Seasons—Diffusion Rubber Stamps from Hampton Arts.)
Marbled Woman
Four Seasons
by Joyce Fitzgerald
Brenda Marks is forthright about the technique
she used for her clay work.
“This is almost too simple,” says the Silverton,
Oregon, resident. “You take leftover clay and make
‘snakes’ of the different colors. Twist the snakes together and flatten slightly. Then, roll them through the
pasta machine until you see a pattern you like.”
Marks’ technique calls for the use of a dedicated
pasta machine in order to create the marbled background. Depending upon the setting that is selected,
the clay can be rolled out in varying thicknesses and
run through the machine numerous times.
“This is important,” cautions Marks. “You must
stop when you see what you want. Rolling it through
one more time will distort the pattern.”
After reaching a marbled state that she liked for
the clay, Marks baked it and stamped an image with
Tsukineko’s StazOn ink.
“I loved this Acey Deucy image,” she says of
her inspiration, “and it seemed perfect for this marbled background.”
For a slight sheen to the finished project, she
applied a couple of coats of Future Floor Finish.
Marks has some advice for stampers who
may be just beginning to use clay: “Experiment,”
she says enthusiastically. “If you don’t like the results, either wad up the clay and start again, or
bake it, paint it and stamp over the paint. Keep exploring until you find what works for you.”
(Stamp credit: Lotus—Acey Deucy [Stampington].)
Arizona Sun Coasters
Creative Paperclay® was the medium of
choice for Vickie Kammerer. Shortly before the
deadline for this issue’s submissions, the Council
Arizona Sun Coasters
by Vickie Kammerer
Bluffs, Iowa, resident was asked by the folks at Creative
Paperclay® to submit something. Because her artwork is
usually dominated by Southwestern images, Kammerer
had some frantic thinking to do.
“I had to sit amongst my stamps for a couple of
days looking for something that didn’t scream Southwest,” she recalls. “Upon taking a beverage break of
iced tea after all that thought, I set my glass on my work
table and that was it! The coasters were born.”
Kammerer used approximately half of a 4-oz. bag
of Paperclay®, and colored the raw material with stylish
brown dye ink from Ranger’s Nick Bantock Collection.
By squeezing a small amount of ink into the clay and
working it through with her hands, she was able to
achieve the exact color she wanted, which she notes was
perfect for the natural theme she was going for.
“Don’t be afraid,” says Kammerer. “Air-dry clays
are virtually goof proof. These clays mix easily with dye
“Upon taking a beverage break of
iced tea after all that thought I set my
glass on my work table and that
was it! The coasters were born”
inks, the combinations are endless, and if you don’t like
the color you came up with, simply mix it with something else.”
She rolled her colored clay onto wax paper until it
Marbled Woman by Brenda Marks
was approximately a quarter of an inch thick. She then
used the same color of ink to stamp the impression of
the sun.
“These clays are virtually goof proof
They mix easily with dye inks
and the combinations are endless
If you don’t like the color
you came up with simply mix it
with something else”
With a cookie-cutter, she pressed out the circle,
tearing away excess clay as she went. Because Paperclay® is an air-dry medium, Kammerer placed it on a
rack.
“Depending on thickness,” she says, “this may
take a couple of days to completely dry.”
Since one coaster doesn’t a set make, Kammerer
made a total of four coasters. When they’d all dried,
she sprayed both sides with multiple coats of a suede
and leather protector, and then affixed cork sheeting to
the coaster bottoms.
As a “tactile person,” Kammerer adds that “the
air-dry clay gives the sandy texture and matte finish I
was working for.”
(Stamp credit: The Arizona Sun—Stamp A Mania.)
Resources
• Creative Paperclay®: This non-toxic, air-drying
modeling material can be sculpted, molded, shaped,
carved or sanded. Write 79 Daily Dr., Suite 101, Camarillo, CA 93010. Call (800) 899-5952. Visit www.paperclay.com.
• Sculpey: Polymer clay from Polyform Products
Co. Broadly available, in a range of colors and attributes. Brands include Sculpey II, Premo! Sculpey and
many others. Visit www.sculpey.com.
• Design Originals: This publisher has an extensive
list of project books on polymer clay, including Images
on Clay, Stamping with Clay & Wire, Expressions in
Clay and others. Call (800) 877-7820. Visit www.doriginals.com.
• Clay Factory, Inc.: Supplier of many leading
polymer clay compounds. The online galleries show
hundreds of sample art pieces. Write P.O. Box 46098,
Escondido, CA 92046-0598. Call (877) 728-5739. Visit
www.clayfactoryinc. com.
• Fimo: Eberhard Faber’s “modeling material in
brilliant colors” is widely available. Visit www.fimozone.com.
• Crayola Model Magic: This air-dry clay is widely available, in variously sized packages and colors.
Visit www.crayola.com.
• Clearsnap: Creator of Style Stones, which provide design options similar to those achieved with clay.
Call (800) 4484862. Visit www.clearsnap.com.