Question:
I got the issue of Bead and Buttom with Kathy's article...WOW! Those were some
of the best explained and illustrated instructions I've seen, not to mention
totally cool techniques ("Oh...THAT'S how they do it!").
Two comments: If there is anybody out there like myself who never could
understand why Judith Skinner's technique had such a small yield, Kathy's
picture showed the secret: TWO layers of clay, not one. For some reason this
has never been explained, and I kept trying to get more by making my triangles
longer...very unwieldy. Maybe I'm kinda slow!
Secondly: Kathy shows how to do a gorgeous ikat by stacking partially blended
Skinner sheets. I liked the intricate striped look of the partially blended
colors, so instead of making the ikat, I just used the sheet in very narrow
slices in the "Bargello" technique that was discussed here this week. It is so
pretty! I made a mezuza, but it could be large beads, vessels, who knows?
Answer:
I just finished a somewhat disappointing attempt at this Amt project
and I would like to know if anyone else has tackled this problem. I made
the color blended/ikat block in accordance with the (good) instructions.
I used Premo. The problem arose when I needed to make long (4-5 in)
slices off the side of the block, as in the diagram in the article. (If
you haven't seen the article, picture a five inch long cane about an
inch square and then imagine cutting it the long way rather than the
usual slice off the end). I could not work any blade through cleanly,
and I tried a nu-blade, tissue slicer and wallpaper scraper blade. I had
enough for four slices, but not one was of a great quality. I want to
solve this before I invest in another batch since it uses a fair amount
of clay. I have never mastered the CZC technique of standing a cane on
its end and slicing down through it, but I am debating whether I should
freeze the clay before slicing next time (although if it was HARD to
slice, why would freezing help?) My problem seemed to be that since the
longest blades were only a tad longer that the cane, gripping each end
of the blade and getting downward pressure across the whole thing is
difficult. Has anyone tried this? It looked sooooo easy in the photos!
