I just finished this small fish table. I love doing tables because they give me a large “canvas” to work with. I put a colorful crab in the middle of this one.
This is a larger take I did months ago and now lives with a great friend and customer.
Next up? A very large mirror.
I’ve added a new workshop to my online polymer clay school, (click on link and scroll down to few the individual workshops) It’s a jammed packed workshop full of ideas and inspriation. Most of my cane workshops are not about one individual cane, they are about the process. It’s what I love the most about cane making, I never really know where I’m going to end up. That makes each cane I make a surprise and a delight. Of course you can plan your canes as well.
I’ve added these canes as individual workshops so you can purchase only the ones you want or get a discount when you purchase them all together in a bundle.
There are 25 Videos, as well as videos on making Skinner blends and plugs. That’s about 4 hours of videos that you can watch again and again.
Videos below are sold separately in groups and are included in the bundle. Click here to go straight to the bundle.
Pods
Purple Pod Parts 1 and 2
Sea Pod Parts 1, 2 and 3
Pink Pod Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4
Spiral/Jellyroll Canes
Double Skinner Blend Spiral
Striped Spiral
Stroppel Spiral
Deconstruct – Reconstruct
Segmented Stripes
Segmented Stripes from a Skinner Blend Sheet
Segmented Stripes from a Skinner Blend Plug
Graphic Canes
Simple Graphic Parts 1 and 2
Squares
From Rectangles to a Square
Spacey Canes
Spacey Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4
Bonus – Spacey in the Round
Flip Floppin’ Flower
Flip Floppin’ Flower parts 1 and 2
I have to tell you, there are some talented clayers in Oklaloma and in Kansas.
The following pictures are by students in my cane mapping workshop at the Oklahoma Poly-clay Twister Retreat. Thank so much for inviting me to be your guest artist.
The first one is by the guild’s president Tom Gibson. The names of the rest will be listed if I have them. Some pictures were taken without names.
As you can see Many people did different designs and put their on own stamp on the technique. What a great compliment, exactly what I hope for each time I teach.
There is an interesting post from Sage Bray of The Polymer Arts using Katie Way’s piece. The piece is looking at the ongoing discussion about using the instructors technique but making it you own. Katie’s business is Bullseye Studio
If you would like to meet me in Arkansas in July, I’ll be teaching a full three day workshop with the Quachita Mountain Polymer Clay Guild.
This is an extended workshop and will be combining three of my online courses this will be the longest workshop I’ve taught so you might not want to miss it.
There will be two days of cane building, extruding, scrap saving and generally building your cane inventory. And once you have your inventory you are ready to begin creating fabulous pieces everytime you sit at your clay table. Not having to start you project from the very beginning makes it so much easier complete a piece in record time.
The last day I’ll share my cane mapping technique complete with tips a hints that you will use in other projects.
You’ll make a piece to frame and I’ll show you how I turn my mapped pieces into striking pendants or apply them to a wine glass or vase.
So if you’re free July 10, 11 & 12, 2018 and want play with clay with a fun group and me, just download the application here and I’ll see you then.
I’m also looking forward to teaching at the OK Poly-Clay Twisters Retreat 2018 in a couple of weeks in Oklahoma. I do believe my workshops are full.
Next I’m teaching a pre-retreat workshop at Orlando Clay Fandango in Florida. I go every year just to see my friends there. So much fun.
I’m delighted with the cane mapping that happened in Kansas City last month. On the first day we made lots of fun and easy canes to use in our cane mapped pieces the next day. You can always use old canes as well, but learning new ways to cane is always a plus.
The beautiful dragonfly above is by Heidi McCulough and was finished after class. It makes me very happy when people enjoy the workshop enough to want to continue working after class. In fact she got together with Pat Kuehn to finish her piece and Pat made her second piece, the fabulous beetle below.
Pat was my hostess and what a delight it was to stay in her beautiful home. Thank you Pat.
I know that Patti Soliman is planning to cane map a hippo in the near future. Be sure to send me a picture Patti.
Each and every one created some wonderful pieces and I hope they are as impressed with their work as I am.
But I’m missing several pictures from the group. If you have taken a picture of your piece, please send it to me or post it on our FB page and I’ll up date this post.
Anne Rowe, Linda Bowers, Michele Wineland, Renee Becka, Barbara Morris, Robin Young
Donna Harryman’s butterfly is just wonderful. Donna was the coordinator for my workshop and I want to extend a special thank you to Donna and her committee, Anne M. Rowe, Linda Bowers and all the other guild members. Its a lot of work to put on an event like this and I’m grateful to have been asked to teach such a fun group.
Donna’s butterfly is my kind of beautiful, bright, bold, colorful piece.
Janie Clark finished two great pieces in class. She used some familiar canes in both of her butterflies. Stroppel Canes were part of our workshop of course. *g*
Some beautiful work by June Flannery Duckworth who is very new to caning.
Kim Koval Keane tackled the large butterfly and just wow and wow again.
Pat Kuehn came prepared with a pattern for the sugar skull… fabulous.
Liz is a woman after my heart. She didn’t want to make a ”thing”, she wanted to do a free form abstract. Cant wait to see where her imagination takes her next.
Another intricate lovely butterfly, Kathy Fritz did a great job.
Robin Young’s fish has a more organic palette with plenty of sassy attitude. Love it.
Patty Minton Welch’s butterfly is so soft and painterly, lovely.
Pat’s second piece is kinda nostalgic in a round about way, she had a VW beetle in the 70s.
We have that in common, my first car was a green VW beetle with a sun roof. In the 70s, I dinged the front fender and painted bright hippy flowers all over it and the hood. I know, crazy kid, but loving color and fun even then. Pat said her VW was bright orange, so see, so much in common. Oh and yes there is PC.
Patti Soliman made a vibrantly, delightful, colorful fish. And I have to say the thinnest piece there that day. Perfect for the frame.
Patricia Hill’s fish is charming, beauteous and as with all of the incredibly wonderful pieces from this workshop, colorful.
Colorful is probably an under statement for what I teach, can you tell I love it?
Thanks again to Kansas City Polymer Clay Guild for a great time and a great workshop.
A special place in my heart for Polyform’s generous spirit and Premo. Iris Weiss xo.
Next workshop away from Studio 215 will be in Sept. in St. Augustine with the First Coast Polymer Clay Guild. Canes on the first day and fun funky weed pots on day two. Can’t wait.
Oh and just a heads up, I’ll be teaching Weed Pots as a pre-workshop before next years Orlando Clay Fandango. Yes!
I spent most of last week turning Skinner blend plugs into canes for this cane mapped table.
I spent all week this week applying those canes and others from my cane stash to this table.
I extruded black edging and applied it to both the top and the bottom.
I bake in a full size kitchen oven but I still have to bake in sections and then glue them together right on the table surface.
Now that the northern visitors are leaving to spend the summer in their northern homes, I’ll begin filming workshops again for my online school.
First I’ll be adding a workshop that will help you build you cane inventory so when you’re ready to sit down and do a project you’ll have canes to choose from. In the table project here I made several large canes but I filled in with leaves, smaill flowers, extrusions and just plain ol’ dots from canes in my inventory. This workshop will give you guideline to create your own designs and lots of actually canes to make.
Then I’d like to add the furniture/large wall piece workshop. Tricks and tips to create large pieces will have you filling your home with your masterpieces will be key in this course.
So stay tuned.
My online workshop launched in August and it’s been a great success for me and I plan on making many more workshops in the future.
But nothing makes me happier than to be on the receiving end of lovely compliments like these
Nancy Simmons made me blush a bit with this message. “I was fortunate enough to take Alice’s cane making class a year or so ago. It was wonderful. What’s as wonderful (except for the in-person part), is her cane making video. I couldn’t ‘get’ everything from the class, so I bought the video. It’s exactly like being in class with Alice, except it makes it seem like you’re the only one in the class. I also purchased her cane mapping videos. All I can say is WOW! I feel a new world has opened up for me. I just can’t wait for Alice to add more videos. I’ve worked with many excellent instructors, but to me, Alice is the best. Do yourself a favor, buy all her videos. I’ve included my first cane mapping. Hopefully, you can see it. Her name is Sylvia. Thank you, Alice.”
Lee Ann Nesbitt sent me this eye opening compliment.
“I finished, kind of, your extrusion class..started cane mapping. I realized I was missing something, and needed the dot, dot dot. I just bought Polymer Clay for Beginners. My advice…Change the name! I am far from a beginner..do not OVER estimate non beginners knowledge. This class is for everyone. Just starting…I got good tips on striped slabs, using full packages and not cutting triangles for skinners…3 canes out of one blend..and I’m just starting!”
Jennifer Rose left this oh so nice comment. “Just finished this first workshop on how to make canes, and I must say I learned so much. This is exactly what I have been looking for, someone who could explain cane making in a step by step that process that I could replicate. I watched the videos, went into my studio and began to create all of the canes Alice showed. I finally have results I can be proud of, and I say thank you so much for doing this workshop. My only question now is when do we get more workshops. If you are only going to take one online class let it be this workshop. Thank you Alice for your hard work, and your dedication to helping others learn the joys of polymer clay.”
Thank you so much, Jennifer, Lee Ann and Nancy, it means so much to me.
I’m so happy to tell you that I have uploaded two new workshops to my online school. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see Cane Mapping and Extrusions.
The extrusion workshop consists of thirteen videos that equal over an hour of instruction.
This workshop will show you how to make small unique canes from extruded polymer clay. You can use these canes to make everything from buttons beads and pendants to cane mapped pieces.
It’s only about the techinque used in making the canes, not the finished pieces.
It’s all part of building your cane inventory so that when you are ready to begin a project you have many canes to choose from.
I use lots of extruded cane in my cane mapping pieces.
The butterfly on the left is made with both extruded canes and traditional canes. The one on the right is all extrusions.
If you love mosaics, color and polymer clay, if you love the look of complex canes but simply don’t want to create a giant complex cane, if you love one of a kind pieces, and if you have tons of left over canes, this is the can mapping workshop for you!
This is the workshop I teach at my Sebring Studio and around the country at polymer clay guilds and retreats. The difference is you can rewind and watch each step over and over if you want.
In almost 2 hours of videos you’ll learn the basics by cane mapping this fish portrait and the butterfly on the left above. I’ll show you a few unexpected canes and different slices that you can incorporate into your designs.
This is an intermediate class and having some Skinner blended canes in your stash will make your designs pop.
Thanks so much for taking a look .
After a couple of months of shooting and editing over 27 videos, my polymer clay school is finally open.
The first workshop consists of 27 video that take you through every step of the way I make my canes. The clay I use, the colors I choose the way I make skiner plugs and why I keep such an inventory of canes and plugs are all important steps to my final creations.
I’ll show you how I make thirteen different canes. Some of them simple and a couple a bit more complicated. You’ll see why following the steps in part 1 of this course make part 2 eazy to accomplish.
This first Workshop, Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners is only the beginning for me too. I hope to add more workshops and show you exactly how I get from A to Z when I’m creating.
Here’s a short welcome video for you to watch.
And for those of you who follow my blog please use this discount code to receive $10 off Polymer Clay Canes for Beginners.
SAVE10
This discount will only be available until the end of the month of Aug. 2016
Here’s the link to Polymer Clay Workshops by Alice Stroppel
And thank you for being part of this incredible polymer community.
I’m excited about this workshop. Recently my husband and my son Jason found a great regular kitchen stove for Studio 215 and I’ll be able to have workshops featuring larger projects.
I hope you can join me for this inaugural furniture workshop. I am keeping the class size small so we have plenty of room to spread out and I can spend more time with each of you.
Download furniture workshop application here
Cane Mapping Furniture
3 1/2 days
Thursday – Sunday
June 23 – 26, 2016
Limited to 6 students
$300.00
$100 deposit required
Learn how to cane map on a large scale. We’ll be covering a small table (you provide) with a colorful polymer veneer.
Tables should not be larger than 20” in any direction. You should have your table completely ready to accept your artwork. Sanded, painted etc. If you are painting it yourself, don’t paint the surface where your artwork will be attached.
Bring your favorite canes and create your person piece of art-furniture.
Once you learn how to cane map for furniture, you’ll be able to apply that knowledge to large wall pieces and other items.
Day one – plan your design, make skinner blends and canes.
Day two – begin mapping your design.
Day three – Continue with your design and do final prep to your table.
Last day – Apply finished art to your table.
This is a little cart saved by my sister Sheryl. Her neighbor was throwing in out. A bit of paint and some polymer and it’s taken on a new life.
This table is special to me, it was our first telephone table in our first apartment. I won’t be teaching faces canes in this workshop, but you could bring your own.
Here’s another thrift store find. But there is no reason why you can’t start with a new table.
