TUTORIAL:

If you are early in your career as a clayer or if you have wanted to play with clay or if you have ever wondered "how they get the clay to look like that", this Guided Discovery is for YOU! I call this Guided Discoveries in Clay because I will teach you the steps to get all of the effects shown in the sample pieces, but along the way you will inadvertently discover other things you would like to try. That's the nature of clay. My hope is that if you have previously been tentative about trying things with clay, you will have enough experience by the time you finish your Guided Discovery that you will have the confidence to go crazy with color and shape and form to create beautiful "rocks" for which Mother Nature has no palette. Some of the techniques will produce strong, graphic results, and others will be more subtle. They will all be pretty. If in doubt, cut into the clay - the cool stuff is almost always on the inside!


PREREQUISITES include knowledge of how to use a pasta machine, how to use a clay blade to lift fragile sheets of clay without tearing, use of release agents to prepare molds and stamps, knowledge of how to make a mold if you need one, knowledge of how to condition clay, knowledge of how to roll and stretch a snake, knowlege of using rubber stamps or texture sheets, and knowledge of how to shave clay. I highly recommend that you practice the free Lesson "Stamped Mica Shift before you tackle some of the techniques used in your Guided Discovery. You should also already know how to sand, buff or glaze clay to the finish you desire. If you will be using any of the pieces for stringing you should already know how to make and insert bail wires or manufactured bails.


During this 97-picture adventure you will learn a bit about selecting colors for these techniques, stacking them to provide contrast and interest, various techniques for manipulating the clay including making snakes, jelly rolls, and stripes. There will be lots of cutting and slicing. You will also learn to make a cab of scrap clay and cover it with a veneer of the "cool clay" you will be making. You will learn how to turn your lovely clay into a pendant or earrings using cutters and adding a backing for a clean finish.


In this Guided Discovery we will not be finishing the jewelry. You will MAKE YOUR OWN cabs and beads that can be used for wire work or stringing as you see fit. Make the holes where you want them, and the size you want them. Or make no holes. I offer a free Lesson on how to make holes that are straight and even, so don't let a concern about that stop you! Along the journey you will make "cool sheets of clay". Any or all of them can be used as veneer, using the techniques in the Lesson which teaches you how to make five different kinds of beads using a sheet of veneer.


You will be given quite a few opportunities to make artistic choices as we go along. Sometimes I will predict the outcome for you. Sometimes I'll invite you to find out for yourself. I will deliberately make a couple of mistakes and show you how to fix them. The one thing you need to keep in mind is that there is always something a little unpredictable about clay, so be prepared to go with the flow and follow the clay where it leads you.


So, let's get started on YOUR Guided Discovery!

• Two ounces each of Premo white turquoise fuschia and ecru
• bail wires or manufactured bails if you want to make pendants as these need to be inserted before the clay is baked

• Tile work surface
• pasta machine
• clay blade
• sandwich bag cut open for single layer
• molds for cabochons
• cutters in similar size and shape of mold or template that I will teach you how to make
• craft knife
• artist paint brush or round sculpting tool