Polymer Clay Category

Aunt Sadie's Garden

Artist: Patricia McKay (Cameron, NC)
First Place, Polymer Clay

"... Usually when I make polymer clay beads, I think in terms of the bead alone, independent of any future design. This set was a little different. I wanted to make a necklace with polymer clay beads that looked like glass lampwork beads. So when I designed the bead set, I was thinking in terms of the finished piece. ... Having the design in mind, picking clay colors took no time [although] conditioning the clay took awhile. I used a number of canes in this design: bulls eye and leaf canes and a number of flower-petal canes. Each flower petal had to be applied to the base bead individually. The butterflies were made from flower-petal canes too. I make my own canes and each one used was a separate item to prepare. When the beads were ready, they had to be cooked for 30 minutes to cure them. To add a shine, two coats of flecto Verathane diamond finish were brushed onto each bead after they were cooked. Then the really fun part came, constructing the necklace. I always take a little time to try out various combinations on my bead board before finally putting together the finished product. I was happy to have enough beads to make coordinating earrings." — Patricia McKay

Patricia complemented her handmade beads with gemstone rounds, Czech firepolish beads and Swarovski® crystal beads.

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