January 2012 Clay Day Report

Despite a foggy morning we had another fantastic turnout of 42 members at our now well established Hugh Cubbit Centre. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our new members and hope you have a very enjoyable day. Nico’s coffee shop was open as per usual and lots of us took advantage of having breakfast before we started.

In the meantime our show and tell table had been set up with some wonderful pieces. As it was going to be a very full day it was left to everybody to have a word with the relevant owners of pieces for further information.

Now it was time for our first speaker and demonstration from Cara Jane Hayman showing us how to make backgroundless flower canes which she then turns into 3D flower beads. How she turns the canes for her petals into diamond shapes was very interesting and instructive. So was her method of reducing these. I think something for all of us to work on and practice. Cara brought several of her finished necklaces, bangles and individual flowers for us to closely look at. They are all like exquisite little pieces of works of art. Lovely and delicate. Walking around afterwards, lots of us managed to make Cara’s flower beads in beautiful colours.

Now followed a short break for lunch. All from Nico’s again with wonderful food, Beef Stroganoff, which we all enjoyed.

On our return we found Emily Parker very busy with an attentive audience in her nursery class of 9 newbies. She showed them how to make basic canes. I am sure this was greatly appreciated as most of them had little or no experience with Polymer Clay.

Our afternoon demonstrator was our own Susan Rimmer giving us a talk and demo on giving your pieces that professional finish. A subject definitely close to my heart. She showed us the different effects that can be achieved with wet and dry, sanding sponges or micromesh. Also tips and tricks on how to obtain a matt to high gloss finish, using products such as Renaissance Wax or just denim cloths, a buffing machine with mop attachment or even a trick just using your fingers. Brilliant! One can never learn enough about finishing. I feel all of us learned something from this.

It has been a wonderful day again. Time flew far too quickly and it was time to pack up and go home. Thank you so much Cara, Susan, Emily and all the other helpers for making our day such a great success again. Can’t wait for our next meeting in March.

(more photos from the day can be found here)

Report and Photos by Angela Garrod