Hi everyone.  September is upon us and our next meet up is Sept 27th.  I'm excited and a bit nervous as I am going to demo a Geisha Doll.  This idea came from a previous (old) issue of Polymer Café back the summer of 2007.  The doll is adorable.  Our dolls will be approximately 6" high and I've adjusted the pattern to accommodate our size.

Supply List: 
Usual Clay Tool Kit
Flesh Color Clay
White Color Clay
2 Bright Matchy Colors For the Inner and Outer Robes
Black Color Clay
Assorted bits of various colors might come in useful
Scrap Clay a wad about 3" by 3" will be used for the base
Color to cover your base with that should also match the colors you've chosen.  I often go with the sash being the same color as the base.
If you have tiny flower canes you may find them to come in handy for your decoration of the outer robe as you want it to appear like it is fabric.
Super Glue Gel
Poly Paste

I will bring the skewers, the micron pens, and the blush make-up.

I'm looking forward to having a creative day  with you all.
Nancy

Minutes for Aug 23, 2014

Minutes for Aug 23, 2014 Meet-Up

Meeting called to order. Update on money in the treasury .  The treasury was officially handed over to Jenny to keep up with. 

Reminders that the issue of individuals not making the meet-up  could at some point become an issue.  It is important that you contact either Cheryl or Maggie (or both) and let them know in advance if you are planning to be at the meeting each month.  No one wants to end up being the only attendee for the day.  (Note that Maggie's email is only valid with yahoo now.)

Discussion of the demo's coming up in the near months.  Nancy will demo the Japanese Girl for the September meeting.  October meeting is up in the air at the moment as many will be attending the Maggie Maggio class that weekend in Ashville.  More to come concerning the meet-up or not, in October.  There is no meet up planned for November as it is the beginning of holiday issues and December may be a different date than usual with a party and silent auction included. 

A great demo from Beth Weld on Blend & Shift Technique was given.  This is a mosaic of sorts. Everyone found their own colors and made their own blends and pieces to craft.  Some awesome color combinations happened and we expect jewels to show off soon.  Thanks Beth.

Attendees:  Cheryl, Maggie, Jenny, Patti, Nancy, Laurie, Beth, and Sharon Solly visited us.

August 23rd Meeting

Hi Everyone, We will be exploring an old technique that you may not have thought about in a while – if ever. We will take Cindy Lietz’s Blend and Shift technique for creating complex mosaic pieces and expanding on it. Come ready to play – It is all trial and error, and everything looks great in the end. This technique really comes alive with metallic or pearl clay. You will need at least one very narrow (2-3 in width max) skinner blend of 3 or more colors. The other main requirement is an assortment of miniature cutters – the smaller the better. Well, let’s not get too carried away there. Cutters smaller than ½ of an inch in different shapes are best. I will bring mine, and we can share. If you want to expand on the technique, bring 2 or more other colors of clay that you like or a slice or two of mokume gane that you aren’t quite happy with – we will see how we can change it. The true beauty of these pieces develops after baking, sanding and buffing. This is definitely where Magic Glos or resin comes in handy. I’ll have examples of the different finishes to show you. Other than a skinner blend, cutters if you have them, and the extra clay, all you need is the standard kit and some imagination. See you on Saturday!!! Beth Weld

July Meeting Minutes

 July 26, 2014

Meeting called to order.  Business included the dollar figure we now have in the bank.   Discussion regarding  letting others know if you will be attending each meet up as it helps to know how many to expect, if any.

Demo was given by Linda Simons.  She demonstrated how to cut clay circles and force through the extruder to make a cane.  The cane then is sliced and placed onto the wine glasses in your chosen colors and designs. Everyone got crafty with it and everyone went home with wonderful wine glasses to cherish.  Thanks Linda.

Attendees:

Maggie, Cheryl, Laurie, Nancy, Linda and a visitor.  Hoping that Martha will come again to share with us in creating.

July 2014 QCC meeting

Today at 7:05 AM

Hello Fellow Clayers,

We have an exciting July meeting planned using an extruder to make “Klimt” canes and then using those canes to cover the stems and bases of wine glasses and candle holders. I am donating the glasses for everyone. I will also be bringing 3 extruders to share. Kato clay will be used because we can bake the large items in the toaster for ten minutes and everyone will be able to finish their project(s). We’ll have 2 toasters available. If each member will be prepared to condition one or two solid colors of Kato clay and then cut ¾” circles of that clay, we’ll be able to cover many projects. We’ll all share our circles to make our favorite color combinations into canes. One cane for each student will keep you busy for the afternoon. I’ll demo the steps and then we can all make our own creations.

In addition to the usual clay kit, please bring a ½”, ¾”, or 1” circle cutter and a tile to place your single color circle cutouts on. Black, white, and pearl are used in all canes to help define the other colors. So if you can’t decide what color to cut, cut one of those. It’s best if we condition and cut the clay at the meeting so that the clay circles will be soft enough to extrude.

Looking forward to claying with all of you!!

Linda Simon

June meeting

Hello everyone,
Its that time again, our meeting is this Saturday.  Just wanted to remind everyone we are working on translucency with Pardo and Fimo translucent clay. So bring whichever clay you have on hand and your basic clay kit,  & stylus ball tip.
Anyone who was at the retreat please bring your artwork for show and tell.  I will bring everything else we will need and Maggie's bring the oven so we should be set.
Look forward to seeing everyone.

April meeting

OMG.  It's already time for the April meeting.  Wow time flies.  We are going to do Fairy doors.

• Regular clay kit (work surface, pasta machine, blades......). 
•  For wood the wood brown, gold, black, ecru and scrap clay.  Granite or stone color. 
• Small flower and leaf canes.
• Liquid Sculpy or bake and bond. 
• Beads and head pin for door knobs. 
• Wire clay texture tool (looks like a fan brush but made of wires) or fine toothed nylon comb. 
•  Note: if you don't have of can't get granite premo bring translucent and white.  I have black embossing powder to add to make "granite".
• small round circle cutter for window

Hope to see you all there.