What would you like to learn?

[Former_Member]

If you had a 5-hour workshop on polymer clay, what would you most like to learn?

[Former_Member]

oh man!....wouldn't that be fun......I really don't know what I would like to learn....maybe more faux techniques, faux gemstones and finishes.

[Analiese]

I would love to make my own canes - mostly flowers.

[Former_Member]

I'm new to the medium, so I'm still learning all of the basics! Mostly, what is the best way to make it softer so it is easier to shape?

[petitePastries]

Faux techniques would be a lot of fun, but I think for me canemaking techniques would be more useful - I've tried before but they're just not as good as I'd like.
It'd hardly take up five hours but I'd also really like to learn how to pipe softened or liquid clay! That'd be so useful for me, I want to make convincing whipped cream.

Glamour365, you can find various brands of clay softeners. A couple drops are usually enough to make your clay nice and soft!

[PattysPrettyThings]

faux techniques and canework - both of them!

Glamour - if you condition your clay well enough, it shouldn't be too difficult to work with. Just make sure you haven't gotten a bad block! That has happened to me before, where I've gotten a bad block and it's too hard and crumbles...

[playsculptlive]

I would need many 5 hour workshops. In one I'd like to do more faux finishes. In another, I'd like to learn how to incorporate cane work in sculptures. Another, would be how to get the best results from the liquid clay. Another still, would be how to find shortcuts on sanding and polishing, that is the 'job' part of the medium. I could go on...

[Former_Member]

I'd love to be shown how to do faux techniques (paua shell, wood, bone, turquoise, lava rocks, etc).

While I marvel at some of the amazing cane work people do, it's not something I'm interested in doing for myself... but perhaps a lesson on how to use canes in unconverntional ways would be good? Not just the standard circle cane... but ones for leaves and hearts, like I've seen ClaybyKim use :)

[Beadeddiva]

'I need a total refresher course. just unpacked some of my clay. first time since we moved here 3 yrs ago. I guess I'll have to start over from the basics.

[starless]

I'd love to take a class to learn some advanced caning techniques, or one on color theory (specifically as it relates to polymer clay). And as strange as this sounds, I've never had much luck with mokume gane and maybe an in-person lesson would help me more than books and tutorials. Or as playsculptlive suggested- something on finishing techniques and/or ways to keep your work as nice and neat as possible, like reducing bubbles, lint, fingerprints, etc.