8/13/2019 121705005 Tesselated Canes From Polymer Clay Master
Class
3/3
8. Square: The master cane can also be recombined into
tessel-
lated square canes. Cut two 3-inch- (7.5cm-) long segments
of
the master cane, and mirror one side of the triangles. Reform
this
new, diamond-shaped cane into a square cane by pressing with
your ngers and rolling each side with an acrylic rod. Stretch
and
reduce the square cane so each side is 1/2 inch (13mm) wide.
Cut the new square cane into 4 equal segments. Mirror these
segments so the centers meet
and all sides mirror each other to form the tessellated square
cane.
Think about all the combinations that this method of mirroring
can produce. Seven canes
are shown here, but by manipulating the master cane, hundreds
more of these beautiful
canes can be built.
4.Tessellating the master cane is the most fun par t of the
process! For the rst design, cut six 1-inch- (2.5cm-) long
segments from the master cane. Put 2 triangles together
so the sides mirror each other. Repeat, mirroring the same
2 sides, for the other 4 segments. Piece these 3 new seg-
ments together so the centers meet and all sides mirror to
form a hexagonal cane.
5.White center point:
For the second design,
still using 6 segments,
look at the side of one
of the triangles mirrored
in the rst cane. Choose
a different side tomirror and piece these
segments together as you did before, paying
close attention to the center point to ensure
that the new pattern is different.
6. Blue center
point: This design
also uses 6 seg-
ments, mirroring
the side of the
triangle that is
different fromthe rst 2 varia-
tions. Piece these
segments together as you did before, pay-
ing close attention to the center point.
7. Complex: For an even more complex pattern, cut two
3-inch- (7.5cm-) long segments from the master cane, mirror
one side of the triangles, and reform them into a new
triangle.(Use the technique in step 3 to form the new
equilateral
triangle.) Stretch and reduce the triangular cane so each side
is
1/2 inch (13mm) wide. Cut the cane into six 1-inch- (2.5cm-)
long segments, and mirror again as in the rst 3 variations.
This
complex cane can be done in many variations, depending on which
sides of the master triangle
you chose to mirror for the rst part of the step. The image
shows only two of these variations.
