7/29/2019 Tesselated Canes from Polymer Clay Master Class
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TESSELLATED CANES BY JUDY BELCHER
Much of the jewelry I create celebrates both left-brain and
right-
brain ways of approaching the creative process. Similar
left-brain/
right-brain strategies can be employed when making the
tessel-
lated canes for the Twirling Necklace. Use the left side of
your
brain to cut, mirror, and list the various ways your original
canecan be recombined. Or exercise the right side by smashing
and
morphing the original cane into a new triangle and create
dozens
more tessellations.
SUPPLIES polymer: 6 oz. (170g) white; 6 oz.
(170g) turquoise; 6 oz. (170g)yellow (I used Kato Polyclay,
as
it holds even minute details clearly
during the caning process and frms
up quickly so I can immediately
slice the cane.)
pasta machine
cutting blade
1.Using the Two-Color
Skinner blend technique,
create various hues of lime
green polymer and, with
the pasta machine, roll each
color to a 1 x 3inch (2.5 x
7.5cm) strip on a medium
thickness. Stack each strip, beginning with white and
gradually getting darker, ending with the original
color, to create a gradated cane. Repeat to create a
gradated cane in turquoise.
2. Turn 1 gradated
cane on its side and
cut 3 triangular-shaped
wedges. Repeat for
the other color.
3. To create amaster cane that
will be recom-
bined into many
tessellated or
mirrored canes,
combine the wedges, making sure they remain
straight throughout the cane. Work toward
a form that loosely resembles a triangle.Compress the cane,
folding over any edges that
stick out, as they will form curved elements
that are lovely when repeated. Choose a
point of the triangle and use your ngers
in a pinching motion to rene the point
and press down against the work surface
to atten the opposite side to form it into
an equilateral triangle. Turn the cane and
continue to rene. Reduce the cane soeach of its sides is 1/2
inch (13mm). Cut off
the distorted ends of the cane, as they will
not mirror well.
Note:Each of the 5 variations of tessellated beads
shown in steps 48 requires segments from this master
cane. While you may not have enough of the master
cane to create all of the combinations that follow, if
you combine the pieces gently, you can take them apart
and try different combinations. Build at least 3 varia-tions of
the tessellated design, as they will add interest
to your fnished necklace.
7/29/2019 Tesselated Canes from Polymer Clay Master Class
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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.
