Mokume Who Now?

Mokume Gane is an amazing technique that can give some stunning results when applied in polymer clay work. It always catches my eye when I see it and as such it's a technique that really appeals to me but that I am yet to master! Here are a few examples to show the effects you can achieve:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandtea/4688478570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandarinmoon/5948541916/
http://www.thewhimsicalbead.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Envy_2.jpg

For the aussiepolyclayers December/January challenge, we decided we would "Challenge Ourselves." It's such a busy time of year and this challenge was perfect! It has run for two months to give everyone time to challenge themselves in their own unique way, in their own time. I have finally been able to spend some time with my clay this past week and got stuck into my chosen challenge - Mastering Mokume Gane!

I have tried once or twice before but never been happy with the results so I decided that for my personal challenge over this December/January, I would sit down with some web tutorials and try to master this technique.

The first web tute that grabbed my fancy was this one by Korinne Zimmerman. I followed it exactly for the green cane in Image 1. Then played about adding extras and more texturing and manipulation of the cane.

Image 1: Mokume Gane first attempt, pre-cured cane slices.

Image 2: cured and finished Mokume Gane beads and bits!

Image 3: MG earrings, made to cheer up a friend.