Chared branch mimi pen

[plantman]

:island: This is a pen I made while trying to come up with a way to make a realistic ash. It's not going to win any beautiful pen contests, but it proved a point that anybody, even me, can figure out how to do this. Kit is a PSI Mini Designer Pen. Blanks are hand formed polymar clay. Finish is made by dry brushing white craft paint over the high spots until you are satisfied with the look. Pen is less than 4 inches long. I also used this method on a realistic cigar I posted earlier. Jim S

 

[firewhatfire]

did you bake the color onto it?

 

[plantman]

did you bake the color onto it?

The original blanks were a mix of black, burgandy, and silver, that a baked. I was afraid if I painted the white on, that the heat would turn it brown. This would have been ok if I just wanted a tree look, but I was looking for a forest fire surviver look. Thanks for asking. Jim S

 

[firewhatfire]

I only have limited PC experience, could you layer and kinda slice through the different colors to get the color and texture and include a white clay in it?

Just thinking out loud

 

[plantman]

I only have limited PC experience, could you layer and kinda slice through the different colors to get the color and texture and include a white clay in it?

Just thinking out loud

I find that if you just layer the colors, you get defined lines in your clay. You realy have to run the clay through the pasta roller about 20 times to blend the colors together. I just used some scrapes of clay I had left over to make the blanks. I have seen texturing sheets at Michial's, but they are usualy used for making borders or leather prints. Put your clay on the tube and use a tooth pick or clay stylis to get the texture you want. I dry brush the white on after fireing the blanks. If you realy want to learn more about how to work with polymar clay, look on You Tube for videos by Donna Kato or go on Amazon.com ( Lowest price ) and look for Donna's book, The Art of Polymar Clay. If you live near a Michial's, take the 50% off coupon and get it for half price. This will teach you the Millefiori Techniques and how to blend clays to get the effect,s you want. There are other books out there, but I think this one will be the best teacher. I did not see anyone on You Tube putting polymar clay on brass tubes and making blanks for pens. If you want to purchase blanks, Toni sells them through Exotic Blanks. Jim S