Polymer Clay Ideas - Translucent Clay Effects

Faux semi-precious stones
If you've ever wanted, but couldn't afford, stones like jade, opal, rose quartz, or amber, translucent clay can give you the opportunity to own something similar - and you can make it yourself.

"Jade," for example, is just a combination of translucent, green, and maybe a bit of yellow. "Opal" can be made in different ways; one of the simplest seems to be with a base of translucent (possibly lightly tinted with green, blue, pink, or white) covered with holographic glitter and a final very thin layer of translucent. For "amber," you can add orange or a combination of red and yellow to translucent clay.

The obvious choice for tinting is colored polymer clay, but you can also use small amounts of a colored powder (like spices or scrapings from a soft pastel) or acrylic paints that have been painted on the clay and then allowed to dry before they're mixed with it. When you're trying to imitate stones, though, it's important to remember not to add too much solid color; the clay needs to stay slightly transparent so that some light can shine through. If you overdo it, just add more translucent until you achieve the effect you want.

For detailed information on how to create faux stones see The Polymer Clay Techniques Bookby Sue Heaser and The Art of Polymer Clay by Donna Kato.

Transfers
Translucent polymer clay can be used quite effectively for transfers. Using this kind of clay eliminates the need to use an original that has a reversed image. If the image is backwards you can just turn the clay over and use the other side.

Keep in mind, though, that translucent clay isn't perfectly clear; your transfer will be somewhat blurred. But you can use that quality to good effect if you just plan your design a bit more carefully than usual.

Canes
When you use translucent clay along with the colored varieties in canes you'll find that those canes won't completely hide the clay they're placed on. For example, if you make a flower cane this way and then use slices of it to cover a brightly-colored bead, you'll be able to see some of the bead through the areas of the cane that are translucent. It's not a complicated technique, but it can produce some very beautiful effects. For a more detailed description of how to do this check out the section on chrysanthemum cane heart pendants in Polymer Clay: Exploring New Techniques and New Materialsby Georgia Sargeant and Celie Fago with Livia McRee.

Other ideas
Translucent clay can be used to mute the colors or patterns of anything it covers without completely obscuring them. This is helpful not only in planned designs but also when your object turns out unintentionally garish and you need to tone it down. So if you have something you can barely stand to look at, don't put it away or in the trash. Cover it with a layer of translucent clay (plain or tinted) and rebake it. Translucent clay may be able to save your object - and all the time you spent creating it.

Layers of translucent are also good for creating depth when they're alternated with colored clay. This can be very effective in mokume gane, and of course in canes. But try using translucent in a simple marbled design. Parts of the object will appear duller and more solid while others will be brighter because of the light shining through the translucent clay.

When it comes to inclusions, you can try just about anything you can add to colored clay. Just remember that inclusions will be more visible, so you may not need to add as much.

The development of translucent polymer clay opened up a whole new range of creative avenues for artists. Even if you don't use it much, it's a good idea to keep some around. A little translucent can really "wake up" an otherwise plain or ordinary design.