When is mokume gane an egg?

Sometimes the best way to talk about tools is to show the results of using them. Especially those unusual tools that everyone finds in different places and then discovers a use for in making polymer clay patterns.

With the rage of a “new,” “improved,” and “simple” method of making mokume, I still feel that there is a special place for the tried-and-true method of assembling a block of layers of colored clay and then pushing something through the block to the bottom. Squishing it tightly together and then slicing off sheets to reveal the pattern within—amazing!

I learned this technique from Julie Picarello, arguably THE expert in the technique and a master at color. Mokume done like this just takes the color experience to a new level.

It also creates the ability to have multiple sheets of the overall same pattern and colors that can then be combined and used on larger projects—essential for my “house decorating”!

If you look closely at some of the photos, you can see the pattern created by my Clay Punch Cutter™ Shapes. I love these because there really isn’t anything like them anywhere.

When I found these rods, we started making them with the idea of using them in mokume gane. They do have a use in just surface patterning (I’ll show you in another post about making bracelets), but for mokume they are ideal! Sturdy brass with thin edges that cut the clay well and leave their own “mark.”

Sadly though, as with a lot of things, the manufacturer didn’t make them just for the polymer clay world, so they have transitioned many of these shapes into plastic and aren’t available in brass to me anymore. Plastic just isn’t the same.

Note: These tools are also great for free-handing precious metal clay designs!

You can also see this “egg” in more detail here: Enjoy the Journey