Caning Tips

While making canes yesterday i was mulling about how to minimize the degree of one in skinner blends, because there are times i just want a hint of color on one end, so i tried making a small variation on the usual skinner process. this is what i came up with and i'm happy to say it came out nicely

Another tip is this: if you have to wrap your skinner plug, minimize it and be able to tell which color is where after doing so, leave a tiny gap in your outline color so even if it twists when you roll it, you always have a reference point. cool trick but one i usually forget to do myself hehe

 

And here's the thing i really really found useful. see, i always keep blank pieces of paper in my bag just in case i needed to jot something down or make a sketch of ideas that come to me while riding the train or walking. but these bits almost always get lost or thrown or inadvertedly used to wrap gum --yeah done that. i also bring my journal, so i have something to write on in case i find i have a few idle minutes to spare, waiting for friends who say they're on their way when actually they haven't even left the house or office-- you know who you are .

and on my table i have loose index cards with color "recipes" and notes on constructing some of my favorite canes, with small, finished sample slices taped on for reference.

i figured, i could just make a pocket sized sketch pad i can lug around and where i can draw, write, and glue on finished canes, store found objects or whatever. and i can get rid of all those loose sheets. really, a simple, simple idea but one i never thought of doing before. doh!

 

see the finished cane and a baked slice in the bottom of the photo? and when i find that what i did the first time didn't come out looking as i expected, i doodle some notes to remind me what to do next time.

here you can see the finished cane is a bit different from the drawing.. i added lines to the brown part to add some visual interest and left the blue skinner solid. also, on the construction, i was unsure how to put everything together specially with the white part below so i opted to do it the easy way instead and settled for 3 parts. siguro pag sinipag ako gagawin ko yung mas complicated hehe

eto favorite ko kasi it came out great, even the colors.. this by the way is where i used the modified skinner blend cane

 

practicing painting and drawing eyes.

2 finished cane "appliques" i also stuck onto my caning journal. note to self: refrain from cutting canes before they've had a chance to cool down. masyadong excited kasi

have fun claying!