WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!

Hi Everyone...
Welcome to MPCG 2011. This is where you will come to get all the information you need to attend our seventh annual Polymer Clay Gathering held here in Morrisburg Ont. from Thurs. April 07 to Sun. April 10.. Here you will find registration and hotel information as well as demo descriptions, schedules and material lists. Be patient with us, we are just getting started!
You can also come here and post any questions or queries you may have.

Monday, February 28, 2011

MPCG 2011 What to bring

Morrisburg Polymer Clay Gathering 2011

The polymer clay gathering at Morrisburg Ontario will be held from Thursday April 7th to Sunday April 10th. We have an exciting program lined up for you. So put on your traveling shoes, pack a smile and come and join us. Fun and learning guaranteed.

N.B. There are a few open spots left. If you are interested in coming, please communicate with Margi Laurin at this address: margilaurin@sympatico.ca

There will be some great demos to inspire you and jog your creativity.
Here is a list of some demos and what you will need to bring if you want to try them.
Not in any specific order....

Janice Van Beek
Large Vessels with Snug Fitting Lids

The tools required are 2 sheets of regular paper (like from a printer), a sheet of cotton rag paper ( i will bring it since it is hard to find), a 6" length of cardboard mailing tube 3"diameter and a glue stick or double sided tape.
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Gera Scott-Chandler
Inspired by Klimt

Materials:
basic clay supplies
metal leaf sheets*
optional glitter
*gera will have metal leaf sheets available for $1 each


An Introduction to UV Resin
UV Resin- all brands are fine*
Bezels (metal or polymer clay)
sewing needle
mini torch- optional

*gera will have 1 oz sample bottles of UV resin and assorted bezels available for sale
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Gaby Orbach
Pandora Beads

Tools/Materials - Kato Polyclay and Kato Liquid Polyclay (KLP)
- heat gun
- soft paint brushes
- stylus
- metal knitting needle or bamboo skewer
- eyelets
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Sandy Willis
Easy Extruder Spiral Cane

Tools required are the Makins Green Extruder (I don't know if other ones will work) and 3 colours of clay.
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Christine Hubbard
Foil Bead Necklace

Materials
Black Premo about 4 oz
Jones tone foils
Scrap clay
small silver beads about 1\8", approx 45,optional
clasp
crimp beads
Bead stringing material

Tools
Kemper cutters, any shape, for cutting consistent sizes
Bone folder or credit card
Popsicle sticks
Needle tool
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Louise Gagné
Face Cane 3-D Doll

Materials:
A face cane
Skin coloured clay or any colours that goes with your face cane if you still have some from last year.
Wire or paper clip
Any colour clay for decorations hat, hair, etc.
A few tooth picks.
If you want to finish the doll add scrap clay and canes.
***Wire if you want to make it move. Jewelry tools.***
and as a bonus:
Faux jeans: jeans and any colour clay
Faux perfecto ( leather jacket) :Black clay, wire
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Barbara Colautti
Natasha Beads

Materials: stubby ends of canes, raggy bits of clay left over from projects.

A really, REALLY sharp tissue blade.

Two small, round, Kemper-style cutters, one smaller than the other.

That's it and all about it !
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Cathy Malcolmson
Raku For You
楽焼


History
Raku ware - The term Raku means "enjoyment" or "ease”. In the 16th century, a Japanese tea master had a tile-maker who produced tea bowls for use in tea ceremonies. They were made from red clay and had a seal bearing the Chinese character for Raku. Raku then became the name of the family that produced the wares. This is the only example in the history of a family name becoming synonymous with the ceramics they produced. Fourteen generations of the "Raku" family of potters continue to make the pottery.

Description
Raku is a Japanese pottery technique that coats rough-surfaced clay with metallic washes that is then fired in a wood-fired kiln. Different glazing techniques are used with earth clay. Many glazes have a lot of copper oxide in them resulting in a metallic or copper matte finish. Other glaze ingredients cause purple and blue colours and sometimes silver based glazes are used. Potters often use specially formulated glaze recipes that "crackle" or craze (present a cracked appearance), because the crazing lines take on a dark colour from the carbon.

Project Ideas

Beads
Pendants
Covered boxes or vases
Tiles
Book covers

Supplies - For the paints and powders please just bring supplies you already have as you won't use all of these.

When you gather your supplies think Raku colours – Cobalt blue, green, violet, copper and aqua
Clay – Copper, Black, Dark Brown or scrap, White and Ecru
Pearl Ex or metallic powders – copper, spring green, flamingo pink, violet
Sealant such as Future floor wax
Interference metallic acrylic paints (blue, violet, red, orange, green, gold)
Iridescent acrylic paints (bronze, gold, and copper)
Black acrylic paint
Gel Medium
Golden Acrylic Micaceous Iron Oxide - 4oz jar (not the small bottle labeled fluid)
Stipple paintbrush or other very stiff brush or a tooth brush and regular small paint brush
Course sand paper / sanding sponge
Plain white bond paper
Small stamps with basic designs
Texture sheets
Small piece of styrofoam and toothpicks (if making beads)
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Georgia Ferrell
Basic Silversmithing - Creating a Bezel of Silver

In this demo I will show you how to cut bezel wire, solder the bezel shape, saw a base and solder the base to the bezel. One can use a bezel without a base, and solder silver strips to hold in the clay. On can drill thru the silver for adding jump rings, or solder half rings to the bezel (an advanced skill). Copper can also be used, although I am not yet certain if I can provide copper bezel wire.

Steps for making the bezel ring:
1. design your shape. Cut the bezel wire to length plus about1/16 inch for filing to flat.
2. use a file or sand paper to make the ends of the wire perfectly flat so that when held to each other there is no absolutely no air space --- solder will NOT fill a void.
3. depending on the shape you choose, you can make the shape and then solder, or you can solder and then
bend the bezel to shape.
4. if you are putting a back on the bezel with solder, you must use hard solder to solder the joint of the bezel
ring, and medium or soft solder for soldering the back to the ring.
5. put the ring on the fire brick and hold its shape with either baling wire or pins. In a little depression on the
brick, place a little snippet of solder, heat until it becomes a ball.make several balls in case one or two get
lost…place the little ball inside the bezel right at the bottom of the join, flux it all and then put the torch
flame on the work, moving it about so that the entire bezel is heated.
Materials list to make a bezel:
Strip of silver, or copper about 3/16 to ¼ inch wide, about 4 inches long
Flat piece of either copper or silver if a back to the bezel is wanted, or strips
Flux, solder, pins or baling wire,
Fire brick, torch


Kit I can provide for $7.00 up: copper, strip of silver bezel wire, flux, solder, torch fuel etc. a length of 4 inches will provide a round bezel one inch in diameter. The kit is made for this size bezel. If you want a larger bezel, please let me know. Cost for silver bezel wire goes up about $1.00 per inch.


I provide: torches, firebrick, pickle, pins


If you can bring your own files, fine flat and rounded or flat on one side and rounded on the other or all
Sand paper coarse and fine al tho this is mostly available


Please email me privately if you have any questions. HYPERLINK "mailto:igeorgiad@gmail.com" igeorgiad@gmail.com


NOTE: if you want a kit with 4 inches of silver bezel wire etc. please let me know. I will have some sheet silver, some sheet copper and hopefully copper bezel wire to sell also. Thanks.
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Margi Laurin
Pen demo

Use your new found techniques and create a One of a Kind fountain or ball point pen. Margi will give you the ins and outs and do's and don'ts of pen making. You will be able to take advantage of the pen press throughout the weekend and have a functional and beautiful object d'art to take home. If you wish to purchase pen parts from Margi, she will be ordering the "Flat top Chrome Ball Point" and "Flat Top Chrome Fountain" Pen parts from Lee Valley Tools. Please respond to this email and MAKE SURE "PENS" is in the subject line. If your message is mixed in with another message about MPCG it WILL GEt LOST. I restrict my pens to these two models as it allows me to get the bulk price. These pens are 10.80 for one, 8.50 if you buy 10 and 7.75 if you buy 25. I would suspect we would be paying 8.50 presuming there is a split between ball point and fountain. You are welcome to purchase your own pen and bring it with you, but you will pay the single price. There will be HST. Final price to be determined by numbers.
REMEMBER: make sure PENS is in the subject line, and specify fountain or ball point.

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While we are at it, here is :

The basic clayer's kit


Clay of your choice,
pasta machine (no motor),
work surface,
tissue blade,
knife or scraper,
roller,
wet/dry sand paper,
note taking and drawing materials,
index cards,
paper towels,
texturing materials,
modeling tools such as knitting needles or what you like to use,
piercing tools,
x-acto knife,
mould release,
glue,
smile.