mother-of-pearl according to Hélène
TUTORIAL FOR IMITATING MOTHER-OF-PEARL
I take one part of translucent Fimo for each two of mother-of-pearl Fimo. Your recipe can surely be modified according to your taste. I think that using only mother-of-pearl will obtain as a result too brilliant, too artificial. But, as always, it is only a matter of taste...
I start by conditioning the clays with the pasta machine and I mix the two of them.
Then I choose some mica powders in different colours: here blue, red and mother-of-pearl.
with a brush, I put some mica powder on the mix of clys, passed through the pasta machine set nr. 1.
Here, I finish this job with a generous layer of pearly white: I need to point out this because in the picture it is not visible.
Then I fold the sheet in two, with the mica powders on the inside face.
I pass this folded sheet on the pasta machine at least 15 times, re-folding it each time in the same sense, as you do with a skinner blend.
Then I refine the sheet, passing it progressively from nr. 1 to nr. 6 on the pasta machine.
After that, I fold into an accordeon the sheet obtained. I try to reduce this packet of clay toward the center, to constitute a block of clay with some creases.
I pass the roller to smooth the stock and then I start to cut layers of clay not too thin: the objective is to reconstitute later a sheet of clay directly workable.
Reconstitute a sheet of clay with the slices you have prepared
Then you pass the roller very well in order to smooth the sheet, you pass it though the pasta machine nr. 1 without stretching it too much. And now your plate is ready for u se.
My advice: I prefer to sand and polish and not to apply varnish, becaus ethe effect is more realistic. Anyway, if you wish to have more brightness, you can apply, ON THE RAW CLAY NOT COOKED, apply at the last moment a stroke of pearly mica powder. Once passed in the oven, you need to varnish your piece of work made with this technique (it will be more brilliant but less natural, in my opinion).
Cheers! Hélène.