Faux Barbed Wire

Have you seen Camille Young's latest entry on how to make faux barbed wire using craft wire, jewelry wire and Lumina clay?

It really does look like barbed wire!

I don't know much about Lumina. From what I've read online, I gather that it's no-bake (air dry), remains flexible after drying, and is waterproof-- or is it just "water resistant"? In any case, I'm not sure how well polymer could perform in the place of Lumina, for this type of technique. . . I know that the bendable polymer clay, even when cured, is still flexible enough to be woven into baskets-- but it wouldn't hold the shape of the "barbs" on its own, would it? How would it work if cured over wire? Would it bend without breaking, if you tried to bend it after curing, or would you have better luck getting it into the barb shapes before curing?

Just some thoughts. . . :o)

Lumina clay

A while back, there was a link at Polymer Clay Daily to the work of Camille Young. Her floral pins have a wonderful delicacy to them that I can't help but admire (though I do wonder how hard they are to keep dust-free, with all those crevices). However, she works not with regular polymer clay (which must, of course, be baked to harden) but with an air-dry clay-- Lumina. She demonstrates the flexibility of the finished product on her blog.

I am hesitant to start up with a new medium just yet-- partly because Lumina clay isn't as easy for me to find locally-- but I see no reason why I can't take inspiration from her delicate florals and bring them to regular polymer clay. Indeed, I have seen polymer clay artists create similarly thin works from familiar brands of clay. I guess I just don't have that confidence in the strength of the medium, yet. I started with a weaker brand of clay, had a couple of things break early on, and have been nervous ever since. I should also remember that, as wearable art, my creations don't always have to be able to withstand rough handling. I can simply let it be known that they must be treated with reasonable care.

So, anyway, a big fan of her florals! Beautiful work! :o)