Constance Pelkey Designs

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

How I condition the new formula KATO poly clay

I always keep a small conditioned sheet of each color… no less than 3”X3”…

studio 011

studio 013

mine happens to be #1.

NEVER run clay through the machine in bunches… only feed slices no thicker than your thickest setting into the rollers!

KATO is a tough firm clay that works up beautifully! However, you CAN NOT expect to work with it and have your finished pieces last for any length of time without proper conditioning.

 studio 012

By all means, if you can make it happen – GET A MOTOR!

Especially if you have joint issues in your arms… I had TWO torn rotator cuff surgeries in two years. I couldn’t clay using the crank. I went NUTZ without my clay!

  studio 014

studio 015

flip so the fold goes through first, always! It prevents bubbles.

 studio 016

 studio 017

 studio 018

take a thin slice off the block – I use the 1 LB blocks

studio 019

place on the bottom edge

 studio 020

 studio 021 

I’ve found that the lighter colors tend to crumble more… it varies from batch to batch, color to color.

 studio 022

always fold left to right with edges slightly off… turn fold to face down, run through PM, repeat.

studio 026

 

Your mileage may vary with this method, but it works well for me and is the way I teach how to work with KATO, something I’ve done exclusively since Donna and Vern developed it years ago.

2 comments:

Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor said...

Great article Connie! Sorry to hear about your shoulder problems. In your case, you would especially need a motor to condition hard Kato clay. I have shoulder issues too only just in my left shoulder, so the crank hasn't been a problem so far. I like your method. Seems a lot faster than some of the other methods out there.

Cara Jane (surfingcat) said...

Thanks for sharing that advice, I'll try it.
I just wondered why you stressed not to bring the edges together?
It must take a while doing it this way but then I guess it takes a while doing it anyway but it's worth it in the end.