The focus of this tutorial is the original cane design, which is challenging yet forgiving in terms of complexity and precision. Once the cane was done and I started playing with it to make the brooch/pendant, I saw that it had sort of a Jana Roberts-Benzon flavor to it, so I ran with it in homage to her extradordinary skill with canes that are true genious.

In this tutorial you will learn how to make the cane design shown, and how to manipulate the cane to create the brooch. Mirror and kaleidoscope techniques are touched on very briefly and if you don't already know a little something of those techniques you may be challenged by those. If you are an advanced beginner with a little bit of caning experience you can do this as a stretch project to take your work a little further.


PREREQUISITES: Conditioning, Skinner Blends, cane reduction, snakes, shaping canes by pinching and pressing, and basic finishing techniques.


A important note on color: I am using custom-mixed Kato brand clay for making the cane and the project, so in the tutorial I give the formulas for mixing the Kato colors. However, I recognize that many people prefer to use Premo by Sculpey, so I also give the recipes for mixing those clays to match what I have with the Kato. You can use my Premo formulas, or you can use Premo Turquoise straight from the package, Premo Sea Green mixed with some ecru for the green, and Premo orange but shifted towards a salmon color. If you choose the latter, you're on your own for recipes!