Yore Cheatin' Heart Gradient Blend

All of us owe a debt to Judith Skinner that we can never repay: She originated the idea for a seamless airbrushed-looking color blend that is the basis of almost every worthwhile technique involving color. Her method, available anywhere on the net for free, has inspired countless variations; Here is one:

I like to find shortcuts to everything--and I hate to measure; I'm just having too much fun creating. This is true for the basic gradient blend as well-- the version I call, 'yore cheatin' heart'.
This method is exactly what it sounds like--a cheat; (And I'm sure the idea did not originate with me) but it's a good cheat. Rather than sheet, cut and measure triangles of clay, I simply take the colors I like best--in this case, the holy trinity of Red, Yellow and Blue, and condition them thoroughly--not really necessary, but it's always nice to warm up a bit, and there are few things more therapeutic than mindlessly cranking clay through a pasta machine. Once soft, I roll them into fat logs of the same length, and lay them out into a pattern I want; in this case, light in the center, so that I will get some nice secondary colors on each side as the blend develops.

I flatten these logs until they are a comfortable thickness to go through the pasta machine set on the widest setting without straining; never saw the benefit of blowing out those gears!

This sheet then goes through the pasta machine ONCE. This is where I pause for reflection--or possibly just a fresh water bottle :). I fold the big striped sheet from bottom to top, like colors together, but with a tweak: I offset the colors just slightly by angling the top of the sheet over the one beneath. I find that this just makes the blend go a bit faster--honestly, it probably only saves a few passes through the pasta machine--it would all end up as the same blend anyway, but as I said, I like to cheat just a little.

I send this folded sheet through the pasta machine, then settle down for the long haul; no more offsetting, I simply roll, fold and send through again on the same setting, over and over again, until the colors do what they do best--the clay, of course, expands lengthwise as it goes through the machine, but it also expands sideways--and would indefinitely, if not for the constricting sides of the machine; this is what creates the seamless blend. Formulas vary--a lot depends on the saturation of the colors, etc, but generally about 20 to 25 passes yields a good blend.

Sometimes, especially when I have light colors in the center of the blend, I find that it's a bit dark--and here is where polymer clay is so wonderful: I can simply add a pure color to the process by sandwiching it into the blend where needed; after a few passes, it shows through.

Once the blend is satisfying--the hardest part of polymer clay (all together now!) is knowing when to stop; I just pick a place. Then it's a simple matter of lengthening the blend by folding it one more time, and turning it one quarter turn so that the fold is on the side--still on the thickest (widest) setting of the pasta machine, and roll it through; this not only gives me more sheet to work with, it also 'polishes' the blend and gives it that perfect airbrushed look.

Where it goes from here depends upon the use I intend for it; If I'm making a plug for caning, it gets accordion folded and squared into a block; if I'm making a bold jellyroll spiral cane, I'll leave it as is; if I'm going for the gradient bulls eye cane, then I'll sheet it down to a medium thin setting.

Whatever use I find for it, There are few things more satisfying than contemplating a perfect rainbow blend; may you have as much fun with yours.

Namaste, Randee