Comments on: How to: Polymer Clay Tear Away Sheets

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:29:06 +0000

Thanks Meredith! Great to have the name of the book and the history!

I thought this technique was becoming obsolete, with the changes in the clay formulas. Have you found a way to make it work?

By: Meredith Arnold

Meredith Arnold — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:22:48 +0000

Gwen Gibson originally invented this method with polymer clay. There is a Design Originals book where she includes her instructions for this process. Celie borrowed this process from Gwen but added the innovation of using both the paper with thin layer of polymer clay on it and the polymer clay results as texture plates for use with metal clay. It takes a bit of practice but not a ton.

By: Marcia LaGreca

Marcia LaGreca — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 03:58:58 +0000

I’m glad you clarified, BBee! You don’t have to bake the sheet, but I prefer to bake the sheet and use that for texturing. You would roll out your PMC to your desired thickness, then put the baked textured “tear-away” sheet (texture side down) on top of the clay (or bottom, whichever you prefer). Then roll your PMC again, then remove the sheet to reveal the reverse image in the PMC. You can also bake the polyclay and get a reverse image from what is on the sheet. I prefer to make / bake my texture sheets for my PMC and reuse the polyclay. Hope this makes sense.

By: BBee

BBee — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 19:12:11 +0000

Correction to my 9-10-10 post. I meant to say “Why is the paper “baked”?

By: BBee

BBee — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:35:29 +0000

I have 2 questions. Why is the paper backed and if you are going to use a specific shape, should the clay be cut prior to backing?

Thanks,
BBee

By: Marcia

Marcia — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:44:52 +0000

I’ve positioned my clay/tear-aways approx. 7″ under a halogen strip light under one of my kitchen cabinets, and it’s worked well. I’m not so sure it has to do with the type of light, but more about the warmth/heat. I read an article about the process where someone ironed the sheet on top of the clay, instead of backing it! Another thing that’s helped me is to grab the corner of the tear-away and quickly “rip” it away in a low, ripping motion. Hope this helps!

By: Bronnie Barfield

Bronnie Barfield — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:18:46 +0000

What type of lamp is needed for this process?

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:30:27 +0000

Regarding copiers, buying an old one specifically for this and other craft uses is the only solution I’ve come up with. They’re pretty cheap, too.

By: Marcia LaGreca

Marcia LaGreca — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:00:34 +0000

The tear away method has been a source of angst for me! I’ve been successfull at making adequate tear away sheets, but the impressions don’t seem to be as pronounced as I’d like. I’ve actually worked with some of Celie’s sheets (took one of her PMC classes this past summer), and they make deeper impressions than what I’ve achieved. Also, my results are inconsistent. Sometimes I’ll get decent results, and other times only the image transfers and the clay does not transfer to the sheet.

From experimentation, it seems like the more conditioned the clay is and the less plasticizer in the clay, the better the results. I’ve even deleted “baking” it 6″ – 8″ under a lamp and have achieved decent results!

I’ve used the same procedures Celie’s described in one of her books on fresh clay, and the only results I’ve achieved are images transferred from the paper to the clay.

Any suggestions on how to get more pronounced textures and consistent results? Also, many places update their copiers. Any suggestions on where you’ve found old copiers for public use?

By: All Things Metal Clay » Blog Archive » Free Tutorials and Videos: Polymer Clay

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:41:02 +0000

[...] Tear Away Technique by Monica Sargeant, Part II and Part I, the supply list. [...]