Textures For Silver Clay and where to find them

Where to find textures for Silver Clay

Silver clay is truly a very versatile medium. One of the best things about it, is that it takes texture really well. It’s a lot easier to apply texture to clay than it is to sheet metal for example, with no heavy tools or hammering required. Think of pressing a pen lid into plastecine or polymer clay and you get the picture.

So, when my brand new students realise this, one of the first things they do is go out shopping for texture sheets. And when I started, I was exactly the same! You can go out there and spend a fortune on lovely textures and there are some beauties out there. However, it’s not a necessary expense. In fact, I would go as far to say that if you want to have original textures and original work, commercially available textures are definitely not the way to go.

Fortunately for all of us, textures are everywhere and I mean everywhere, if you’d just look at your surroundings with new eyes. So this blog is intended to give you some great ideas, but it’s by no means exhaustive and I am sure once you switch your brain to working like this – you’ll have lots more ideas.

First of all – I would suggest looking round your house!

Make your own texture sheets with polymer clay and household objects like pen lids and straws

Look at your desk or in your kiddie’s pencil case. Pen tops, pen nibs, retracting pencils can all make unusual marks straight into your silver clay, or you can make some of your own texture sheets with polymer clay and cure them and use them with your silver clay.

Think about erasers and using a craft knife to carve shapes into them. Have a look at folders, book covers and stationary (even your cork message board) – some have lovely textures on there, that you could use – mix up a 2-part moulding putty and use to capture them.

Peek in your kitchen! There are loads of things in there to take impressions of; cutlery, sponges, food packaging, placemats, bottom of glasses (especially cut glass tumblers). Have a look in your food cupboard – yes, I thinking about pasta! Great shapes for impressing and what about spaghetti? Use for making lots of lovely straight lines.

Poppy seed heads are great for adding texture to your silver clay and you can find them in the garden!

Raid your garden! There are lots of great things here – like leaves, pods, twigs, stones, grasses and tree bark. You could also look at other less obvious things too – like your gardening tools, gloves and knee pads!

I think you’re probably getting the picture here! But let me give you some more ideas.

Continue your texture raid in your house!

• Your toolbox or garage – screws, nails, screwdrivers, sandpaper and brushes. All great for impressing into polymer to make a texture sheet of your own. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest they go straight into your silver clay!
• Your bathroom – perfume bottle tops, toothbrushes, make-up brushes, bottle tops of all descriptions – again for impressing into something before you use for silver clay!
• Your wardrobes – lacy items, interesting fabrics with heavy weaves and the bottom of shoes. Seriously, look at the bottom of the shoes in your house, there’s a whole variety of textures right there. Especially if you have little girls in the house!
• Your fridge – lots of great possibilities in here – orange, lemon and lime rinds are great textures. Have a look at cabbage leaves, broccoli and cauliflower – let your mind roam free!

Out and about

You get a beautiful texture from this sea anemone shell

And when you’re out and about, keep your eyes open for textures. On the beach, search for interesting shells, seaweed, rocks, wood, barnacles and moss. In your local DIY – go through the textured wallpaper section – if yours is anything like mine, then you can take a few inches from their sample rolls for free.

I could go on and on, but hopefully you can see that, if something is interesting to your eye, you’ll be able to mould it, use it for impressions or at the very least, take inspiration from it.

If this has inspired you and you want to go on a texture hunt, please feel free to download my FREE textures worksheet below.

Til next month!
Wishing you lots of inspiration and creativity!

Emma xx

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