Polymer Clay Asparagus Clock

Steps:

1. Bake the masonite at 275 F degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. This will help to remove any moisture from the wood.

2. Use a ruler to find the center and drill a 5/16" hole in the masonite for your clock movement. If the edges of your wood are rough, use sandpaper to smooth them.

3. Using the foam brush, paint a coat of black acrylic paint on the smoothest side of the masonite. This will be the back of your clock. Let the paint dry completely. Use the foam brush to apply a fairly thick, even coat of Sobo glue to the front and sides of your clock base. Let glue dry until it is clear and tacky to the touch.

4. Condition and mix two packages of green clay with 1/6 of a package of black clay.

Note: If you prefer softer, more muted colors, add pinches of black and white to the color recipes provided.

5. To 3/4 of the green-black mixture, add 1/3 package of silver.

Figure B

6. Mix the remaining green-black clay with 1/4 package of gold and set aside. The green-black-silver mixture will be the base of your clock. Use the pasta machine to roll a medium-thick (#4) sheet large enough to cover the front and sides of your clock. Set the remaining clay aside.

7. Lay the clay sheet on a piece of parchment paper and place the clock base, glue side down, in the center of the sheet.

Figure D

8. Pull clay over the edges of the clock base. Using your clay blade, cut edges flush with the back of the clock . Use the parchment paper to turn the clock over.

Figure E

9. Texture the front of the clock with the texture sheet.

10. Using a craft knife, cut excess clay from the hole that you drilled in the clock base. Use a toothpick to mark where your numbers will go.

11. To make the asparagus leaves, mix 1/4 package of magenta with 1/2 package of translucent. Mix a pinch of yellow with 1/2 package of translucent. Mix the remaining green-black-silver clay with 1/2 package of translucent. Divide the green clay in half.

12. You will need to make two skinner blends. For blend #1, roll the magenta clay through the thickest setting of the pasta machine. Repeat with half of the green clay.

Figure G

13. Make two identical right angle triangles with the magenta and green clay. Place the slanted edges of the triangles together so they are slightly offset. Trim the edges so you have a rectangle. Roll this sheet through the pasta machine at the thickest setting, making sure that both colors touch the rollers.

14. Fold the sheet, same color edge on same color edge. Put clay through the pasta machine fold first. Repeat folding and rolling through the pasta machine until the sheet is completely graded from magenta to green (about 25 times).

15. Fold clay in half again, and roll through the pasta machine with only the magenta end touching the rollers.

Figure I

16. Without folding the sheet again, continue to roll through the pasta machine in the same direction, at progressively thinner settings, until you have a long, thin strip.

Figure K

17. Roll this sheet, starting with the narrow magenta end, into a bullseye cane. Reduce this cane by compressing and rolling until you have a log with a diameter of about 1/3". Pinch along the top of the log until you get what looks like a leaf .

18. Repeat using the yellow clay and the remainder of the green-translucent clay.

19. To make the asparagus stalks, use the green-black-gold clay you mixed earlier and add 1/2 package of translucent to it. Roll this clay to a medium thickness on your pasta machine and roll this sheet tightly into a log. Reduce the log to a diameter of about 1/2".

Figure N

20. Cut three sections in varying lengths of 3-1/2" to 5". Slightly taper one end of each section by rolling lightly on your work surface.

21. Cut each of these sections in half lengthwise and arrange three stalks, cut side down, on each side of the clock.

Figure O

22. Using the clay blade, cut thin slices from each of the leaf-shaped canes to decorate your asparagus stalks and to serve as numbers on the clock.

23. Cut two extra leaves but don't apply them to the clock.

24. Bake the clock and the extra leaves at 275 F degrees for 30 minutes. Turn off your oven but don't take the clock out until it is completely cool. This may take several hours. Letting the clay and the wood cool gradually will keep cracks from forming on the clock.

25. Using the brush-on super glue, glue the two extra leaves to the front tips of the clock hands. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for installing the clock movement and hands.

Inspiration for this clock came from a wonderful polymer clay artist and fellow asparagus lover named Lindly Haunani.