Nothing says summer like fresh tomatoes made with your own two hands!
A couple of notes before I begin: When it comes to clay, I’m the kind of person who checks out a couple of tutorials to get an idea of how something
could be done. Then I stare at pictures of what I want to make or the real thing to get more ideas of how it
could be done. Then I combine all of that into how I
want to do it. So, this is how I make tomato slices. There are tons of other ways to make them, and you should find the one that works best for you. Hopefully, though, this will help you in making your own or give you some ideas. Because once you have tomatoes you have the start of many delicious meals...
Deliciously Inedible Tomatoes (polymer clay cane)
1.
Gather Supplies:Tomato red polymer clay: You can either buy a color that best matches a tomato red or you can blend one yourself. Just stare at a tomato while mixing reds and oranges until you’re satisfied.
White polymer clay
Translucent polymer clay
Sesame seedsRazor blade: The sharper it is, the better it works…
Work space: I use a big tile I got from Habitat for 50 cents. I put nonslip cabinet liner on the bottom to keep it from moving or scratching my desk.
Pasta machine: Totally optional, but it makes blending colors and rolling out layers much easier and faster
2.
Mix Colors:
You’ll end up with four colors.
Tomato red: Yes, this is the one you started with.
Outer pink: This is the fleshy part of the tomato. Mix a small amount of white with a large amount of tomato red. Look at pictures or butcher a tomato to find a shade you’re happiest with.
Seed mix: Mix translucent with the sesame seeds. Keep adding more seeds until the blend is saturated with seeds (i.e. you can’t add anymore!).
Inner pink: This is the inner core of the tomato. You could actually leave this white, but I like my tomatoes a little more ripe. Mix a little tomato red with a lot of white.
3. Roll out most of the inner pink (leave a little behind) into a long log. Then flatten one side against your work space and squish the top into a point, essentially forming a long triangle.
4. Roll out seed mix into a thick sheet (use the pasta machine if you have one!). Cut a strip the same width as your triangle base and put on bottom of inner pink triangle. Wrap the rest of the sheet around the triangle leaving the top open.
5. Roll out outer pink into a thick sheet. Do not use all of your outer pink clay! Wrap around the outside of your triangle (you’re now wrapping around the seed mix), leaving both the top of the inner pink triangle and top edges of the seed mix open.
6. Lengthen your triangle slightly by pulling and gently pressing in all sides. You really just want to make sure that all of your layers will stay together. Let clay harden by sitting out or cooling in the fridge. Then, cut into 4-6 equal sections. (I like 5, it's an odd number.) Remember, variation is the spice of life! This is part of a plant and no two are ever the same!
7. Roll a small log of inner pink. Position cut triangle sections around the log. Add outer pink in between the sections so that they form a rough circle. Look at the picture to help see where the sections and clay go.
8. Roll a thin sheet of tomato red the width of your tomato innards and wrap around the outside. Let harden, again either by letting it sit out for about 24 hours (doesn’t work that well when it’s 100 degrees out) or in the fridge until cooled (especially if you’re impatient like me).
9. Lengthen! There are tons of tutorials and books that will show you how to “properly” lengthen a cane. I usually stick with squishing and pulling. Just remember,
no rolling! This will distort the cane.
10. Let harden again, and then take your razor blade and cut off little tomato slices. If they’re not as round as you’d like, gently round off the edges with your fingers.
(Baked Tomatoes)
Optional step
11. Gather other sandwich making ingredients, and make a delicious sandwich loaded with your fresh tomatoes.
