Make Polymer Clay stenciled Gratitude Bowls with Silvia Souza

Greetings.

I have my own gratitude ritual at the beginning and end of each day, but I had a hard time conceiving of a project to express gratitude. Then I remembered art lessons I had once taught and there seemed no better representation of gratitude than a bowl, or three bowls. Bowls for keeping, giving and receiving.

There are Empty Bowl projects around the country to feed those needing food, but most of them are for food safe and ceramic bowls. I no longer have access to a kiln but I do have a toaster oven! The bowls I created are polymer clay.  

While this project required a bit of polymer know-how and some reverse engineering, I did want to show how to use pan pastels with stencils on polymer. The layering that you can create can add depth and interest in polymer projects, whether jewelry, wall art or bowls. You can also use eyeshadows or grated chalk pastels if you do not have pan pastels.

I’ve created a video that takes you through the main steps of the process. I hope you enjoy and that you also get to participate in an Empty Bowl event near you someday.

With gratitude for the food in my belly and the time and ability to create,

Silvia

Stencils used:
Mid Century Modern Rocks & Leaves by Jennifer Evans S586, Fade Horizontal by Michelle Ward L027, Floating Cubes Trio by Andrew Borloz L463, and Mary Beth Shaw's October 2016 StencilClub.