Shredded Clay:
What To Do With Clay Salad

Using the Presto Salad Shooter® to shred clay is one of the best new uses for an old tool that I've found. If you don't have a Salad Shooter tucked away in your kitchen cabinet, they are readily available at retail stores, but for polymer clay use, I recommend checking thrift shops. I bought my used Salad Shooter for $2.00. Remember, once you use a tool for polymer clay, do not use it with food.

Not only does the Salad Shooter make shredding clay fast and easy, it is especially great if you are physically challenged. The Salad Shooter makes fast work of shredding polymer clay without pain. It's fun to use, and even more fun because I can make polymer projects that before would have been physically out of my reach. An added benefit is that I find I get much more clay than when I shred with a hand shredder.

So now that you have mounds of shredded clay, what can you do with all of it? For starters, I sprinkle my shredded clay with cornstarch (powder works, too, but I am anti-talc),  lightly mix it together, and store a portion in a glass jar. Once the lid goes on, the clay stays clean, and if the jar is absolutely dry when the clay is placed in it,  there should be no problem with condensation accumulating. Be sure to store the jar just as you would any other polymer clay -- out of heat and direct sunlight.

I have jars of solid colored clay, some with a solid color plus translucent added to it, and some with "Clay Salad." The "salad" jars contain mixtures of clay colors that I know I will regularly use. For instance, I have a jar with a mix of gold, bronze, black, and translucent. Another favorite mix for me is red, white, and navy blue. I have one huge jar filled with just translucent clay. I have lots of fun and find it relaxing shredding clay. It also seems to light a creative spark  in me.

Here are a few items I've made with shredded clay. I'm sure you will come up with lots of ideas. I'd love to see your shredded clay projects and will devote a future Gallery page to the photos you send me.

Bicone Bead	Clay Covered BIC Pen	Compressed Log Ready to Slice
	End View of Rolled Up Sheet	Rolled Sheet Ready to Compress
Shreds on Translucent Sheet	Shreds on a translucent sheet of clay, rolled up and compressed, can be used just like any other cane, for slicing, or as the beginnings of a Chrysanthemum Cane.

See instructions for making Clay Salad in this issue of pcPolyzine