Fridge Magnets: The same general construction method as above is used for fridge magnets. A suitably powerful magnet is attached to the back of the butterfly using epoxy glue.

Plant-pot or Vase Ornaments: A pot ornament can be made by either incorporating a length of floristry wire into the body before assembly and baking, or after baking, the end of the wire could be attached to the back of the insect with epoxy glue, as with the fridge magnet. The main disadvantage of the latter method is that the pot decoration is single sided. If the wire is incorporated into the body, the butterfly can be viewed from both sides – very useful in an arrangement.

Mobiles: A very attractive mobile can be made from these butterflies, particularly if the wing clay is translucent and light can shine through them. The butterflies are made as before but a small hanging hole is drilled at some point around the wings, or an eye-pin is incorporated into the body to serve as a hanging point. Next, attach several butterflies to threads or wires and attach to a mobile frame made from cardboard, wood or wire – whatever is appropriate for the location.

Bowls: One of the more unusual uses of the wings is to make them into bowls. I’ve always been fascinated by the tessellation artwork of the Dutch artist, M C Escher. He managed to interlock the most unlikely shapes into patterns of fish, bats, birds or lizards – all kinds of things.

(M C Escher website:http://www.mcescher.com/indexuk.html)

I had the idea that I could, with a little ‘persuasion’ of the unbaked wings, get them to interlock to some degree into a structure. I wanted the wings to stay recognisable as wings, so I didn’t invert any of them in the constructions – even though doing so would have made for far better gap reduction! 

I make the bowls around a former which is a glazed pottery ball of about 3 inches diameter (a light-bulb could be used too). No releasing agent is required because of the smoothness of the surface. The main thing to bear in mind is that the hemisphere of the spherical former must not be exceeded (unless you wish to sacrifice the former when you remove the bowl) – otherwise, the bowl can be rather hard to remove after baking and cooling (oh, the colourful language!)

I found that two or more different types or sizes of wings could be made to fit together more easily – with fewer gaps. Using different colours also makes the individual wing-sets more obvious in the pattern 

In addition, the wing-sets I used for the bowls had no attached bodies. I felt this made a ‘cleaner’ final pattern but this is obviously a personal preference. 

I began by making 6 or 9 assembled wing-sets of the selected sizes and colours. Firstly, I attached the hind-wings of 3 sets together into a ‘triangle’ shape (see photo). Next, I applied the triangle to the surface of the ball – as close to the centre as possible. The wings were gently eased down onto the surface of the former, as evenly spaced as possible 

Then, the second layer of wing-sets was placed into the gaps between the first three. The wing angles of the first three were adjusted if necessary, so that the second layer sets made as much contact with them as possible. When I was satisfied with the positioning of the wing-sets relative to one-another, I gently pressed where they joined and carefully rolled the joins to remove any blemishing caused by the pressing and joining.

Finally, in order to strengthen the bowl, I applied FIMO Deco-Gel to the gaps around the base. One can of course use TLS or Kato Liquid clay instead of the FIMO product. The liquid was applied to the bowl in small sections and after each application; the liquid was partially set using an embossing heat-gun. This prevented the liquid from running out from the gaps before the whole bowl was baked. The bowl was then baked for 30 – 40 minutes under a tinfoil ‘tent’ – the foil reduces the likelihood of local scorching of the canes or liquid clay.

Alternatively, instead of a spherical former for the bowl, an ‘external former’ such as a glass, ceramic or even metal bowl could be used. The cane sections are simply applied to the inside surface of the vessel. It may be easier to ‘fix’ the liquid clay in place using this alternative method rather than using the outside of a sphere.

Other items which I have made from my wing canes include small table-mats or coasters which are also interlaced like the bowls. Working in two dimensions is far easier – it may be wise to try this first in order to practice the interlocking before you move on to three-dimensional pieces, such as the bowls.

Also, the butterfly canes, in conjunction with leaf and flower petal canes make very attractive window or mirror ‘clings’ using either sheet PVC or liquid clay as a support substrate.

I hope this has given you some suggestions regarding the use of the wing-canes – the rest is up to you.

Note: Alan also makes the most beautiful dragonflies. He didn't include dragonflies with this article, but I am sneaking in a photo so you can see them, anyway.

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