The Zen of Sanding??

I have read and talked with some clayers that really like to sand.  They say they find a "zone" and it actually is kinda therapeutic.  I would LOVE to feel that way. Instead  I find it wet, tedious and boring.  But I have to admit that I really like the end results. The beads are so smooth and almost sensual to the touch.

  Artybecca had posted on flickr a mini  mokume gane tut on using the threads on a large screw.  I did not have a large screw so improvised with a tracking wheel.  The first time I only went in one direction so ended up with stripes.  When I did the finish with LPC, I really didn't like the feel of the beads.  The veneer bubbled in places. That was when sanding, as much as I hate it, became something I had to consider. I really like the ones on the left but only had enough clay for two beads




The next time, I went both directions with the wheel and ended with squares.  These squares got larger when I ran them through the pasta machine to make the veneer,  I tried a new shape too.

These were the first that I sanded. The long barrels are almost 2 inches long.

Not sure I like the shape

These took almost two hours to sand, That amount of time is not good if I decide to start selling them. I hear that time is money.

My next beads are a combination of yellow and crimson. A very Holloweeny color.

Used my scrap pile for the next set, just to experiment with diagonal threading.  The resulting color was not something I would normally aim for, but I like it and am going to try to recreate it.While sanding is not something I think I will ever enjoy, I am very pleased with the results.  I just wish it were easier.