ONE CANE, INFINITE POSSIBILITIES

WINTER SESSION 2025

FEBRUARY 1 - MARCH 30, 2025

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

JANUARY 16 - 21, 2025

$425 CAN$ 🇨🇦 ≈ $295 US$ 🇺🇸

Matrix Canes is an in-depth MasterClass that explores a unique system for designing and making diverse but connected collections of precisely patterned veneers in polymer clay.

Based on techniques I started to explore in 1999 but later re-booted with a fresh perspective, Matrix Canes will challenge the way you think about canework and give you failsafe ways to overcome some of its biggest challenges…

• HARD TO MASTER 3D CONSTRUCTION

• DISTORTION after reduction

• MUDDY COLOURS

• UNEVEN CANE SLICES IN INCONSISTENT THICKNESSES

• TOO MUCH OF THE SAME CANE

Sound familiar? Sure.

Can we make it better? Absolutely!

Smarter tools, better habits, simpler choices, intentional design, infinite iterations, and economical processes all add up to an elevated and more elegant version of millefiori for the 21st Century.

With traditional canework in polymer clay, as magical as it can seem to transform a larger scale image into repeated and ever-reducing duplicates, that magic can be tricky, and even when it goes well, that can leave us with too much of a good thing.

Matrix Canes is an open-ended system that allows you to explore new canework pattern strategies and go beyond the radial symmetry and other design limitations that have typically defined the look of millefiori in our medium.

ONE CANE >> INFINITE POSSIBILITIES

One of the best things about millefiori as a way to create pattern is that one cane can yield many slices, actual size, or smaller… all duplicates of the same original design.

But a complex design often needs to be built at a larger-than-desired scale. By the time that cane is reduced down to a usable size in its cross-section, it’s become much longer. As beautiful and well-reduced as the cane may be, the sheer volume in slices of that one duplicated design may be more than we want or need. For production work, it’s ideal, but what if you’re wanting more limited edition or one-of-a-kind results?

DIVERSity in DESIGN

A Matrix Cane is designed to be used in its original form, and repeatable slices are definitely possible. But it’s also designed so that those slices can be further sliced and then reconnected into more complex cross-sectional patterns.

Going deeper, slices from a single Matrix Cane can be reconstructed into other canes, creating segmented variations that resemble the ‘mother’ cane, but have their own unique look. Instead of all duplicates of the same original cane, the ‘descendant’ patterns of a Matrix Cane can be so varied and diverse it’s sometimes hard to see their origins… and yet, because they all come from the same original cane, there is a continuity that unifies the work.

NO DISTORTION

Unlike traditional canes, which are almost always built big to accommodate the components of a complex design, Matrix Canes are built ‘actual size.’ What you see is what you get. Unlike a larger cane that has to be reduced before slicing, Matrix Canes are pret à porter, ready to slice just as they are.

No reduction means no distortion, no risk that your perfectly built pattern will get stretched or squished out of place. Unlike the ends of a traditional cane, which often get so distorted they end up on the scrap pile, the ends of a Matrix Cane stay just as intact as the middle, another way that this system yields maximum pattern with minimum waste.

COMMON SENSE COLOUR

One of the best things about polymer clay: so many colours. One of the biggest challenges: so many colours!

We are blessed to work in a medium that offers so many options for using hue, value, and saturation. But sometimes those options can leave us overwhelmed, confused, lost, or stuck in the mud. What might look clear and colourful at large scale can lose its contrast at smaller sizes.

Because of how Matrix Canes are built, cohesive colour flow and contrast is built in. Simple palettes can be easily created and combined, as subtle shifts or in bolder combos. Not only do these intentional colour stacks work in simple single slices, they also act as a road map to guide you into the realm of more complex palettes and patterns. Unlike traditional millefiori patterns that can get muddy when they’re mini, the ‘actual size’ approach in Matrix Cane construction means colours and contrast will remain the same from beginning to end, no surprises.

If you have a naturally strong sense of colour, Matrix Canes will give you a chance to feature that more than ever, over and over again.

If colour is not your super power, don’t worry. Not only will you learn as you go what works and what doesn’t with each Matrix Cane motif, we’ll also be turning our attention to colour: the basics of Hue, the value of Value, and how both can be shifted in creative but common sense ways. Learn a few rules and rely on them… or break through and bend them for even more visual effect.

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Your course tuition includes 24/7 access to our virtual classroom for all the pre-recorded demo videos, step-out photos, infographics, written notes, and other resources posted within each lesson, plus templates and other design downloadables for future reference, one-on-one connection for teacher support and feedback (via Comments or email), and peer-to-peer interaction within our student community.

The overall course experience is divided into Modules so that students can focus on each phase more mindfully, and build on their skill and knowledge along the way.

As with the other pattern systems I’ve developed, like Blurred Lines, Single Slice Mokume, and MilleKume, Matrix Canes is best explored through a set of cumulative techniques.

Here’s a look at some of the modules and lessons you’ll find inside the Matrix Canes classroom…

1 :: YOUR FIRST MATRIX CANE

• MIX YOUR VALUES

• TEST YOUR VALUES

• CUT YOUR LAYERS

• ARRANGE YOUR LAYERS

• BUILD YOUR MATRIX CANE

2 :: PEEL & REVEAL

• PREPARE YOUR SCRAP

• ADD YOUR ENDS

• ADD YOUR PLATFORM

• PEEL YOUR MATRIX CANE

• AN ALTERNATE ‘END’ING

3 :: SINGLE STRIP VENEERS

• SIMPLE CUTS

• STRIP CUTS

• ANGLED STRIP CUTS

• TRIANGLE CUTS

4 :: SEGMENT CANE VENEERS

• STAGGERS

• SHOOTING STARS

• JACOB’S LADDERS

• ONE COLOUR, MANY PATTERNS

• ONE PATTERN, MANY COLOURS

5 :: MATRIX CANE VARIATIONS

• BARGELLO BONUS

• BROAD BANDS

• RANDOM ARRANGEMENTS

• MORE BARGELLOW

6 ::  A SURPRISE MODULE - FOR STUDENT’S EYES ONLY!

CUTTING EDGE CANEWORK

When it comes to slicing millefiori canes in polymer clay, we usually slice down through the end with a tissue blade to reveal a concentric cross-sectional pattern.

In Matrix Canes, the canes are built in layers and the patterns are peeled in precise slices from one end of the cane to the other.

This is a MasterClass that pushes polymer’s pattern possibilities with clarity, commitment, and intent, guaranteed to broaden your vision as an artist by honing in on the knowledge and skillset you need to push your work further.

Thousands of students have already come through our online academy since we opened the doors in January 2018. Together we have turned information into transformation, and Matrix Canes continues that trend.

As a complement to our other courses, or as a first step toward personal growth and professional development, this MasterClass will peel and reveal all…

CUTTING EDGE PEELER REQUIRED

Your tuition for this MasterClass includes a collection of printed templates specially designed for this course.

But even more important is our Cutting Edge Classic Peeler Kit…

Because this tool is such an integral part of the Matrix Canes system, all students will be required to have a Cutting Edge Peeler.

We’ve been selling this classic slicer since 2005, in Cutting Edge workshops, at retreats and conferences, and in our online Cutting Edge Store… so you might already own a Cutting Edge Peeler.

If not, this MasterClass will be the perfect time to get one, an immersion into its use and versatility as a fundamental blade for your polymer clay studio.

If you do not have a Cutting Edge Peeler (exactly like the one you see here) and you want to join us for this MasterClass, please make sure you choose the TUITION + PEELER option when you register for this course.

A Peeler Kit will be shipped to you. Shipping is included in this Registration option.

CUTTING EDGE PRECISION

Matrix Canes is a system that combines sound cane construction with ‘cutting edge’ tools. It’s not just how you build it, but how you slice it, and a Cutting Edge Peeler is the gateway tool that will allow you to slice your Matrix Canes with ease and precision every time.

The stainless steel blade slices sharply and cleanly through polymer clay, and because it never cuts against a hard surface (like a tissue blade hitting a glass or tile work surface), it stays sharp. The blade cutting guide defines a specific thickness that, with practice, stays even and consistent with every peel, instead of leaving thickness and consistency in the hands of… your hands. And when your slices are always the same thickness, not only can you use them economically on their own in a variety of veneer applications, you can also easily combine them with other slices into seamless composite canework veneers.

Best of all, this consistency in slicing allows for one of the coolest ‘next generation’ things about Matrix Canes: you can take those perfect peels and reconstruct them back into more complex canes. I call these Segment Canes. Using repeated slices from a single Matrix Cane, contrasting those slices with complementary layers of plain clay, or combining slices from more than one Matrix Cane, and so on, and so on, and so on… this is where the matrix of Matrix Canes really starts to re-boot.

An accessible process with an intentional approach, this online MasterClass course is designed with enough time for you not just to learn the techniques, but to fully explore a complete range of variations, from basic and bold, to advanced and intricate. And you'll make a lot of beautifully precise patterned veneers along the way…

IS THE CUTTING EDGE PEELER JUST FOR MATRIX CANES?

Not at all. As a precision blade for polymer clay, it’s a hold-in-your-hand tool that comes in handy for all sorts of slicing.

Matrix Canes is just one small part of a bigger set of Peeler techniques I’ve developed. Our Peeler is an indispensable part of our Blurred Lines MasterClass course and is also the portal to ‘texture without texture’ illusions of Holes, Lines, and other mica-shifting patterns. It’s a perfect way to access and reveal the strata patterns in mokume, and it can also be used to slice traditional canes in consistent thicknesses, one cane at a time, or a repeated stack of many, without drag or distortion. I’ve also used a Peeler in cane construction, cane de-construction, and as a tool to make other tools…

Even if Matrix Canes is your gateway to peeling polymer clay for the first time (and this immersion will be a great way to get to know how to use it), this Peeler will be your gateway to so much more. With proper use and care as a fundamental blade in your studio tool box, it will last and last, way past this MasterClass... 

I HAVE THE CUTTING EDGE WIDE PEELER... WILL THAT WORK?

Nope. There are lots of things you can do with either Peeler. But this Matrix Canes MasterClass is not one of them.

If you’re a graduate of Single Slice Mokume, then you have our WIDE Peeler. It’s a very similar tool, with a stainless steel blade, cutting guide, and Y-shaped housing handle. The big difference is, it’s bigger. As its name suggests, the blade window is wider, almost double the width of the original Peeler blade.

Matrix Canes techniques were designed with the regular Peeler in mind. To be able to follow along with the demos, lessons, and exercises, make use of the templates you’ll be getting inside the course, and to achieve the best results with the Matrix Canes and veneers you’ll be making in this MasterClass, a regular Cutting Edge Peeler is required.

Cutting Edge Peelers are not currently available to the general public, and will not be available after Registration has closed.

REGISTER HERE
FOR THE WINTER 2025 SESSION

MATRIX CANES

“I ALREADY HAVE THE CUTTING EDGE PEELER”
TUITION ONLY
$425 CAN$ 🇨🇦 ≈ $295 US$ 🇺🇸

“I DO NOT HAVE THE CUTTING EDGE PEELER”
TUITION + WIDE PEELER
$465 🇨🇦$ :: APROX $325 🇺🇸$

Please note, we are based in Canada, and our tuition prices are listed in Canadian dollars. If you are outside Canada, you will be charged an equivalent amount in your currency.

The US$ price is included as an estimate based on current exchange rates.

The MATRIX CANES CLASSROOM OPENS FEBRUARY 1, 2025

ALL WINTER 2025 MASTERCLASSES END MARCH 30, 2025

REGISTRATION CLOSES
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2025

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS

Here are some of the most common questions we’ve been asked about Matrix Canes, together with highlights that some of our past MC graduates have shared in the online classroom GuestBook…

WILL I NEED ANY OTHER SPECIAL TOOLS, EQUIPMENT, OR MATERIALS?

Other than the Cutting Edge Peeler, the basic tools and materials for this course can be found in a typical polymer clay studio.

A complete Materials List will be available in a Tools & Materials lesson inside the classroom. This list will also include recommended amounts of clay.

WILL THIS COURSE INCLUDE HOW TO make finished beads?

No.

Matrix Canes is not a ‘project-based’ course. The goal will not be to design, make, or finish anything specific. It’s designed as an open-ended exploration experience, learning new ways to make precision patterned veneers. Those veneers can be used in a lot of different ways, and how you choose to use them is up to you. I will have samples of my own finished work to share with you, but making a finished project is not a part of this MasterClass course curriculum.

REAL TIME, REAL LEARNING

My vision for teaching has always been to provide not just information, but transformation. I have been working with polymer clay for more than 30 years, and as much as I have to share as a teacher, your participation as a student in this workshop will directly impact the outcome of your experience.

By immersing yourself in the lessons, exploring the techniques and completing the exercises along the way, not only will you learn how to create your own collection of Matrix Canes and Matrix Cane veneers, you will also develop ways to improve and refine your craftsmanship overall, so that first-class work habits become second nature.

MASTERING THE MATRIX

A lot of workshops, tutorials, or 'How To' videos teach you ‘how to' do something by showing 'how to' make something. They’re project-based. Students make some specific object and learn a new technique or set of skills along the way. Everyone starts in a different place and by the end, they have all come together with the same completed destination piece.

This MasterClass (like most of the workshops we teach) will flip that around. In the first part of the course, everyone will be making the same foundational Matrix Cane, mastering the mechanics by focusing in on each unique step, but taking those same steps together. Once that first Matrix Cane is mastered, the map unfolds... We’ll show you other motif Matrix Canes, and since each motif will have its own set of design variables, not only will there be many paths to choose, we're looking forward to seeing where each student travels… and we’re betting that no two journeys will be the same.

Rather than rush to the finish line, the goal of this course is to give everyone time to wander, to wonder, to ask “What if..?” Sound fun? Freeing? A little scary? All of the above. By the end of the journey, we’re confident that you’ll be confident. Every student will have the knowledge and skills to make a certain set of ‘motherboard’ Matrix Canes, but we fully expect that every student, through making their own choices in colour, construction, and combinations, will finish this MasterClass with their own unique collection of canes and composite veneer variations.

As we’ve said before, we’ll show and tell you how the journey begins. Where it ends is up to you.

Here are a few of my creative destinations, how I’ve featured Matrix Canes in my own finished work over the years...  

As part of a hollow-form focal bead, part of a Cutting Edge collection of dieformed beads, or as a flat composite veneer pin, Matrix Canes provide patterns worthy of featuring in many different ways, on their own, or in combination with blends, mokume, mica shift, or any other decorative veneers. These applications will be yours to explore after the class ends, as we will not be making a finished bead or other object within this class, but will be solely focussed on making Matrix Cane patterned veneers.

Not sure if this MasterClass is for you? New to the online learning experience? Here are some highlight reasons why you might want to ‘enter the Matrix’…

RE-DISCOVER CANEWORK

Despite what you might assume looking at the intricate patterns, the Matrix Cane system is actually easy to learn, no matter what your experience or skill level. You can build a simple Matrix Cane much faster than most traditional canes, with minimal tools and minimal clay. From there, you can make multiple patterns, with minimal waste, and no distortion. The system is also full of possibilities that can be applied to create more complex design elements and sophisticated one-of-a-kind work.

YOUR FRONT ROW SEAT IS WAITING

You’ll see demos of all my Matrix Canes techniques, tips, and tricks via pre-recorded videos… and with added zoom shots and the option to pause, rewind, and replay as often as you want, the POV is almost better for you than it is for me! In your own space, at your own pace, your front row seat is waiting.

MORE SHOW, MORE TELL

When I first started exploring Matrix Canes, I knew I’d discovered a different way to access more patterns than I’d been able to find in traditional canework. And once I started, it was hard to stop. What if? What else? What next? Every slice had me more curious, so I kept slicing… Now, years later, there’s this box of swatches. A lot of swatches! They’re a precious archive of my Matrix Cane journey, but they’re not doing much good hiding on a shelf in the closet. In addition to this course curriculum covering the foundation techniques of this process, we’ll also have variations and samples from over the years to show and share… a bonus that rarely fits into the packed schedule of an in-person weekend workshop.

YOUR SWATCHES, YOUR STORY

Beginning with a single simple Matrix Cane to master the mechanics of this system, and progressing through a diverse series of other Matrix motifs, you too will have the chance to slice your way through learning and creating your own personal collection of swatches and samples, to save as a library for future reference, for designing and planning future patterns, or to use in finished work.

ORIGINAL TECHNIQUE, ORIGINAL TEACHER

Matrix Canes is an original system, and there’s no better teacher to learn from than the artist who developed it. Invest in yourself and your work by investing in this workshop to fully understand the story, application, and potential of this process, right from its source. For way less than you’d pay to come to us to attend in person for a day or two, we’ll come to you via the web for a full 8 weeks, in the best classroom of all: your own studio.

MATCHABLE, MIXABLE, AND MORE

Because Matrix Canes are built ‘actual size’ and sliced at the same thickness, it’s easy to mix and match them, slice to slice, or Matrix to Matrix. But these patterns also work and play well with others, as bold graphic elements that counterpoint nicely with solid swatches, Skinner blends, mica shift, textures, mokume, and other kinds of decorative veneers... including, of course, more traditional millefiori. Combine them in a single composite veneer, or mix Matrix veneers with plain, patterned, geometric, organic, or figurative elements in a more complex piece.

NOT JUST FUN, BUT FUNDAMENTAL

Even if Matrix Canes doesn’t become part of your ‘go to’ repertoire as an artist, learning anything new is a chance to venture out of your creative comfort zone and improve your fundamental studio skills at the same time with a teacher who has worked in this medium full time for more than 30 years.

ANY MORE QUESTIONS?

If you have any further questions or need additional info about this upcoming MasterClass, please click here to contact us. Registration can be a busy time, but we will do our best to reply promptly via email and/or share your Q and our A right here on this webpage.

Thanks in advance for your patience… and thank you so much for your interest in us and our work!

We’d love to have you join us for Matrix Canes…

Dan + Tracy

LEARN GLOBALLY, WORK LOCALLY... 

YOUR ONLINE WORKSHOP IS WAITING