dynamic strata patterns in polymer clay
WINTER SESSION 2025
FEBRUARY 1 - MARCH 30, 2025
REGISTRATION IS OPEN
JANUARY 16 - 21, 2025
$425 CAN$ 🇨🇦 ≈ $295 US$ 🇺🇸
Single Slice Mokume is an in-depth open-ended MasterClass that explores my system for designing and making a diverse spectrum of patterned veneers.
Broad in scope and rich in content, with an emphasis on creativity and craftsmanship, Single Slice Mokume is set to change the way you think about one of our medium's most popular and ubiquitous techniques.
But just because mokume is popular doesn’t mean it’s all good.
Here are some of the challenges that often go hand in hand with mokume gane in polymer clay…
unintact slices in inconsistent thicknesses
sloppy POORLY CRAFTED work
garish or muddy colour schemes
confusing, unfocused design
patternS BY CHANCE INSTEAD OF BY CHOICE
Single Slice Mokume is a MasterClass full of specific and practical solutions to overcome these challenges.
Smarter tools, better habits, simpler choices, intentional design, infinite iterations, and economical processes all add up to an elevated and more elegant version of mokume for the 21st century.
More than that, Single Slice Mokume is an open-ended system, easy to learn and hard to put down, that will allow you to explore new strata pattern strategies, tap into your own personal approach and aesthetic, and go beyond the design limits that have typically defined the look of mokume in our medium.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
An accessible process with an intentional approach, this Single Slice Mokume online MasterClass event is designed with enough time for you to not just 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 big beautifully precise patterned veneers along the way.
Here are some of the original Single Slice Mokume veneer techniques you'll be learning in the SSM online classroom…
ETCHES & SKETCHES
holes & boles
gapps & troffs
FILLS & INSERTS
The journey begins in black and white, allowing us to focus on and then master a foundational language of design motifs.
Next, we explore the magic of mica, using shift and chatoyance to create untouchable patterns in metallic clay.
Then, with guided insight and intention, you’ll create a personal colour palette specifically designed with mokume in mind, making the most of both layer and accent variations.
With each module building on the one before it, we will move through a full range of demos to create veneers that you can save as reference swatches in a personal SSM reference library, or use to decorate your own one-of-a-kind wearable objects.
In later lessons, we’ll share strategies for motif variation, with more diverse tools, and more complex slab construction. The design curriculum will culminate with final MasterClass demos to inspire you towards creating your own advanced iterations and multi-stage designs…
FILLED FILLS & OVERLAPS
ALTERED BASE LAYERs
CUT-OUTS & COMPOSITES
In three decades of teaching my own techniques, I've worked hard to hone my workshops into rich, multi-faceted experiences.
This course will be no exception.
As an extended format MasterClass event, Single Slice Mokume isn't just about learning a few tricks (although... spoiler alert, there are some very cool tricks).
It’s about more. As a teacher, there are certain touchstones that I always seek to include, ways to connect the specific techniques I’m teaching to the bigger picture. These touchstones are an important part of the Single Slice Mokume experience…
strong foundations and ESSENTIAL skills
innovation and open-ended techniques
precision and craftsmanship
humour and spontaneity
Many workshops focus on the ‘How To’ of a specific technique, with step-by-step ways to turn a block or two of polymer clay into a patterned veneer.
Others are more theoretical, centred on principles of design and resources for creativity, fostering personal development through the sharing of ideas in a retreat-like community or through one-on-one mentorship.
Single Slice Mokume is both.
In addition to plenty of ‘hands-on’ in the first half of this MasterClass (yes, there will be homework), I'm especially excited to be offering content and format that will allow the time (your own pace) and the space (your own studio) to cover a much broader curriculum and go deeper than ever.
In addition to learning the actual mechanics of Single Slice Mokume, we'll explore strategies for individualizing your work through personal choices (in a way that only you can!) to design and make original well-crafted work.
hacking your tools
curating your influences
kickstarting your creativity
Single Slice Mokume isn’t just a make-and-bake workshop.
It’s a full spectrum curriculum designed to not only guide you through the learning and doing of new skills, but also get you thinking about where and how you can use those skills, evolving your work to new places along a path that is uniquely yours.
Your greatest asset as an artist is your own individuality. There is nobody better at being you than you.
This course will help you leverage that individuality and make work that is fresh, unique, well-designed, and expertly crafted. Let me help you do that with confidence, integrity, a willingness to play, and a sense of wonder.
I want this course to change your work for the better!
For the beginner looking for a solid foundation, the advanced polymer artist looking to up their game, or for anyone looking for a new millennium approach to a centuries-old technique, Single Slice Mokume is for you!
MEET OUR GRADUATES
When we debuted this course for the first time in January 2018, we weren’t sure what to expect. And neither were our students.
But have a look at these excerpts from our SSM GuestBook, for that first class and the encore offering a year later. Hundreds of students from all over the world have joined us for this MasterClass, and the transformations we’ve seen are real…
“FASCINATING . . . A WONDERFUL JOURNEY
This course has been the most interesting, fascinating and wow-ing experience in polymer clay I have ever had in my life! You guys taught us how to create impressive effects just with simple tools (I like beauty in simplicity). From Tracy (finally!) I learnt how to create colour palettes in a way I like... I couldn’t stop mixing colours. In the later modules, you showed us probably the most important thing for an artist: how to find our own inspiration. It’s been a wonderful journey, with the best companions. Looking forward to participating to your next course. A huge thank you!!”
“AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE
This has been such an incredible experience. The online format allowed me to participate in the course at a pace that accommodated real life intrusions. Beyond that - every section was so thoughtfully prepared and presented, it was like having the teachers all to myself even though I knew the classroom was world wide and full of other creative souls. The methodical build of skill and mastery and attention to details that make all the difference has greatly influenced the way I approach not only clay but other creative endeavours as well. It was amazing the way each module would unfold and “reveal” more and still more creative opportunities to explore. Thank you so very much for your generosity, guidance and inspiration. Well done!”
“MY EXPECTATIONS WERE EXCEEDED
I really had no idea what SSM entailed. The pieces shown as samples for the class sold me and as it happened to be near my birthday, my husband gifted me. Hands down the best present ever. The experience kept getting better and better. The class started basic enough for a beginner and each module built on the last. The written instruction and the embedded videos made for completely understandable lessons. My expectations were exceeded over and over again and I now have enough information to take it to my own unique expression. I am so grateful and so sad that it is over. Thank you is not a big enough word..... but Thank You!
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Robie Sweet : USA | Lisa Garner : USA | Janell Sparks : USA
“DO IT
Every experience I have had in Dan and Tracy’s classes has been WONDERFUL. I have learned so much, a wonderful feeling that I am really grateful for. I have taken every course, some twice. In fact, I don’t think that I’ve left their classroom since it first opened. I can’t think of a better complement than that 😊. My advice? If you can manage to take ANY class with Dan and Tracy, DO IT.
”
“AMAZING AND THRILLING
I am so glad I decided to take the leap and sign up for your wonderful course. It has been an eye opener on so many levels. Not just the technical aspects which are new and amazing and thrilling, but sharing your creative ideas and thoughts about creativity and its development within yourself has put things into perspective for me. You have made me quite aware that just learning technique is not enough. I have to develop and realize for myself the seat of my creativity - something easy to gloss over as I rush to learn this and that on a daily basis. I need to take that time as well. You’re teaching methods are amazing! Step-by-step and very detailed making it possible for all of us all over the world to see and understand what you were teaching, something that is so hard to do using distance learning. Urging us to collect together our veneers and color ideas is genius! They will not only be cherished but an important aspect for what I will try to do in the future. You have shared so much of what this art means to you and how it has developed within you as well. You have certainly given me a roadmap to start thinking in a more detailed way about what I want to do and what I want to achieve. Thank you so much!”
Patricia Litewski : USA | Marcia Rubin : USA | Lona Northener : USA | Tünde Vass : Romania | Francesca Gorrini : Australia | Carolyn R. Oltman : USA
“YOU’VE CHANGED HOW I LOOK AT POLYMER CLAY
This has undoubtedly been the best polymer clay experience I have had, as well as the best on-line course imaginable! I look forward to many enjoyable and productive hours claying. When I registered, I wondered about the cost of the course. As I think of it now, it has been the equivalent of an extensive course, taught in a room with perfect overhead projection of Dan’s work, with so few students that everybody gets feedback, but so many students that there are a hundred or more creative, engaged minds participating. When I add the fact that I could participate as my schedule permitted and watch Dan repeat processes as often as I wanted, the comparison becomes nonsensical. You have been wonderfully generous and unfailingly thoughtful. You turned a worldwide platform into a warm and comfortable environment. You have changed how I look at polymer clay. I look forward to your continued on-line offerings!”
“BEST CLASS EVER
Thank you so much for an incredible learning experience. Workshops are great but information is far more fleeting than the way this course is set up. I am one that needs to read instruction over and over. I look at this end of the lessons as the beginning of the independent part of the learning process. You have given us tools for how to move forward on our own. The wonderful Student Showcase already showed us how we could all follow the exact same lessons and come up with such beautiful and different examples of our own art. Your essays were an incredible help in getting us to spread our wings and fly on our own. Each time I received a lesson in my inbox I just ooed and awed. So so much more information that I ever dreamed. Your generosity with your innovations, your time and attention to detail, responses to questions . . . all of it . . . Best class ever . . . just incredible !!!”
“MORE THAN JUST A NEW TECHNIQUE
This course has ticked ALL the boxes, and then some. Informative, interesting, inspiring, encouraging and fun! Thanks to the well considered and beautifully presented workshop modules and the help and encouragement from Dan and Tracy, I have come away from Single Slice Mokume with much more than just a new technique. This course has provided the opportunity to hone my technical skills and take my design process to the next level. I can’t recommend it highly enough!”
Valeria Amore : Italy | Helen Rolf : SWEDEN | Phil Porter : USA
“EXTRAORDINARY
The sheer wealth of creative knowledge, intelligence, organization, and techniques that you’ve shared in this class has been extraordinary. Thank you so much for all that you have given. This class has and will continue to open up many creative paths for me to pursue. I look forward to more of your teaching in the future.”
“FABULOUSLY INFORMING
Once again, an amazing experience. Your courses never disappoint; are fabulously informing and always full of great insider tips from a master. I always feel Dan is looking over my shoulder during the course and offering suggestions, praise, & feedback. I’m so thankful that you are willing to share your knowledge and insight with us. Thank you. ”
“SO INSPIRING
Thank you for this great online course. It has been an amazing journey from start to finish, and at the beginning I would have never thought I could make veneers like I did in the last module. The videos and explanations were so clear and comprehensive as if being with you in a real classroom. Thank you, Dan, for sharing even more of your ways as an artist in your essays. They are so inspiring and thought provoking. And thank you, Tracy, for the colourful insights, that was like a BreakThroughColour bonus. I appreciate the format which let me finish all the modules even with being some weeks away from my polymer work table. I’m looking forward to the next courses and hope to meet classmates from around the world there again.”
Pam W. Skersick : USA | Jayne Traeger-Bliss : Australia | Emma Lavery : England | Kristin Halvorsen : Norway | Karen Marsh : Australia | Lise Burrell : USA
“COMPREHENSIVE, ENCOURAGING, INSPIRING
Dan and Tracy, this course is A+++++!! Wow!! I have learned so much from both of you. Thank you! Thank you! My view of mokume has been dramatically altered. Whoa, Dan!! So much to explore, so little time!! To be completely truthful, I will never look at polymer clay the same way anymore either!! This is now known as the Dan Cormier Effect!!!! The structure, presentation, comprehensive lessons, and delivery of the course is excellent. You both are exceptional teachers. Love your friendly, encouraging approach and highly respect your knowledge and professionalism. As well, having the opportunity to learn from our creative classmates is inspiring, informative and a great incentive to reach for the stars too. Looking forward to the next learning experience, Dan and Tracy.”
Rebecca Edwards : Australia | Inês Fonseca : Scotland | Sarah Dreyer : South Africa | Stéfanie Charpentier : France | Phyllis Pollema-Cahill : USA | Eckhard Sutorius : Scotland
“IT’S . . . MAGIC
More than ten years ago I was looking through the gallery on Dan’s website and thinking “that’s impossible, I would never figure out how to make clay do that! It’s... magic”. Fast forward to today(-ish - this is my third course here :)), and you’ve shown us the blueprints for magic. And described and explained all the building blocks. And guided us through all the steps of the building process. And... well, taught us how to do our own magic, a little or a lot. I cannot thank you enough, but still, thank you so much for this, Dan and Tracy! You are amazing teachers.”
“SUPER COOL SKILLS
This is the best clay class I’ve ever taken. Why? Because of your attention to detail, your task analysis, the fact that I didn’t have to try to keep up with the class with the clock ticking, the absence of concern that my work didn’t look like everyone else’s down the row. . . . And those are just some of the reasons. I haven’t even addressed the super cool skills I learned! Heads up, next group! Don’t plan to just squeeze this class into your free time; it will work better if you plan to squeeze a little free time into the class!”
“A TRULY STELLAR CLASS
Best class I ever took. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 hands down. Loved the writing, the videos, the pacing and of course, the awesome techniques. I feel like we’ve all progressed light years from where we started just a few short weeks ago. Thanks for a truly stellar class. Warm wishes for continued creative explorations to you both, D+T.”
Elizabeth King : USA | Theresa Zerrener : USA | Frank Boulet : CANADA
CUTTING EDGE WIDE PEELER REQUIRED
The techniques in this course were developed using one of my signature tools, The Cutting Edge WIDE Peeler. For this reason, a Cutting Edge WIDE Peeler is required for this course.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A WIDE PEELER…
Please make sure you register using the TUITION + WIDE PEELER option.
Trackable shipping to most destinations is included in your WIDE Peeler purchase.
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A WIDE PEELER…
If you already have a Cutting Edge WIDE Peeler, please register using our TUITION ONLY option.
But please note, make sure your WIDE Peeler is a WIDE Peeler, not the regular Cutting Edge Peeler (like the one we use in Matrix Canes, Blurred Lines, and MilleKume).
And please make sure it’s not just any wide-bladed peeler, but a Cutting Edge WIDE Peeler, like the one in the photo here. This tool is integral to the curriculum of this MasterClass, quantities are limited, and it will only be available to students during Single Slice Mokume Registration.
REGISTER HERE
FOR THE WINTER 2025 SESSION
SINGLE SLICE MOKUME
“I already have The Cutting Edge WIDE Peeler”
TUITION ONLY
$425 CAN$ 🇨🇦 ≈ $295 US$ 🇺🇸
“I do NOT have The Cutting Edge WIDE 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 Single Slice Mokume classroom OPENS February 1, 2025
ALL WINTER 2025 MASTERCLASSES END March 30, 2025
REGISTRATION CLOSES
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2025
If you’re new to mokume, or new to online learning in general, here are some highlight reasons you may want to join us for this course...
HOLES & BOLES
RE-DISCOVER MOKUME
Despite what you might assume looking at the diversity of possible patterns, the Single Slice Mokume system is actually easy to learn, no matter what your experience or skill level. You can build and alter a simple slab with minimal tools and minimal clay. And because every veneer is revealed with a single slice, your patterns will be one-of-a-kind every time. The system is also full of possibilities that can be applied to create more complex design elements and sophisticated one-of-a-kind work.
HOLES & BOLES
MORE SHOW, MORE TELL
When I first started exploring Single Slice Mokume, I knew I’d discovered a different way to access more patterns than I’d been able to find in traditional mokume. 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…
Recorded in snapshot step-out photos, baked as swatches for later reference and inspiration, or featured in finished work, these single-sliced slices are a precious archive of my own SSM journey. In addition to covering the foundation techniques of this system, I’ll also have variations and samples to show and share… a bonus that rarely fits into the packed schedule of an in-person weekend workshop.
ETCHES & SKETCHES
YOUR SWATCHES, YOUR STORY
Beginning with the simplest of slabs (a single sheet in a solid colour) we’ll ease into the wide world of WIDE Peeler peeling with a full week devoted to Mastering the Mechanics of this open-ended system. Then, progressing through a diverse series of other SSM 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.
FILLS & INSERTS
ORIGINAL TECHNIQUE, ORIGINAL TEACHER
Single Slice Mokume is an original system, and there’s no better teacher to learn from than the artist who developed it. That’s me. If you’ve gone as far as you can go with online tutorials and YouTube video lessons, it might be time to immerse yourself in a deeper, more disciplined approach to polymer clay instruction. Invest in yourself and your work by investing in this workshop to fully understand the story, application, and potential of my unique pattern-making process.
ALTERED BASE LAYERS
MATCHABLE, MIXABLE, AND MORE
Because Single Slice Mokume veneers are sliced at the same thickness, it’s easy to mix and match them, slice to slice, into composite veneers. 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... Combine them with one another, or mix them with plain, patterned, geometric, organic, or figurative elements in a more complex piece.
ETCHES & SKETCHES
NOT JUST FUN, BUT FUNDAMENTAL
Whether or not Single Slice Mokume becomes part of your ‘go to’ repertoire as an artist, learning anything new is a chance to get your hands on the clay, venture out of your creative comfort zone, and improve your fundamental studio skills at the same time with me, someone who has worked in this medium full time for three decades.
SSM FAQs
Do I need any special tools or materials?
The Cutting Edge WIDE Peeler is an integral tool in the entire Single Slice Mokume system. It’s currently not available for sale to the public. But that’s why we’re making it available to you if you need it, as a Registration upgrade.
Other than that, we expect our students will be ready to work with the standard set of tools and equipment typically found in a polymer clay workspace.
There will be time during the course when we’ll be talking more about tools and equipment, learning strategies for ‘Hacking Your Tools’ as one of several ways to personalize your process and your finished pieces.
How much clay will I need?
Specific recommended minimums, as well as colours, brands, and any other considerations, will be outlined and included in a Tools and Materials lesson inside the classroom.
We’ll be covering several different techniques within the realm of Single Slice Mokume, but making veneers with this system is one of the most economical ways I've ever worked with clay. You won’t need much, and there’s hardly any waste. Then again, SSM is also a real portal into all kinds of pattern possibilities, and it’s kind of addictive. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably want to just keep exploring… and that will mean you’ll want more clay.
I’m a beginner. Is this course for me?
Beginners are welcome.
If you have basic skills with this medium, a 'feel' for the clay, and you have the basic tools to go with that, that's a great start. I’m going to be covering the rest.
Will the course include instruction on how to build and finish beads, like the ones you’ve shown us here?
No.
Single Slice Mokume is not a ‘project-based’ course. The goal will not be to design, make, or finish anything specific. It’s more of an exploration, learning new ways to make patterned veneers. Those veneers can be used in a lot of different ways, and how you choose to use them is up to you. We will talk about options and best practices for bringing SSM into your finished work, and 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.
However, the techniques I used to make the beads in my Single Slice Mokume collection are the exact same techniques I teach in one of my other online courses, Building Better Beads. It’s a great companion curriculum to the open-endedness of this course (and perfect for anyone wishing to up their technical construction and finishing skills).
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 since 1992, 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. Talk to the many alumni who’ve taken one or more of my courses, and they will tell you what I always say: “the learning is in the doing.”
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 Single Slice Mokume veneers, you will also develop ways to improve and refine your craftsmanship overall, so that first-class work habits become second nature.
EXPLORATION >> DESTINATION
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 but by the end, they’ve all come together with the same completed destination piece.
This MasterClass will flip that around. In the first part of the course, everyone will be making the same foundational veneers, mastering the mechanics by focusing in on each unique step, but taking those same steps together. Once that first set of veneers is mastered, the map unfolds... As we introduce different tool, colour, and 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 your journey, we’re confident that you’ll be confident. Every student will have the knowledge and skills that are unique to the SSM system, but we fully expect that every student, through making their own creative choices, will finish this MasterClass with their own unique collection of veneer variations.
ANY QUESTIONS?
If you have any further questions or need additional info, please click here to contact us. Registration is always a busy time, but we will do our best to reply promptly and thank you in advance for your patience.
We look forward to welcoming you to Single Slice Mokume!
Dan + Tracy
