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b'You can click right here to play on your computer, or download to your ipod on itunes, or use the link on the sidebar to get our show in other podcast and vidcast directories. Online Videos by Veoh.com Have you ever wondered how polymer clay artists get such wonderful visual textures on their clay pieces? This episode will show the basics- how to choose a texture tool with a nicely impressed image or design, and how to get your clay into and out of the texture tool easily. First of all, you need a rubber stamp, texture sheet, rolling pin, or some other tool with a texture on it- and that texture should be \\u201cdeeply impressed.\\u203f What that means is if it isn\\u2019t deep enough, it won\\u2019t leave a good mark in the clay. Here are some pictures of the stamps we used. Before and while using your texture tools, you need to decide if a release is needed. If your clay is too mushy and sticky, or if it\\u2019s hot and humid, or if your stamp or tool is really deep and your clay gets stuck in it when you practice, you will probably need a release. This is just something that will get between your clay and your tool and keep the clay from sticking inside the tool. Water is a great release with polymer clay because the clay is not water soluble. Cornstarch is another good one- but only in certain circumstances. Cornstarch will stick to your clay and get onto it- but after baking, it dissolves in water. So it\\u2019s a good choice if you are going to decorate your clay after baking it. Not a good choice, say, if you want to decorate your clay with powdered pigments or inks prior to baking, because the cornstarch will stick to the clay and get in the way of the other things you might want to put on the clay. If you have some pigment powders you can try using that as a release. Just dust the clay and stamp with powdered pigments and stamp away. You can also try using pigment inks- I stamp all over the texture sheet and press my clay onto it. The ink gets into the crevices of the stamp and the wetness keeps the clay from sticking. Experiment and see which release works best for you! We will be releasing our first downloadable project in our Shop shortly, and it is a full length video that teaches you how to make four polymer clay magnets from start to finish, using the texture sheets available in the shop. A companion kit will be available too, so check it out!'