Ever have one of those times when you know what you should do but want to do something totally different? This is one of those times for me. I know I should write part two of the Carol Simmons post but I really wanna play with clay.
Carol has goosed my muse and I have a cane that just got cut! See Ya later on in the week with part 2.
I am finally able to share with you the participants for the tin swap 2011. We have such a group of talented artists who really made this swap fun. I hope you enjoy the pictures and if you would like to join in on the fun the next swap has already started it is colorful ocean creatures.
Again I want to thank all the participants. Without you I would have nothing to sort and send. Thank you for all the hard work, time and determination you have proven to complete this task. Great job!
Julie
Yea another swap is finished and you get some eye candy.
Fred
Leila
Mozelle
Julie
Luny
Janice Beads
Janice Ladies
Beth
Beth Close Up
I want to thank all the participants who were able to participate in the fun. I am sure the individuals who get our beads will feel like it is their turn at Christmas as it is for us when we open our swap packages. This time I want to thank you for donating your beads to the Beads of Courage Charity.
http://www.beadsofcourage.org/
If you want to join in on our next swap stop by City O Clay. Kick your shoes off, grab a beverage and stay a while just do not drink anything when you are reading one of Luny’s posts. If you do I am not responsible for any damage to your keyboard or computer.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CITY-o-Clay/
Have fun claying!
The international participants have their rock purses by now hopefully so here are the pictures of the participants. Enjoy!
I am going on vacation to Dallas and will not be posting for a couple of weeks. Stay creative and productive!
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This week I have been working on finishing up a commissioned face cane for a local jewelry artist. She asked me if I could make something for her since she did not feel confident enough to produce one in clay herself. She had found this wonderful U Tube video by one of the polymer clay masters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1aWSQ0LFEE
This is Cynthia Tinapple’s video tutorial on how she makes her face canes. I watched it and loved the idea instantly of course with a couple of twists. I did not feel comfortable making the white plug and adding the details rather I made the details and added the white. For me if I did it the way Cynthia did I would not get smooth even cuts and the cane would come out distorted looking before I even began reducing. I also told my client to give me examples of eyes and noses she liked since I would not copy the face Cynthia had used. Here are the drawings that were sent…..
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4.
She liked Photo 2 and I began building. I reduced the eye cane that I made last week for this.
Added some lips.
A nose.
Put the components together.
Added a little more white and squeezed just a little to work out any air.
See the dent in her forehead? I dropped it and since the Kato Pearl was too soft (YES I SAID TOO SOFT) I decided to wait a couple of days to reduce. Insert the Tom Petty Song about waiting being the hardest part.
I made a conscious decision to work the cane for at least a half an hour before beginning the reducing process. This was done by just banging the thing from all sides to warm the clay before reducing. This is her after working 35 minutes.
See how her lips are not working out? This happens when using different brands of clay or clay that is the same brand but not the same consistency. I knew at this time that I needed to reduce and prepare myself for the fact that she would not reduce evenly. So I began.
See how her lips do not want to come out and play?
Also check out my cane ends. The pieces with just the eyes and brows are the first cut. Then you will notice a little of the nose showing up, and finally the face with lips.
The client has really enjoyed the process she said it was like giving birth she is the one who named her Lucy and her birthday is today. As an artist I could not ask for anything more. Client is happy and loves her faces and she is having design ideas and let me tell you they are some good ideas! If you would like to see some of her other work it can be found here.
http://www.silverandspicejewelry.com/
I am excited because I now have some cool face beads to donate to the beads swap which is due May 15th.
Enjoy your clay journey and if you ever need a face cane think of me!
Is this my best flower cane? No but I was finally able to sit at the clay table and I will take what I can get lol. Spring is almost here and I felt like making a flower cane. So when I was finally able to sit at my claytable I opened the drawer where I store my conditioned Kato and I found this cane that was a mistake I made while working on a color exercise from the Color Inspirations book by Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio.
Instead of making a new flower I decided to use what I had to make a new flower. I have learned in the past that a cane that you may not like by itself takes on new life when combined or reduced in a new way. So I started reducing and combining and came up with this.
Add a little silver fill in and viola you get a sexy flower cane.
Once reduced I was able to make some beads, a new ring ball for my interchangeable ring, and some Pandora style beads.
The only setback was the time it took to put the individual cane slices on the beads. Then I remembered that if I cut them and left them the way they were it was easier to apply on the bead then if I had laid them out on the table.
One of the other things I was surprised at was how little cane waste I had.
Once I have more time to sit and play I really think I will be happy with the decision to move to Kato Clay. I love the way it works and with the clay softener and the food processor it is so easy to condition the clay now. I wish I would have made this decision a long time ago.
Even though you may not have a lot of time to devote to your art it is so nice to sit down at the clay table and create even if it is using up old canes that you have messed up on. From an ugly cane you can get a beautiful flower if you have the time and patience!
Get up and go clay!
Hubby is home and he always brings a little something with him when he returns. The past few years it has been something sparkly if business has been good and something not so sparkly if not. Either way whatever he brings me I am usually just happy to have him home snoring in bed which is where he belongs in the first place.
This time he brought a wonderful flower ring. I still can not figure out which way to wear it and am just amazed at how cool it looks on the hand. The only issue is that I am a firm believer in wearing my jewelry and not letting it sit in a box for a special occasion. If I did that the special occasion would never arise and when it did I would probably forget the wonderful piece I had been saving for said occasion.
So I get my new ring and promptly put it on my finger. Let me tell you it looks amazing!
I slept with it on and went to work the next day with it still on. Halfway through the day one of the bleeping petals broke off!
Now this is a piece of jewelry that I thought was to be a quality piece but now I am wondering what is quality exactly? The petal broke off within the first 24 hours of me putting it on my hand. Taking it to the store it was purchased from is not going to happen unless I want to fly to Lebanon which is where the piece was purchased. Do you think it is poor quality, design or materials? Or is it just me who should not be wearing said ring to work?
I know that when I make something to give to someone or sell the thing I tell them is I want to know when, where and how it breaks because I want to supply only quality items to my customers. I have also been known to wear a piece for a couple of days just to make sure it is constructed in a good manner. One wrong crimp and the necklace could break the first time you wear it I know because it has happened to me. Now I will admit it has been a while since that happened but still I want to make quality merchandise that can be worn without the fear of it breaking the first time you wear it.
What considerations do you have when designing a new line of jewelry? How do quality and functionality come into play with that decision? Is this something you are focused on when creating?
How do you deal with customers who have had a piece break on them? If this is not something you have thought about maybe you should?
Ok so I hope you get the pun. I over the last year or so have really focused on finding findings that can be used successfully with clay. I forgot where I had stashed them and ended up labeling the drawer ( I was sure it was empty because it did not have a handle) where I had stashed them. Now let us see what the heck is in there and what I have made from some of my findings. If I have kept track of my purchases I will also tell you where I got the item.
These are some of the reasons I felt I needed to find finishes to work with clay. They look great but just were not finished enough for me. Some old stuff I loved the black and white one and wear it often.
A really cool recent discovery of mine has been eyelets you can get these anywhere and they come in different shapes, sizes and colors.
You can totally skip the eyelets but get a look that can be worn with Pandora bracelets with these babies I found at Fire Mountain Gems. Can’t find the two beads I made with them 😦 you get the idea.
One of the easiest way to finish a bead is to use a bead cap. I have a few of those lying around and here are some of my coolest that were part of a Quest bead buy with Beads and More.
I used these jumprings from Vira Murano (they are the best) they are called snapeze and go together magically to make this rear view mirror thingie for a dear friend.
Halstead beads has some cool tops and bottoms. Problem is I can’t find the cool tops they are in some little bag that is not in the right place but here is an example of another top that is similar.
These are hooks that I really like and I even saved the size of them you can get them at any hardware store.
And a few items made with them.
These are what I call pads I first saw them at an open house for artists this artist was a glass maker.
And some pads in action.
Wire always looks amazing. This was my failed attempt at wire wrapping bad and making my own clasp good.
Here are some packs I am not 100% sure if I am coating only the front or encasing in clay.
This is my best find ever and I mean it.
They are called interchangables and I had tried to buy the ring on Etsy. The seller contacted me and said she was no longer able to provide that to me so sorry etc… I posted a link to the ring and someone on Beads and More found the supplier and set up a quick buy. We got a great discount (50% as I recall) and within 4 hours the Quick Buy got over 3k in orders. So not only did I get the ring but got an interchangable necklace as well.
You have a different design on each side…..
And of course each piece has to have a matching ring…these are the ones I could find to photograph quickly.
That is what is in my finding drawer (at least what I can find) what is in yours???
Happy Valentines Day!
The heart has special meaning to it and today is the day of all the days in the year for hearts. This heart has a special story and I thought today was the day to share it with you.
This was my attempt at a take on the water-color technique by Maggie Maggio. As I recal I cold not find the place I had saved the tutorial so I winged it and made sheets in blue which is my favorite color. This was the end result one blue bead.
This is my favorite bead ever made. Well not this one of course when taking pictures I could not find my favorite one, just know that it looks way better than this one lol. I only have a few beads left because I made it into a necklace for a gift for a special friend. I of have no picture of it to show you and one of the things on my to do list is to start taking more pictures. I loved it but forgot to write down what I did to get that sexy bead and when I went to recreate it in pink I just was not happy with the results.
Are we ever?
I did end up with a lovely bracelet! And I wanted to make a heart. I started by making a ball which I kept reshaping and reshaping to get a heart. I must have spent a half hour on this never being happy with the results. Hubby came into the room to ask a question and I ask him if he thinks he could make a heart for me. He took the clay and within a few minutes (with me the entire time sitting there my mouth open) asks me if that is a good heart?
I told him I was so baking it as it was and not touching it. I was never going to sell it or give it to anyone. I said it was my heart made with his hands and I was never parting with it. It brings a smile to my face when I wear it which as a designer is all you could ever want an emotional attraction to a piece of art made by you. This time I got a little help.
If you recall I am announcing the winners of the Project 365 app today as my way of sharing the love. Here is the original post.
https://bluedamselflyjewelry.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/project-365-pro-app-drawing/
I guess no one wanted to pay for the app and wait to be reimbursed because no one signed up. SAD FACE After contacting the artist I was given 5 promo codes to download the app for free. So the first 5 people who comment on this post will receive a code that will allow you to download the app for free. It is up and working again here is my snapshot of January so far.
Some wonderful memories there already in the month. On the first those are stop signs that you can barely see with all the snow. My son on the 3rd throwing panty hose filled with ice melt to hopefully melt the snow. The morning of the 4th we both agreed it looked like a teenage prank with all the black hose on the roof. On the 7th 2 of my managers trying to walk across a very icy parking lot I kept telling them that the first one who fell was defiantly going to be my picture of the day neither one of them fell thank god. The 10th my first car scratch and it is a bad one, the 11th was all about the news of Egypt and Mubarak stepping down. On the 13th my son keeps trying out wrestling moves on me so he jumps on top of me while I am in bed I make him freeze while I take the picture the whole time he is asking me “Is this your picture of the day? I will show you picture of the day!”
It’s a really cool app first 5 that comment on this post get it free!
Camera is still on the fritz so no pics this week :(.
One of the goals that I set for myself this year was to get exposure with my art. I am proud to announce that you are able to view my contribution to the Circle Of Hope beads for 2010. Fire Mountain Gems has had this event for years with 100% of the sales going to fight cancer. Please consider purchasing a bead with the proceeds going to a good cause.
http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H20COH0188
Another wonderful piece of news is that if you look at the current issue of Polymer Cafe Magazine my article is in there! I am very proud of this.
http://www.scottpublications.com/pcmag/
It is the December 2010 Issue and my project is the Faux turquoise Chain on page 20. This project took a long time to complete as many obstacles stood in my way. Isn’t that the way it always is though? Every time I wear this I get compliments on it and have had many orders as well. I hope you will enjoy this project.
Looking forward to hubby coming home next week seems like I misunderstood him when he told me of his return date. With his wonderful accent the 22nd and 27th sound the same. Life is good!
