Synergy - Day 3 Afternoon Session

I took a session on Saturday that I was really intrigued with called "Unconventional Polymer". It was taught by Karen Woods. It was a class led to inspire us to look at other mediums for inspiration. Some of those included in her presentation were ceramics, fiber art, tesselation, quilt art, baskets, mixed media and vessels. Specifically, Karen gave us a handout of polymer clay artists' websites as well as "inspirational googles" (and, oh yeah, a goody bag with chocolate!). Karen had numerous artists' work on display that incorporated polymer clay with some of these non-traditional techniques. During the class, slides were presented and a number of samples as well as books were passed around.

The class reminded me of a particular weaving technique I had learned a number of years ago and had always wanted to use it in a metal piece. I found it too difficult, and costly, to do the first one with silver bezel wire due to the work hardening of the metal so I experimented with ribbon. It was one of those things that I felt compelled to do at the time. So I made a number of pieces, here are a few, but it's always been in the back of my mind to do something else with this technique. I'd love to attempt this with polymer clay . . . someday!

Silk Screens, Paint

Since I've returned home, I'm finding it difficult to make studio time. Too many other things are getting in the way. Today, I made it into the studio for what seemed like seconds. I did manage to take a picture of some paint "swatches". Yesterday, I mentioned I had purchased some new paint. The screen on the left is printed with Stewart Gill's Alchemy paint (Chinese Jade) on pearl polymer. On the right, is Stewart Gill's Byzantia paint (Illuminata). I loved this color. It is such a beautiful lime green. I just had to put it on black so you could see the color better.

Some Synergy Purchases

Here are some of my purchases from the Synergy gallery. First, is a pair of earrings by Tammy Garner. I like her sense of style and the ethnic feel to these earrings.

The second pair of earrings is by Betsy from Stonehouse Studio. I'm a big fan of faux stone and these spoke to me.

Next is a pair of earrings by Elise Winters. I love this shape!

And finally, a necklace by Meisha Barbee (one of the Niche Award winners). It was so hard to choose a necklace - they were all so wonderful (as was obvious by the number of people at her table!)

From the vendor fair, I purchased some silk screens by Melanie West. I purchased some new paint (Stewart Gill) from Polymer Clay Express that hopefully I'll get a chance to play with it a little tomorrow. I also bought a SHARK (Sheet Adjuster Ruler Kit) from Tracey Holmes and Dan Cormier. It comes with a workbook and templates. More on that Wednesday . . .

Marvelous Mondays (and a little Synergy)

I'm back from the Synergy Conference. So much to share! First of all, I have to say . . . it was real hard being away from the computer for almost 5 full days (okay, I cheated and went on Judy Dunn's computer a couple of times checking my emails . . . does that really count?) I'll be posting pictures of some jewelry I picked up at the conference on Tuesday. The Synergy gallery was filled with the artwork of over 80 participants. The preview evening was packed and the excitement was palpable. My table abutted the work of Jeff Dever - can you imagine? But I have to say, I was so amazed and impressed with all the artistic talent and energy that was at this conference. There was eye candy everywhere! I'll begin posting about some of the seminars I took on Wednesday.

Getting back in the swing of things, I'm starting the week off with marvelous Mondays. Today, I'm featuring the work of Dale Chihuly - enjoy!

Off to Baltimore!

I'm leaving for the NPCG conference in Baltimore. See you on the 25th!

Synergy Auction

Time is flying by so quickly with the kids on vacation this week. Before you know it, I'll be in Baltimore. Speaking of Baltimore, I had wanted to post the pictures of the jewelry I'll be donating to the Synergy auction. I had linked my necklace to Cynthia, but didn't have the photo of the earrings at the time. So here's the set (front & back):


I look forward meeting a lot of you for the first time! And you know what I also look forward to? NO more cooking and meal planning . . . a vacation from the kitchen!!!

Update on some Photos

Last week I had posted some pictures of bezels I made. They were a work in progress that went bad. One of the bezels somehow managed to "grow" after I made it. I figured if I let it sit on my bench for too long, it would end up in a bag of unfinished projects. Fortunately, the second attempt worked out a little better than the first. Here are the reversible earrings. I'm not really thrilled with the earring wires so once I change those, I'll really be done . . . for now . . . I think.

And here's what became of the three bezels. Each bead turns independently on it's own so the necklace has many configurations depending which bead faces front. The front was done in greens, the back was done in blues. Here are a couple of different ways it can be worn.

Patrick Winfield, A Polaroidoligist

Patrick Winfield is a graphic designer and photographer who uses Poloroids to create visual stories. Even though he has used scanners, Xerox machines, and disposable cameras, Winfield feels that the characteristics and immediacy of the Polaroid film is unique and seductive. When a photo comes out of the polaroid, he can see if it needs to be adjusted or if he needs to take another shot right away. He uses the word "composite" to describe his grid work.

Here are a few composites.

Marvelous Mondays

I can't get over how cold it is here on the East coast. With the wind chill factor, it is 3 degrees outisde. I'm sending out some warm weather vibes today and figure I'd send some pictures along with it. Have a marvelous Monday!

Studio Time - the Good, and the Not so Good

I thought I would show you what's been going on in my studio. Today, I wanted to put together another bead but before I did, I took some shots. First the bead was made and the ends were sanded flat so the end caps could sit flush on them . Next to the bead is the tubing rod that gets cut and inserted into the bead. The bead hole has already been enlarged for the tubing. I have already domed and drilled the caps.

Here, you can see I've inserted the tubing. I cut the tubing leaving me enough at both ends to flare it out and form over the caps.

Here's the final bead.

I've had these earrings sitting on my bench for a few weeks. I had made the bezels, but never finished the project. So, I attempted to finish them. Unfortunately, as it turned out, one of the bezels was too big for the polymer clay. Can you tell which one? I attempted to make it work, but it screamed at me for trying. Here's the horrible earrings - they're two sided, one being turquoise, the other being purple. I have made a new bezel for the one on the right and plan to finish that tomorrow.

Here's another project I started. Can you tell what it's going to be?

Free Bead of the Month

The month of January seems to have flown by - a mere memory (or blurr). At the beginning of each month I do a drawing from the subscriber list for my monthly newsletter at http://crochetedbracelets.com/. This month, the winner of the bead is Nancy Anderson. Because I make the beads as the winners are announced, they are pretty much my current designs. So, . . . here's the bead that is going out in the mail tomorrow!

I just got another great recommendation for business cards, etc. The name of the company is gotprint. If you have your own file, you can get 2500 business cards for $31.55 - full color.

Marvelous Mondays - Entries from an Art Contest

The Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in DC recently had an art contest. The one rule was that the artist could only use one sheet of paper. Here are some of the entries - and have a marvelous Monday!