A New Direction!

Fire Breathing Dragon

Fire Breathing Dragon

One of the things I hear quite often when I am doing craft shows is: "You don't have much for men."  Not that I have anything against them, but most of the men I know are not jewelry wearers. I reassessed my creative expression, and have decided to branch out in their direction. Since my sons are readily available to bounce ideas off (and can be my most unbiased critics), I turned to them for suggestions. Two of the three came up with the same thing. Here are my first (of I hope many more) attempts to please them.



Golden Dragon




Golden Dragon

My one son has already claimed these guys, but am hoping to be adding more soon to my studio at: http://www.amazingdesigns.artfire.com/









Win a $100 Gift Certificate from Bumbershoot Supplies!

It’s Halloween and here is a treat for you!  We’re giving away a $100 gift certificate to purchase vintage supplies at Bumbershoot Supplies!

Halloween may be over but this is still an active contest. It is opened until November 23, and would make an awsome early Christmas present to the lucky winner.

A collection of the work of some fantastically creative Polymer Clay artists that portray all that is special about the giving of thanks, not only on that One Special Day, but all year long!

Art Bead Scene October Monthly Challenge

A Hedgehog in a Landscape

by Giovanna Garzoni

About the Art

Garzoni's paintings depict plants with their roots and flowers, in the scientific tradition of Ligozzi, but she animates her compositions by adding insects, reptiles, and small fruits and nuts, each casting a faint shadow on the page. Overflowing ceramic bowls of fruit were another favorite theme, containing fruits that were sought after in the seventeenth century to grace the tables of the aristocracy not only as a pleasure to the palate but also as a delight to the eye.
These vibrant paintings display a conscious yet subtle balance between scientific realism and decorative effect.

Color Palette

These are some of my favorite colors, muted, calming, and connected. So I used many of them to create my entry. Here it is:

It is for sale in my studio: http://www.amazingdesigns.artfire.com/
Here is the direct link:
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/AmazingDesigns/3928321/Autumn_Leaf_Antiqued_Copper_Necklace_with_Encourage_Accent_Bead/Jewelry/Necklaces/Polymer_Clay

My Best Friend - OR SO I THOUGHT!!!

Princess when she first came home



What could be a more loving birthday gift from your son, than an adorable cocker spaniel (my favorite breed) puppy? My grandson actually named her, once he saw her. That was 8 years ago, and she has filled the house with love, humor, fun and frolic, until -


Princess today

She is still looking for love, fun and frolic, but her days may be NUMBERED!!!! You see, she has come to have a fondness for my jewelry, more specifically my polymer clay creations, and I don't mean to wear them. Several times in the past, if I have inadvertently left a bead or two on that low table in the picture, you can be sure they will not be there in the morning. No big thing, right? Can always make more, especially with how easy it is to repeat designs and caned beads (if you still have more of the cane), yeah, right!
Fast forward to last week, when the craziness of getting display boards, packaging material, business supplies and, of course, last minute tweaks to the newest items I intend to bring to a VERY BIG craft show were prominent on my mind. Did not notice that several of the latest sets of earrings I had made, slipped off the top of the supply box and onto the floor in my craft room (a place Princess is not suppose to enter).

Well at least she didn't eat the wires and glass bead accents!

Never Forget - September 11, 2001

September 11, 2011 is the 10th anniversary of the greatest tragedy of our lifetime. Let us all take a moment to pause and think of those that lost their lives in NYC, Washington DC and Shanksville, PA, and their families.

These Artist renditions are from various studio's on Artfire.com.

Fall Is Almost Here - My Favorite Season!

The butterflies emerging from their chrysalis. The rich shades of the flowers that bloom in the fall. The fruits and vegetables of the season, fully grown and ready to harvest. The endless display of foliage advancing toward the end of their life cycle in the trees and forests. They all give testiment to the absolute beauty of nature, and what could be a better inspiration for artistic creation. 

Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge

Illustration for American Cresent Cycles, 1899
Frederick Winthrop Ramsdell

About the Art

Ramsdell was an American painter who studied in both New York and Paris. While in Paris he became heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau work of Eugene Grasset and Alphonse Mucha, as can be seen in this striking, though derivative, bicycle poster. Ramsdell depicts a woman and her bike with her tresses and her dress blowing in the wind--and such hair is hard to miss! (Possibly a record for the greatest volume of hair in art history.) From the fabric of the gown to the lilies caught in the wind, the poster has a stylistic similarity to that of the men who inspired him. But the comparisons end with the strong, earthy colors and the large corporate logo which appears at the bottom right. Nevertheless, the image is eye-catching, compelling and powerful.

 

 

The object of the challenge is to incorporate the color scheme from an artist's work of art, into an original piece of art bead jewelry. This color scheme is one of my favorites and my interpretation is below.

Long Double Chain Stamped Pendant and SCENTED Lemon Wood Necklace

This is a double chained necklace with a self made Granitex polymer clay disc pendant, which has Pearl Ex colors applied and then overstamped with a floral design on the gunmetal chain, and polymer clay round and oval beads on the antique gold chain. I made the lemon wood colored ovals with lemon peel inclusions, which give them a lemon scent.

 It is available for sale by clicking this link: Amazing Designs

The Story of A Most Forgiving Medium: Polymer Clay

One of my first attempts at stamped beads was (A) in a copper overlay on green PC. I made them in several different shapes as seen in the next pictures. HOWEVER, I was Not happy with how they turned out. I was hoping for something close to a Mokume Gane look, but as you can see, failed terribly. So, lets add some brown acrylic paint (B) to give them an antiqued look. Not much better!  What else is in my drawer? How about some gold embossing powder (C) and rebake?  Nope, not applied evenly enough!

So they got put away in the "maybe some day" box. Until, I found a lesson on using "PC putty", making a slurry out of colored polymer clay and Translucent Liquid Sculpey, which could then be applied to indentation on beads (D). Then sand, sand, sand and buff. Hmmm, getting closer.

Picked the best one of the bunch (E) and wire wrapped it. As a finishing touch, add High Gloss Glaze (F) and voila, Ugly Duckling no more!

Inca Design Wire Wrapped Pendant

ADDENDUM for Art Jewelry Elements:



You might have notice the date of this blog post was over a year ago. Jeez, have I really been blogging that long? Seems like I am still learning the ins and outs of it today.  My jewelry creating and polymer clay passions started way before the blog did, and as I have mentioned before was on a dare by my son.

This addition could go on for PAGES, if I showed you all my "oops", "ah, no I don't think so", "OK lets try that agains", and a great many of them never did see the light of day, because with polymer clay, as evidenced by the above, you don't ever have to leave a piece unfinished, or not to your liking.

This is one of my latest pendants that started out as faux dichrotic look on a blue background, and again, because creative challenge means to never be satisfied until you are satisfied, I continued to add to it. It eventually became what I refer to as a Vintage Faux Porcelain Pendant.

To the newbie, first timer, just starting outer, I say Hooray for you, and just keep on going, growing and

HAVE A BLAST!

Dog Days of Summer

With these "Dog days of Summer" what could be more refreshing than this wonderful collection of "cool" items. All of which are available at http://www.artfire.com/ by the talented artists listed above the items.

ColtPixy                            ArtmakersWorlds            CreativeCritters

  


bluemorningexpressions  StrangeWhimsy

  

 handarbeitskram             tonjastreasures                 claycatshop

   

 ValeriesStuff                    BewitchingDreams           DesertWindDesigns

   

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GIVEAWAY AT THE ART BEAD SCENE BLOG!

 

Be sure to stop by the Art Bead Scene Blog for a chance to win some amazing art beads! Here is the link: http://www.artbeadscene.blogspot.com/

A Blue Mood

One of the great things about polymer clay is how forgiving it can be. I recently did a Skinner Blend of  several of the Premo Sculpey blues (Denim, Cobalt, and Ultramarine), made a large sheet and layered it after backing with Navy Bue, and added a sheet of silver leaf to the pile. After running the stack through the Pasta Machine, at increasingly thinner settings, a very supple shading developed with silver flecks that remind me of stars in the night sky. Perhaps Blue Moon might be a better name for this collection. What do you think?

My lastest creation using Mica Shift

The tiles on these earrings and bracelet are done in polymer clay, using the Mica Shift technique. Mica Shift is a method where the mica particle in metallic and pearl clays are first lined up in all one direction, then an imprint is made in the smooth clay to "realign" the particles in the opposite direction (like when a shoe imprint is left in a mud puddle - sure, tell me you have never done this). The raised portions of the impression are then very carefully shaved off until the surface is smooth. However, with polymer clay, the fantastic result is that the darkened, or realigned particle areas are still imprinted on the original background. After baking, sanding and buffing, the final result are the glossy effect found in these two:

My Flower Garden Bouquet

I am a crafter of polymer clay jewelry and items for the home. Recently attended a Garden Fair in my HOA, and made this framed Flower Garden Bouquet as a raffle prize during the event.

I love flowers, especially Orchids, which I have been growing for many years. They are the latest items to find their way to my crafting table.

Sophrolaeliocattleya

Brassoliaeliocattleya

Laeliocatleys

Cattleya

Epidendrum

Dendrobium

Potinara

Cymbidium

 I finished them with magnetic backs, for use in the home.

They all can be found in my shop: http://www.amagingdesigns.artfire.com/