Some recent - and updated - projects

I've been off on a bicycle touring vacation in Minnesota and Wisconsin - pretty country.  We're home now, and I've had a chance to get back to some polymer.  I miss having my "fingers" in the clay when I'm away from home, and it feels good to be making some pieces, and augmenting others.
Just yesterday, I taught a workshop on painting polymer with Pearl-x powders.  We had as many different results as we had participants, and everyone had a good time experimenting and learning.  Here are a couple of pieces I made as part of my demonstration.  On the red clusters with bronze stems pieces to the left, I used a micro-pearl for the background.  These pieces I finished with Magic Gloss.  The next set with the basket weave pattern was finished with several sprays of Preserve Your Memories II.The two finishes make the pieces look quite different.  The Magic Gloss adds a depth that looks like a piece of glass. This creates a really shiny surface that seems to distort the background slightly.  The PYM II makes a shiny satin finish that leaves the colors and textures clear.  It certainly is a matter of personal preference.

While I was using the Magic Gloss, I decided to finish up a few mosaic pieces I'd made a while back and hadn't finished.  Each of these pieces now has a layer of Magic Gloss.  On the mosaic pieces, the gloss adds depth but there is no distortion of the design - probably because the design is so specific and sharp.

The last photo is another mosaic piece that still needs "grout" and a final finish.  I really like the colors in this one.

Both of these techniques are a lot of fun.  They are time consuming in some ways, though I find that I get caught up in the processes and don't notice the time it takes.        

Decorating "Torn-Paper Watercolor"

In a September, 2010 post, I showed the first pieces I'd made using the torn-paper technique.  This is a process, I believe, that was developed by Maggie Maggio.  If she didn't develop it, she certainly created some incredible pieces with the technique.

Recently, I was teaching a workshop using this process, and of course ended up with some sheets of my own.  In the past, I've used the sheets just as they were to create jewelry pieces.  But this time, it occurred to me I could use these sheets as background.

So today I share with you 3 variations on a theme.  This first photo shows 2 different decoration designs, both on the same torn paper background.  The larger pendant has simple geometric lines and dots.  I also used Preserve Your Memories 2 on this piece. The narrower pendant sports vines and a flower, and was left with a matte finish. The edges of these pendants have been finished with liquid paint from a gold leafing pen by Krylon.















This set of various blues and purples is embellished with calla lilies and vines. These pieces have silver edges.

The necklace to the left is composed of torn paper cube beads, Swarovski crystals, and hollow velveteen covered rubber tubes.  Although the cubes aren't decorated, this is something new for me.

One more photo.  I can't seem to stop making these tiny decorated glass bottles.  Here's the latest, all in white: