CFCF 2017 - Day 2 with Lisa Pavelka

I had the pleasure of taking a full day workshop with Lisa Pavelka.  Lisa has been working with polymer for about twenty years, and has developed her own product line for polymer and metal clay artists.  Her ideas and tutorials are creative and varied, and she always has some great tips and tricks to share, which I have found helpful.
This particular workshop focused on learning to make a moveable hinge to join two pieces of polymer.  In typical Lisa fashion, the polymer pieces also had a twist - they were "puffed" and hollow!  In addition, she demonstrated a cane and a surface design, and most of us incorporated one or both in our sample pieces.

I was really interested in her concept for hinging the hollow pieces together.  She also had stationary joint ideas.  My pieces were too small for the hinges she provided, so I used twisted metal hoops to join two of my pieces.  I plan on making a hinged pendant or two in the near future, since I really like the concept of motion in jewelry.  I'll be sure to share my piece once I get it made.  In the meantime, here is a photo of some of the hollow pieces I made during the workshop.  The two pieces on the right were made using the cane and the surface design that Lisa taught us.  The pieces on the left were made with the "plaid" surface design that I have been making recently.  You can see the twisted metal hoops I used to join the pieces on the right.  I still need to add a small jump ring or other finding to the top hoop so I can add a necklace chain or ribbon. As you can see, the shapes Lisa had us make were also interesting and different.  A great project and one that I expect to explore further.

CFCF 2017

I'm just back from Laurel, Maryland, and Cabin Fever Clay Festival 2017.  Once again, I had an excellent time.  The participants and instructors were wonderful, I learned lots, got to see some great creations and wonderfully creative ideas.  Over the new few posts, I'll share a bit from the classes I took and hopefully wet your appetite for learning more.  Many of the presenters take their workshops and classes on the road, so be on the lookout for names and projects that pique your interest.

For this first posting, I'll share a bit from an all-day workshop with Ann and Karen Mitchell of ANKARA Designs.  This workshop was on various uses of liquid polymer.  The sisters have all sorts of ideas, including tips and tricks, which they willingly shared with the participants.  In the morning, we worked on mosaic pendants which were later encased in liquid clay.  One tip was to be careful about putting the liquid clay over the metal leaf sections on our pendants. The leaf was easy to rub off unless the liquid polymer was added carefully.  All the pieces on the mosaic, with the exception of the seed beads I used, were made from various processes using polymer.

In the afternoon, we worked on a project that I found fascinating.  The Mitchell sisters have developed a process for transferring images onto regular fabric. After baking, the fabric may be cut and the pieces used.  The photo here shows an edge of fabric with the transfer on top of the majority of the fabric piece.  The leaf shape was cut from the treated fabric piece and shows the back of the fabric. The holes are designed to allow sewing of beads or other items through the polymer/fabric to create shapes for items such as jewelry.  All-in-all, it was a very interesting process, and one I plan to revisit soon.

New! Adjustable Bracelets

I make a lot of bracelets, but they're on brass channel cuffs or bangles, so the size is pretty much set. I've been wanting to learn to make bracelets with adjustable bands of some sort, and decided to try my hand at some basic sliding knots.  For the solid bracelet sections,  I used some polymer sheets I made with a pattern that reminds me a little of plaids.

I also made some smaller beads to incorporate into the knotted sections.  This next photo gives a better look at the knots, the additional beads, and the sliding section.

I experimented with different cording, using 1mm waxed cotton and 2mm plain cord. The sliding section works nicely, so the bracelet opens wide to slip on, and then closes as tightly as desired.

Here are two shots of another bracelet in the same design.  The beads on this maroon and yellow bracelet were larger than on the coral bracelet since I used 2mm cording here and 1mm on the coral piece.  I think the proportions work well.

Last, I decided to try a really simple closure using elastic thread.  I did add an extra flat bead in the area opposite the band section.  This provides a gentle area against the delicate part of the wrist, and also serves as the place where I could hide the thread ends.  Both designs are easy to use, even if you have to put the piece on yourself.

Rivoli Earrings

I just finished this pair of earrings, and thought I'd share.  They are made from superduo glass beads and rivoli crystals, and the sparkle and depth are really lovely.  I will be teaching this technique in my March bead-weaving class at Nature's Art.  It's a great little design, and can easily be configured into a bracelet or necklace. Additional embellishments around the edge could turn it into a very special pendant.  Bead-weaving was my first jewelry-making outlet, and I still enjoy watching beaded objects emerge from a simple needle, thread, and my fingers.