New Ideas from Lindly

One of the workshops I took at Clayathon 2019 was called "Sagacious Shale",  taught by Lindly Haunani. Lindly is, to me, the queen of color.  I love the way she leads students through both her thought processes and the actual physical representation of those ideas.





Every time I take a workshop with her, I learn something new, and this class was no exception. Our resulting products were pin or pendant collages, in which the colors of the patterns we each used were in perfect harmony, even though there was great variation amongst the group.

One thing Lindly introduced which I had not seen her use before was to mix some white embossing powder into the white clay we used in various design sheets.  When the pieces were baked, the embossing powder suddenly appeared as little white dots - almost like snow flakes!

This posting shows some of the pins I made using Lindly's sheeting ideas and the white embossing powder.

Regional Show Entries

It's almost May, and that means the Westerly Artist's Cooperative is holding their annual Regional Art Show.  This show is juried by an outside judge, someone who is not familiar with any of the cooperative members.  This means that even member artists who normally show in the gallery may not have their work approved and entered in the show.

This year, I decided to try some new items.  These are pieces I haven't tried before, and it was fun to experiment.  I have no idea if they'll appeal to the judge, but I certainly learned a few things as I tried to make these pieces, and it was a good experience.   Below are the 3 pieces I entered.

 These first photos are of a hollow convertible pin/pendant I made with an opening in the center of the top section.  Emerging out of the hole are several little pearl white buds - the "first buds" of spring.  It can be pinned, or a chain can be added through the loops in the back.













This next photo shows a pendant and accompanying earrings.  I've called these pieces "Pearls floating downstream."  I usually work with Premo! clay, but these pieces were made with Kato.  I wanted a really strong clay that could be rolled thin and still stand up to being manipulated.  The Kato worked perfectly.  you may not be able to see it in the photo, but there is a thin white layer of clay between the blue and copper sheets, and it just peeks out along the edges adding a bit of contrast.

The last photo is of a 20" necklace strung with Swarovski crystal pearls, and silver and crystal rondelles.  The five polymer beads have a very high shine and are larger than the beads I usually make for a necklace arrangement.  I really love the way the Ikat pattern in the bottom section of each bead adds such an interesting contrast to the top section.

Striped Skinner Blend Stack = Fun!

I've just gotten back from Clayathon 2019 in Galloway, New Jersey.  What a great polymer conference!  Excellent classes offered prior-to and after the weekend of the event itself, with plenty of demos to attend in between if desired.  There was a huge hall with lots and lots of great polymer folks willing to share their ideas and expertise, engage in problem solving, or just enjoy friendly conversation.  Obviously, you can tell I had a really good time.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting here more about the conference, so check back!
Today, I'd like to share some pieces I made during some "play on your own" time after learning how to make a striped Skinner blend.  I loved doing this, and it was fun watching everything work out as it was supposed to! Check out the class for May!