The Woodland Floor

Now that the weather is growing warmer, we've been spending more time outdoors, and taking walks in the woods with our dogs. Our girls love the sights and smells, and always come home happy. While the ferns and undergrowth are just beginning to pop, the fungi on the trees is also growing more visible. Here are a couple of pieces I made, inspired by some of the "little things".

More Faded Tapestry

I've been playing around some more with the faded tapestry technique. I figured I'd share some of the color-ways I used since I'd only shown one example before. So here are some earrings and a couple of pendants. I particularly like the dark earrings - the design really looks faded in person, and somehow the colors are more intense. The last photo has nothing to do with the faded tapestry technique. They're just some muted matte-finished, striped earrings in spring-to-summer colors that I think are kind of fun.

New Adjustable Bracelets

Bracelets are fun to make - and wear. The biggest problem with making them for sale is sizing. Wrists are so variable, and it's hard to have every item in every size. Usually, I just use brass bangle and cuff forms. I was really pleased to find some new adjustable bracelet bands. These are available in metal in various finishes, and in many colors of cording. Because of the sliding stop-bead, they can be enlarged to go over almost anyone's hand, tnen the stop-bead slides up so the bracelet sits securely around the wrist. As you can see in the photos, I made several different styles of bracelets including flowers and translucent layers, in both flat and bead formats. I'll be interested in seeing the response to these new pieces. The bracelets above left all have cording bands. The bracelets below have metal bands.

This last photo shows some translucent dimensional beads. Two are on adjustable cording bands, and the blue piece is on a metal band decorated with turquoise crystals.

23K Gold in Mokume Gane

Ah, the luster of real gold! There are several different metal leaf products available for use with polymer and other art mediums. I enjoy using them, and usually use the composite products. But once in a while, I splurge and get the "real thing." The pendant to the left and earrings below were made using 23K gold leaf in a mokume gane stack. You can tell immediately when real gold leaf is being used compared to the composite versions. The composite versions crackle and split when rolled and pressed in polymer. Actual gold leaf stays intact. It almost looks like the gold melted and flowed while the piece was curing. I love the look. The pendant and a pair of earrings shown here were both made from the same mokume gane stack. Compare this look to the red pendant I posted on March 27th, and you can see the difference. Do you see why I really like the 23K gold?

Small Petal Bowls

I've just spent a few hours at the Westerly Gallery, setting up my part of the April Show. I'm one of two featured artists this month, and I've been working on new items almost daily for the past few weeks. I did take a few photos of some of the items before I took them over, so I'll be showing some of them here for a few posts. Here are some little petal bowls I made. The idea comes from Ludmilla Bakulina, who also has some excellent products for use with polymer.

These little bowls are perfect for holding small items, or just to look at. The outer petals need a support when baking so the clay doesn't droop when it gets hot. Here is a close-up view of one of the bowls. They're sweet and fun to make.