Skinner Rainbows

Blends are such a lovely way to meld colors, and the Skinner blend technique is one of my favorites. Actually,  this simple yet effective technique is visible in many of not most polymer artists' works.  One of my favorite blends to create is a rainbow.  These are made using just 3 primary colors:  yellow, red, and blue.  It is the particular shade of each of these colors which determines the rainbow's final colorations.  A rainbow made from fuchia for the red and turquoise as the blue will have a totally different look from one made with, for example, a fire engine red and a cobalt blue.  Additional changes, such as adding white or "mud" to the rainbow will result in further changes such as tone and hue.

I'm going to be the featured artist at the Westerly Arts Gallery for the month of April, and I've been working on pieces for the show.  I'm particularly pleased with three necklaces I made, all using different Skinner blend rainbows.  One piece uses the lei petals I made based on a rainbow blend developed in class with Lindley Haunani.   I strung the beads tightly to get the ruffled effect, then finished the strand with light green new jade, amethyst, and darker green jade beads.

Another necklace is similar to one I've made in the past. This necklace takes forever to assemble, since each flowerette has it's own crystal on a head pin and is then attached to the chain.  I've only made 3 of these, probably because they take so long to make. You can see the difference in the rainbow palette between the lei necklace on the hand display, and the blossom necklace below.

The third necklace used yet another rainbow blend to create roses of different sizes.  I like the movement of these roses and of the blossoms.  The chain adds to the motion with just a bit of sparkle, too.

An "Ode" to Lindly & Judith

I just finished my first blossom cluster necklace. I found a wonderful silver chain with double rows of rings, and it seemed perfect for a cluster of little spring blossoms. I love the way these little flowerettes dance about as the necklace moves. The makeup of the chain allows numerous adjustments, and it wears well from choker to princess length.

For the colors, I owe special thanks to two teachers from whom I've learned much. Lindly Haunani introduced me to the marvelous potential of the rainbow in polymer, and Judith Skinner gave us all "the blend."