Feeling Wistful

Yes, I'm feeling wistful - missing leaves on the trees, flowers, grass, colors other than brown, white, and gray...It may only be the beginning of February, but we've been having more than our share of winter here in Connecticut. Guess that's why, when I picked up some brass bracelet forms to work on, I ended up with leaves, vines and even a flower or two.  The large teal and turquoise flower to the right is secured to a white-coaated, filigree brass bracelet cuff.

The other bracelets are on brass open cuffs.  I like these cuffs. They are lightweight and lend themselves to decoration.  To ensure they stay on, no matter what the wrist size, I added a magnetic clasp.  Here's the first one:

Below are three more.  These are all made from the same cane, just done in different colors.

Button Up!

OK, we're in the midst of a blizzard back here in Connecticut.   Looking out at the swirling snow as it piles up on bushes and paths and up against the fence just makes me want to burrow deeper into my coat.  "Button up!" as our mothers would say when we went out in cold weather as children.  I had some clay just sitting there in front of me, so found myself fashioning a little button front jacket complete with black ruffled ribbing around the neck and cuffs.

Of course, this led to thoughts of simple earrings "buttoned up" in the some of the muted and slightly "off" colors of Gucci winter fashions.  I used some pearl-based colors with geometric designs I had for these first pairs:

Then I made some using a couple of Skinner blends.  The blends were a bit too subtle and don't really show well, but these will go well with different outfits.  The mustard pair is missing a button - on purpose!

"Fanned" Pendants

As I mentioned at the end of the last post,  I also planned to make a couple pendants with the fanned process.

When I sat down to work on the pendants, I realized there were a couple of things that needed special attention. One was a way to combine mirror images of the fanned shapes.  I ended up making a backing sheet that held all the pieces together and made each piece stronger.

 The other thing I needed to consider was how to attach the pendants to a chain of some sort.  I decided to insert eye screws as a place for chain attachment on the 2 red pieces.

On the turquoise piece, I inserted jump ring hoops into the back of the piece and, after baking, passed a black neck wire through the hoops.   Adding findings is, for some reason, my least favorite aspect of the process, so I was pleased that these pieces had relatively straight forward solutions.

Fanning Out

A couple of years ago, I was playing with some scraps of clay at a workshop, and developed a piece that was composed of cut outs using the same shape, just differing sizes.  I've been meaning to get back to this particular idea, and finally did.  Today's post shows you a few pairs of earrings I made using what I call "fanning out".
I started with sheets of clay, some in Skinner blends, then I textured them.  I cut out the shapes with an exacto knife.  As you can see in the photos of these earring sets, each different shape was cut out in 3 or more sizes and then the shapes were layered and "fanned" out.  Hence, the name "Fanning Out."

After making some of the earrings with my usual ear wires, I decided to make some with posts.  This required adding an extra piece at the top of the fanned design so the ear posts had a location for attachment.





The last pair on this page shows another version of post earrings in a fanning that displays the Skinner blend well.

P.S. Pendants coming soon....

Yipes - Stripes!

I'm not sure why, but I don't usually do a lot of things in stripes. I was inspired to give stripes a try when I sat across from Anita, of Anita K Designs, at the Mammoth Cave Retreat.  She was using long bolts to make texture on striped slices, and I really liked the way they looked.

On the first pieces I made, I passed the striped clay through the pasta machine multiple times, with the result that the lines between the stripes were softened.  I think these softer stripes are pretty.  However, I tried using the bolts to make the waffle design on these soft stripes, and realized I was not getting the crisp look I wanted.




The next striped pieces I made were passed through the pasta machine just once to seal the joints between the colored stripes.    Since the bolt ridges only run in one direction, each piece is rolled twice, once each in perpendicular directions.  The clay does move a bit while being rolled, which I think adds to the interest of the sheets.

These photos show how the impressed lines from the long bolts made a nice waffle texture and emphasized the stripes.

Rainy Day Tutorial Play

A rainy day can be one of the best times to try out a polymer tutorial.  Since it's been pouring outside, I decided to give one a try. I had seen Eugena Topina's version of polymer cloisonne, and decided to see how she achieves her effects.  If you like the occasional tutorial, you might really enjoy visiting Eugena's website: www.eugenascreations.com.  She has a wide variety of tutorials that are clear and easy to follow. Since this cloisonne effect is a tutorial she sells, I can't share the technique.  However, I can share my finished products. Perhaps they'll tempt you to visit Eugena's website and see what else she has developed.

These first two pieces, the teal and gold above and the orange and gold to the right, are pendants.  I used Magic Gloss to provide the final protective finish.



The last piece is larger and will work well as a pin.

It's a Wrap!

During this time of year, I like to try making something new, and then see what type of response I get from shoppers. Bracelets are one item I make frequently, but most of the time I use a brass cuff or brass bangle with a channel to help hold in the polymer.  People seem to like them, but there are always those who find the brass forms don't fit.  I thought it would be fun to try making bracelets that are more "one-size-fits-all."
Enter memory wire.  Using this wire, I would be able to make bracelets that wrapped around the wrist, and would therefore be adjustable.

I haven't used memory wire before, and found the instructions that came with the wire to be helpful.  I also checked out YouTube and discovered I needed to purchase an appropriate cutter. Memory wire is tough and doesn't cut with regular wire cutters. Now I have a new tool!

I conditioned clay in sets of complimentary colors and then started rolling slender clay tubes.  Some tubes were solid colors, some were skinner blends and I also made lots of stripe tubes.

It was fun to watch the stripes twist as I rolled the tubes. I found it most helpful to use a very thin knitting needle for the core, and I pinched the ends of the clay so it stayed close to the knitting needle as I rolled by hand.  When the tube was the size I was looking for, I used a flat piece of acrylic to smooth the tubes.  I cut off the ends of the tubes, slid them off the needle, put a simple bend in each tube, and set them in the oven to bake. After baking, I used a sharp blade to cut the polymer tubes into varying lengths.  It's helpful to cut while the polymer is still warm.  I also made some flat round disks to intersperse between the tubes. Assembling the pieces on the wire was fun. I discovered I needed to make the cuts on the end of the tubes at a slight slant to help compensate for the curve of the memory wire.  It also took a time or two to determine order of the pieces and the final size I needed for each piece.

The photos here show 3 memory wire wrap-around bracelets.  The turquoise and purple bracelet includes some sections with translucent overlay.  I like the interest the round shapes add.  They're a nice contrast to the striped sections.

One final aspect to consider when using memory wire for wrap-around bracelets is how to finish the ends.  The ideas I considered included end caps, making wire loops, and adding some sort of end bead.  I liked the way end beads looked the best, so used an epoxy glue to fasten both the last polymer disk beads and the crystal or metal beads to both ends of the memory wire.  Voila!

My First Barrettes

For some reason, I've never tried making polymer barrettes.  A while ago, I found some really nice barrette bases made in France, and purchased a few, with the intention of giving barrettes a try.  Actually, it was several months ago, and I finally decided to just do it.

Here are my first barrettes, just in time for the holiday show at the gallery.

The polymer is attached to the barrette base via strips of polymer on the back side.  The barrette bases have spaces at both ends and in the middle that make for perfect connection points.



As you can probably tell, the leaves come from leaf canes I made, while the flower petals are extruded canes from my combo extruder.




These next three barrettes aren't really flowers, but they do have a floral feel.  The largest petal "burst" - in deep blues and greens - sports petals made from one of my spider mum canes.  It's amazing how extruding changes a design, while still maintaining its essence.

Sparkle & Shine

The holiday season is upon us, and my clay thoughts have turned to things that sparkle and shine.  One of my favorite ways to incorporate sparkle into polymer is to use metal leaf.   I decided to make a Skinner Blend mokume gane stack using the "hills and valleys" technique.  This method uses translucent polymer rolled out as thin as possible and placed over metal leaf.  Scraps of metal leaf and translucent are pushed into the stack here and there.   This adds swirls and interest to the slices as they come off the stack.
Since I'd used a Skinner blend for the translucent clay, the slices fell into color groups.  This led me to use different colors for the bases. In the photos, you'll see purples, teal,  greens, and pinks.  The translucent allowed the background to show through, and the gold metal leaf sparkled in everything.

I also tried something new (for me) and imbedded gold ball headpins into some of the pieces.  I like the way the pins enhanced the gold leaf, and the bit of whimsy they add.

The purple pieces to the left are all covered with resin and the pendant is backed and outlined with a deep solid purple.

The two purple pendants below demonstrate the difference between a surface finished with PYM II and one with a resin surface.  The piece on the left has more sparkle than is evident in the photo.

Since I had some strips left, I decided to make a couple of my brass cuffs.  Because the cuffs curve so much, I wasn't able to use resin for surface protection. Instead, I applied several layers of Preserve Your Memories II.  This photo shows the shine from the PYM II more clearly than the photo of the two pendants above. The surface is pretty and enhances the colors and the gold, but does not have the glass-like appearance of the resin.

Buds and Blooms

I wasn't ready to leave flower making, so decided to make some variations on the blooming flower earrings. I also had to try my hand at some new flower buds.  These first blooms to the left demonstrate 2 new Skinner-blend striped extruded canes with crystals and fiber optic beads dangles.  

The next pair have only 4 petals instead of 6 or 8. This allows a more open "peek" inside the flower.    I chose to put jasper stones in the centers to add interest.

Finally, two more pairs in similar color-ways.  The use of white in the center on the left pair makes them perfect for spring or summer.   I'm already thinking spring, and it's only November...

Leaving the extruder on my worktable, I went in search of some wedge canes.  They were perfect for the fat little bud earrings in the last two photos.

Extruder Extraordinaire - Mari O'Dell

As promised, today I'm going to share with you some of the things we created at the Kentucky-Tennessee Polymer Clay Retreat at Mammoth Cave National Park a few weeks ago.  It truly is amazing how much you can do with an extruder.  Mari O'Dell, extruder extraordinaire, led the group through an incredible variety of projects and activities all using extruders as the core component.  Mari's   instruction was outstanding.  She has what she terms a "wabi-sabi" approach which allowed the participants to adapt everything she presented to their own learning and working style.  The ideas came fast and furious - I hope I'll be able to follow my notes!

The first project we all worked on was a little covered tin complete with a lotus flower on top that can be spun by using your fingers.  Mari had some tips about pressing the clay onto the tin, and using texture and chalks really hid seams and finger prints well.  The little trim was something I added after the first baking.  For some reason, the clay pulled down from the rim, and the trim helped to cover the small gap.

The next photo below shows the lotus flower from the top. Mari had made each of us the center of the flower from a mold she had developed herself, and it added the perfect touch.  The petals of the lotus flower were all made from an extruded cane.  One of the things I found I really liked about these extruded petals is they held their shape and were consistent.  The design might change slightly from one end of the extruded cane to the other, but the resulting flowers were lovely and realistic and a bit more "polished" than the petals I make from canes by hand.

An aside:  The extruder I purchased from Polymer Clay Express is a 2-in-1 device.  Looking a lot like a fancy caulking gun, the barrel can be changed so it is possible to use  both 1" and 2" disks for creating extrusions.  I really appreciated Mari's individual instruction learning about all the various parts and how to change between the two modes.  The handles really allow you to use your hands or to put more body strength into extruding, and I had no trouble getting new and older clay to move through the tubes.

Then we went on to making various canes to put through the extruder.  It really is amazing how a cane changes - or stays the same! - when put through the extruder.  Afterwards, we used the extrusions to make some lovely bell flowers.  Here are three sets of earrings I made from different extrusions. This first pair came from one basic cane that I cut in 2 and extruded separately.  Putting some solid clay before the cane inside the extruder resulted in the extrusion having a border around it.  I really like the contrast, and the fact that one basic cane can become 2 - or more!

This next set of bells came from a basic cane that was also divided and re-grouped.  I tried my hand at making clay dangles for this pair.

The third pair used a different basic cane as well as a different disk in the extruder.  The leafy shape of the extrusion adds real interest to the flower petals.

We also did a lot of individual exploration.  Here are two bracelets made from extrusions. The orange bangle is composed of numerous - I think about 12 - thin extrusions done one the small Makin's extruder so many polymer artists use. I twisted the strands together, joined them. and then placed slices from an extrusion around and round the band.  This helped cover the join area and made the whole bracelet stronger - and more interesting.

The other bracelet was made from an extrusion on the large 2-in-1 extruder using a 5 petal disc.  One thing I discovered when making this particular extrusion was the effect of putting old and new clay together in the extruder.  I had some older antique gold clay in with some newer colored clay.  The old clay made funny little bumps and broke up in some places,  adding an interesting texture to the whole extrusion.  It doesn't show up too well on the picture of the bracelet, but these individual bead pieces show the bumps and "broken" spots pretty well.

A Few More Pre-Retreat Extrusions

I had an incredible time at the Kentucky/Tennessee Polymer Retreat at Mammoth Cave National Park. I'll be sharing some of the things we worked on at the retreat in the next post or two, but wanted to show you a couple more items from the "pre-retreat" time.  I became intrigued with just using very thin slices off the ends of extruded snakes.  On the right is an example of one "set" I made.

To the left are some earrings made by smooshing (yes, a polymer term!) rows of sliced extrusions between cut shapes and bending everything for a bit of flair.  I also put the extrusions down the center of the curved side pieces on some of these.