New Earring Styles

Hello!  I realize this blog has been quiet for a few weeks.  With all that has been going on in the world, I have been pre-occupied.  Just recently, I have begun to feel some inspiration to "play with clay" again, and have been making some earrings I'd like to share.  The first two pairs are some of the longest earrings I've made:  3-D triangles of deceasing size, all connected separately for maximum motion.  The lighter set is made from one of the pastels, gold leaf and lace sheets I made and spoke about in an earlier posting.  The purple set on the right is made from an Ikat cane.


These next three pairs of earrings are a different form of 3-D triangle.  I've used this shape before.  The difference here is that I've used a contrasting solid color for the inside of the earrings.  This pop of color really makes the earrings seem to glow from inside.  I've posted 2 photos here - one a front view, and one to give a better image of how the inside looks in contrast.

More earrings soon!  Be well.

A Couple More Concave Ideas

I realized I didn't post a couple of photos from the pieces I was making when I was experimenting with the concave concept.  So, here are some earrings and some pins along the concave theme.

For the pins, the background piece is textured to provide both contrast and interest to the pieces.  I used different techniques for each of the concave rectangles.  The blue one is an ikat stack, the brown one from a mokume gane sheet, and the gold and cayene pin was made using the imbedded lace mokume gane technique I talked about in my last post.  It's amazing how different - yet the same - the pieces look using different techniques for the curved section.

These earrings have a really long dangling wire holding the 2 concave pieces at the bottom.  I also embellished with crystal rounds and gold-filled beads to add some interest.  You can't see it in the photo, but the inside of the curved pieces has designs from canes or stacks.

Lace and Metal Leaf Mokume Gane

How did it get to be March?  We've had an unusually warm month so far, which has been helpful as we help our puppy adapt to a different toileting regime.  She had a wonderful time visiting with the folks at our February workshop and can't wait to see them all again.
At that workshop, we experimented with using thick lace pieces to impress a design into the clay.  We used the type of lace that makes lovely trim, rather than flat lace that is often used for sleeves or as an overlay on another fabric.  We also incorporated composite metal leaf as the top layer of our thin clay stacks.  This meant that, after impressing the lace design, we skimmed off parts of the metal leaf and the design of the lace came through.

Here are photos of sections of two sheets I made. The polymer sheets are eventually rolled out on a #3 or #4 on an Atlas machine, so you end up with a very flexible sheet with the metal leaf imbedded into the clay.  Adding a good backing would allow one to make lovely jewelry pieces.  However, I also think these sheets would be great as a cover for small paper mache' or cardboard boxes, or other items you would like to cover.  It was a fun and interesting process, and the sheets people made in class were simply lovely.

Marquetry Sets

I really do like the way marquetry looks in polymer, and I like creating it even more! Here are some pendant and earring sets I made for the Westerly Gallery.  I like the more delicate look of these pieces.
Sometimes, as in the blue/purple set to the left, I use a Skinner blend for the background, and cut shapes from canes or sheets with complimentary colors.

This set has a feathered background, so the inlay pieces are less patterned than in the set above.

The background on the green and brown set is a striped Ikat.

Going Concave

As I believe I mentioned in an earliery post, the Westerly Gallery January show had the theme: Exploration:  New Perspectives.  One of the things I decided to try was to make pendants with a concave rather than convex form.  This meant that, instead of the center of the piece rising to the eye, it would recede.

I had fun working with different shapes, mixing and matching patterns, colors, and textures. You will notice for several of them I used the mokume gane technique, and several of the pieces incorporated metal leaf.

Below are more of the pendants I made.

Puppy, Again!!

Over the years I've kept this blog, I've posted when we've add to our little "family."  Just a day ago, we brought home another Aussie to join our two older girls.  Let me introduce Keiko, shown here with two of her litter-mates as she was getting ready to come home with us.  Her name is a Japanese girl's name that translates as "happy child, rejoicing."  This is indeed one happy, playful pup, and we're all enjoying getting to know her and watch as our group makes
modifications to give her room to grow and fit in.

Of course, this is my creations blog, so I thought I'd show you a couple of pairs of earrings I just finished. They obviously have nothing to do with the puppy, they're just earrings, but shouldn't each posting have some polymer in it?

The first blue pair below has a thin gold plated bar that swings back and forth as you walk.  This is the first time I've used something like these bars in earrings.  All the patterns were made using Mokume Gane technique with gold leaf inside the layers.  There is a quite a sparkle to the gold, it just doesn't show well in the photos.

 

Maquetry with Polymer

These earrings are made using the more detailed and refined techniques that Bonnie Bishoff shared at the workshop.  In addition to using the marquetry approach, I also decided to go big!  I realize these earrings are not huge by some standards, but they are the largest I've ever made, and it was fun to push my own self-imposed boundaries.

Relatively Simple Inlay

As you may recall, back in October I had the opportunity to learn a detailed and precise method of marquetry from Bonnie Bishoff.  I didn't get back to this art form for a while, until January approached.  As one of the two featured artists for the January show at the Westerly Gallery, I decided it would be fun to develop some new pieces for the show.  I have several different pieces to share with you.  In this post, I'm just going to show some pendants with what I have always called polymer "inlay."

These pieces are not an intricate, nor as tricky, as the finer marquetry that Bonnie taught us.  I do love the look of these pieces, and had fun cutting and replacing.  I used some of the Accent colors from Premo! for the background, and a skinner blend from purple to coral for the inlaid shapes. Next time, I'll bring you more detailed pieces using some finer marquetry techniques.

Snowflakes ~ After all, it is Winter

A few weeks ago, I held a class focused on making polymer snowflakes. We decorated them in a variety of ways.  I was really impressed at the imagination participants used to make the snowflakes glitter and shine.  Our biggest job was picking up the glitter when we were through. :)
I'm posting here a few of the snowflakes I made.  I think these would be fun to hang in a window, on a door, or from a lamp, depending on the size. There is even a pair of earrings. Besides all being different, these snowflakes have the advantage of never melting!

Silk Screening

Recently, I held a class on silk screening polymer clay.  We used Lumiere acrylic paints and small silk screens on raw polymer.  Most of the students chose to make Skinner blends of two or three colors with their polymer before laying down the silk screen and applying the paint.  The results were simply lovely, and quite varied. Since I had the materials gathered, I made a few more sheets at home. Here are some of the pieces I made from the silk screening. I covered the pieces with Magic Gloss to help protect the paint.  Although the paint bakes into the polymer, and I have left silk screened pieces with a matte look, I do like the extra depth the Magic Gloss and other resins add to the polymer pieces.

Wearable Kaleidoscopes

A couple of weeks ago, I gave a workshop about making polymer Ikat stacks.  We used the stacks to cover these fun little wearable kaleidoscopes.  These are real kaleidoscopes, complete with a glass mirror prism inside.  A simple, adjustable golden chain makes it possible to wear around the neck.  I decided these might make fun gifts, so made a few for the Holiday Show in Westerly.  Here are some of the ones I made.

An Earring Medley

I've been doing a variety of earrings for the holiday shows, so thought I'd share some of them with you.   Earrings are fun in a way that is different from something larger such as a pendant or pin.  Here are some of the ones I've been creating.