Moroccan Bead Necklaces

In early March, I posted some photos I took of some Moroccan themed beads I made in a CFCF 2017 workshop taught by Lisa Haney.  For more information about the class and Lisa's great ideas, take a look at the March 8th post. Today, I'm just going to share some pendants that I made using the hollow beads.  As you can see from the photos, I went a bit wild and made several of these beads in various sizes, colors, and finishes.

To the left is one of my favorite pieces. I used mica powders to add some sparkle and shine to the clay.  I found a wonderful metal bead with a verdigris finish that compliments the piece perfectly, then hung everything from a chain.

To the right is a cluster of other focal pendants hanging from chains, each with their own dangling bead.   These were fun to make and will be fun to wear!

The photo at the bottom shows a few more necklaces made with hand-dyed silk ribbons instead of hanging from chain.  The ribbon is pretty, allows these pieces to be adjustable, and creates a softer, more rustic look.  These necklaces are all going to the Westerly Art Gallery where I'm a featured artist for April.   Drop by if you're in the neighborhood!

Colorful Moroccan Beads

I took one more workshop at CFCF 2017.  This class was also taught by Lisa Haney, and ranked up there as one of my favorites.  As you can tell from the photos, we made rounded lentil beads with a Moroccan theme.  The shapes of the cutters and the impressed designs really made these beads interesting and unique.  The application of oil paint after baking gave an antiqued look to the beads, and made the designs we had stamped into the clay really stand out. Some of the beads were made with white or beige clay, some with colored clays, and some were even made with Skinner blends.  Once again, Lisa came up with some clever tools for us to use.  She provided each participant with marbles of different sizes to use as forms for baking the clay.  She also gave us small wooden stands that were perfect for holding the marbles while they were baking.

Another idea Lisa shared with us was to use the shapes and impressed designs to make curved earrings.  Here are three sets I made, just waiting for finishing and findings.

As in the fish workshop, we were fortunate to have donations of many of our supplies. Polyform again donated all the Sculpey Premo! clay we needed. Tandy Leather gave each participant five Craftool Pro stamps, and Makins provided same shape cutters. We all really appreciated the donations and I'm already using some of these items for more creations.  That of course means you can expect to see more pieces based on this Moroccan design coming soon!

CFCF 2017 - Day 2 with Lisa Pavelka

I had the pleasure of taking a full day workshop with Lisa Pavelka.  Lisa has been working with polymer for about twenty years, and has developed her own product line for polymer and metal clay artists.  Her ideas and tutorials are creative and varied, and she always has some great tips and tricks to share, which I have found helpful.
This particular workshop focused on learning to make a moveable hinge to join two pieces of polymer.  In typical Lisa fashion, the polymer pieces also had a twist - they were "puffed" and hollow!  In addition, she demonstrated a cane and a surface design, and most of us incorporated one or both in our sample pieces.

I was really interested in her concept for hinging the hollow pieces together.  She also had stationary joint ideas.  My pieces were too small for the hinges she provided, so I used twisted metal hoops to join two of my pieces.  I plan on making a hinged pendant or two in the near future, since I really like the concept of motion in jewelry.  I'll be sure to share my piece once I get it made.  In the meantime, here is a photo of some of the hollow pieces I made during the workshop.  The two pieces on the right were made using the cane and the surface design that Lisa taught us.  The pieces on the left were made with the "plaid" surface design that I have been making recently.  You can see the twisted metal hoops I used to join the pieces on the right.  I still need to add a small jump ring or other finding to the top hoop so I can add a necklace chain or ribbon. As you can see, the shapes Lisa had us make were also interesting and different.  A great project and one that I expect to explore further.