An Arabesque Cane

Last weekend, I took an 8-hour online workshop with Jana Roberts Benzon. As you know from other posts on this blog, I simply love Jana - her ideas, her presentations, her manner, and the way she gently guides us through all the steps to both understand and be able to create some lovely work. We worked pretty solidly for the 8 hours with a couple of meal breaks - and emerged with a polymer cane. One cane you ask? Yes - and it was worth every minute to learn her tips and tricks and put them into practice ourselves.

So, here is my cane. It's 3 inches on each side, and about 3 inches long. The following photos were made after I reduced the cane to a bit more than 1" on each side, took slices, and assembled them in different ways to see patterns develop. Really fun! Now to use the cane in projects!

More 3-D Jewelry

Just wanted to share a few more pieces based on Jana Roberts Benzon's techniques. Instead of using a traditional polymer design cane, I made a design stack along the lines of those developed by Carol Blackburn. Since these were not canes that could be covered around the edges, the design shows everywhere, giving these pieces a different look. The rectangular shape of the stack also inspired me to decorate a brass cuff. Fun!!

3-D Jewelry a la Jana Roberts Benzon

Once again, I had the chance to spend a wonderful day learning from Jana Roberts Benzon. As I have said before, she is really amazing. This time, the class was on dimensional pieces formed from canes of varying complexity. We made a variety of canes from complex kaleidoscopes to stripes, bulls' eyes and all sorts of options in between. Jana guided us through the process of assembling slices from the various canes into pendants and earrings. There are just so many possibilities, and the work the participants have posted on our group site have been amazing. Above is my first pendant and below, a pair of earrings to harmonize.

A Walk in the Woods

I'm in the midst of a 3-day, intensive, online Zoom class with Jana Roberts Benzon. As you know from previous posts, Jana is one of my favorite teachers. Her imagination is incredible, and the techniques she has developed make polymer look like real-life objects. We have one more day, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what else she has in store for us. Here are some things I've made in the first 2 days. I need to work on these more, especially the pine cone, and my raspberry is a bit pale.

Cutwork Extravaganza with Jana Roberts Benzon

I've just spent 2.5 days with Jana Robert Benzon via zoom. What a fantastic workshop! In this class, Cutwork Extravganza, Jana showed us how to make a variety of components using various cutwork techniques. while each of the lessons allowed us to produce items based on that technique, the culminating half-day was focused on combining pieces from the various lessons into one final piece she calls "Picasso." Below are some photos showing a few of the items made from various techniques. The last image shows my first 2 "Picasso" pieces. I am looking forward to finding other ways to incorporate what I've learned. If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with Jana, please do. Just her tips and tricks for working with polymer alone are worth the registration.

This first photo shows samples of both the bargello technique and a technique Jana calls "harlequin." These are all such fun to make!

This is another example of bargello done using a completely different method of creating the stack from which to create the bargello sheet.

Finally, here is a snap of the 2 collage-type pieces I made from the various sheets and objects we made. Jana calls these "Picasso" - and you can probably see why!

Mushrooms

This past month, the Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild had a monthly challenge to create something with mushrooms or other fungi. I had taken a workshop with Jana Roberts Benzon in which we created a scene with what she calls "fantastical mushrooms." I was inspired to make some "regular" mushrooms and mount them on brooches. Here are a couple of photos of my "shrooms". And yes, that is real dirt on the bottom of some of the mushrooms.

Creature Features with Jana Roberts Benzon

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of taking an online polymer workshop presented by Jana Roberts Benzon. Jana is an outstanding polymer artist, an excellent instructor, and a simply lovely person. Her creativity is amazing, and it's always exciting to see what she's doing next.

The workshop was a one-day class on a process she calls "Creature Features". Jana walked us through the various steps involved in making various canes, and then assisted us in combining items to make our own creatures. Her detailed handuts with clear visuals, and access to the video for several days, will allow attendees to continue working on the processes as though she was sitting on our shoulders, continuing to provide assistance and encouragement. Although I really enjoy in-person workshops, the availability of technology such as Zoom allows people across the globe to participate and learn together. Above are the pieces I made on Sunday. I plan to work on more "creatures" and will probably try a few other color-ways, too.

Bargello Fun ala Jana

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop with Jana Roberts Benzon.  I am a long-time fan of Jana's work.  She is incredibly creative and imaginative.  Jana always seems to be inventing new ways of approaching polymer, and her pieces are amazing.






While at the workshop, one of the processes she had us working on reminded me of one of her bargello techniques.  So I had to give it a try.  Here are some of the pieces I've made.

Coral Reefs with Jana Roberts Benzon

Jana Roberts Benzon is an amazing and creative polymer artist.  Her concepts, techniques, and ideas are always intriguing, and the projects we worked on at CFCF 2014 were no exception.  Much of what Jana does is organic, and always makes me wonder "how did she do that?"  She is a patient teacher, and makes everyone feel good about their efforts.

The all-day pre-conference workshop focused on a bracelet designed to look like a coral reef.  She taught us how to make a wide variety of sea shapes which we combined on a base.  Most participants used a bracelet cuff, though there were a few who used different base forms.  Each of the different sea shapes involved several steps, and we got to play with alcohol inks in a variety of applications.  It was great fun, and I really enjoyed seeing how the various shapes formed and evolved.
Included in this posting are shots of different sides of my bracelet cuff.  This should give you an idea of the variety of sea shapes we made.  My piece is rather jam-packed.  When I play with these shapes in the future, I'll probably make a pendant or pin of some sort, and spread things out a bit.