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.

Unusual Pins

One thing I don't make very often is pins.  I don't wear them myself, so I don't always think about them.  However, I was playing around with some new cutters, and made a couple of pieces that had to be pins.  Here they are, using textured and/or stone-imitation techniques.  They don't really seem to have a particular defined direction, so they may be pinned in a variety of ways.

Pins of All Kinds & Variety

Pins and brooches can be the perfect outfit accessory. The fact that they come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and fastenings, makes them even more fun to develop and wear.  Here are photos of some of my latest pieces.  First, I have to share my first scatter pins.  Scatter pins were originally developed in the late 1950s, and were often worn in pairs or groups of similar shapes.  This small mannequin and sash display shows a variety of scatter pins in different sizes and shapes.

I'm particularly fond of the butterfly flower.  So here are a few different shots of that pin.

Next, here are a couple of stick pins in fun spring colors.








And finally, a few oriental fan pendant/pins I made. The finding on the back of these pieces allows them to be used as pins or to be strung with a chain and worn as a necklace. Two pieces of jewelry in one! The backgrounds on these pins show examples of what I think of as a "fabric" approach to polymer veneers which makes a repetitive yet pleasing design.