New Necklaces

I've been giving some new beads for necklaces a try, and thought I'd share what I've been doing. The Westerly Art Gallery put out a prospectus for entries into their Regional Show, and I entered these three very different pieces. I was pleased the aquamarine necklace was juried into the show, and I just found out that it has sold. Nice news! For the curls on this necklace, I made a jelly roll cane with translucent and white polymer. I mixed a new turquoise tinsel embossing powder from Ranger into the translucent, and spread an aqua colored glitter between the translucent and white polymer layers before rolling them up. I formed the cane into a rectangle and wrapped the slices over a small wooden dowel. The crystal aquamarine pearls between the slices added a nice touch.

I really think this second necklace is fun! It took me a while to figure out how to fold the clay so that the form stayed open while also remaining connected to the other components. The different colors in each folded section help the design stand out. I can envision this design in other places besides jewelry. How about as drawer knobs? Or perhaps an item on the end of a lamp or fan pull? Fun to make once you get the hang of it, and rather versatile.

Although it may be a bit hard to tell from the photo, the design on these beads is raised in a bas-relief method usually called the Sutton slice. Getting all the pieces from the texture plate to translate to the base often takes care and patience. I found the trickiest part was getting the design to flow all the way around and not stop abruptly at the seam. Some of the patternas worked better than others. Since I tend to think of black and white as a summer combo, I thought this piece had a summery feel.

820 Polymer Challenge: Week #2

Welcome to week 2 of the August, 2020 Polymer Challenge. I have 2 new pieces for you, both in the same color-way: white and fuschia. The longer piece is definitely a pendant, and a bail could be hung on the curved half-ring at the top. The pieces down the center are a new shape I made up from a chevron shape. Embellishments include gold-filled wires with small balls on the ends and Swarovski glass pearls.

 I particularly enjoy the roundish piece - it's fun! I cut a partial "splash" shape and made swirl shapes inside the white edging to sort of imitate the splash. This piece has a lot of open space, so whatever is being worn will show through. I think it would work well as a pendant or a pin.

Golden Ruffles

 I haven't made one of my ruffled lei necklaces for a while.  The other day I was working with composite gold metal leaf, and had a bit left over.  I mixed the metal leaf into translucent clay and thought it would make a really great edging for a ruffle cane.  I also thought it would be fun to make some round beads to fit in between the ruffles, and decided to use some of the gold leaf translucent to decorate the round beads, too.  I made the necklace longer than usual, and around the neck it looks like a very elegant lei.
The close up photo gives a better indication of the round beads.  There is more shine than appears on t he screen, so you'll just have to use your imagination.  I really like the look of metal leaf inside translucent clay, and this necklace is a really lovely example of the special effect leaf can have.