Glazed Face Cabochons

Feb3

Last week at my RIPCG meeting, some of us experimented with creating glazed face cabochons. We started out with various colors of polymer clay and some purchased face molds. I used a blend of ecru and white clay. After the face was molded, we rubbed small amounts of Pearl Ex powder on the faces and cured them for 10 minutes. The ones above have macropearl, bronze and gold, going left to right. After curing, we mixed a couple of drops of Pinata ink (I used 1 drop each of Baja Blue and Rainforest Green) with some liquid polymer clay. I used the Kato brand while some of my fellow members used the Sculpey brand. I save the sauce containers from my Chinese food orders and they’re perfect for mixing small batches of paint or glaze. The faces went back in the oven for about a half hour. We noticed that the faces with the Kato glaze came out shinier whereas the Sculpey faces had a matte finish. With the profile face, I experimented further with some Tim Holtz Distress embossing powder in a Tea Dye color (of course!). I rubbed it over the face and popped it back in the oven for awhile. When I took it out, it looked like nothing much had changed. The powder was still sitting on top of the face so I rubbed it off and it left behind some interesting spots. I glazed again to seal in those rusty looking spots.

I’m not sure yet what I will do with these faces. They might whisper to be used on one of my beaded journal pages. Or, perhaps a bead embroidered pin or pendant. Experimenting with glazing polymer clay has inspired me to create something for my January page that I’ve been puzzling over in my mind all month. It’s not done yet but I will post pictures once I have them made. A hint – pebbles on a path that spell out a message.

If anyone has any experience with glazing polymer clay, I invite you to share your story.

Kaji Aso Studio on Chronicle

Jan11

A couple of months ago, I was honored to participate in a Japanese Tea Ceremony at the Kaji Aso Studio in Boston.

I was recently sent a link to a story that was done on the studio. It’s from the Chronicle news magazine show on a local Boston station.

All of my creative moments this week have been spent beading my December journal page. It’s finally finished so I’ll be posting photos of “The Birth of the Sun” this weekend. When I took a break from my beading the other evening and looked out my window, I had to grab my camera. Mother Nature was painting again.

Art Journals for my Mom

Jan2

I love to create gifts and my Mom loves to tell stories. So, inspired by my kindred mixed media art friends, Amy and Judy, I made 2 art journals for my Mom so she could write down her stories. This was a bit scary for me since I’ve never done anything like this before. Well, not in a very long time anyway.

I didn’t have any type of a plan other than I wanted to embellish the covers, outside and inside, of a blank notebook. I brought out acrylic paints, rubber stamps, scrapbook papers, gel medium, my “O” magazines and family photos. And I played. As I freely glued and painted, I felt joy swell inside of my heart, like something was being set free. I remembered painting as a child and felt like I was coming home to a place I really loved.

I hope my Mom enjoys writing in these journals as much as I enjoyed creating them.

An Autumn Bead Crochet Bracelet

Nov14

More bead crochet exploring. This time I used Perle Cotton 8 thread with size 6 glass beads. The black stripes on orange remind me of autumn and Halloween so I created a polymer clay pumpkin bead for the clasp.

So far, I like this thread the best in feel and ease of crocheting. The black color of the thread was a little tricky to find the stitch to go into but my hook slid into the stitch a lot easier than the C-lon cord. That was too stiff for my beginning skill level. This thread also gives a slinky supple feel to the finished bracelet which is a wonderful feeling on my wrist.

The loop for the clasp is a single crochet with the same thread. I then sewed terra cotta colored seed beads around the loop.

What I really loved in creating this bracelet is that it combined 3 techniques – polymer clay sculpture, bead weaving and bead crocheting.

I chose the blue graduated background because it reminds me of a clear autumn sky and it accentuates the orange beads. I love looking to nature for inspiration even in something simple like choosing a background for photography.

Saturday Morning Tea

Oct27

A misty, rainy fall morning and I open with a quote from one of the oldest books on tea, the Ch’a-Ching (The Classic of Tea) by Lu Yu

“There are a thousand different appearances of tea leaves. Some have creases like the leathern boot of a Tartar horseman, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like the mist rising out a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, and be wet and soft like fine earth newly swept by rain.”

This morning I am sipping a China black tea called Yunnan Rare Grade. As I talked about in my post on Pu-ehr teas, the tea plants in Yunnan province are actually trees with a bigger, broader leaf. This tea has a lot of golden tips as you can see in the dry leaf photo. Some of the leaf is starting to uncurl when wet but most are still curled up from the rolling process.

A dark, sweet aroma wafts from my cup. I take a sip and my mouth is filled with a spicy earthiness, reminding me of the rich smell of a newly fallen leaf. The Chinese call this a red tea and you can see why. If you enjoy red wine, dark chocolate or even a thick, dark beer, you will like the taste of a Yunnan black tea.

Go Sox!