Studio Wednesday

swirlpendantnecklace104109

This week I finished the crochet chain necklace and attached my polyclay swirl pendant to it. I fashioned a hook and eye clasp from 18 gauge sterling wire. A little liver of sulfur dip made it a cool bronzy color to match the bronze crocheted wire.

swirlpendantnecklace304109

I crocheted 6 chain segments in all, 3 for each side, and left long tails for wrapping. I threaded the tails through the pendant and then wrapped around the chain on the other side to secure them in place.

swirlpendantnecklace204109

I am so enjoying bringing my love of crochet into my jewelry creations. I recently purchased a skein of Berroco Seduce yarn, a simply luscious blend of silk, linen, rayon and nylon. I’ve got some ideas floating around in my head of crocheted bracelets using this yarn and some polyclay beads.

Who knows what women can be when they are finally free

to become themselves?

~Betty Friedan

Studio Wednesday

Mar19

swirlpendantno1031809

In the time I have between my physical therapy treatment and my favorite tv show “LOST”, I’d like to share with you what I’ve been working on this week.

With the limited range of motion in my frozen right shoulder, I haven’t been able to do a creative activity that I absolutely love: mixing colors in polymer clay. Cranking the pasta machine is torture on my shoulder. I solved that problem by treating myself to a motor and foot pedal for my P.M. What a difference! This has opened up a whole new world for me.

I love my new motor.

My first color mixing project was to mix up some muted neutral colors for a cane I wanted to try out from the new Donna Kato book I picked up from the library. It’s called “The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiore Techniques: Projects and Inspiration for Creative Canework”.

canes4earrings031809

There’s a lot of cool cane ideas in this great book. Now that I’ve returned it to the library, I’m even considering adding it to my library permanently. The cane slices above were created with a rolled Skinner Blend plug, wrapped and squished and rearranged. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not really into creating canes because I like a more organic look to my work instead of geometric precision. That being said, there are some fun organic cane patterns to play with.

canes4earringsno2031809

I had some fun with the cane ends I sliced off and rolled around. Here’s a scrap cane that ended up looking like crescent moons from another world.

swirlpendantno2031809

Ever since I received a small piece of plexiglas in a goody bag from the first Klay Karma retreat 4 years ago, I love making swirly lentil beads with cane scraps. The larger one with the cane slice bail will be used as a pendant in a necklace. The smaller one could be used for a freeform bracelet. That would be fun to incorporate some polymer clay beads in my freeform work.

wirecrocheting031809

I thought that I’d do something different for the swirly pendant necklace. Using a very thin gauge black wire and some bronze colored size 11 seed beads, I made several lengths of chain stitch. The wire was a bit tricky to work with at first because there is no “give” as there is with fiber. It takes time to figure out how much wire to wrap around your crochet hook to allow you to be able to pull the wire through the loop. I found that working looser rather than tighter is best.

wirecrochet031809

I made some more chain stitch lengths using bronze wire and black seed beads.

This weekend I’ll work on putting my necklace together.

“Once there were two color kittens with green eyes, Brush and Hush. They liked to mix and make colors by splashing one color into another. They had buckets and buckets and buckets and buckets of color to splash around with., Out of these colors they would make all the colors in the world.”

~from “The Color Kittens” by Margaret Wise Brown

Studio Wednesday

Feb4

adreamheartpendant

I first discovered polymer clay in the early 90s when I wanted to expand my bead collection for my jewelry making. Over the years I’ve tried many different polymer techniques ranging from caning to faux stones to mokume gane. With the exception of free-form mokume gane, none have resonated with my spirit like sculpting and carving polymer clay and glazing it with soft colors.

adreamheartpearls

Getting back to my studio after a several month healing period has brought me to a new place. A place of awakening forms and carved thoughts, covered in gentle glazes. Knotting pearls one by one on hand-dyed silk cord.

growpendant

I feel myself moving in a new direction with my jewelry. I don’t know where this is leading me. Like Persephone being drawn to the fissure in the earth, there is a softening and opening in my psyche that is calling to me. All I need to do is listen…

Saturday Morning Tea

Jan24

aryaex1dry012409

As I gaze outside my window, I see that it is still mid-winter and we are encased in snow and ice here on Ramble Road. However, inside my cozy house, in my cup of morning tea, it’s a different story. I am sipping the first picking from the Arya estate in Darjeeling. Lot 1 of 2009. But it’s only January, you say. Is this a first flush tea?

aryaex1wet012409

Actually, it is labeled as a “winter tea”. Oh dear, and here I thought I was cheating winter a little bit with springtime in my cup. Still, it is the first 2009 Darjeeling I’m enjoying and that is cause for celebration.

The preparation for this tea began last July when select bushes were carefully pruned. This pruning process encourages the bushes to “flush” right after the monsoon season which ends in September. This is actually considered the fifth season in India besides the regular four seasons that we know of – spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is a season of intense torrential rains that can cause landslides that block the Darjeeling district off from the rest of India.

aryaex1wetno2012409

The leaf has a lot of green bits and some stem mixed in with the darker leaf. This tea has been processed as a black tea where the leaf is allowed to oxidize and turn dark.

I steeped the leaves in water just under boiling temperature for 3 minutes.

aryaex1teacup012409

A soft floral whisper drifts up from the amber liquor as I take my first sip. I taste a fresh fruitiness with a hint of green, almost like a ripe fruit that holds echoes of its unfolding flavor before it ripened.

I am enjoying my cuppa with my latest favorite treat, an oatmeal raisin flax cookie from Kashi. These wonderful cookies contain all sorts of goodness and one cookie is very filling.

My shoulder continues to heal, slowly but surely, and the pain fog is starting to recede, allowing my ability to concentrate to return bit by bit.

This past week I found a sketchbook that I had purchased last summer and, in the evenings after my acupuncture treatment, I started painting the pages with Twinkling H2Os, shimmery watercolor paints. Very simple. I place swirls and washes of color on each page randomly, allowing myself to just play with the paint. In my online browsing, I discovered Teesha Moore’s website and blog. Her unique and creative art journal pages have inspired me to create my own. You can read Teesha’s tips and recommendations on how to layer the pages here. I love to have guidelines when first attempting a new art technique. Guidelines allow the spirit of experimentation and play to come out and dance. Speaking of play, I want to purchase some crayons. Teesha recommends Caran D’Ache Neocolor II crayons. I found a bunch of different sets at Dick Blick’s and they look positively scrumptious.

Dipping into my creative life once again feels like a long, cool drink of water after a journey through the desert.

Creativity – like human life itself – begins in darkness.

~Julia Cameron

Warm Scarves and Tissue Bags

Nov30

This is my faithful companion, traveling everywhere with me these days, and keeping my neck nice and warm. My Mom loves color, too, and she picked out this gorgeous watercolor yarn and knit it in a knit one, purl one stitch so it appears all knitted from both sides. I love wearing these soft muted colors. As I see them everyday, I am beginning to be inspired to pull out my polymer clay and mix up these colors. Hmmmm, what shall I create?

Do you have a favorite piece of clothing whose colors, pattern and/or texture inspires you?

Every year at my show, I would bring tissue paper and stickers so I could individually wrap each item I sold from earrings to necklaces to bracelets. Well, this was a time consuming task, especially when the only surface I had to wrap on was a plastic molded chair. Also, my customers would have to wait in line while I wrapped each parcel. Not good for selling. I was trying to keep costs down by not purchasing gift boxes or bags so I could in turn have my jewelry more reasonably priced as well.

This year I sat and thought about this for awhile and I came up with the idea of taping the tissue beforehand. And thus, my tissue pouches were born. These pouches are easy to make and so much fun!

First, you take one layer of tissue paper and spread it out. You will see that it has natural folds. Cut along each fold so that you have a long strip about 3 inches wide or so. The folds already there make it super easy to know where to cut. Now fold your strip in half lengthwise so you have a shorter strip double layered. Now fold up the raw end side (lengthwise) to about an inch or so below the folded end side. Tape the sides with scotch tape. Be careful here because once the tape is on the tissue, you can’t remove it. Ask me how I learned this! I placed half the tape lengthwise on one side and then folded it over to the other side, thus sealing that side. Once you’ve taped up a bunch of tissue pouches, you can have fun with your paint. I used Lumiere gold and copper acrylic paint. Now paint over the tape on the sides to hide it and paint along the bottom of the pouch. You can randomly paint on the pouch (as I did) or leave it plain. Now hang your pouch upside down to dry. I purchased some festive stickers for closing the flap. It’s a perfect size for a small gift. For larger gifts just cut your tissue paper according to the size you need and make your pouch the same way.

Now I’m thinking that I could do this with fabric. Oh, the possibilities…

The personal life deeply lived always expands

into truths beyond itself.

-Anais Nin