Off you go...

Our daughter leaves for college one week from today. (can this really be happening?)

I made this necklace for her (and a couple like it for the shop). This type of beading is rather calming when the world feels like its rushing by.

So very timely...found a back to school treasury I was in over at The Handmade Gift Guide today!

Manifesto

Last year sometime I heard someone (and I honestly can't remember who) say slightly snidely "Well! You don't want finger prints in your polymer clay!" and that did it for me. I started working on beads that had my finger prints as their texture.

Lately I've been wrestling with the big ideas of copying and being authentic and how can any of us ever be sure we aren't unwittingly using too much of someone else's idea, what with the overwhelming number of visual images we have access to EVERY SINGLE DAY. Angst.

It seemed like the right time to finally complete and post this necklace. The white beads are made with my finger prints. No one can copy my fingerprints but if someone would copy the beads they will be forced to use THEIR OWN finger prints. I enjoy the irony.

Landscapes and beyond

I have several more landscapes almost complete. The even newer ones seem to be escaping their bezels. Hmmm...no photos of that tangent yet.

This piece has no added acrylic paint. Its a stretch for me.

I'm re-working an earlier piece because I'm just not satisfied with it yet. So its sits here partially finished. I realized it would be very convenient for me to have about 4 huge tables on which to lay out partially finished work for weeks and weeks just so I could look at it, play with it, try it on then walk away for days. Come back, insert bead, take out bead, insert different bead and so on. I think I just need to live with things for a while before I can finish them.

Stopped me in my tracks

I find myself increasingly interested in closures and clasps (maybe because I struggle with them). These necklaces from Vladimír Rozkovec really got my wheels turning.


I love how the clasp works but especially that it is completely integrated into the focal pendant - nothing is an after thought here.


Aren't they fantastic? Couldn't you see this idea of closure translating to polymer clay?

Vladimír has an Etsy shop where you can enjoy more of his sculptural leather work.

A BIG thanks

A quick post with BIG thanks to Kellie who so graciously chose me for the Talented Tuesday spot on her blog! If you're in Brisbane, Australia she'll be at The Handmade Expo Market this Saturday. If you're like me and geography does not allow (what a shame!) , click over to her etsy shop and check out her resin jewelry and buttons!

The end result

The large custom Sediment necklace is finished and on its way across the country!


Stainless steel strung through a short length of hollow rubber cord creates the loop for a toggle clasp. (my left thumbnail almost permanently has black paint under it - sorry to everyone except Claire :-)



The beads graduate as they get close to necklace for comfort and to cut some of the weight. (it has about 275 beads!) I was a little sad to say good bye to this piece. I truly labored over it.

The day was made

I got a lovely email this morning from Delphine of Le Blog du Coolest. She posted the necklace she made (below) after seeing my fiber bead tutorial last November and another necklace incorporating her "quotation" of my moon earrings. Very cool to see her take on these textures. You really made my day, Delphine. Thank you!
Several big custom orders have kept me very busy these past 3 weeks or so. I've really been feeling like I needed to stretch myself more in regard to construction so when a request came along for a necklace version of my Sediment bracelet I knew it was meant to be. Here's the necklace in progress. I wedged the beads at the bottom to help create the curve without a lot of gaping.



What kind of clasp to use was probably my biggest hurdle. I sketched. I stared. I sketched. I stared. I wanted something simple and sturdy but also something that was incorporated into the overall design so a purchased clasp was out. I finished it tonight and will hopefully get some good photographs tomorrow before its shipped to its new home.

Surveying the landscape

Finally finished my third Landscape piece. I nearly ruined it because the paler shades of polymer darkened in the multiple curings. The heavy etching was a "what have I got to lose now" thing that I ended up really loving! No failures - only detours. I blended another sheet of polymer with similar coloring to make a second simliar piece.

Onward

What is the missing element on this Landscape necklace?
Idea one: middle of the road approach, a swirled layer of dark blues, a landmass at the horizon.


Idea two: discordant, craggy layers. Sometimes this kind of thing really works for me.


I think the winner is idea three: minimal. I did some nighttime landscape drawing in charcoal in college and this reminds me of that.


Kyle bought a thermometer with a probe and an alarm and I'll be testing the oven with that today to find out if I am having any temperature spikes.

The Muse has left the building!

I set aside the entire day today to work on pieces for the show next weekend. This was the last day I had decided to give myself leeway (ok don't quote me on that) to start any new work.


Got up early. Excited to get started and then...nothing. I just felt muddled, uninterested. How incredibly inconvenient!

Oh well. I refused to just sit there in that puddle and instead finished pieces that were already in progress. In the long run this was probably a good idea anyway. Many of these parts have been sitting around for weeks (or in the case of those round, white beads, months) while I considered how they would be used. The last photo shows a bracelet with its umbilical cord still attached. I might re-string it.

Countdown

Seven days until my "meet the artist" day at the PA State Museum. I am feeling under the weather probably because I have been working like crazy and haven't gotten the rest I need.


Here is a look at some of the pieces I delivered to The Radius Gallery on Friday .


I am still a bit nervous about having to demonstrate. I'll spend time this week researching the history of polymer because I want to be able to talk intelligently about the material. Anybody have some advice about good online sources?

"The Inventions of God"

Two weekends ago my husband and I headed to the beach for a short get away. The Jersey shore in January isn't exactly a hub of activity which of course is part of the charm. No crowds. No hurry. The ocean's ebb and flow is comforting, like a heartbeat. The vast expanse of sea and sky, a reminder that the world is large and I am small...and so certainly are my problems.


The beach held many treasures, "inventions of God" according to John Muir.


We found these whelk egg cases and were both immediately struck at how much my flat, translucent polymer beads mimic them. Did I see one of these as a child, hide the image in my memory until one day when it found its way out on its own? I don't know. But I feel like there is some kind of creative connection that I intend to continue to explore further.


The boardwalk in Wildwood was eery and fantastic.


My husband took the photos for this post. You can find new work from him daily at his new art blog.

Daily Grommet

Check this out! Watch the video with Jeanne Connon over at the Daily Grommet...wearing my necklace!

Let there be light

My husband has always known the way to my heart. This was my Christmas gift!


And with the addition of a 35mm 1.8 lens I can now take photos any time of day (or night). Gosh, no more perching close to a southern facing window waiting for clouds to clear. What will I do with all the time I'll save?

I guess I can work on four new necklaces that are partially underway.

Its a multi step process.

Somewhere along the way, someone noted that my work was simple but well designed. Hmm. However the comment was intended I chose to accept it as:
1. A fact. I do tend toward simple lines in my designs.
2. A challenge. Time to stretch a little further.

I started this particular necklace a couple weeks ago and posted part 1 on November 17 . This is the first time I have re-cured the same piece as I added different elements and the first time I used liquid polymer.

Now the box has a distressed grey back and a textured piece that will get inset.



Almost done. Not groundbreaking but a good exercise.