Tag: polymer

Ornament Swap! Make new friends and keep the old…

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OK – Good morning! Sorry I wasnt “here” sooner. This is the first Saturday in over 2 months that I haven’t rushed off early to teach Ceramics classes at the studio. But I can’t think of a better morning than coffee and a blog hop/swap!

 I met Sally Russick at ArtBliss in DC. Can I just pause here to rave about that retreat! Close to home! Fantastic national teachers? Great hospitality! Fantastic hosts – Cindy Wimmer and Jeannette Blix! Ok – back to the blog post… Sally posted about an ornament swap – a million years ago – it seems. Of course I was interested! Make a pretty and recieve a pretty? Yes! Meet new friends? Yes! Keep in touch with old freinds? Yes!

When it came time to make, and mail said ornament, I realized time had crept up on me. What was a generous time frame, well – I procrastinated a bit. I usually work in clay. Earthenware and stoneware. Now with drying time, firing time. glazing… it wasnt going to work. So, I turned to polymer. I like it. I want to experiment with it more. I respect it after taking a class with Christi Friesen. The most frustrating thing is weeding out the old and crumbly in my stash that frustrates me every time I try to work. Fresh polymer is quite nice!

I wanted to do a winter theme. My preference in decorations are seasonal, and having email-chatted with my partner  Christine Altimiller and perusing her blog – I thought this would be a good fit. ( Enough chatter – pictures please!) 

my ornament

I went with the shrine shape as that is a style I work with often. A reporoduction of an antique postcard shows a winter angel decorating a tree. She is framed in polymer and stamped copper. 

ornament detail

For the dangles I knew I had to include river rock,  a fav of Christine’s and an artist’s bead – one of my stamped ceramic eucalyptus charms. The pod print recalled snowflake shapes in my mind. 

The ornament I recieved, you ask? It was as if Christine had been in my house! So perfect! She must have super mind reading powers…

Christine's ornament

Driftwood, ethereal beautiful seed beaded snowflakes in icy blues and lavendars! Delicate and gorgeous!

details

details 2

I was completely stunned. I am so appreciative of the delicate seed bead work done here! The time and patience it takes! Mad skills! Thank you to my ever talented and creative partner for sharing this sliver of winter magic with me!

So – refill your coffee and please head over to Christine’s blog – One Kiss Creations! And definitely check out the other ornaments. I am feeling festive already! 

 

Thank you for stopping by! I would love to hear from you… 
Happy Holidays!

 

FaerieCon m.a.g.i.c – G is for good friends, good neighbors

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Robert Frost said “Good fences make good neighbors” That sprang to mind when I sat down to gather my thoughts  for this post. Good neighbors make for a good festival. Good neighbors also make good friends – and vice versa. This FaerieCon I was in my regular space, my home away from home. I have vended the event three years running in the upstairs hall. Yes, its hard to select and filter what to bring for a 6′ table display when I am accustomed to a booth. But to be surrounded by friends, old and new; to listen to fantastic music during the Masquerades; take a look: 

JDR table

Let me introduce you to some of my gypsy fae family. 

Sarah and JDR

Sarah and I have been friends for years – she was one of my first friends when I moved to Delaware. One summer she and her teenage kids ( my students) gave me a wee soft sculpted artist doll mermaid. A few years later, she and I are set up side by side at FaerieCon. She was the person who introduced me to FaerieCon and planted the seed that we should each vend! And she is one helluva a baker, too…

Toadstoolsntreestump

You can find her on Etsy at ToadstoolsNTreestump!

Sarah and I met Kimberly of Goblin Bazaar at the first Baltimore FaerieCon. If her shop is closed – she is either out geocaching of catching fae critters… She runs an adoption agency of sorts, coaxing the critters in from the wild and finding them homes with open minded magically aware humans. Some need love, others understanding, but they find the right match in the end. 

Kimberly and JDR

And there are goblins. Nose Goblins, Oak goblins… goblins wearing exquisite leather masks – they might let you wear one as well with just the right bribery. Of course I am talking about Goblin Road! Robert represents this husband and wife business/team at FaerieCon, and he is a welcoming presence, a wealth of information, freely shared. He has a certain “je ne sais quoi”. 

Robert Goblin Rd

We adopted Dru` the oak goblin a year ago (?) and he is a welcome addition to our family. (Dru` is Gaelic for oak, naturally.)

oak goblin

One additional friend, although not on our hallway – Noelle! She is a multi-faceted actress, performer, artist who never ceases to amaze me. I am so glad that FaerieCon and Frenchy and the Punk brought us together! Wouldn’t quite be the same if you werent there, darling! (Scott and Samantha you were missed! Hope you can return to the Realm next year!)

Noelle and JDR

And this hallway was the place to be! New people to meet! Much fun to be had! (And the lights bounced! Inside joke…)

Meredith Dillman – I was familiar with her work from the Interwebs – great to meet her. A picture, you ask? Sorry, no. How about her work? I love “Kitsune”!

Dillman Kitsune

There are many faeries and lovely and mysterious ladies on her site as well. But I can never resist a fox fae!

I was thrilled to see Reyen Design Studios on the map across from me! I am familiar with their wool and silk felted creations from previous FaerieCons and Spoutwood. Hand dyed, merino wool felted onto silk – they defy words. A must to see, feel, wear. And such good neighbors! ( This picture is a rough phone shot, but I had to do it…) Serenading Satyrs!

Reyen satyrs

Last but not least – Danielle from Earthly Leather Designs. We were Etsy acquaintances, and I am thrilled her first FaerieCon was a smashing success! Here’s to many more! (And hoping we get to chat a bit next time!) 

Earthly Leather

Thank you for being the best neighbors a girl, and her dryad, could wish for. Have a wonderful year, til next we meet! 

Harmony: enamel shadowbox reveal…

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Good Morning! Welcome to the Enamel Shadowbox bezel and blog hop! Here in Delaware – it has been a busy few days as we are preparing for Irene…So join me for a cup of coffee, thats what I am having – and enjoy!

The Hop takes place thanks to Lorelei and C-Koop beads; Lorelei posted this contect/challenge on her blog and I was thrilled to be one of the finalists. For truly I felt like I had won the prize! The enameled pendants, bezels actually are created by Sara of C-Koop Beads. I enamel small components, and fell in love with these immediately! Here is the one I recieved: 

empty bezel

Gorgoeus shades of maroon, wine, and gold. The problem: I dont want to cover all of that up! I want to use resin – I create a series of resin penndats, incorporating word and image. The word is usually found text rom 200+year old books. I usually incorporate text in my pieces. Perhaps polymer? I had recently taken a class with the zany Christie Friesen – an was open to polymer’s potential. 

moth vs lantern

The bezel reminded me of origami paper, with its patterns of gold. From Japanese paper – to lanterns; the lantern was the first idea. I actually prefered the luna moth more myself – as it is a symbol of transformation… but in the end the lantern fit better, and preserved the gold pattering on the bezel. These pieces are sculpted from polymer, accented with mica powders, baked, and set in with caulk (my prefered glue). Seed beads were also added to create the blossoms and lantern base. The Chinese character for “Harmony” was written in with Sharpie, lo tech, but effective!

designing

This was the picture as it all came together. I knew I wanted to use my chunky copper chain, and I knew flowers. I wanted the chain to be more elaborate, and decided to run a strand of seed beads through it for visual interest, and color. The color that worked best picked up the light tones on the lantern, not the wine colors as I had imagined. I needed a word. To define the Chinese character on the lantern, and to tie it all together. Harmony. (That is what the lantern says, BTW). So I am stamping that onto copper…

finished pendant

The finished pendant before resin. 

detail

Detail of the chain, three wine color pearls visually balance the stamped copper. 

finished piece

There it is. App. 18″ of mixed media magic. I am pleased with how it came out… Oh right! Resin…

with resin

This morning’s update: resin cured. (Little seepage on the back to be sanded.) I hope you liked that journey through my thought process. I cannot wait to see what the others have done! So go – see those blogs! And please, let me know what you think!

 

Enjoy hopping through these participating blogs!
11. Grubbi
12. Jenny Davies- Reazor (you are here. And I thank you for visiting!)

13. Beth of Elizabeth Williams

 

Bead Fest, bead swap, bead abundance.

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When I left for Philadelphia Saturday morning, with Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio, I had the best laid bloggy plans. We were headed to Beadfest. I wanted to take pictures of inspirational items, gorgeous gems, beautiful beads, and the people…Here is all I managed: 

beads1

beads2

Once there – it was a frenzy of shopping, familiar faces, chatting, shopping… Such a great day! And the camera stayed in my pocket. Oh well. I can show you the loot, and there is some loot…

A highlight of the day was the Bead Swap organized by Diana of Suburban Girl Studio. This wasnt about a contest, or a challenge, or a blog entry – it was simply a great way to meet, and share the beady goodness with friends old and new! My new friend and swap partner was Meredith Arnold – a very talented and humorous lady! I crashed her class and got a handful of her gorgoeus polymer beads! They are a bit of a challenge as I am a gemstone junkie, but I already am starting to have some ideas!

swap beads

Then there is the shopping, the loot, the treasure. Lets start with artist beads, shall we? 

artist beads

goedes and fossils

Geode slices and fossilezed starfish!

loot1

Amazonite, calcedony, mystery gem, sapphire!!!, kyanite. 

loot 2

Moonstone, calcedony (?) and yes, more moonstone…

gems loot

Apatite, mystery gem, amethyst, smoky quartz, rutilated quartz, moonstone, lapis, garnet, labradorite, amazonite. 

I know. I bought quite a bit. I get dazzled by the gemstones in all their glory. But I am officially doing Art on the Avenue in October as a “jewelry/mixed media” artist. Meaning I am juried in for jewelry, a coveted spot, and I am allowed to bring tiles and shrines as well. So excited!

After the shopping and swapping marathon – time for a little wine and conversation! The large group of us settled in at Legal Seafoods, and had a great evening! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and chat with people whose work I admire, people who were inspirational/influential to me when I began making ceramic beads, people whose blogs I read regularly. Thank you all, it was a pleasure!

candid camera

Candid camera with Lorelei Eurto and Diane Hawkey. (Elaine Ray and Cynthia Deis look on…)

dinner 1

Nancy Schindler/Round Rabbit, Lisa Petrillo, Lorelei Eurto, Diana P/Suburban Girl. 

dinner2

Mary and Molly Hubbard/White Clover Kiln, Melanie/Earthenwood Studio

dinner3

Kristie Roeder/Artisan Clay, Melinda Orr, Marsha/Marsha Neal Studio. 

I hope there are many future meetings in our futures!

 

 

Cerrridwen, Taliesin…and a Blue Hen?

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Blue Hen plywood

It all started with the hen, the blue hen to be exact. The City of Newark, DE is having a fundraiser – in the style of the decorated animal sculptures you have seen – I am sure – in many cities across the country. As the state bird is the Blue Hen… artists have been given a plywood silhouette, app. 30″ tall. Out birds will be auctioned off in September, and will be displayed (inside) at various businesses in town, and on Main St. The previous picture shows the earliest stages, after carving up my bird, to create a niche inside. Then she was covered in paper – from the Encyclopedia Britannica, or course. And yes, I used the article on “Poultry farming”. 

Blue Hen paper

I knew right away I wanted to create a shrine in the body of the hen. Shrines are my most personal, expressive medium. Although the chicken is not a totem animal I use symbolically in my work, I wanted to challenge myself to make a “real” piece, not just a fundraiser donation. I had committed my name, my time, and energy to this venture, and I wanted it to be true to my body of work… So the only mythic reference to a chicken in Western myth that came to my mind – was the myth of Cerridwen. She is the Keeper of the Cauldron – in which She brews inspiration. She is the Goddess of rebirth, transformation, inspiration. She is a creatrix, a mother, a wise woman… In the classic myth regarding her: She brews an elixir for her son, hiring the boy Gwion to stir the cauldron. After a year and a day – the mythic measure of time for an arduous task – the potion splashes Gwion’s thumb. He sucks it, to cool the burn and receives all the wisdom, knowledge therein. Greatly displeased – Cerridwen pursues Gwion to punish him. The chase takes on epic proportions as they shape shift through many animal forms, each pair representing an element. These animal pairings will be shown on the hen itself…

sawing animals

hound and hare

otter and salmon

songbird and raptor

The greyhound and the hare. The otter and the salmon. The hawk and the songbird. But where does the hen come in? After three transformations, as the chase continues, Gwion turns himself into a grain of wheat. Cerridwen as a hen, simply eats the grain. In nine months, She gives birth to Taliesin – who is to become the greatest bard of all time. Rebirth, inspiration, transformation… 

Hen nearly complete

The niche will hold a small clay tile of Taliesin – whose name translates as “Radiant Brow” referencing the ‘fire in the head’ of divine inspiration and enlightenment. It seemed fitting to have him incubating there. I plan to include the text of the myth with the piece. I know that many will find it more in depth than they prefer. But I feel that keeping the inspiration pure and not simplifying the concept of the work is honest, and a homage to Cerridwen herself. The overall color palette is natural and harmonious, very earthy. I hope it finds an appreciative audience when it goes out into the world in September, and does its part to raise funds for the Newark Arts Alliance.   Please feel free to comment and tell me your thoughts!

( I will add new pix as the work progresses!)