Inspiration to develop my skills and style

There was lots of talk at Synergy III about "finding your own voice" as an artist and how to use inspiration to help  further develop your own style. I think I have my own style but I lack precision and finesse, usually because I'm in a hurry to cram too much into my limited free time. (I still spend my weekdays, as my brother says, Working for the "Man!")

In Seth Savarick's session at Synergy he talked about raising your work to the next level by having a plan before starting, being deliberate during the construction phase, and doing detailed finishing at the end of a project. Especially the finishing! He showed examples of work that he thought had promise, but the lack of attention to finishing kept the pieces from being stand-outs. Certainly he and others who were there, such as Dan Cormier, Melanie West, Melanie Muir, and Kathleen Dustin, exhibit a level of finish on their pieces that is unbelievable when you see them in person.

I decided I should work on more complex projects that require planning, precision, and polish to improve those aspects of my work. My inspiration was an interesting bracelet that Christine Dumont wore one day during the conference. Unlike a typical polymer bangle, it was not solid, and I found that idea appealing. You could see through her bracelet because she made it out of individual pieces with negative spaces between them.

With that concept in mind, I sketched a pattern for a bangle with cut-outs using my usual floral motif and then set about creating my "first draft" to see what works and what doesn't.

• As it turned out, the form I used was the right size initially but I forgot to consider that the form would add to the circumference and as a result, the finished bangle is too large so it's not wearable (on my wrist). 
• I created the black inside layer first and then put the colors on top. I might need to do the colors first, then apply the black to the inside after the form has been removed which would reduce the size of the opening. I would also be able to finish the inside (which looks terrible right now.)
• I will construct the banded edges differently to make them smoother.
• The bracelet is heavier than might be comfortable, so I need to determine if I can make the layers a bit thinner.

But, technical difficulties aside, I like the look of it a lot!

I'm going to Synergy...who else?

I'm going to Synergy...who else? Anyone need a ride back to the airport on Sunday morning about 9:30-10 am? I would like to share a cab or a car service. You can email me at berecca at a o l  dot c o m if that time works for you.

My of my clay jewelry will be fairly simple but you will probably see me wearing these big fellas and more of their colorful brethen fashioned up into a conga line.

Plenty of biscuits!

These have a lovely matte finish, the result of an experiment. More experimenting to come. The gray ones actually look like flannel!

A few new beads

These are relatively large...the green and red one is over two inches long. They are Ultralight with alcohol inks and sprayed with Preserve Your Memories II. I forgot that the only thing PYM II isn't so great on is the alcohol inks (at least in my experience). It makes them feel clammy/sticky, for lack of a better description. Assuming I had nothing to lose, I buffed them with my buffer. It seems to have taken away the clamminess but left the shine.

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New fish and beads in the etsy shop

Been watching "The Booth at the End" on Hulu Plus this afternoon. Very cool show with a simple premise but that's very interesting if you like psychological drama stories. The stories start to interweave, and take a few twists along the way. There are only five 23-minute episodes in the first season so you can watch it all at once.

 Here's the description from wikipedia: The series follows the storylines of several characters who visit a mysterious figure in the corner booth at the back of a diner. Each character has heard rumors that this Man is able to grant desires, provided that a task is performed. Upon receiving the task, the Man's only other demand is that the character continually update him on his or her progress. Once the task is complete, the character's desire is always fulfilled.

New fishies in the shop tonight...

And some new beads...

And here's what they became...

More big beads for a big necklace

Wood necklace number 2

This will go in the PPCG show at Boulevard Gallery in Verona, PA, next month.

New necklace coming right up

The Pittsburgh Polymer Clay Guild has a show scheduled at the Boulevard Gallery in Verona, PA beginning in early August. I love my recent big necklace so much that I'm making a similar one to put in the show. I made a big set of faux wood beads yesterday and buffed them up last night. I love them!! I made the cores with Ultralight this time because a few are sizable.

I love the little cut-corner beads I made as accent pieces. I'll be making more of them for sure.

Pittsburgh Polymer Clay Guild at the Boulevard Gallery
36 Allegheny River Blvd, Verona, PA 15147
Opening reception Saturday, August 4, 2012 -- 6-9 p.m.

Not for the faint of heart or weak of neck.

So, it's really not that heavy, I just wanted to use that title.

My polymer bead pile was growing so I decide to go through it all, group into like colors or designs, and shine it up with my new buffer. I ended up with a sizable collection of new and old faux-wood-ish beads in assorted sizes. Last week I bought three strands of two sizes of cool rectangle faceted black beads at Barb Kaczor's  Four Directions  Jewelry Studio.

So what did I make with my collection? This awesome thing!

My late grandmother, who was quite a creative seamstress, looks on approvingly with her WVU sorority sisters. Mary Belle is the sixth from left in the front row.

Big Pretties!

Finally, new beads will be posted tomorrow.

Tutorial: Easy Method to Make Faux Rice Paper Effect

Start with a pale color -- I mixed pearl with gold. Roll out a sheet on the thickest setting.

Hold an unconditioned block of clay above the sheet.
Quickly flick your blade down the vertical side of the block to chip little shavings onto the sheet.

Add one or two more colors. Turn the block as you flick to randomize the direction of the chips.
Run the sheet through the pasta machine to press the chips into the sheet.

Apply the sheet to a log of clay (a sheet rolled into a log).

You can use a solid color or scrap. It won't show so it doesn't matter what you use.
Cut the log into equal pieces.

 

Pinch the ends together slowly to merge the sides together and hide the center core.

Roll the beads to smooth the ends in and make it round.

Make some more shavings and pick up a few slices to cover any of the core that might be showing or
to fill in empty spaces.

Roll again to smooth the surface. Use an awl to create a hole. Bake, sand, and you're finished.

  

Other options...Here's an example of black with pearl and gold. Instead of using a sheet to cover the bead core, in this case I started with a solid black core, cut it into equal parts, and rolled them into round beads.
I rolled the black beads through shavings spread out on my work surface.
You could opt to roll the shavings completely smooth or leave them as shown above for more texture.

You could also use a pearl base covered with white and gold flecks for a more traditional rice paper look.

   

Examples of faux rice paper patterns

Microsoft Outlook + Dropbox = Self-Serve Information Dispenser...and a few polymer pics

First, a few new clay pictures, since that’s why you come here! But then I’ll describe a system I set up at work that is going to prevent hours of irritation for me! It’s a magical self-serve system using Microsoft Outlook and Dropbox. If you have to answer the same questions day after day, and email jpgs, PowerPoints, and other documents frequently, you will find this useful.*

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I made this Purple and Pink flower brooch a few weeks ago. I like the shape and the design; what I don't like is the lack of shimmer. I forgot to add a little metallic pearl or gold in the mix for shimmer. Oh well, next time.

The Magical Answer Dispenser -- how it works:

At work, I am frequently asked for the same information by my co-workers and any number of our 7,000 employees. My first solution* for responding to these frequently asked questions was to create an answer to each one as a separate signature file in Outlook. You can set up as many as you wish and they can contain text, images, tables, or links – they’re very versatile. When a question landed in my inbox, I clicked reply, then inserted the appropriate signature, and sent it off.

Sometimes, however, the requestor might need a PDF file or JPG. An attachment can’t be part of an Outlook signature so I still had to browse for the file, attach, and email the file to them. To end this poor use of my time, I got the idea to store the files in my Dropbox public folder where they could be easily accessible by anyone with a link.

Next, I created an Outlook signature consisting of a simple menu list of links, each of which links back to an item in the Dropbox folder. The "sharing link" provided in the menu allows a user to open the file or download it, but they cannot edit my original or accidentally delete it.


Now I send out one email at regular intervals to key contacts so it's always handy. And when I get one-off questions from other people, it's very easy to insert my "Marketing Menu" signature and mail it off.

This new system will eliminate a ton of repetitious, non-productive activity that took too many 10-minute chunks out of my day, every day. Updates to the files are easy and as long as I keep the file name the same, I don’t even have to edit the menu. It’s extremely simple, but I really think it’s going to prove invaluable. I used it several times the first day I set it up!

(*The true first solution is our company intranet but it’s behind the firewall so it's very difficult to reach for those outside of headquarters. It's also cumbersome to upload, search and download. Not user-friendly at all!) 

Tutorial: Easy Organic Stripes

For instructions on how to create easy organic stripes, as shown below, start here.

Where my babies end up

I found a bunch of polymer artists on flickr last night who were not already in my contact list so I remedied that situation. One of them was Conny Brockstedt of Way of Clay. This morning I awoke to a nice email from her. Earlier this year she purchased two pastel fishies (here and here) and some matching beads so she sent me a photo of the necklace she made. She and her daughter share it and I'm sure they get lots of compliments when they wear it. It's big and bold...those fish are about 2.5 inches long and some of the beads are over 1". I love how she strung them with the round blue beads with a few coordinating colors tossed in. 

Weekend Beads: Ribbons

Yesterday I put a "curb alert" free stuff ad on Craigslist and some people came and took away old things I didn't want any more. Easy way to get rid of the relatively-useful-but-no-longer-wanted things taking up space in your house.
Fueled by my favorite treat --  0% fat plain Fage Greek yogurt mixed with Wild Strawberry Crystal Light for flavor -- I found inspiration and made some new "ribbon spool" beads. I like these...will do more experiments.

There are eight here. They sort of look like stacked pop caps!

Six beads here...wider ribbons

This is what you get if you roll a ribbon spool smooth! Halfway smooth makes an interesting bead also
but I have none to show you. Later...

Scrap clay was rolled into a sheet, a giant bolt was rolled across the surface, the top bumps were shaved off, and the sheet was smoothed. Then the whole sheet was rolled into a log, sliced and rolled into beads.
These guys are relatively small for me...about 1/2" diameter.

These also started as a sheet of scrap, impressed with the plastic cover from an old office cubicle fluorescent light.