One Ringy-Dingy...

I've been working solidly this past week with polymer clay after I sold several pieces while we were on vacation. Katie's Traveling Trunk Show strikes again - I just love how my work seems to sell itself.

To get back into the groove, I started pawing through the various canes I've made over the past two years. Some of them are pretty old so I thought I'd try making some little ring bowls to use them up. I've wanted to make these sweet little bowls for a long, long time so, armed with this tutorial, I got to work.

I made four the first day, and I have to ask, "Why is it, that each new thing I try is more fun than the LAST new thing I tried?"

I enjoyed the process of putting those four together, and today I added another seven to my stock.

Each one is unique.

In the process I've used up a few canes that have been hanging around since my early days of clay experimenting.

I'll be offering these little beauties for sale soon once I've built up some inventory. In the meantime, you can find me up to my eyeballs in patterns and color...

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Passionate For Purple

I promised pictures of the polymer clay pieces made from my first attempt at mokume gane. As I gathered them all together for their glamour shots in the light tent, I realized... that's a whole lot of purple going on there.

Each necklace is reversible, which I think is a great selling point - two necklaces for the nice (low) price of one.

I need to make two halves of each bead anyway, and it doesn't take that much more effort to make the second side slightly different than the first.

As with the brocade pattern I referenced in my last post, I didn't want to waste any of the trimmings from my round beads. I put together this great pin using those curvy leftovers. And, of course, MORE purple! I think it came out very well.

Of course, I finished out the session with swirlies made from the scraps!

While those pieces were baking, I took time to finish some more brocade design stuff. Earrings:

And another pin, this one is considerably smaller than the previous ones:

I'll be spending the next few days listing these in my shop so be sure to stop by often to check them out.

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Polymer Clay Play Time

Since returning from Canada, I've been in the studio learning new surface design techniques with polymer clay. I've had this book for some time but needed a good stretch of designated quiet time to crack it open. My favorite technique so far: a brocade look using gold leaf and acrylic paint. I also tried my hand at mica shift, which is very cool...

There's a lot of work in the brocade technique, so I didn't want to waste any of it. I used the curvy trimmings from the bead to make this pretty fan pin.

I purchased a couple of really wonderful tutorials from Naftali Studios for making hollow lentil beads and crackle finishing. These are very well-designed tutorials with clear instructions and good photos. I followed the crackle finish tutorial and decided to use the instructions verbatim. My finished result looks just like her design. Once again, I made it reversible - two necklaces in one... I love that!

Because the bead is hollow, it's very lightweight and comfy to wear. Now to use the technique to make beads in my own design.

This weekend I did my first attempt at mokume gane. I just love it when I can take out my aggressions on an inanimate block of clay. My first successful sheet of mokume gane:

I've got a bunch of beads half done, so I'll be posting those images soon. I'll have some of these new pieces listed for sale in my Etsy shop this week. Until then, you can find me in my playroom.

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

"Lentil Soup"

I went back to working on "swirlies", those big, gorgeous polymer clay lentil beads that I fell in love with last year.

Since my last post, I've been struggling with a couple of issues. The biggest is a nagging pain in my wrist. My first thought was to do what Marble Man calls "rub some dirt on it and walk it off". I went and bought a carpal tunnel splint at the local drug store, which helped, but the pain was still hanging around a couple weeks later. My doctor told me it's not carpal tunnel syndrome (Whew - my worst fear!) but tendinitis. He said it's OK to use it, just not to the point of discomfort.

The small, twiddly work I like so much will have to wait. Enter: Swirlies. They are so much fun, that I may need an intervention!

Just like when making lentil soup to eat, you throw a little of this and a little of that into the pot. With these beads, a little bit of monarch butterfly wing, flower petal and leaf cane slices, etc, you wind up with an interesting and spicy result.

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The other issue which is bothering me is that when I look through my Etsy shop, it seems a bit like a split personality is running it. There's intricate bead work,

modern-looking clay pieces,

vintage inspired work, etc.

It looks like I can't decide what I want to do, when in reality, I just have lots of styles for lots of moods.

When I look at other shops, there's a sense of cohesion, a mature style with variations. Do I need to set up different shops for each style of work I do? What would you suggest?

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Polymer Clay Meets Silk Ribbon Embroidery...

... Or how a long lost passion gains new life in my studio. When I was dyeing fabric and creating wearable art, I used silk ribbon embroidery to embellish a lot of my garments.

I loved doing it: pulling the ribbon through the fabric, laying it flat, forming the stitch, pulling it back through the fabric again. Then gently coaxing the loops and folds into shape... instant beauty. Repeat.

I had my Beauty Blinders on, so I didn't see the unthinkable coming my way - the accident that changed my creative life forever. Afterward, my hand stopped working the way it should. No more pulling ribbon through fabric. It wasn't fun anymore, wasn't worth the discomfort. I put the ribbons and big-eyed needles away.

Enter my new passion - polymer clay. I began this new journey in a big way: lots of color, big canes that took all my strength to reduce down. I'll get back to doing that later on, but now I want to work small... very small.

I just need the tiniest speck of clay to create something resembling that old silk ribbon embroidery.

Little malleable balls of color lined up on my table, patience, and some quiet time, are all I need to recapture the joy I felt as I formed that perfect stitch.

Magic happens if you wait for it...


copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Fancy, Schmancy

Marble Man talked me into entering a piece in the North Carolina Museum of Art's silent auction competition. This is a juried event with a Best in Show award which includes a VERY nice prize. The deadline for entries is March 15th; time to get my rear in gear!

The trick is designing a standout piece which won't be so over-the-top that it can't sell. The purpose of this event is fund-raising for the museum, after all. I decided to make a statement collar which is a little wilder than my usual - longer in the front with an added pendant and some sparkly fringe. I have a clear image in my head and, to make sure I stick to that image, I put it down on paper.

For the focal pieces, I'm using a couple of the polymer clay cabochons I made from push molds.

Now it's up to me to fill the space with seed beads, and some sparkly Swarovski crystals.

I think this piece will take me the full amount of time I have until the deadline!

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

New-Found Courage

I think Santa gave me an extra gift this past Christmas that wasn't wrapped in sparkly paper and a perky bow.

"Animal Dreams Pendant"

It wasn't anywhere under the tree where I could see it and open it. Instead, he gave it to me in dreams, where I could turn it and enjoy it from all angles, in any kind of light I chose to view it. Like the Cowardly Lion, I got the gift of Courage.

My latest jewelry designs are the proof. New materials, new color combinations, new techniques. I can't explain where this new-found courage came from, but I'm reveling in it.

"Sponge Coral Bracelet"

I might have mentioned in a past post that I've joined the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team. This is a group of like-minded beading artisans, who nurture and encourage their fellow members. Each month there is a design challenge, and to maintain membership, we must participate in one of these challenges a year. The thought of this requirement had me tied up in knots. My designs usually happen as I work, a very organic process where I let the piece tell me what it wants to be. Whenever I've started with a preset design, something happens halfway through the project and it veers off in a new direction.

The idea that I'd have to start with a plan, and a theme I didn't come up with on my own was a tiny bit scary. But I did it. The theme for February was titled "Royalty Throughout Time". In my research, I found some images of reproduction Tudor pieces, loaded with gold filigree and dripping with pearls. Lovely. During a road trip this past year, I'd picked up some fabu-liscious 1930's French brass stampings and at the time I had no idea how I'd use them. I just knew I needed to have them. The result was my very first challenge piece:

"Tudor Brooch"

Voting on these challenges is open to anyone - Usually between the 9th and 15th of the month. I'll post a link when the poll is open.

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This past weekend I finished up a project that had been on my worktable for a while. I combined this polymer clay cabochon with some bead embroidery, added a profusion of branched fringe, and a beadwoven neck strap. Meet my Woodland Nymph in all her glory:

"Woodland Nymph Pendant"

I have no idea what's next on my work schedule, but I'm betting that it will knock my socks off! All of the pieces shown in this post are listed for sale in my Etsy shop.


copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Detail Oriented... Moi?!?

OK, maybe I am a Leetle Beet fussy about details - So much so that I forget to look at the bigger picture.

While I was working with my polymer clay this week, I decided to make a kaleidoscope cane. It started with inspiration from Carol Simmons magnificent cane. I really was just going to use a part of that cane design. I started on Sunday, using some elements I already had made. I also made some just for this project. I was completely focused on the individual parts. It grew, and it grew, and it grew... into a monster. I finally finished putting it together today:

"Holy Mother of God! How am I going to reduce this behemoth?" It took me three hours and a lot of muscle, but I got it done.

When Carol Simmons made her cane, she warmed it in the microwave a few times. I didn't want to do that in case the clay sent off fumes. As a result, the interior of the cane reduced at a slower rate as the outside. There was significant waste.

To give my brain, and body, a break, I used the trimmings from this amazing cane to make some mirror image natasha beads. These are tons of fun. Like eating cookies, one is never enough. So, I made A LOT of them. My little army of earrings-to-be:

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl