I follow a few blogs and have read about many people's new year resolutions. I have been trying to organize my thoughts and plans for this year and one thing I need to improve upon is focusing and documenting.
This blog will be a tool that I will use to help me with that.
One of my goals is to explore more with metal clay. I'm even considering signing up for the
Master's Registery. Last year I sketched a necklace that I wanted to make in metal clay. It took several attempts and reworks but I am now very happy with the finished piece.
The texture on the abstract links is a texture that I purchased from
Victoria James. She makes all of her texture molds and for this one she used a goldback fern. I wanted to use a purchased texture so I could concentrate on the metal clay piece. I've made tear away textures and photo polymer plates, but these silicone molds are fantastic and I have a few ideas of my own that will have to wait until I get back to Tucson to implement.
So my first thought since returning to Dayton from the holiday vacation was to make a few more pieces in this "bloom" theme. I am trying to sketch all of my ideas now. And I finally have a sketch book I like that I can carry around too. So I decided to make a bracelet. The pieces of the bracelet are in the tumbler now and I can't wait to put it together. So stay tuned for pictures later this week.
So I haven't been at the torch in awhile (a wrist thing going on). But have been able to do some beady things. At the Bead and Button show last year I bought a kit from Tapestry Beads for a very cool bangle bracelet. And I have made -- oh about 6 to date. You just have to have one to match everything!
In between shows, vacation, and a back problem, I have tried to sit down and make some beads. At the ISGB Gathering this year I was smitten with some beautiful hollow beads by Jeri Sheese. So I have been creating some in my desert colors. I learned to make hollow beads years ago from Pam Dugger. And recently I purchased a "puffy mandrel" from Jeri Warhaftig. I like both ways of making hollows, but I probably use Pam's technique more than the mandrel. But I would definitely recommend the mandrel if you are just learning hollow beads. I have also been playing with some of Double Helix's specialty glass. And these hollows are decorated with that. When worked in a reducing flame the silver settles on the surface of the glass and a beautiful sheen is created. Just made an all hollow bead necklace.
