Clayditarod Adventure Classes Day 1

The first day of the Clayditarod was a jam-packed one.  We had been divided into 4 groups, and each group would rotate through the classes.  I was in Group D.  Our first class was with the talented Julie Picarello and, believe it or not, she did not teach Mokume Gane.  We learned how to decorate bezels that have a hole in the middle. (can you believe I was up and in class at 0830? - this cruise played havoc with my sleep schedule)

Julie hard at work. She had sooo many cool findings
Still Drooling.  Funny how PC ladies get all ohh and ahh
over hardware, isn't it?

 Here is my finished product.  The findings are being held in by a plug of clay placed in the hole in the middle. The holey plate changed color in the oven.  I hope to be able to do something to brighten it up.

A bit of bling in the center

After a very hurried lunch on the Lido Deck, Group D trooped off to another room just off the main dinning area (with much better lighting).  I was really excited to to be learning about silver metal clay. I have had very little experience with it as it is so expensive. The instructor is a master in the field - Jackie Truty of Art Clay World.  She had us do what I thought would be impossible:  we carved a design in tile and then used it as a texture plate to impress the silver clay into.  I was so frustrated at first until Jackie showed me the RIGHT way to hold the carving tool.  My piece curled up a bit, due to my not getting a uniform thickness, but since the design was a salmon, it resembles a wave in the water, so I meant to do it that way (my story and I am sticking too it).

Not too bad for my first try.

And now for another moment of Zen

Tracey Arm Fjord. Christi and I were wondering just
what the  formula would be to get the water's green color.

a la Julie Picarello

For this weeks earrings, I tried my hand at the Pendulum earring design from Julie Picarello's "Patterns in Polymer".

This was my first successful attempt at coloring washers. The secret is to paint the washer first (I used a paint dapper by Ranger), using a light color and then apply the ink.  What I thought was strange, even though I used the same two colors of ink, when they dried they looked like two different colors of violet. I was a bit worried that the under painting and ink would not survive in the oven during the finally curing, but as you can see, it held up fine.

I added a couple of rhinestones for a little bling.

I really like the way they look, but when I tried them on, they just didn't hand right.  One was fine, the other sticks out at a weird angle... can't figure it out as they look identical when I put them side by side.... hummm, maybe my ears are lopsided?????

Pretty in Pink

Shake your Lizard Tail

At our guild meeting last week, we had one of my favorite program features.... a round robin.  Three different instructor have 20 minutes to present a mini program. We move from table to table to get all 3 in  a little more than an hour.  Sometimes they are hands on and sometimes  a demo, but always fun.


Joanne demo'd Lizard Tails a la Julie Picarello. She tried a new, to her, color combo that really turned out nice and I got to take home the demo!

And I Sanded it!!!!

So when I got a chance I tried it myself, using the scraps from my table.  It is not nearly as dramatic as Joanne's.  Not enough contrast... a learning experience. 

I had a lot of the base cane left.  Since I did not like it that much, rather than make several small ones, I formed it into one large pendant shape.

I am bigger than I look. 

Now I have to figure out how to hang it.  An excuse to visit the Blue Iris Bead Store for a bail, maybe?

I used to have Fingernails on my Right Hand

I hate to sand.... really, I HATE it.  So when I discovered that Julie Picarello sands all her lovely creations, I was dismayed.  I was fortunate enough to take her Mokume class several years ago, and really loved the look I got, but sanding was just not something that I was willing to do.

 Then her book came out and I, being the collector of as many polymer related tomes as possible, just had to have it. This time though, the book did not linger on the shelf for long.  I cranked up the old PM last Sunday and created a bunch of veneers. Took me all week, a bit at a time, to finish them.  And last night after work, I sat down with a pan of water, my sand papers in varying grits, and actually sanded!!!! I know, took me by surprise too.  I must say though, that I really like the smooth texture that it imparts to the clay. 

I can't really say that I like sanding anymore now than I did before, but .... well, it is not as bad as I once thought, considering the outcome.

Here are a few pieces that have not yet decided what they will be when they grow up. I call them Pretty in Pink (I warned you all to bear with me while I get this naming process underway)