Bead Soup - Gathering the Ingredients

Life has finally slowed down for an hour or so, to give me a chance to write about the latest Bead Soup Party.
   My beads arrived this week from Stephanie Stamper Rainy Days Designs and my mind is percolating with  ideas.  I got oodles of beads, so I am definitely seeing more than one necklace, and several earring designs.

Black Cat says it is time to PART-EEE!!!!

For those who are allergic to cats, here is a more sedate pix (before Black Cat decided to play with the beads)

The focal shows up much better in this one

And now I can reveal what I sent to Stepha.  I had just gotten Christi Friesen's newest masterpiece (well worth the wait, I might add) FLOURISH and was inspired by all the leaf designs within. I made two focals, just in case the large one was a bit too much for my newest Partner. I got so carried away making the companion beads, that I continued making more using other scrap clay from my table.  Will show them at a later date.  I continued the leaf theme by being able to find a leaf shaped clasp.

All polymer except the small brown beads.
They are wooden.

And for those who are wondering, the kittens are doing well.  They are weaned, litter box trained and busy looking for good homes.  Four of them are spoken for, all going to people who will love them, hopefully for a long time.

From Driveway to Studio

At our guild meeting this week, the demo involved using leafs as a mask, powdering the clay with mica powders then removing the leaf to leave its outline behind.  Charlie used dark clay but I started wondering if I could use light and color with PanPastel Chalks instead.  That lead to some experimenting that I am going to share with you today.

Trying to find a good leaf was the first step.  The first leafs were too big, the second leaf did not have  good veining.  Finally found a little weed in my driveway that looked promising.  It was a very durable leaf too - got 6 imprints out of it before it gave out.

 


No color was added to the leaf, just the background.  After curing, I used liquid clay tinted with black ink to fill in the vines.
On the second piece, I used the same colors of chalks in the background, putting a little color in the leaf using light green.  It is also textured a bit using my favorite texture pad.  I am not sure what material the pad is made of.  Got it at Clay Carnival several years ago and love it!  It might be a piece of furnace filter - that is the closest I can get to identifying it.

I made one with no color on the leaf but a dusting of gold mica powder to give it a little shine.  The background color is more of a sky color and textured to compliment the rainy weather outside my studio window. A little curve of the blade made a bit of different shape than the rectangles I have been making of late. 

On this one, there is even a lighter dusting of the light green.  I can barely make out the color.  I made a bit of a different texture on the edge made with a large screw. 

Important to note, before using the leaf for the first time, clean it off.  If not, the dust and dirt particles will stick to the clay and become a permanent part of the pendant.  

The last piece was my least favorite when it came out of the oven. The dark purple splotch was really distracting, as originally the leaf imprint had not been precolored.  It was very bland.  Green tinted liquid clay was added to the leaf and it made a big difference. I am going to  experiment more with other color for veining and leaf colors. It is still spring and there are a lot of leafs out there.

I haven't decided yet if I want the leafs top up or top down.  Which do you think is the better look?

Christi in new book

I just received my copy of Polymer Pizzazz 2 from Amazon.  And what a surprise!   My favorite PC teacher Christi Friesen has 4 projects in it.  One of them is the Calla Lily project which is really special to me as Christi made and gave me one at the Friday Harbor workshop last month. 

This really makes me want to get back into the studio. I have had a forced hiatus due to back issues.  I may even have to miss our guilds Clay Day this coming weekend.

In lue of something new, I present a project from Christi's workshop last month.  This will be a wall hanging when I get around to affixing a hanger to the back.  I had a lot of fun learning to make Christ's favorite leafs.

CF Inspired Pendant

Had a wonderful time figuring out what to do with the leafs I made in the Christi workshop. While some went to make the wrap vessel, there were others that just did not fit in with the overall look of the vessel or the wall piece I was making (you will see these later after I patina them).

  What is so wonderful about PC is that there is never any wastage.  Even if the mixing and fussing around trying to get a design to work results in "mud", it can just be squished up and used for bead guts.

Single Leafy Pendant looking for earrings - object: Complete Leafy Look

Leaf Bead Focals

Finally got around to finishing the Leaf Bead Focals I started a few weeks ago. Now that all the beads are made, I just need to figure out how to string them. This is not my strong suit but I am determined to finish the project, not let it linger as a UFO in my drawer.

Side 1

Side 2

Now off to finish packing for my Christi Friesen workshop weekend.  Meeting her at the airport tomorrow and driving her up to the San Juans. Hoody-Hoo! Am I ever excited. So far no signs of my hubbie's stomach flu so am crossing all fingers and toes that I don't get sick.