Cactus Pool aka Tuscon Homage

One of the many projects we did in Christi Friesen's Polymer Clay Extravaganza was a pond.  The theory was that a goldfish lived in the pond.  But when I made my stones, they were more southwestern in color.  I decided to do a homage to my Tuscon trip instead of putting a goldfish in the pond.  With Christi's advice on how to make a cactus, I proceeded to make one complete with teenie weenie tiny ittsybittsy reds dots (boy they are tiny!). Then I made a few grass like plants to keep the cactus company.

View from above and side.  Piece is a little shy of 2 inches long

What I did in Tucson, part III

I learned how to make Faux Bone.  This is a very easy technique that I am surprised I never tried before. I guess there are soooo many things one can do with polymer clay, and only so many hours in a day to try them out in.  I work a full time job (today is the last day of my vacation - sob!) so clay time is limited. 

I also got to use resin to fill in the carved out area of the bone.  A little critter has been trapped in the amber. Boy, was it hard making a teeny, weenie dragon. That was the biggest challenge of the day.

I was also so excited to discover that Christi was going to be in my neck of the woods next month. She will be teaching a weekend workshop in the San Juan Islands.  Of course, I had to sign up right away.  Looking forward to a treat like this will help me get through the next month of overcast skies and rainy weather.  Spring is my favorite season.  Winter, not so much.

What I did in Tucson, part II

Another fun class I took from Christi Friesen was a baby dragon hatching from an egg.  I learned how to make the egg shells and have them crack open realistically.  And a different style of wing than I usually make...and I made my first successful dragon claw.  I have tried to make claws in the past with no luck at all - that is why my fire lizards do not have them.  But with Christi's help I succeeded. Now it remains to be seen if this can be accomplished in the comfort of my own studio. Of course, when I added the wings, I covered up the talons so now I can't see them. Next time I will be more careful and show them off.

 Here is my Saucy Dragon.  He is sticking his tongue out for the camera - he really does not like to have his picture taken. 





No Cameras!  I haven't had a chance to shine my scales yet!



Also worth the price of admission was the secret to making the stones the mother dragon laid her egg on.  I am thinking of other uses for this technique. Here is a close up.





What I did in Tucson, part I

Finally back and partially unpacked from my first trip to the Tucson Bead Show.  Dirty clothes are in the hamper, shampoo back in the shower, pills in the medicine cabinet.  All that remains is to catalog and put away my goodies.  I found so many beautiful and unique  beads, stocked up on findings, and books...I don't know where to begin

What an experience. I am on sensory overload. I saw so much and hardly dented the surface.  I did spend a lot of my time at the To Bead True Blue show, because that was where Christi Friesen was showing and doing her classes, but I did make it to other shows around the area as time allowed.

On Wednesday, Donna and I took Christi's Lunar Moth Class.  What fun we had.  She had some of the new Premo colors and I absolutely fell in love with the Peacock blue.  I made the colors for my moth using it blended with varying amounts of white and ecru.  I can't wait until they become available in the stores.

 Even though I will sorely miss Green Pearl, Christi told us that there is a new green coming that can be mixed with other colors to give a good approximation of Green Pearl.  I make a lot of green dragons, so that was good news to hear.

Here is a picture of the lunar moths we made in class. Mine is the bluish green and Donna's is the purple.  Have not yet decided if it will be broach, focal or wall mounted piece. 

Too busy to write

I have been so busy this week.  Taking classes, taking in the sights, touring all the booths and visiting with old friends, that I just haven't found the time to write about any of it.  Most we have been keeping warm with the record low cold weather that Tucson has been experiencing. Here I was, looking forward to a getaway from the grey, deary winter of the Pacific Northwest...and it is warmer at home than it is here.  What Irony.

Trying to shop the tents here at Tucson was an adventure.  Hardly anyone there except the poor vendors, who were huddling, if lucky, around small space heaters.  Those more fortunate to be stationed outside a hotel room, would run in and out of the room to get warm.  My friends are from Kanas originally, so a little cold weather did not frighten them away and we got some very good deals.

Apparently a pump froze at one of the water pumping stations and parts of Tucson where without water on top of the cold weather.  One lady in my Christi Friesen class was so thankful to be in the class rather than at work - there are 35 people at her job and no water.

Last night I attended my first Friday Polymer Clay Night, full of demo's and give aways. I did not win anything but I did sit next to the grand prize winner in the scavenger hunt. What a lucky lady - she won  a beautiful Christi original.  Got my friend Donna to go too and she also had fun.  She is more into glass and clay than polymer, but I am trying to turn her to the clay side....hee hee.

Sunny (and Cold!!!!!) Tucson

Boy, here I was looking forward to soaking up some sun in Tucson. Well, it is sunny and cold! Looks like we arrived during the cold snap. It was 19 degrees last night and there was no heat. Seems when my hosts had their system worked on during the summer, the guy took the heating element out and did not replace it.  Whether by accident or design is not yet known.  But my kind hosts loaned us thermal undies and more blankets and started a fire in the grate.  They hardly ever use it but boy, it came in handy last night.
    We hear it is supposed to warm up by the weekend.  Spent part of yesterday morning walking around in some of the outdoor booths.  Hardly any people out so we had a lot of fun talking to the vendors.  Found some double holed pearls, which I have been having a hard time finding.
   Then my friend Donna and I headed over to the To Bead True Blue show for our first class with Christi F.  We made lunar moths... Today I will be making a dragon sculpture.

  I mentioned before that Donna is quite an artist in her own right.  Here is a picture of a work she did several years ago and gave to her sister here in Tucson

You can't really tell from this blurry cell phone pix, but this is made entirely from seed beads.  She glued each one individually on the canvas. Took almost a year, if I remember right. This is the second one she has done. She is currently working on a piece using a door as her canvas.  I wish I had her patience.