Bead Journal April

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."-R. Buchminster Fuller

Experimented with April's Bead Journal Project; backed it with some material, used a smidgen of fiber string for the caterpillar and a polymer butterfly cane I made a while ago.

Glued the material on the back and folded it over the top to form a sort of tunnel for my necklace cording.

Made a copy of the quote, scanned it in my computer and flipped it horizontally so I could put it on the polymer. Conditioned some white polymer and ran it through the pasta machine on a thin setting, printed the quote out on some baking parchment and immediately applied it to the white polymer and baked it at 250 degrees for 45 minutes.

It smudged on the word "butterfly", but I am going to practice until I get this to transfer without smudging. The little caterpillar is on the side of the left leaf and the polymer butterfly is on the right.

Yeah, I'm happy with it. The quote just struck a cord in me--it took a long time to find myself; to struggle out of that cocoon. Who knew there was a butterfly in there, but once out, I soared and have enjoyed the ongoing process ever since. (OK, a couple crash landings, but I got up again).

Faux Real Jade Pendant

I used my set of metal stamping tools to texture this polymer pendant.

I used to go to silversmithing classes and I still have my two sets of stamping tools; a set of symbols and the second set is the alphabet.

I need to go through my stash to find more amethyst and jade to string for this pendant.

I couldn't get the shine to show in the photographs. I buffed it on the electric buffing wheel and it practically glows. I'm very pleased with this one, faux real.

These Old Bones

William Arthur Ward said, "A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life."

Narley, twisted, bulging, malformed bones. I have osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and bone deficiency problems which are all under control thanks to drugs. But there are days when expressing myself through polymer just says it all (perfectly).

No, I haven't worn it out of the house yet. "Yet", being the operative word.

I know you are sitting there shaking your head, but what can I say? Warped humor.

Beaded and Strung Out

The Polymer Cafe' magazine article I am writing is almost done. I'm very excited and hope it goes well. In the meantime, I have several days worth of jewelry to post. I started the above necklace with a sculptural peyote stitch using matte seed beads, then added the fringe using larger seed beads with a gloss finish.

I beaded a loop and used an old button for the closure. The fresh water pearls are tipped with brightly colored seed beads and I wove a few glass beads around the center spiral.

I strung the above necklace on Beadalon, used sterling silver cones and a sterling silver S clasp. The entire necklace is comprised of gemstones and vintage beads.

I love the amethyst against the greens and greys.

Hope your weekend is going well. Mine has been wonderfully busy.

Teapots

How's that for simplicity? Have a great weekend-again, hope it's full of warped humor.

Teapot Friday and Saturday

I'm working on an article for the upcoming issue of Polymer Cafe' magazine so I am featuring some of my polymer teapots today and tomorrow.

I don't know what it is about teapots that fascinate me, but I have been polymering them since the late 90's.

Polymering: (polymer'ing) verb, polymered, polymering--1. The act of covering an object with polymer.

Warped humor again. What can I say?

I'm back to work. More polymered teapots tomorrow.

Bead Journal April

I worked on this yesterday. I keep starting new ones. I can't seem to get the feeling I want to express put down in beads.

Tomorrow I am going to concentrate on finishing the insides of these pieces. I'm attempting the transfers again. Yeah, good luck on that one.

I need to finish things up.

Finally bought a new gun case. It is one size larger than my beading case so it will hold blocks of clay, my tools and a box for the in-process pieces without any problems.

Tomorrow I will fit it with some blocks of clay and a better in-process box. That was about the extent of my creating yesterday.

Drill Stand and Crochet

The drill stand I ordered from England is on backorder with no arrival date in sight so I broke down and bought the Dremel stand at Home Depot.

It works beautifully; does a great job so I am satisfied. It is just four times bigger than the one from England. It's not like I am short of space so I don't know why I am obsessing about the size. The Home Depot one was a third of the price so I am happy about that.

I practiced on some scraps and then zipped through a box full of pieces awaiting drill holes.

Then I worked on a tiny little crocheted purse pendant. Tomorrow it will get some beads sewn on it. I met some friends for coffee and then I volunteered at our local store/gallery. Got a lot done.

Polymer Button Swap

The Button Swap preceded the Texture Swap; however, I just got around to photographing the buttons.

What a great variety of colors, shapes, sizes, textures and designs.

The polymer artists in the Arizona Polymer Clay Guild are so talented.

Look how innovative the shanks are. They range from plastic, metal, wire, jump rings to a bead.

I found this plastic shank to be the most interesting. Glue it on and you're done.

Some of the buttons were highly textured. I plan on using this one as a texture stamp. All the years I belonged to the Chicago Polymer Clay Guild and the Greater Chicagoland Bead Society, I never participated in any of their swaps. Family and work took priority, but now that I am retired I am really enjoying this.

My 200th Post-Texture Swap

I chaired the texture swap for this month at our polymer guild (Arizona Polymer Clay Guild) located in Sun Lakes, Arizona. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the meeting, but a friend picked up my bag full of goodies and dropped them off.

They are business card size--easy to store and use. Starting on the left (above) is a texture made from a miniature jello mold and bead spacers, the blue is a "bookplate" texture stamp by Judikins 2004, the brown is taken from a metal jewelry box lid, and the far right is an original "Zen-Noodle".

Far left turquoise texture is made from a plastic canvas, the white from crinkled paper, the dark blue bubbly texture is from a pipette plastic holder, the dark brown from wire mesh, the light blue from mesh and the olive green texture is from handmade paper.

Above are the textures I submitted. Top row: plastic mesh, tiny beads, an embellished texture plate, a pebble texture plate. Second row from left: a fern, an Egyptian texture plate, a bubble plate I made, drill bits. Third row middle: more drill bits, a texture plate I drew on. Fourth row from left: a texture plate I drew on, an antique wooden fabric block I carved with a lino cutter and the last one is a texture plate I drew on and embellished with tiny pin marks.

Above is the print out included with Pat Sernyk's Zen-Noodle. She was doing Zentangles long before they had a name. You can find Pat's blog here. The texture plate that came from the metal lid of the jewelry box is from Lupe whose blog is Mirame Creations. Yay for the 200th post!

Saturday's Art Fair

The lady who bought this painting went into detail how (in her own home) she duplicated her grandmother's front porch when she was a young girl. Wicker furniture, quilts, hanging plants and vases of flowers. She thought the painting would "finish" the indoor/outdoor room and she was thrilled. I mean really thrilled and it made me feel so good, I can't put it into words.

The lady who bought this painting was actually carrying it on her lap on her flight home tomorrow to Colorado.

The Art Club has a lottery system for what spot we are given and this time I drew an inside spot. I was glad because it was so cold in the morning I was thankful to be inside. The lady to the far right was helping a friend with his bronze sculptures. I ended up moving my booth 4' to the left because we were on top of each other.

These photos were taken before the doors were opened to the public; while everyone was still setting up. I was so glad I was able to move my booth those 4 feet. I was lucky. Wish I would have taken a photo after I had moved it because it looked so much better; just didn't think of it.

My husband helped me all day and I did well. Since I love talking to people and listening to their stories it made for a quick day. I had a great spot, great customers and had a great time. I also got to talk to my best customers-the twin 90 year old brothers-who stopped by to say hello and tell me how much they are still enjoying their paintings. Made my day.