Creative Sillyness

Ok, so here is some more of what I call creative sillyness. When I am bored or need a break from something, this is the result. Or is it? Well, I truly was bored tonight and wanted to clay, but had no idea what I wanted to do. So I grabbed a slab of this, and a glob of that and just went to work. Nothing in particular, nothing in my mind. Just needed to feel the touch of the clay and the smoosh of shaping it. LOL

This could be a pin or a necklace beads. Or both for that matter. It was fun and relaxing while it lasted. Now I have to go back to the boredom of daily life. If only I was wealthy so I could spend my entire day just claying away. Awwww the dream continues.

New Creations

Today I was awfully depressed after not doing so well on my mid-term in college that I decided the best medicine was to create. I happened to have some scrap clay on my table and created these:

Two with the two openings I plan on putting pretty organza ribbons through and make into a pretty pendant necklace. Same with the one ith a single hole.

the one with the four curled corners will probably have a sterling silver chain at the top. Each bead, with the exception of the one on the bottom left has beads and dichoric glass beads on them. the blue double even has some swarovski crystals and a turquoise bead. I decided to put a flower and leaves on the one with the four corners and it came out really pretty.

This was just another of those abstract, let's see what comes out, sort of creation days. You never know what is going to come up when I am upset. LOLOL

Plant Starters

Well, these were interesting. They are plant starters from test tubes. Another Poly Clay Play project that I just couldn't resist. The tubes have mokume gane technique. I love doing that. I used shades of green, yellow and blue clay for that portion. The hardest part was the hangers. Making S curves is not my forte so they look rather crazy, but it was still fun. I am thinking of making more of these and giving as gifts. Still have to think that one through. anyway, they were fun.

Seahorse

This little cutie is a birthday gift to my niece who is turning four years old. She loves pink and I thought this seahorse would be just the ticket. I made her into a pin so she can wear it and packed it in a small clay covered pink Altoid tin. We are having a family party for her and her brother today and I will give it to her then.

What fun this was. I think I will make more of these.

New Creation

Between school and work, I actually have had some time to clay. It has been a hectic time, but I am determined to spend some time at what I love. The tulip necklace I am quite proud of. It is Christi Frieson inspired and I am selling it on my website at ladyraine.com. I am loving getting into the intricate more elaborate necklaces. this one was made with clay and lots of fun beads and frillies. I really had a lot of fun with this.

Christi is such a talented lady and her work is so inspiring. I plan on doing a lot more of these types of necklaces with different alterations.

Emily with Bee Jewelry

Well, here she is, my little princess Emily in the Bee ensemble that Gramma made for her. She really liked it. It was fun to see her open the bag and bring out the pieces. We had so much fun with her this weekend. Just wish we lived lots closer so the trips could be more frequent. But at least we had this weekend with her.

New Pendant

So I went shopping last weekend and came across a bunch of beautiful stones. I saw them and knew they would make awesome pendants so I spent the buckolas and got them. This is the first of the six I purchased.

What a beautiful Indian Lace Agate! I was so impressed with this stone that I couldn't wait to make it into a pendant. I think it turned out really well considering my style is very predictable. LOLOL I gotta start taking some chances with my work.

Anyway, here it is.

Bee-u-tiful Set

Leave it to Trish Hodgens to come up with an adorable set that I just HAD to made for my granddaughter. I saw this in our club projects this month and went bonkers. Emily is going to love this, and it just so happens that we are planning a trip to see her over labor day.

So I got my claying fingers prepped and made the entire set of necklace, bracelet, pin, box to put everything neatly in, and a card. the box (although it is not visible here) has four feet on them. I can't wait till the labor day holiday. I will take pics of her wearing the pieces and post that when we get back.

Ta-Da Complete Necklace

Well, here it is, my finished triple dragon necklace. Created with inspiration and teachings from the fantastic Christi Frieson. I am so excited. It is not perfect, but for a first try I am extremely proud. Now on to the next project.

New CF Class

Well, I am currently taking two of Christi Frieson's classes right now. One is called "A River Runs Through It", and the second is a Triple Dragon class. I started the first one and then put it on hold while I worked on the second. My intension was to go back and forth between the two. WRONG. I am hung up on the dragon one and will get back to the river one shortly.

This picture shows where I am right now. I have been in awe of Christi's work for a long, long time and the fact that she is so generous with her techniques is amazing to me. I am about three quarters done with this piece and I can't wait to get it totally done. I love dragons anyway, and this necklace has truly been a challenge, but I am getting there.

On top of that, I quit smoking!!! Yup, been 20 days now and I have no intension of going back. To say it has not been a struggle would be an udnerstatement, but there is no way I am going to allow the Nicodemon to get a hold of me ever again. Twenty days is quite an accomplishemnt for me so I just have to stand firm and all will be well.

Tut Experiment

Ok, so this looks wierd I know, but I rather like it. The more I look at it, I kinda get this growing on you feeling. This was actually from a tutorial I purchased from a gal by the name of Eugenia. Of course hers looks much better, but I had to try it and from it I have got those crazy little cogs running around in my head. Mainly because the canes I made for this is numerous since I didn't exactly follow directions and have to use them somewhere, right?

Anyway, I actually think it is a bit unique for a pendant. Now to figure out how to finish the necklace part. Hmmm, since I have so much of the orchid cane, I think I will create some earrings to go along with it. That would set it off, wouldn't it? I have some other thoughts too when I try to reproduce this. At least my hubby liked it and didn't say it looked like a "turd fungus" which were his exact words when I attempted a bonsai tree (LMAO)

Sooner or later I will come of my own with everything I am learning from everyone else. There has to be an artist in there somewhere. I just love working with polymer clay and I don't think I will ever stop trying to find my own personal niche. Who knows, maybe I will be a Donna Kato someday, or a Maggie Maggio. Don't laugh; anythings possible (wink)

Where Has the Time Gone

WOW! It has been a long time since I added anything here. Well, it is understandable considering all that has been going on in my life. The biggest event is that my 77 year old Mom is moving in with hubby and I. Dang it, she needs to retire. She has been working the past 13 years as a property manager. It is time for her to enjoy life. So she is moving in with us.

Since we decided to give her the bigger of the two extra rooms we have, we had to make some major moves, mainly our office/studio into the smaller of the guest rooms. It's ok, all is good as I love what I have now.

Everything is nice and neat and DH had such a great idea. I was going to give away the entertainment center and he said,"Why don't you use it to store your craft supplies?" Well, gee, leave it to the man of the house to come up with a super solution. I thought I was going to have to move my crafting into the kitchen. LOLOL Behind the craft area that is in this picture is our two computers. Makes everything great and in one neat area. Now I can get back to doing some long overdue crafting. But WAIT, can't do that yet...Mom's moving day is in two weeks. THEN I can get back to playing (wink)

I Killed My Mermaid :-(

Well, I had a pretty sad night last night. I didn't pay close attention to my video instructor. (sniff, sniff) I had done my first firing of my little girl and was gingerly scraping her to get off the fingerprints and "celulite". That part went just great. But then I had to take some clay out of her head and make her hole bigger to prepare for her hair. Patricia said," be careful so you don't break her little neck as she is still soft." Well, I was carefully doing the scraping and had her cradled in my hand with two fingers propping her little head when all of a sudden I could feel her neck snap. I was devastated. Of course I tried to repair her to no avail and in the process her arm broke at the elbow and her butt split. *sigh* So I did a good job of ruining my very first project.

Being upset didn't last long as I chaulked it up to another learning experience and have convinced myself that my next attempt (which will be this weekend) will be even better as I have gained more knowledge.

I got tickled at my workout partner when I told her about my mishap. Her response was, "And now a moment of silence for the brutally murdered mermaid …………………………..” hehehehe Not only does this gal keep me motivated, but she has an awesome sense of humor to boot. Thanks Mila for making me feel better about my huge flub (smile).

All I know is that I am not giving up. In fact, it makes me even more determined to achieve this goal. Upward and onward (with a smile and a prayer)

Mermaid Face Closeup

I WAS able to get one closeup of my mermaids face. Still work to be done. Eyes especially. I love learning. (big smile)

Mermaid In Progress

Ok, now we are getting serious. LOLOL I have got to learn how to get clearer pictures. Sometimes they come out great and other times blurry, but I will figure it out before this project is finished.

I am now posting my 6" mermaid in progress. I have to do a lot of touch ups on her, add scales and ears and get her arms correct before she gets her first firing, but we are getting there. Each step brings me closer to the reality of a mermaid.

I also neglected to mention in my last post, all the great hints and helps I have been getting from my claying group, City-o-clay. You all have been a wonderful help and I greatly appreciate all the hints and links to make my dream a reality.

Your encouragement and critiques are helping me more than you know.

Hopefully my next post will be clearer as I get closer to making her real.

Second Face

I have been so committed to this sculpting project that I can't quit. It is almost like an adiction lately. I have a lot of people to thank for giving me hints and for sharing their talents with me. First and foremost is Patricia Rose. I am a huge fan of her work and she has a lot of videos and hints that have helped me get to this stage.

Another great artist that I am envious of is Aidamaris Roman. Again, an artist who freely shares her skills and gives us novices an opportunity to learn her techniques. The face I created yesterday was due to her guidance.

Unfortunately I was not able to get a clear picture of this one, but it is the closest I have come so far. Still need work on eyes, but it is coming. The fact that I have come this far is amazing to me

Dream Fulfilling

Oh My Gosh! I am doing the biggest happy dance now. A dream of mine has been to begin sculpting fantasy figures. Mainly mermaids and fairies. I have been struggling for months now, going over different tutorials from great artists and practicing like a mad woman. All my attempts have been so funny they made me laugh, but I was not about to give up. I figure once I conquer the face, I can move on to the rest of the body.

Well, today at work, I knew it was going to be a slow one, so I bagged up some of my prosculpt and some tools and when I was not doing anything I started working on her. (this should explain why she is dirty. I didn't care...I just wanted to be successful with the face. TA-DA...I finally got the hardest part for me - lips. And when I got done I was surprised to see that I actually had what looked like a girl! WOW was I excited or what? I had her on the stick of a paint brush and was running all around the office showing her off. Of course I was the only excited one, but I didn't care.

Then I figured I would attempt a bust to put her on so I could keep her as a step in my sculpting growth and that is what she is on. her little ta-ta's are not right, but I guess I will just call her abstract. LOLOL

Then after getting the bust the way I wanted it, I thought, hmmmm...how about some elfin ears? Ok so they are there too. Not the best, but they fit. So now that I have accomplished what I thought would be the impossible I am now ready to perfect the eyes. I think for the heck of it, I am going to get some Genesis paints and a heat gun and go ahead and paint her and even put some hair on her to see how she ultimately would have turned out. I did learn one thing, when I cured her, I didn't have her on any thing like fiber fill and she has a flat spot on the back of her head. That's ok, it is all in the process of learning. LOL So now we move on and get as good as some of the wonderful and sharing artists I have seen online. Man, I can't believe this!

BridesMaid Gifts

My niece is getting married in Baton Rouge in March. She asked me if I would make some pendants for her bridesmaids. Three are wearing a really pretty violet color dress and her maid-of-honor is wearing a peridot dress. She wanted me to make peridot pendants for the bridesmaids and violet for her maid-of-honor. Well, let me tell you, trying to match Peridot is no easy feat and I don't think I did it, but she wanted each one different.

Here are the three that I have made so far. Each is a clay bead I made and then wire wrapped in square sterling silver. I was sitting on pins and needles until I showed them to her to see if these would be ok. I figured if she didn't like them, I would just put them on Etsy and try to sell them. SHE LOVES THEM! WHEW! What a relief. Now to make the violet one. I think I may still make some of these for myself to sell. I like that they are different.

Tessalated Hearts

I had so much fun a couple weeks ago and forgot to make this post. I did some tessalated heart pins and then tagged and bagged them. Again, thanks to Trish and her great ideas through the Poly Clay Play Club. These were a lot of fun to do and what I love about tessalations is that you never know what you are going to get and they are always one-of-a kind.

Then the icing on the cake was learning how to do my own tags to protect the work for possible sale. Another fun learning experience.

Pinch Pots

Man, I love the weekends. That is when I can just forget about the work week and play to my hearts content. If I was retired that would be even better, but I am afraid I would be fused to my office chair finding more new stuff. Today I took on Ziggy's Pinch Pots. I tried these when I first got into claying, but it was a total disaster. So I tried to give it another shot.

I had some scrap clay that I used to make these three and I like them a lot. Some of the symetry is a bit off, but I will get better with time. I want to get more creative and try some different shapes, but for now I am settling with what I see. this was a lot of fun and I want to make more and maybe use canes on them or flowers and bows etc. Will have to see how it goes.

New Poly Clay Play Project

I always look forward to the new projects at the Poly Clay Play Club each month. The first day of the month can't come fast enough for me and January was no exception. Among other projects, Trish introduced us to Sentiments made with floral "globs". Here are four I made today. This was just too cool to me. I can see myself making an entire basket of these little suckers. LOL

In addition to that, there was a tutorial that incorporated these little gems in a necklace. So of course I had to make one. It's a good thing today is Saturday as I was at it most of the day (between raking leaves). So all I can say is GO TRISH! There is always something for me to play with in the club. Ok, back to playing with more "stuff".