another day --- another blog....

well, here i am again but this time to say that i have decided to keep this blog for polymer clay and other art work, including my kaleidoscopes, and also for tips, techniques and other clay info that i have discovered that has helped my in my work that i believe is worth passing on.

i have linked to my other blog --wicca'd words --also, which will be my thoughts and my stories about life and what is on my mind each morning.

i do hope you will go and read my wicca'd words and let me know what you think.

that's it for today.

MEET LITTLE O !!!!!

for the last week and for one more week, i have been doggie sitting my little friend orlando. he is an adorable little guy who belongs to my friend nina, and will soon belong to her sister steph and move to brighton, england. wow, how about that for a little puppy dog!!!

needless to say, he is a bundle of energy and always on the go so it has been a bit difficult to get any clay work done! however, i have had time to clean the mess that always seems to accumulate around me! i have thrown out so much that i have three or four huge garbage bags ready to go to the dump. and there are boxes ready for a garage sale and then a small amount that i have kept. and believe it or not, i have only done the bedroom and the kitchen!!! and already have taken two large bags of clothes to the church.

i sure hope i can get the shop cleaned out too; i have done half of it but the other half is much worse! oh well.......

It All Goes By Way Toooooooooooooooo Fast!!!

i have been home a couple of days now from our annual MPCG (morrisburg polymer clay gathering), and it is hard to believe that what we wait a whole year for goes by so d... fast!

wouldn't you know also, i didn't take one photo the whole weekend... and i did take my camera!
i guess there was just too much else to do...

i loved barbara's porcelain technique, finally after two years we learned this amazing technique. and it was used on adria's masks, and leslie's everfolding photo frame. i intend to use it to cover some of my kadeidoscopes. jacey taught us how to make lovely hearts and barb then did a wonderful wire wrapping to turn them into beautiful pendants... wow we also had some super demos by sandy, cynthia and barbara c.

my workshop went very well; it is always difficult for me to present a new workshop, but this one was about thinking "out of the box" and trying some new ways to work with pc, and everyone enjoyed it. barb b., jacey, trita and-- sorry, i can't remember the last--won the prizes for what i judged to be the best "out of the box" projects.

so, in a few days i will try to collect a few photos to post here of this fantastic weekend organized and run beautifully by margi and vio... thanks you two for a superb time...

STOLEN KALEIDOSCOPES

hi to anyone reading this post... below i am posting photos of 5 of my scopes which were stolen from a parked car in kingston, ontario. if you should see any of these scopes, for example on any online shop or auction, just know that they are contraband and i really would like to have them back.

thanks.
this is elegant annie, a kaleidalady whose scope fits under her skirt.

she stands about 14 inches tall, and the scope is about 5 inches tall.




and this is my geisha, and her scope also fits under her skirt

she stands about 13 inches tall and the scope is just over 5 inches tall









this scope is faux marble and the chamber turns. it is 8 inches long and about 2 inches diameter at the chamber.




this is my egyptian scope, a tumblescope with a scarab

it is 8 inches long, and about 1 3/4 inches in diameter.








and this small, 5 1/2 inch scope has an oil filled chamber with rainbow beads, and is about 1 1/8 inches in diameter.




thank you anyone who can help me discover who stole these kaleidoscopes.

back to clay!!!

it has been a long time since i have posted about clay, the journey is over, i am back home and back to work. i am now preparing to teach a workshop at our annual MPCG 08, (morrisburg polymer clay gathering, 2008). my workshop will feature an experimental approach to playing with clay, creating new forms and shapes using wire, metal mesh, fabric, yarns, and whatever will inspire creativity and stretching one's limits with clay...

here are some photos showing how i have used these elements in a sculpture...


here is the parasol for my lady carolyn --

a double ended knitting needle provided the main shaft and smaller wires embedded in clay allowed me to gather up the parasol and add a little twirl to the spokes.









and here is annie's rifle, two pieces of stiff wire covered partially with clay which was sculpted to form the barrel and grip of the rifle. a small piece of wire embedded in clay forms the trigger handle... there is no trigger because i am basically against guns, but annie wouldn't be annie without her rifle.....









and here is the fan for the geisha.... again wires embedded in clay shaped and formed into her fan.



you can see the whole sculptures to the right at the top of the page, and annie in a post from november 21, 2007.


more ideas for the workshop can be found in a post from january 18, 2008.

TOO MUCH SNOW !!!!!

for my friends in more pleasant climes.... here are a few of the latest conditions to beset those of us who live in the snow buried east of this great country.

here is my woodshed, like a sad face seeing all this new snow. . .
i had to shovel just to get the door open, but the warmth of the resulting
fire made it worthwhile. . .


my trusty little electric snow shovel.... whatever would i do without it. you can see how high the snow banks are, about 4'!!

except i think this load of snow might just be too much for this dear little machine... we have done alright so far, but . . . it seems to be groaning a bit too much.

at least you can see we finally got some sunshine...

looking out the front door toward the carport, that tiny little black loop you see is the top of one of my solar lights.. the light itself is hidden under all that snow along with all my others which are buried along the walkway.







and here i have shoveled enough to take a photo of the front door. there was about a foot of snow up the door, and i still haven't found my little lights! usually this walkway is about 4 feet wide, but you can see it is significantly narrower now. sigh

will spring ever come???

and now to get back to my clay work......

some last photos....

i have been home now for three days, recovering slowly but surely, altho my voice is doing things of it's own creation! however, i wanted to add just these last few photos of an incredible journey.


here i am my first ever visit to the pacific ocean. i decided that no matter how cold it was nor how much worse my cold would get, that i had to stick my toes in that water. well, a little wave turned into a faster larger one and caught me offguard and so both my feet and a bit of trouser also got 'baptized' in the pacific!





here is that little anemone or urchin and

here am i sticking my finger in its mouth... it was rough as it closed about my finger, sort of like sandpaper...

but i tried and now i know what it feels like...







and here is toronto... the airport can be seen in the top center, and it was the end of a journey in a packed airplane, little did i know that i would sit in that airport for three hours... snow had played havoc with airplane schedules... and we were waiting for our crew to ottawa to arrive from fort lauderdale... sigh...


so it was around midnight that i finally arrived in ottawa and bless her, pamela was there to take me home, give me some food, and tuck me into bed... i was feeling quite awful by then, however, i recovered a bit in the morning and drove myself back to godfrey, to find thankfully just enough snow to allow me to barrel into my driveway and get the little car into the carport, me into the house, and to blessed sleep.....

thanks to all who made this such a treat and such a wonderful journey.