WINTERFEST!

last evening across this great land an event occurred that none can beat... clayamies winterfest!

a virtual gathering of good friends and good --well sometimes a bit silly -- conversation and sharing of gifts and wishes. gera was our winterfest coordinator this year and did a super phenomenal job of selecting secret santas, counting us down with preparations for the big party, such as gathering a candle, writing out wishes that were sent out to the universe in the wish burning ceremony, and preparing our snacks and drinks...

it was great. it was wonderful. such a sharing group i shall never know elsewhere...

i was astounded, amazed and delighted by tina's gift to me . . .


here she is...Allura. . . she is so perfect!

eyes of green tiger eye, and those spectacles... have you ever???








and here is the ultimate...

where oh where did i put that large green crystal. .. .

thanks, tina, and for remembering. . .


i just can't wait to see all the other secret santa gifts, as the descriptions were delicious......

Hooray, i won!!!

what a wonderful show! and what a super day. our land o lakes artisans' guild Christmas show was a huge success. we had many people come and peruse our work and many had very good sales.
all in all it was a magnificent end to a great year for our guild. we are on our way to many more years of exciting work and great creativity from our members.

here is a photo of me in my booth. you can see my winning ornaments in yesterday's post. i wish the photo could do it justice.... the little camel and there is a sheep behind mary.... patting myself on the back maybe, but it did turn out very well and very adorable... and amazing to me because i don't usually have any luck working so small ---

thanks lynn and committee for a fine job! and thanks carolyn for coming and for this great photo.

Last Show of the Year...

Sunday will be the Christmas Show and Sale of our Land O' Lakes Artisans' Guild for 2007. this show will be the culmination of our first year as a guild, and we have done wonderful things this first year in business--so to speak. we were introduced at Arts By The Lake, a lovely show put on by Ron and Susan Wulf, guild members and glass artists.

at that show we had our first challenge, a toilet roll cover which i have already posted here with the winning cover, done in cast paper by bonnie mclean. we do it as a people's choice award, and ask all attendees at the show to vote for the one they like the best.

we are having an ornament challenge for this christmas show, and here are my entries --


little tree with hanger











little nativity scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . little cabin in the snow

the little tree is about 2 1/2 inches tall, the little round shadow box ornaments are also 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

NB. thank you to those who comment here and in former blogs. if you would identify yourself, i could answer your questions.

Winter is Here!!!

the last few days have seen snow on and off, winter storm warnings calling for freezing rain, ice pellets, snow and all manner of winter stuff. so far it doesn't seem as bad as they foretold, but perhaps more is coming... as it is the storm that shut down the mid west a few days ago.

here are some photos of my winter wonderland. . .


path to the front door from the carport . . . detail along the way . . . my shop and driveway from a living room window. . .

Finished. ..

i am quite pleased with my geisha, but as always, that parts could be better will keep me working onward. and new ideas continue to come into my head so i will continue to work on these kaleidaladies and kaleidasculptures... so here she is...

My Geisha and her kaleidoscope --


note: The 'scope fits under her skirt, the photos do not show my geisha or the scope in the same size format.

She is about 12 inches tall and the
'scope is 5 1/4 inches tall.





another two views...














and two images . . .

Steps along the way. . .

well, here is my geisha, ready to go into the oven for the second time... last time i baked her, her kimono feel apart, so this time instead of standing up, i will bake her lying down with --as you can see-- lots of padding for support!

i am a bit nervous about this time, but i have learned a great deal along the way about how polymer clay works and doesn't work...

i will now be able to finish her scope and hopefully all will work out to take her to the gallery tomorrow for the open house.

i am happy to say that so far my scopes have been well received.

New Work Decisions...

after being accepted into a wonderful gallery show for christmas season, i decided it was time to concentrate on making only the items that really fired up my imagination and gave me great pleasure to create.



here i am at my workbench creating the sleeves for the kimono for my geisha. the picture you see is of the one before she all fell apart in the oven... sigh... but of disaster good things come, i am much happier with the new kimono. altho it is the same design, the technical work is much better.



later i am going to sort out all my flickr photos and put up new ones of the work i want to continue to do... hopefully by friday or saturday i can get that done.

My Elegant Annie.....

well, here she is with her scope... i haven't had much time to take photos of the images, but i will do that tomorrow.

under her skirt there is a wee pedestal for the scope to sit on. the scope is about 5 inches tall and has an oil filled chamber.

she is now residing at sandy's gallery, where she will be part of the Christmas Show, 2007, along with the work of 25 other wonderful artists.

A test . . .

my friend amy and i have been talking about polymer clay and dishwashers, as she has made some beautiful decoration on the stems of wine glasses. while i don't understand why someone would even think about putting such fine work in a dishwasher, apparently many would be buyers asked if they were dishwasher safe.....

so i did some experiments, as i had heard that buttons made of polymer clay could be put in the washing machine, i wondered what would happen if we put polymer clay in the dishwasher... so i covered the base a bit, the stem and a bit of the bowl of a small wine glass and then put it in the dishwasher...
here are some photos and the results...

just to save my dishwasher in case it all fell apart, i put the glass in a mesh bag. wasn't necessary at all, the glass as you see it has been through the dishwasher cycle. now, i did try to pick off the bits that are sort of what i would call 'free standing', the small piece on the left you can see stands up unattachedto other clay for a long narrow way... i could pick it free of the glass, but it didn't come off, i think the water got behind some of the upper pieces, but when it dried it was just as if i had never touched it. i used no glue. if i pick hard enough, of course i can start to break off the clay parts that are on the bowl of the glass.


here you have the glass turned around and you can see the tallest 'free standing' piece on the other side of the glass. the part you see on the left on this side of the glass is still firmly attached, again no glue.

so, i would say that items covered with polymer clay are dishwasher safe, but i would highly recommend hand washing! eventually, i suppose, after some number of times thru the dishwasher, some of the pieces, especially those like the one seen thru the glass, would eventually come off.....
however, the clay on the stem and base are still very securely attached.

if you want to be sure of the polymer clay remaining on the glass, i would make sure that most of the clay was attached to other clay.....

One is done!!!

my elegant annie, my new kalidalady, is ready to be shown to the public!

as i finished her face, i realized that she looks very like a young friend of mine from some years back. it suits her well...

under her skirt there sits a 5 inch kaleidoscope with an oil chamber... when i finish it i will post some photos...

It has been quite awhile!!!

but i have been busy working on my kalidaladies for the show at sandy's gallery, here in kingston, ontario. here is a card showing some of the artists that will be with me from november 21 through december 30. my friend carolyn will be there too, although the photo of her work is not here... i am really looking forward this show. thanks sandy for making it possible!

The end of the day. . .

this morning saw a very heavy frost here, but even tho it is somewhat bleak and washed out color, there is something wonderful about a frosty morning...

the geese and ducks are back. they stop by here every spring and fall on their migrations northward and southward... altho i had a pair of canada geese nest here all summer and even rear young. this morning i counted 23 and here is a photo of some of them.




i also counted 31 little hooded mergansers... i call them my bob hope ducks because they have ski jump beaks... they are small and adorable and feisty as well... and have huge white ruffs on the sides of their heads, which they can make very large when courting!
i only wish my camera could take better close ups...



if the morning was washed out color, then this sunset surely made up for it....


i am blessed to live in such a beautiful place... this i see from my living room window..... thank you mother earth

Halloween is nearly here. . .


and Thanksgiving is gone by for another year... so i thought i would post photos of my pumpkin pins -- some for giving thanks and a few to spook you!!

i made the molds with a baked polymer clay model and super elasticlay.

after the orange clay was modeled in the mold i popped it out, added the stem and bottom bits of green and baked it... then i added some dark acrylic paint and rubbed it off and then put it back in the warm oven for a few minutes to set the paint.



and here are some of the pumpkins decorated for halloween!

i used glow in the dark polymer clay and the results surprised even me, they glow so spookily in the dark.....

the small one resulted from not putting so much clay into the mold.....

This and That Day. . .

must run out to the post office today and put registration for for Sojourn, atc's for clayamies swap, and a little treat for a friend in the mail... i was in town yesterday, but plumb forgot to post them...

but i did purchase a nozzle and mps gas to make more glass items for my scope chambers, and had a wonderful stroll thru several dollar shops with my friend carolyn. lotsa giggles, too!!!

i have been doing some experiments with making clay fabric, and here are some photos. i turned some of these into atc's for our swap... needless to say, i now have many more ideas for decorations for my scopes and clothing my figures... atc's are a wonderful way to get inspired and try new techniques...



so today will be a multi doings day.... more work on my scopes and perhaps some work on my new website...

have a great day! and let your creative spirit awaken. . .

Good Very Misty Morning!

it is the kind of morning one likes to see on halloween! spooky and full of character, with a few yellow leaves still clinging to the spikey branches. . .

i purchased a copy of Ceramics Monthly last week and am very inspired, particularly by this beautifully expressive life size statue made by Tinka Jordy, shown at the Carol Robinson Gallery in New Orleans.





Sorrow Averted, Tinka Jordy







thanks for such wonderful inspiration!

A post promised....

here is the photo of my wonderful cardi by carolyn called Georgia. . . the collar and the pocket are felted and the back is like the front with the delightful unevenness...

i love it!


more of carolyn's wonderful cardis in the background too . . .


it is good for me to keep track of what i am doing so that i can save myself a lot of redoing, so to speak...




when a lot of time passes between two scopes, i often have
to reinvent my wheel as i forget exactly what i have done....
so here is the next step in my scope making... a sketch of
what is on my mind to try...

here is the place to work on the overall impression of the
sculptural aspect of the piece...

now to try it with clay 'fabric' . . .

Scope making day.....

here is a photo of my scope desk -- the place where i organize my thoughts and ideas for making kaleidoscopes.

usually i am not terribly organized, but i am trying at least to begin with an end in mind, that is because i am doing a new thing with my scopes... i shall try to keep you posted with my progress.

here is the beginning of four scopes, one with a turning chamber, one small scope with an oil chamber, and two that will become kalidaladies.

Something new and lots of fun...

yesterday i went to visit my friend anne who is a lampworker. she makes lovely and delightfully whimsical beads. she showed me how to use the torch and glass to make various shapes for the chambers of my kaleidoscopes....

it was amazing... i remember making pipettes in chemistry class (that was too many years ago for me to say), but muscle memory must have kicked in because i had a great time. i can't say that the pieces i made are anything to marvel at, but i am very excited to try them to see what patterns they make in my scopes. and to purchase a simpler version of anne's torch to try to make more here at home. yippee!

what a great fun day i had, and here is a photo of my first efforts!


the forms on the left in green are my efforts at
small sculptural forms. the rods are the various glass pieces used, you can sort of see the end of the green rod, where the last effort still sits...

the bits on the right are just that. . . bits left over or broken off .... but which are also very useful.

more than just a cardi-woman.....




my friend carolyn is awesome at creating wonderful items on her various knitting machines, and by hand knitting as well. i want to post here a photo of one of her 'bobbleneck scarves' as they are really warm and wonderful. they are knitted from soft merino wool and then felted, except for the little bobbles, of course.

so go on over to her website and see the rest of her wonderful creations..... you can purchase any item there.

another lovely day. . .

but the first frost of the season came last night.... when i looked out at the thermometer this morning it said O, celcius that is! nonetheless, it is getting cold now... but the ducks have returned to my pond on their fall migration and it is lovely to see them again...wood ducks, common mergansers, mallards, piedbilled grebes, canada geese, ringnecked ducks are among those that i see.

given that winter is on its way, i finally finished my friend carolyn's birthday present! i won't mention that her birthday went by several months ago, just that sometimes i am pretty slow to get things done..... but here is a pic of her in her hat crocheted with raw silk yarn.... i am very happy to say she really likes it...and it looks great on her.


a contrasting polymer pin for upbrimming will soon be finished.....then we will see some very stylish hat styles..... and carolyn is the perfect model!

Monday morning.....

and i am now posting some photos of carolyn and her work and my display too... we had a great weekend, and now it is time for some serious work on my kalidaladies, eh, g? by the way, her hat is her birthday pressie from me..... when the crocheted toilet roll cover fell apart, i decided that a silk hat was in the making for carolyn.....

carolyn's cardis are just stunning, and mine was folded on the back of the couch when a woman picked it up and asked how much it was!!! i am lucky to have one of the cardis named for me,
as when i got mine, carolyn designed it specially for me. it turned out so well that she added the design to her line.... woo woo


i shall add a photo of me in my cardi too.....when i find it!!!




but now here are a few more photos of the tour . . .



my games...and
other things...












including me!.....

What a Great Weekend.....

nearly 5pm now on the second day of the fall town and country studio tour. soon all the work and preparation will be over for another year. carolyn and i have had a great time, and here are some photos of us at carolyn's studio.

there we are, posting to our blogs.... altho you can see that i am a day late with mine!!!

A very beautiful morning....

the latest secretive woman has come into my mail box and so i want to post a photo today. she is a wonderful flamenco dancer made by barb. don't you just love those castanets!!!
thanks for sending her along, barb! she's a beauty!




yesterday was a very very busy day as i was helping my friend carolyn at the town and country studio tour here in kingston, ontario. lots and lots of people came thru the studio and carolyn very graciously demos her amazing knitting skills. her cardis are just wonderful.

later today i will post some photos from the tour, yesterday was just tooooooooooooooo busy.

Good Morning ---

i am off today to town for the fall Town and Country Studio Tour. This year i am going to be right hand woman for my friend carolyn. we have done the tour together now for quite a few years, and i find it a most enjoyable weekend. last tour we did a friday evening preview, and we are going to do that again for this tour.

i hope to take a few photos and post them over the weekend..... going to get 100 little boxes for jewelry on my way in..... but how nice items look when nicely boxed!

i wish you all a wonderful weekend also.....

idea for a kaleidoscope. . .

here is a photo of one of my figures that i am thinking of using as a model for a new scope. . .

i am still inspired by the workshop that gera taught here at my studio in september. so i am thinking of ways to use my figures in the format she taught us.

i can't quite decide who she is...... but it is coming.......

A wonderful Christmas show coming up...

well, two truly, but i am very excited about being in the Christmas show at Sandra Whitton Gallery in kingston, ontario from november 21 to december 30. i will be exhibiting my kaleidoscopes there and am now working on some new ones especially for this show. here are a few photos of some of my current scopes...

this scope has an oil filled chamber, a new feature for me, but one that i love. the bits in the chamber float through the oil and sparkle in the light..... i wish the photos could really show the wonder in these scopes.


here is another scope with a few images. . .




















both of these scopes have three mirror systems in a 60-60-60 form. this scope has a dry cell chamber. both are what i call tumblescopes, that is you roll the scope in your hands to change the image.

The Final Four . . . . .

ok, here are my beads from the molds made into wine glass identifiers . . .


just thought i would add that this technique for wire and beads was inspired by gera scott chandler, and used with her permission..... with a little twist of my own.

the finished beads.....

here are four leaves that were made from each of the molds. . .different colors of clay were pressed into the molds and popped out, no release agent is needed.
i then wiped a bit of pearl ex on the surfaces of each one. . . brilliant gold in this instance.

please note that you can pour plaster directly onto your clay model for another way to make molds. the clay will not be reusable, neither is it with the latex. i think that the heat of the curing plaster bakes the clay!

feel free to use any of these ideas and leave a comment if you would like more infomation.....

More on the leaf molds....


here you can see the one mold still in the cardboard surround used to contain the plaster, and three molds after it has been removed.
and the tiles on which the molds were made have also been removed. the latex molds easily come out of the plaster,






and here you can see two of the latex molds with their jackets beside them and two --middle back row-- still in their jackets.






here i have pushed clay into the mold... these molds can also be
used to make casts with paper, plaster, cement and perhaps
other media...

the plaster jacket allows me to press hard to get the clay into all
the little nooks and crannies in the mold, as the latex mold is so
flexible that without it, it would be difficult to do this.




here is the leaf right out of the mold.






and here is the leaf tidied up. now you can use pearl ex or other
surface treatments to give some shine or whatever to the leaf.