polymer ponderings. . .

2012-02-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

Perhaps turning over a new leaf... or should i say scope???

here are some photos of my latest scope work... the turquoise base with rose, red and sparkly bits is a hope scope that i made for a friend of mine who is learning to live with brain cancer.
i have put into it all the love and hope for a recovery and a long life.

i regret that i don't have any photos of the images for this scope.

the seascape scope was made on commission, the only
requirement being to include the shells that were
collected by the recipient of the scope, a birthday gift.

the images are only two of millions possible!

2011-04-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

I hardly know where to begin. A very dear friend has chastised me for my very sporadic
posts here. And. of course, to all my other blog responsibilities. So I have resolved to
be more regular in my postings.

Last weekend was our annual gathering in Morrisburg, Ontario, for polymer clay enthusiasts
from the Toronto - Montreal corridor. For sure we occassionally have a clayer from elsewhere,
and this year we were delighted to have Gera Chandler from Victoria, BC. I am sure in all my
years of attendance, Gera wins the prize for the greatest distance travelled to attend. She also
presented two demos, one on uv resin and the other on her take on Klimt designs.

We also had additional demos by Janice, Louise, Gaby, Sandy, Barbara, Cathy, Margi and myself. It was a
great weekend, held again at our favourite Morrisburg digs, The MacIntosh Country Inn. They
provide a phenomenal venue for us, and we are happy to return year after year to share our
love of working and creating with polymer clay.

2010-09-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

Where have the days gone?????
All of a sudden it is fall and I seem to have missed summer, although the dreadfully hot days will take some time to forget.

Working hard at Artemisia, I have started our Bottles of Hope Campaign to have our community in Westport, Ontario, make 1,000 Bottles of Hope before May 1, 2011.

Please have a look at our blog to check our progress and see some photos of the bottles that have so far been completed. Here are some also.

thanks.

2010-07-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

here is a quick upload of a few photos of the tree that landed on my house, actually it was a branch, but as big as a large tree, about 18 inches diameter...

2009-12-06T04:42:00.000-08:00

AN UPDATE. . .

just a quick update, my house is no longer for sale. i learned that i could keep it and still find a way to buy another. so for now, i am not going to sell beeks lane.

thanks all who were interested.

2009-06-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Very Special news!

my very special home is now up for sale.... i have done some serious thinking and am going to move to westport, where our gallery and businesses are located.

for more information go to my other blog...
or
century 21

thanks.

2009-01-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

hello all!

well, thanks to gera and my fellow clayamies, i am updating my blog! wow!

however, i just will get around to doing something about the lemonade stand as soon as i can, which isn't right now.

all i am going to do now is post a photo of my latest work, a small sculpture 11 inches tall.

i was invited to participate in a show called 'the black madonna', at the sandra whitton gallery in kingston, ontario, and so -- having recently been to our national gallery in ottawa to see a wonderful exhibit called the viewer as participant, or something very close to that, an interactive exhibit that i loved-- i created this "fallen angel ?" her halo comes off and if a viewer believes she is fallen, then they can put the halo on the base, however if another viewer thinks she is not, they can place the halo back on her head.....so what do you think?

please let me know!!!

2009-01-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

A New Year is Upon Us --

Greetings all who happen upon this blog, i have decided to keep this blog at least 99% polymer clay and creative work oriented. As i also have my wicca'd words, i will be doing my personal blogging there.

i am busy preparing for Artemisia's coming year, and find that my picture framing business is really taking off. at the moment i am busy construction an interactive shadowbox frame for a very young friend. i hope she will be able to keep all her favorite things there and change things around to suit herself. she also is a creative soul and has done some fun and wonderful things with model magic and i am going to, i hope, introduce her to the wonderful world of polymer.....

so begins another year... my learning here includes labels and using a site counter on this blog and on my website. www.beekslanestudio.com

there will be more to post in a few days, given i can get myself organized!!!

cheerio,
georgia

ps i now have high speed and no longer use dialup for my internet... so you can now reach me at igeorgiad(at)gmail.com. or georgia(at)beekslanestudio.com
thanks!

2008-08-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

A new development --

due to a number of circumstances, i have had to postpone the annual workshop at Beeks Lane Studio until spring, 2009.

dates yet to be determined, so keep us on your list.

thanks,
georgia

2008-05-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

5th Annual Polymer Clay Retreat

September 13 - 14, 2008
Beeks Lane Studio
Godfrey, Ontario, Canada
613-374-3582

As you can see in the flyer at right, --sorry it is so small!--Celebrating the Cane with Wanda Shum will be the retreat focus this year, including complex cane building, designing with canes for covering objects or using in other projects. each participant will learn to make his/her own signature cane.

some more of wanda's wonderful work can be seen in these photos.

i sure hope you will be able to join us for this delightful weekend retreat.
the weekend retreat includes all meals, one night accommodation in a twin bedded room in a lovely lake front b and b, two days of workshop instruction. 10 is the maximum number of participants!
register now! your deposit will secure your spot! send for your application today.

fees: $235 Cdn $100 Cdn due by july 30, 2008.
(for the workshop and two lunches -- $180 Cdn)
deposit nonrefundable except for medical emergency, but can be transferred to a future workshop.

for more information: moth2@can.rogers.com
thanks,
georgia
beeks lane studio, godfrey, ontario, canada

2008-05-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-05-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

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.......

2008-04-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-03-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-03-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

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......

2008-03-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-03-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

HOME AGAIN!!!

well, here i am home again. it is hard to believe that sojourn 08 is now herstory, but sitting here with a hollow head and a voice that squeeks and groans and is sometimes not at all, i know that it is over. most of us who went succumbed to this dreadful bug that has now hit vancouver island with a vengence, i am told.

i don't think i can do an entire catch up of my journey, but i will add some photos here and perhaps in the next few days i can add some more.

i must say, however, that the entire journey was so inspiring-- the people, the scenery, the ambiance were all more than i ever expected. so here is a great big thank you to gera and the van isle polyclay artists guild for having me.

the ubiquitous moss. . . along with all those towering evergreen trees, more variety than i have ever seen, made me understand the wonderful art of emily carr.....

i loved the little tide pools all over the rocks at wickaninnish beach which i visited while in tofino. thanks to tina and bill for being such wonderful tour guides! bill even suggested i put my finger into this little urchin-- or maybe anemone -- and so i did.... and took it out again very quickly, even tho it is not harmful, the closing of those tentacles over my skin was, well, not to my liking.....

the great pacific ocean..... hard to believe that if you took a boat and stayed on the same parallel, you would come to sakhalin island, russia... or maybe a bit of japan's northern islands.

leaving vancouver, ubc, stanley park and north vancouver from bottom to top of my photo.....plus the end of the westjet wing...

as well, a big cheer to linda and the vancouver group for what i am sure will be a wonderful retreat next year. also to linda for her good care of me while i was in the throes of this dreadful cold...

2008-02-25T18:21:00.001-08:00

pender island . . .

here is the lovely and sunny b and b i stayed at on pender, and

here are putzi and wim -- the warm and welcoming owners of the b and b called sunshine hills.

it was located on top of a very high hill overlooking the other gulf islands and the strait of georgia...

here is the red tree gallery on pender. here i met monica and we had a wonderful visit, i learned so much about galleries and coops, i am thankful to monica.
if you are even on pender be sure to visit the gallery at hope bay.

nanaimo and SOJOURN

gera drove us up to nanaimo and sojourn

across the malahat... it was a beautiful drive and many overlooks over the strait of georgia... ahem... and we stopped at one overlook where this lovely totem stood...

well, sojourn is now over, i believe the scope workshop went very well, there were some great scopes made. and the demos and classes were superb...

here is the beginning, the room is all set up and we are ready to begin.....

here is cheryl with her itty bitty babies... how amazing to see how she sculpts these very tiny yet very accurate little souls. . .

and gera demo-ing her wonderful ideas based on klimt's great art...

this will do for tonight, i am tired and finding it difficult to concentrate....

the drive to tofino was just spectacular!!! being on a bus with very dirty windows, however, kept me from taking any photos...but i hope to have some from the pacific ocean tomorrow.

2008-02-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

another fabulous day. . .

i have been so lucky with the weather for my stay here on the southwest coast of vancouver island.
three days of beautiful sun and warm days. but i am amazed to see that it is always wet on some parts of the roads, and the moss that grows everywhere... i have passed some trees so covered with it that it goes all the way up to the crown...

and i have been to the potholes, and even saw three eagles soaring
in the sky. . . i wish i could have gotten a photo of that.....

and seen some awesome rock formations,

here is my b and b, the lower building and the lower right hand windows are where i stayed. a magnificent view of the strait of juan de fuca.

and here is an amazing driftwood sculpture i came upon walking on the beach. from one side,

and from the other side

so ends another day, tomorrow i am heading for pender island and some great times there.

2008-02-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

i am exhausted!!!!!

today i went hiking! i drove up the west coast of vancouver island to jordan river, a bit beyond it actually, to the china beach and the beginning of the juan de fuca trail. it is quite an experience to hike thru rain forrest for the first time. . .

it is very peaceful, although they say to look out for the black bear, i didn't see any, thank goodness, altho i talked to myself out loud often!
the trail was soggy, i guess it never really gets dried out under all that tall tree cover. some of those trees were ginormous... and there are great numbers of ferns, and small little waterfalls that gurgle down the cliffs to the water below. but the moss, wow, everything is covered with moss.

some of the trees seem to have green trunks so covered with moss are they...and some are very spooky! some parts of the trail are narrow and it seems a bit like the jungle to me, never having been there.

anyway, i didn't seem to be able to take very good photos, but i shall add some here.

a ray of sun poked through the trees to cast a shadow of this fern.

this is one of those amazing trees, as on most of the trees there are few branches at the lower trunk, and the ones that remain are twisted and broken and add a very mysterious feel to the trails.

these cutouts in this very old tree were for the loggers to get a foothold as they clambered up to cut off the tops of the trees. some hikers, i guess, have a witty sense of humor, as many have stones which give the look of a rather spooky face...

and once again, a wondrous sunset to close the day. . .

2008-02-16T17:35:00.001-08:00

i have arrived in oak bay. . .

several days have passed, so i am going to have to do a catch up here...

this is gera's lovely home in oak bay, victoria. my room, ahem, is the one with that darling balcony on the left. . .

we went downtown and saw a lovely gallery, GoA, and had an absolutely divine lunch at an irish pub. i have never tasted such a wonderful clam chowder. . . and even got the recipe from the chef!

we went shopping, we learned some new things about computers, we ate wonderful meals that gera and chuck prepared, oooooooo a wonderful shellfish dinner of crab and oysters, and i had fun with gen and brendan too. of course, i must also mention shadow.....

and here am i with gera and kristine. we had a wonderful meeting and lunch at the marina, see below. . .

and here are liz, wanda and gen. it is so wonderful to meet those names i have been chatting with for several years on our great canadian online clay guild! with our amazing website done by liz!!! how much fun we had, and talked and talked and talked. . .

here is the marina, it used to be sea world, until a tragic accident closed it down. i don't really like to see animals confined, though, so perhaps it was all for the best. now it is a lovely restaurant and park and marina.

and so, i am off to sooke.... the name just intrigued me, and i had a few days to wander, so i decided to come here and see what the coast of southwestern vancouver island had to offer...

i am staying at a lovely bed and breakfast, a huge room with a kitchenette and a spectacular view of the juan de fuca strait and tonight there is a beautiful sunset. i am very happy to say, since there is usually rain here i am told. but today was a dry and blue sky day, with lots of big puffy clouds. it is also warm and i walked on the beach. however, those photos are on the camera and i don't have the attachment to download them onto the computer... tomorrow i will go back to the beach, and then you will have some great new photos to see... but here is the sunset looking over to the us of a and the olympic range which is somewhat obscured by the clouds...

2008-02-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

i have arrived!!!!!

here i sit looking forward to walking thru gate 26 off to vancouver island and a great adventure.

it was snowing fiercely outside and as i had never flown in such nasty weather i was quite nervous....

but here i witnessed de-icing.... first they taxi to the deicing station, all the while the window is covered with snow and i can see nothing out there, until suddenly looking out i see us being covered with this bright orange spray....

orange you say, but the ground is green! sure enough, after the guy in the bucket was done with the orange, out came the chartreuse! the wings were green! nevermind, we went off without a hitch much to my great relief!

we flew over ontario, manitoba, saskatchewan, and here we are over the rockies of alberta. how magnificent they are...

we are up at 40,000 feet here.... there was a slight cloud cover, when this megalith appeared...

glorious

here we are arriving in vancouver... i know that this bridge probably isn't one one would write home about, but with the sun hitting the orange arch, it was just beautiful and in the right spot to get a great photo!

and here we are, off to vancouver island. gera, bless her, met me at the airport, and after a bit of difficulty finding the car, off we were to the ferry. the very distant horizon thru the struts of the ferry is where we are headed. it was a beautiful day, the ride was lovely and calm, and we passed lots of ferries, large and small along the way. as well, we met some very kind and welcoming folks who do this journey regularly... wow!

so, thus begins the adventure. . . stay tuned.....

2008-02-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

it won't be long now...

i can scarcely believe it is almost time to go out west... i was last in victoria in 1975. wow, that was a long time ago! slowly but surely i am getting packed and getting all the stuff done i need to do for sojourn 08, the vancouver island polymer clay artists guild first annual retreat to be held this year in nanaimo.

i have never been to nanaimo, or tofino, or sooke, or pender island, and i have never seen the pacific ocean, but i am headed for all those-- plus victoria! on tuesday, i head out via pamela in ottawa who has so generously offered a bed for the night and to take me to the airport on wednesday morning... thanks pamela!!!

so, despite all this snow, so far wednesday is forecast to be sun and cloud with perhaps a few flurries in ottawa... that is good, i haven't yet checked calgary, where i must change planes, but i am fairly certain vancouver will be fine...

i have finished cutting and chamfering the mirrors for the scope kits i am taking for the workshop, and now i must sit down and finalize the lesson plan and instruction sheets. i just couldn't resist putting in one more plug for sojourn 08! and likely my next post won't be until march 2, when i am home again and will tell all about my journey. well, i am taking this laptop, but i don't know where i will find internet access... however, i will try.

i am also going to meet up with several artisan guilds to collect information for our land o lakes artisan guild. woo woo. . . i am also very looking forward to a great holiday!

thanks, g. and see you soon.

2008-02-04T05:11:00.000-08:00

i am in awe. . .

several weeks ago my friend carolyn and her mum and dad invited me to their home for a preview run thru performance that valery lloyd-watts would later be playing with the kingston symphony. wow, was all i could say then. but today i must post about the wonderful performance we heard at saturday morning's rehearsal for the symphony's performance that evening. valery played rachmaninoff's variations on a theme of paganini. i have to say that piece has been at the very top of my list of favs for many many years, but i had never heard it live until saturday morning... what a treat!!!

carolyn made a video of valery playing and doing some tweaking with the orchestra, but i am afraid with dialup i am not able to post it here. however, you can go to http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=xY0gPT86MZ4 and get just a small glimpse of a talent that has been nurtured to perfection. however, i do have a photo..... or two...

it was such fun to see the orchestra working together with valery to ensure a great performance. i was also lucky enough to speak with a couple of the symphony members and they told me it was a great and fun piece to play....i am totally inspired to work at my own art with renewed fervor. . . thank you valery!

i am blessed, no doubt about it at all!

2008-01-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

beads beads beads.....

i was asked by a jeweler to make some classy beads...

well, i don't know about the classy, but this one turned out quite well, i think. i made a fuschia/purple blend, cut a circle and placed it on a light bulb. then i carved out the dragon and baked the bead. then i covered the whole surface with liquid clay with gold pearl ex mixed in -- thinking what a lot of sanding i would have -- making sure i filled every carved area well. baked that and was surprised that the sanding was not such a chore and went from 180 up to 2,000 grit then buffed. the small light shape at the top is a reflection, i found it very difficult to take a photo without any reflection, even in a light box, as the surface was quite shiny.....

this bead is also a lentil over a light bulb, but the design is based on a sheet of blended clay with small flowers inlaid. then baked.
the dragon is a combination of paint and liquid clays drawn on and then baked and then several layers of very thin liquid clay were added and baked between each layer. the last layer was also heatgunned for maximum clarity.

a few sparkles were added before the last layers of liquid clay.

i have been playing with making clay fabric lately, and this is just one way i have used it.
i am not a jewelry maker, but i am having lots of fun making beads. stay tuned for more variously shaped beads and new surface treatments. after all, beads are really very small sculptures!!!

2008-01-18T12:37:00.001-08:00

playful experimenting time for me...

i have been going back to some sculptural work lately, so here are some photos of my work with clay and wire and wiremesh...
you can just see a bit of the mesh in the lower right with yellow clay. and there is wire mesh in the back triangular shape, which was then formed around a wire shape-- an open pod sort of thing... some wire is stiff and i wanted to see how the clay would do when the wire was manipulated with the clay around it... i am pleased and will use the idea in new work...

also using forms to hold the clay so that wire can be embedded...

this plaster form was made around some blister plastic that a light came in.... the clay pops right out, but i thought to leave it in for this photo...

here is a form made around a light bulb which was broken and the pieces removed carefully!

the wire stand will become part of the sculpture, which sort of looks like a cement mixer to me, interesting since i also do cement art sculpture...

here are two pinch pots. the yellow one was closed and then the top was pulled into the neck and the spout. it is however, closed but the bottom is hollow.

the other is pinched up to height and then the top was fluted into a nice shape.

i have also been playing with coiled forms, at first just keeping to more normal ways to coil... but i will also be going into more abstract shapes with coils. and playing with coils that are very uneven in thickness...

here are some slab triangular shapes that i have been putting together in various ways, these are hinged with tiny piano hinges--the large triangles; and tiny regular butt hinges--the small triangles

i have also been doing some surface treatments... carving and backfilling, making some ooak beads, and seeing what i can do with the various liquid clays...

come back soon to see them.....

2008-01-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

lately i am finding it hard to get around to posting... many new ideas in clay keep popping into my head and i am doing some experimenting with new forms and ideas.

however, one of my resolutions for 2008 is to make 2 bottles of hope every day. well, i hate to admit it but i am behind in that, however, i am posting here the new bottles, as well as some from december. i love doing bottles of hope as i can learn all sorts of new techniques with them.

on the left, january's efforts

december's efforts on the right

i am currently waiting for a shipment of front surface mirror so that i can make more kaleidoscopes..... some hope scopes and cut mirrors for the participants at Sojourn, in Nanaimo, BC February 22 - 24, 2008. i will be teaching a tumblescope workshop there.

2008-01-02T05:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another year.... resolutions time again . . .

where do the days go... however, i have made one major resolution for 2008, and that is to make two bottles of hope every day. it seems every time i even turn around another friend is diagnosed with cancer. so i intend to do what i can by making bottles of hope for our local cancer center at Kingston General Hospital. so far the nurses have been so wonderfully receptive that doing this small but significant deed will ease their days as well. kudos to all the nurses who give so much to their jobs and thus to the people who come to them for treatment. BRAVO!

this scope is for my friend maryann. i have known mar since we were 13 years old, so i send this scope to her with all my love for a successful treatment. love you, mar.

i am a kaleidoscope artist and while making bottles of hope i discovered that the same little bottles could be used for the chamber of my smaller scopes. some are made with an oil chamber and some chambers are dry cells. so i started making hope scopes also for near and dear friends diagnosed with cancer.

kaleidoscopes are magic... there are scientific explanations, sure, but looking thru a scope and seeing a never ending series of beautiful images is pure magic. so along with making scopes for a local gallery, see my geisha at Sandra Whitton's Gallery. she hides a scope under her skirt.
i love sculpture and so i have begun to make what i call kaleidosculptures...

i also want to wish to the world a year of peace and no more wars..... you cannot fight to get peace, you must live peacefully at all times, and then we will have peace.....

2007-12-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

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......

2007-12-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-12-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-12-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

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. . .

2007-12-01T16:49:00.000-08:00

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 . . .

2007-12-01T05:17:00.001-08:00

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.

2007-11-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-11-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-11-18T04:10:00.000-08:00

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.....

2007-11-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-11-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-10-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

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.....

2007-10-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

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. . .

2007-10-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

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' . . .

2007-10-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

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!.....

2007-10-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2007-10-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

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.....

2007-10-11T05:05:00.000-07:00

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.......

2007-10-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-07T08:06:00.002-07:00

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.....

2007-10-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

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.

2007-10-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Step two of leaf molds...

the molding is finished and now they are almost ready for their plaster jackets. you might be able to tell that i have put a layer of cheesecloth in the last layer of latex to give the mold strength.

i will do that this afternoon over in my workshop where i can splash plaster about with out worrying about making a mess!

check back tomorrow for photos of the jackets, the molds and some models made from them...

2007-10-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

Leaf Molds

yesterday i sculpted four leaves to use as models for making molds. this photo shows the first step in using liquid latex for mold making. there is just one coat here, but i will put on two or three more and then make a 'jacket' of plaster for each one, so that there is a firm base to push the clay into. i like using this latex because it is very flexible and can be peeled off the molded clay with no damage to the unbaked clay model.

it may take a little longer to make these molds, but i find them more useful than other types.

2007-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

The last days of summer. . .

today i know that summer is at an end, despite the warm days. the leaves are magnificently colored with reds and oranges and greens and purples and yellows... and with the blue of the sky

well........... what else can i say, except that i put my little swimming pool to rest for the winter today.

just 8 feet across and 27 inches deep, this little pool was a wonder on those hot summer days when the humidity went thru the roof and the temp was up above 100 F.....

i am sad to see the summer end, but happy to see the fall come with winter not far behind. these fall colors are so inspiring that i just went to my work desk and created four leaf molds. look again here for progress, and if they work, and what i will do with them...

cheers for another day...

2007-09-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Living in a Rainbow ~

been feeling a little blah lately, but this morning i awoke to a veritable rainbow outside my home...
here is one photo (above) taken from my seat here at the computer... and here are a couple more. . .

i love this one above, a single red maple leaf in a bed of geranium leaves..... and just one more, on the right --

the last daisies of summer among the fallen leaves....

i am inspired to sit at my clay table -- the colors are glorious!

2007-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

More Bottles of Hope ~

well, today i had an appointment in kingston, but woke up feeling like i had been hit by a mack truck! so i went back to bed for a bit and am now just going to stay home...

but here are some more bottles of hope i made yesterday, i am sorry that the recipients will now have to wait a couple more days to have them...

our small but mighty kingston area polymer clay guild has also given bottles of hope to Breast Cancer Action Kingston, a wonderfully supportive and super group dedicated to assisting breast cancer survivors in every way possible.

They also have a dragon boat racing team, you saw the post earlier here, as i painted the logo on their travel trailer. i have met some amazing and delightful women thru bcak..... thanks for being there.

and i am now very happy to have found another outlet for our bottles of hope, i just hope we can keep up with a demand that i sure wish did not exist!

2007-09-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Bottles of Hope

For some time now i have been making bottles of hope along with some members of our kingston area polymer clay guild -- crystal, carolyn, rose, sandra and jen -- with hopes of having our cancer center participate. at first i had little luck finding the way in, so to speak, but after i took my dear friend carolyn for her last chemo treatment, things suddenly changed for the better. i took my clay and some bottles that had been donated to us by marc raymond optical in kingston, and demonstrated making the bottles.

i am happy to say that the nurses in the chemo room were delighted with them and one wonderful nurse even went right out to purchase some clay to learn to make them herself! so here is photo of a few that i have made to take thursday to the hospital... they seem a little dark, however, i think my next few will be bright and colorful...

2007-09-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

Another lovely Secretive Woman ~

my friend amy was a participant at gera's workshop here at beeks lane studio last weekend. here is her lovely Starlight --

Starlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .turned around. . .

thanks for sharing the photos, amy! i love her colors and demeanor.....

isn't it amazing how wonderfully different each participant's secretive woman turned out to be? scroll down to see some of the others that were made over the weekend... there are a few more to come, so keep coming back for another look!

2007-09-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

Inspiration Abounds.....

while i was wandering thru our library yesterday -- i love the library!-- i found a book that i think will be full of wonderful inspiration. it is by one of my fav potters, robin hopper. it is called Making Marks, and while written mainly for ceramic artists, a quick perusal has peaked my attention. i will keep you posted on this one as i believe it will keep me going for a very long time, even using media other than ceramic.
i remember some years back going to an exhibit of hopper's pottery in peterborough's art museum . i was totally blown away, especially as i was immersed then in classes in ceramics at Sir Sanford Fleming College. now i work primarily in polymer clay, but the skills and techniques learned there have served me well. so i am hurrying thru the daily grind so that i can really get into this book.....

2007-09-21T04:56:00.000-07:00

Another colorful fall day is here...

as i am waiting for a few more finished secretive women, i will today post m'lady, as i have started to call her waiting to see if i can name her after a very dear friend...
yes, her name is m'lady carolyn... who continues to inspire me with her courage and tenacity....

her parasol was difficult to say the least, but i finally got it after a lot of blue air in my workshop!

to move away from polymer clay to another art form, i want to show you the work of an artist i met at sandy whitton's gallery in kingston, ontario. i just absolutely fell in love with this elegant swish bag lady, as i call her. in fact, i told the artist, she captured my soul with this one...Claudia McCabe is the artist here, originally from montreal and now lives in toronto, i believe.
here is another of her works that simply took my breath away...
not to forget to mention that sandy is a fabulous artist herself. she makes the most beautiful jewelry -- rings and necklaces and other fabulous works with which to adorn yourself and feel absolutely divine! some photos of sandy's work coming soon!!! and more of her wonderful gallery here in kingston, definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in this lovely canadian city.

2007-09-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

An Update --(see post below)

i just received this lovely photo of louise's snow queen... we must take care to keep her in a good mood if we want soft and beautiful snow this winter. if we create a bad mood for her, we will see dreadful ice and nasty winter storms... however, i know someone out west who would love to see her softly cover the ground with sparkly white stuff.... so i guess that means best to stay on her good side!!!

2007-09-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

More Secretive Women from Beeks Lane Studio --

i think my feet have come back to solid ground now, although i am still feeling very high since the weekend workshop with gera. today i shall post a couple more photos from that fantastic learning experience.

here is pam's wonderfully caped southwest woman. . . although she also felt Spanish at times... i believe that is compatible! Her colors are glorious southwest tho...

and here is jillian, who went from princess to queen on the ride home... she is just lovely and you can see her without her cape here.

she is truly elegant and graceful, calm and enigmatic.

tomorrow i will post some more and my own creation. i had some diffiuclty with her parasol, but she is now finished and one last bake will fix all.

2007-09-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

well, here we are! what a wonderful group of clayers met at beeks lane studio
this past weekend for a fabulous workshop with gera scott chandler -- that is gera third from
the right--who taught us to make her secretive women -- lidded vessels that are truly works of
sculpture!

it was an amazing time, and the ultimate kudos to gera. for me the astounding aspect
was that everyone's vessels turned out so uniquely individual, even tho we were all
following the same basic instructions...

WOW! so here are some of the results of the weekend's work --- more will follow in the coming days, so keep your eyes here for more terrific work by a super group of clayers!
louise crafted this wonderfully mysterious woman -- soon we will understand what she is doing.

and this beautiful lady was made by bonnie, who had never done any claying ever! she
astounded us all with her wonderful natural affinity for working with polymer...

it was truly a weekend worth a whole memory book, however, i cannot post it all in one blog!
as well, it could truly be a three day workshop, especially if there were more than the nine we had here at beeks lane studio. one large 30 inch oven and a toaster oven were scarely big enough in the firing/baking department! all these vessels are at least 12 inches tall, some more.

all in all though, i must again toot the horn for gera, amazingly talented artist and super instructor. come back tomorrow for more photos of these amazing results!

2007-09-08T04:34:00.001-07:00

it is again saturday morning... the days are flying by so fast it is hard to keep track!!! especially with a memory like mine...

preparations are going well for gera's workshop (see post of august 16) coming up next weekend... it prompted me to insulate and winterize my workshop, get a large stove for a bigger oven so that i can create larger works myself... there is still much to do before winter, but now we do have a clean and bright room to workshop in....

speaking of which, i must now go over there and continue painting the walls... before it gets so hot i can't work in it...but cooler temps are forecast for later tonight and tomorrow, especially if we get a huge thunderbooming storm later...

2007-09-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

i want to post today about our wonderful Canadian Clayamies.

at the moment we are discussing and starting lots of blogs, a nice alternative to setting up time consuming websites. in future posts i want to show some of the work of our very talented group, and especially our swaps...

so for today, i will start with the creativity of margi laurin. margi was the instructor at my first annual beeks lane polymer clay weekend back in 2004. as you can see in a following post, the fourth annual will be held in less than two weeks time, sept. 15 and 16, here in the beautiful ontario countryside.

here is a photo of one of margi's illustrations -- the title of her workshop was 'illustrating with polymer clay'. brilliant, don't you think?

2007-08-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

as long as i am here doing some editing, i thought it a good idea to add a new post...
today i finished painting the trailer for breast cancer action kingston (canada) survivor dragon boat racing team... the weather certainly wasn't very cooperative for the last seven or eight weeks, given that i was using oil based paint. . .

never again. regardless of what the paint store experts say, i will always use acrylic from now on, so that i can use water to clean up, etc.

but the work turned out pretty well, considering that sign painting is not my forte!!! the amazing thing is that the color purple is exactly the same as the color of the team's shirts -- and this the more surprising because i had to pick a color chit at the store. . . they couldn't scan the shirt...

here she is. . .

2007-08-18T05:18:00.001-07:00

good morning, world and thanks for another day...

there sure are some talented polyclayers here in canada.... it seems to me a good idea to post some here as the days go by. . .

first of all, tho, i will toot my own horn a bit. for august, i was the featured scope artist on kbkb, kaleidoscope builders knowledge base, a yahoo group for scope builders.

this scope is about 5 inches tall, has an oil filled chamber, and i call it a hope scope. i have given these to very dear friends battling breast cancer.

2007-08-16T08:24:00.001-07:00

well, another week -- or two or three -- has gone by and i am trying to keep up to date on my posts... i also have another blog wicca'd words here on blogspot and my last post there shows an absolutely astonishing likeness between my late dog koki and a little one named sophie i met last weekend.

Clay wise, i am getting ready for my annual polymer clay weekend here at my studio. this year we have gera scott chandler presenting her Secretive Women workshop. here is a photo of two of her marvelous creations.
september 15 - 16 will bring a wonderful weekend to the participants at this workshop held in godfrey, ontario.

2007-08-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

well, today i had my first disaster with polymer clay after nearly six years of working with this fantastic medium.

if anyone has had any experience with bake and bend or knows if the problem was that one cannot rebake it, please leave a comment. . .

i am broken hearted. . . my artisans guild is having a challenge "The Great Toilet Roll Cover Challenge" so i decided to crochet one from bake and bend, which i mixed with premo. baked it in long yarn like strings and crochetted a wonderful cover. then i decided to add some decoration. . . two blue herons and some bull rushes with a batch of lily pads on top with a lotus like flower and a tiny little toad. . . well, there is not much left except a lot of little bits of clay. . .the temperature was correct, i have baked before on this tin with no trouble. . . waaaaaa

but i think i will enter it in the challenge just like this anyway.

2007-07-31T14:11:00.001-07:00

well, it certainly has been a long time since i posted. . . but so many things have happened i find it very hard to keep up. anyway, i shall start again to update my posts.

the very best news, polymer wise, is that i made it as a featured artist in the august, 2007 Crafts Report, Insight section -- scroll down to page 4, and there i am. . . it was so exciting to find it as i had no idea i was there.
a friend and i were going through the online magazine to renew a subscription and when we saw the box for featured polymer clay artists, we decided to have a look. . .

imagine my surprise!!!!!
above is the photo that i sent to them...

here is another photo of a chess set i made featuring inukshuk, the truly Canadian symbol found only in the Arctic of this great country.

i am about to set up a paypal account and sell thru etsy. . . but i also do custom work and would be happy to hear from you.

my website www.beekslanestudio.com

2006-10-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

well, i can't believe that nearly a month has gone by since my last blog. however, since i have been spending a lot of time working on my web site, i am not really surprised.

i would put a photo here with my hair disheveled and my grin askew, but i don't have one. . .
however, i am happy to announce that in a day or two my web site will be out there with everyone else's! hooray!

i am beginning to get involved in a bottles of hope program here in my community with my small group of polyclayers. a wonderful optician, marc raymond in kingston, donated a huge box full of little bottles for our group to use. thanks very much.

gotta run now, i sure hope i can keep to my pledge to post at least every other day from now on. and post some photos of the finished bottles, and other new work that i am doing.

cheerio for now.....

2006-08-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

my friend carolyn, who is an awesome knitter and handloomer, had a birthday a few days ago. here is a photo of the little present i made for her. . .

and that is some actual knitting on those wee little needles. . . the little 'pot' is about 2 inches in diameter with polymer bits after one of the styles carolyn uses for her amazing cardis.

the little ball of yarn is also polymer, but the actually knitted bit is some embroidery thread which i knitted with those wee needles.

happiest of birthdays to a wonderful friend.

2006-08-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

i can't believe how hard it is to get started on these blogs..... i wonder if i am the only one who finds it so?

i just thought i would start this one today as it is my birthday and i am 66 years on this earth at this moment, well, not quite, as i was born at 10:30pm. thanks, mom!

tomorrow i shall post some photos of my polymer clay critters; i have just spent the last hour reading thru polymer clay daily, a great site for anyone who sees this and hasn't been there.

by then i will have gotten the willies out of my system and will be able to start doing some posts about my own clay work and about that of those who inspire me.

til then. . .