More of Those Ornaments For the Custom Order

As some of you will recall, I posted some pictures of some of the ornaments I was making for a custom order. I have more to share 🙂 2 dozen down, 1 more to go in the mail Monday. They are on their way to an old school friend who is with her hubby stationed at a Japan US AFB.

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New Tutorial: Golden Lace Heart Pendant

Just finished another tutorial called Golden Lace Heart Pendants. Just listed it in my Etsy shop. Great project fro beginners and advanced clayers alike.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38416327

Art Imitating Nature

Melanie West has a series of bracelets called Bio-Bangle. And are they ever beautiful !!! They do make me think of sea shells and ocean critters. 🙂 Her eye for design, texture and color is incredible. I’ve seen Melanie’s jewelry over the past few years really blossom into exception works of wearable art. Can’t wait to see what inspires her next.

BioBangle - Bamboo

BioBangle - Octopus

BioBangle - Sea Polyp

BioBangle - Sea Shell

New DVD – Secret Shapes Inros

Jana Roberts Benzon shows how to make to most amazing Inros. How the shapes come about is the secret and you won’t get that secret out of me. 🙂 I will say Jana is a genius for coming up with the idea. I had a V-8 moment and thought “why didn’t I ever think of that”. LOL The DVD was well worth the money and can be purchased from www.polkadotcreations.com Lisa Clarke, the owner of the online store, is also a polymer clay artist and I like to support artists in the clay community.

I had been in a creative rut, my muse had left me about the same time Winter hit (she hates the cold), then I received Secret Shape Inros as a Valentine’s Day present and it gave me the jolt I needed. I haven’t stopped creating and it feel wonderful to be back in my studio 🙂 Here are 2 heart shaped Inros I made a week or so ago.

Heart Inro 1

Heart Inro 2

Textiles & Clay – A Happy Marriage

Janice Abarbanel (aka Naftali) grew up surrounded by textiles and has merged that love with polymer clay. She is a self taught artist with an amazing talent. I can’t believe these beads are not made of fabric. They look like silk screened and hand dyed fabrics. Visit her site by clicking on the picture.

It's Not Fabric ?? No, It's Clay !!!

Inro – What Is It?

An Inro is a small ornamental box hung from the sash of a kimono to hold small objects such as cosmetics, perfumes, tobacco or medicines, because traditional Japanese garb lacks pockets. Inro can be made from a variety of materials including wood, ivory, bone, and lacquer (and polymer clay of course :). They evolved over time from a utilitarian article into objects of beauty and craftsmanship.

I have been playing with a technique I call Scrap Mokume Gane and I love that I can use it to make colorful pattered Inros. Ironically enough, the Mokume Gane technique is also Japanese in origin. Translated it means “wood eye metal”. Many layers of different precious metals are laminated together. The stack (or billet) is then cut or carved into to create a pattern. The metal is then flattened into a thin sheet and used for jewelry, household objects, etc.

My Inros do not have the traditional look of Mokume Gane, but I love the designs and colors I get from using scrap clay as the base and rubber stamps or texture sheets for the design. Look to my past posts for a link to my short tutorial on making the Scrap Mokume Gane sheets.

Inro 1

Inro 2

Inro 3

Inro 4

Kathi’s ALA Dontion

My pal Kathi made a stunning necklace & earring set and I adore the organic feel. She is donating it to the American Lung Association for an auction.

Organic at it's best