Polymer Clay and Copper

I'm absolutely enamored with copper! It's wonderful to work with and the colour is magical with just about any colour combination I can think of. Here's my latest pendant- polymer clay with inks and copper.

There's more copper in this 5x7" mixed media collage I was especially pleased with the effect I achieved with inks on hammered copper wire on this one. The pear is actually as photo of a detail of a vase I did. I printed the photo on cotton and then fimo-gelled the cotton photo onto clay.

Pasta Machine Motor... we have a problem

Yesterday morning I put the resin and polymer clay crackle projects to one side and hauled out a selection of Premo to run some skinner blends to makes some more "futuristic primitive" beads. I was really excited to get some zappy colour blends running through the pasta machine. I flipped on the motor and was shocked by an loud shrieking sound and an emphatic crack. My new pasta machine was okay but my year old Makins motor was not. There was a huge crack on one side of the casing and subsequent flips of the switch generated an alarming sound that might come from your dryer if you put a couple of monkey wrenches in with your jeans.

In my experience I find that Atlas pasta machines are "somewhat" compatible with Makins motors- I never found the connection to be an easy fit and I suppose this is the end result. I also am incredible hard on my pm (& motor) with the odd things I run it through so I'm  certainly not going to check my warranty for a replacement!

I continued working on the blends in spite of the ear-splitting racket- my plan is to get full mileage until I smell smoke because hand cranking is not going to help my chronic rotator cuff issues.

I've ordered a new machine that will take up to 16 days to get here....

Resuming a colourful focus

After a year of a  neutral toned beachstone-inspired focus for much of my "art-to-wear" I'm changing direction back to CoLoUr!!! During my recent retreat to Colorado I began to alter the style of beads I had been using for BeachStone bracelets and necklaces with new colour combinations, etching and non-organic inclusions. New shapes began to emerge and the addition of twisted wire and chains got my imagination in overdrive.

Maureen Carlson's ink approach, Dee Wilder's metallic and micro-mosaic wonders and Wendy Malinow's  otherworldly jewellery gave me a fastictic kick start on a new path!

These pieces were created in Colorado along with the beads featured in Polymer Clay Daily ... Marlene Brady's description of the beads as "futuristic primitive" was a fantastic boost- it's exactly the look I want! So I'm delighted with this approach along with the addition of fibre with polymer clay, silver and resin is the foundation of my preparation for the upcoming Gifts for Myself and Others Show in Victoria in November.

Flower Bezels

I sourced these funky flower bezels and they worked perfectly with one of my long-time favourite floral motifs. I combined them with strips of ragged silk, cotton and metallic fibres. Currently I'm using the fibre as an accent- I think the next pieces will increase the emphasis on the fibre and use the pendant as a dramatic closure point.

Am I having fun?

Oh yes I am.

Polymer, Resin and Fibre and a Fashion Focus

I'm working flat out with polymer clay production! The night market was rained out but it certainly motivated me to get a good selection of work underway for the busy season ahead.

Combining polymer, resin and fibre is really exciting for me as it combines colour and texture. The fibre pieces are becoming increasingly dramatic and being able to put together outfits to showcase my own art is always a lot of fun! I am going out for dinner tomorrow night and I'm on the lookout for a shirt to combine with one of these necklaces to accent a vivid turquoise sweater I purchased in Chile.

aMused Polymer Clay Hits the Oak Bay Avenue Night Market!

I'm home from my trip to the USA and I'm hard at work to get wearable art items prepared to show at the Oak Bay Avenue Night Market. The event commences Wednesday at 4 pm on the Avenue and comes to a close at 8:00. This market will be featuring lots of local artisans, music and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables as the fall harvest begins to roll in!

I attended the July Market and took these photos-

Music and Dance

Craft Vendor- Flo-Elle Watson 

not clams... Gorgeous Soap by Laura Victoria!

The Night Market is a lot of fun and one of the last outdoor events before we start considering chillier festivities and shows....

Sharing a polymer clay table with Maggie Maggio

Colour me lucky. I was Maggie's table-mate at our Colorado Retreat! We agree on various things such as one's placement on political spectrums regardless of which side of the Canada /US border you live on, ownership of certain boxes of translucent clay and the importance of colour in the overall scheme of the universe.

I was up close and personal as she experimented and developed her Missing Links to perfection and I even loaned her my cutting blade for a supporting role in the film production you see below. Dee Wilder and I were whispering in the adjacent workroom and I believe our silence adds to Cynthia's crisp production.

It's a great concept Maggie!

Maggie Maggio's Polymer Chain Tutorial from cynthia tinapple on Vimeo.

Yarn in the USA

 I thought of the title of this post set to the tune of "Born in the USA" and I can't get the tune out of my head now. You can hum the background music as you peruse the gorgeous Port Townsend architecture and  check out my USA fibres!

What's not to love about a shop in a beautiful Victorian building with a HUGE selection of findings on one side and an explosion of gorgeously coloured fibres on the other?  HEAVEN. If you're in Port Townsend Wynwood Beads is a must-visit destination! 

The retail  prices were very reasonable here - sometimes it's worth losing the wholesale pricing to be able to see and touch the items before I buy them.

Coming Down For Air!

I have been in Colorado for the past while, happily ensconced at a Clay Retreat at the oxygen challenged 9000 ft level in the Rockies! I met inspiring new friends and found a new direction which was bolstered by generous mini tutorials upon request  whenever I hit a wall on my approach. Cynthia Tinapple was at the Colorado Retreat and kindly spotlighted what I was up to on Polymer Clay Daily.

I love this photo of Cynthia working on one of her daily posts.

I'm very excited to get home to clear up the mess in my studio and get to work. I have lots of photos to share and certainly I have some artists in mind that I'll be spotlighting in upcoming posts!

Currently I'm enjoying the "thick" air of the PacificNorth West of the USA before heading home to Canada's Pacific South West. Yesterday we visited Poulsbo where I found some gorgeous fibres at Amanda's Art Yarns.

Today we are in beautiful Port Townsend. There's a bead store I have in my sights for tomorrow as well as a few galleries and ...did I see another yarn store?