Kelp Baskets on Lasqueti Island

Google-beach-combing for a kelp basket workshop led me to a gem- Lasqueti Islander Dazy Drake has a beautiful Bed and Breakfast at Squitty Bay and she teaches kelp basket making workshops! I'm hoping to combine a getaway on Lasquti Island with a  workshop as soon as the next class is available. The ferry to Lasqueti island is a 2 hour drive from Victoria. It's a foot ferry and travel is by taxi or bike once on the Island.

Dazy advised me that I'm "a day late and dollar short" for this season but I'm on her contact list and can't wait to register to be a "basket case" for the next session!

Polymer Clay Daily and Still Researching Baskets

Yesterday was fun because I was featured on Polymer Clay Daily! I had lots of encouraging Flickr notes and comments and they were enormously appreciated- thanks Cynthia!
My basket making research continues. I am lucky in that this area has several very talented basket makers who offer workshops. I'm looking forward to October as I've registered for a beginner's class with Kathey Ervin in Sequim Washington.

Basket by Kathey Ervin

 In the meantime I have my Pender Island kelp coiled in the basement and a basketmaking book on the way from amazon.ca.... it's time for some experimentation!

The Craft Council of BC Prohibition Tea Party- served with eye candy

The Craft Council of BC is presenting "The Prohibition Tea Party"  to raise funds for regional programming and arts educations. The event will be at the CBC Black Box studio in downtown Vancouver on Sunday September 18 from 2-5 pm. The highlight of the event is a silent auction showcasing 74 pieces of delicious contemporary craft. Make yourself a nice cup of tea and savour the gorgeous collection. It's an online auction so if you see something you would like to call your own you can place a bid!

Craft Show Display Items

I've received a lot of emails about my collection of craft show display items that I'll be getting together for sale. Currently a lot of the items are on loan at Dales Gallery in Victoria. The (fabulous) Island Artisans display at Dales ends on Saturday  September 3rd. My plan is to inventory and photograph the collection and post the collection on my blog on Monday Sept 4th....

Fusions- completed

Here are the fusion bangles made with the sheet I showed earlier. My base colour was black which gives a stained glass effect. I took advantage of a Michael's 50% off sale on pc and now I have a replenished stash of clay so upcoming Fusions will have some very different colour schemes. 

Studio Blowout- Friday Findings

Here are the final offerings until September when I'll have a large selection of wearable art / jewelry display items available. I will have lots of cool metal necklace/ pendant stands, acrylic bracelet holders etc. I'm especially interested in selling as one large lot so if you are interested to stock up in anticipation for winter shows email me.

Today I have two large lots of assorted tools and supplies.

Findings Plus

This is a huge selection including hematite chips, magnetic hematite beads, brooch pins, charms, Chinese Coin-type medallions, face molds, grommets, bead holders, metal cabochons,  buna cord, sterling silver end clasps,  lobster and toggle clasps and lanyard clasps and more.  SOLD

Cutters

Here's a collection of cutters of all shapes and sizes. Some have never been used, others obviously have. I'm including a copper fence post topper which is super for cutting small 3x3"squares - I used these for making mini clocks and  tiles. There's even a flexible ripple blade in there! SOLD

Fusions- stage one

Yesterday I delivered all of my available Fusion Bangles to Dales Gallery  so I have to get busy today to build up my available inventory!

Here's a starter sheet  that I'll use for several bangles- it's a sandwich of skinnered clay, foils, translucent clay alcohol inks finished with stamping and scoring rough images. 

An Organized Studio!

There isn't anything new for sale today. I'll put up  final batch of offerings on Friday. There will be display stands etc. available in September.  I've really had fun with the transactions.Boxing items for minimum shipping costs has  been an interesting exercise. In two cases shipping items in 2 packages cut the costs by more than 50%!  I hope to see some of the creations that spring from the tools and materials I've sent out! 

Here's the studio now. It's organised and the only things in here are items relating specifically to what I'm doing now and what I plan to do this coming year .

computer and administrivia zone

storage zone

worktable

Storage and funky non-functional fireplace

 I've let a LOT of things go, what did I keep?

Polymer Clay

alcohol inks

foils

wire

lantern hardware

earring bezels

sari silks

found objects

resin and LEM UV box

my stash of beach kelp from Pender Island

Kelp!

I'm in the middle of a restful vacation on Pender Island. Pender is one of the Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the coast of British Columbia. The chain of islands continues across the US border as the San Juans.

This summer has been filled with travel and not much time for hands on work I'm sending apologies to several clients who are wondering what I've been doing this summer!

I decided to actually get some WORK done by heading down to the beach to see what I could find relating to my ongoing interest in bull kelp basketry. This beach never fails to seem to know what I need and at the bottom of the trail to the beach was a massive "raft"of tangled kelp! I began to "harvest it" Untangle is a better word for the the process!. It took three separate sessions over three days as the sun gradually began to shrink the raft and untangling became increasingly easier. I have found enough scattered info through extensive Googling to know that the kelp is dried before putting it in the car and heading home so I hung my treasures on the logs and rocks. Some of the strands are about   7 meters/yards long! It's a really interesting process.The kelp has transformed from a solid vivid green to a rich combination of black, brown, cream, yellow ochre and green hues and it's not finished yet! I'm tumbling ideas for designs and approaches for incorporating polymer with this fascinating material.


I'm enjoying childhood memories of Port Alice when we used kelp for making skipping ropes as well as recalling the stings we gave each other when we used the kelp as bullwhips! 


By the way- if anyone knows of a basket-maker who offers workshops with seaweed or kelp in Western North America, please let me know!

Kelp!

I'm in the middle of a restful vacation on Pender Island. Pender is one of the Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the coast of British Columbia. The chain of islands continues across the US border as the San Juans.

This summer has been filled with travel and not much time for hands on work I'm sending apologies to several clients who are wondering what I've been doing this summer!

I decided to actually get some WORK done by heading down to the beach to see what I could find relating to my ongoing interest in bull kelp basketry. This beach never fails to seem to know what I need and at the bottom of the trail to the beach was a massive "raft"of tangled kelp! I began to "harvest it" Untangle is a better word the the process!. It took three separate sessions over three days as the sun gradually began to shrink the raft and untangling became increasingly easier. I have found enough scattered info through extensive Googling to know that the kelp is dried before putting it in the car and heading home so I hung my treasures on the logs and rocks. Some of the strands are about   7 meters/yards long! It's a really interesting process.The kelp has transformed from a solid vivid green to a rich combination of black, brown, cream, yellow ochre and green hues and it's not finished yet! I'm tumbling ideas for designs and approaches for incorporating polymer with this fascinating material.


 I'm enjoying childhood memories of using kelp for making skipping ropes as well as recalling the stings we gave each other when we used the kelp as bullwhips! I was a quirky kid!

By the way- if anyone knows of a basket-maker who offers workshops with seaweed or kelp in Western North America, please let me know!