black hole of creativity

Polymer Tuesday

In the midst of my metalsmithing frenzy I happened across this and now am aware of the very great lack of a small clay dragon in my life.

Play doh and Poly clay

Inspired by this post that has been the talk of the polymer clay interwebs recently, I undertook some experimentation to see if I could use play doh instead of wax to make a bead-in-bead structure (ala this tutorial from Desiree). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures yet, because other things (not the play doh concept part) went wrong with the piece I was working on, but I thought I'd go ahead and write up the steps, and add pictures when I have some.

1. Pick/make your inner bead. Make sure it is fireable and small enough to move around freely in your intended casing. (One of the primary fail points in the first one I made was that the inner ball was too big and too irregular to move pleasingly)

2. Cover your inner bead with play doh until it is the size you want bead+cavity to be.

3. Allow play doh to dry (theoretically) or bake (what I did). Sand to remove imperfections. (Fail point #2: I initially tried to apply outer bead layer without baking play doh first - it doesn't work because of the smooshiness)

4. Add clay for outer bead. Make sure you have vents for the play doh (and expanding air, for that matter) to come out. Bake.

5. Put piece in bowl of water overnight.

6. Rinse piece. The play doh - even baked - dissolves in the water.

Voila! Finished bead without the difficulties of locating/working with wax.

Typing this up made me excited about the possibilities all over again!

Someday

I want to make this rainstick. Perhaps even in a jewelry size.

note: I've been off by a day all week. Just pretend I posted this on Tuesday.

serendipitous

I was trying to find out if the picture at the bottom of this post was by the same artist that's popped up in several blogs lately (the answer, btw, is yes: apparently the PC online world is in a summer state of mind these days) when I came across this instead. Don't ask me how the search for one led to the other, but I'm so glad it did. I love iconography anyway, and this is so wonderfully expressive and just lovely. I could stare at these offerings for a long time, and probably will (until my baby wakes up again, anyway).

beach bum

We're actually at the beach this week, soaking up some much needed rest and relaxation. So here's some polyclay pictures I've collected in my files to at least help you imagine you're there too . . .

Actually, I'm not sure the below is polyclay (despite its presence in the clay folder); when I was trying to find out who made it I found it here.

From a class listing:

organic

PCAGOE recently did an interview with Kate of OrganicOdysseys. Her work reminds me that there's a few experiments I want to try with plants+clay+miniwax. Especially while my bleeding heart is still in bloom. Plus it just makes my eyes happy to look at her stuff.

upcoming

Next few project deadlines:

Mother's day (May 10)
Afghans for Afghans (May 15)
High School graduation (end of May)
Niece birthday (May 28)
Nephew birthday (June 4)
Nephew birthday (June 24)
Brother birthday (June 26)

It's nice that crafty presents are often thrifty presents, as well as being more appreciated than purchased gifts, but it takes a lot of advance planning (well, and crafty work, but that's the best part).

So. Pretty.

I'm drooling. Chicki's faux jade ring is unbelievably beautiful. (the photography is stunning, too.) Originally found through CraftGossip.

FAIL, part 3

I melted my teapot box. It was very sad.

”The seed of your next art work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections (or mistakes, if you’re feeling particularly depressed about them today) are your guides -- valuable, reliable, objective, non-judgemental guides -- to matters you need to reconsider or develop further.” -- David Bayles and Ted Orland

Saw the above today at the ICPG. I'm starting to realize how true it is. Although, perhaps not so much in the matter of the melted teapot.

FAIL, part 2

It sucks to have a project finished - or mostly finished - only to find someone else had nearly the same idea as you. It adds insult to injury when they've accomplished it better.

On the other hand, it is very pretty. (Check out danceswithclay's etsy shop for more.) Found via Daily Art Muse.

FAIL

Alas, if only there was a real-world 'undo' button. My lovely bottle of hope that I had thought to send to the Texas BOH Challenge fell victim to my perfecting attempts today. If only the point at which every further modification will only make things worse was evident in foresight, instead of hindsight . . .

a bit about finishes

I have an awful time trying to keep the various finishes for polymer clay straight. The minutiae of water-based vs oil-based vs whatever- always slips my mind once I'm actually at the hardware store, staring at the floor wax.

(note: I know there are finishes made especially for use with polyclay, but in my experience they are cloudy and goopy and not very hard. Perhaps I wasn't using them right, but I certainly am not a fan.)

Types of finishes referenced here:
-acrylic interior polyurethane ("varathane")
-acrylic floor polish ("Future")

These MUST be water-based, NOT petroleum-based. (For some reason, this is the hardest part for me to remember!) The most important thing is what the label says about how you wash up or clean up after using it. So long as it says you can wash the brushes or applicators with soap and water, you have the right product. Varathane is more durable than the Future, but Kato clays (and possibly other transparent and glow-in-the-dark clays) will only take Future.

Other helpful notes:
-pour out a small amount to work with anyway, for example, in a glass baby food jar
-Use a good quality, soft hair brush, (mine's about 1/4 wide)
-wait for an item to cool completely; coating a warm item makes the Varathane dry immediately and it streaks.
-dries in 30 minutes but depending on humidity, can take a week or so to fully cure
-set the coating (200 degrees, for 5-10 min.), esp. thicker coatings
-it's always a good idea to clean the clay with rubbing alcohol before putting a finish on it

This info was compiled mostly from the Glass Attic's Finishes-Sealers page - an absolutely wonderful resource!

oh. my. goodness.

Look at these fantastic teapots by Wanda of Wanda's Designs! The intricate details are mind-boggling. Wow.

insecurity

I wonder how common insecurity is among crafters? Is my opinion of my own work pessimistic, or realistic?

You see, now that I'm nearly finished with the boh I am/was planning to send in for the North Texas challenge, I'm getting cold feet. (cold postage stamps?) I think maybe it's because somehow I have invested so much of myself in this project that I'm afraid to part with it to a less than loving home. Also, I think, what am I doing entering a challenge of all things? What if the organizers get is and are like 'yuck! what on earth are we supposed to do with this?'

Self-doubt is one of those ridiculous things that is dangerous to have either too much or too little.

we're in the money

I really wanted to go to Dan Cormier's class this weekend, but $250?!? There's no way. Even if the money were to fall out of the sky, there are many more important things that I could use the money on. Plus there's the little fact that I've never been to a polymer clay workshop, and so wouldn't know what to do with myself.

But I still wish I could go. (or, rather, magically learn the information)

Confucius say

While looking up Confucianism this afternoon (and realizing once again how patchy my education is) I found this picture, which is perfect for something, I just have to figure out what.

Cassowary Jewelry

This is fantastic. Not only the transfer, which takes advantage of the characteristic desaturation of polymer clay transfers to add a certain vintage quality to the piece, but the color scheme of the whole is just perfect. Can I be that necklace when I grow up?

creative taskmaster

I wish I knew of a good 'to-do' online widget. Right now I use listography, but it's far from ideal for that.

BOHs - soak bottles, sketch out ideas
Pansies - add more pastels before sealing
Faces box - second sepia wash
Teapot box - major repairs with ivory
Tea cozy - call Yarns Etc to see if they have the yarn I need
Knitting markers - test rings idea
Mesa beads - finish reaming

I also need to clean up both my craft area - it's starting to get a little cluttery - and the room around it (which is long past cluttery). Also I need to revamp my creativity folder and expand the area for ideas. And, unfortunately, it's time for Gikow's book to go to the library. That's a book I'd like to own.

Also the trash needs to go out. But that's neither here nor, unfortunately, there.

way back machine

I love this necklace by Heather of Humble Beads. I have such a hard time putting together things in a creative way that I am in awe of anyone who can.

(In a mostly unrelated note, I found this picture, unlabeled, in my inspiration folder and was able to do some minor internet sleuthing to attach a name to it. Go me.)