Silver Clay Workshop in Mullumbimby

I'm holding a beginners silver clay workshop in Mullumbimby for the locals here. I'm also testing the value of talk back radio...am doing an interview on Bay FM on their Arts Canvass segment on Thursday 2nd April at around 10.15am. So tune in if you're interested...
Details of the workshop are:

Silver Clay Jewellery Workshop

in Mullumbimby

Perfect for the beginner or those wishing to breathe new life into their jewellery making, come explore the revolutionary new medium of silver metal clay used to create fine silver jewellery without the need for casting molten metal.

Saturday 25^th April, 10 to 4pm

Cost: $80 plus materials (dependant upon the size you’d like to make, approx $40)

66845576

Earrings are an example only. You may choose you own design…or make a pendant!

Slaying! Nope, not the dragon!

A wonderful clay buddy of mine from Albany WA once termed silver claying as 'slaying' and it stuck. I've been in slaying heaven for the last three days. I wanted to combine gems (which can't be fired) with silver clay so I fired a pre-made bezel cup into a hole (made with 'it' as the cutting tool) learned from Hadar Jacobsons first book 'The Handbook of Metal Clay". Great book and well worth the purchase. Pity I stuffed up the part where the stone falls nicely into place...it didn't, it went in on a slight angle and got stuck, I couldn't pull it out. So Ms Impatience decided 'oh stuff it' and pushed it as far as it could go, still on an ever so slight angle...which ofcourse made fitting the bezel snugly around it nice and neat an impossible task. Lesson learned. Next time I'll be placing dental floss underneath the stone till I know it's sitting right. Live n learn.
I've had success with applying gold to silver...adding paste (or better yet, acs overlay paste!) directly after it's cooled from firing, then two/three layers of gold paste or aura 22, drying before each next coat, torch fire and burnish gold while still hot...a tip I got from Jen at Metal Clay Australia
I also made Curt a kombi pendant...there's been a shift in our relationship and I felt the urge to make something precious for him. It HAD to be a kombi didn't it! He loves it.
All in all, a very satisfying few days. I'm so glad to be settled back in.
Off to another art trail exhibition/promotion at Hammer and Hand this evening...talking art and drinking red wine, both of which are right up there in the top ten of favourite things...

Sydney workshop

Here are some pics of the Sydney workshop in early March. We all had a simply marvelous time and I will be back in October for those of you who want more! Perth will have to wait a wee bit longer as I plan to go back in March. Wonderful to have a bloke at the Sydeny workshop, thanks to Carl for being brave enough to hang out with the women.
The group pic, for those who want to know who's who...from left to right...Maria, Kerry, Janet, Carl, Kathy and moi!

Perth Polymer and Silver Clay workshop fun!

Last weekend I taught a precious metal and polymer clay combo workshop in Perth made available to Aussiepolyclayer members and CCIP artisans. What fabulous fun we had! Made even more so by the bonds that have been formed over many years of chatting online at the Aussiepolyclay Forum. Many of us know each other quite well but have never met in person till now so you can imagine how wonderful it was to finally get together for a weekend of clay fun.

Thanks to my folks for opening up their home for this wonderful event and to all those who participated, a huge thanks to you all for making it a joyful gathering.

Special thanks to Pam Annesley for hijacking me straight after the workshop for an extra two days of claying and experimenting at her home studio in Bindoon.

Stay tuned next week for pics of the Sydney workshop coming up this weekend and also the announcement and pics of the polymer jewellery challenge for both groups.

Debbie and Lex have one of many cheeky moments while I lend a hand.

Zarina finger painting!

Julie merrily painting a polymer clay sheet.

Zarina in an 'ooops, careful' moment! We can all relate to this one!

Lex and Debbie working with silver clay

Julie cutting strips of silver clay.

Group pic...left to right...Silvia, Merryl, Lex, Debbie, Zarina and Pam. Front, Mel and Julie.

Examples of the pieces that were being taught.

Talk about concentration!

Ooey gooey painting fun!

On the cover!

Wheeeeeeeeee! I made the cover of Australian Beading this issue! It's a real thrill...and makes my heart glad for all kinds of reasons. When I picked up that first pack of clay and had my first play about 8 years ago, I knew instantly that I'd finally found my 'niche'. Hardly a soul even knew about polymer here in Australia, Aussiepolyclayers was only an idea in the founders head (Heather Richmond) , it formed a year or two afterwards. There were no Australian online polymer clay shops, no workshops taught, no books available. I was on my own. But... I'd found other people with the same focus at Polymer Clay Central, a USA based forum. I absorbed everything I could about polymer clay online...the PCC forum members were an amazing source of inspiration and help...I discovered there were books and videos...even a tv program in the USA dedicated solely to polymer clay that a friend taped and sent me...I just devoured it all...and I played. I played and I played. And I fell more and more in love with this stuff. Now I teach all over Australia, exhibit in Byron Bay and..... have a piece of my work on the cover of a mag. Just shows you the power of passion!

Ruffle beads

What I love most about the internet is that it's been the vehicle for connecting and making friends with people all over the world as well as a constant source of inspiration and education in just about anything that interests me. One such friend is Christelle Van Lingen , a wonderful polymer clay artist living in the USA who has been making these beautiful ruffle beads for some time. She recently wrote a tutorial on them and asked me to test it...and here it is! Delightful isn't it? And not as hard as I thought it would be. Lucy was here that day, she has never touched polymer clay before and I asked her if she wanted to play along with me... she was sooooo thrilled with what she made...she used two 'petals' for earrings too!
And here is the link to Christelles etsy shop and this marvelous tutorial!

Sydney/Perth Workshop Examples

These are some different colours and finishes I've been playing around with as examples for the upcoming workshops I'm teaching in Perth and Sydney. I've also used silver leaf instead of gold for a change. The spirals (made from scraps left on the table) and pillow beads are finished with fimo gloss and the pendants and tiles are finished with Lisa Pavelkas Magic Glos which is more like a resin.

"Praying for Nature" wheel beads

Inspired by the beautiful BVLGARI tubogas technique and those fabulous tibetan prayer wheels... the middle ring moves around freely. I love the deeply etched stamps and home made textures I used to create these beads and couldn't resist the play on words...nature needs all the help we can give it if the planet is to survive...
Strung on magnetic clasped steel cable threaded with softglass and pewter daisy-like beads. These are keepers!

Aussie Hearts

Called aussie hearts because these colours are so aussie, they mimic the colours of the traditional aboriginal paintings with those delicious rich hues...
Using Premo polymer clay and Kathi's fabulous brain cane tutorial (three cheers to Kathi!). That tute is a little ripper!
What I like about the brain cane is that it's great for heart and other shapes because it doesn't mind being distorted like a geometric pattern would, in fact, a little tweeking here and there makes it even more interesting. Go on, try it! You know you want to...:)
It's been a real 'heart' focus for me this month. Our jewellery collective Hammer and Hand, is holding a 'hearts and witches' night and exhibition for friday the 13th of Feb, the evening before Valentines day. We're all making pieces to suit the theme. These (and the pmc hearts of the previous post) are my heart contribution, they will be for sale on the night. For the 'witches' side of the theme, I'm attempting a broomstick in silver metal clay. A very talented Lisa Moody from SA made one a few years back and I just loved it. I'm halfway making one of my own, am using a gnarly stick for the handle, yet to work out the brush part...

Heartscapes

Lets start the new year off with hearts. I'm calling these silver clay hearts "Heartscapes". They mimic my own heart, patterned with life's ouchies, big and small, in fact, made more beautiful for it all, so long as one stays open.........

Polymer and PMC pendants

More ideas for a polymer and pmc workshop I want to teach. Pendants painted with metallic acrylic paints and covered with translucent. The rectangular one has a strip of gold leaf sandwiched between translucent..and a window of arnold grummer flakes mixed with liquid clay. And for that touch of class, I added hand made pmc bails and garnets set in pmc...

Hammer and Hand

I've joined a jewellery artists collective called Hammer and Hand in Byron Bay. The way it works is that each of the seven artists display their jewellery ( gold, silver, stainless steel, pmc, polymer clay, glass) in a shop which is a part of the new Byron Artists Trail and give one day of their time to man it. There's a jewellery bench for us to work from while we're there and I believe cappuchinos can be delivered! Heaven on a stick for this little hermit who hardly gets out into the big wide world.
As luck would have it, I join them just days before the opening of the new Byron Artists Trail...which is on Friday this week. If you're in the area, pop in for a drink and nibbles anytime after 5...or come any time, we're open 7 days a week, I'm there every Tuesday, come and watch me play with clay!
Hammer and Hand at
1/4 Ti-Tree Place, Arts and Industries Centre

http://www.byronartisttrail.com/

Experimenting...

These pieces are not finished. I probably won't finish them as they've both got a terrible case of the moonies. I suspect the paint's moisture content is the problem although I made sure they dried thoroughly overnight. I've used Stuart Gills Byzantia acrylic metallic paints before underneath Premo Frost with good results...so I was disappointed to find moonies develop this time. Such a pity because I love how the rest of it has come together. Oh well, back to the clay table!
ps I do like the opal effects from the Arnold Grummer flakes, seems the best way to deal with these are to mix them with liquid clay and bake a thin layer directly on a tile...comes up a treat!
Edited to add: It just dawned on me what's causing the moonies...it's been raining here non stop for the past two days in our semi tropic climate...might have to put off using translucents for when the sun is shining!

Metal clay focal toggle clasp

Here's something different for me. Not the green...we all know I love green...but I've never made a large focal toggle clasp before and rather like the way this came together. Thanks to Ann for the idea! Don't you love how arty people share ideas and learn from each other. That leaf charm is a sage leaf...a leaf I had read wouldn't take the PMC paste well. Ha! Just goes to show you not to be put off by what you read. I've thrown it together with some green turquoise and freshwater pearls. Remind me to take a proper beading class. I've no idea how to use thread, I've always wired my necklaces with a really ultra flexible wire but only for simple necklaces like this. The instant I want soft dangley bits and additional loops of pearls, I'm in trouble cos the wire doesn't cut it. So it's off to a beading and knot tying class in 2009! Good heavens, that's only about 6 weeks away! Whoosh! What a year!

Now is the time to smell the flowers!

It's very weird...I hear all this stuff on the news and see all the red arrows on the stock market...the media is having an absolute field day with all the hype that everyone is listening to and clucking about...and yet...my own world doesn't reflect this. I'm still in my studio almost every day creating or sharing what I know. I'm still watering the garden and picking flowers. I'm still taking the dog to the beach a few times a week. The sun still rises like the big beautiful orb that it is. Sure, my teaching diary isn't as full as it was...and I can't go to all the workshops I want either. I'm drinking $8 wine and growing vegies. If money gets really tight, as it's done before and not necessarily because of the 'market', then who cares that I can't have that holiday or buy those Berkies I want. I don't. I still have me...cuddles with my dog...artful adventures... flowers...friends... endless love, creativity, abundance everywhere I look. My tummy is full, my heart is open...and as luck would have it, I have enough clay and equipment to last me well into next year...
When the goddess gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When business is quiet, we all get to stop and chill for a while...a pity it took economic distaster to get us to slow down, but there ya go! That's often how it is. I'm sure you'll all agree that now is the time to get creative...in our work and in living our lives. I love how Christine Kane puts it..."Being creative at it's deepest level means that you're a creator, not a reactor, that your life is your work of art, that you get to choose what to put in it."
If business is slow, then NOW is the time to write tutorials for mags...to attempt those projects you never had time for...to learn new skills...to start a blog/journal/write a book on claying and creativity...to approach those summer schools/colleges/vacation care and aged care places regarding teaching workshops...to do demos at markets/fairs/sidewalks/exhibitions...
Life is what you make it. Always was. This is simply just another opportunity for you to shine. NOW is the time.
Kinara (friend pictured) doesn't miss a chance to smell the flowers...

Earrings from another time

I'm really enjoying the look of these, they look like earrings from another time, unearthed. I must get myself some gold wire, that's what lets these down, they need gold ear hooks.

Keum-boo

While in Sydney, I had the opportunity to learn Keum-boo from Roz Eberhart at Eclectic Studio. Oh my! I was instantly hooked.
I can envisage many happy hours ahead immersed in golden goodness! I particularly like it for when I'm going for a really ancient feeling piece which I think these little experiments have highlighted well. I want to make little boxes now!

Fun and the 'follow this blog' button

I had to provide a few pics for an article in Australian Beading mag and didn’t have any high res shots of me teaching so my next door neighbour obliged in ‘being the student’. This isn’t a very ‘professional’ shot so it didn’t make the magazine but I love it for the fun value.

Try the new 'follow this blog' button starting to creep in on many blogs. I just added a button to my blog (under aussiepolclyers sign)

It's a new feature that allows you to let the bloggers you follow know that you are a fan. As a follower to my blog, it also ensures you get linked! Neat eh! For more info:

FOLLOW ME

Possible Grafton Artfest projects

I live in a beautiful part of Australia and am surrounded by trees...60 acres of forest at our back door. And where there are trees, there are birds. These metal clay pieces have been inspired by my love of nature. They make my heart glad...
These will make great projects to teach at the Grafton Artfest in Spring 2009. I'm very fond of the copper look patina. I also had a chance to try out pre-made fine silver tube bails for pendants (see back of tree goodess pendant) that I bought from the Eclectic Studio ....very handy indeed! And that gorgeous ginkgo leaf is pasted pmc on a dried gingko leaf...one Pam Annesley found for me at the Sydney Botanical gardens. You're s'posed to paste over fresh leaves but none of them survived the trip home so I'm thrilled that this one on a dried leaf was successful.

CCIP conference 2008

We've just had our first CCIP retreat/conference in Sydney. It was just fabulous to meet all the students who have gained certification over the past year and to reconnect with all the senior instructors from the various states in Australia. My old friend Pam Annesley was there bearing gifts! She had recently been to the USA and had done a workshop with Klew. She knew how inspirational Klews drum beads were to my early days with polymer and so she brought me back a bead!
The CCIP conference was a huge success with demos given by all the senior instructors i.e. bronze clay, flexible pmc, scultping, mosaics, colour blending, use of core adaptors with Makins extruders...something for every taste! Many of the students submitted pieces for the competition we ran and honestly, it was such a joy to see such a huge array of original art and so beautifully finished. For me that was the highlight. To see that they have all adopted a really professional attitude to finishing...makes me proud to be a part of this team and gives me hope that these 'contemporary clays' will become as much a part of the Australian art scene as it has in America.
I hope to show you pics of some of these pieces but am waiting on names to link to them. In the meantime, I've been claying myself...those pics to follow shortly...