I’m half-way through my blog anniversary celebration. I’m having a good time. I hope you are too.
This week, I’m giving away a copy of Debbie Jackson’s lovely book “Polymer Clay Jewelry: 20 Projects Plus Techniques” and one of my Mokume Gane pins.
First, Debbie Jackson’s book:
Jackson’s book is a great resource for the polymer clay beginner, for someone returning to polymer clay, or for anyone interested in using polymer clay to make ethnic inspired artwork. And that is one of the beauties of polymer clay. Versatility!
In the book, Jackson shows you how to create artwork inspired by Asian, African, European, and South American cultures. The projects focus primarily on jewelry such as pendants, brooches, bracelets and earrings. However, you’re a creative being and you can certainly adapt the techniques to other projects such as vessels, home decor, and sculpture.
The techniques you’ll learn in Jackson’s book include: Mokume Gane, building canes, making a push mold, making a Skinner Blend, carving, and using liquid polymer clay. Her step-by-step instructions are detailed and accompanied by clear color photos.
And my Mokume Gane pin:
Mokume Gane Pin
Pin Detail
Along with Debbie Jackson’s book, one winner will also receive this Mokume Gane pin. The pin was inspired by the colors of late fall with hints of Asian design. It measures 5 ” long and would make a lovely addition to any blazer or coat. The Mokume Gane design in the center features copper, gold, and black polymer clay. It is framed by textured black polymer clay and accented with copper Pearl Ex.
I rarely make jewelry anymore so this is truly a collectible piece.
If you’d like to enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post sharing one of your favorite sources of creative inspiration and why. Please include an email address when you leave a comment so I may notify you if you win.
Comments will remain open till midnight EST on Tuesday, August 23. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday. Giveaway items will be shipped via USPS and limited to U.S. residents. I apologize for the restriction on shipping.
The winner of this giveaway was Diane S. This giveaway is now closed.
I love almost anything involving the Medieval age and the Renaissance. Old castles, tapestries, religious artifacts, knights, The Pillars of the Earth mini-series.
And then there is the lovely jewelry that adorned some of the women during these time periods. Stunning necklaces of gold and exquisite jewels. Head pieces with precious gemstones and pearls. Even some of the men were adorned with jewels. And if they weren’t wearing them, you might find them holding a jewel encrusted sword.
Following the medieval theme started in my last blog post on Carcassone, this week’s blog anniversary giveaway features Cris Dupouy’s lovely book “Creating Your Own Antique Jewelry: Taking Inspiration from Great Museums Around the World.”
In this book, Dupouy uses select artifacts as the source of her inspiration to create jewelry. Her sources of inspiration span the time periods from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance to the 20th century. For each piece, she provides a brief history, a picture of the artifact (often being worn by the subject in a particular painting), and instructions for recreating the item.
Though Dupouy’s medium of choice in this book is polymer clay & gemstones, it may be possible to recreate the items in a combination of mediums such as polymer clay, metal clay and gemstones or metal clay and gemstones.
Along with Dupoy’s book, you also have the chance to win one of my first art doll necklaces inspired by my interest in the Medieval age.
If you’d like to enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite period piece, such as a movie, mini-series or book and why. Please include an email address when you leave a comment so I may notify you if you win.
Comments will remain open till midnight EST on Tuesday, August 16. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday. Giveaway items will be shipped via USPS and limited to U.S. residents. I apologize for the restriction on shipping.
The winner of this giveaway was Marlea A. This giveaway is now closed.
I am celebrating each Friday in August with a book and artwork giveaway in honor of my blog’s 4th anniversary.
This first Friday I am giving away a copy of Do The Work! by Steve Pressfield and one of my Lucky Sprite sculptures.
Do The Work! book cover
I first heard about Pressfield’s book in Pam Slim’s blog post on creative blocks. Not only did Pam’s blog post strike a nerve, so did her interview with Steve Pressfield where he discussed the content of his new book.
And just what is in Do The Work! that makes me want to give away a copy?
Do The Work! is Pressfield’s manifesto about resistance. Something all creatives face, whether you are an artist, a writer, an engineer, or a teacher. If you work on any type of project, at some point in the process resistance rears its head.
And then what do you do?
I love this quote from the book “On the field of the Self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon.”
In order to defeat resistance, you must slay the dragon. Pressfield gives you simple, direct advice on defeating the dragon.
Do The Work! is a short book, less than 100 pages and can easily be read in one sitting. And those pages are powerful. I’ve read my copy twice and given one copy as a gift. Now I’d like to give one of my readers a copy too.
If you’d like to enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post sharing how you deal with resistance. Or maybe you don’t deal with it. Please include an email address when you leave a comment so I may notify you if you win.
Along with Do The Work! you will also receive one of my Lucky Sprite sculptures. Because we can all use a little luck when trying to slay the dragon.
Lucky Sprite
Comments will remain open till midnight EST on Tuesday, August 9. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday. Giveaway items will be shipped via USPS and limited to U.S. residents. I apologize for the restriction on shipping.
This giveaway is now complete. The winner was Linda Easton.
I’m a little late in sharing the good news, but better late than never. Besides, its a good reason to celebrate again.
Last year, I participated in Jennifer Lee’s wonderful online class The Right Brain Business Plan E-Course. This was the first business plan course that I took that actually clicked. Why? Because it paired my creative side with my planning & organizational skills. It made crafting a business plan fun.
If you’re a creative entrepreneur like me, I bet you go running for the hills when you hear the words business plan. Yet, you know that having a plan is essential to your success.
Through Jenn’s online class, and now her book, I was able to develop a vision for my business based on values that are important to me. Those values became the basis for my business plan. With Jenn’s guidance, I was able to identify and understand my perfect customers, make the leap into teaching, write financial goals in terms that made sense to me, and develop a sense of who my creative cohorts are.
The other wonderful aspect of Jenn’s approach to writing a business plan is that I can pick up where I left off. When health issues became my primary focus late last year, I had to put my plan aside. Now that I’m feeling better, it’s time to revisit my plan, update it, and rework some goals. Having flexibility in your business plan is essential. It shouldn’t be a linear, static document.
So, what are you waiting for? The Right-Brain Business Plan has already been a #1 bestseller the Amazon Small Business Plans category. I highly recommend this book!
Now that I have emerged myself in this new body of work, ideas for new pieces in the series frequently bubble to the surface quicker than I can write them down. And each new idea is often an evolving process. I sketch out the idea, I try to create it, and it morphs into something slightly different. Or the original idea is a complete failure upon creation. You know that feeling “Um, that isn’t what I wanted to make” or “That isn’t what I pictured in my head” or “This is a piece of crap.”
Such is what happened with a recent idea.
Taking a break from sculpting Spirit Messengers, I’ve been focused on making wall pieces. I had an idea to make some pieces with abstract forms on the surface. Since I was already working with alcohol inks, pearl ex powders, gold leaf and polymer clay, I decided to use these items on my first attempt.
I pulled out several molds with abstract forms and conditioned both white and translucent polymer clays. I pressed the clay into the molds, popped them out, and worked on their surface designs.
And you know how some things look really cool in that raw stage? The colors are appealing. The shape intrigues.
And then you pop those pieces into the oven, sand them when they’re cooled, and buff them on the buffing wheel.
And they come out like this:
Abstract Forms
Yuck. I’m not feeling the love here folks. I mean, several of the shapes are cool. But the colors aren’t doing it for me. I also wasn’t pleased with the Kato Liquid clay that I applied as a final layer over each piece. Maybe Kato Liquid clay works better on flat surfaces. It certainly wasn’t staying on many of these raised surfaces…as I found out when sanding and the gold leaf started to flake off.
Again, could be a neat effect, if that is what you’re going for. But I wasn’t going for that.
Doing my best Pooh bear imitation, I place my paw, I mean my hand to my head and start muttering “Think, think, think.” Idea one failed. The concept remains a good one (abstract shapes) but the execution…not so hot.
So I pulled out one of my art books* for inspiration and guidance.
BINGO!
There they were, disks and caps, textures and abstract forms. This excited me. This spoke to me. This would be the answer to what I saw in my head.
Getting to work with a few simple tools (always a plus), I made various sized disks and caps, textured them, combined them, and gave them an acrylic wash.
Viola! The new abstract forms that will be incorporated into future wall pieces:
Abstract Forms
Creating these pieces reminds me of the tiny underwater studies I put together last year. You can see those here. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m really excited about these forms. I know I’ve found something here because I’m already working on a slightly different version from the ones in the picture. Now the muse is off and running again.
*Thanks to Rona Sarvas Weltman’s book Ancient Modern for providing the inspiration.
I want to create mixed media wall art pieces as part of the Glimmer Series. As I started to develop this body of work, I had a strong urge to work with beeswax. Don’t ask me why; I have no idea. But the muse said to give it a go and to see what happens.
Ideally I would love to create the mixed media wall pieces on artist panels. I bought a few 4″x4″ panels with a 3/4″ profile last December. Those panels are intended for a different project but they might be incorporated into this body of work.
Anyways, before jumping right in and working on the panels, I created a prototype wall piece on 5″x7″ artist canvas panel. This gave me the chance to play with beeswax, papers, oil paint and polymer clay all on one surface. Beyond that, I didn’t plan out the piece with a sketch and just worked intuitively.
Glimmer of Hope Wall Prototype
I started out by applying beeswax to the canvas, placed a page torn from an old book into the wet wax, and then fused more wax on top. From there I built layers with rice paper, paper beads, and oil paint. I fused tiny pieces of branch around two words from the book: “Changed” and “Beautiful”. The polymer clay face is taken from a mold made of Glimmer #1’s face and painted gold.
When the entire piece was cooled and dry, I highlighted the raised areas with Gilder’s Paste. Gold stamped words “Glimmer” and “Hope” finish this prototype.
I am honored to announce that one of my mixed media pieces was chosen for inclusion in Patti Digh’s newest book Creative is a Verb: If You’re Alive, You’re Creative. In this book, Patti “leads you by both heart and head to acknowledge, reinforce, and use your own creative spirit by teaching six creative commitments.” Creative is a Verb is the follow-up to Patti’s successful 2008 book Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally.
Way back in January I received a request to submit two pieces of artwork for Creative is a Verb. Each participating artist was sent one, two, or three essays that would become chapters in the book. We were asked to read our assigned essays and create artwork inspired by the essay. As with previous art submission requests, we had about two weeks to create artwork inspired by the essay.
I received two essays. One was titled “Leave Your Base Camp” the other was “Blow Bubbles Everyday.” My submission for “Blow Bubbles Everyday” was chosen and is featured in Chapter 6: Get Present: Show Up Like Magic.
Blow Bubbles Everyday
The substrate for this piece is a painted and textured magazine page. The horns were inspired by the bubble wands we used as kids (and might still play with as adults…though I’m not saying which adult, ahem.) The little characters inside the bubbles are smiling, dancing, reading, hanging out, hanging on, and waving. I think I channeled a bit of Tim Burton for this piece.
Thanks again to Patti Digh for this wonderful opportunity. You can purchase a signed copy of Creative is a Verb on Patti’s website or on Amazon (unsigned copies).
There are a few seats left in my Liquid Polymer Clay Bookmark and Art Tag class is this Friday, October 1, 10:00am to 2:00pm at Ink About It in Westford.
Here is the class description:
In this class, you will learn how to create bookmarks and art tags with liquid polymer clay. First, you will learn how to use liquid polymer clay as a resist with rubber stamps to create art tags. Then we’ll explore how to make polymer clay paper with multiple thin layers of liquid clay. We’ll stamp, color, and embellish the polymer clay paper to create personally inspired bookmarks. You will leave class with several art tags and bookmarks.
And the materials list:
Most materials provided by instructor. Please bring a Staz-On ink pad (black or brown; gold if you have it), 3-4 favorite rubber stamps, scissors, apron, or smock, and basic tool kit. If you have the following, please bring them to class: 3-4 light color alcohol inks (Pinata or Ranger), 3-4 acrylic paints in squeeze bottles (Lumiere or Ranger), Mod Podge or gel medium (regular/soft), an acrylic brayer.
Cost: $40
Here are samples of the bookmarks and art tags we’ll make in this class:
Bookmarks with polymer clay paper
Art Tags with liquid clay resist
Liquid Polymer Clay Bookmarks and Art Tags
You can register for this class by calling Ink About It or stopping in and signing up in person. Hope to see you there!
In January, I received a request for artwork from Patti Digh. Patti, who is the author of Life is a Verb, sent an email to many artists around the world asking who would be interested in submitting artwork for her upcoming book, Four Word Self Help.
Patti described Four Word Self Help as follows:
I wrote this compilation of four-word self-help wisdom in reaction to all the very complex self-help books I’ve seen—isn’t there a simplicity to life that we can tap into, things we already know? For example, “Eat less, move more” or “Do work that matters” or “Leave some things undone.”
The book would be in small format, 4.5″ x 6.25″. Participating artists would receive a phrase to illustrate. All artwork had to fit into the small format and could not contain any words, text, or language.
I was intrigued and replied that I was interested in participating.
A couple weeks later, I received a second email with a phrase that I was to interpret and illustrate. I had two weeks to create my artwork and submit it for possible inclusion in the book. We were also told that if our artwork was accepted, the editors may use it for a different entry than originally submitted.
The phrase I received was “Do What You Can.” The phrase made me chuckle. Given the slightly abstract nature of the phrase, I could only do what I could in my interpretation of it.
Creating artwork in a limited time frame is both demanding and energizing. You have to focus on the task at hand immediately, go with your gut, and hope it all works out to your satisfaction.
In early February, I submitted my artwork. On April 15, I received word that my artwork had been accepted into the book!
And on Tuesday, 8/17, my complimentary copy of Four Word Self Help arrived at my home.
It is such a thrill to see my artwork in print and in such a wonderfully inspiring book. I am honored to have my artwork in this book among the illustrations and interpretations of nearly 100 artists.
Here is the artwork I submitted:
"Do What You Can"
And how my artwork appears in Four Word Self Help:
On Page 129
Four Word Self Help is due in stores in September. Be sure to look for it! You can also pre-order a signed copy of the book from Patti. Click here.
Four Word Self Help Cover
Thanks to Patti Digh for this most excellent experience.
Our first major assignment in the Right Brain Business Plan course was to create a vision board. We were tasked with cutting out images that represented the overview of our company, our business values, the products and services we offer, our target market, our creative cohorts and supporters, our financial dream, and anything else we wanted to add.
The fun part, aside from following our intuition and cutting apart magazines, was creating our vision board in any format we desired. It could be a large poster, a book, a cube, a deck of cards. Anything.
I decided to make what I call a Vision Accordion Book.
The Book’s Exterior
To make a Vision Accordion Book, you need an old hardbound book that you’ll tear apart. A year ago, in preparing for my trip to France, the thought of tearing the covers off an old book sent chills up my spine. It seemed sacrilegious to deface an old book. This year, however, I had absolutely no qualms about ripping apart an old book.
I searched my studio and found a book that I used in a collage class several years ago. Nothing of value inside this book.
Future Vision Book
Using a sharp box cutter, I sliced along the front and back spine of the book until it was loose enough and I could pull off the covers.
These will become the Vision Accordion Book covers. At this point these covers are now called book board.
You can cover the book board with fabric or paper. I choose a fabric that I bought in Revel, France because it was during my time in France when I realized that I wanted to teach art workshops. Workshops and retreats are the focus of my business plan.
French Fabric for Vision Book
I cut the fabric about 1″ larger than the book board. Glue the fabric onto the front of each book board, flip the book board over, and carefully fold and glue the edges of the fabric, one edge at a time, onto the insides of the book board. After the book board is covered and the glue is dry, glue a contrasting sheet of paper (solid color, decorative, your choice) on the inside of each book board.
Note: The paper on the inside of the book board is going to be covered by the accordion fold pages of your book. So don’t agonize over using fancy paper or paper with text because you won’t see a lot of it once you glue in your accordion fold pages.
Covered Book Boards
I decided to use large sheets of watercolor paper for the book’s pages. I can’t tell you the weight of the paper because I bought it years ago (when I took that collage course I mentioned earlier.) I wanted my pages to be 5″ wide by 8″ long. I measured the paper accordingly and cut the paper. And when I tell you there is no such thing as a straight line, believe me. Even with a ruler and a pencil line on the paper my cutting is a little wobbly.
I cut two strips of paper and glued them together to form a really long piece. Then I started accordion folding. I measured and scored the paper with a bone folder every 5″ and then folded the paper. I flipped the paper over for every other fold to ensure the pages would accordion correctly. (There are simpler ways to make an accordion fold. But because I needed a specific width for each page this was the approach I used.)
Images
Since this is a Vision Accordion Book, I needed lots of images to glue onto the inside pages. This is a fun task and almost always results in an overabundance of images. I spent a few hours on different days going through Martha Stewart Living, Yoga Journal, Shambala, Women’s Day, and MORE magazines.
The tendency, when choosing images for your vision board or book, is to tear out pictures of things you like, things you want to have, places you’d like to visit, etc. Often we do this without any conscious thought about our intention for the vision board. And this means we may miss the very image that we’re really looking for. Martha Beck recently wrote an article on vision boards that you might enjoy. Check it out here.
Here are all the images I cut out and spread out onto a table in my studio.
Looks a bit overwhelming doesn’t it?
From here I sorted the pictures into various categories: Company overview and values, products and services, wealth and abundance, target market and creative cohorts and supporters. And then I sorted the piles again, removing images that didn’t quite resonate with me and the intention of this book.
Vision in Action
Once I sorted the images and felt good with my choices, I started to lay them out on each page, one at a time. I spent over 3 hours trimming, laying out and gluing down the images. Then I glued the first and last page to the front and back book boards.
And viola! My Vision Accordion Book was complete.
Vision Accordion Book
The first two pages explain the overview of my business.
Company Overview
Pages 3 & 4 show my business values and the products and services I’ll offer.
Business Values, Products & Services
Pages 4 & 5 explain more about my business and my vision for wealth and abundance.
Wealth and Abundance
Page 4 above also has a picture that I glued to the top of the page. Siddharta sits in the “No Fear” muhdra. The image folds over the page when the book is closed. The page 4 picture comes from a Soul Card I made a while back. It signified how I felt at the time “facing the unknown” and how many of us feel during a time of change and transition. When I found the picture of Siddharta in the “No Fear” muhdra, it only seemed appropriate to add him to this picture. I’m moving ahead without fear.
No Fear
Finally, pages 6 & 7 represent my creative cohorts and supporters and my target market. Here is a shout-out to those people who are supporting me in this adventure, who offer words of advice and suggestions. As the small print under your pictures states “I can succeed by getting support.”
Creative Cohorts & Target Market
There you have it. My Vision Accordion Book. At some later point during this class, I’ll add some envelopes to the back sides of these pages for notes and goals. I’d also like to go back and soften the edges of the pictures with oil pastels. For now, however, it feels complete.
Musings from the Moonroom 