Out of the Studio

Last week, I blogged about some new silk screens I had made. I thought I'd share a few photos of some beads I made using some of those silk screens. They were used in combination with alcohol ink, mica shift, crackling and mica peel. As you can see, the silk screens were only done on black polymer clay . . . oh the possibilities!

Marvelous Monday

Swedish born, and now living in the UK, Ulricka Jarl is an artist who specializes in making handcrafted lighting and homeware items. They are all made from bone china. As you can see, much of her inspiration comes from patterns in nature. Her work is functional as well as artistic. She has been published in many magazines including Elle, Vogue and Crafts. Enjoy and have a marvelous Monday!

Graphic Designs Vs. Hand Drawn

This past fall in 2008, I started using Illustrator for making graphic designs. I made a number of illustrations I thought I would get around to using. Well, it hasn't happened yet. From birches, to fiddleheads to stripes. They were done in black and white solely for the purpose of making silk screens.

When I began making silk screens, I started with Dover Publications and made quite a few. A lot of the designs were larger and more geometric. I haven't really found too much use for them as I guess my taste has changed a bit. The patterns were too large for me as I work more in small scale. I couldn't always find what I had in my head - so that's where Illustrator came in. I haven't necessarily found it an easy program to master. I initially sat down with a friend who works in Illustrator so she could get me jump started. That was a huge help!

Lately, I've noticed I like designs that are a bit more organic - so, I ordered up a few Net Flix and treated myself to a couple movies but in order to watch them, I was to just sit and mindlessly draw. A welcome change. Here's what I came up with.

Dogwoods, seeds, Matisse leaf patterns, squiggly circles and roots. Here's what they look like screened onto polymer clay.

We'll see what happens when I combine them with geometrics, micas, or whatever else. What's a little bit more scrap clay, eh?

Tutorial - Modern Mica

The final editting has been done and the requested tutorial is now up on my Etsy shop. Originally, I'd been experimenting with patterns and mica shift. That led me to making the beads found in this necklace. And that led to the making of many other beads (there's that compulsive nature coming to life again).

Due to the time warp I fell into yesterday, I'll be doing a separate post about my silk screen designs later today.


In the meantime, if you want a good laugh, head over to Dooce (one of my all-time favorite blogs). The woman just totally cracks me up! Last count there were 795 comments left on her recent post.

Bead Art Originals - Item of the Week

This week, from July 20 - July 26, 13 members of the BAO team have been selected for the Item of the Week specials. Twelve of the 13 are photographed in this mosaic. For more details of what each artist is offering, click here or click on the image. Enjoy!

Marvelous Monday

Today I'd like to share the work of Wendy McAllister whose beautiful sculptural jewelry has been published in numerous art jewelry books and magazines. She works in precious metal and vitreous enamel. As you can see, most of her inspiration "stems" from botanical life. I love her sense of color and use of texture.

Time in the studio has been very sporadic over the last few weeks. I had a special request to teach something I've been making. It made me realize I needed to be a bit more structured and work with that "to do" list again. So . . . coming very soon, I'll be offering another tutorial.

And, this Wednesday, I will be having an actual "out of the studio" post. I spent a lot of time yesterday working on some new designs. Specifically, silkscreens. Hopefully I be able to post some pictures incorporating those designs!

Hope you have a marvelous Monday!

Marvelous Monday - The Spectacular Work of Mary Lee Hu

I'm back from Tennessee and hopefully coming out of my little funk. Rain, more rain, and finally some sun. The kids played hard, had a lot of fun, hopefully learned a few things about Tenessee, basketball, and how tall 12 and 13 year olds can be. I was shocked to see a girl 6 feet 3 inches. No wonder why they ask to bring birth certificates! Her brother is 11 and he's 6 feet 9 inches. I'm sure the parents are glad they've found this sport.

I'm trying to get back in my daily routine but am feeling a little distracted. I decided to learn how to make an animated GIF file (see new sidebar) and it basically took me all day yesterday. It's rather easy - once you know what to do!

Using traditional techniques, Mary Lee Hu weaves wire (22K gold) into sumptious body sculpture. They look as if they drape so beautifully. Her main tools are her hands. The work she finds to be a meditative activity as she weaves and twines for many hours. Here's a few of my favorites - have a marvelous Monday!

Time Off

I'm heading out of town to the basketball Nationals down in Tennessee tomorrow. I'll be back in town by the middle of next week. I will have no laptop with me - and I only plan on checking emails occasionally. I'm feeling like I'm losing steam today so this has come at a really good time. I'm not sure if it's the after-effects of a Buffet concert or not (and yeah, I totally jinxed it with my comment about how we never get rain on that day - not just rain, but hail as well!) but I seem to have a major lack of energy today. This trip couldn't have come at a better time . . . so - have a great week!