Pardo Clay Again

I didn't get tp play with clay as much yesterday as I had planned. Heather came over and we cleaned out the closet where I was storing my fabric... I have lots of fabric. One of my past interests was pillow making, I made lots of pillow so I have lots of fabric, and ribbon and all kinds of trim.  I wanted it moved to cabinet in the basement where it would be more accessible. But first we had to move all the books out of the cabinet where I wanted to put the fabric. Fortunately there was an empty bookcase in the storage room, those books went to auction ... just so you'll know, book don't bring much at auction... but at least there are no longer cluttering the basement.  Anyway, now all my fabric is neatly arranged in the cabinet.

Since we were on a roll we also moved all the vintage linens that were stacked on the day bed in one of the little back rooms. Lots of doilies, embroidered  pillowcases, aprons and  tablecloths. Those went to the basement too but most will be sent to auction.... you do get good prices for vintage linens... and some will be listed on Etsy.

Corny was quite pleased with the cleaned off daybed and promptly settled down for a nap.  It was  bright in there so she covered her eyes.  I know just how she felt, by the time we finished I was worn to a frazzle and needed a nap too.

Okay, back to the clay.  I did finish a few examples.  The bracelet tiles are made from cane scraps. The swirlie tile and bead are from magenta Pardo and for the blue I tinted Pardo translucent with blue metal paint and then added glitter.  I had a hard time getting the Pardo clay to swirl, not sure if it is the clay or me, I was tired and may have given up to soon. I'll try again and let you know.  The tube bead is from scraps and thin sheets of Pardo translucent covered in glitter.... did I mention I like glitter?  The nuggets are Pardo translucent tinted with Ranger alcohol ink. The color is butterscotch and I added a few veins of chocolate with chocolate brown Fimo Classic. The large nugget has been sanded and buffed, the little ones are not sanded or buffed.

Click on the photo for a closer look.

Tomorrow my daughters (I have two daughters, Heather and as Moe calls her not-Heather, her real name is Pathena, we call her Patty)  and I, and any men folks who want to tag along, are going to the  Wire and Art Festival at Carlyle Lake.  I have been anxiously awaiting the festival because the artist I buy Southwestern Native American gourd art from is going to be there. I forgot to show you the pieces I bought from her at the Art on The Square Festival last month. Here are some of the pieces. On many of her pieces she decorates the inside as well as the outside and she finishes them beautifully.  I love her work and am excited to acquire more. 

Don't you love the spider? In Native American lore mother spider taught the women how to weave.

This is the outside of the bowls

This is one of my favorites, the lid is precision cut along the lines of the lizards that surround the bowl.

The inside of the lizard bowl is painted a pretty aqua blue.  

 I told her husband they should open a shop on Etsy, he'd never heard of Etsy but said he would look into it.

My Canes & Heather's YaYa Creations

Summer has arrived bringing high heat, high humidity and summer storms. I've had to adjust my schedule. I get up early so I can do yard work before it gets to hot. I do a little weed pulling and water when necessary, Mother Nature has been doing a pretty good job with the watering. I then have an early lunch and take a mid day nap. Afternoons and evening are free to clay and do a little cooking. I try to plan meals that won't heat up the kitchen. Yesterday I cooked up a pot of Green beans and ham with potatoes and baked a big old pan of macaroni & cheese. I put ham in my mac and cheese, it's Brandon's favorite food. I was hoping it would last for a couple days but it's almost gone. Amazing how much teenage boys can eat.

I made a couple canes from scraps and I used my extruder to make the black and white cane. The black and white clay was really soft so I anticipate problems when I try to slice that one, maybe if I let it rest... and hopefully firm up... for a few days.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

And here are the things that Heather made at the YaYa retreat. She had a good time teaching and learning, she has little experience with clay but I think she's hooked now.

She sculpted the raven and then made a mold which she used for the raven on this piece. She is very good at sculpting little critters, she made several to use with her silver clay pieces.

These are made from the sheets she took with her. She made the retro cane in matching colors. As you can see she likes freshwater pearls and wire too.She took a couple books with her, one by Donna Kato and one by Carol Blackburn... the squiggle is from the Kato book.
She took the face molds with her. She got the aluminum wire at Hobby Lobby, it's a softer wire than the copper wire I use. The piece on the right is from the Kato book.

I love these colors together. Heather likes scraps too, I like what she did with the cane end pieces.
Some MG tiles, a couple swirlies and some stacker beads. The pieces have been sanded but not buffed... she forgot to take her Dremel. One of the other YaYa's showed them how to make pendants from old domino tiles. They drew on them with colored pencils and decorated with beads and wire.
And they always make dichroic glass pieces. Do you see the ravens in the green ones? Heather love's ravens.
The polymer clay was a big hit with the YaYa's, I think we have several converts. Heather took photos of what the other ladies made, now all we have to do is figure out how to upload them onto my computer... so stay tuned... more goodies to come.

Polymer Clay Odds and Ends + A Couple Necklaces

Sunday is my night to watch tv starting with 60 Minutes followed by Amazing Race, Dexter and Mad Men. I settle down with a snack, a drink and my sanding supplies and I sand to my hearts content. I can't watch television without keeping my hands busy. I use to crochet or knit now I sand or assemble jewelry. Here's part of the batch I sanded last night. Click on the photos for a closer look.

And the second batch, mostly mirror images with a couple others.And I finished a couple necklaces. This one is strung on waxed cord tied with Chinese button knots.

And this one is a wrap around pendant complimented with colorful dyed cultured pearls strung on beading wire.

Procrastination

I have a limited attention span. I'm always in a hurry to finish what I'm working on so I can move on to the next project. So much to learn and so little time. As a result I have boxes of unfinished pieces. Most of these are almost finished, all I have to do is glue on a pinback or a bail and add a chain or cord. And this is just a drop in the bucket, I have lots more. You should see the boxes of stuff that needs to be sanded, pretty pathetic huh?

Now tell the truth, I'm not the only procrastinator am I? It's a mental disease, like hoarding... come to think of it I'm a bit of a hoarder too.... although I prefer to think of myself as frugal and environmentally aware. You can imagine my delight when I took up polymer clay and actually found a use for all those mesh vegetable bags and quilted trays from candy boxes.

But I digress, my latest interest is beading cabochons. I bought gobs of beads, thread, backing, a book and various misc. supplies so then I needed more cabs to bead. I hauled out all my boxes of unfinished things.... as you can see... and I found quite a few goodies that need beading. Once they are beaded I can toss them into a box and move on to something new.

Click on the photos for a closer look.