Burlesque Blend - More Color Variations

In preparation for the final workshop this coming weekend, here are a few more color variations. These are less dramatic, but very elegant. When exploring a particular technique, keeping certain design elements similar, really helps you to see the impact of the elements that you are experimenting with. In this case, the shape of the bead and the shape of the "path" are similar and this makes it easier to concentrate on color.

Pretty in Pink

More Burlesque Blend pieces as I prepare to teach these upcoming workshops (yes, I'm anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive!) The interesting thing about this particular colour combination is how beautiful it looks on all types of skin. Pasty-white or deeply-tanned, this just glows.

The design in this piece works well for me. The asymmetry of the pattern in the focal piece keeps the necklace from becoming boringly symmetrical; the large amount of pink in the two pieces flanking either side of the focal element draw the eye away from the middle and up towards the face; the next two flanking pieces, with the diagonal patterning moving diagonally down and out stop the eye from leaving and pulls it back to the central elements.

The finishing details often get neglected because one gets so focused on the clay technique. In this case, although the pink is very cool, suggesting silver would be a good accompaniment, the metallic sparkle in the 3 central pieces is more muted and casts a bit of a gold tint, which knocks back the colour intensity in the polymer and also allows me to choose spacer crystals that are metallic gold-tone with a hint of pink interference. These crystals are flanked on each side by an oblong, faceted black crystal and this combination really enhances the sparkling feel of this piece.

To finish off the necklace, round black agates are used instead of crystals, keeping the focus in the main polymer area and providing a very comfortable feel on the neck. Notice, though, that it is not just a bland, monotonous strand of beads. These agates are broken up periodically with a pink/gold interference tube seed bead, again adding interest, but not detracting from the main attraction.





I'm working out more colour combinations for variety for the students. It's not logistically feasible to structure a workshop so every student can choose every element, but colour is very personal, and where possible, I like to provide that choice while maintaining limits on size, shape, pattern, etc., as seen here:

Completing the Collections - Earrings

Flamenco Earrings
These have really got me brainstorming! I'll be working up something this week. Just have to get through the presentation to the Boutique! Next

Pegasus Earrings - pierced ears

Urban Urchins - Graffiti earrings

 



Pegasus Earrings - clip-ons

Final Take - The Pegasus Necklace

The Pegasus Necklace



In reassembling the necklace with black agate beads and brass spacers between the polymer elements, I feel it looks more dressy this way. I do the final sanding and buffing, keeping the high gloss for the Burlesque Blend accents and leaving a fairly matte surface for the black areas. The contrast between matte and shine, between flat and glitter, between dark and light, between solid and pattern pleases me.  

The beads look fairly substantial but the work in making them "hollow" keeps the necklace from being heavy, so the time and effort to assemble the beads with internal support but no solid core was worth it.

The Pegasus Necklace

The beads are done and now the final decisions involve the assembly. I've strung the beads on brass coated cable, but feel the cable looks too frail next to the overall look so I'll use softglass cord to go from the end beads to the brass hook-and-eye clasp. The decision involves the spacers. I've used leftover clay to make clay discs. I need a small black agate round bead to push the spacers away from the central bead. I'll restring the whole piece using a "slicker" alternative - brass spacers with a larger black agate bead in between - to see which one conveys the artistic "feel" I'm looking for. Here is the first alternative assembly:

The Pegasus Necklace



Designing Museum Quality Fine Art Jewelry - Part 2

I lay a single sheet cut from a page protector over the final side piece designs and draw the outlines of the various pieces with a sharpie. I label the pieces (I'm blond - I tend to confuse easily)

 

These are cut out with scissors and used as templates. I used to use acetates but found that they fuse with the clay and will lift off some of the surface clay when removed so I needed to spray with water each time as a release. More work, more clean-up. These page protectors (some artists store sheets of clay in them) stick to the clay but don't bond with it so the template stays put for cutting (fine surgical scalpel, disposable) but lifts cleanly off afterward.
Now to place on the form for baking (this is an old ikea glass lampshade - perfectly round) for a soft curvature.

I ran into a bit of a problem with this. The clay is so malleable that I pushed the tails up too far when placing the thinner black pieces on the form. The curvature of the thin black pieces do not marry with the wider black pieces so I'll have to cut new thin ones and use the template to draw the outline directly onto the form with a grease pencil, then use the outline to make sure the curve conforms to the original template.

Two invaluable tools

The Creative Process - Designing Museum Quality Fine Art Jewelry

Sometimes ideas flow like a raging river. Other times you feel "dry as a stone", to quote Virginia Cobb. Some artists keep a sketchbook by their bedside, others journal their ideas. Me, well, I usually can't find what I need when the muse beckons. I start out with great intentions, but my sketchbook by my bedside is empty because the massive wave of creativity that washes over me as I drift off happens when I'm drifting off! I have about 50 sketchbooks/notebooks/journals, stuffed full of copy paper/napkins/junk mail covered with ideas, both visual and verbal, scattered throughout my environment. I pity the person trying to sort and categorize my creative thoughts/ideas after I'm "gone". There is no rhyme or reason; there is no logical order or linear time sequence. My mind works on the explosion process, images morphing into objects or wildly splattering across a canvas. Words appear and merge with color, contrasts jarring and exciting through texture or value or color. So I thought I would take you along with me on my process of creating this fall jewelry collection.

Yesterday's focal element didn't appear first. Here is the process unfolding in one sketchbook:

This is a shape that has appeared frequently in my abstract paintings. I really love this shape. This sketch led to:

and

Now I'm in full gear and thinking about the whole piece, needing a central element:

The top drawing works out the logistics of assembling the round focal element featured in yesterday's blog. Studying that piece gives me ideas for the rest of the necklace, and the color ideas and shape and size for the side pieces get finalized on the bottom.

As you can see, I'm a process artist. The act of creating leads to more creating - but the pragmatist is always there, waving a finger at me, reminding me these things have to work in real life, so now it's time to make the prototypes for the side pieces.

More about this process tomorrow.

Putting Together a Collection for Fall 2012 Fashion

I've been asked, by an exclusive clothing boutique in Montreal, to put together a Fall 2012 Jewelry Collection to sell in their store. I don't mind telling you, I'm excited! I'm thinking of changing my name - something chic - The Artist Formerly Known as Vickie????? I'll work on it.

The first color palette I'm working with is black and gold and bronze. I need to stay fairly elegant, yet arty and exclusive, so I've got a few ideas I'll show you over the next few days.

This is a focal piece for a necklace that I can already see in my mind's eye. It uses up some scraps from different techniques, which is always great, but requires a lot of hand cutting and hand shaping, so this will definitely be the centre of a very "arty piece".

Warrior Women

All through history there have been Warrior Women, women who overcame tremendous obstacles to accomplish historical feats, women such as Queen Boudicca, Queen Artemisia, The Trung Sisters and Queen Zenobia, just to mention a few. All through history down to the present we have warrior women whose names have never made recorded history, but who daily overcome tremendous obstacles or endure difficult situations or bear heavy burdens just to care for those near and dear to them. These pins are dedicated to today's warrior women and I'll introduce my favorites from time to time.

The first is Lady Bernadette. She struggles with depression and lonliness yet always presents an elegant, cheerful face to those around her, not wanting to be a burden to anyone. Every day she manages to get to work or fulfill her responsibilities she has won a battle. Some days the battle overwhelms her. My Bernadette loves the colour green and has a smile that lights up a room. The green swarovski crystals trailing down her cheek are her tears and the dark pattern on the left side suggests the emotional veil she hides behind in order not to burden others with her pain. This pin is to let her know that there are many of us who recognize her valiant struggle and love and appreciate her.

Lady Bernadette



Designing Jewelry in Polymer Clay

Polymer clay jewelry can be incredibly strong. Weaknesses usually come about because of flaws in the design of the piece. It's always good to make a prototype and wear it under all kinds of circumstances. If there is a weakness, you'll soon know. However, a little thought beforehand can save you from wasted effort. Areas of attachment often need extra support, as do areas with very different thicknesses next to each other. Two examples follow:

Tsukubai:

The Burlesque Blend is here used to create a beautiful Japanese-styled pendant. These are two left-over pieces from the sides of the "Meandering Path" pendant (tomorrow) The pearl is suspended between the two legs by a brass wire making for a tactile, kinetic piece (the pearl spins) This little attachment area helps stabilize the two legs of the pendant. Where the Burlesque Blend legs attach to the upper black branch, there is a need for support. The black branch is composed of two pieces of polymer clay stacked together with flattened wire paddles in between that extend down and into the Burlesque Blend legs. This is a very strong yet relatively thin piece.

Orbital Bling:

Support is needed at the three corners of this bracelet. This bangle is reversible and only 1/4" thick and the corners are inset on both sides, making the corners only 1/8" thick. Wire would be a pain to work with in this piece, so the strength here is supplied by paper.

Having been a paper-maker for over 40 years (from scratch, pounding different plants from my garden and surrounding fields) I've come to be amazed at the strength of paper made from the right kind of fiber. For example, thin copy-weight paper made from only processed crocosmia leaves cannot be torn by hand! In this particular case I chose to use manila paper (shape cut from a manila file folder) Both sides of the manila paper shape were covered with white glue and allowed to dry. The clay adheres to this PVA glue when it is baked. Scrap clay is applied to the top and bottom of the paper shape, then the surface pieces inlayed with Burlesque Blend were added. The result is a very strong bangle.