Studio Tip #3 - Piercing Consistent Bead Holes

Exploring technique, design, form and connections is stimulating. Finishing is frequently tedious. I compare it to making a dress. You can have the most beautiful fabric and intriguing pattern, but if the seams are crooked, the edges unravelling, the zipper lopsided and the hem wonky, no one will ever really notice the beauty of the material and the design of the gown. Finishing is the key to professional work, and anything we can do to make finishing easier is worth exploring. A few things that work for me in piercing holes consistently (whether centered or not) are as follows:

Some form of graph paper (in this case, a pad of old ledger sheets) can help line up the holes on irregularly shaped beads. Centre the bead on a line, choose the line for the hole(s), slightly push a thin bead-baking pin into the bead on one side just far enough to make a guide hole, then do the same on the other side. Pick the bead up and carefully drill the pin through the bead, stopping just as it appears on the other side. If you've missed the guide hole on the other side, just remove the pin and push it in through that guide hole on the other side, and gently close the errant hole.

When working on a lot of beads with double holes, such as square bracelet beads (this also works on curved beads) I took two T-pins (macrame pins for those of you who are aging hippies, like me), embedded them in scrap clay which I wrapped in scrap canes, set at the right distance from each other, and cured.

 This tool will quickly make consistent holes in a lot of beads, especially beads with channels inside that are wrapped with a strip of clay that would hide the channel. If the channel is set at a width that corresponds with the distance between the two T-pins, it's pretty quick work.

I cut a piece of eraser to size and push the tool into it so I can use it to protect the tool (and my hands) when in the drawer.

Caged Dreams Necklace - finally finished!

Caged Dreams Necklace

A while ago I talked about shaking up your creative juices by mixing media. The wire cage was a result and I could see a little bird inside and some eggs in a nest hanging underneath. The bird inside the cage dreams of freedom yet her eggs are nested outside the cage, restrained by nothing.

Here are some close-ups:

Silk Purse Necklace

Silk Purse Necklace

(click on image to make it larger)

I'm sure you've, like me, gone into the studio with the intention of cleaning it out, getting rid of "quap" as my 6 year old grandson says, throwing out old clay scraps, organizing, simplifying - in other words, being artistically adult. So I pull out this scrap that I've hung on to for several years because I wanted to remember the colors (why not just bake a sample disc, you ask?) I decide I'll use it to practice spiral lentil beads.

If you ever get the chance to pick up a book by Sean McNiff called "Trust the Process", you may find it fascinating. It deals with the fact that the creative process is independent of your deliberate intentions, and, that if you allow it to proceed and unfold, in other words, you trust it to be true in your case, things will happen that will amaze you. My right brain, in working to create beauty, even in practicing with lumps of scrap clay, made creative decisions, and "what if's" came to mind that caused me to handle the clay in new ways, exploring ways of manipulating this scrap to reveal it's beauty.

Here are some more close-ups:

 

 

Assembling the beads with black agate rounds and Czech crystal facetted ovals in dusty rose, picking up the hints of rose color in the lentil beads, silver spacers and a sterling toggle clasp definitely has turned a Sow's Ear into a Silk Purse!

Blonde Moment #1

Ok, yes, I am blonde. Actually, these days I'm more "platinum" blonde, rather than the "ash" blonde of my youth. And yes, I have "blonde" moments, although I'm loathe to admit it!  I was going to put this under Studio Tip #3, but I decided honesty is the right policy here. If you're going to be looking over my shoulder, I can't pretend to be something I'm not. So, here is the Blonde Moment #1:

Spiral Lentil Beads made with scrap clay

I love spiral lentil beads, but they frustrate me tremendously because by the time I get the perfect spiral, some of the layers are so thin on the outer edge that I cannot avoid sanding them off! For some reason I always sand from 400 through 1000, going through 1200 to 2000 if I want them very glassy. I have never heard or seen in writing what hit me. I don't have to start at 400!!! I can start at 1200!!! I dusted my fingertips with cornstarch, tapping off the excess (this just fills in your fingerprints on your fingers) and gently smoothed the surfaces, cured, then sanded with only 1200, then buffed. I didn't lose any of the edges - hey, I'm thrilled! So is this something that others of you haven't realized before? Or am I VERY Blonde? Here are some close-ups:

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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

The Gardener

**Beep Beep!  The following is a special service announcement by Vickie's most fabulous daughter, Sandy**
That's right.  I'm sorry to say, but for all of you out there on the Interwebs who were expecting another eloquant and elegant blog post by Vickie...you're out of luck.  You're going to have to listen to me blather on for a bit as I have hijacked her blog for today.  It's not easy, I tell ya.  She's very nosy about what goes on around her computer, however, I find if I scatter some lindt chocolates down in her studio, it keeps her busy long enough for me to type for a while.   

So several months ago, I participated in an art swap organized by the wonderful Christi Friesen.  It was a blast and the piece I came up with, The Doctor, has inspired a new series of tiny, zany, sculptures that I will hopefully be able get out of my chaotic mind and into my Etsy shop.  The first one is the Gardener, shown below.  Enjoy!

I was, once again, travelling to the Other Side.  It was a Tuesday, I remember, because the Cafe had a special on Fluffernutter Crepes.  They always have that on Tuesdays.  After stuffing myself silly, I decided to take a stroll and try to walk off some of my marshmallow high.  I happened to noticed a tiny path veering off from the main street.  I almost missed it because it was tucked behind the "No Frumping" sign, but a very faint "meeping" noise caught my ear and my attention. 

When I say the path was tiny, I mean TINY.  Miniscule in fact.  It was quite difficult for me to tiptoe my way without stepping on the Borgus Buttons that edged the path on each side (you don't want to step on a Borgus Button.  Don't let the beautiful blossoms fool you.  The stench is sure to knock you on your butt and then the Gorlins come and steal all your gum).  Anyway, the "meeping" was getting more pronounced and I finally came to a small clearing. 

At first glance, it didn't look all that interesting, but then I noticed the tiny pots.  It was a nursery of sorts and I could even see a tiny glass greenhouse a few feet away.  I could see that the "meeping" was coming from these pots so I crouched down to get a better look.  That's when I was violently poked in the ankle.  I looked at the source of this rude intrusion and was very surprised to meet The Gardener. 

This wee little creature didn't say much, but I could definitely tell by the way he was glaring at me from behind his huge goggles, that he was very perturbed by my presence.  I carefully checked to make sure I wasn't stepping on anything, and then tried to assure him that I meant no harm, but was merely curious as to what he was growing.  He seemed a little suspicious still, but he was kind enough to stop poking me with his rake long enough for me to get a closer look.  I'm still not quite sure how to explain it, but I guess pictures are worth more words than I can come up with so, after getting The Gardener's permission, I was able to take a picture to share with you

They seem cute enough, but I'm not sure if I would be able to take one home with me.  From the look of the glowing goop that The Gardener was feeding them, I certainly don't think I would have the proper food, that's for sure.

After sating my curiousity, I thanked The Gardener for his time (he had already forgotten my presence and was focused on shovelling more dirt into more pots) and carefully picked my way back to the main road.  Once there, the lure of Fluffernutter drew me back to the cafe, where I sat to mull over what I had just seen and experienced.  Never a dull moment on the Other Side.

**Beep...Beep  That concludes this special service announcement.**
And as per usual with a blog hijack, this post was written by Sandy, not:

Studio Tip #2 - Baking on Curved Form

When I want to get a slight curve, as in the pieces in the Pegasus Necklace, I bake on a round glass form (an old IKEA lamp shade). So now I'm working on earrings to go with the jewelry lines I'll be presenting. This pair go with the Pegasus necklace and I want to make a version with a clip-on since I have had several requests from ladies who do not have pierced ears. I want to embed the clip-on so it is invisible, rather than just gluing it to the back. Here's what I do:

The surface veneers are made and baked on the top of the glass form.

Two sheets are cut to the shape of the earring veneer: a textured sheet that will become the back, through which I have cut a small slit so the clip-on back can slip through, and a plain sheet that will be sandwiched in the middle, the same thickness as the metal back of the clip-on, with a cutout window that is the shape of the back of the clip-on so that it sits embedded smoothly. Slip the clip-on back through the textured sheet, rotate into proper orientation and set into the cutout on the second sheet. Gently press the two sheets together.

These backs are baked on the INSIDE of the same glass form. The difference in the diameter of the form shape is only 2 times the thickness of the glass, which is negligible, and the veneer and the two-layer back piece fit very well together:

Scratch the surfaces that meet together, on the inside, with a needle tool, apply liquid clay (thin layer), edge with a thin strip of black to give a nice finish, apply your signature, rebake, and you're done, with the clips nicely embedded in the back.

Tomorrow, two finished pairs of earrings to go with their respective necklaces.