The Autumn Leaves...

drift by my window, those autumn leaves, of red and gold.

Ahh, I used to sing that with hubby playing guitar.  So lovely and melancholy...autumn leaves evoke something within us, whether it is the joy of seeing the  gorgeous transition of color from spring and summer's bright green to the total opposite side of the color wheel, or the knowledge that another season is passing and time is inevitably marching on.  Whatever stirrings they provoke within you, they tend to be a jewelry artist's inspiration throughout all seasons.

My neighbor's beautiful tree.

Since starting my clay journey this past year...polymer and metal...I am always on the lookout for cool, unique stampings or carvings to design around.  There are so many pre-made rubber stamps and design plates to choose from, but the problem is they are in the common realm for all to choose, you they end up in lots of different artists' designs.   This autumn, I decided to walk around the garden and choose a few leaves to try and duplicate for my personal, unique use.

I used my mold putty to make some impressions.

I used some polymer clay to make the reverse side.  Don't laugh at my little hat shapes!

My favoite one.

Here are some impressions I made on some polymer clay I had on my table.  I definitely want to use these on some metal clay soon!

Seeds of Inspiration

http://www.angielewin.co.uk

I am currently at the mercy of two major infatuations which are gradually becoming intertwined - an intense and deepening devotion to all things clay and a love of botanical life in its seed dispersal phase. The image above is by one of my favourite artists, engraver and illustrator Angie Lewin who uses plants and their habitats as inspiration for her designs.

In my last post I unveiled my first pieces of ceramic work and as I've continued working with clay I've come to realise that it can be an incredibly relaxing and therapeutic medium to work in particularly when used sculpturally. In theory metal clay can be used this way but it doesn't have the plasticity of ceramic clay and dries out very quickly...not to mention the fact that it's expensive and the finished pieces would be very heavy. Rather than just transfer my bronze clay work straight into ceramic I wanted to try and develop some new ideas and this extra time is enabling me to do just that.

So were does the botanical element come in..? Well since I have no previous experience or expertise in sculpting or modelling I was looking for something fairly simple to start with and turned to one of my favourite forms - the seed pods of the Physalis or Chinese lantern...

Physalis

These have a beautiful, slightly ethereal equality so I thought I'd try and recreate one as a pendant. Mine morphed slightly into a Physalis/pumpkin hybrid but I like it never-the-less and just loved the process involved in the making.

Well this one sold and I had custom order so earlier this week I set about making another. This one hasn't been fired yet and as you can see it's developed a bit of a sexier shape...

Putting this aside to dry I started to think about how I could develop this further and began playing with a piece of clay - elongating the form and then adding some decoration...

I really like it - It has a lovely tactile feel and I'm really excited to see how It will be transformed with different glazes.

Now my head is bursting with ideas for a series of botanically inspired pieces so off I went to do a little online research and gather up some suitable specimens. And heavens, there are just so many beautiful things out there to choose from - mother nature really is the best when it comes to designing for form and function isn't she....

Sarracenia

Does this next one remind you of anything...?

Abrus

Lotus

Milkweed

I had a go at one more yesterday - a  bit more delicate in design and probably better suited to a stronger clay but it's all good practice...

 

So I hope you like this little insight into my inspiration - somehow I think there will be a few of these designs germinating pretty quickly so I hope you like them! If you know of any plants with interesting seed heads or pods do let me know.

Lesley

The Gossiping Goddess