Countdown to Bead Fest!

Today is Monday the 17th. I depart for Bead Fest in 3 days, and a few miscellaneous hours. Set up on Thursday - with a stint as airport shuttle. Then Friday we can let the wild rumpus start!  (Thank you Mr. Sendak for that one.) 

My glaze fort. Please note coffee aka elixir of life; and Netflix on iPad. Currently binge watching West Wing. 

In the last few weeks I have been spending most time in the Glaze cave aka basement studio, where I barricade myself in with jars of glaze and underglaze. And I paint, and I paint. My pieces are so detailed, and involve multiple layers of glaze. Base coat, shadows, highlights... as if I was painting in watercolors. Then a coat of clear glaze over the underglaze colors. I love that each piece is individual and unique...

I have new designs this year that I have added to my Mythic Nature line of ceramic pendants. All the favorites will be in attendance at Bead Fest, and there are new orcas - thanks to Lindsay, barn owls, sleeping foxes, and the Mermaid of Zennor. A Cornish folktale, her inspiration is carved in wood on a church pew. (St. Senara's Church in Zennor UK)

 I currently have a small kiln at home, and larger kilns to use at the studio where I teach. All my pendants are fired at home in my workhorse! (Olympic doll kiln). Its not large, but I love that I can fire it fast and frequently!

Approximately 50 pendants in a load, each suspended on a hook, from a bar of the bead tree... 

 Then there is the polymer. And the resin. Oh my! 

All the polymer is still in progress. Theres a lot to do in three days... 

So as of this writing - its pricing and sorting time!

Mythic Nature pendants fresh from my little kiln.

Look what has arrived! I will have a selection of treasures from Lesley Watt with me (and her) at Bead Fest!

Lesley's loot teaser pix! 

If you are in need - here is a discounted admission coupon! Stop by Artisan's Alley and say Hello! 

Hey, pssst Fill in my name as the "Referring vendor" ok? Thanks. 

A week in the life... or the frantic behind the scenes mayhem!

I am thrilled to be teaching at Bead Fest this Spring. In fact - as you read this I am there! I tend to think of myself as the "mixed media girl" as that's when I am happiest - putting materials together! Sure I love clay... but polymer allows me to tap into my painter/collage artist alter egos simultaneously...

Polymer. resin. color. image. text.

I'm teaching a mixed media class - mold making, polymer focal, paint finished, and collage with resin inside. If they look familiar, its because these "Word mojo" pieces debuted here as the COM in January 2014. I hope my students are as happy with them as the team made me...  Getting ready to teach a class is a bit different from prepping for a show. The show prep I do so often, I can go on autopilot. But to be prepared for any and all questions, to anticipate additional materials we might need... samples, hand outs... Last week it was all calm and civilized: email the students, make a few Xerox copies of images, and start the class samples.

Now its crunch time. This is the week OF class. I leave on Wednesday evening. If you are reading this, on Friday, we can assume all is well!

Monday:

• Drink the coffee. 
• Work on your taxes. &^!#%&^!@%#^&@!%
• Shop for miscellaneous materials. Baby Wipes, paper towels, toothbrushes... I forgot the wax paper! 
• Panic because you think you have to prep and teach a bookbinding class tomorrow. (Then you realize after you call the library, that you are teaching that class NEXT week. When you should. be. sane. again.) 
• Finish first stage of class samples. 
• Start to gather the class supplies. 
• Mistaken think its Tuesday already and freak out. 
• Drink more coffee. 

Class samples: cured and waiting.

The start of the supplies. I think we need a bigger boat... I mean chair.

An hour or so of messy creative therapy.

Class samples stage one complete.

Tuesday:

• Drink the coffee
• Finish the samples. 
• Make more piles of supplies. 
• Assemble the student kits for class. 
• Start writing the class handout. 
• Laundry. Because what am I wearing to teach?!
• Drink more coffee
• Get distracted by Facebook
• Run last minute errands to post office and hardware store. 
• Drink more coffee
• Check to see if resin is cured. Get sticky fingers; resist the urge to touch again. 

More piles of stuff.

Make the student kits. note ever present coffee.

Always have a mold - or 5 ready for excess resin.

Wednesday: 

• Drink the coffee
• Take dogs to daycare.
• Fondle cured resin. 
• Pack tools and last minute additional things you decide you should take. 
• Proof and print the handout. 
• Proof and publish this post! 
• Drink the coffee. 
• Drive to Bead Fest. Check in. Set up classroom. 
• Hotel. Collapse. (Hmm - maybe a side trip to Wegmans for dinner...

Thursday: 

• Up early. Mix of nervous and excited. 
• Drink the coffee. Hit the Starbucks. 
• TEACH CLASS
• HAVE FUN
• GET MESSY

Friday: 

• Drink the coffee. 
• Shop for the beads. 
• Shop for gems. 
• Chat with friends. 
• Drink the coffee. 
• Relax. 
• Buy more beads. And gems. 
• Drink more coffee. 
• Go home. Flying is optional but possible due to coffee consumption. 

If you are coming to Bead Fest Spring - I hope you have a marvelous time - I know I will. Its amazing how so many weeks, or action packed days of preparation go into preparing for an event... but the event flies by in a blink. Until later... 

Freeform Friday - Swellegant patinas!

 Do you ever buy a thing that you think is going to be perfect and then put it safely away in your studio? For a year? Uh yeah... It wasn't that I forgot I had this complete set of Swellegant paints and patinas - I wanted to have a chance to play and experiment and test them out. To devote to exploring the hundreds, no, thousands of combinations and inter reactions. Right. Like that's ever going to happen. This week there weren't any pressing deadlines, and I needed to PLAY a little. So here we go!

Swellegant paints are a system comprised of a metal paint, a patina, and colorful dye-oxides. I heard of it via Christi Friesen, who has shared amazing tutorials and resources about Swellegant on her website.  And she sells it there too. But I am NOT receiving any rewards or bribes for this shameless plug.

Here I am watching paint dry. Well, watching the magic of patina happen! These pieces are polymer and had been languishing in a tray awaiting some attention and TLC. 

There are five metals paints available: brass, copper, bronze, iron, and silver. ( They are working out the kinks with the silver formula, sometimes it explodes. Just a little. Mine was gelatinous and stinky after a year... The customer service at Christi's site is out-of-this-world though!) 

There are three patinas: darkening, Verdigris and Tiffany Green/rust. There are like a million dye oxide colors. ( OK thirteen, for real.) 

Here is the story so far: One coat of metal paint, let dry. Second coat applied, and patina applied while metal paint is still wet. I spritzed mine onto the pieces.
 From L to r: Brass, Bronze, Copper - all with Tiffany green patina.

Now the fun can begin: I went back in to some pieces with metal paint to highlight the high points, accentuate the relief of the sculptural pieces. 

Tiffany green patina on iron paint creates rust. 

The brass group: dye oxides added. I used blues and greens to vary the patina colors on three pieces. On the figure/cameo piece I used white, red, brown to accentuate the figure and the trees. 

The bronze group: Lots of blues! The deep cobalt agains the bronze was so fabulous to me.. . Trying white to lighten and add interest to the owl. 

The copper group: some blue/purples added to darken the deeper areas, some lighter green and yellows added for variety. It was truly playful. I didn't feel the pressure to finish pieces for a deadline and these PC pieces had been waiting to be painted for a good while - not too precious, not too much time invested in their creation that would make me hesitate to mess them up! 

The left moon and feather are copper/tiffany/dyes. 

The right owl and feather are iron/tiffany/dyes. I am digging the rusty crusty nature of that owl, and the colors with the rust! Yes. 

So thats where I am today! I have to wait a total of 72 hours before sealing the pieces. The Swellegant system comes with a water based sealer. I have only used one patina! The tip of the creative iceberg...  After sealing them - hmmm. Tab settings! Beaded bezels! Make more! 

I am overall thrilled with this product and my results. There are infinite possibilities. My only regret - I waited so long to dive in! If you are interested in more information check Christi's site. And heather at Humblebeads wrote a stellar post, sharing her patina combinations! I for sure am going to add this to my repertoire. OH! Swellegant finishes on my Mythic Nature pieces! Whoa! 

Stay tuned here and on my blog for more "Swell" pieces. And its NOT too early to start making things for Beadfest in August! What would you like to see? Cabs? pendants? charms? beads? I would love to hear what you think! 

Thanks for stopping by - off to the studio now... 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

Day of the Dead Sugar skull tutorial

The air has a crisp scent, pumpkins are popping up, leaves are falling down. Its that time of year - time for the Day of the Dead! 

We have discussed the Dia de los Muertos both recently and in the past here on the AJE blog. It is a celebration that inspires me greatly - with its rituals and colors, its heritage and history. ( I have discussed that  here. ) The holiday acknowledges death as a part of life, and remembers & honors the departed. ( Linda goes into depth on her post from last month if you missed it.)

This is the second year I have made polymer "sugar skulls" - my take on the popular decoration for Day of the Dead. This time I was savvy enough to take pictures of the process. I hope you enjoy - and feel free to ask me questions!

Roll a ball of polymer. I use ivory.
( 2 pts white, 1 part translucent, 1 pt ecru)

Pinch and turn bottom half - aiming for a light bulb shape. 

Gently flatten until desired shape is achieved. Square off chin if you want...  

Optional: cheekbones.
Roll a wedge shaped tool in from edge toward center of head.
 Soften hard edges with your finger. 

  

Variations on cheekbones and chins. 

I use wax modeling tools from my casting classes in college.
This has a spear tip, bent like a spoon and makes great nostrils! 

Repeat on other side for that skull nose shape. 

Roll a tool across the jaw to mark out mouth and teeth. 

Press teeth in above and below line with "bent spear" tool. 

Teeth on left are simple lines pressed in, pressing above and below  mouth line at the same time.  Eyes have a little interest added with a star shaped screwdriver bit from the hardware store. 

Friesen florals

( At this point I managed to forget to take any more pictures. I am so sorry! I use flower  and leaf molds from Christi Friesen. Press clay in, flex mold to remove flower, affix on forehead with a dab of liquid sculpey. Some designs I simply added balls of clay, and impressed them with rubber stamps. I also pressed some stamp designs into the skulls themselves. Cure in polymer oven to manufacture recommendations. For me it was Sculpey PREMO - 30 min at 275 degrees. )

First layer of color! Burnt umber to antique the clay. I use Genesis heat set oils. Here you see it applied, and then wiped back with a tissue.  

After heat setting the oils for 10 minutes at 275 degrees - the "as is" on the left and then after a brief bit of wet sanding. Sanding wet is necessary to protect ones lungs! But sanding removes excess burnt umber and returns the ivory color I want on the surface.

Antiqued and sanded. Ready for color - in the form of acrylics. 

I use acrylics for the color portion of the process. I want a liquid that will go into the designs, I want to be able to mix colors...  First I add color to any impressed areas and sand as needed:

1. red applied to dot design. 2. red wiped off with finger. 3. red sanded back /ivory on face. 4. Others with impressed designs colored, wiped, sanded. 

Then I just break out small brushes, put on music, and paint! This two part process really clicked with me. Like a wash, or an underpainting when painting on canvas, the burnt umber adds great depth to the colors with out being too heavy of opaque.  I do heat set my acrylic layer - although every one seems to have differing opinions about that. And this batch was given a light coat of Swellegant sealer. Its very important to me to be sure the colors are secure and long lasting with normal wear.

Ready for a Day of the Dead celebration near you!

Feliz Dia de los Muertos! 
Stay tuned for the next two Fridays! I have some slightly spooky, slightly morbid topics bubbling away on the cauldron... 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor

Addendum:

• The skulls have wrapped loops - a barbell is you will - in the back. It is held in place with a textured bit of clay, integrating yet hiding the hanging mechanism. 
• Clearly I am new to tutorials as I forgot pix of a whole stage in the process. Sorry!
• I do not receive any $$ from Christi Friesen for promoting her products: flower molds and Swellegant.