Fave Artist Resources - Polymer Clay

It's #4 of 5 in the resource listing extravaganza from last week's giveaway. This one's focused on polymer clay...this is one medium I can actually handle. Mind you, I'm a novice, but it's still such a fun material to work with. Most of the links are shops but some are just for inspiration! I don't intend to generalize an artist into a particular category, but had to make a few choices just to make it easier--so, feel free to explore and see all the cool things these artists have to offer! Most importantly, they're not listed in any particular order...go see them all!

Polymer Clay

http://www.studioartbead.etsy.com/ - Kate
http://www.storiestheytell.etsy.com/ Christine Damm http://www.breathtakingbeadzz.etsy.com/ - Cyndi Styles
http://www.humblebeads.com/ - Heather Powers
http://www.malodora.etsy.com/ - Malodora
http://www.klewexpressions.com/ - Karen Lewis
http://www.bijouxjardin.etsy.com/ - Sharon Palac
http://www.andreabeeler.com/ - Andrea Beeler
http://www.etsy.com/shop/grantdiffendaffer - Grant Diffendaffer
Plus, check out work by Cynthia Toops

Hope you can find some good stuff!

Jen

Complementary: In the Round

This is my entry into the Complementary Color Scheme Challenge on the Beads-of-Clay blog....


The big focal is a HUGE awesome button from Nancy's Round Rabbit.


I used the colors and roundness to drive my choices for other beads...there's a slab of garnet, some mookaite spacers, a few bits of Roman glass (from Happy Mango Beads) and a lampwork art bead that I bought on ebay years ago. The chain is from a shop in Kansas City, but as soon as I started going "round" it jumped out as the perfect complement. (Get it?! haaaaaaaaaa)

My pictures aren't exactly perfect, but I hope you can see the color scheme...



Thanks to Kristie at Artisan Clay for the reminder to get this thing done! haaaaaaaaaaa

Going Analogous...

That's like a combination of "anal" and "gorgeous" which just totally made me laugh...it's like a fancy little vanity table that's very tidy. haaaaaaaaa

This is my take on #2 of the Beads-of-Clay Color Challenge series. You can see other details about the challenge on the Artisan Clay blog. The basic requirements are: use a clay bead (earthen clay, porcelain or ceramic--not polymer) and follow the analogous color "code."

I like this color challenge series because it starts with simpler combinations (one color) and works towards more complex mixes (many colors). Because it's a gradual design process, I've been gradually studying color more...both in books and just by observing the world around me a little differently. For instance, warm, punchy colors permeate my home's decor...there are pinks and oranges everywhere. But, they all fall on a nice, cool, relaxing denim blue couch or a heavy, rich brown wooden dining room table. I guess that's how I design my jewelry, too...depends on the mood. Do I want punch or do I want soothing? But, then, there are so many other textural factors to think of, too, that the options are just so much fun to think about!


To help steer my color-related mind, I used a handy-dandy Border's coupon and got myself a new book: Color Index by Jim Krause. Its main audience, as far as I can tell, is print and web graphic design--there are lot of things about mixing formulas for the best screen or print results. But, to quote the author, "Simply put, use this book however you like." So, for a designer/beader/artisan/crafter, the book is great to educate on color basics (like what an analogous color scheme is) but also to trigger ideas about color combinations and how different values (lightness or darkness) can work. There are pages and pages in this little guidebook that pull combinations from the world around us...both natural and media-created. If you want to take a look at inside the book, you can go to the Jim Krause Design website and "cyber flip" through a few.

Anyway, enough on the book...on to the beads!!!

This work was inspired by the big porcelain focal bead over on the left-hand side of the necklace. I would love to tell you the designer, but I can't for the life of me remember. I know, though, that I bought it at a trunk show at the sweet little bead shop in Alexandria, Virginia called Bead Obsessions. Patricia always has wonderful treats in the store, but I failed to write down the info...I even found the receipt from Valentine's Day, 2009...nice record-keeping. :)

**I have an update! The bead artist is Bill Batts--according to Patricia, he was from North Carolina at that time. :)

I went with the violet and blue analogous color scheme with this eclectic mix of beads. Plus, I created my own wire-worked links to add a little bit more interest to the asymmetry...

Materials:
- Lovely big "mystery designer" **Bill Batts** porcelain focal with a great blue-violet finish
On the Blue Side:
- Navy glass ovals (from a bead swap with a friend)
- Blue spotted Kazuri bead (from Off the Beading Path)
- Denim blue lapis square pillows (from Potomac Bead Co.)
- Navy leather finished with sterling crimp ends (from Artbeads)
On the Violet Side:
- Dyed purple rough-cut agate nuggets
- Amethyst rectangles & nuggets (from Michael's)
- Blue-violet agate ovals
& violet simple cut stones(from Potomac Bead Co.)
- Lampwork glass disks (from HMB Studios)

Here's to the blues (and violets) on a rainy Sunday morning. :) I have to go take a nap before reading about nuclear strategy...or should I say not reading about nuclear strategy and playing with my latest bead goodies instead. haaaaaaaaaaa

A Color Challenge...

And, no, I don't mean trying to fit into my blues on a Monday! haaaaaaaa (For those who might wonder what I'm talking about, I'm in the Air Force and we wear our blue service uniform on Mondays. It tends to be a little less forgiving in the fit department than the camouflage of the other days of the week.)

The challenge I'm talking about this time I found on the Beads of Clay blog. It's going to require a little bit of practice thinking about the color wheel in different ways with new combinations of colors every couple of weeks. I own at least six books on color (buried in my crafty-book bookcase) but find myself drawn to the same color palettes most of the time. My brother, an artist, once told me that color is all about "trippin' out the rods and cones." That always cracks me up, in an eyeball-anatomy-nerd sort of way. :)

The other cool thing about these challenge projects is that they're focused on clay beads--that's earthen clay like porcelain, stoneware, earthenware, terra cotta, or raku--rather than polymer clay, which is what I've worked with before. There are tons of great clay artists out there so not only do I get to think outside my normal boxy workspace, I get to shop for some great new beads! haaaaaaaaa

For the first challenge, the focus is "Monochromatic." This scheme can be considered one color--just tones and shades of that one color. Well, I happened to have this fantastic clay & recycled glass pendant by Kristie at Artisan Clay which is where I first saw the challenge post! It's in a vibrant violet that actually looks to me more like a red-violet than a blue-violet. Either way...I was able to feature the pendant prominently amidst a mix of big funky cut stones. Then, the back is finished off more daintily with amethyst and pearls. I'd highly recommend Kristie's shop at Artisan Clay Jewelry Etsy Shop.

Since I was in the monochromatic groove, I decided to do another piece--this one turned into a set of earrings. The denim blue porcelain charms that are central to the design came from Marsha Neal. I strung a variety of blues on beading wire and used a Beadalong crimp end, that has a little ring on it, to finish it off. This creates a perfect link to an earring wire.

If you're up for some color challenge or just want to see some pretty work, check out the Beads of Clay blog. :)