Book Review 1: Soldering Made Simple

Part of my Christmas package included several books, one of which was “Soldering Made Simple. Easy techniques for the kitchen-table jeweler” by Joe Silvera, publication date of 2010 by Kalmbach Books. This book is just what I was looking for in that it focuses on easy to find small torches. I have to admit I’m afraid of using the larger torches so maybe if I start small I can move up as my confidence grows.

The book is beautifully photographed with 111 pages of easy to understand and follow directions. There are 12 jewelry projects that demonstrate various techniques including making head pins, decorative balls, making and soldering jump rings, attaching bails, dapping, and much more. The projects are projects I would enjoy making and wearing. With instructions so clear, I’m sure I could complete the projects while learning new techniques.
One of my goals has been to add metal to my polymer clay jewelry and this book will help me do that. If you have a chance to buy, borrow or check ths book out from the library, do so. I think you’ll find this to be a great resource.

New Year Goals and Plans

A new year, a birthday in a few days and time to set goals and make plans.  As usual, my goals for the year are maybe more ambitious than they should be but I've got work to do.  The major themes for the year will be Health, Home and Art.  Since this blog is about the art, here are my specific goals for the year.

Frittered Away

Yikes!  The time I've frittered away (def:  waste little by little) since I last blogged on June 26.  I have been busy though.  Travelling extensively for work with little time for the studio gave me plenty of excuses.  I've committed to myself to get my studio in prime order so that I can back to art making.  So, down to the basement studio to clean out, clean up and move on.

Published in Polymer Café Magazine - August 2010

A few months ago I submitted an idea for an article in Polymer Café magazine. I’ve been reading the magazine for quite a while and enjoying it greatly. The bracelets I submitted are a series I did using sculptural elements and glass cabochons from the floral department of a craft store. What a thrill to see the article. I think it turned out great. Some of the pictures I took, some were taken by my husband and daughter. Great work.

The cover shot of the mask is by Ann Kruglak, also a Mile Hile Polymer Clay Guild member. Several of our members have been featured in the magazine. Lots of talent in that group.

I’ve got some more ideas for submissions, which I’m preparing to send in now. Crossing my fingers for future publications.

New Blog Layout

I've been working on improving my photographs and invested in Photoshop Elements 8 so that I could edit my photos. Using my old photos, I've been practicing with the features of Elements and playing with changing the background of old photos, cropping, as well as using sharpen and color correction. These older photos of my polymer clay pieces were used to create a collage and I’m using that collage as my banner. You can see my new blog now; below is my old blog. I'll keep working on this of course but I've learned a lot so far.

Image Transfers and Wire Work

I’ve practiced a lot with various techniques for transfers. This week I tried a technique with inkjet prints that are coated with liquid polymer clay and then cured with a heat gun. I used a quality photo paper but did not really like the results. I found it difficult to use this technique for the type of projects I use transfers for which are usually domed pieces. The transfer did not have the flexibility I really like and need. To finish my projects I reverted to a tried and true technique which is a laser toner print burnished to the clay and then spritzed with water to release the paper. The paper rubs off easily, can be used for domed pieces and seems to work the best for me with very predictable results. You need the color laser printer though so the downside is the cost of toner.

Here are my results. I call my pieces “My Romantic Dream”. There is a collage of a woman, a tasteful nude and flowers in the background that I created from 3 to 4 images. The flowers don’t really come out because the bezel window is somewhat small. I used my newly developed wire working skills from the Santa Fe Bead Fest to frame one piece and create a bail for the other.

I’m going to keep working on this to perfect the pendants.

Bead Fest Santa Fe - Back to the Everyday

I'm back from Bead Fest Santa Fe and it was a dream come true. I've wanted to incorporate metals with my polymer clay work for some time now so taking several metalsmithing courses has really added to my repertoire. I also met lots of great people. By the way, Santa Fe is beautiful and we spent 5 glorious days there. On the 3d day it snowed 6 inches and was icy and snow blown for the better part of a day and a half. All melted though by the second day after the storm. It’s kind of felt like Denver in that regard. Here’s a picture of my coursework. There were lots of firsts for me - etching and coloring metal, riveting, ring and bail making, fold forming, riveting, hammering and heat treating metals and precious metal clay charms and earrings. Wow!