This lid watered with a sassy red, white and purple millefiori cane. I was playing with the end of a purple and white bull's eye cane and smooshed it into a strip. I then rolled this into a "ribbon" rose and glued it to the center. I added fuchsia clay for the rim and decided to give the edge around the lid's cane slice a textured, purple border. Just before trimming off the excess clay, I noticed one edge was delicately ruffled. It was then I decided to bend the rest of the edges to see what it would look like. I was so pleased with the effect, that I left it intact. Let this be a lesson to all the budding artists out there or those who recognize your inner artist, but suffer from pangs of doubt about your work. As much as I'd like to say that everything I do is the result of a vision followed by careful execution, that is seldom the case when I sit to create. While there are occasionally pieces that fall under this concept, much of what I do starts out with a color, shape, or texture in mind. I let the work take me where it will. As an artist, it's not uncommon to dislike or even loath something I made. However, I find the pieces I am most pleased with upon their completion are the unexpected ones. The works that didn't come out like I had envisioned or the projects that I started with no preconceived expectations, but tackled with an attitude of playfulness. Know that's it's okay to veer from a path and even make mistakes. Sometimes those become the pieces you love the most! 

A few days back, when digging in my SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS treasure trove, I also found another type of triangular component, the Pyramid Fancy Stone #4842. These complimented a triangular millefiori cane design I had in my clay drawers. Separating the simple, lined black clay border is a single strand of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS single row #50 002 plastic banding in Topaz (#203). Polymer clay bakes at a low enough temperature that the banding won't melt in the oven! The pyramid stones were removed after baking and reattached with two-part epoxy.      

Happy President's Day, especially for you lucky ducks who get the day off from work. U.S. presidents were of course my inspiration for this lid. I've also been ruminating lately about how much I like charcoal rubbings. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's the art of placing paper over textured objects, typically old architectural elements or tombstones. Charcoal is rubbed over the paper to get a ghosted duplicate impression of the design. I wanted to see if I could create this effect with clay. This was done by putting a very thin layer of black clay over a quarter, burnishing with my finger and then applying a light coating of mica powder on the raised surface.I have to say that I was more than happy with the results. In keeping with a patriotic theme, I used red, white, and blue stripping over my Stars and Stripes foil. It's not news how sad the economy is. We all know the dollar continues to shrink, but I bet you didn't know it was getting smaller in value and now in size! I glued miniature, replica coins to the rim. These miniature and micro miniatures versions of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters are a part of my Micro Inclusion line and coming soon to www.lisapavelka.com

In going through my crystal treasure trove I came across this lovely SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Topaz (10mm) triangle cut stone (#4722). I made today's lid with no idea of what it would look like when I started out. Sometimes, my favorite creations are those that begin this way. After placing a stripped clay border around the stone and baking it, I decided that I'm still not over my Spring Fever and am longing for green. Onto a green base of clay it went. Then i noticed some wavy clay strip scraps sticking out of my scrap clay jar from a previous project. Voila! i decided to build an abstract sun concept with the crystal as the focal point, thus the rays of black and light green clay emanating out from the center. To highlight the strip border of the stone, I decided to add a striped border around the rim. Even though I was inspired by the thought of sunlight on grass, I now also see the design as vibratory currents coming out of the stone. Whatever way you look at this, I hope it inspires you to do something creative today.    

The biggest blessing of being a working artist is connecting with others through my classes and workshops. Another wonderful perk is the chance to see the world through my work. I'm incredibly fortunate to have the support of my husband and kids. Once in a while they get to travel with me too. Not every venue is exotic or exciting, but the point is sharing the love of creativity far and wide. Oftentimes a trip means breezing in and out of a town without time to site-see or relax. When I do get the chance to do this, I consider it a bonus, but the biggest payoff is creating with new and old friends. So far this year, I'll be traveling to locations including Slovenia, Austria, Alaska, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Canada, and other locations throughout the U.S. I made today's lid as a tribute to the joys of travel. This mixed media collage is made using polymer clay, micro components and products from my line (including Magic Glos resin and texture stamps). A striped border finishes the piece. For more information about where I'll be teaching along with links for class offerings visit www.lisapavelka.com