Polymer Clay Dragon Eye Brooch

This weekend was another time for just enjoying myself. I made a few things but this dragon eye is what I really had fun making. I was going for an old wise forest magic in this pin. Amazingly this is exactly what I got out of it. You don’t know how often I have an idea the feeling I want from an item but never quite get it. Or the cute playful piece looks like it actually an axe murderer in disguise. But this one came out just as I wanted.

This eye looks dark and misty to me, I was going for wooded forest. When it was done, I attached a pin-back to make it a brooch. No use making things, it you are just going to leave then sitting around in the back of a drawer. And like most stuff I also listed it in my shop – Dragon Eye Brooch on FantasyClay

Rose Pendant by CreatingCottage

Polymer Clay Flower Pendant by KaelMijoy

Caveman Tribal Cake Topper by FantasyClay

“Death can not stop true love, it can only delay it for a little while.” – Wesley  – The Princess Bride

These signs of love brought to you today by the Artfire Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild.

Swellegant Combo: MONTEZUMA

Christi Freisen has come out with a new toy to play with, Swellegant. It is really more of a costume for the clay. She came out with a line of metal coatings (real metal) in 5 colors -silver, copper, bronze, iron and brass and 3 patinas to darken or oxidize the metals. There is also a line of dye oxides that react with the metal to add color.

It can be used on anything but since Christi is the Clay lady, she is obviously showcasing it on that. It looked too good to resist. So I decided to order some. I wasn’t quite where to start so I decided to just order one of her sets – where she puts together metals/patina/dye as well as sealant and application tools (you can also get the sets without the app kit).

Before Swellegant

Now where to start. I wasn’t sure what to make but I wanted to try it on something. I decided on a red dragon necklace. That I was less than happy with. It is ok but it could be better so I didn’t mind giving it up to an experiment. So I used the silver coating, with a darkening patina and then a lot of the blue dye to change the look totally.

Since the metal coatings really are metal this necklace now looks like silver! It when from dark red and a mix of gold and purple to this:

After Swellegant

This is a first try and I love the effect. I really slathered on the dye after I coated it with 3 coats of silver, then a little darkening patina for this look.

It takes time for everything to dry but wowza. I decided to order some bronze and verdigris patina. The set of metal, patina, dye and sealant was only 18 dollars so I figure I get afford to try them out.

Red Polymer Clay Heart by StrangeWhimsy

Aside from dragons, one thing I really love making is hearts. And not just because red is my favorite color or because Valentines Day is almost here. Hearts, like dragons, are wide open doors for just plain creativity. You can do so much with such a simple shape. Who needs anatomically correct hearts when there is so much more to them.

I know hearts don’t have to be red but I was in the mood for red, so I went looking for some red hearts to see what others have done with them. I had better brush up  own creativity.

This one by StrangeWhimsy on Artfire just caught my attention with the combination of different pieces, a delicate flowery shape, deep red heart, wings and then some crystal bead,together they come together beautifully.

Steampunk Heart Pendant by ArtmakersWorlds

Then this Metallic Steampunk heart by ArtmakersWorldsjust blew me away. If there is one style that always catches my eye is steampunk. I like that mix of old and new with an industrial feel. It’s kind of like home to me. the red is hidden under a silver shell. It feels like clock with a mix of the old and the new.

I love how the red just seems to hide but it catches your eye more than if it was front and center. Excellent design.

Red Heart Pendant by DesertWindDesigns

Then comes this heart by DesertWindDesigns. It looks like as mass of squiggly veins and tubes as they wander across the heart. This one is a one of kind creation. She says it wasn’t made using molds, but looking at it, do you ever have to be told that? It just twists and turns until you just can’t stop looking.

It is the time of year to celebrate heats and to celebrate red. Actually every day is a day for red as I sit here typing with my red fingernails and red sneakers. What other color is so vibrant and so full of life – like the blood pumping in your heart right now.

Polymer Clay Winged Dragon

Polymer Clay Silver and Purple Dragon

It’s been a while since I just took the time to sculpt a dragon without worrying about making it for anyone else to like and just enjoy what I make. He’s not cute or nice, in fact he is kind of dark and creepy as he glowers as he lays in wait.

I make the skin textured and the wings wrinkled. It is make of gray clay with mica powers for color and shimmer. His body is a shimmery purple while he wings and spikes on his back are deep green. He is different from most things I do. Even when I play around, I still tend to think of what is going to sell. I need to take more time to do dragons like this. It is so satisfying to just build the parts and solve the problems of how to do each part without having to worry if someone else will like it.

He is guarding my living room now, even though he is only 6 inches long. He looks like he might attack at any minute. At least until someone else decides they need to have him guarding their house. I decided to list him in my Artfire store. Check out this dragon here.

Hot Pink and Green Retro Butterfly by HarrisonHollowDesigns

Steampunk Jewelry Wing Pendant by DesertRubble

Polymer Clay Gryphon Pendant by PolymerClayEclectic

Sometimes you just have to feature what some of your fellow clayers are doing. I’ve been always been intrigued by wings, so often they are a focal point of my own work. I decided to some other Artfire clayers who are winging it their own way.

Pawns for the Good Side

Pawns for the Dark Side

Making a Star Wars chess set as been on my to-do list for a while but it’s one of those big projects that tend to get put on the back burner, that is until someone requests one (other than my husband).  This is still a work in progress but now I have the pawns done – hey number-wise that’s half the pieces.

Storm troopers and rebel fighter were an obvious choice for pawns. Some of the other pieces are still up for grabs. I’ve gotten ideas looking at other sets, but Darth Vader as queen bothers me in a way.

Blue and Purple Mosaic Frame

I had an great time at Clayathon, at least as long as I lasted. I met a cool artist Leslie Blackford, I’ll show her work in a later post and basically clayed for about 14 hours a day. Until I crashed after only two days. I guess I over did it. By Sunday I must have destroyed my immune system, because Sunday I work up totally work out with the beginning a bad cold. I was wiped all last week or else I would have written sooner.

Even still it was really worth it. The creative energy alone was electric. I made so much stuff and tried things just because I had the time. This frame was just one of the things. Each tile is unique. They are different shades of blues, pinks and purples, I also experimented with using very translucent colors as well. Each is stamp then brushed with mica powders in different combinations and styles. I would work on it for a while, put it aside and come back to it.

I am really kind of proud of it.  I listed this frame in my Artfire shop.

Took the day off work and am leaving soon. Trying to pack EVERYTHING was a big job. But it all fits in two boxes. All one has wheels though. Plus clothes and a laptop bag (need to stay connected).

I am going to take pics and hopefully keep things updated.

I’m off to clay

Billy Joel and Elton John in Concert Together

This has been a crazy month. Too many crises and too many changes to even remember to post. I can’t believe Christmas has already come and gone. gosh 2012 will be here in less than a week. I was sorting throw my stuff and I found these two on my shelf getting dusty.

I made these two musical bears and their pianos after a Billy Joel and Elton John concert I saw almost 10 years ago. Basically at that point I  mostly made teddy bears. Billy Joel has always been my favorite singer, with Elton John also in the top 10 so this concert was a big thrill for me.

I really wanted to be sure I remembered just how much I enjoyed it, so I made a teddy to represent each. During the shop they had their pianos lined up end to end like this, so I have always displayed them like this.

Bears in Concert

In case you can’t tell, Billy Joel is the one on the left, a grey bear with a black jacket and beard. Elton John of course has his sunglasses and his jacket is dusted with glitter. To be honest, it doesn’t matter if anyone sees the men behind the teddies besides me. I added details like Billy’s fingers on the keyboard and droopy eyes. I admit I put a lot more attention in his bear.