Have Kiln..... will travel!

Today I made the trek to the beautiful Tionesta Area.  It's the second time I've taught a class for the Tionesta Area Arts Council.  Class today was held in the visitor center which was just perfect.  The lighting was great and everything was close at hand.  And as usual the people were great.  (I just love teaching and meeting people.  As usual, we had a good time and lots of laughs.)

The focus of the class was making silver lentil beads but of course we made other things too.  (It's amazing how far a nine gram pack of PMC3 can go.)  The above photo is of Denise and Julia showing off their completed beads.  (Sorry I never remember last names....... I'm lucky to remember first names!)

This photo shows one side of Becky's bead (that's the beauty of lentil beads....... they are two sided.)

Becky used some extra clay to make this head from a mold she brought with her.  (It's not yet fired here.)  She is taking it home to add hair and a crown (and do a nose repair.  It got a little flattened.)

Once again the other pictures I took were not good enough to share.  I wish they were, there were so many nice pieces made today.  

I love teaching metal clay, no matter where I go.  But there is a big difference when I'm on the road and when I'm at the studio.  I like to give my students a chance to create using their vision for a piece and try to pack as many different tools as I can.  But invariably someone comes up with a great idea and I have the perfect tool "back at the studio."  Today was no different.  We could have used carving tools, more chains and cords, and more templates among other things.  We make do and figure things out, but having the right tools sure makes it easier.  

What I need is a studio "on wheels!"  Then it can all go with me where ever I go.  

Some things are more important than others

It seems like I haven't done any classes for such a long time and then all the sudden I have a lot of classes.

I was tired after my class on Wednesday so I just left the mess and went back in yesterday to clean up and prepare for my next class in Tionesta on Saturday.

My class on Saturday is on making lentil beads.  That class requires me to take some tools and equipment that I don't usually use.  So, as I was packing I was trying to remember to take this and that.  Usually a warming tray or candle warmer is enough to dry pieces but since lentil beads don't lay flat I have to take a hair dryer and a box to support the hair dryer.  Check!

The clay has to be dried over a curved form, either light bulbs, a paint palette or commercial rounded drying form.   Packed?   Check!

Since all the tool kits were out, those were easy enough.  Check!  Sandpaper, olive oil, texture plates, molds, distilled water, alcohol, CZ's, rubber blocks, work mats, vermiculite, bowl to hold vermiculite, necklaces, jump rings, beading wire, etc. etc. etc.  Check!

All packed.  Just a matter of hauling it all down to the car.  (Pray the elevator is working!)

Ready to go home..... wait a minute.  I think I forgot something.......... oh no.  I forgot the clay.  Anything else I could probably make due.  But the clay?   No clay...... no class.  Some things are definitely more important than others.

Other side of "need a pearl?"

In my previous post "need a pearl" I was asked if the piece was a lentil bead.  Yes, indeed it is.  Besides making rings, I love making lentil beads.  I think that's because they so easily lend themselves to reversible pieces.

The other side to the faux pearl piece has Aura 22 on it.  Maybe it's my old eyes, but for me the gold never shows up very well.  (I also knocked off the post for the pearl when I was torch firing the gold side.  Live and learn.)

And, as usual my photo skills leave something to be desired.  But for what it's worth, here is the other side.   Oh, and take a guess what color of shirt I was wearing the day I took the picture.

Certification Saucer bead

Just a couple more certification projects to cover.

This post is about the saucer bead (which I know as a lentil bead.) They are easy (and fun) to make. The only difference between what we did in class and what I normally do is the way the edges were treated. My edges are normally a little rounded. In class we were going for a sharp knife edge which was created by sanding from the center down to the edge. Guess it is this sharp edge that gives it the saucer name.

These were decorated to our liking. I decorated the top with an organic design created with the syringe. For some reason I like to sand the syringe work to give it a flatter finish. (Do this a lot.) I carved the back of the piece (but am not happy with it.)

I'm still trying to figure out why my jewelry is mostly organic. Mission style is my taste in furniture. Seems like a contradiction.

Texture party

There are a lot of really nice texture plates available to use with polymer and metal clay. I know I have my favorites and so do my students. Using the same plates over and over again though gets boring.

When I went to Arrowmont in April, we were supposed to have a texture swap. For some reason, I thought we were supposed to make our textures. (Many brought ready made or natural textures to share.) Since I procrastinated (NO!) and didn't have mine made ahead of time, I quickly grabbed some objects and a big block of white polymer clay as I headed out the door. So, in the hotel room on the way down, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. My friend Laurie, graciously donated the bottom of her shoe which had a very interesting pattern on it. One of the objects I brought was a very heavy, very large chain (and I use to wear that around my neck?) I started pushing it into the flattened polymer clay in a repetitious pattern. That was fun! Next I grabbed a paper clip and started playing with it. Got two texture plates from that one. The last texture was made with a fine toothed comb. I could have gone on and on because it was so much fun. (Guess it doesn't take much to amuse me.)

Since the polymer had to be baked, I carefully stacked and packed my textures until I got to the condo and was able to bake them. Making the textures is one thing but being able to imagine what they are going to look like is another. (This can be solved by using polymer clay to test them out.)

Arrowmont was in Aril. I never got around to trying out my textures until this past August. Even then I've only tried out three of them but I really like the way they turned out.

The one texture and the enameling I did in some of the spaces remind me of something I did in Junior High. (How long ago was that?) The weird thing is that I still have it. (Can you say pack rat?)

Anyway, making your own textures is fun and the cure for texture boredom. How about a texture party?

Lentil beads

   Recently I've had a thing for making lentil beads; all sizes of lentil beads.  I've made big ones and baby ones and they are all fun.  I don't know what it is about them but they just appeal to me in a big way.  My Jealous Heart pendant was the first lentil bead I ever made. (it can be seen in an earlier post.) It is an inch and a quarter in diameter; my biggest.  Lately they've been getting smaller.  My last two were 5/8 ".  

   The beads are made by drying the cut-out clay circles over a domed form.  The bigger beads are dried over a light bulb stuck into a styrofoam glass to keep it up right.  I bought some spherical rubber molds in three different sizes and the small mold is what I used for my smaller beads.  One of the guild members brought a sheet of rounded candy molds to the November meeting and let us cut several molds off.  Those worked great for small beads too.   My friend Sarah also said the white domed tabs inside of juice cartons works well.   Of course all of these need to be oiled first so the clay doesn't stick.  

  When the circles are dry, the back sides are run over sandpaper to level them and create a flat surface for the paste.  The next step is just to paste the two circles together and you have the bead.

  There are various ways to ready the bead for hanging.  A bail can be added, a jump ring can be imbedded in one side, or it can be drilled.  Drilling can be from top to bottom or from side to side.  If drilling from side to side, make sure the holes are above the center and they will have to be elongated a little.  Test the holes out before firing, by inserting a wire through the bead.  That way if anything needs adjusted, it will be easier to do.  

   I'll be exploring the lentil bead further in a class I'm teaching on the 17th of this month.  

Will post all those new little babies here for everyone to see.