Sunday, November 25, 2012

Cyber Monday Promotion

Still time to save at 11BOLDstreet on Etsy:

BLACK FRIDAY - CYBER MONDAY PROMO!!! Use coupon code 11BOLD12NOV to receive 20% off any 11BOLDstreet purchases Nov. 23-26. Discount is off item base price, shipping and any sales taxes are still applicable.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Revisiting a Favorite Color Scheme

After receiving and Etsy convo from a potential customer, I'm revisiting a favorite color scheme - copper, golden-bronze and black. Not calling it a "custom order", but rather a "request", this lovely lady asked about an existing piece. I think that what she really wants is just the pendant. Don't know why, but I'm not quite ready to dissemble this neckpiece.



So, I set about recreating the general look/feel of the original. The mokume gane process does not lend itself to whipping up matching sections, even from the same batches. It's inherent and deliberate randomness makes that impossible. But, I think that I came close. As always, the cuttings and scraps from a mokume gane block are sometimes as interesting as the main event. Witness these results, so far:

Pendants (and bracelet, below) components, front view.

Pendants, back view.


Please visit the 11BOLDstreet Etsy shop in a couple of weeks to see how these components ultimately get finished!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Tropical Inspiration

Remember the scene from "The Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy says to the Wizard, "Oh, you're a really bad man"? And he replies, "No, I'm a very good man, but a very bad wizard".

Well, (on most days) I think that I'm a decent polymer artist, but would have to admit that I'm not such a hot blogger (that is, with regards to consistency!) With a two month lapse between posts, you might think that I've been slacking off in the polymer department. Not so. True, there have been other things going on that have been time-consuming, but I've actually managed to be productive in the last couple of months.

One of the "time-consuming" activities was a road trip to Florida in May to visit family. I came home with my brain replaying the colors of the Keys. This isn't a color palette that I normally embrace. Bits and pieces of it, yes, but I typically don't jump head-first into a scheme combining the sea shades of turquoise, the floral blasts of magenta and tangerine and the almost fluorescent green backdrop everywhere.

But, upon getting back into my studio, I just couldn't resist interpreting what I'd seen. And, of course, I had to throw in a little bit of classy black and depth-extending translucent. I made a mokume gane block, plus some of my favorite "snakeskin" texture. I layered slices of both techniques (along with their always exciting and unpredictable trimmings) with solid colors and translucent to make a sheet of vibrant pattern from which to cut bead covers.


 And here are some of the sanded/buffed components, some already on their way to becoming finished pieces:


I was going to end by commenting that it's fun to occasionally step out of your comfort zone, but I think that I'm now actually comfortable with this palette ;)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

My "Pollock" Tribute

Some techniques in polymer are messy. Others are fun. This one is messy AND fun!

The theme for the May PCAGOE Challenge is "Artist Inspired". I chose American abstract-impressionist Jackson Pollock as my inspiration. His "drip" technique lends itself wonderfully to tinted liquid polymer.

I keep bunches of tinted liquid polymer for use as glazes, primarily when doing my liquid polymer gauze "thing", or the recently published chopped translucent technique. They also tend to drip on things, so I decided to make use of that property. I discovered that it isn't just a matter of flinging the color. The piece has to be heated between each layer of color, or it all just levels out and runs together. There is a reason that Donna Kato's instructions for Kato sauce say NOT to apply to hot surfaces, but in this case, that's exactly what is needed :)


After building up many, many layers of colors, here was the first piece which resulted from the fun flinging of liquid polymer:


And, here are some from the latest batch:


Sometimes, it's really fun to be messy!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Teaser for The Polymer Arts - Spring 2012



Here's a bit of a teaser for the upcoming issue of The Polymer Arts. "Yours truly" has a technique article included, which is entitled "Chopped Translucent Polymer", and in it you'll learn how to recreate the base material for pieces such as these. I can't give away the specifics here, but I will tell you that like many ultimately good things in life, this technique started with a "boo-boo"!

Want to know more? Well, those of you who are subscribers, be sure to check your mail/email boxes for the Spring issue, which is due out any time now. I hope that you enjoy the article, and of course, the rest of Sage's gorgeous publication!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Vote in the PCAGOE Monthly Challenge!

Since Facebook seems to be having issues for some of us regarding posting of blogger links, I couldn't leave my regular format monthly reminder. But, I can apparently link to my own blog, since my URL is custom - go figure!!!

Anyway, please vote in this months theme, which is "Not Jewelry, Not Wearable". This is also the launch for our new voter prize format. If you are chosen as one of the random prize winners, you get to pick your own prize from over a dozen different shops! How cool is that? So, click to vote, but first, I wouldn't mind if you signed up to follow this blog <grin>!