Like a calming sigh of relief...

another necklace was born!

It's been so long since I've taken the time (well, fought external forces to make the time) to make something, anything...and that it should be business related was all the more sweeter!
Well, not exactly business related, unless you count that it was a new design, so in that respect it was progressive for my repertoire and creative juices.

To explain a little why I've been away so long (seems as though I'm having to do this quite a bit...sorry!), I'm taking some time to look after my two little ones.  One which I believe I've told you about, my now 21 month old son Evan, and my second son Lucas, who just turned 7 weeks old yesterday.  Needless to say they keep me busy!  And while I do have loads of help from my husband and my mom, between trying to "catch up" on near sleepless nights and the daily grind of toy-clean-up and other such mundane things of life, there's been little to no time for work...so far.  I'm beginning to see the light at the end of that tunnel though, and just this past weekend felt a little of that light shining on me when I took just a few hours to flex my creative muscle.

My muse was a children's necklace for a friend's daughter's "princess" birthday gift.

A little about the design:  I thought to myself that I needed to create something really different from my usual designs, something far more whimsical and fun.  Taking my inspiration from a dollar store gift bag (yes, you read that right!), I set out to make a piece that was full of bright colours and bold flowers.  I quite literally pulled the colours out from the image of 6 or so Disney princesses imprinted on the bag, and bearing in mind that this was to be worn by a little 6 year old, I set out to make 3 different, small, single-flower polymer clay beads that would be durable for everyday wear.  The other thing I wanted to experiment with was larger scale single flowers (you may have noticed that I usually work with miniature clusters of flowers of varying kinds).  I thought this to be more appropriate for a little girl, in that I could give more attention to detail to each flower, increasing that "whimsy" factor!  Before I even began making the pc beads, I already had in mind how I would string them together to form the necklace.  I knew that I wanted to use some of the coloured memory wire I had on hand, making sure to add lots of princess crystals of course!

This design was all about colour, lots of it, and whimsy.  I loved the freedom of creating something that didn't have all the restraints of a mature, more subdued piece.

What I took from this experience?  Well, a few hours of baby-free time for one, and a resurgence of that long-forgotten, incredibly satisfying feeling I get when I create something beautiful and new.  I'm inspired and encouraged that routine will again fall into place, and I will be back to my old self...nestled into my little studio, happily playing with my clay.

Karen Pasieka
Subtle Details

Li'l Jewellery Box...with a nod to Sculpy & Fimo

...so thrilled with this little gem, if I do say so myself! I haven't started selling these Li'l Jewellery Boxes as part of my product line, because they really are quite time consuming, and I have to develop a technique to refine the interior of the little cylindrical boxes, but I am loving them!
This is technically the 3rd one that I've made, though the 2nd is as yet incomplete, I haven't figured out a design for a lid for it yet. There's another problem too, they are made from Sculpy, a brand of polymer clay that I use for my classes. Sculpy is great because (9 times out of 10 at least), the clay is very soft and supple, and is very easy and quick to use, but when baked it can be very brittle, if you're not careful about securing every little detail firmly together before baking. So my second box needs a lid, but since waiting for inspiration to overcome me, my little box design has suffered a few bumps and bruises, and I have some repair to take care of too. Fimo Classic (the brand I typically use for my Li'l Art framed sculpture pieces and for ALL of my Li'l Bouquet jewellery, Li'l Newlyweds wedding cake toppers, and Li'l Decor ornaments) on the other hand, can be temperamental...sometimes quite crumbly and dry, which makes it very difficult to condition (soften) and use. Both brands have their advantages though. Fimo Classic may be a little stiffer, and can be a challenge to blend colours and hard on the hands, but when you do shape delicate, fine details, they hold their shape really well. Sculpy, as I mentioned, is almost always soft and supple, making it quick to use (great for a 2hr class setting), and it can be moulded and blends really well with tools and fingers. This is perfect for this Li'l Jewellery Box project.
I believe there's a blog post in here somewhere about the first Li'l Jewellery Box I created. I started making these (though there are yet few), as a project for my art classes (taught with the Town of Richmond Hill). It is a project that spans two, 2hr classes. We spend one class making and decorating the bottom half (though in most cases, students end up decorating, or finishing the details at home), then we spend the 2nd class making and decorating the lid. This is because the bottom has to be completed and baked in order to map out the size of the lid.
As for this design? I started it during my last class session (just this past winter), and I really had fun with it! I spent LOTS of time detailing this one, having created 3 analogous colours in the coral range, I detailed the whole exterior of the box with little clay beads in a vertical stripe pattern, then repeated for the lid in a bulls-eye pattern. Wanting to pick up on the vanilla colour base and trim that I started with, I decided to add the little floral and vine detail to the top of the lid. The little round feet I decided to add after I had already finished the whole case, feeling that the added vanilla trim created by the combination of the lid with the base made the design a little top heavy (to the eye only), and so was inspired to create the little bulbous feet (which I baked and then glued to the bottom of the jewellery box). So thrilled with the results! I'm keeping this one for sure, as it currently stands on my bedroom dresser. :-D


Interested in taking clay classes and learning how to make one of these?
Please visit the Town of Richmond Hill Spring Program Guide at
http://www.richmondhill.ca/documents/leisureguide_adult_programs.pdf
page 53
"Art - Sculpting with Polymer Clay"
begins Wednesday, April 11
7:00pm-9:00pm, then continues on the following 4 Wednesday nights.

for my little monkey man...

sweetie-pie, honey-bunny, little man, precious...
he has so many names, but his official name is Evan!

Couldn't tell you how long this Li'l Art piece took me. Between fussing over the shades of yellow, orange, green, and teal blue, and deciding on what characters to represent each letter (only a few differ from the first ABC piece I made for my niece last March), struggling through the return of fatigue through my third trimester, and lastly giving birth to my precious little one...well, let's just say *sigh* it's finally done!

"Sing With Me"

Followed closely with...

"Evan"

Another labour of love completed!

Together with much "help" from my husband (he'll really be doing all the work, I'll just be picking out the photos and music) I'll be making a new Youtube video (finally!) featuring this latest ABC Li'l Art piece, so stay tuned!