We Can Work It Out

OK so this doesn't seem to be working out as *just* a clay blog, so I'm converting its use to something more all-encompassing.The clayness hasn't happened in awhile due to time and circumstantial constraints. But life and everything else goes on, even when art isn't happening and I could be writing about that too. So I'm going to try THAT and see if we can't get something a little more regular and timely happening. Thanks and see you later!

Baby, You're a Rich Man

you want your candle globe to work double duty when you're not burning a candle? YOU GOT IT! These new additions will hold an incense stick upright and allow the candle to catch the ash as it falls away. I quite like them. Dual function with easy clean up!

Paperback Writer

I made this for a friend that reads and would never dog-ear a page to mark her place in a book. She loves real dog ears, but only when they are attached to dogs :)

Glass Onion

Not a Second Time

these are some fine examples of mokume gane technique, wouldn't you say?
they are shown lit with the lights off and with the lights on!

Getting Better

I've Just Seen a Vase ;)

I normally would not have used a translucent cane on something that was not going to be able to house a candle. I thought maybe a sunny window would do, it will still catch wonderful light.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

the windows and antennae GLOW IN THE DARK!!!

Wait

i've got a new project in the works, it's a spin on the cityscape centerpieces. super cute- its about to hit the oven tonight for its final curing. i'm hoping the recipient and buyer love it as much as i do!
CHI-TOWN represent!!!!
hahaha

What Goes On

so i found this new shape and i think i like it A LOT LOT LOT! more attempts with translucence..lovely lovely

Long, Long, Long

so here's a little number i whipped up for an x-mas gift. fairly simple. i just did what was asked of me. its a design reminiscent of a previous look. thanks MK for your support and lovely gift idea!

Because

Let's face it, it's been almost 5 months since the last posting. i haven't really made anything, so it's not entirely inaccurate. however, i do regret the time that gets lost when i'm so-called gainfully employed. i never have the energy to really create when i'm sapped from the day. i can't seem to find that balance. i do have a few things on the burner though...all isn't lost. its just on pause...again...

oooh, i'm getting a new table!!! gotta make room! i do love a good furniture switch.
that's going to force me to organize and hopefully downsize the back room. fingers crossed.

Got to Get You into My Life

Once upon a time, I was hanging out to see some music at the restaurant:venue where I was once employed. A 'regular' was there with one of his buddies, and he struck up polite conversation. He ended up ordering some handmade beads as a Christmas gift for his daughter. He asked for the equivalent of a certain dollar amount and that they could be loose beads, not made into a necklace, as his daughter would want to craft them into something on her own. So I made him these, with a large matching focal bead, we met again at the bar to exchange, and he gleefully accepted them and even emailed me a few days after Christmas to give me the daughter's reaction. (she loved them too!) yay for BEADS!
These are heavily spiralled and doused with silver leafing. I was VERY happy with these. I love when people like/love what they get even if they didn't know what to ask for...

Hello Goodbye

See how different the globe can look?! Unlit version is strikingly opposite of the lit version. This is two views of the same side of this candle. If you click the image to enlarge, you can see that this is so. This is not my favorite example of the difference between, but it is an example of the deeper layers only showing through the translucent when backlit. I was trying to achieve a latticed look; I partly succeeded...

Yer Blues

This bracelet was made specifically for Elisabeth, even though the blue beads themselves were crafted sometime ago. Definitely while living in the last apartment. So at LEAST 5 years old. Some are striped, some are millefiori, and some are the scraps of both all mashed up. The red ones are ceramic or some other type of glazed clay. Love the COLOR!!! It was promised as part of a Facebook, pay-it-forward type thing. And I fittingly was able to give it to her on the day after her birthday AT an Old 97's show. She said they were her favorite colors together and that she'd wear it all the time. That's all I would ever want to hear!

Come Together

These are the makings of the bridesmaid's bracelets I did for L's wedding. I custom matched them to our dress colors. We all wore the same dress in different shades, and the copper was our shoe color. We looked like sherbet, and for a June wedding, how could we go wrong?

For No One

I really like this one; (I am pretty sure it's a keeper) it's an amalgam of the grid colors, and then, having run out, used the leftover scrap to make up the difference. Thankfully the scrap was not over mixed or marbled up and still had plenty of translucence. This is one of the few that looks mostly the same, whether lit or not. The nice thing was that there was JUST enough of the scrap to make it symmetrical. The scrap pattern runs along the bottom, although its very hard to see in these photos.

Within You, Without You (Reprise)

So I had to make another box for my friend, the old green one had finally met its functional end.
RIP green one

The new one was requested in orange and black. He has yet to receive it, but here it is for everyone else.






And I carved out a little logo-ness, because I have yet to construct the cane that might contain it. But its backfilled for maximum contrast. And its soooooooo cute ;)





here are some others that materialized later that same week !!

Good Day Sunshine

I need to get back to doing more like this. I've been working a lot with the translucent for its own purposes. But now I see that I need to up the translucence on pure colors. These seem way more striking than the last batch. I need to bring back the mega color. Spectrum baby. Yes, this is what must happen. The patchwork in the front candle was constructed solely for the use on a candle. All colors but black had been compounded with translucent for maximum glow power. IMHO, this is a roaring success.

The Long and Winding Road

So. this poor blog has been on a slight hiatus. My paternal granny passed and with that, a flurry of activity both related and unrelated to family occurred to pass the time. Then I caught a nasty cold. THEN for a few days around St. Pat's I was OK, but then the next day, felled by some stomach bug. Boooooo. So now, as I mend, I offer a shot of a tiny gift box found at Granny's house. Its a basic cardboard craft box with lid. covered in clay and embellished with tiny mirrors. Interior bottom is lined in a glittery black felt. And the exterior bottom is lined in a plain black felt. Entire size is a 1 3/4" square by 1 inch high. Piece is at least 4 -5 years old. I barely remember making it, it was one of about 5? that were crafted in a similar style. I'll definitely get back to production on a similar type. There are octagons, ovals, and in wooden, hinged styles? Many more types! I'm glad I found this on the shelf. God knows if it would have been saved!