Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Gift of Hope

July means charity theme for my guild, the PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy).  This year we decided to do Bottles of Hope as our charity.  Bottles of hope are little bottles that are covered in polymer clay which are then given to cancer patients.  Each bottle represents a wish for hope and health.  The Bottles of Hope project has spread internationally, and you can learn more about this great cause at:  http://bottlesofhope.org/

Because most of our guild members personally know at least one person who is currently battling cancer, it was decided that each person would make at least one bottle to donate, and additional bottles for any friends or family affected by cancer.  I have a friend that has been courageously fighting cancer for the last 5 years, and continues her battle today; so I decided to make one bottle for her in addition to my donation bottle.  Also, due to member's limited time in the summer and our limited participants this month, the guild decided that we could enter up to 3 bottles per person, which is why both of my bottles are found in the guild challenge.  Here are photos of my 2 entries:


My concept for both of these bottles was based upon the desire to give a bottle that illustrates being filled with love and hope, not empty. But how to decorate the outside of the bottle to allow for the hope inside to show through? This problem was solved by covering part of the bottle with translucent liquid polymer with inclusions of embossing powder, to create a translucent but colored layer. Part of the bottle was left naked, to create a window to see the inside clearly. The polymer pieces on the top of the lids are both each attached securely to the lid with a screw. And the "hope" that is inside consists of many tiny polymer hearts and spirals. It was my original intention that the owner could make a wish on each heart and spiral, or share the tiny tokens with anyone she wants to give a little love or hope. The bottle is tiny, measuring in at 3" tall and about 1" wide at the widest point, the hearts and spirals inside the bottle are about 1/4" wide and 1/4" long. More views of these bottles can be found in my flickr photostream at: www.flickr.com/photos/createmyworlddesigns

Here is the group photo of the other entries from all the participating guild members:

Surely another tough decision to choose just 3 favorites.  As always, great effort went into each creation resulting in 11 wonderful pieces of art!  So please head over to the PCAGOE blog to cast your vote, you have until July 7th midnight EST!