Cloudy with a mix of Tyvek®

**If you are looking for my bead soup reveal post please go here

Mixed media.  That's the challenge for my guild (PCAGOE) for the month of July.  Summer is always a time when I don't spend a lot of time in my studio.  From garden cutivation and cooking up the bounty, to daily walks in the park and about town, to staying up late watching double feature movies and just simply enjoying life... the time in my studio comes in short bursts.  When I contemplated this challenge, I knew I wanted to create something simple.  I've actually been in the mood to go minimal.  Perhaps it's the simplification of my life in summer that also makes me want to lead my art in that same direction, whatever the reason, it's where I'm at at this moment. I'm yearning for clean, simple design. 

The idea that birthed this piece was entirely different from how it finished.  I first created the half moon shapes by cutting out circles in gradations of premo blue pearl mixed with white.   I draped these circles in half over a skewer and baked them.  After baking, I played around with the pieces and realized that my initial idea would not work with these shapes and pieces... so, I kept playing until something that I liked came together, because frankly I was almost out of time, for the challenge deadline was within a day away.  Next, I cut out pieces of a Tyvek® mailing envelope which I then connected together and dyed a blue color to match the polymer hues.  I then assembled the central focal by connecting the Tyvek® piece to the largest polymer cluster.  I also added a silver line detail around each polymer piece with a gel pen, and the edges of the Tyvek® are brushed with silver as well.

I strung the pieces on a length of upcycled silk sari material, and played some more to come up with the idea of various ways to wear this necklace according to how one arranges the pieces on the length of silk.   One can wear the piece with just the focal in the front and the two smaller beads hanging as a pendulum down the back for a dramatic look:

(pardon my freckled back.. I need a younger, unblemished model!)

The second option for wearing is to move the small beads directly next to the focal and tie the sari ribbon at the nape of the neck at preferred length.

And the third option for wear is to slide those small beads up a little on the necklace, again tying the sari ribbon at the nape of the neck. 

I really like the versatility of this piece.  But I still have that original idea stuck in my head and it's much more minimalist than this piece turned out... I need to make time to get that one brought to life before it slides into the recesses of the creative ideas pit!  So, what do you think of this new necklace design? Have you tried to create something in a minimal style?  Leave me some comments and tell me your thoughts and experiences!

Soup Mail Received

After two trips through the mail, the bead soup I created for my BSBP partner (Arlene Dean of a glass bash) is finally in her hands!  While my package was in transit from my home to hers, she heeded the call to help out family in another state.  So, when she realized how quickly the reveal date will be looming upon her, she enlisted her family back at her home to forward the package to where she is staying.  I'm relieved that she finally has it!

So, here's a photo of the entire soup I sent:

As you can see, I was thinking in terms of burgundy reds, purples and gold.  I included: some yardage of silk ribbon that is dyed in purple to red gradations with sparks of gold thread, there is some yardage of both a grey color and a red tone of bamboo cordage, some gold tone chain, french ear wires, 2 brass filigree pieces, some czech glass beads in vials - in tones of red to lavender, yellow gold, and purple to black, the beads on strands are - one strand of large teardrop shaped purple agate, the next row are round purple and rose colored marble stone beads, some clear glass teardrops, two strands of faceted crystal beads that have burgundy/magenta sides, a strand of rose colored faceted crystal beads and a strand of gold colored freshwater pearls, and handmade components of polymer clay flower blossom headpins, a fan shaped dyed tyvek focal, a polymer fan shape with donut clasp, and a handful of rustic polymer disc beads.

Here's a shot of the handmade components:

 The first pieces I made (and which set the tone for the color scheme) were the flower bud shaped headpins which I made using the tutorial from polymer artist Lillian de Vries, her lovely blog is called "at the clayground".  You can find her tutorial for these flower beads here.  Here's an up-close look at those flowers:

My partner had commented that she really liked my tyvek flowers and shells.  So I had originally intended to try something new, in creating a dyed tyvek flower surrounding one of these polymer buds.  Well, when it was finished, I wasn't as happy with it, so I decided to make her one of the shell/fan shaped pieces, sticking to a color scheme of burgundy/magenta/pinks and purples with accents of gold.  Here's the final focal that I created using cut, formed and heat fused upcycled tyvek that was hand dyed:

 

I wanted to make some polymer beads in the same tones of the flower blossoms, so I made these rustic shaped discs in the same hues and added gold to their edges:

And finally, the clasp I made in a polymer fan shape with a donut connector in the same color tones as the flower blossoms too.

I really loved this soup and wanted to keep it for myself, but I am afraid my funky style will prove to be a challenge for my partner.  When we began our dialog, she didn't give me any information on the types of things she likes, and her blog doesn't really give me much to go on either... she just said that she doesn't like to provide too much information so that she can have a challenge.  So, I made and curated a soup that I would love to receive. So far, my partner has said that she really likes the flower headpins, but not much else about it.. so hopefully those pieces will provide enough inspiration to figure out how to utilize the rest of the soup ingredients.  I gather that my style and my partner's style are likely quite different and I believe that using the both soups will prove to be a challenge for us both!  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the creativity that comes from a challenge, so I am really looking forward to both my creating and seeing what my partner makes of my funky collection to her.  The reveal date is May 5th, so be sure to check back to see what everyone in the Bead Soup Blog Party has created!

Experimental work keeping me busy

Over the past couple months, I have been busy working on the development of four new polymer clay techniques.  {Hint: I've saved my favorite for last, so keep reading! ;) }  The first technique involves bonding food grade plastics to polymer clay.  A design is drawn on the clear food container plastic and it is bonded to the polymer clay.  I have much more work to do on this idea, but here is a sampling of my initial test pieces (more detailed photos can be found on my flickr photostream):

There's something about the ring that I just love (even though it is so basic and you can't really see the drawn paisley design very well, I just like the look of the raised clear plastic on the ring face), and I will be keeping that piece for myself, but plan to make others.  I have a few other favorites in here, specifically, the stained-glass-look piece, the large center piece, the small marquis shaped fish piece and the silver piece with the vines.  I'm having fun with the process and hope to have better results with the next firings.

The second idea with which I've been playing involves incorporating dyed tyvek material (upcycled from used mailing envelopes) into polymer clay.  This idea has much more experimental work needed, but here is a photo of the preliminary results of this technique:

The third project I've been working with involves "harvesting" the fine sanding bits from finishing my polymer clay pieces and incorporating it back into raw clay material.  I decided to try doing this to keep as much of the fine bits of polymer from being washed down the drain and into our water system, because I am very concerned about the environmental impacts of plastic pollution to our water ways.  Though these first beads are a bit drab, because all of the sanding bits in this batch were of many hues, which combined creates a muddy color... I have ideas for separating like hues into separate containers to keep colors more vibrant.  Here is a photo of my initial set:

Finally, (this is my favorite) I've been working on another brand new technique of transferring patterns from fabric onto polymer clay.  I'm so excited about this technique, as it is producing some great batik looks and there are so many possibilities yet to explore with this.  I will be concentrating the bulk of my work in the coming months on this technique and expect to have much more to come, but I wanted to share my favorite pieces from my first exploration.  Here are a two photos from my initial testing of this idea...

There are more photos and some different examples from all of these techniques on my flickr photostream at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/createmyworlddesigns

So, as you can see I've been very busy, and continue to be so.  I'm also in the process of writing a magazine article on the fabric transfer process.  Something I'm simply thrilled to be doing!  So, keep your eye out here for new photos and news of my ongoing experimentation... and at my etsy shop, as some of these new pieces will very soon be making their way into my shop.  And please leave me a comment either here, or on my photostream, about which pieces or which technique ideas you like best.  Thanks!

New Look and New Materials

At the beginning of every year, I start with lots of ambition for my little craft business... but somehow by early autumn, my dedication to my small business tends to fizzle out; hence my lack of blogging and the vacation status of my etsy shop come September.  This year is starting no different than previous years, jumping head first into making some changes to my business. 

I decided to revamp the look of my business identity.  I had been using the same logo since the mid 1990's;  here it is:

although that star pin is an item that I once loved making, I've outgrown that style.  I wanted my new look to reflect what I'm doing now, as opposed to what I did 10 years ago.  My new banner background is detail from one of the pieces of my new line of jewelry, which I physically began developing this past summer 2011.  I say "physically" because I had been "mentally" developing this line much earlier. 

In this new line of jewelry, I marry my environmentalism to my creativity, utilizing repurposed or reclaimed materials, items that would otherwise be bound for the landfill... think plastic bags, metal parts and chain harvested from other broken or discarded jewelry items, tyvek mailing envelopes, plastic food packaging and found items.  To see some of these new recycled, upcycled pieces my etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/createmyworld   

Here is one of my favorite pieces, one that has not been listed to etsy (I still haven't decided if I can part with this set): 

Since it's likely that this set will become part of my "permanent collection", I plan to make similar items to list on etsy in the near future.

I am really excited about this new direction for Create My World Designs.  And though I have this new found media passion, I still have heartstrings tied to polymer clay - which I plan to continue using as one of my main media. 

Aside from continued working on the new recycled jewelry line and bringing new ideas to life in polymer clay and fabric, I also hope to be a better blogger this year - I will try for 1 post a month.  I also hope to create some tutorials of the new recycled jewelry to list on etsy, to appeal to those who prefer DIY (do it yourself) projects.  Let's hope this year I can dedicate myself to living up to my New Year's idealism of keeping Create My World active both online and (more importantly) in the studio!

I'd love hearing your comments about my new look and the new jewelry designs.  And tell me what aspirations you have for the New Year!