Wire Wrapped Jewelry

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I enjoy wire wrapping and teaching it. There are many ways to wire wrap. Recently I taught a class at the studio encouraging the artists to experiment with wrapping wire heart shapes with beads to make pendants. This technique is very different from my usual style of wire wrapping, and I wanted all of us to explore. There are so many options.

I believe that experimentation is a process that sparks ideas and encourages us to try new things and focus on discovery rather than what we did wrong. Sometimes the most difficult part of trying a new thing is that it does not look very good to us the first few times. I always tell my students that this is ok. It does take several tries to get used to a new technique and then begin to make it your own. What new technique have you tried lately?

Thank you for visiting my blog. Leave a comment anytime and remember you can click on any photo to get a closer look.

Fused Glass #3 'Circles & Bowls'

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I made a bowl! A fused glass bowl!

Of course I had to learn to cut circles first and we had a lot of practice and plenty of success in our class. The problem with glass is that it is all so pretty, I just want it all. But since I haven't won the lottery yet, here are some circles of glass cut by myself and some of my classmates:

Some closeups of my first bowl:

I would love to know what you think. Click on any photo for a closer look and leave a comment.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Playing with Freemotion Stitching

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Fused Glass Class Two

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 I am having so much fun in this Intro to Fused Glass Class at Phoenix Center for the Arts!

Class #2 was all about 'cutting practice'. Really, scoring and breaking. Since I live for the challenge of the creative process, my design required a lot of practice. Needless to say, I am much better at cutting 1/4 (approx) pieces of glass now than I was at the start. 

My coasters Before firing:

 In all their imperfect glory.     :-)

My coasters After firing:

 

Happy with the finished product. They were pretty forgiving. 

My coaster design was inspired by the designs of Piet Mondrian. Here are some resources if you want to learn more about him and/or his work:

Enchanted Learning site - for art activities based on his work.

Artcyclopedia site - inspiration, photos of Mondrian's work and more.

Encyclopedia.com site - facts about Mondrian

As always, click on photos in the post to see larger versions. And please remember I welcome your comments.

Reduction Drawing

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I took a guest artist to my Thursday art group and we learned about Reduction Drawing. This is only the second time that I have ever tried a reduction drawing.

Reduction Drawing is a technique where you cover the paper with charcoal and create your drawing by smudging and removing the charcoal with an eraser to create the darks and lights or shadows and highlights. This time I was able to focus more on the lights and darks than on the 'lines' of the still life. The more I worked on the drawing, the more lights and darks I could see. While this drawing has many posibilities for improvement, I was surprised at how well I can distinguish my shapes, especially the glass vase in front of the plate.

Everyone in the group was willing to jump in and try it, even though they were all beginners. They loved it. We've decided our next lesson will be painting landscapes. I'll report back. 

As always, your comments are welcomed. Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Fused Glass Class One–Frit Painting

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taken at Phoenix Center for the Arts.
I am loving this class because the instructor is very down to earth, funny, and after teaching us how to use the tools for a particular project and how to work with the glass for whatever project – then he lets us design our own. I love this type of teaching. It is the kind I like to do for my students because the possibilities are their’s, no templates, no forced design. Just knowledge and freedom to play with guidance.

The photo at the top is a 6x12 piece of 96 coe fused glass as the base. I used glue to outline the white shapes you see which are my version of cowrie shells. The shells were filled in with a medium coarse frit.

The top and bottom corners of the painting are clear glass scraps as a second layer, with short lengths of black stringer laid out in a pattern on each corner.

Finally, all of the leftover space was filled in with a dark purple frit powder which I had never used before. You can see that my bottom right corner of glass slid over onto my shell design – this is a live and learn opportunity.
      
I made note of all the things I learned for future projects. There is always a lesson. I am having a lot of fun in this class and will continue to share as we go through the projects.
Thanks for stopping by to read my blog and you are always welcome to leave comments.

Playing with Texture #2

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 There are many ways to create texture on canvas. Joint compound, available at any home improvement store, has a similar texture to molding paste. Although it does not seem to be quite as dense.

The small circles you see were made by pushing joint compound through punchinella or sequin waste. The squares were created by pushing it through hardware cloth, also available at the home improvement store. 

The larger circles are from a short wood tube I found in the studio while working. After waiting for the compound to dry, I had fun dripping different colors of ink onto the canvas. I am happy with the results of this experiment.

Click on photos to get a closer look and feel free to leave comments. 

Textures in Clay

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I. Love. Texture. I love to explore mediums and techniques to see how I might combine them.

My recent explorations with earthenware clay and  various textures have led me to creating several free-form flat shapes of clay with texture designs on the surface. These are so much fun!

I have been fairly obsessed with this current idea of creating these free-form shaped flat clay pieces with texture designs on their surface. I have created texture with objects such as shells, feathers, beads, metal, needle point canvas, and more.



I love this type of creative exploration and am having fun just letting the pieces come to life.


This piece was created in earthenware clay with textures and clay embellishments added before kiln firing. The bisque-ware was then painted with a variety of acrylic paints, and a couple of fabric paints. I will be adding wire, fibers and beads so will share more as the piece progresses.

As always, click on each picture to view larger image. And comments are always welcome.

Extreme Fabric Painting

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I so love finding creative people who love to experiment as much as I do. Amanda and I work together and spent some time in the studio making this:

It is muslin fabric, medium and watercolor sprays. There were a lot of ooohhhs and aaaahhhhs. And a lot of giggling as we went through the process. The fabric was pinned to a piece of styrofoam so that we could pour and spray with abandon. The writing you see through the fabric is actually on the plastic coating of the styrofoam (insulation boards from the local hardware store are great for design walls and art experiments).

 The following photos give you a visual rundown of our efforts and can not begin to communicate the glee that comes with creative experimentation. The delighted young lady in the photos is Amanda, the other 'art experimenter' in this little adventure.  As always, click on the photos to see a larger view.

I will share the pictures of the finished fabric once it has dried. And of course any further experiments. Please leave your comments, we would love to know what you think.

Diabetes Art Day 2012

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'Diabetes Overwhelm' is my contribution to Diabetes Art Day this year. Just looking at it is a bit overwhelming. Click on photo for larger, and readable, image.

I drew this at a time when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed with my blood sugar levels and nothing seemed to work at keeping them down. Using pencil, pen and marker I started playing with an 'over' and 'under' technique to express the variety of symptoms and emotions that I have and do experience as I manage this chronic illness. One thing I could see when I finished the drawing is that living with and managing diabetes is sometimes extremely stressful. And of course I tend to think that I am the only one enduring this struggle, but I know that is not true.

I welcome your comments. You can see the art that other people with diabetes have shared by visiting the Diabetes Art Day 2012 site.

Here are some links to some of my favorite DOC (diabetes online community) places to visit:

Diabetes Mine
Six Until Me
Texting My Pancreas
The Butter Compartment - the art therapist with diabetes who started D Art Day