March 2010 – Ornamento

Five Pendants for Five Women

By: ornamento.blog March 24, 2010March 20, 2010

Art, Nags Head, Personal History, repurposing, Resin Jewelry, Wire WorkingArt, creativity, inspiration, mixed media, repurposingLeave a Comment

Last year, I wrote about Shari’s rainbow. The year before that, I wrote about a trip to Nag’s Head, North Carolina and the shells I found there.

I didn’t know what to do with the shells, so I decided to wait until they talked to me. I only knew I wanted to do something in Shari’s memory. A few weeks ago, I made these pendants for five women: Leigh, Robin, Sandeye, Colleen and me. I wanted to make something that would remind us of the ocean and the last days we spent with Shari. Lapis was Shari s favorite stone, so I wired a small lapis bead onto each clasp.

When we look at these pendants, we will remember.

How did You use Milk Crates in College?

Ok, so maybe Joe Girandola is not in college anymore. In fact, he’s a sculptor and teaches at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Sometimes I walk up Broad Street on my way to work past the University’s buildings. Imagine my delight winter day when instead of snow and gray skies, I saw these.

Here’s a short film showing some more of Girandola’s work. It’s pretty obvious he has a sense of humor.

My Name is MC Fuzzy Fuzz

MC Fuzzy Fuzz is a sock puppet I made for my Step Grandson (AKA DJ Spud) so his parents would have another way to interact with him and make him laugh. I started out with a wool sock and added felt, pom poms and googly eyes (not baby safe.) Then I got some childrens gloves at a dollar store, cut off the fingers and stuffed them with batting, and sewed them on his head for hair. I had the top of the sock left over and made a hat. Then I got pom poms and took the puppet to visit my mother. She picked out the pom poms and I sewed them on. “You get to name him,” I told her. “Fuzzy,” she replied.

I came home and my husband said, “No, he’s MC Fuzzy Fuzz.” (My husband, who is a 62 year old Jewish man with a Ph.D. is heavily into Hip Hop. ” It took me a year to understand Biggie Smalls,” he tells me, “but now I get it and I think he’s a genius.”) The hair became dreadlocks and the hat became a Rasta hat. Then my husband said Fuzzy should be a rapper, so I sewed on the arms and gave him some bling. Then we decided he should be a dawg, and I sewed on ears. (Thank you Le Mutt for modeling.) I also gave him a lower fang (his grill).

Like some stars in the sock puppet hip hop industry, MC Fuzzy Fuzz has a back story. He did not grow up in the dog pound. He went to the best obedience schools and his father held a high post in the national branch of the ASPCSP (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Sock Puppets). MC Fuzzy (whose real name is S. (for Sock) Pupwell Baskin dropped out of obedience school to try his luck in the music biz, much to his father’s dismay. But he hit it big. To read an except from one of his songs, press here. And remember to kiss a sock puppet today!

Color Scales Are Addicting and Surprising

By: ornamento.blog March 4, 2010March 17, 2010

Art, Color, inspiration, Lindly Haunani, Maggie Maggio, Personal Growth, Personal History, Polymer Clay, Premo, problem solvingArt, crafts, creativity, inspiration, Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild, Tutorial4 Comments

When I tackled the color scales exercises in Polymer Clay Color Inspirations, I learned that they are addicting to make and yield surprising results. I mixed three color scales for each warm and cool packaged Premo color using the yellows (cadmium, zinc and fluorescent) as my light colors. The cool colors were ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, turquoise, sea green, green, and fluorescent green. The warm colors were alizarin crimson, medium red, cadmium red, florescent red, fluorescent pink, fuchsia, purple, violet, and orange. I also mixed a black and white color scale (or value scale), for the heck of it.

And boy, I got some surprises! I used to love cadmium yellow and ultramarine blue, but after mixing the color scales, I found that mixtures made with zinc yellow and cobalt blue produced colors that were more attractive to me. I had hardly ever touched fluorescents before, but I learned that they can produce vibrant colors that don’t look gaudy.

I also discovered, much to my delight, that purple, violet, and fuchsia mixed with the yellows produce some yummy shades of caramel and chocolate.

After completing thes exercise I ended up changing the mixtures in my personal palette. Before, my blue was 1 oz ultramarine blue with a pea of fuchsia and white; my yellow was 1 oz cadmium yellow with a pea of fuchsia and white; and my magenta was 1 oz fuchsia with a pea of white.

This is my improved personal palette: blue: 7/8 oz cobalt, 1/8 oz ultramarine, and a pea of white; yellow: ½ oz cadmium yellow and ½ oz zinc yellow and a pea of white; magenta: ¾ oz fuchsia, ¼ oz medium red and a pea of white. I’ll use this to complete my first color scale triangle. Stay tuned.