Polymer Clay Express

Still Claying After All These Years

By: ornamento.blog February 13, 2014February 9, 2014

Arlene Groch, Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Clayathon, Collaboration, Community Art Groups, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay conferences, Polymer Clay Express, Polymer Clay Guilds, Polymer Clay RetreatsArt, clayathon, crafts, Polymer Clay3 Comments

Clayathon time is here again. I will pack up my stuff and head to beautiful Galloway Township NJ and the Stockton Seaview Hotel where I will meet new and old friends and have a chance to play with my clay for as long as I want. Clayathon is a friendly gathering of creative people who enjoy playing and claying together. Clayathon can be a time to set goals and try new things, or a time to make birds. Lisa Clarke has attended most of the Clayathons and written about them. Robin Milne designed a great logo for this years’ event. And Arlene Groch and her team of volunteers have made Clayathon one of the best clay events of the year.

Want more? Here are some past Clayathon posts from this blog.

Circus Beads

By: ornamento.blog May 9, 2013May 7, 2013

Art, beads, Personal History, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay Express, Polymer clay new techniquesArt, Beads, inspiration, Polymer ClayLeave a Comment

My friend Wilma said these beads remind her of the circus, so I am calling them Circus Beads.

And be sure to check out Clayathon goes to the Circus.

Clayathon Wrap Up with Pictures

Clayathon is a place to relax, mix with great people, see the work other people’s work in progress and watch demos of polymer and non-polymer techniques. I saw demos on caning, faux dichroic glass, soldering solver bezels, metal fold forming, and I gave a demo on drilling glass and making ring clasps with copper washers. Lisa Clarke of Polka Dot Creations was there with the latest books and videos and Wilma Yost was there with the latest products from Polymer Clay Express including their Shape Frames that Wilma showed everyone how to use. We had a cane swap and worked on a group cane too. To sum it up, we had a blast.

Here are some pictures.

Clayathon 2010

I don’t know what I enjoyed more: watching Wilma Yost of Polymer Clay Express demonstrating the Dream Machine and trying it out for myself, watching Melanie West’s demos, catching some of Arlene Groch’s enthusiasm or having uninterrupted time to continue working through Polymer Clay Color Inspirations.

I clayed, drank whiskey, sat up until 7:00 am one night (morning?) claying and chatting, made new friends and saw old ones.
Everyone had a wonderful, relaxing time. See you in 2011!

New Products and Old Favorites

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Pardo Clay and Precious Metal Paint from German Company Viva Decor. At the time, no one I knew of in the U.S. carried Precious Metal Paint. It looks like that is going to change. Poly Clay Play has limited quantities now and hopes to have more available for sale in the future. Check the web site for more information.

Some Poly Clay Play shipments from Europe were delayed, but will be available as soon as they arrive. Trish Hodgens of Poly Clay Play is taking pre-orders on the large 480 gram (about 1.05 lb.) jars of Pardo Clay for $21.95 each and the small jars 75 gram (2.6 oz) for $4.95 each ($1.00 off the suggested retail price.) For more information, check out the web site or email Trish Hodgens.

No one sells brass or copper bezel wire. If you don’t have a rolling mill to make it, you can make your own from 28 or 30 gauge metal. Even that is hard to find unless you want to do a roof. But I found a supplier!!! The Whimsie Studio carries 6″ X 12″ sheets of 30 gauge copper and brass. The price and shipping were reasonable (even by my cheapskate standards). And the stuff comes pronto.

You don’t need a saw to cut the bezels. I use Fiskars Utility Scissors I bought at Polymer Clay Express. They work like a charm,

except I still can’t cut a straight line. That’s why God made files.

Speaking of files and all sorts of cheap metal working tools, if you are just starting out and don’t want to spend a lot of money, try Harbor Freight. Besides hammers, files, anvils, Helping Hands for $2.99 and other goodies, you can buy stuff, take it home and figure out what to do with it. I used their Body and Fender Set to make bracelets from spoon handles. If you want, but can’t afford a disk cutter, try their Hollow Punch Set and a sturdy hammer. It really works.

What I Learned from Susan Lenart Kazmer

: Mike Models Susan’s Bracelet

If you read this Blog last week, you know that I was heading down to Damascus, MD to take a class with Susan Lenart Kazmer at Polymer Clay Express. The two-day class was fantastic. Here’s some of the things I learned:

I learned how to drill a hole in a stone.
I learned how to fabricate a cone out of metal.
I improved my torch enameling skills.
I learned how to make and use different kinds of rivets.
I learned a cool way to put a red patina on copper.
I learned how to preserve found items like paper and twigs with resin and incorporate them into my jewelry.
I saw an ingenious way to make hinges that I’m going to try because now I am more confident in my sawing skills and I think I can do it!
I saw how to make dapped forms to turn into cool rings and pendants.
I learned new ways to incorporate fiber with beads and metal.

Now every day the sidewalk holds more treasure than ever before.

Thanks Susan for teaching this class and Terri for telling me about it and giving me a ride!

Appointment in Damascus (Maryland)

I’m off to Polymer Clay Express at The Artway Studio to take a class in Creating Objects and Elements in Jewelry with Susan Lenart Kazmer. If you’re not familiar with Kazmer, she wrote Making Connections A Handbook of Cold Joins for Jewelers and Mixed-Media Artists.

I’ll let you know about the class in a later post. In the meantime, check out Kazmer’s Blog and her on-line store, Objects and Elements where you can buy her remarkable book, supplies, and watch her great instructional videos.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

All articles filed in Polymer Clay Express

Still Claying After All These Years

Circus Beads

Clayathon Wrap Up with Pictures

Clayathon 2010

New Products and Old Favorites

Clayathon 2009

I’m at Polydelphia!

Polydelphia this Weekend