Boris Discovers the Workshop

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Cats, inspiration, Polymer Clay, screen printing, , , , , Leave a Comment on Boris Discovers the Workshop

I have to admit that I was very sad when I wrote last week’s post.    But Boris is is coming out of his shell and worming his way into my heart.  There is nothing like a kitten to beat the blues.

Plumpton used to hang out in my workshop and Boris seems interested in doing the same. It will be nice to have company s long as Boris behaves himself.  But what are the chances of that?

 

He was fascinated with the pieces of baked polymer that I am playing around with for a wall piece I am making for a fund raiser for the Fleisher Art  Memorial.  Just the thing for a kitten to bat around.

Playing with the colors, shapes and textures inspired me to try a new earring design.

So it looks like Boris might be inspiring me! That’s good. I could use some inspiration right about now.

Dear Fleisher 2012

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, Polymer Clay, screen printing, , , Leave a Comment on Dear Fleisher 2012

Dear Fleisher, 4×6 Inches of Art is a biennial fundraising exhibition showcasing the work of hundreds of artists from Philadelphia and beyond. Artists submit original postcard size works in a wide range of media and styles, each of which is exhibited anonymously and sold on a first-come, first-served basis for $50.

Some  well-known artists have contributed work  So have some not so well-known artists like me.  Since polymer clay is not well represented in the exhibition, I try to use polymer in my contribution.  This year I made an earring holder you can hang on the wall using screen printing  over a stripe pattern.  I included a pair of matching earrings made from the same screen printed polymer clay, mixed metals and seed beads.



I like this style earring because it spins around when it’s worn.

When I cut out the earrings,  the scraps looked just as interesting so I used them too along with gold-toned screw eyes to suspend the earrings.

A New Polymer Clay

By: ornamento.blog
Art, blogging, Blogroll, caning, CHA, Community Art Groups, Craft and Hobby Association, Hand Made, jewelry, Materials, mica shift, Pardo Jewellery Clay, Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay gatherings, Polymer Clay Guilds, Precious Metal Paint, Robin Milne, Silk Screening, , , , , , , , , 9 Comments on A New Polymer Clay

robindemoRobin Milne    introduced her fellow members of the The Philadelphia Area Polymer Clay Guild to a brand new clay at our last meeting!   Robin had been tapped to introduce Pardo Jewellery Clay manufactured by German Company Viva Decor at the Winter CHA Show in Anaheim, and she came back with clay samples and brochures.  What could be better?

 2pardoclay

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Pardo Jewellery Clay comes in gumball-sized pieces packaged in 2.7 oz jars.  Robin said it has no odor when  raw or baking and it’s easy to condition.  It uses beeswax as a plasticiser in place of phthalates.

But is it durable?   Robin was  able to run it through her pasta m31achine on the thinnest setting without tearing and, when it was baked, she could tie it in a bow.  She could bend a cured bookmark-shaped piece of clay in a circle without breaking it.  Although the clay is on the soft side, she could produce decent canes with it.  And she was able to sand and buff it to a high shine.

Pardo Jewellery Clay comes in a beautiful range of jewel-toned colors, and the metallics contain plenty of mica. The manufacturer, Viva Decor,  says it can be mixed with other brands of polymer clay without a problem.  

Poly Play Clay, is  the only retail supplier I know of at the current time.  They don’t carry all of the 64 colors of Pardo Jewellery clay yet. Owner Trish Hodgens says that eventually,  however, they  plan to carry every color Viva Decor makes available to the United States Market.

Robin also recommends another Viva Decor product: Precious Metal Paints.   She’s tried thse high quality paints on raw and baked clay; they don’t scratch off and cover beautifully.  When the paint is applied to raw clay, allowed to dry, and run through the pasta machine, it crackles like metal leaf.  The mica in the pain is so small, you can use the paint for screen printing. And, Robin says, “the colors are amazing!” 

If you want to see what Robin has done with Pardo Jewellery Clay and Precious Metal Paints, press here.

I don’t know if anyone in the United States currently selling the Precious Metal Paints, but you want more information on them, check out U.K. supplier The Fruit Pixie.

 

 

Screen Printing on Polymer Clay

By: ornamento.blog
art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, beads, Gwen Gibson, Polymer Cafe, Polymer Clay, screen printing, Silk Screening, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments on Screen Printing on Polymer Clay

You can achieve beautiful effects by screen printing on polymer clay.  I was introduced to this technique several years ago when Ellen Marshall, who literally wrote the book on polymer clay surface design, Polymer Clay Surface Design Recipes,  encouraged me to take a  class with Gwen Gibson,    S.L. Savarick, is another polymer clay artist who uses screen printing with breathtaking results.

They all inspired me to create my own designs and see how far I could take this process.  You can find my article, Surface Techniques: Silk Screening Polymer Clay, in the Fall 2007 issue of Polymer Cafe Magazine.

In the meantime, please enjoy my slideshow.  It includes some things I have come up with while playing with screen printing and polymer clay.   This is a journey and I am just getting started!