New Videos

It’s election night and I don’t want to think about anything and I don’t know how I will feel tomorrow. So I decided to share two inspirational but non political offerings I found on you tube. The first is a video on the artist Judy Chicago by another artist I respect highly, Jane Dunnwold. I could go on with commentary, but there’s been too much of that lately. Just treat yourself and watch the video.

I’ve been enjoying the claying challenges put forth from the Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild even though I haven’t made a cane in the past few weeks they’ve turned me on to some great tutorial sites. But I found one I really like and it’s too good not to share: Clay Zoo. The videos are subtitled and easy to follow. Take a look.

A Favorite Book and a New(ish) Video

Years of metalsmithing, pot throwing, beading, fabric cutting and general crafting mayhem have have taken their toll on my hand and wrist. I am having surgery in a few weeks. No hitch hiking for me until the bandages are off and the therapy is over. I would like it if Boris could act as my studio assistant, but I am afraid he sleeps too much.

I have been working with fabric lately and have revisited one of the classics of fabric surface design,  Complex Cloth by Jane Dunnewold.  Complex Cloth covers  dyeing, stamping,  stenciling, screen printing, and almost any other fabric surface alteration technique you want to know.   There are newer books out there covering more techniques, but if you are just getting started and need an intro to the basics, grab a used copy of Complex Cloth and get started.  You can get it here.

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Polymer Artist Ana Belchí’s videos never cease to amaze me.  This one is not exactly new-it’s seven months old-but her demonstration of six variations on the lentil swirl bead is fascinating and makes me wonder what other polymer techniques I could try, change one small thing, and get a completely surprising result.    But that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?  The “What If?”