Color Inspirations

Color is so fun to play with - it is one of the reasons why I love polymer clay!  Combining colors can sometimes be tricky, especially when I'm looking for a new colorway. Places I look for inspiration include:

• Artwork that inspires - my favorites are paintings from the Impressionist period. 
• Clothing catalogs - these are great for showing color combinations that are currently in style.
• Interior decorating magazines - usually have more classic colors and are sometimes more muted that colors in clothing catalogs
• Nature - pictures taken during different seasons suggest different color combinations.
• Pantone color forecasts - jewelry in colors they suggest sells better.  Color forecasts have an advantage over clothing catalogs in that you can work ahead of demand.  Fire Mountain Gems usually has a forecast in their catalogs.  Here is a link for the Spring 2011 Color Forecast. 
• Blogs that focus on color inspirations - Colourlovers is one.
• Books - the one that comes to mind is Polymer Clay Color Inspirations by Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio. 

And now, I feel the need to mix up a new batch of colors.  I'll keep you updated on new colorways.

When You Have All Your Eggs In One Basket....

You may end up having to make scrambled eggs.  This holiday season, I only had one craft show lined up.  My mother had been having health issues all summer and we weren't sure if they were going to continue into fall.  So, I didn't sign up for any craft shows.  Then, I happened to ask at an art show about an upcoming show - 4 weekends in November and December.  They were interested in more jewelry.  I about fell on the floor - nobody ever wants more jewelry at a show.  The price was right. You know what they say about "if something seems too good to be true".  I got an email a couple of weeks later that the show was not going to happen.

Time to scramble.  I booked a bead party and got into a small show at the last minute.  But it's not enough.  Then a friend asked me to put together some inventory for her to take into work.  What if other people would take some jewelry into work, bridge club, book club, etc.?  The "Jewelry Party In A Box" came into being.  I made small trays out of foam board and fabric and jewelry displays out of foam board, fabric and mosquito netting. 

 They fit in the USPS Flat Rate Priority boxes.  Currently, I am in the process of testing my paperwork and procedures.  I am giving a 25% credit on merchandise to hostesses.  We'll see how this works out.

Sucked In By A New Technique

I love learning new techniques.  Usually, I try them once or twice and then that's it.  But this time, I fell in love.  A month ago my polymer clay guild demoed epoxy resin.  It was something that I had been wanting to try out. After the guild meeting, I stocked up on supplies, went home and went crazy!  It was well worth it - at the jewelry open house that I hosted the next week, nearly everyone went home with something from my epoxy collection.  So the last month, I have worked hard on perfecting technique and creating some new pieces.  This is a sample.

Some of these items are already in my etsy shop.  And I'm already working on more.

Using A Model

I have been wanting to have my jewelry photographed on a model.  However, I can neither afford a photographer or a model.  So I took advantage of one of my favorite college students being on spring break.  We went over to a friend's backyard who has a lot of different levels and greenery.  Here are some of the pictures.

I am a slow learner when it comes to photography.  Here are some of the things I will change for next time: 

• Pull her hair back - it definitely distracts
• Focus on taking pictures of the jewelry and not the girl - that is after all, the whole point of this
• Schedule an evening or early morning when the sun is not so bright.  

As I said - slow learner.  However, it was worth the effort and I will be doing it again.

Kathy

There's No Polymer Clay In My Kitchen

One of my goals for this year is to get my craft room set up.  Actually, that was one of my goals for last year and the year before.  You get the idea - I'm good at procrastination.  Especially when it comes to cleaning and organizing.  I like to call myself cleaning challenged.  Today, I actually managed to get all of the polymer clay out of the kitchen and into the craft room.  It's still not incredibly organized, but it is there.  Unfortunately, I still have to get these beads out of the dining room. 

However, I'm already having craft withdrawal, so the beads will have to wait for another day.  I feel the need to play with clay tomorrow.

Hi! I am a polymer clay artist, a wife and a mother, among other things. I am so inspired by color and pattern, which is one of the reasons I create with polymer clay. It comes in so many pretty colors which you can then mix to create even more colors. One of my favorite techniques is to manipulate the clay and then to peel away layers of polymer clay to reveal the patterns underneath. To this end, I have started to use a lathe to turn pens and hope to start using the lathe to make beads, bangles, and many other items. Here are some of my latest pens.


In future posts, I hope to show you what inspires me to create. Some of the things that inspire me are color, other people's creations, pictures, nature, and patterns. Hope to see you soon!

Kathy