Jewelry for Lucy's 19th birthday, 23 October 2011

copper_polymer_clay_jasper_FWpearl_bracelet, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.



copper_polymer_clay_jasper_FWpearl_earrings, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

The nature of habits

boohoo, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.
With the start of school just around a very close corner, that multitude of unstructured leisurely hours to do what I want is nearly at an end.  At work (I am a teacher), it was decided that I would move to a different classroom.  While the new location has lots going for it, there has been a huge amount of work involved in getting it settled.  So my holiday ended a fair bit sooner than usual and I am already mourning the curtailment of my time for Annclinations activities.
This summer, while joining in on Traci Bunkers' 30-day challenge (previous posts), one of the things I learned in the process was that being an artist and creating art is a choice.  It needs to be overtly practiced or it risks being down-classed to a pastime or hobby.  During the 30-days, there were times I really had a hard time "getting my art on."  No matter, snatched bits of moments here and there were all it took to have "something" to show for my time.  The commitment to blog it really helped.  Now that my work-a-day-world responsibilities are looming on the horizon, it is my intent to do more of my art in small snippets.  Here's where I'm realizing, as so thousands have before me, that regular blogging can really help.
It has already been 11 days since my last post.  The photo above was taken on the 23rd.  While the disintegration of my beloved veneer was frustrating, it wasn't that which kept me away from Blogger.  It was lack of habit, I guess.  Habits are tricky things.  Bad ones are nearly impossible to get rid of and new ones just as difficult to establish.  Any insights into the nature, creation and maintaining of habits would interest me greatly.

Finished!

aire_le_lignon_fc_necklace_bracelet, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

Good day today! I finished the bracelet and necklace for soccer player granddaughter. The cane motif is the logo for her team: Aïre-le-Lignon.

Now on to other projects.

Steal away

Bijou in the bush, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

I didn't do anything artsy today. No, that's not completely true, I did do some online research to help me in a couple of my current projects. I just didn't have time or the emotional energy to be artsy.  With this admission, so too comes the realization my days of artsy abandon are soon to be transformed into the real world.  Like Bijou, who likes to settle herself in secret corners, I would like to steal away to some such place and extend my stay-cation just a little longer. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and do look forward to getting back, seeing the students, my colleagues and meeting the challenges of a new year. That said, one of the aspects that I do love about my amazing job are the vacations!

However, it is the middle of August after all and the school year begins full-tilt in a couple of weeks. In fact, there are a lot of places in the world where school has already been in session. So, I have no right to moan.  It's just that I've thoroughly enjoyed everything I've done / learned this summer, particularly that "doing" art has to become overt and intentional or it remains merely an interest, a hobby or a pastime. I hope that as my schedule becomes more complicated with the responsibilities of my work-a-day world, I can build that artful intentionality into my routine.

Polyclay play

Polyclay play, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

What a busy and fun day playing in the clay with C. and E.! They had great ideas and were a pleasure to do this activity with!  They really kept me hopping and were so, rightfully, proud of their treasures.

Aïre-le-Lignon FC, take 2

aire_le_lignon_take 2, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

On day 21 of 30 Days to Get Your Art On, I made another version of this cane. I learned a lot about what not to do.

1. Minimum of 5 centimeters tall really helps cane reducing.
2. Clay used in cane needs to be the same brand and of the same consistency.
3. Clear contrast in colors is really important, particularly if the cane is going to be greatly reduced.
4. Letting the cane relax is vital.
5. Taking one's time and being patient during actual reduction is crucial.

In addition, I found the suggestions made by Tami Shvat in her article, "Wrapping and Reducing Canes" very useful.  So, too, were Julie Eakes pointers in both her free and paying Craftedu broadcasts extremely practical.

Can't wait to put the jewelry together for granddaughter, E's, birthday!  I have enough cane left to make things for her entire team!  Hmmmmm.

Day 30 of 30 Days of Get Your Art On

Day 30, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.
I made it and now I understand what my 30 Days of Get Your Art On predecessors experienced at the end of their run of the challenge.  Though I ran it much much later than any of the rest of them and though there have likely been few followers, it was a very worthwhile experience.  I learned a lot and accomplished many tasks I probably wouldn't have otherwise.
The principal recurrent theme which met me at nearly every turn was the very steep learning curve I found myself on most of the time.  Is that what art is?  Does it get easier?
Today's activity was a case in point.  I edited my blog banner and got my web-site up and running.  Talk about an uphill trek!  No matter.  A simple page can be found at www.annclinations.com.  Hopefully, adding to it won't be as challenging as getting it going was!
Before signing off, I want to thank Traci Bunkers and all the other artists who inspired me along the way!  I intend to continue.

Day 29: Art sideways

For day 29, my art wasn't head-on.  It was full of lateral opportunities for enrichment and stimuli.  

We took one of my husband's grandchildren, T., on a shopping expedition to Bern.  Our focal point was the Boesner art supply store in Aarberg to which T. had a gift certificate.  Their online catalog is impressive.  However, the actual store is nirvana!  Both of us thoroughly enjoyed roaming the aisles bursting with materials and inspiration.  We came away with treasures to further our respective arts.

T. is really into Warhammer.  There is a hidden store / workshop /gaming room in Bern that we managed to find and where T. was able to spend some of his hard-earned centimes on Dark Elf Dreadlord on Black Dragon.  The detail of the model is spectacular.  T. will have hours and hours of pleasure constructing and painting this mythical creature.  I can't wait to see the finished product!

Another draw to Bern on this day was the Bern Buskers Streetmusic Festival.  Though set to start at 18:00, we decided we could take in whatever acts we could for an hour or so before heading back to Geneva.  We were dazzled by the organisation, the color and the diversity of it all.

One of the acts we really wanted to see was Heinz Baut who builds a free-standing tower out of 47 ash poles and a sack of ropes.  He seems to be quite a showman.  Though we had front-row seats, we only managed to see him set up his working area, lights, pile of poles and the initial five roped together before we had to head to the train station.  We will certainly be watching for opportunities to see his act somewhere else!

While we were watching Mr Baut's set-up, we were regaled with the music of the Alphorn Experience.  There is nothing like them!  See for yourself.

Day 28

All finished!, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


The necklace is complete and packaged, ready for shipping to my mother tomorrow!

day 27

day 27, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

It was a very busy day!

Day 26

day 26, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

It took me the entire day to do this mostly-copper mock-up of my Charm Necklace for Judy. That said, I think it was time well spent. I learned a lot!

• working on a dressmaker's dummy is a great way to see how a necklace looks
• working a short-ish bit of chain into a necklace such at this isn't necessarily easy
• there is such a thing as too asymmetrical
• there is no better school than that of trial-and-error

Tomorrow I start making the fine silver components needed and begin re-wrapping the beads, in silver this time.  

If I am lucky, I might actually finish this in time for her to receive it prior to my mother's birthday!!

Day 25

Day 25, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

In StudioMojo, number 12, Cynthia Tinapple ends her entry with some sage advice for the end of summer:

"To do great work one must be very idle as well as very industrious."
— Samuel Butler

Just what I was thinking! I gloried in idleness on day 25.

Thanks, Cynthia!

Days 23 and 24

Day 23 I tried my hand at creating the focal bead for the necklace I am making for my mother's birthday.  The pastel, water-color-ish disk beads in the top photo were my first attempt.  They are pretty beads, but not what I was aiming for.  The bead in the mosaic is much more like what I was aiming for.

Day 24 I buffed and waxed the dish of beads.

I have a lot to learn about photography!

Day 22

Today's "art" was a Julia Cameron-style artist's date.  KE and I went to the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern to see the two current exhibitions.  Though we both felt somewhat put off by a rather helter-skelter organisation of the displays, I came away greatly inspired by Klee's use of color and line.  I would happily go there again and I certainly want to go deeper with my understanding of Klee as an artist.

Day 21

Day 21, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

Today's work involved finishing a soccer inspired cane for my husband's granddaughter whose birthday is at the end of the month. She is quite the player and hopefully will enjoy having a custom-made bracelet celebrating her team. Mind you, reducing it is going to be a challenge and a half!!

Day 20

Day 20, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Today's work involved lots of buffing and waxing of beads.  I think I have also finally decided on the color palette for mom's necklace. Additionally, I want to use Janice Abarbanel's bead done for a July color challenge as the inspiration for the focal bead for the piece.  I am waiting for more Pardo Professional Art Clay to arrive as I ran out.  Fingers crossed I can come up with a bead as spectacular as hers!!


Also on the docket for today, I did a color scale, à la Maggio, using Pardo Professional Art Clay yellow, red and blue.   Really liking this clay by Pardo!

Day 19: Buffing and serging and dying -- oh my!

Day 19, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Thank heavens for my dremel and my homemade buffing wheel!  I buffed and waxed lots  of beads today.  Their luster makes me happy.  Having completed that stage of the project, I decided to put the charm bracelet in amongst the beads to see what the effect was.  The beads I liked the best in the steps up to now don't look very nice with the sterling silver.  Giant head slap!  Of course they don't!  Out of the then obvious need to rethink my palette, I decided to sand, buff and polish the dark teal beads and the pink ones that I rejected the other day.  They are in the tumbler now, along with various and sundry other beads I made some time ago but never prepped.


While waiting for the tumbler to work its magic, I decided to get back to the ribbon trials that I started on day 14.  I managed to coax the serger into creating three more ribbons.  Happily, they are looking more professional than I thought they might.  In order to tint these new ribbons, I pulled out a silk painting kit I bought for one of the grandchildren a few years ago.  At the time, it didn't really seem appropriate for her, so I kept it.  Among the colors in the kit were a cyan blue, magenta and lemon yellow.  I decided that it would be a good place to start.  The photo shows the two trial ribbons and two undyed ones.  I look forward to learning more about dying.  It seems that gravity and capillary action can both play an interesting role in the final outcome.  Though these ribbons are clearly not for my mother's birthday necklace, the work I did today will be very useful for future endeavors.


When I put the silver charm bracelet next to the beads, not only did I find my original color ideas weren't going to work, I also learned that the focal bead(s) I made aren't going to work for this piece either.  Not to worry, I have some ideas for solving that predicament cooking on the back burner......


Happy Swiss national day!!

Day 18

Day 18, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

It was a very busy day today. I remixed all the translucent colors this morning to make an extruded "stringer" for a focal bead. Then I mixed up an olive green that pleased me. I think by removing the pink beads and the dark teal beads, I will be a lot happier with the palette than I have been so far.

I drilled lots of holes today as I decided that I prefer making them after curing the beads in order to avoid distorting the bead shape. I have also had the tumbler going nearly all day--sanding. Buffing will occur during the night.

I have only waxed and buffed one bead so far--the one in the photo above. I really like the sheen on it and the depth the translucent clay provides to the bead.

Congratulations to everyone who finished their 30 days to get your art on! I've have enjoyed following your progress. You have all been very inspiring and I intend to keep track of your doings in the future. My best wishes to you!

day 17 mosaic

day 17 mosaic, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

New project! Hurrah! Actually it's an idea I've had cooking in my imagination for a long time.

When I was a teenager, my mother gave me her sterling sliver charm bracelet. Talk about vintage!! I haven't worn it for years. Last year I decided to try and design a necklace for her, integrating the bracelet into the piece.

Lately I've seen several polymer clay artists using translucent clay and achieving really interesting effects. So, I decided to try my hand at it.

The beads I did today started with translucent Pardo Professional Art Clay and Stamperia alcohol inks.  I am pretty happy with the results so far.  However, the sapphire ink was way to saturated for the green I was trying to create.  I will try for a more olive green tomorrow.

Now, to try "sanding" them all in my tumbler!

Days 15 & 16

days 15 & 16, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Happy dancing here today!  Though yesterday was a hectic day, I successfully remounted the main charms in new locations on the chain.  Then I wore the bracelet all day yesterday.  This new configuration is an improvement.

Today, I made 36 little wire-wrapped components and attached them to the other side of the chain and it worked!  I am finally happy with the bracelet.  I am going to wear it lots to evaluate it for any other modifications that might be needed.  I already have other ideas for new bracelets which are in this new style of mine.  Hooray!

Now to work on the ribbons.......

Day 14: Harrumph

Day 14: Harrumph, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Today's work was a bit of a bust.  I guess it demonstrates how the school of trial-and-error can often be the school of hard knocks.

I wanted to get started on the ribbons.  Happily, the fabric tears like a dream, eliminating the hassle of cutting the strips.  That said, I'm struggling greatly with my serger.  It seems very fickle, whereas it's likely just the fact I haven't used it in a while and am doing something(s) (consistently) wrong.

I needed to go buy jump rings as I ran out of the wire I was using.  This is a good thing in that the ones I bought are sterling and are stronger than the pure silver ones.  Where to put the charms?  I tried a couple of configurations and don't like either one.

Between the serger and the charm bracelet, I spent a lot of time working and have little to show for it.

"it just goes to show you, it's always something--if it ain't one thing or another."  --Roseanne Roseannadanna

Day 13: Metal work 101

day 13, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Not satisfied with the way the charms moved around on the big links of the chain I created yesterday, I decided to see what I could do to improve it without totally starting over (and wasting the fine silver wire!).    These are the steps of the chain revision:

• charms off
• links "rounded"--they ended up wonky circles, which I like
• made a ton more jump rings (3mm diameter, 0.8 mm fine silver wire)
• joined up every other big link with a little one
• lengthened the basic chain by adding more fused links (am getting better at fusing!)

I also made more head pins while I had my torch out.  Now everything is in the tumbler being polished and work-hardened.  Tomorrow I go back to putting the charms on.  Think I may have to keep this piece since it has taken me so long to do it!

One of the things I really like about the jewelry I make is that I get to do it all:  metal work, beading, sewing, photography, etc.  I just need to get better / quicker at many of those tasks in order to ever make the process profitable.  If I don't make it profitable somehow, it is a very expensive hobby!

I bought some natural colored silk today and some cotton thread.  Not happy with the stringing of the pendant for this set, I want to try my hand at making and dying silk ribbons to go with it.  Fingers crossed that the learning curve of that process isn't as long as some of the other ones!

More tomorrow.

Day 12

Day 12, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

The day passes very quickly when one goes to the school of Trial-and-Error!

Today I assembled my first totally hand-made charm bracelet!  I made everything except for a couple of Czech glass beads and the silver ball that is the counter-weight.  The day included creating the blue charms, cutting lots of jump rings, torch-fusing links, fashioning the hook, tumbling the silver and putting it all together.  I am considering this stage one as I would like the bracelet to have lots more charms on it.  There are still green caps, iridescent beads and blue disks left.  I think I will turn them into tiny charms to help fill out the bracelet.

Day 11

I've spent a lot of the day resting and redid the template for my blog.  For some reason, I suddenly found the green colors I had selected seemed a bit aggressive and sought a more calming palette.  

It's getting late and I'm still feeling rough-ish.  So, I'm not sure I will get any jewelry art on today.

Days 8 thru 10 catch up

30 days 8 thru 10 catch up, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

Never having put myself under much pressure for "getting my art on," I'm finding my commitment to this 30-day challenge, well, challenging.

Usually when I create a piece of art, I have a specific reason for producing it and a particular objective in mind.  Whatever the object, it is most often a gift for someone with its intrinsic motivation.  Frequently enough, I set out doing something I've never done before, which adds a thrilling element to it.  The pressure of time is another habitual aspect of my creative process compounding the buzz.

This 30 Days to Get Your Art On challenge is much more mundane.  Don't get me wrong.  I am enjoying it.  However, the rush I've inadvertently conditioned myself to isn't there.  Though I love giving voice to my creative muse, the discipline of 30-Days presents me with quandaries that run the gamut from the practical to the existential.

• What do I do now that that idea didn't work?
• How do I take an excellent photo of that?
• How do I solve that problem?
• Is this really what I intended?
• How can I do this when I don't feel well?
• How can I make my art / blog interesting to others?
• How do I balance free-flowing ideas with practical work?
• How can I become more efficient in my work?
• How could I begin to make this profitable and would I like to?
• How can I find my "voice"?

Jennifer Louden speaks of "shadow comforts" that get in the way of our creativity.  She says, "This is the moment where you can choose to create or to go numb. It is the present moment, pregnant with possibility and often rife with a great variety of fears. It is in this moment that the juice comes in, where the life unfolds, the Divine speaks to you, where you get hooked up to the universal power plant.  Too often, we block this moment."  (Read her article on Transforming Shadow Comforts here.)

It's easy for me to hide, or perhaps block, myself while performing well-intentioned tasks: getting all the right tools, doing color studies, researching this or that technique.  As a musician, I now realize that, while carrying out those steps is important, it can too easily become like making music by only performing Hanon exercises on the piano or singing only vocalises.

I love to read other people's writings about their work.  So many of them have a true gift for both their art and writing interestingly about their art.  I am beginning to feel that, if I'm lucky, I might only be able to become one or the other but not likely both.

Days 6 and 7

Have spent the last couple of days not feeling very how.  That said, I did manage to get some work done toward my 30-day commitment.  The veneer has been made from the scrap cane and I covered a very nice river rock with it.  I also made a whole bunch of little beads for another project.  What remains for the rock is the sanding, polishing and buffing.  That will be for tomorrow.

Day 5

Untitled, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

Reduction of yesterday's cane.

Day #4 cane

Day 4 cane_2, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

A cane today from scraps--I cut two slices from it and cured them. The cane is resting until tomorrow when I will reduce it and see what combinations I can come up with.

Day #3

Day 3 head pins, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

I spent today doing a Haunani-Maggio color study of Pardo Professional ArtClay. I think I'm going to love this clay. It's quite solid and strong and the colors are well-saturated. Am looking forward to seeing how it holds up to caning.

Color studies like this always have a few scraps left over. I decided to use some of them trying my hand at making some head pins. I used 24-gauge fine silver wire, torch fired the ends and then decorated them with teeny-tiny bits of polymer clay. They are awaiting curing and use in some inspired project.

Day #2

Feeling rather tapped-out and knowing my color exercise with Pardo ArtClay isn't far enough along for me to create anything from polymer, I stopped and did a mandala.  A refreshing change of pace!  Thanks, Traci for the figurative nudge your challenge is!

30 Days of Get Your Art On--My Day #1

My sister is very fond of strawberries.  Today is her birthday.  Need I say more?

Inspired by a pair of earrings in Patricia Kimle's book Perfectly Paired, the tops are made of silver artclay, the berries of a blend of Premo! polymer clay colors and the seeds are bits of pure silver wire that I torch-fired to get their tiny round shapes.  I tumbled the tops and the seeds to obtain the polish that I was wanting.  The berries are wrap-looped and hung on pure sterling silver simple hooks.  The earring on the right also has my signature charm hanging on it.  Rather than paint them with mica powder tinted liquid polymer clay as suggested in the book, I carefully brought out a warm luster on the berries with a buffer wheel on my dremel.  I am waiting for an order of Renaissance wax to arrive so that I can use it to coat the silver and berries, looking for a finish to preserve their luster as long as possible.  Then they will be really finished, ready for shipping.

It has been fun getting back to metal clay again.  The combination of that with polymer clay is dynamite!

Yum!

These little guys are so delicious, my husband remarked the other day, "These are such a success, maybe we should try and grow even more of them next year!"  Excellent!

For bet than never is late

Get your art on buttons, a photo by Traci Bunkers on Flickr.

Yesterday I opened my new blog, determinedly keen to set off in new directions, when today I find, via Anke Humpert's blog, an interesting, do-able challenge from Traci Bunkers: 30 Days of Get Your Art On. With a view to honing her art into more of a habit, Traci's rules are simple:

• make art everyday and post what was done
• as long as something is worked on, it doesn't have to be completed
• minimum of 30 minutes required, though more is allowed
• what doesn't matter as much as doing
• no guilt allowed, nor justification required
• in posting, no details are necessary

Sounds like a pledge I can live up to. Though starting behind many others, I begin today. Quoting Geoffrey Chaucer's 1386 turn of phrase in The Yeoman's Tale from his Canterbury Tales: for bet than never is late.

I will post today's contribution - after I've figured out what it is - later!

A lot of handiwork since my last post

Somehow the "narrowness" of Beadzealot kept me from blogging the many directions my creativity takes me.  So, I've begun Annclinations here on Blogger and will soon be launching a new website.  It turns out that someone "stole" my Beadzealot moniker.  I was very cross about it for a while, outraged at the indignity of it and certainly not wanting it anymore as it had lost its originality.  However, the silver lining in that cloud is that it nudged me in the direction of finding a new name and logo that can encompass any of my inspirations, not just the beady ones!

A few of my creative endeavors during the past year