Bead Bunny

Mokume Gane Critters

2011-03-08T13:00:00.001-08:00

Here are some critter shapes I made from mokume gane slices. I was inspired by looking at old Native American and Eskimo art/artifacts books that I picked up at a used bookstore recently. Though the fish is obviously a fish, the other animals are not so identifiable.

Thinking of Spring and Sluggish Shapes

2011-01-20T11:12:00.001-08:00

It only takes a few sunny days, a noticeable increase in daylight and some January thaw for me to start thinking about spring and spring colors. I took a break from polymer for a few months because (1) I was extremely busy painting, and (2) I needed to decide how I wanted to express myself in polymer.

Doing mokume gane stacks is fun and addicting but deciding what to do with them is another. I like to have a mental picture of what I want to do before I start. What shapes please me? Lately it has been this "slug" shape, a fat in the middle, unidentified thing that has a graceful curve on the ends.

Painting Meets Polymer

2010-04-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

I did these awhile back and haven't posted them...but I love these because finally my paintings meet my polymer work. It's pure me, I did these with a very thin, watercolor-like application of acrylic paint, and used a coat of liquid polymer as a sealer. Unfortunately I can do a painting on paper or canvas faster than I can do one of these pendants, but I hope to put something like these into production at some point and be able to sell them.

Polymer Pendants

2009-10-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

I'm making large batches of these flattish pendants for various venues. Glad they are catching on as they are fun to make and the variations are endless. Keeping the design simple--stringing it on buna cord with a lobster clasp on the end.

Sometimes I wonder where a particular pursuit is taking me. In this case, I wonder how these pendants will evolve, will they lead to something else? I've made hundreds of them in just a few months and I've seen my positive progress in refining the technique when I look back at the first ones I made.

A few years ago I read The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. It's a great book but I hadn't looked at it in awhile...I opened it up the other day to some words on page 110 that I highlighted years ago: "Be willing to start without seeing the whole path...you must be willing to lean into it and see how it unfolds."

Polymer Pendants

2009-09-21T10:16:00.001-07:00

I'm working on a large wholesale order of polymer pendants. I like the simplicity of these pendants, I just string them on a rubber cord and they speak for themselves with their color and shape.

Translucent Layering Pendants

2009-08-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

3" and 4" polymer pendants with horse image transfer

Here are two pendants I made using the translucent layering and image transfer techniques I learned from Kathleen Dustin. They are a ways from perfection, mainly the translucent is not as clear as I wanted it to be...maybe it's too thick...but anyway it's an exciting technique that has given me lots of ideas as I roll along on my polymer journey!

Polymer Pendants From Here To Infinity

2009-08-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

I'm busy making rorschach style pendants, making a bunch then narrowing it down to the best ones for a project I am working on. These are addictive and I get better and better with each one I make, incorporating new ideas as I move along.

Something Out Of Nothing

2009-08-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Rorschach Pendant

...make something out of nothing, I do that every day. I just read an Ornament magazine article about Tory Hughes with that title. Tory is known for her polymer but I like that she said the work is about the artist, not the material.

I swap between polymer and painting. In my recent paintings, I start with watercolor but find more and more mixed media getting put into the piece, so it no longer can be categorized as a watercolor. Though I have yet to incorporate polymer into my paintings, I have found that making skinner blends and mixing colors has informed my painting, and I have discovered color combinations through polymer that I want to use in painting.

In polymer, I have been making natasha or rorschach pendants lately. The fun is in the "what if"color combinations and the accidental nature of the finished piece. Some of my rorschach pendants achieved the intent I started out with, such as the bright, fun piece at the top which came out of making skinner blend spirals, striped canes, and checkerboards within a color scheme.

But then there are leftovers.

scrap pile-"nothing"?

After spending considerable amount of time being "intentional", I wound up with a large pile of scraps. I grabbed some and made these two pieces without regard for any kind of color scheme or superimposing my will over the pattern.

scrap pile pendants- "something"?

It's all good. It's all fun. Keep making something out of nothing!

Skinner Blend

2009-07-27T14:44:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in several weeks but I am busy working on polymer clay ideas, I'm just not ready to post the results yet. But here is my pasta machine, busily processing a skinner blend! I think Judith Skinner did the polymer world the biggest favor ever by creating an easy way to make gradations. Where, oh where is Judith Skinner? Her website was started several years ago, and it hasn't been touched in long while. Is she on Facebook? Does she Twitter or blog?

Back soon!

Kathleen Dustin Container Workshop

2009-07-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

The second Kathleen Dustin two day workshop I took in Albuquerque in June '09 was about making a hollow form, in most cases a purse. After talking about design principles, Kathleen started us off the first day by making a small hollow pendant, so we could learn the process before we tackled the larger scale of a purse.

Then in preparation for the purse, she had us make two different skinner blends.

These are my skinner blends that later became the outer decoration on my purse

Kathleen making her skinner blends, she did a beautiful blue blend and a red/gold blend.

Kathleen putting her purse together

After making the purse form, the inner lining, we put it all together. This process takes multiple bakings, but the design possibilities are endless. I have not quite finished the purse I started in the class but when I do, I will post it here. The skinner blend stripes is not something I would have thought of, it's a really beautiful end result. Also, I have been wanting to make polymer purses so I can apply my horse imagery to a 3D, functional form, so I am excited about the possibilities of making these great purses in different shapes, colors and sizes. I will be fusing what I learned in both the Translucent Techniques and purse workshops.

Taking a workshop from Kathleen Dustin is a rare opportunity, I was thrilled to get the chance to travel to Albuquerque which is less than 400 miles from where I live, and grateful that she is willing to teach the techniques she has worked so hard to develop.

Kathleen Dustin Translucent Layering Workshop

2009-06-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Three pendants I made during the two day workshop. Two are not quite finished.

I just did a two day Kathleen Dustin workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we learned her translucent layering techniques. It was great! Kathleen has an art background, which gives her instruction more depth beyond polymer, she talks about design and bringing your pieces to the next level beyond the ordinary.

We learned about the elements of composition within an abstract piece, translucent layering, polishing, drilling, and finishing.

One of Kathleen Dustin's pieces.

I have taken several polymer workshops and enjoyed them all, but Kathleen's techniques really helped shape a vision I have of getting my own personal imagery onto polymer. I know exactly what I want to do now as soon as I get home!

Kathleen putting gold leaf onto clay.

Student's finished pendants

Annie Hooten organized and made this workshop happen, which was a year in the making. Annie does a great job of keeping students updated prior to the workshop, and everything went smoothly. She organizes workshops on a regular basis, I highly recommend you attend one Annie is putting together.

I am attending the second Kathleen Dustin workshop this weekend, and will report my experience next week!

Why Making Natasha Beads Are Like Painting Watercolors

2009-06-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Natasha Beads

One main reason I paint in watercolor is because I love the magic that happens when colors flow into each other and create interesting abstract patterns and textures. Once upon a time those backwashes and accidental textures were frowned upon with watercolor. Everything had to be perfect. Nowadays more and more painters are shunning perfection and going with the flow by letting things happen in an abstract or partially abstract manner using ingredients such as saran wrap, salt, gesso, etc.

In polymer clay, there are lawless rogues, too--such as Natasha who created the magical Natasha bead. I have fun with these in the same way I anticipate the serendipity of watercolor. Below is a tutorial for making Natasha beads out of scraps of clay.

I cut off ends of several spiral canes and lined them up together. You don't need canes to make a Natasha bead, but at least a few cane ends can add interest the end result.

I rolled them into a log, then twisted the log several times to get the ingredients spiraling around. I then squared the log using a brayer or acrylic roller.

Cut the squared log in half.

The pattern is exposed.

Leaving the two halves in the open-face position, I then cut the halves in half again.

I flip the two outside quarter pieces onto the back, taking time to line up the design. After lining it up, I then shape it into a long, slightly squared bead, shown in the photo at the top.

So oddly enough, this bead may look to some like an intricate pattern, when in fact it is the smushing together of polymer scraps to create a one of a kind original. As in watercolor painting, all the planning in the world can not surpass the excitement of the results you often get when letting things happen by just guiding the process along.

Donna Kato Workshop Bangle

2009-05-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

This is the bangle I made during the recent Donna Kato workshop in Denver. See my previous posting for more photos and details.

It's hard to tell the size of the bangle from the photo but when I put it on my wrist it's bigger and clunkier than something I would normally wear. Heck, I don't normally wear bangles at all but the design possibilities are intriguing so I'd like to pursue making more. I just want to refine future bangles to be a bit more wearable than the one I made here.

I consider this bangle to be a prototype example, because in trying to get as much done in the one-day workshop, we had to rush a bit to get through all the steps. So my application was sloppy in places, with edges not meeting up perfectly. But at least I know what to do now!

The canes used in this bangle are unquestionably Donna Kato style, those who know her work recognize the zipper cane and the use of stripes in the triangle "fang" cane against a the drama of a black background. I chose to follow her color scheme in the workshop as Donna suggested to save time in not having to do too much color mixing. Donna told us how she mixed these colors, but interestingly, despite the precision of her cane making, the way she told us to go about mixing colors was less precise: "a lot of this, less of that, and a dash of this."

What was cool about the red and orange in the zipper and fang cane is that up close the stripes are undoubtedly two different colors, but viewed from further away the red and orange merge and look rust colored, which is a color I love combined with lime green.

I also like the wavy shape of the base, I am not into perfection or symmetry so the free form shape is right up my alley. The zipper cane pulls it together though into a bit of order and it really makes a nice border, leaving the door open for interpretation inside those borders.

Donna Kato Workshop- Denver '09

2009-05-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, you know about the Skinner Blend, the Natasha Bead...have you ever done the Jana Whack? Named for Jana Roberts Benzon's method of conditioning the notoriously stiff Kato clay, that's how we started off our recent Donna Kato workshop in Denver. We brought our rubber mallets and pounded the Kato clay while still in it's package until it was partially flattened, then we were able to continue conditioning with our hand rolling devices and pasta machines.

The Jana Whack on Kato Clay

This workshop was about building bangles. Most of my own polymer work is small and doesn't have too many steps, I finish things quickly and move on to the next thing. But Donna's bangles are quite a beautiful sight to behold and it was informative and worthwhile to spend the day making one item, which required many steps and many trips to the baking oven.

Donna with the base form of her bangle

Everyone made a black base form then we moved on to adding canework. With a lot to do in one day, Donna suggested we stick with her color scheme to save color mixing time. I was happy to do that as I liked the colors she used: orange, red, and lime against the black base form.

The canes we made were the very effective "zipper" cane, and a "fang" cane which incorporated stripes as well as a Skinner Blend plug. Those plugs are great--Donna has the tutorial for them in her latest book, The Art Of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques.

everyone happily working on their bangle forms

Donna shows us the striped cane

Donna puts the finishing touches on her bangle at the end of the day

I didn't quite finish my bangle by the time the class was over, so when I finish it I will post it in my next blog entry. (And I can't wait to make more bangles after I finish the first one.)

It was a fun day, I enjoyed my first-ever workshop with Donna Kato. She is a pro, and it shows in her teaching style as well as her final results.

Julie Picarello Mokume Gane Workshop

2009-05-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

Julie Picarello describing her mokume gane technique

I recently attended a Julie Picarello mokume gane workshop in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was part of a ten day road trip so I am just getting home and posting some photos. I enjoyed taking Julie's workshop and highly recommend it even if you have already done mokume gane, it's always informative to learn from someone who specializes in a particular technique. Julie is nice and fun to be around, as are all the members of the Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild.

My own mokume gane slices made during the workshop.

Mokume gane beads/pendants made by workshop participants on the first day of the workshop. There are some stunningly good polymer artists with great color sense at this clay guild!

Easter

2009-04-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I like to make necklaces to celebrate holidays and other special events. I just finished this one in the nick of time for Easter. It's my own faux ivory rabbit heart focal bead, surrounded by smaller faux ivory and spring/Easter colored polymer beads. The beads hanging at the bottom are glass flower beads, I've had them in my bead stash for quite awhile now and it was nice to find the right place for them in the necklace arrangement.

Happy Easter everyone!

Pearl Ex Pigment Test Blobs

2009-04-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Before baking.
Dime sized test blobs using Fimo translucent and Pearl Ex pigment powders.

After baking.

I love my Pearl Ex pigments, but this is the first time I have taken the time to make test colors for reference. I mixed the powder with Fimo translucent. They really do come out special but you can see with these before and after baking photos, when mixing colors with translucent you need to bake to see the end results.

I put my test pieces on an index card, and wrote the Pearl Ex colors beside each piece. After baking, I painted the backside of each piece with white paint, so I could write the color names on the back. (I have not found a pen that will write on polymer. Have you? I've tried Sharpies, they rub off.)

Under The Wire Faux

2009-03-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

"Under The Wire" Pendant

I made this faux ivory, turquoise, and jade polymer pendant specifically for the Polymer Clay Guild of Etsy April challenge. The theme for April is "Faux". Faux is one of my favorite things to do in polymer, I have had this idea in mind but the PCAGOE challenge prompted me to get it done, just under the wire for the entry deadline. I normally make beads but this pendant came out very nice and it is a great opportunity to combine different looks and colors into one piece.

Ivory Hearts

2009-03-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

I made these faux ivory hearts the other day, these are pretty much focal beads, being 1 1/2" tall and about 1 1/4" wide. I haven't made anything with them yet, like a necklace or other finished item, but I wanted to post them.

Saint Patrick's Day Faux Jade

2009-03-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

I made these faux jade beads several months ago, intending to make a bracelet. I planned to use Stretch Magic jewelry cord and finish the bracelet without a clasp. I couldn't figure out how to finish it off so I put the beads away. I still can't figure it out (I may need to use a clasp) but I was looking for something green to post today, St. Patrick's Day, and these faux jade tile beads were just the ticket.

The running horse is my own design, it was the first time I have made tile shaped beads and I like the look. This horse design could appear as faux ivory, too. You never know what I might make next. But maybe I should finish this bracelet first.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Faux Turquoise

2009-03-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some faux turquoise beads I made recently. They will be a component of a bigger project soon, but for now, here's the beads I made with a simple technique. I just chop up turquoise clay (adjust the color to suit your turquoise taste, as it comes in many shades) in a small food processor. Press the small chunks together enough so they hold into a bead shape but still have the crevices. I added some brown chunks and olive green chunks for variety on a few of the beads. Bake, then rub black and or brown acrylic paint into the crevices. Wipe off excess paint. Buff and polish.

Found Polymer Texture Tools

2009-03-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

I spent some time in Florida recently, I beach combed and collected some coral and shell pieces with texture stamping tools in mind. I have collected these in past trips to Florida, but this time I really looked for deeply impressed pieces that would make a nice texture in polymer clay. I much prefer finding texture tools in nature over man made ones.

Just A Little Carving Experiment

2009-02-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago, I blogged about my primitive mudcloth beads. I recently got some micro carving tools from polymerclayexpress.com and made this experimental bead. I just carved into the surface before I baked it then rubbed acrylic paint into the carved part after baking. It was easier than carving through the black layer to reach the white underneath as I did in the mudcloth beads. I can imagine these type of chocolate colored carved beads being combined with brighter colored beads to create an eclectic necklace or bracelet.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T06:50:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Mokume Gane All Season Beads

2009-02-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Mokume Gane Beads. From top: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter

Here are some basic mokume gane beads I made last year. I was rifling through my bead stash and when I found these beads I made, I realized how they looked like the four seasons. I don't remember if it was a conscience thought or not!

I will be taking a mokume gane polymer workshop in April 09 taught by Julie Picarello. I am looking forward to it!

Blackbird Winter

2009-02-03T11:23:00.001-08:00

Blackbird Beads- 1 1/2", 2 1/4", and 2".

The past few weeks there have been a flock of red winged blackbirds hanging around, singing their off-key song in a nearby spruce tree. The unusual thing about this is that you don't often see blackbirds in January and February here in Colorado at 7,900 feet. There are also robins around, which is almost as unusual.

I associate the blackbirds and robins with summer, so it lifted my spirits on cold winter days to see these birds, and I was able to help them out by sprinkling seeds on the ground below my birdfeeder.

The birds also spurred me into action to make a blackbird cane, something I have been wanting to do for quite awhile. So I got the cane made, reduced it, and applied it to the three different backgrounds. The bead on the left is more summery, but the middle and right hand beads represent blackbirds against winter colors and winter sky.

Heart Beads inspired by Donna Kato

2009-01-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

I got Donna Kato's new book, The Art Of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques and have spent some time making heart beads inspired by her instruction. I decided on a tropical color scheme, which is a bit out of the norm for me but nevertheless I stuck with it and made several canes using these colors before applying them to the heart beads.

Every cane I made for these heart beads were in Donna's book. The canes I made were bullseye, ikat, component flower cane, klimt, and tile.

Donna's canes are simple, the key is to decide on a color scheme and create several different canes using your chosen colors so they all go together when you apply the thin slices to your project. The exception is the translucent and white bullseye cane. Translucent and white can compliment any color scheme.

The time spent making Donna's canes will springboard me into new directions and ideas. I also want to do more heart beads, it's a universal shape with a meaning that knows no language barriers.

Polymer and Tornados Combined

2009-01-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

So here is a necklace with my last two blog entries combined. I made a batch of Winter Solstice beads on December 21st, and then made some tornado beads. I originally strung them together on a cord but didn't like it, so I hung them from a chain with one Winter Solstice bead as a focal. I'm not sure what my next project will be, but I'm almost certain that I'm through with cool winter colors. I can feel the days getting longer already. The bunny charm at the end of the focal bead hints at spring.

Tornado Bead Tutorial

2009-01-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

On the first day of 2009 I thought I'd post a tutorial on making a tornado bead. This is a non-polymer posting but I needed these to go with some polymer beads I made recently.

I have been unable to find a tornado bead tutorial online so I figured this one out myself. Hopefully if you are looking for the same thing I was, this will serve as a starting point to making your own tornado beads.

For a one inch bead, you will need:

18" of 20-gauge wire
16" of 22 gauge wire
Various sized seed beads- 11, 8, 6.
A couple of 4mm beads
A mandrel

Beginning in the middle of the 20 gauge wire, wrap wire around a mandrel (I used a small wooden skewer) in both directions until the wrap is one inch long and there is 5"-6" of excess wire on each end. The wraps don't have to be perfectly lined up against each other.

Take the right end of the excess wire and working right to left, wrap it loosely around the base in a somewhat random and disorganized fashion. This isn't about perfection, it's about a tornado!

Take the left end of the excess wire and wrap it around the base from left to right, again in a loose fashion and make the bead slightly fatter in the middle.

Now you are ready to add beads with the 22 gauge wire.

Take 16" of the 22 gauge wire and start a wrap at one end, tucking the end under so it doesn't stick out. Add a few size 11 seed beads in the first revolution.

Start wrapping and adding larger beads to the 22 gauge wire in the gaps between the 20 gauge wire. They will stick out a little at first but become integrated when you continue with the 22 gauge wire.

Continue to wrap and add beads into the gaps, alternating sizes and colors. Take an occasional wire wrap without any beads.

When you reach the other end of the tornado bead, you should have the 22 gauge wire used up. Tuck the end into the bead to conceal the wire end.

Here is the finished bead!

Winter Solstice Beads

2008-12-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

First Batch

I just made these beads to celebrate Winter Solstice. Or more accurately, to celebrate the shortest day of the year because tomorrow the days get longer. Hooray! I don't normally revel in winter or winter colors, so I thought I would challenge myself to use a limited palette of blues, white, and lavender.

I made my first batch (above) of Winter Solstice beads using some simple cane techniques, trying to come up with different bead looks using the same colors. I was reaching for my silver leaf to use in mokume gane, when I realized I didn't have any silver leaf, just gold and copper. So instead of doing mokume gane, I grabbed my Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments and mixed some blues and lavenders into translucent clay, and then swirled the pigmented translucent with white, and the resulting second batch of beads (below) remind me much more of winter than the first ones I did. I like these so much that I am going to make more using different colors.

Now the next thought process will be to make a necklace out of some of these to wear this season, so I can tell Old Man Winter that he ain't got me down, I'm using him as inspiration.

Faux Amber and Turquoise Beads

2008-12-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted any new polymer activity in awhile, 'tis the season I guess. Busy busy with Christmas stuff, and unfortunately none of the busyness had anything to do with polymer. So here is a necklace I made awhile back. I made all the beads out of polymer (except for a recycled glass and some silver beads and spacers).

I love the mix and match, asymmetrical type of necklace. One book that has inspired me recently is Beadazzled- Where Beads & Inspiration Meet by Penelope Diamanti. I bought the book in a bead store a couple months ago and have really been inspired by the combination of natural material beads such as coral, turquoise, amber, ivory, and more made into necklaces. This book is eye candy, not a how-to book. The inspiration for me is to recreate some of these natural materials in polymer and be inspired by the eclectic designs. If you like eclectic and asymmetry, this is a very inspirational book.

Mudcloth Beads--Sort Of

2008-11-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

Longest tube bead: 2 1/2", biggest donut bead: 1 3/4"

I've been wanting to do some donut as well as large tube shaped polymer beads, and here are some black and white ones I just made. I was inspired by the mudcloth technique in Judy Belcher's book, Polymer Clay Creative Traditions. She has two interesting techniques for mudcloth in her book, but I improvised a little from her technique.

I carved the designs using a linoleum cutter v-gouge. I'd like to find a better quality carving tool as I want to do more precise designs than the tool let me do. But in trying to recreate the primitive African tradition of mudcloth, it looks pretty close.

One hint for success: if you want to carve through to an underneath color, make sure your top sheet of clay is reeeally thin. As thin as you can make it.

My Blogging Polymer Friends

2008-11-10T09:19:00.001-08:00

I am currently compiling a list of polymer artists who blog...you can find it in the right hand column of this blog. It is a fairly new feature of Blogger, and I really like it as it connects like-minded people together. I have made a list of painting blogs I watch on my art blog, carengoodrich.blogspot.com. but I am finding it more difficult to compile a list of blogging polymer artists.

So I wanted you to know that there are some fine polymer artists who are not on my list. It is unfortunate but true. Some polymer artists have blogs but rarely update them. I also don't bookmark/add artists who use half or more of their blog to post non-art stuff.

I hope more polymer artists will have dedicated polymer blogs soon. It's free on Blogger.com, so why not keep in touch with other polymer artists in a painless way? You don't have to update every day, (I don't), but since we polymer people are scattered all over the place, why not start building links with each other through blogs?

Faux Coral Beads

2008-11-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

I made some faux coral beads using the instructions in Tory Hughes' book, The Chameleon Clay. I made them a little more misshapen than Tory's examples. I like the natural look of the odd shapes. This is my first batch, I'm sure when I make them again I will tweak the recipe and shapes even more.

If you want to make your own coral, turquoise, jade, ivory, or other natural beads, consider making your own out of polymer clay. Think how much money you'll save by buying a bit of polymer instead of buying the real thing!

As Good As It Gets

2008-09-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

I just read a blog entry by polymer artist Kathleen Dustin about the shallowness of Fashion Week in New York City, and her being uncomfortable about her polymer purses and jewelry being sold to that market.

I commented on her blog that her polymer work inspires me:

"So many of us have been lifted to greater heights by seeing your work. At the end of the movie As Good As It Gets, Jack Nicholson said to Helen Hunt: 'You make me want to be a better man.' Well, Kathleen, the inspiration of seeing your polymer creations makes me want to be a better artist."

So my point is to let the shallow folks be shallow, there's not much you can do for them. Those depth-less souls will carry her purses or wear her jewelry just because they saw it on Madison Avenue. But although Kathleen readily teaches her techniques to those wanting to learn, she (and the rest of us) may never know the full range of influence she has had on polymer artists to think big and do their very best work.

My Polymer Beads on Flickr

2008-08-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

I just pulled together a collection of my faux ivory polymer beads and posted it on flickr. Now you don't have to scroll down my blog to see what kind of beads I make. All are available for sale, please inquire or look for them in my etsy store. Please click on the flickr badge on the top right of this page to access the photos.

Polymer Beads and Pendants on Etsy

2008-08-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

One of a kind polymer horse pendant necklace with mosaic background. It sold hours after I listed it on etsy!

I've listed some more polymer beads and pendants on etsy. We are getting past the summer buying doldrums so I will be increasing my sales listings as we march into autumn!

Fairplay Bead & Fiber Show

2008-08-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

My display at the Fairplay Bead and Fiber Show

This past weekend I sold my handmade polymer beads at the 7th annual Fairplay Bead and Fiber show in Fairplay, Colorado. The foot traffic was steady all day Saturday, with a mix of beaders as well as non-beading tourists looking for gifts to take home. I did pretty well in selling my beads to people who appreciated the organic, vintage look and had good feedback from people.

The weather is fast changing in Fairplay, you always have to have your eye on the sky when at an outdoor event. The weather stayed really nice all day Saturday, and a rainy downpour only happened after the show was over for the day. The attendance dropped off significantly on Sunday as the weather was more threatening, but the good sales on Saturday made the show well worth doing and I hope to be back next year!

Busy Making Polymer Beads

2008-07-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Building up stock for my bead display

I'm very busy making lots of polymer beads for the August 9-10, 2008 bead show in Fairplay, Colorado. My signature beads are faux ivory made from my own designs featuring birds, fish, horses, rabbits, and more. I will also have some mokume gane beads to add some color to the neutrality of the ivory.

I may have the smallest display at the bead show. I have no tent and plan on bringing just two 4 foot tables. It all has to fit in my Prius! I am somewhat ready for rain despite the lack of shelter, I will bring plastic to cover my tables with and a raincoat and umbrella. I will be at a disadvantage if it rains, compared to everyone else who will have a canopy tent for people to duck into, but that's ok, the rain doesn't usually last long. I am keeping it simple this year, and if I do well, I'll buy a tent for future outdoor shows.

Fairplay Bead & Fiber Show

2008-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Front Street where the bead show will take place.

I took a driving trip over the weekend to Fairplay, Colorado, the site of the Fairplay Bead & Fiber Show on August 9-10, 2008. This is an annual outdoor event put on by lampwork bead artist Pat Pocius. Fairplay is 85 miles southwest of Denver, and 28 miles south of Breckenridge.

Pat Pocius' South Park Pottery, Bead Store and Lampwork Studio

I got a booth and will be there selling my polymer beads. So far I am the only polymer bead maker to sign up. If you are in the area, stop by! I'll have a full report of the show and how it went.

Polymer Beads on Etsy

2008-07-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

Faux ivory focal beads by Caren Goodrich

I am currently lining up some new polymer beads to list on etsy, I plan on debuting them on July 7th. So once this weekend's fireworks are over, I'll have the offerings up and running. Hope to see you on etsy next week and have a great Fourth Of July!

Coast to Coast Texture

2008-07-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

Eucalyptus seed capsules

Here are some of my favorite texture tools from nature to impress into clay. I reject the use of store-bought texture plates. I prefer to discover my own! My first choice is always the amazing things from nature, and the items shown take you from coast to coast in the USA.

The first photo shows eucalyptus seed capsules from Napa, California. I was on a plein air painting trip a couple years ago and while painting under a eucalyptus tree, I noticed these on the ground and started picking them up. They are like having little stamps! I was surprised at the different design in some of them. They are wood-like and never fall apart. So keep your eye peeled for these little gems if you are in California, or the eucayptus' native Australia.

Florida shells

Now we travel across the US to the beaches of Florida, where shells and shell pieces are easily found. While visiting Florida a couple winters ago, I was away from my art studio but got my art fix by getting up early to beach comb for texture tools.

The big shell in the back has a nice ripple to it, which when stamped onto clay makes nice waves. The one on the left makes a nice gesture/movement impression, with it's dot-dot-dot spray of curved texture. The one in front I call a "potato chip", they are all over the high tide line and make a more symmetrical impression.

Exploring The Rainbow With Tina Holdman

2008-06-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Tina Holdman's Collection #3- "When The Dark Comes In"

During the Dayle Doroshow polymer workshop in Colorado Springs in April, participant Barb Harper brought in a new spiral bound book she compiled of Tina Holdman's polymer color recipes, reprinted from the Mile High Polymer Clay Guild newsletter from 2004-2008. I bought one and have been having fun mixing up samples of the color collections. Here is one of the sixteen recipe pages in the book. I made little square samples and glued them right on the page.

Tina has an interesting and inspiring story with each color collection. She also has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around....I just wish Tina and some of the others in the Denver and Colorado Springs Polymer Clay Guilds had their own web pages! I can't find much of their work online.

Cutting out squares for color mixing

For those who haven't done color recipes, the measuring is easy. I roll the clay to a #1 thickness and use a clay cutter to cut out squares. The squares are then all the same amount of clay. Each square represents four parts, so it's easy to cut the square and follow the recipes for "parts".

I then mix the parts together to get the new color and cut a new square for the sample tile.

Thanks, Tina and Barb, for sharing your knowledge and creating this book!

Trout Stream Pendants

2008-06-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the results of my Trout Stream color palette (see a previous post). I made faux ivory fish, backed by a mosaic using the inspiration and colors of Trout Stream. The largest one (middle) is 1 1/2" x 2", the other two are slightly smaller. They will debut on etsy in the near future.

Foredom Bench Lathe

2008-06-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

I ordered a Foredom bench lathe from Donna Kato's Prairiecraft.com polymer clay supply site, it arrived in two days! But there's only one imposing mountain range between where Donna lives and where I live, so the fast arrival wasn't a total surprise as UPS and Donna's husband Vern do a good job in getting things out fast.

I put on the muslin polishing wheel, plugged in the bench lathe and proceeded to put a wonderful shine on my polymer work. I have never been a fan of applying a clear coat of anything over my polymer, and with the ease of using this bench lathe, I can't imagine why anyone would want to. It's money well spent and polishing polymer is fun, mesmerizing and relaxing. I was pulling out all my previously-shined-with-denim beads and putting a new shine on them with the bench lathe.

The lathe is small, the footprint is 5" x 6", and it runs very quietly and coolly. I am very cautious about buying new machines and supplies, as I try not to clutter up my workspace with regrettable art supply purchases. For anyone serious about polymer, this bench lathe is a must-have. I highly recommend it. Also, the lathe is made in the USA. Foredom is a company established in 1922 in Connecticut.

Color Palette: Trout Stream

2008-05-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Two things happened a couple days ago. First, I read a blog entry by Heather Powers at Art Bead Scene asking us to name one thing in nature that is our biggest source of inspiration in our jewelry designs. I answered: Autumn colors.

That is the short answer. The long answer encompasses more...when it is spring or summer and there are no autumn colors, I am in search of colors in nature that are something other than green. The trees are green, the grass is green.....cool green dominates the landscape. So when I see reds, oranges, warm yellow-greens or purples, I am very inspired to do a painting or create that color in polymer.

Castle Creek

Later that afternoon, I found myself alongside Castle Creek near Aspen. I admired the rocks in the creek, and marveled how warm those rock colors were despite being under cold rushing water. The only blue in the water was a bit of sky reflection.

Closeup photo of the colors in Castle Creek

The colors in rocky mountain creeks are always a great inspiration to me. And despite the fact that spring has barely sprung in the high elevation of upper Castle Creek, the water colors are reminiscent of the autumn colors I like. The next day created a color palette I call "Trout Stream", based on the colors I found in the above abstract-like photo.

Trout Stream Color Sample Tiles

I have an idea what I am going to do with this collection of colors, now that I spent a good part of the day mixing them. I am going to work on some jewelry sized polymer mosaic pieces, and I'll post the results here.

In the meantime, check out Tish Collins' color palette of polymer mosaics. It's wonderful.

Life Long Mold Making

2008-05-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

This morning, without warning, I decided to blog about my mold making history. So here is a very brief retrospective:

I've loved making things out of molds since I was a kid...I used to have a Creepy Crawler set in the 1960s, I was fascinated by being able to pour "goop" into a mold, heat it and come out with a rubbery bug. After that childhood introduction, I never used any more molds until I was an adult, but you could say the die was cast.

A few of the hundreds of horse rubber stamp designs I made in the 1990s

In 1989, I started my own rubber stamp business called True West Designs. I had molds made from my own original artwork (I never used clipart), then pressed sheets of uncured rubber into a vulcanizer to create each rubber stamp. I did very well with my stamp business, having started it just a couple years before the stamping craze hit. I did all the production myself, and during the peak mid-1990s I used to get wholesale orders for hundreds of stamps at a time. I was extremely busy and made some good money for a lot of years.

In the mid 1990s, I started sculpting horses and making my own plaster molds for slip casting. In 1996, I spent a day with Joan Berkwitz of Pour Horse Pottery in Carlsbad, California, and Joan kindly shared a lot of mold making tips with me.

"Hipshot" a pony I sculpted in 1999 and cast using a four piece plaster mold

Manatee ornaments I made in 2001

I started beading in 2000, and that evolved into making my own ceramic beads. I sculpted originals and made two piece plaster molds for slip casting. It was a much simpler process than the more complicated model horse molds, but still labor intensive.

Manatee ornaments and beads in progress, in the greenware state after slip casting in 2003. Shown are fish, frogs, horses, turtles, etc.

Back in my ceramic days, it was hard to imagine ever giving up earthen clay for polymer clay. But that is what happened, as I have found the imitative techniques and ease of polymer mold making and casting to be very appealing. I can work out my ideas with less time from conception to realization. I used to have to cast many ceramic pieces to fill the kiln before firing, and the lag time was really frustrating, not to mention the less than great results I'd often get.

So here I am at my current state of evolution. I made these beads this week out of polymer using the imitative ivory technique:

Imitative ivory press molded beads-2008

Dayle Doroshow Workshop: Messengers & Storytellers

2008-04-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Messengers & Storytellers

Day two of Dayle Doroshow's polymer workshop was Messengers & Storytellers. We spent the day making figures, learning the techniques for making them and embellishing them with canes and mokume gane that we brought from home. This is normally a two day class, so we had to cram a lot of ideas into one day.

One of my ideas, sparked by a freeform method of collage that Dayle had us do, was a polymer figure I called "What To Wear?" My figure is a funny looking woman who isn't as good looking as she thinks she is, and her attire (various canes applied to her body) was all over the place color and design-wise. Maybe some in the class thought I had no feel for combining colors....but it was intentional on my part as I wanted this figure to be odd looking.

The above photo shows her in the middle with her soul mates, the fish (left) and bird (right). The door in the center of her opens and reveals the message "What To Wear?" The fish will have a message, too, but I'm not sure what it is going to say yet.

Here is the group of us at the end of the day before we departed full of ideas! I'm in the back in the middle. I'm so happy to have new polymer friends! These are the first polymer people I have met and it is so much fun to talk polymer with artists who understand and more importantly I learned something from every one of them.

Thanks, Dayle, for your warm and friendly approach to sharing your polymer ideas!

Dayle Doroshow Workshop: Chaos Cards

2008-04-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

Dayle rolls out some clay to demonstrate a technique

Over the weekend, I traveled from my home in Aspen to Colorado Springs for a two day workshop with Dayle Doroshow, sponsored by Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild. After having not traveled much this winter, it was a nice road trip and the weather was great.

The first day was a workshop called Chaos Cards. Dayle had us make polymer cards that serve as inspirational jumpstarts for polymer or mixed media projects. We had the opportunity to try new techniques or revisit old ones while making these cards.

Chaos Cards I made on Saturday

I had a lot of fun with everyone in the class. Whenever I take a workshop, I always learn from seeing what the other students are doing and this weekend was no exception.

Above is some of the cards I made. Time was short so we weren't able to do our best work, but Chaos Cards is a great idea and I will be creating more once I get home. Tomorrow I'll review the second day of Dayle's workshop.

Fun With Tory: More Imitative Ivory

2008-04-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

imitative ivory beads-fish 1 1/2", horse and rabbit 1"

I carved and sculpted a fish, horse, and rabbit bead, then made a two sided push mold for each design. The figures appear on both sides of the beads. I used the imitative ivory technique that I learned from Tory Hughe's book. I have been making these types of beads in ceramic for many years, but for the polymer version, I was inspired by Dayle Doroshow's Imitative Ivory Face Beads shown in Tory's book.

Speaking of Dayle Doroshow, I am taking a two day workshop with her in Colorado Springs on April 19th and 20th! I couldn't be more excited and will report back here on how the workshop went. Colorado Springs is about 225 miles from where I live, and it will be a nice weekend road trip and I look forward to meeting the clay artists of Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild.

Fun With Barbara McGuire: Color Wheel

2008-04-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

color wheel before baking

.....and a tip of the hat to Maggie Maggio who created and shared this color mixing technique.

I'd seen Maggie's videos about mixing colors on her blog, but it wasn't until I got the "Images On Clay II" by Barbara McGuire that spurred me into action to create a color wheel of beads. Maggie demonstrates using clay colors that are close to being true primaries: Premo Zinc Yellow, Cobalt Blue, and Fuchsia.

Barbara used Metallic Copper, Metallic Gold, and Pearl Blue, and the results are more earthy tones. I love that! I did a similar thing, but added some red to the copper and added some yellow to the gold to make them slightly closer (and brighter) to standard primaries while retaining the earthiness.

"Images On Clay II" is about image transfer on polymer clay, but this color mixing segment is included in the book and I highly recommend that any polymer artist who hasn't done this exercise to make a bead color wheel immediately! The link to the book is in my amazon.com list on the right. I love the secondary colors created by mixing the primaries, and plan to do more experimenting very soon.

color wheel in progress

Polymer Techniques, Bought And Sold.

2008-03-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

Recently Kim Cavender blogged about the subject of ethical use of polymer techniques learned from someone who is selling those techniques in the form of a workshop, book, or DVD. As Kim states, this is not a new subject but it recently popped up on her blog as a hot topic after she posted some photos of a polymer workshop or lecture (I think).

I decided when I started blogging about my polymer journey that I would share my progress via posting photos of my recent work, along with crediting and discussing the book or workshop or DVD I learned it from. I fully intend to use the techniques I paid for, just as the teacher is going to spend the money she gets from me in return for the book/workshop/DVD.

However!

Long before Kim's post, I decided not to reveal step by step techniques. Teachers deserve to be paid, and I feel that those who find my results interesting should go out and buy the book themselves. Or take the workshop. Since I am not a polymer expert, pioneer, or teacher, I am blogging about my progress and sharing what I've done. I am not only blogging, but I am logging my progress for my own future benefit as well as others who may stumble across this blog in the process of their own polymer journey.

When I am not exploring polymer I am painting in oil or watercolor. My oil painting guru is Susan Sarback, she comes from a teaching lineage going back to a contemporary of Monet. I work pretty hard to paint the best paintings I can based on her teachings. Susan teaches her students everything she knows about this method of painting, and we all go home stoked and inspired and wanting to be as good a painter as Susan. (We aren't.) Yet I can't imagine Susan showing us how she paints but then telling us not to paint like her!

So just as I pay Susan Sarback for painting workshops, I pay for lessons in polymer techniques.

What's interesting about polymer is it is so technique-based. I stand on the shoulders of some real polymer pioneers when I take that lump of clay, alter the color and shape, and come up with something worthwhile.

Yet unlike following Monet's footsteps (he made it look effortless but believe me, it is not), basic polymer techniques are generally easier to grasp with a bit of practice, and I think that's where often the feculence hits the fan. It's relatively easy to copy other people's polymer work.

What I plan to do with my own polymer work is hone in on the techniques I like, and apply my own imagery, shapes, and color combinations to the things I create using those techniques as a foundation. I wouldn't have ever experimented enough to come up with a way to make imitative ivory, but I'm glad Tory Hughes did and I plan on making some fine original work in imitative ivory. My favorite subjects, shapes and colors show up in my paintings, and they will show up in my polymer, too.

So my summary is: Learn the techniques, but use them as a springboard to your own path to artistic uniqueness. Pay homage to what you love (Flowers? Bright colors? Geometric shapes?) and your art will speak to others and become recognizably your own.

Fun With Tory: Imitative Ivory

2008-03-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished making my first batch of imitative ivory using the techniques in Victoria Hughes' book, Polymer The Chameleon Clay. Her ivory technique is not just getting the color right, but imitating the striations and aged look of ivory. This was the first technique in her book I tried, it is very exciting to me as I see the potential of making old looking beads.

I made some disk beads from the ivory stock, and also made two pendants, a carved turtle and a carved bird using prebaked inclusions.

Fun With Tory: Prebaked Inclusions

2008-03-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

I recently acquired Victoria Hughes' book, Polymer The Chameleon Clay. I am having a lot of fun with it and will be doing many more posts with the results of the imitative techniques she pioneered. For starters, I made a batch of prebaked inlays for future use.

A Look Back: Street Sense Beads

2008-02-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

This time last year, I was making 25 ceramic beads in anticipation of the Kentucky Derby. To make a long story short, I used to be in the Thoroughbred racing business and remain friends with Carl Nafzger, who trained Kentucky Derby winners Unbridled (1990) and Street Sense (2007). My husband and I were attending last year's Derby and I worked all winter to create these beads for the close associates of Street Sense. I was confident he was going to win the Derby and wanted everyone to have a memento. (I blogged extensively with lots of photos on livejournal.com about the Street Sense journey, starting with his win in the 2006 Breeders Cup Juvenile and on through Derby week, the Derby, and the Preakness.)

I worked really hard on these beads. I sculpted the original out of plasteline clay, then made a plaster mold for slip casting. After casting them in clay slip one at a time, I cleaned up the mold seam lines, painted them with underglaze in the dark brown color of Street Sense and the blue and yellow jockey's colors of Street Sense's owner. The top photo shows a few of the beads in progress, they have been underglazed and were waiting to be fired, then fired again with the clear glaze.

Though I have been working in ceramics since the mid 1990s, these beads about finished off my desire to continue working in ceramic clay. Maybe that's why a few months later I started to focus on polymer beads instead. I haven't done any ceramics since.

The good news is, of course, that Street Sense won the Derby and many of us were in the hallowed ground of the Kentucky Derby winner's circle wearing the bead necklaces I made. In the above photo of the cover of the Daily Racing Form, the woman in the white dress and hat with her hand raised is wearing my bead necklace while in the Derby winner's circle. If you click to enlarge the photo you can probably see it better.

Garden Bracelet with glass, polymer, and lucite beads

2008-01-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

I made this bracelet recently, trying to cheer myself up and think spring in the midst of a very snowy winter. It is a Lucite Garden Bracelet that was in the spring 2007 (issue #12) of Bead Unique magazine. The article was written by Kelli Burns and Tarlee Yeoman.

Anyway, I bought the issue last year and finally got around to making this bracelet, which was a lot of fun. I made my own polymer focal bead. I still haven't done much cane work so I bought polymer flower canes on etsy and made a bead from it. I'm sure I will start making flower canes myself at some point, but I also like doing business with other artists. The flower cane was made by Seana.

Black and White Kaleidescope Cane

2007-12-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Following the instructions in Donna Kato's book, The Art Of Polymer Clay, I made a black and white kaleidescope cane and made a few beads out of the results. What fun!

And here's a bonus surprise to this abstract technique. I cut off the end of the cane, and discovered a bird image (left)! It was only on the end, once I made more slices, the bird was gone. Still, this bird will make a nice focal bead. The photo shows it in it's raw, sliced state. The image on the right was another unusual slice off of the other end of this same cane, I made it into a dime sized bead. The rest of the cane, shown in the top photo, is fairly uniform throughout.

Donna says in her book she was pleasantly surprised to find she could use up her scrap pieces to create these kaleidescope canes. I have made a few more of these canes with arbitrary scraps, and have to admit some of my color combinations were pretty darn ugly. Donna may manage to pull it off, but for me, I'll probably be a little careful of my color combinations.

Finished Clichy Rose Necklace

2007-11-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

I finished my first piece of wearable polymer and here it is. I made it with the assistance of Donna Kato's book, The Art Of Polymer Clay. I followed her Clichy Rose Cane instructions, and what I learned was that the center (pink flower in this case) does not reduce as much as the outside of the cane. I am new to cane making, so this was quite an advance for me to make beads that turned out nice enough to wear.

I recommend Donna's book as an addition to any polymer library. She covers a lot of ground with basic information and inspiring examples. One downside to covering a lot of ground is that not much space is devoted to each technique, it's enough to get you started, though, and there are a lot of techniques in this book that I'm sure I will rediscover as I look through this book in the future.

Halloween Beads

2007-10-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

These beads were made with Halloween colors in mind, kind of fun, kind of spooky, but certainly not a skull buster technique. I was just marveling at the swirls of color I made and how easy it was to make them.

I am convinced that bead making for me is going to be polymer from now on--I have had too many disappointments with my ceramic beads, putting hours of work into a load only to have the glaze firing not come out as I hoped. Mixing polymer colors to create beads is much more rewarding, because wysiwyg.

Press Mold Polymer Horse Beads

2007-10-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you forget where the seed of a new direction comes from. But before I get too deep into polymer and forget what started it for me, this post is about what really launched me into polymer. I have been working in ceramics since the 1990s, and have made lots of horse beads in ceramic clay.

Then this fall I bought a custom tooled leather purse from Beas Bargains on etsy. I decided to make a purse dangle to put on it, stringing some eclectic vintage beads. Over the years my beading tastes have evolved, and though I started out doing bead embroidery with seed beads, I have grown to love old, earthy beads that look like they were dug up from an archaeological dig.

So anyway, here I am making a dangle with an eclectic group of beads from around the world, and I needed to put my individual stamp on it with my own handmade beads. Since this was going to be a purse dangle, I wanted my bead to be less breakable than the ceramic beads I normally make, so that's where polymer came in. (I had used polymer on and off just a bit over the years, but nothing serious. I didn't see the potential and wasn't aware of the great art being made with polymer.)

Falling back on my ceramic mold making experience, I made a two-sided press mold using Sculpey Super Elasticlay MoldMaker. I had an original sculpture I made from Chavant oil based modeling clay (I was making plaster molds for ceramic slip casting with the little horse sculpture) that I pressed into one side of the mold material. I then removed the horse sculpture and baked one side of the mold. When it cooled, I put the horse sculpture back in the first side and pressed the mold material into the second side. Removed the horse and baked the second side.

Now I have a two sided press mold, so my resulting polymer horses are fully dimensional.

Stained Glass Cane

2007-09-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

This polymer cane is not what my ultimate vision is, but I found a stained glass tutorial that looked intriguing so I tried it. I actually dislike the color combination and don't see myself using this cane for anything. But again, I'm new to polymer so this is just a trial cane. It's all about the journey, right?

My First Polymer Cane

2007-09-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

It's easy to find simple polymer tutorials on the web, I ended up following Desiree McCrorey's bullseye lace cane tutorial to create my first cane. I'm just trying things right now, getting the feel of polymer and seeing where it takes me. It's easy to be impatient and want smashing results right off the bat, but I understand there is a lot to know, and a lot of different directions to go with polymer so my early efforts are strictly educational.

I know a few things for sure about what I seek in polymer: making beads is my top preference, and I like an organic, asymmetric look over symmetry and geometric shapes.

Here is my black and gold lace cane and some unpolished beads I made from the cane. I found out that curing beads in the oven on a foil lined cookie sheet leaves flat shiny spots. I'll be doing something different in the future to avoid that problem.

I Launch Into Polymer

2007-09-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

I got this idea to make my own polymer beads the other day.

I tried working with polymer in the mid 1990s, but it didn't click with me. I didn't think it had that much potential, so I moved on to working with ceramic clay. Luckily there were lots of artists and crafters out there who saw what I didn't see in polymer. They have spent the last many years honing, perfecting, experimenting, and most importantly, sharing what they have learned to do with polymer clay.

Who are "they"?

As time goes on, I'm going to name names and give credit to those who's creativity and willingness to share helps other artists learn. These polymer artists are all over the 'net sharing tutorials, writing books, blogging, teaching workshops, and recording how-to DVDs on polymer.

I want to share information, too, as well as record my adventures into a new medium right from the beginning. So this blog is not about being an expert in polymer, but rather my own path of discovery as I learn from polymer experts.

August Beaded Journal Page

2007-08-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

6" x 8"

Continuing on with my "Inspired By Horses" theme, my August page incorporates a beaded bucking horse that has been languishing in a drawer since I made it in October, 2000. This is not just any old unfinished piece, it's the first beadwork I ever did!

I launched into beading based on a photo I saw in a western style magazine in the fall of 2000. It was a bead embroidered bucking horse and I did not know how it was done, but I jumped on the internet to find out. I discovered these little beads were called seed beads. Honestly, I didn't know anything about beads! I ended up ordering my first seed beads online and was so excited when they arrived.

I learned how to do backstitch from a bead book I bought, and my first beaded piece was this bucking horse on ultrasuede. I planned to appliqué the finished beadwork onto a leather vest I was going to make. I never did make the vest, I instead started working on other beading ideas for Christmas presents that year.

So the beaded bucking horse on ultrasuede got put aside for seven years but now has a home as the August page in my Bead Journal Project. As I look at it today, I realize how far I have come in my ability to bead embroider and plan how the design is going to come out. With figural subjects, I now outline the design first, then fill in with beads row by rows. In this first piece, I did not outline first, and ended up losing control of how I wanted it to look.

When I started this BJP, I wanted to try to use beads and fabric I already own, and not run out and buy more stuff. Some of the other BJP participants are doing this, too. Though the rest of the year's worth of BJP pages are likely to be original, I am happy I was able to pluck a forgotten piece out of the drawer and breathe new life into it.

Please stop by my art blog, carengoodrich.com, and vote in the "what's your favorite horse color" poll I have posted. The results will affect a future BJP piece.

July Beaded Journal Page

2007-07-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Cinder And Me In The Summer Of '69

6" x 8"

Continuing on with my "Inspired By Horses" theme, for July's page I step back in time to 1969.

I was twelve that year, and had been horse crazy since birth. My sister and I campaigned our parents for years to buy us a horse, and finally in April, 1969, we got a horse named Bobby. My sister and I took turns riding Bobby, and then my parents realized that it might be wise to get a second horse. In July, we bought a pony. She was black as coal, and I named her Cinder. Cinder became mine alone, and we fit together like a glove.

me and Cinder in the summer of 1969 at Flying W Stables in Paramount, California

We were told Cinder was originally from Wyoming, although I was never able to confirm that. But as a kid born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Wyoming was the wide open spaces where cowboys roamed the prairies....far away from the concrete riverbeds and railroad tracks where I rode horses with my friends.

I rode Cinder for years in local gymkhanas, (barrel racing, pole bending, and other events) we won lots of ribbons and trophies despite the fact she was much smaller than the other horses we competed against. She was fast and agile, and I thought she was the best horse on earth.

I owned Cinder until I graduated from high school, when I sold her to another girl who loved Cinder almost as much as I did. Eventually Cinder was sold to someone else, and I lost track of her at that point. If I had to do it over again of course, I would have kept her forever.

This is not the first time I have created this image. Many times over the years I have done drawings and paintings of a barefoot girl on a horse flying through the air, with no saddle, no bridle. It's all about freedom and the carefree days of youth, it's a very personal theme for me and as close as I ever come to doing a self portrait.

June Beaded Journal Page

2007-06-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here is my June BJP. My theme and journal title is "Inspired By Horses". My journal pages are all going to be 6" x 8", and will be bound together (somehow!) at the end the twelve month run.

My lifelong interests have been art and horses, you can see my horse paintings at my main blog. I decided to dedicate this journal project to a horse each month that inspires me in some way.

The first month of this project is Street Sense, winner of this year's Kentucky Derby. My husband, Clint and I are close friends with Street Sense's trainer, Carl Nafzger. We attended the Derby and were overjoyed when Street Sense won! Clint and I both used to work for Carl, Clint was an assistant trainer and I was an exercise rider. You can find out more about Street Sense via my livejournal blog, where I made lots of entries during Derby week (in April and May) regarding Street Sense's progress and the whole adventure of attending the Derby.

My Beady Beginnings

2007-06-25T19:16:00.001-07:00

I started beading in 2001 after seeing a leather vest with some beadwork on it in Cowboys and Indians magazine. I wanted a vest like that, but couldn't find any information on it's maker, so I decided I would make my own vest.

I didn't even know what a seed bead was back then, but soon found out via the internet. I ordered many different colors of size 11 seed beads from Out On A Whim. Once they arrived, I started teaching myself to bead embroider. I never did get the vest made, but I have been beading ever since.

I thought I was late to the beading party by starting in 2001, but beading has become even more popular since I started. Over the years I have taken classes in different bead approaches including lampwork and PMC, but bead embroidery is still my favorite way to bead. I like free form and I like pictorals, so bead embroidery says it best for me. I still order seed beads from Out On A Whim, but I also like to go to bead stores while traveling around the country.

A high point for me was getting a beaded piece accepted into a 2002-2003 traveling exhibit called The Beaded Cloth , (my piece is Bunny Garden, at the top of page two in this link) sponsored by Beadwork Magazine. That was also a low point for me--as my beadwork was lost when it was sent back to me by Beadwork magazine because they sent it to my old address where I no longer lived. I never recovered it even though the folks at Beadwork Magazine and I tried very hard to track it down. I am currently re-making that piece but it's hard to cover the same ground, so it has been a work in progress for longer than I care to admit. It was done with Delica beads, which are tiny and time consuming. When I finish it, I'll post it here!

In May, 2007, I joined an online group called the Bead Journal Project, started by Robin Atkins (a juror for aforementioned The Beaded Cloth!). For the next twelve months I will be posting monthly bead and fabric journal pages. My next posting will show my first completed page of this journal project.

Bead Bunny Blog

2006-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

Bead Bunny blog for posting information on my handmade beads and showcasing my bead embroidery and other bead creations.