Lots and lots and lots of new things to show.
I took this photo above today. I had to photoshop the hell out of it to get it even close to presentable. The light is literally gone at 3:30 pm now. I'm going to have to get an earlier picture-taking start as I've only been able to get to about 1 or 2 items in the light for the last week and a half. I'm so backed up it's crazy. I'm forcing myself to take some time off from construction because being backed up drives me crazy.
I've been on a bracelet binge lately. Way more unphotographed too. I really don't sell many bracelets, but I just couldn't help myself. The one above features an air dry pottery bead (the white one) and two polymer clay beads. I've been using the liquid kato over the faceted ones and they look pretty cool. Gives them another dimension.
This one above has a Kato-ed polymer faceted as well, but it took a different effect. The other one is very rounded and encased, this one has a shiny coat and keeps its facetedness more.
These beads look like yummy caramels.
I've been remembering the types of things that sold during Christmas. I got several questions about matching pieces and sets, so I made some earrings to go along with this necklace. I love matching pieces anyway, although it seems to be a standard that people don't like matchy things. I'm just not against it at all.
I love the way the glaze turned out on these air dry clay beads above. Believe it or not, I used crazy dollops of plain black and white acrylic mixed with the Kato liquid--and it turned out GREEN! Could not believe it. There are two more that also turned out green, and all the green ones happened to be in fair pairs. Everything else turned out an expected grey. The texture on these is due to the paint getting all blistered in the heat, then setting hard with the Kato. Gives it kind of a sugar bead effect or maybe a slip effect. I can't remember pottery terms.
This necklace is a totally new type for me. I had the pendant part made for weeks and it was just sitting around getting tired, then I got the faceted amethysts and the silhouette of this just came to me so I thought I'd try it out. I'm generally just not into completely plain cord. I prefer it either totally strung or enhanced somehow with braiding or macrame, but this leather is nice.
This necklace above features the same exact leather cord as the previous one, but it's macramed. Totally changes the vibe of the material. Messed up my back sitting incorrectly while I was macrame-ing this. I completely forgot how I should have arranged things better.
Here's the first completed thing off the toy pottery wheel! I managed to get the wall thickness of it pretty even and also a tiny bit of intentional shaping around the top area. Next I need to work on dealing with the bottom area. I watched some youtube videos and they were making pieces so they get cut right off a kind of clay mound under-area. I was never ever taught that. That I remember. Nor was I taught (that I remember) a specific ideal area at which to keep your hands for optimal shaping. That tip made about 600% difference.
This little bowl is about 2 inches high. The glaze is black and white acrylic mixed with the Kato liquid. It was so experimental that I didn't really even try with the imprints and texture, but when I was realizing just how much of the kato I would need I wish I'd made it a lot better. I've got a shorter, wider bowl ready to glaze next, so I've been trying to think of something really cool.
Here's another bracelet--I almost kept this one. It is probably my favorite bracelet I've made in that it's the one that most reflects my own jewelry wearing style. It also reminds me of something I had way back in high school that I can't quite remember, and it had snakes on it. There's something about the curve of the hook clasp and the snakeskin design on the button along with the gold and black.
This is one of those instances in which the context of photography allows me to see things that were unnoticed before. I had NO IDEA there were paisleys and the little snakeskin patter on the button before I saw the photos! How could it be? I picked the button out of about 25 similarly sized and shaped ones and of course worked up close with it for a couple hours while making the bracelet. Yet I apparently didn't really 'see' its true self. So odd!
Such wonderful things you made. I'm always amazed at how much you can get done. Your beads are absolutely gorgeous and I think it would be both thrilling and frustrating not knowing what the outcome will be each time.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see your first pot on the toy wheel! It's darling!
Ah, thanks. I think the amount of things I get done is somewhat illusionary. I mean, I do produce a lot, but I struggle to balance production with all the other facets of it as a business. I do it of course, but I could certainly stand to spread my energy out in other necessary directions.
DeleteI love the little pot too! I think I'm going to glaze the other one tonight!
Wow, what a spread, Richelle.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like your blossoming in many directions at once. My faves are the pottery clay bead earrings, wonderfully crusty and ancient looking. The amethyst pendant as well. I like how your cord came out. Makes me want to experiment more with different stringing ideas than my old tried and true ( which seems to becoming less true judging by my sales of necklaces lately)
I like your bracelets too, I'm still avoiding them myself for the most part.
I hope you do well at the shows. I'm a little confused as to what people want right now. I seem to be experiencing a small deflation of confidence this week. Maybe it's cuz I quit caffeine for the last few days and maybe it's as simple as that...I hope!
Sales are weird now! It's like a dust bowl one minute and a flood the next for me. I seem to remember a steady increase toward christmas from about now though, from both past years I've been on etsy.
DeleteBracelets have been a real struggle for me in several ways. I think my wrists are bigger than average (I should look it up. What IS the average?) because I make them to my own comfort as I go along, and they usually end up at between 7 & 1/2 and 8 inches. I realized some of that is due to the chunkier beads, which I didn't buy at first--kind of thought I was reaching for an excuse and it was not truly logical, but then I though of it this way: if you made a bracelet out of beach balls, the thing would be like 4 foot long when you measure it for length. So using larger beads does actually make the total length add up.
And then there's the whole hard-to-close-the-clasp aspect. Is that just me? I think I've figured some things out though.
Oh...quit caffeine!? Say it isn't so...
I can't imagine you feeling a deflation of confidence. For whatever it's worth, everything about your work and persona seems rightfully super confident. go with that.