More rain...

Hi everyone, 

   Today is another lovely rain day...makes me wish I still had a tin roof like we did in Mississippi! It always sounded great, even thunderstorms!  Today is a great day to play in the studio...I have been thinking of my assignment for the PMC workshop and I think I have an idea or two. Do you know how hard it is to make just ONE bead!  Crazy!  So, since I want to play and not write, this is going to be short but sweet!  Have fun playing and enjoy your weekend and I will show you some new stuff on Monday! Enjoy these in the meantime....

Our assignment this week has to do with color so I thought I would show you some of my beads that have color...the top bead has color on the tearaway background, the middle bead has color in the inlaid polymer background and also on the edge with glass beads imbedded into the embossed surface and the last bead has a colored inside background done with colored pencil.  Hope you like them, k

Featured on PCD!!

Hi everyone, 

  Today I was going through my normal routine of e-mail, facebook and then some of my favorite blog pages and imagine my surprise when I saw my beads on Polymer Clay Daily!  WOW!  What a great way to start the day ! And all the nice comments! It is hard sometimes as an artist to always be putting yourself and your personal visions out on a limb for everyone to see and comment on...I think self doubt is a large part of most artists lives. I always worry if I am going in the right direction or not.  I am always pleasantly surprised when someone purchases something I have made. It is like getting a gold star for the day! Kind of how I felt this morning looking at my beads on PCD!  Thank you, Cynthia!  

Here are some more polymer/PMC beads. The first one is mokume gane and glass glitter and a HUGE dark green pearl. The second has liquid polymer decals with raw diamonds set in resin with black glitter. And last, but not least, number three....brocade mokume gane, inlaid polymer with hand coloring, molded polymer clay and liquid polymer decal and of course, the carved mother of pearl flowers with Tanzanite stones set in the centers.  Hope you like them, K

Bookshelves and more bookshelves...

Hi everyone,

  Well, I have been working on my new "library" these past couple of days. Moving furniture and building bookshelves from Ikea and unpacking boxes from when we moved up here...over 8 years ago!  I will take some photos later this week....but for now, I will show you some of my newer pieces. I will also be posting my new assignment from the online workshop later this week.  I got a really ugly assignment this week...hopefully it won't turn out badly!!!  Wish me luck! and, yes, I do make ugly!! I hope everyone will have a great day and have fun playing in your studio!! Kelly

These are beads that have polymer clay as the base with the PMC on top ...the techniques include decals, and inlaid clay and hand-tinting.  Hope you like them....k

I love this workshop assignment.....

Hi everyone,

  I am sorry that I haven't written for a couple of days but I have been working on my workshop assignment and that proved to be harder than I thought!!  Since I was supposed to be inspired by the photo I was given and not to copy it, I ended up cutting it down and inverting the top portion into the bottom and then going wild....and let me tell you, going wild takes some time!!!  I liked the piece before I cut off the top and then  after I flipped the top, I didn't like it but decided to plow through. I still wasn't crazy about it after I set the stones, either. But I thought, since I flipped the top, I should flip the stones and that seemed to work better. I didn't love it until I added the wrinkle-ie "leaves" and the spikes. Then it felt like a bud blossoming. I have bizillions of antique buttons and this one fit the size and the design so I decided to use it.  I am now wanting to do a bunch of pieces to go with this bead. I am planning in doing some free-form peyote stitch type necklace with this bead as the focal....I would love to hear (or read) your comments...Kelly

We also got my library painted and some bookcases moved and built....now to organize it and then re-cover the chair and couch....way excited!  Have fun everyone, K

Playing and working....

Hi everyone, 

   Well, it is a two prong attack day....finally got my husband to get the ugly, huge computer desk out of the room that is going to be the new "library".  The room now looks huge and empty. I have to paint the walls, a pretty coral rose and then after they walls dry, I need to move two big bookcases into the corner. I am way excited to be able to get going on this...I have books all over the floors of my house in stacks and I want them up and accessible!  While the paint is drying, I am going to work on my assignment from the workshop....I made the sides of my bead yesterday. Now I have to sand down the edges and paste them together.....six sides...aught to be interesting! I etched the six pieces and then dried them over a wine bottle stopper! Now I want to make all sorts of combos of pods with metal, mica and polymer clay....glad I just got some more clay!!  Today, I am showing you some pods of the past....the centers are polymer clay and pearls. The great looking photo was done by Robert Diamante and the other was taken by me...think I will stick to making beads!! Have a great day, Kelly

Experiments!!!!

Hi everyone,

  Well, I don't know what button I just pushed, but I am getting two titles for the price of one! Anyway, I thought I would tell everyone about this cool experimental class I am taking with Sylvie Landsdowne. She is a great lampworker that I meet when we both took a lampworking class with Leah Fairbanks and Kim Obisin back in 92 or 93...maybe even 94.. somewhere around then. Anyway, she went on to do lampworking and after a friend of mine tried to torch off my hair, I decided to stay with seed bead work. 

  Sylvie has designed a series of 8 assignments that we know nothing about until Monday afternoon, and then we have one week to make a bead or centerpiece in metal clay and then post a photo of it to discuss with the other artists in the group. I am way excited about my assignment and if it comes out great, then I may post the photo....until then, here are some photos of my experimental pieces. See if you can figure out what I did! I hope you like them, Kelly

Experiments!!!!

Movie, Mac and Cheese....

Hi everyone, 

   I went to the movies yesterday with my sons, Brandon and Morgan....and since we are so grown up, we went to see "Ice Age" in 3-D. We liked the first two and this one didn't disappoint! I thought at one point, Morgan was going to laugh too hard and hurt himself or at the very least, do himself a mischief!!! Then we came home and made fried mac and cheese for dinner....with chicken on the side!!  Delish!!!  I also got my first assignment for the online group I am in and have already planned out what I am going to make.....way excited!  So I thought I would show you some experimental pieces that I have done before I go and try another....now to go downstairs to play!!  Have fun today, Kelly

PS..the lady in the top piece is a piece of molded porcelain antiqued with PMC, the other bead has a piece of Roman glass as the center "stone" and the last piece is about three inches long and has a nude bride behind the bars.... the title is "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" all I have to do for her is to make her chain and lock.  The blue and white plaques are inlaid polymer clay and the bride is a transfer....love playing with polymer...k

The day off.....?

Hi everyone, 

  I didn't see any new comments, so I figure that everyone is out playing with their families and enjoying the weather. I thought I was going to be able to read a novel but food shopping got in the way and now I have to make a kickin' mac and cheese so I can fry it up as mac and cheese balls.. Delish!!!!  I love the ones from The CheeseSteak Factory and have been wanting to make them for a long time and finally found a recipe that is great! Brandon is coming to see Morgan and I tomorrow (we are going to see Harry Potter or Transformers) and then home for chicken and fried mac and cheese!!!  I am also going to get me first assignment for a online workshop that is experimental and bound to be fun!!!  Can't wait!!  I thought I would leave this week with a little bit of Mother Nature's beauty! I hope you enjoy them!  Have fun playing, Kelly

Down in the studio

Hi everyone,

   Today is a day to play in the studio so I thought I would show you some photos of mine since I have had comments about the wall in the small room.  It is a pretty day outside which makes me wish I could go somewhere but I don't want to drive my car into the hole beyond my driveway. So, will have to wait until next week to escape!!  These are shots of parts of my playspace...a bookshelf with books of ideas and boxes of goodies; a tabletop shot of loose items I thought would work in various projects but didn't and are still waiting to be put away. And last, but not least, a partial shot of one of my big drawers filled with items to use as centerpieces for beads or molds to be made from.  I hope you are all having a great day playing, Kelly  

Still Trapped

Hi everyone,

  Well, I am still trapped at my house. When the guy came and said to move my car if I wanted to drive anywhere since they were going to re-do the road....I thought it was only going to be for the day...Wrong!!  It was now been 4 days and of course, they won't work on the weekends, so who knows when I may escape??  I guess this is the Universe telling me to go into the studio and work!  So, I will listen...who am I to argue with the Universe??  Before leaving you to listen to your own voices...I will leave you with photos that show how I start to design a piece and how when accidents or other ideas intrude and change the finished project......have fun with your projects, Kelly

playing today...

Hi everyone, 

  Well, I am still working on that article for Bead Unique...and so today, while things dry, I am going to play with other designs and maybe think about what I am going to make to submit for the Saul Bell Contest. I have had two former students win awards, (Dina Alexander and Gail Crossman Moore) so maybe I should step up and enter.  I have a idea for a fish skeleton embedded with jewels and coral as the centerpiece....it will be interesting to see if I can set that many stones in one piece (around 50!).  So, since that is still in the planning stage, I will show you some photos of other work that I have done....This is the first piece I did for the Saul Bell but never submitted the slides, so the judges never saw it.....maybe I will be better about getting the slides in on time this year!  Have a great day playing, Kelly

   Oh, the name of this piece is "The Venus Guy Trap".....most ladies think it is funny (as do I) and most men don't.....are we really that different??  Would it have been funnier with a zipper instead of the spikes??   would the men like it better?  oh, the conundrums of it all...K

Just playing....

Hi everyone, 

   Since I am just playing (my new word for working) on the wedding ring...I thought I would put up a photo of what my play station sometimes looks like...I would like to say that it doesn't look like that very often, but I would be lying.....all my tables in my studio are 6 feet or larger, but I seem to only have about a foot of clear area to play in.....do the rest of you work like that??? These photos show how I start to build necklaces and plan out the separate beads and the one with the tools is how my table usually looks while I am getting ready for a show...all tools to hand to grab when needed.  I hope everyone has a great day today playing.  Wishing you creative thoughts....Kelly

Finally Quiet!!

Hi everyone,

  Just sitting here listening to the quiet.... the city of Linthicum has been working on the roads in my neighborhood and have been going back and forth with their machines going beep! beep! beep! all day and in between all that the big trucks rumbling the street! Felt like a bunch of small earthquakes... I now have a 1 foot drop right outside my driveway.  No going anywhere for a while....may have to get milk shipped in....guess I will just have to go down to the studio and finish up my ring....since the ring isn't done, I think I will post a photo of an "engagement" ring I made a couple of years back.....it is called "Broken Promises".  I do love making rings....and for those of you who are visual creatures....here are a few more...enjoy, Kelly

  

Tripping over grave markers

Hi again,

  Well, I was planning on being good and working in my studio but the day was nicely overcast and not too hot (85) that I thought I would take the afternoon and go to the local cemetery and take photos of the angels. I was doing ok until I fell into a grave marker...I was looking up at the angel and not down where I was walking and twisted my ankle!  I told Morgan, (my son), that is was because I saw some headstones that had names on them that brought a smile to my face but that was after I fell so it couldn't really be that. I will admit I did a double take when I saw a headstone that said "Noseworthy", since I thought it said "Noteworthy" and wondered about the person who resides there....I did find some headstones with my name on them also, so I took some photos of those too. 

   So, today I will be good and go downstairs to work....need to make a wedding ring for a upcoming article for Bead Unique magazine. I thought about some kind of shackle arrangement but I know that Pam wants something more serious than that. You will have to come back to see what I will make.....till then, some photos of the cemetary angels.....they will be showing up in some new pieces soon. Have a great day, Kelly

Weekend Work

Hi everyone,

    I hope everyone is having a great Saturday...I had a nice day off yesterday. I spent the day with my youngest son, Morgan. We went to Borders and picked up some books to inspire us and then had dinner. I lucked out a Robert Danick's book was on the shelf, so I had to pick it up! Robert has a way of helping you think outside the box.... Now I have to start working on a article for Bead Unique.  I am going to be making a wedding ring, and I am going to work outside the box while designing it...I am thinking of using a fingerprint and wedding contracts and stones and maybe some writing. Now to get all of these to gel together!  While it is drying in between steps, I am going to play with more of the porcelain beads and the PMC. So, a fun day!! Thought I would throw in a photo too....just to give everyone some eye candy!  These are some photos of my studio....a small room off the main studio that I got after my son, Brandon, moved out!  

  Have a great weekend and don't forget to play!! Kelly

Hi everyone, 

  I thought I would show you a photo of pieces I have been experimenting with. I got some great porcelain beads from Joan Miller and Marsha Neal and have applied PMC+ to them. I love the colors and the texture. Next I want to combine this technique with copper electro forming....to make them really look like they have been underwater for a long time....love the idea of sea salvage!!  

  Also, for those of you who live in the Baltimore area, Adornments (used to be Made In Metal), is having a moving sale! She is moving into a smaller gallery/studio and is having to sell alot of her stock. The sale is this weekend ...Saturday, 2-5 and Sunday, 12-5.  I am going to be there to pick up some furniture for the studio....she has a list of some of the things she is selling if you want to peek ahead of time...www.Adornments.com.  Anyway, maybe I will see you there. 

   I hope everyone is having a great day and having fun,  working in the studio or playing outside, Kelly 

  

WOW!! I just went to see what my page looked like after it was posted....different than what I was looking at before it was posted....so I am going to also show you the last ring in the series for the class in R.I. and maybe these will be a bit easier to post....(laughing at myself before my son laughs at me!!)  I hope everyone is having a great day...Kelly

(What you see here are two side views and the top , which is a small dollhouse door cover with a small white topaz set into it as a doorknob.)

    

  

   

 I thought I would show you a ring I made that I call "The Guardian Angel".  The following photos will show the side views. It is quite a large ring....it is about an inch across the top and stands about i/2 of an inch off my finger. I have felt like I needed a guardian angel this year and she needed to be large and in charge!!  I also wanted the ring to look like it has been around for a while and I think the patina really works. I would love to know what you think!

   I am going to be teaching this ring and a couple of others in November at The Bead House in Bristol, R.I.  I love going to teach for Kim and Jeff and seeing where I used to live. This year I am driving up and spending a day or two with my friend, Kate Fowle-Meleny, who does beautiful glass. Kate actually taught my husband how to make lampworked beads.  I am going to get to see where I lived...in Saunderstown and where I went to school. I am also going into Wickford, it was a neat little art town, and I hope it still is. I am planning on taking a lot of photos.....

  Well, I tried to have the side view of the ring down here  so the page would be interesting but it went where it wanted....now to learn how to get it to go where I want...baby steps....Soooooo,  the two photos on the top of the page along with the photo of the teeny seashells are different views of one ring and then the second two are views of my "Guardian Angel" ring....I hope you like them. Wish me luck with my baby steps....Kelly