Monday, June 21, 2010

Sketching and planning....




Hi everyone, 
     Well, I have been trying to get all of my ideas from Bead and Button down on paper and deciding what I am doing next.... I know I have to clean the studio and make room for my little photo studio and my Dream Machine (actually I have some new experiments I want to try).....in polymer and PMC.  I am also wanting to get back to working on my Master's registry projects. 
    I will be writing a couple of articles for Art Jewelry...another cool ring project and one on surface decorations.  I will let everyone know when they go to press.  Probably next year sometime....it always takes so long....
    So, since you have been waiting...I thought I would post the rest of the photos from my Bead and Button trip.  On Sunday night I had taken a class with Leslee Frumin and wasn't feeling up to snuff, so I got the class kit and the instructions and left early ( I have never done that in a class and luckily, I had two other classes with Leslee later that week so she forgave me!). Then jumping forward to Wednesday, I had a class with Vickie Hallmark....learning how to paint on glass and then to fire it into a pmc box bead/pendant. We learned to paint in the morning...and I think we all would have been happy doing that all day. We made our box like surrounds after the glass had been fired to secure the paint to the glass. It was too bad there were problems with the kiln...some pieces fired fine and some didn't....mine was one of the ones that didn't! That will teach me to concentrate on trying to finish a project! I usually just concentrate on the process! Lesson learned! My box got crystallized but not fired completely to size. Time for some design opportunities!  The little paintings came out well though and I got to sit next to Mr. Gordon Uyehara and not out in the hall! And he snuck in a photo of me...(maybe it makes up for the sleeping photo I got of him)....although, he hints that it isn't! It was a fun class! Vickie is a very good teacher! 
     On Thursday, I took a class on fusing fine silver with the fun Anne Mitchell....with this class and the torch firing class of Susan, I may be over my fear of torches! I made a really fun bracelet...I was just concentrating on the process and ended up with a bunch of fused rings and just started to join them together. Voila! A bracelet! Then I made a "J" hook...the first one I melted (I think I was the only person to swear out loud in class) but I tried again and made one with no melted bits. It sounds like a belly dancers bracelet...like that part a lot. I bought some sweet little lampworked roses from Dolly Ares to hang off the bracelet. I think it will be quite fun to wear.
     On Friday, I took I took Sherri Haab's class on putting images on metal clay and faux bone. It was a fun class even though I just watched.  Sherri was nice and excused me from class until after lunch so I could shop. The class was working on making their bracelet parts out of metal clay and firing them. I came back for the important bit. The process works really well. She also had her books there and it was nice to see my photos in them.  A little bit of "oh, wow" is always nice to hear from people who don't know what you do. Then a quick bit of dinner and then it was off to a another evening class...this one with Donna Kallnor and we did transfers on to fabric.  We got to actually color photos with crayons...best fun on a Friday night! and a ice cream for dinner before and a Brie LT afterwards. Donna was a fun teacher and very informative. I can see ways to use this technique. 
     Saturday and Sunday were classes with Leslee Frumin....Saturday was a necklace class, very smart technique and both days projects were so lovely, that I bought all of her instruction books. Trying to catch up on all these techniques is tiring. Anyway, I hope you like the photos of what I made....I haven't done much of the bead work but I am looking forward to it. Evening work...
     Well, the photos are backwards again....Leslee's class from Saturday is first, then Vickie's class and then the bracelet from Anne's class....enjoy and have fun in your studios, Kelly
     

2 comments:

  1. Kelly, I can't believe you could go non-stop like that all week, turning out gorgeous stuff all the way . Just an art-making dervish, you are! It was a blast to sit with you in Susan's class (I think our table had the most fun), and you were a dream student, to view a kiln error as a design opportunity.

    Thanks for posting your fishie painting in his fancy window. I was bemoaning not getting photos of your creations. So sorry the box fared poorly in the kiln. You'll probably create an amazing piece out of it and we'll all wonder how you came up with the idea!

    Love the other creations too. I can just hear you in Anne's class!

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  2. Hey Vickie,
    I had a great time in your class....you are a very good teacher! Clear, organized and on time....wish I could do that in my classes! Mine end up being more like Susan's....crazy! I will need to get the firing schedule from you (I probably have it and don't remember) before I fire the piece.....I really loved painting on the glass...ever think about tag teaching??? hope you are getting back to normal and the PT is going well....say hi to the hubby...(shy, isn't he?) very nice guy....take it easy and talk to you soon, k

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