It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I've been working on more poinsettias... 

The finished pink poinsettias.

Red glitter poinsettias

...as well as some other things and playing with a new technique. It's new to me, anyway!  It's called Faux Raku.  And what is raku? It is a form of pottery developed in Japan in the 1500's for use in the tea ceremony.  It has developed into an art form in the West and artists use different techniques to create it.  I was talking to my brother about it last night and he said he had watched raku being made.  He said they would throw things like leaves in with the pottery.  I was curious, so I Googled it.

Most raku has a crackled surface, although I'm not sure it all does.  I found one artist, William K. Turner, at Raku Art who has some absolutely gorgeous pieces! Many of his do not appear to be crackled, though some are.  In fact, I saw some with some areas that were crackled while other areas were not.  There is a local gallery that carries his work, so I may have to pay them a visit.

The process is basically the same for all raku pottery.  It is coated with a glaze and then heated very quickly in a kiln.  Once it reaches the maximum temperature, it is removed and placed in a "reduction chamber" which is where the leaves and other stuff come in.  Apparently, what you use in the reduction combined with the glaze you choose will determine the final effect and colors.  The way it is commonly done produces the crackled finish. 

After the piece is removed from the kiln, it is held in the air for several seconds to immediately begin the cooling process.  It is then put into the reduction chamber--quite often a garbage can--which is filled with the reduction material.  This can consist of such things as sawdust, straw, or leaves.  The red hot piece is put into the chamber full of the reduction material where it causes this material to burst into flame.  More reduction material is then poured on top and finally, the lid is put on to create an airtight seal which stops the oxidation process that creates the colors and also puts out the flames. When the piece comes out, usually after a very short time, it is covered with soot, but then is cleaned off to reveal the the finish.  

This is one of the places where William's technique differs. He lines his reduction chambers with newspaper and sets the piece upright.  He leaves it in longer and then puts it back in the kiln on a low heat to set the colors.  He says he never puts his in water.  Apparently, his process is a bit of a cross between the Western way of doing things and the Japanese way.  In Japan, they often set the glowing hot piece out in the open air to cool, but also do use reduction chambers.  Any way it is done, the result is quite random. There is no predicting exactly what you will get!

What does this have to do with Christmas and polymer clay?  Polymer clay can be made to look like just about anything and raku is no exception!  I had watched the tutorial on Faux Raku from Cindy Lietz, The Polymer Clay Tutor, and wasn't overly excited, although I did add it to my list of things to work on since it doesn't need sanding.  I didn't have the necessary supplies to do it, though, so I just didn't think much about it until...

I saw a picture on Cindy's Facebook page a few days ago of some gorgeous bracelets made using this technique. Suddenly, I was intrigued.  By this time, I had the necessary supplies, albeit in limited color choices!  I began to experiment and created some beads of my own:

Faux Raku beads in red and blue with gold

Faux Raku beads in blue and green with gold

Faux Raku beads in red, blue, and green with gold

I got a few more colors and had a brainstorm!  I have seen many colors of poinsettias and had already decided to try different techniques to come up with some of the various colors, like the mottled red and white ones that are called "Jingle Bells."  I haven't done that yet, by the way!  While the traditional red, white, and pink ones are the most popular, there are also blue ones, and purple ones, and a myriad of other colors!  Some are even a couple of colors combined. Check Google to see what I mean.

So, I decided to use purple and blue to see what I could come up with and I started getting really excited.  It was already looking fantastic! Yellow centers just didn't look right, so it was back to Google to look up more images.  The blue ones all seemed to have green centers, so I played with that a bit and decided it did look better.  I only did one, but when I got it all put together, I gave it a dusting of my new mica powder, then put it in my little toaster oven to cure.  As with the real raku, you never know just what you are going to get, but I do get to see what it will look like before it goes into the oven!  This piece will be available for sale as a pendant in my Etsy shop within the next few days.

Blue, purple and green poinsettia using the Faux Raku technique

By the way, I have seen various meanings for raku such as joy, happiness, comfort, and ease.  My favorite, though, came from a blog about ceramics and pottery. The definition there is "happiness in the accident!"  Joy and happiness in the randomness of the process!  No wonder I love this technique so much!

Coming Attractions!

What seems like eons ago, I hand-crafted poinsettias, one petal at a time, and then painted them.  It was tedious work and took a lot of time.  A couple of days ago, I figured out how to do them a much easier way.  Of course, I am using colored clay not and not painting them.  I didn't actually figure this out on my own.  I've been intending to get the tutorial from Cindy Lietz, the Polymer Clay Tutor, but after looking at some that were posted on her Facebook page and looking at the intro to the tutorial and list of supplies, I figured out how she did them. Now, that doesn't mean that I won't eventually get the tutorial because I'm quite sure she has some tips and tricks up her sleeve!  She usually does.  Besides, I want ALL of her tutorials!

Here's a sneak peak at my first attempt at making them this way.  This is before curing.  

This was when I had just figured out what to do. I made the pieces and just laid them together. I didn't have the right thing to adhere them, so had to go pick that up before finishing.

The larger flower is the same one as above. I made two smaller ones to create a pendant and earring set.  The completed flowers were brushed with gold Pearl-Ex powder.  This particular set will not be for sale due to the brittleness of the pink clay.  However, I will be making another set like this.

I don't know how I'm going to fit in making more in the next few days, but I'm going to give it a shot and hope to have some in a variety of colors in my shop within the next week.  I also plan on having some Christmas trees done (I just had an idea to make those even better!) and maybe a few other little surprises!

Sanding and Finishing

Once again, it's been awhile since I've updated anything here. It seemed that every time I would go to make something, there was an item I needed that I didn't have or it had to be sanded and that was getting tedious.  Also, the results were not as consistent as I would like.  So, I have been collecting supplies and looking for better and easier ways to sand... and learning more cool techniques in the mean time! 

I finally found what promises to be a great way to sand using my Dremel. I think I have everything I need now.  I just need to get it all put together.  I couldn't seem to find quite the same things that others had used, but I improvised and, and after a test run before running out to buy a bunch of stuff, I think it's going to work!  I plan to really put it to the test tomorrow.  I still need a rock tumbler for sanding round or odd-shaped beads, but I will be getting that soon. I've been looking at them and pricing them.

Another thing on my list is a UV oven and the UV resin to go with it.  Some items just require that kind of finish, like my parrot earrings. 

Parrots, using mica shift technique,
unfinished right out of the oven.

One of the parrots, sanded, buffed, and a glaze added.
If you look closely, you can see bubbles in the glaze.

These were just an experiment to try out a technique that I thought might work for them and I liked the way they turned out… except for the finishing!  Oh, and the fact that they are a bit long.  I had adjusted the pattern size, but it seems to have disappeared when I moved everything into my studio which I am still trying to get organized in between flurries of creativity, doctor appointments, and the everyday hustle and bustle of life.  Hopefully, I will have located the pattern by the time I get the UV oven!  

Who knew that there was so much involved in making quality polymer clay jewelry!?!  Well, obviously, some people did, but, equally obviously, I wasn’t among them!  I’ve learned an awful lot from following Cindy Lietz, the Polymer Clay Tutor, and proper sanding and finishing is one of the things I have learned.  More than once, she has shown the difference between an unsanded item and one that has been properly sanded and finished.  It is amazing!  I definitely want to turn out quality work and I think I’m about to the point that I can consistently do that.

Stay tuned…

A Peek at What I've Been Doing

Well, I haven't been updating this like I had planned! Of course, it's not like there is nothing else going on in my life! It didn't take long after opening my store to realize that I really needed a studio to work in. Trying to create at the dining room table just wasn't cutting it. Not long after that realization, my mom announced that she was moving to my brother's house. Even though that meant a reduced income for us (she was paying her part for living here), it meant an empty bedroom which translated into a studio for me! I think she is happy with the move, although she is still getting settled. I am happy with my studio, although I am still getting settled! I have plans to make it a really cute and creative space. It's slowly starting to come together.

Another interruption in my life was the refinancing of our house.  We had some projects that needed to be moved along in preparation for the appraisal. It was a lot of work and there was dust everywhere, but we got it done to the point that we could have the appraisal, the appraiser was pleased, and we were able to close just before Christmas.  Unfortunately, that meant I still didn't--and don't--have much in my store.

A friend gave me a couple of little storage cabinets--the kind with drawers in them that are usually used for nails and screws and such.  What a blessing that was!  They were just exactly what I was wanting!  I still need to organize things a little better, but I finally have my workspace cleared off so that I can actually make some things. I'm a happy camper!

So, what have I been making?  I recreated a little Christmas tree that I had done years ago and made it better. I also learned to make kumihimo braids which is what the little tree is on. I enjoyed wearing it, but didn't have enough time to make any to sell. They will be available for next Christmas or can be special ordered at any  time.

I learned to make faux jasper and did some pieces in blue. I still haven't decided exactly what I am going to do with them, but I think they are kind of cool.

Then, I decided to finally try my hand at making sweet pea blossoms. I had already prepared the clay but just hadn't mustered up the courage to really give it a try until recently. I decided to make some earrings for my mother-in-law:

And a necklace for my mom:

The cord on Mom's necklace is also a kumihimo braid.

I learned another technique for creating color blends just yesterday and made this fun set for myself:

Once again, the cord is a kumihimo braid. The only parts of this set that are not completely hand-crafted are the earwires and the lobster claw clasp. I even made the cord end caps!

So, that's where I'm at.  Items similar to the above will be available in the store soon. You can always contact me for a special order if you see something you like. I may not be able to make an identical piece, but can come close.

Thanks for stopping by!