"The essence of a polymer clay artist - we'll cover a wooden box with polymer clay and then work hard to make the polymer clay look like wood." ~ Me
Note: if you want to see all contents of this blog please scroll down and click "view web version"
Nothing better than when you hit unexpectedly something and you publish a post right after writing just the tile eh?
Anyway.
Working on a Kingman turquoise tutorial. It should show up on youtube probably around 3 pm CDT, considering youtube upload "speed"
I decided on Kingman vs. Royston because Kingman is much easier than Royston. And that before getting people into such a complicated turquoise as Royston maybe a more simple one would be good.
I didn't do a generic turquoise. I might, at a later time.
But I think that if you want to do something that really looks good, you don't go ahead and do just assembly-line type stones. Get in mind what you want to do, as piece of jewelry. Then decide what kind of gemstone you need. Then make the gemstone specific for that piece of jewelry.
Anyway. So I will do today are 4 types (actually 3 with one of them having 2 subtypes) of Kingman turquoise. The high-grade spiderweb, then the waterweb - with silver matrix (pyrite) and with copper matrix, and the more generic Kingman. These are the easiest Kingman types to make.
Here, I'll show you.
generic "boulder" Kingman
waterweb with silver (pyrite) matrix
another waterweb with silver matrix
waterweb with copper matrix
high-grade spiderweb
another generic ("boulder") Kingman
So, I'll update later when the tutorial is done, with the teaser photos, then the link after the tutorial is uploaded.
12:07 update:
The regular Kingman and the spiderweb (I think) came up ok. For the waterweb I need another solution. If I don't figure out how to make a spherical skinner blend, I'll have to go in a different direction of cane. Haha.
3:40 update.
Ok. This is ridiculous. Everybody and their mother HAD to need me today. Phone calls, skype calls, people at the door to check on me - don't get me wrong, I appreciate the care, but seriously? I had restarted the process on the turquoise and got interrupted 4 times, and of course with people who had to visit with me for at least half an hour each, so... yeah, wasted clay, wasted time. I will restart the process.
The only one that came out kind of ok was the "boulder" Kingman. But I'm not happy with it. Too straight lines.
I made real quick some cute DIY earrings, I'll post the tutorial as soon as the varnish dries on them.
Yes, the Navajo cuff is still uploading. I checked and re-checked connection, optimized to the High Heavens, it is not me, it's Youtube. The video has been edited to bare bones, to make it still understandable, it's about 34 minutes long.
*it's up. Still taping "clay with me Sunday". That lawn mowing messed up my hands even worse than they are
It WOULD have finished uploading last evening, if I wouldn't have fallen asleep on the couch = again one of those "didn't sleep well for a few nights then crash" and didn't know when the kittehs have played around in the work room and turned the Stormtrooper off. When I realized that it was already close to midnight and I just let it be and switched from the couch to the bed. And no, I can't close that door. That's their "safe room" and it has a kitty door in the door. Oh well. It won't be the end of the world, the video is still uploading and thank Heavens Youtube doesn't make you start all over again if connection is lost, if it's the same video it just takes it from where it left.
I finally mowed my front lawn and I'm exhausted. I will have to wait at least half an hour for my hands to recover from the vibrations of the weed-eater then I'll start on the "Clay with me Sunday". I probably try a new thing, IF I find any bubble wrap laying around. If I don't, I'll still try a new thing.
I have a load of new stuff for you guys for the coming week.
Will update later, as usual. Right now I need a shower, ice-cream and to lay down a bit. In that order. It got to 85F with burning sun by the time I was done.
Until then, though, I am going to jot down a few things. I realized that lately I've been just summarily updated on the status of the tutorial uploads. And there are quite a few more things I wanted to note in my blog.
1. Check this girl out. I mean, really check her channel. She has an absolute mastery for the miniature, and I was flabbergasted to see her wolf pendant.
Look at the Ice fairy one too.
Isn't she marvelous? Of COURSE I subscribed. Not that my hands will ever be back to normal so I wouldn't be able to even attempt to work this small again (one of the reasons why I kind of also had to give up on OOAK dolls) but I definitely relish just watching her work. It is beautiful.
2. Oh Em. Gee. Look at these textures. Look at what these guys are making. It's in Europe, but they do ship worldwide.
Why do Europeans always have the best things? The US is so far behind in this. It's like we got a few textured sheets from Lisa Pavelka and Christi Friesen that mostly suck, in design I mean - no offense ladies, most of your work is so good, but your supplies are way overpriced - and it's something in the lines of "we'll ram this down your throat because well, we know it's overpriced, but we also know that's all you got available so suck it up and buy it".
That brings me to
3. I honestly start getting tired of tutorials made by polymer clay (almost former) artists turned supplies manufacturers who lately make only tutorials on how to use their products. Don't get me wrong, it's nice that they actually show you how to use those, but when there's only "buy my stuff" and nothing of art in there... it's mildly nauseating
Which brings me to
4. Do you think there is a connection between availability of "gadgets" and creative power?
Ok let me elaborate a little on that. And please don't take it like I am trying to put down the artists and hobbyists who use exclusively textures and gadgets.
BUT
As much as it is true that the availability of so many gadgets - textures, molds, "cabezels", mica powders, ladidaladida makes it so that everybody can, with a minimum of tutorial knowledge and attention span, make quite beautiful polymer clay jewelry, I wonder though how much it stifles creativity. I mean, if you look around, half of the jewelry made in the past year or so looks pretty much the same - I'm talking ordinary people like you and me, not established artist names.
The availability of "ready-made" things makes it so people do not have to turn on their problem solving part of the brain. Problem solving is the mother of creation. So if you just "use this texture for bezel" "mix this color and this color and put in the cabochon mold" "buy this holographic foil from this link and applyon the bail", there is nothing new that you will come up with.
I see a few names of artists that have gained a little popularity by making tutorials on how to use various of these gadgets. And you know what? Looking back to their work, you notice that they in fact did not come up with anything new for years. Well, in some cases, never. All their work is just "use this texture use this mold". Anyone with the financial means to buy all the gadgets they use would be able to make pieces absolutely the same. That is not an artist, in my opinion. That is a crafter.
One of my art teachers (not the one with the imitation) used to say: "the one who can paint a wall without fault using wall paint following instructions is a laborer.; the one who can put stencils on a wall faultlessly is a craftsman; and the one who can paint beautiful flowers on the wall without stencils, just out of their own imagination, is an artist. Just remember though, that the first one will make the most money and the last one will make the least, and it takes the artist a long time to establish a reputation, compared to the laborer and the craftsman. Choose your path wisely, but also think that a craftsman has to be a good laborer and an artist has to have mastered both what the laborer and the craftsman know"
Hmm.. Now that I stop and think, maybe that is what most of my tutorials are about: sparking the creativity in my followers. Igniting that "aha" first idea where new things come. It's true that I don't have many "gadgets" myself (well, can't afford them) but I think my tutorials are mostly directed to people who DON'T have many gadgets, and who are not afraid to try and make new things, instead of relying on craftsmanship only, take it on new and unexplored yet ways.
After all, that's what an artist is: someone who sees the world differently than others, and has the courage to express their vision so others can see and enjoy it too.
Ok late again to blog this morning. But the same as yesterday I was busy actually making a tutorial. Well, not really a tutorial, as it's the first time I do this. I was looking at some photos a friend had sent me - from a pow-wow - and I went "ha! I wonder if I could do a cuff inspired from those Cherokee loom beaded ones with a controlled Bargello?"
So I did. It's not perfect, with all my calculations, I need one more calculation, when I cut the strips. Well truth be told I need one of those grids like for quilting, but that is so far down the list of priorities that it might not happen this year, lol.
Anyway, it's in the oven. Then I need to do the back and sides. And it all looked so pretteh that I made a pair of earrings too.
Will update later.
Also, the tutorial will be uploaded later in the afternoon. Sorry, but in about an hour or so I am going out, it's Sunday and beautiful and sunny and upper 70s. So just please be patient and enjoy your Memorial Day week-end.
7:00 pm update
I really can't tell you exactly when the video will finish uploading. youtube doesn't say anything about remaining time. But by the snail speed it moves, maybe (and that's a maybe) around midnight?
