Break out - final master muse project

My final master muse project is up on Tonya Davidson's blog this week.  I have been part of the master muse team for the last year or so.  During that time we were each given 6 challenges to create jewelry using certain materials or techniques and then had to write a step by step project on how to create the piece.


The challenge for this final master muse project for me was to create something using a found object and also use the technique of keum boo to add gold to the piece.

Photo by Drew Davidson

Hmm. When you think of "traditional" found object jewelry, you know that really isn't my style...so I had to think a little outside the box. I finally decided on using a found bird's egg from the vineyard as the found object!  Then as it is spring time, I thought it would be fun to see it hatching in a nest....and when you see little birds with their mouths open, their mouths always look yellow and golden - and thus that is where the gold part came in!!

And so "break out" was born!  A pin for a jacket. A happy, hungry little chick breaking out of his egg in his nest.  The full tutorial will be available from Whole Lotta Whimsy, but to see a summary of it, go to Tonya's blog.


I've loved being part of the master muses.  They have been challenges as I've tried lots of things I haven't done before so for me each challenge was a "break out". 

What about you? Is it time you had a springtime "transformation" and broke out of your shell and tried something a little different?  Go for it! It's that time of year for growth.

PS Special thanks go to Angie and Marly for this project as they loaned me their ultralite kiln for the keum boo.

Showertime! - Master Muse Project

My last master muse project is up on Tonya Davidson's blog today, for Whole Lotta Whimsy. It's entitled "Showertime".  The full step by step process of how to make this necklace will be available at WLW in the near future.

Our challenge was to make a piece of jewelry that resembled pierced work from sheet metal  - but without all the sawing!

As I began thinking about what I could put behind a pierced design, I wanted to try something different and so began looking around the house.  And thus I came up with the idea of "showertime" and using a colored towel behind the cut out!  Using an object associated with the illustration adds more "punch" to the illustration, I think!

I made the piece reversible with a person in a shower on one side and an umbrella on the other!

 

Hope you like it.  Hope it makes you smile :-D

Master Muse Challenges

I'm just working on my last master muse project at the moment.  Can't tell you anything about it yet as it is a surprise, but I like it!  The idea of it makes me smile so I hope it will do the same for you too!

I've really enjoyed being part of the master muse team. Every other month we have been given a challenge to use a new material or different technique and invariably it has been something I haven't tried before.  It takes time to learn the new technique first and I always tend to make a few different designs before I finally come up with the final project that I then write a step by step project for. 

Hugh the Chameleon - my resin master muse challenge.

You'll see the previous challenges in the side bar of my blogspot blog..and in a few weeks my new one will appear.

The step by step projects are or will be available for sale on Whole Lotta Whimsy and summaries of the new projects by different artists come up just about every week on Tonya's blog. In fact, Donna Pennoyer's latest project is up today using bottle caps and prismacolor pencils.

Donna's necklace. Photo by Drew Davidson

Next year there will be a whole new group of artists to keep the challenges going. I look forward to seeing what they all come up with and what their challenges will be.  I've loved the opportunity and the way it's pushed me in new directions. Thanks so much Tonya, for including me.

Master Muse Challenge 3 - Faux bone rings with metal clay

My third Master Muse challenge is up on Tonya Davidson's blog for Whole Lotta Whimsy today.

Our challenge was to combine metal clay with a faux bone ring blank.  I've had some faux bone sat in my drawer now for probably a couple of years - never touched - so this challenge finally got me to give it a try.  I really enjoyed it - apart from cleaning up after sawing it as it does generate lots of little tiny white bits!!

As Tonya's blog described, I did the challenge in the run up to the wedding at our home.  During that time we were just hoping that all our flowers would keep flowering and stay looking good for the wedding - and so I made two flowerings - (flower-rings) for this project - ones that would keep flowering!

The first one is an interchangeable ring - where you can make multiple components and swap them in and out as you choose.

A lot of the fauxbone things you see, utilize the "bone" like coloring, adding browns and blacks etc to create the look of an "aged" piece - but if there is one color I avoid and don't like, it's brown!!!  So I decided to brighten up the faux bone with some pretty colors!

 
Yes - it is a large ring! Here are some variations:

The second ring I made for the challenge was a flowerpot!

Each flower is "planted" into the flowerpot and left to grow! 

Happy rings that I hope will encourage the wearer to "keep flowering"!

Tonya's blog shows a brief synopsis of how to create the flowerpot ring.  Full step by step instructions with around 70 photos will be available from Whole Lotta Whimsy shortly. I hope these will inspire you to give faux bone a try! I'm certainly glad mine finally came out of the drawer!! 

Every Wednesday Tonya posts another Master Muse challenge on her blog - and the next few are all faux bone rings - so pop by and see how others interpreted the challenge.

Master Muse Project

I've spent the last few days working on my next Master Muse projects.  This time it is 2 step-by-step projects.  After a slow start - I really ended up liking the challenge .....but it has to remain a secret until it is published on Tonya's blog in July.  Yes - you'll have to wait - not even any clues!!!

However, the other group of Master Muses started posting their third round of challenges today  - to make a hinged box locket.  Anne Mitchell was up first - you can click here to see Anne Mitchell's locket synopsis  and here's some photos of the lovely piece.

Anne Mitchell's Hinged Box Locket

Photo by Drew Davidson

Every Wednesday a new project is published on Tonya blog so be sure to check back. Happy Musing.

Show your true colors - Master Muse Challenge

My second Master Muse challenge is up on Tonya Davidson's blog for Whole Lotta Whimsy.   I hope you'll go to her blog and see a synopsis.  Thanks Tonya.

This time the challenge was using metal clay and inlaying Ice Resin.

My creation is Hugh the Chameleon.......

Photo by Drew Davidson

He's a pin/brooch. 

As soon as resin was mentioned in the challenge, I knew for me that that would mean a way I could add color to my silver clay. But most inlay of resin is in flat surfaces, so I wanted to come up with a technique to add resin to sculptural pieces where the resin wouldn't all run out and spill because of the three dimensional shapes and many curves and angles etc.....and it's a fun technique. I hope you'll give it a try.

The full tutorial will be available for purchase soon at Whole Lotta Whimsy and also via this blog.

I hadn't used Ice Resin before - but I really like it. There's lots of ways to use it, and it's non toxic.  I'll be using my bottles up pretty fast.

I hope your like Hugh. He serves as a reminder for us in that, while he - like all chameleons - adapts and changes to suit his environment, by doing this - he also warrants a closer look. So while we can adapt and blend to different environments that maybe sometimes aren't always easy  - remember also to "show your true colors" and warrant a closer look.

Have you got the Ruth-humor as to why he's called Hugh??? yes - obvious isn't it!!!????

Master Muse Projects

I'm busy working on my next master muse project.  It's just finishing up in the kiln as I type and then the fun begins!  I need to send it in this week, so hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow and can then get on with writing up the step by step project.

I hope you've been checking out what the other muses have been doing.  Vickie Hallmark last week showed a ring for the torch fired enamels challenge, using enamelling on a copper disc. 

 Photo by Drew Davidson

The previous week was Barbara Becker Simon who had the same challenge as Vickie and made a colorful pendant.

Photo by Drew Davidson

A new project will go up on Tonya's blog site tomorrow - be sure to have a look.  I'll let you know when my next one is coming up.  Luckily for me it's not on torch firing enamels, as I've no idea how to do that!  Guess I'll have to get one of the tutorials and learn!!!

I'll take the High-way - steampunk challenge

I think my post yesterday about "breaking out of your shell" is very timely, as that is how I'm feeling today....a little apprehensive about breaking out of my shell into the Master Muses!  You see, today, my first Master Muse project that is up on Tonya Davidson's blog for Whole Lotta Whimsy.
 
The challenge I was given for this first project was to create a metal clay piece that incorporated

• the technique of stenciling, 
• the theme of steampunk, and 
• the inclusion of some recycled watch parts. 

In response to the challenge, I created "I'll take the High-way".
 

Photo by Drew Davidson

I think the biggest challenge part of it all was finding a way to keep my Birdland Creations branding/style of whimsy and portray Steampunk!  I went back to what the definition of steampunk is and based my design on "fictional technological inventions" to create a balloon powered car that takes the "highway".  What do you think?

The stenciling was fun - I like the technique. I hadn't tried it before, but I'll use it again now.  If you haven't tried it - give it a go.  It seems that most people use stenciling for patterning, as texture/background - but I wanted to use it in a pictorial way, adding the definition to the hot air balloon.  It adds good depth to a piece as you can make the stenciling as deep as you want by adding more layers.  The watch parts in the piece are all attached using rivets. Full instructions are in my step by step tutorial for this project which will be available at Whole Lotta Whimsy soon.

Another master muse will share their project next Wednesday on Tonya's blog - hope you'll go and see what they do with the same steampunk stencil challenge! 

Sunday's spotlight - Master Muses

Our usual Sunday's Spotlight blogger, Pete (my dad) has been away for the week - so I have given him the week off blogging! I think it's his first week off in a year!  Moral of this tale - don't comment negatively on your daughter's blog or you'll be asked to be a guest blogger and not get any time off!

So instead of my dad's post, I thought I'd take the spotlight - and spotlight the Master Muses.  You may recall that Tonya Davidson at Whole Lotta Whimsy came up with the Master Muse idea - where she has created two teams of metal clay artisans and each team has a challenge to create something and then write a step by step project on it.  Each Wednesday, Tonya puts up snippets of a different tutorial on her blog and the tutorials will then be for sale at Whole Lotta Whimsy.

To date, there have been 5 artists who rose to the challenge to  "create an unusual and fantastic clasp using metal clay".


Anne Mitchell started it off with a steampunk clasp; Barbara Becker Simon with a lovely copper swirl clasp; Vickie Hallmark made a ball key type clasp for a bracelet; Angela Baduel Crispin made a key slot clasp; and Patrik Kusek made a peek-a-boo clasp!

It's great to see what each has made and I'm looking forward to the full tutorials.  The second challenge starts next week.  The challenge was to use the technique of stenciling combined with the theme of Steampunk!  My creation will be on Tonya's blog next Wednesday morning! Hope you'll take a look.

Master Muses

Whole Lotta Whimsy have just announced their new design team for 2010 - "Master Muses" - and I'm proud to be a member of the inaugural team! Yeah!


There are 10 artists on the team and we will receive regular "challenges" from Tonya, covering new materials, techniques, themes etc. Every Wednesday, a tutorial from one of the team will be featured on Tonya Davidson's blog and then further information will be available for sale from Whole Lotta Whimsy as step by step projects.

The other artists involved are:

Angela Badual-Crispin www.LAngeEstLa.com
Barbara Becker www.BBSimon.com
Tonya Davidson www.tonyadavidson.com
Vicki Hallmark www.VickieHallmark.com
Lora Hart www.LoraHart.com
Patrik Kusek www.PatriksStudio.com
Anne Mitchell www.AnneMitchell.net
Donna Pennoyer www.DonnaPenoyer.com
Kelly Russell www.BeadFuddled.com

If you know any of these and their work, you will understand why I'm particularly honored to be part of the team (and a little over-awed!).

As muses, we hope to be a source of inspiration!

The first interpretation of the challenge is up tomorrow - Wednesday on Tonya's blog. Mine isn't due for a few weeks yet....

Hope you'll enjoy the series and be inspired - whatever art/craft you do.....

Hear ye! Hear Ye!......

Announcement time is approaching.....this evening...late.... (don't you love secrets and surprises?)

I'll blog about it tomorrow but if you can't wait until then, be sure to check the "news" on www.tonyadavidson.com this evening and www.wholelottawhimsy.com

My favourite metal clay tools - Part One - wet clay stage

My series of posts this week is about the favourite tools I use with metal clay. I've chosen one tool for each phase of the creating process - a) the wet clay phase; b) the dry clay phase; and c) the fired phase. They will be covered in three different posts, today, tomorrow and Thursday.

Now don't go expecting any beautiful photographs. Tools aren't the most attractive things out there - so this will not be a visual experience!!!

The discussion will focus on my using these tools for my sculptural three dimensional pieces. Often they aren't the most suitable things to use for flat pieces so if you have questions regarding this - do feel free to ask.


Anyhow, my favorite tool for using on 'wet' clay is this rubber tipped "clay shaper". One of the biggest steps I took in my learning curve of how to use silver clay was when I realized that in the wet stage, things don't need to be perfect - or really anywhere near. This is the quick phase of the process where, when you do sculptural work, you need the basic shape and that's about it.

So when I am making one of my birds, it literally takes only a few seconds to get the general bird shape in the clay. I use the clay shaper a little then to smooth out any lines - again just quickly and then set the piece to dry.

Then as the piece dries, you use the clay shaper with fresh 'wet' clay to fill in any cracks that appear as it dries - I fill in any holes in seams ( for example, where the wing attaches to the bird or around a bail)...I smooth off and add shaping ( for example making sure the beak is a good shape and symmetrical).... Basically, I get some wet clay on the shaper, then the shaper lets you squidge the clay in teeny tiny holes or gaps and makes the piece solid and secure.


The rubber end is flexible but not too much so you can pull and push and move the clay around.

You can get different shaped ends on the shaper and I have a few - yet always seem to end up using this pointed one. You can buy them from Whole Lotta Whimsy.

So do share your favorite 'wet clay' tool with us - tell us in the comments section.....