Saturday, October 27, 2012

Sculptural Polymer Clay Workshop

I had a lovely workshop today with a dozen ladies at Capricorn House, Yanchep. We made hearts and turtle pendants and embellished them with beads and hand formed elements.
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I wrote a tutorial on making the turtle which I will put up soon on my website http://metalclayartstudio.com.au/
The students had good fun, all the turtles had their own character.
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Shelley wore a polymer necklace that she had purchased in a Perth market, 30 yrs ago. It’s a really innovative necklace for the time, the polymer elements were strung on telephone wire. I wonder who made it?
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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sun City Yacht Club Open Day

Today I represented the Two Rocks Volunteer Marine Rescue Group at the Sun City Yacht Club’s Open Day.

It was well attended by visiting dignitaries from the Yacht Club’s in the city and the locals alike.

The juniors held a sail past in the marina whilst the boats were being blessed. The juniors then came aboard our boat Sea Guardian II and joined the yachts as we sailed out to sea. This was followed by a good lunch at the clubhouse.

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Sunset at Yanchep Lagoon

Beautiful sunset this evening at the lagoon.

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i had spent the day making a banner to advertise my forthcoming polymer clay workshop at the Capricorn Community House next Saturday. On my way to see the sunset I put it up on the fence.

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Friday, October 19, 2012

Two Rocks–a beautiful place to live

I took these photos on my morning walk.

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Contemporary Craft Retreat Day 2

On the second day at the retreat my workshop was ”Etching  Metal “. The students were etching into copper sheets which became the covers for a small book . They made the signatures from heavy paper and bound the book with a coptic stitch. They also etched copper pendants for jewellery.

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First we stamped or drew onto the covers.

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Then the copper was immersed into a acid bath.

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The copper is then cleaned and buffed.

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Then we made the holes in the covers. Just look at the hills surrounding the conference centre.

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Sewing the binding and decorating with charms.

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The finished books.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Contemporary Craft Retreat, Canberra

Just back from a weekend teaching in Canberra at the Contemporary Craft Retreat. So well organised by Lex Sorrentino, it just is getting bigger and better. Students had a range of workshops to choose from and from top Australian instructors. Workshops included sculpture, nuno felted scarf, sterling silver and copper clays.  I gave two workshops ” Doodling on Polymer Clay ”and “ Metal Etched jewellery and Book ”. I took these photos from the plane.

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Swan River & Perth                        Adelaide                                                    Snow

My first class was on the Saturday morning. I had the students drawing the patterns or zentangles on paper before going onto the polymer clay. I had spent several days before the retreat making polymer clay blanks so the students had items to draw on straight away. I have been studying the patterns for about 18months and find the drawing relaxing. There are numerous websites displaying the patterns which all have names. Artists have shared their methods of drawing with everyone.

You might be familiar with doodling, drawing patterns or scribbling whilst on the phone for example. However, what you might ask is a Zentangle®?

This is the description from the official Zentangle® website in the US. The Zentangle art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas who say Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle® method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.

I would like to attended the Zentangle seminars in the US and become a Certified Zentangle Teacher.

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