How Exciting (part two)!

So finally .......

it arrived in the post this morning......

the Art Clay Society USA Quarterly Journal.

My piece won the cover page competition for Summer Journal and here it is!!!!

How exciting is that.

I knew a month or so ago that it had won and couldn't wait to see the printed version.

I have had a good look at this issue of the journal and I think it should be renamed as

THE BRITS ARE COMING!!!!! ;-)

As well as my cover piece inside on the Gallery pages are 10 more pieces by UK artists including my friends Lynne Glazzard, Emma Baird, another by me (!) and Lesley Messam who also has her great tutorial on making a three dimensional pieces which was also in Making Jewellery magazine. Oh and the advert for the Art Clay UK conference is in there as well with my mask on , and then on the news page is a bit about me being made a Craftsman of the Guild of Enamellers and another bit about Lesley's project being published..... phew. The USA will definitely know we Brits are on Art Clay map!!!

Well done to all.

To be able to download the Quarterly Art Clay Society USA Journals just join the Art Clay World UK Guild and you will also get access to the members section of the USA site. Great value for money!

Enamelled Accents Examples

Ok... no nagging me now!!! :)

Here is a picture of a couple of pieces I have managed to finish while I am teaching Level 1 this week. These are using my enamelled accents technique to add spot colour to silver jewellery. I am making examples to show when I teach the workshop about it. Tomorrow I am going to patinate them (I think!).

More soon... now back to the teaching.

Update

Gosh... sorry I just realised I haven't posted anything for several days now. Very remiss of me.


I have been busy with various things. The mask is not yet finished but I expect to get to that next week so keep checking back.


This week I am teaching. I have only had small amounts of time in my workshop and have been working on my enamelling workshop I am teaching at the Art Clay conference in October. I'll post some photos of examples when I get a few more pieces done. All very exciting though. If you are coming to the conference I do hope you are going to join me.

How exciting (part one)!

This is exciting - my carnival mask is being used to advertise the Art Clay Conference which is being held in Jersey this October. Here is the advert in the latest edition of Making Jewellery magazine.

If you want to know more about the conference you can find it on the Art Clay World UK Guild website. Do try to come to conference. It is such fun. It does not matter if you are a beginner or have been using Art Clay for years. Everyone is made very welcome and you will learn loads, and I am teaching the enamelling workshop!

Why is this part one? Watch this space......

Phew... what a weekend

Gosh.... that did surprise me. The weekend was so busy. I had looked at the weather forecast and thought no one would want to come out in the rain but they did in great numbers. Met loads of really nice people and sold some of my favourite pieces. The wind howled and the marquee felt like it was about to take off at times but everyone was just out to enjoy themselves regardless.

I am exhausted now. Sorry no photos, I guess I shall have to upgrade my phone sometime so I always have a camera with me where I can actually download the photos which I can't off mine!!!

Buzzy Enamelling

The mask is still ongoing so meanwhile here is a look at some of the other things I have been enamelling this week including a couple of bees. What a difference a bit of colour makes to things eh. Just off to set up for the weekend craft fair now.

Puck of Pook's Hill and me

What are you talking about I hear you ask.

Well this weekend I doing a craft fair at Batemans, Burwash, East Sussex. It was the home of Rudyard Kipling and he wrote Puck of Pook's Hill as well of lots of other things including the all time famous poem If... while he lived there. It is now a National Trust Property and it makes a great day out. The house and grounds are stunning.

I belong to the East Sussex Guild of Craftworkers and this is one of our two regular annual shows. We will be in a lovely marquee at the side of the beautiful gardens. Do come and say Hi if you are in the area. We are there from 11am - 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Fingers crossed it is not too wet!

Mask update... Enamelling In Progress - oops sorry - that's my friend Lynne's blog!! :)

Super Shiny

So.... the mask is now polished up and all bright and shiny. Bear with me on this one. I know the reflections make it look a bit iffy! Next comes the enamelling and then patination.

While I was making the mask I had several other things on the go including using up some of my excess of Art Clay Silver paste to make a bead. By using thick paste and heat drying it you get sort of a reticulated effect in the silver which I think has a sort of a lunar landscape look to it. I added a few dots and a couple of stars around the holes just to finish it off. It is quite heavy and tactile and I rather like it. I am think of teaming it up with a few lampworked beads to make a nice necklace.

Freshly Fired

Mask after firing - you can see the shrinkage compared with the last photo (no the penny didn't get bigger, the mask got smaller ;) )

You know there is something really nice about the look of a piece of Art Clay Silver when it comes out the kiln after firing. It has a lovely soft white frosty finish to it where the surface of the silver has a raised crystalline structure. I thought I would post a photo of it like this before I polish it. If you do not work with silver clay you probably may not have seen pieces like this before. It is possible to leave the surface like this but in time anywhere it rubs will start to smooth and go silver so I never do. Anyway this is destined for enamelling so it is off for polishing to a nice shiny finish next. Watch this space.......

A Sneak Preview

Since I haven't posted many photos of new work recently I thought I would give you a sneak preview of the mask I am making. It is still in the dried clay form at the moment. Almost finished but I had to take the photo while the light was still good enough (I don't do artificial at the mo!).

A few final bits to tidy up and hopefully it might be in the kiln tonight. Once I have polished it up I'll post another photo before the enamelling stage. I have already planned the pattern for enamelled face which will be totally different to my last mask which you can see here. You'll have to keep checking back to see it finished!

Work In Progress

I am working - honestly, I just don't have much finished at the mo as I have several things on the go at once. I am most excited about a new mask which I am putting the finishing touches to today and hopefully will get it fired over the weekend so I can post a photo. Bear with me!

Now on Twitter

Ok this is all Glyn Mitchell's fault :) ! Now I am on Twitter. Let's see how often I can remember to update it!

Back to Work

After a long weekend at the Ardingly show it is back to the workshop for me now. I plan to get some more enamelling and glass fusing done before my next show in two weeks time. The weather is much cooler now so I think I can survive sitting beside my 2 kilns!

The show was great fun and I had lots of people really interested in coming on my workshops to learn how to use Art Clay Silver. The details are on my website.

The other thing I am currently working on is my image! The online one - there is probably not much hope for the other one :). I am designing a new logo so you will see the change coming into effect soon. Here is a sneak preview. I have gone a bit more modernish (not like me at all ;) ) Hope you like it.

Oh Deer!

At the Craft Fair I did at Bewl water recently there was a fantastic stand by Leaf Trading. Helen (I do hope I have that right as I am useless at remembering names) works with antlers and all sorts of wonderful natural materials to make some lovely products. Do have a look at her website. We got chatting and I bought some antler tines (the pointy bits) and antler pedicles (the flattish bit at the other end) from her. I have made an Art Clay silver pendant from a mould of one of the tines and just hung it on a nice leather cord. I really like this as it heavy and simple. I have another piece in progress made from a mould with the pedicle but I am going to enamel that one first before you get to see it.