Fired With Imagination

Long Time, No Post!

2012-01-29T19:43:00.001Z

I know, I know, it has been too long since I last posted and I do apologise for that :)

January turned out to be a lot more hectic than I expected. I have been teaching and making and lots of exciting things are in the pipeline.

If you already subscribe to Metal Clay Today you should of already received an email telling you about the a premium service and if you sign up now you will get a free rubber stamp by Gordon Uyehara!!! - definitely well worth it so pop over to the website and make sure you don't miss out.

While you are there have a look at the link to the latest Metal Clay Today Challenge (or click here) and vote for your favourite piece.

I entered!!! :) I won't tell which is mine so just vote for the one you like best :)

(Hopefully that might be mine!!!)

I shall be posting more often through February and if you are taking part in my Bird a Month and have not yet posted your bird don't forget the end of the month is drawing nigh:)

Bird a Month 1/12- Peace Bird

2012-01-09T20:32:00.000Z

My first bird of 2012! I know some people had expected my last Bird a Week entry to be enamelled so to make up here is a reversible lentil bead style pendant with enamel on both sides!

It is made of fine silver using Art Clay Silver and has Enamelled Accents on one side with a rainbow dove of peace.

On the reverse is a bright enamelled rainbow sunburst and it is set with three tiny 1.5mm cz stones and my Joy logo.

I have been trying to decide whether to continue my little Haiku poems for this year or not. Any thoughts?

I would quite understand if you have had enough of them...!!! ;-)

2012 Challenges!

2011-12-31T13:52:00.000Z

It is the last day of 2011 so it is time to tell you about my challenges for 2012.

I know from the emails and comments I get that a lot of people have enjoyed the Bird a Week challenge, me included!, so I have decided to carry this forward and make it into a......

Bird a Month Challenge

I would love as many people as possible to join me in this challenge.

It does not matter whether creating is your living or your hobby or even if you have never done anything creative before. It can be in any medium (I may experiment a bit myself!), just create one bird every month and post it into the Bird a Month flickr album I have started. Pop over there now and join the group. I do hope you will join me for the year.

I have also signed up for a second challenge for 2012. Lora Hart has started a Four a Month challenge which I think sounds great fun.

The wonderful thing about challenges is that they are personal to you. There are no prizes, it is just for the pleasure of saying, yes, why not, I can stretch myself a bit and do that. The satisfaction of finishing is immense, believe me. You can combine challenges together, make things that you are going to sell or give away, or just for your own pleasure. There are no real rules.

So make that decision today and please join me. You never know where it will lead to! ;-)

Happy New Year

Joy xx

PS The two photos are things I made as presents before Christmas, I just thought I would sneak an extra bird into the year and I hope you like the cute guinea pig earrings!

Bird a week 52/52 - Dead as a Dodo!

2011-12-28T20:24:00.000Z

This is it! Bird number 52 of 52. I have made it through the whole year on the Bird a Week Challenge. This little Dodo seemed to sum it all up for me as the last bird of the year.

He is made out of fine silver using Art Clay Silver. He is quite heavy weighing in at about 18g.

I have so enjoyed this challenge. During the year I have learnt a lot, tried new techniques and surprised myself at times!

I am so grateful to everyone who has followed or taken part in this challenge. Don't worry I will be doing more challenges in 2012. Later this week I will tell you all about what I have planned but there will definitely be a few more birds to come :)

Here is the final Haiku

52 birds made
The challenge is over
Dead as a Dodo! :)

Thank you ;-)

Bird a week 51/52 - Resplendent Robin

2011-12-23T15:12:00.000Z

This week it just had to be a robin didn't it:) This fine silver pendant made using Art Clay Silver has enamel, Enamelled Accents, 2mm lab ruby cabochons, and 24k gold Keum Boo.

A lovely festive little bird. Interestingly (well it was to me anyway!) this is the first bird I have used brown on all through the year. Now isn't that just a useless little fact!

The reverse is set with a 3mm lab ruby.

Here is the Haiku

Red berries, holly green
Resplendent little robin
Happy Christmas All

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas.

I am still being indecisive about my final bird next week so watch this space!!.....

Bird a Week 50/52 - Swanning Around

2011-12-14T20:26:00.000Z

Week 50 of the Bird a Week Challenge. Here is a tiny fine silver swan I sculpted using Art Clay Silver. He is sitting on a steel bolt (don't try this at home - could be painful!!!) and my plan is to add him onto a box lid soon. I just have to make the box first!! ;-)

Here are some more photos of him.

And the Haiku.....

Elegant silvery swan
Head high, alert and watching
Will you throw me food?

Only two more until the end of the year!!! :)

Bird a Week 49/52 - Perky Penguins

2011-12-12T22:21:00.000Z

Week 49 - only three more after this one! So, here we have two cute little penguins. Joyful Jewellery. These are fine silver earrings with Enamelled Accents. Below is the reverse of the earrings. These will be up in my website shop and on Etsy tomorrow :)

Here is the Haiku for the penguins

Black and White Birdies
Great swimmers but flightless
Perky Penguins

When I started on this challenge back in January it never occurred to me that come December time would be short and keeping up to date would be hard. I know I have erred a little in the last few weeks but bird number 50 is already half made and will be here in a day or two! Bear with me :))))

I am also having a hard time making my decisions on the final two offerings!

Too many birds, too little time.

Watch this space..... ;-)

Bird a Week 48/52 - Scarlet Macaw

2011-12-05T17:07:00.001Z

If you have been on a workshop with me in the last couple of months then you will know this parrot has been a while in the making! He has been sitting half made by my hot plate for a while so I decided it really was time to finish him off. He is a fine silver bead made using Art Clay Silver paste over cork clay. He is also a bit of an experiment.

Having fired him I decided to try using Prismacolor pencils instead of enamel for the colour. I brought these pencils a couple of years ago but have never tried using them. I worked on the colours and deliberately took them back to show the silver as well, with the colours being much fainter on the front of the bird (the back of the pendant).

I am not too sure if I will leave him like this or whether in fact you will see a mark 2 version in due time when I enamel him instead!

I would love to know what you think ;-)

Here is his Haiku

Multicoloured bird

Intelligent, majestic

Sitting in a ring

Bird a Week 47/52 - Northern Cardinal

2011-11-27T20:29:00.000Z

Only 5 more birds to go after this one until the end of the year! Wow it seems to have gone fast.

47/52 a lovely Northern Cardinal sitting in spring blossom. This is a fine silver pendant with enamel.

The reverse is decorated with a texture and 2mm and 3mm CZs.

Not too seasonal, I know, but with so few birds left till the end of the year I just have to choose the ones I like!! ;-)

Here is the Haiku

Pink and white blossom

Red and black bird betwixt

Northern Cardinal

Bird a Week 46/52 - Autumn Bird

2011-11-24T16:04:00.001Z

Bird number 46. Autumnal Bird. The colours on all the trees have been lovely in recent weeks and they inspired to make this brooch. Made of fine silver using silver clay, it is enamelled in a mix of reds, oranges and yellows with flecks of 24k gold fused into the enamel.

What sort of bird is it? Well it could be a black bird......

or maybe a blue bird .......

or even an orange bird!

It just depends what you wear him on!!! ;-)

Here is his Haiku

Orange, red and gold

Autumnal colours abound

Silhouetted bird

This, of course, is technically last weeks bird as, yet again, I am behind!

I have been doing a lot of Christmas Fairs. Tomorrow and Saturday I shall be at the Cooden Beach Hotel near Bexhill in East Sussex. This is a lovely craft fair so do pop in if you are in the area.

I am off to enamel bird number 47 now :)

Bird a Week 45/52 - Pavone di Venezia

2011-11-14T20:26:00.002Z

This week is something a little different. This is the fourth in my venetian mask series which is inspired by the bird a week so I hope you will forgive artistic licence:) I know she is a little late again but I am into the Christmas Fairs now so my schedule gets a little pushed around!

I have called her Pavone di Venezia meaning the peacock of Venice. She is fine silver and set with 2mm lab sapphire cabochons and 2mm citrine czs. Her earrings dangle and move around as she is worn.

The reverse is decorated as well and set with 3 x 3mm stones.

I am going to list her for sale in on my website and also in my new Etsy shop that I recently opened. You can see the link to the shop on the right of my blog.

Here is her Haiku

Peacock Blue and Green

Plumage framing mask serene

Venetian wonder

Bird a Week 44/52 - Appealing Pair of Puffins

2011-11-06T16:06:00.000Z

Yay - I have finished the puffins at last. This turned into such a labour of love that I nearly called them Huffin and Puffin! :)

I had this mad idea for a reversible puffin pendant as I found two nice photos of puffins that I wanted to base it on. It was one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" things.

Anyway to cut a long story short this one took me quite a long time to make it and enamel both sides! Still I am happy with the end result. I hope you like it.

And the Haiku

Appealing Puffins

With bright orange feet and beaks

Reversible fun

Bird a Week 43/52 - Rainbow Birds

2011-11-04T19:57:00.000Z

Week 43 of 52. Gosh this year is going fast. So this is actually last weeks bird as I am on catch up again. Just to confuse my regular readers this is not a puffin!! :)

The puffin is still puffing along. Actually it should be up on Sunday morning once I have finished enamelling it. It has all gotten a bit complicated... all will be revealed soon!

Back to these birds, lovely brightly coloured Rainbow Birds sitting on golden blossom. It is a fine silver lentil bead made using Art Clay Silver and the reverse has a nice silver texture.

Here is my Haiku

Pretty Rainbow Birds

Golden blossom all around

Sweet sounding songs

MASTERCLASSES AT MCSJ

2011-10-30T17:56:00.003Z

Next March, I am delighted to tell you, I will be teaching two masterclasses at Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery (MCSJ).

The first one is on the 19th & 20th March and we will be making Discoidal Rings. Fun rings with lovely enamelled areas and wires added using my Enamelled Accents technique.

The second workshop is the 21st & 22nd March and is called Joyful Jewellery. We will have great fun on this one creating amusing pieces like the cheerful lot below which will again be enamelled using my Enamelled Accents techniques.

These workshops will each cover lots of different construction techniques in silver and different enamelling techniques so if you could do both and learn loads of things!!! :)

Why not sign up and come along. I would really love to see you there.

I am back to catch up again on my Bird a Week so you can expect two birds in the coming week. I am puffing around getting there on the first one (now would that be a clue?) :)

Bird a Week 42/52 - Avian Thimble

2011-10-19T16:40:00.006+01:00

Somebody asked me recently if I ever made silver thimbles and you know I never have, so I decided to see if I could make one. This was my second attempt, the first never got as far as being fired so will be reconstituted back to silver clay.

I will not be going into mass production of them as they are a bit fiddly but if this one sells once it is hallmarked I think I will make a few more as it was quite fun to do and it is nice to make something that is not jewellery occasionally.

Here is the Haiku

Sitting on the round
Silhouette with spring blossoms
Avian Thimble

I have been busy fixing dates for next year for some Masterclasses I have been asked to teach in the UK. I will tell you more about them in my next blog post but if you can't wait then pop over to Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery where I will be teaching two brand new workshops next March :)

Bird a Week 41/52 - Two Hoots

2011-10-12T09:25:00.000+01:00

We are still on fun pieces this week, more Joyful Jewellery.

These two cute owl earrings are made of fine silver using Art Clay Silver and have enamelled faces.

Here is the Haiku

You looking at me?
No, you are looking at me
Who gives two hoots!

Zingyness and a Sheep!

2011-10-10T15:20:00.000+01:00

Well, these two could not be much more different could they?

Firstly, above is a new Discoidal Ring. I have called this one Zingyness, for obvious reasons!

The second one is another piece of Joyful Jewellery with a cute sheep on it. The piece is called - wait for it - A Bit Sheepish. How original is that! :))

I will be teaching both of these are styles as workshops soon so watch this space for details ......

Bird a Week 40/52 - Having a Hoot!

2011-10-07T20:16:00.001+01:00

As promised here is the second bird for this week so I am now totally back up to date with my Bird a Week Challenge.

I am in a bit of a comical mode at the moment and I really enjoyed making this one. As I played around with the wires for the owl I could get all kinds of comical faces and was sitting giggling away. Lovely to be enjoying my work so much!!

The back is a geometric design so the piece can be worn wither way round.

Haiku

Wide eyed little owl

With your cute expression

I'm having a hoot!

Bird a week 39/52 - Wot... No Fish?

2011-10-03T20:30:00.000+01:00

Yay, now I am almost back up to date again. Today I made this fine silver brooch with enamel.

This one is back in the more humorous vein! I think it is also one of my favourites of the year so far. Living in a seaside town we see a LOT of seagulls!

We have a beach fishing fleet where the boats are launched off the beach and hauled back up again each day so there are always loads of gulls around the Old Town of Hastings.

It is quite small measuring 24mm x 42mm.

Here is the Haiku

Sitting by the sea

Waiting for returning boats

Wot.. no fish today?

Wot... No Bird? and Discoidal Rings!

2011-10-02T13:23:00.002+01:00

Where is the bird then Joy? I know I can hear you saying it. Sorry my regular bird watchers but last week got a bit busy and I got a bit side tracked!

I was making a new design of ring. I don't make many enamelled rings and for a good reason. Rings can be bashed about a bit in wearing and enamel does not like being bashed. My new Discoidal rings have enamel in a recessed area to help protect it and they have pretty fired in place stones and lovely textured ring bands.

So far I have completed two with more to come.

This one I have called Creative Mists......

...... and this one is called Shimmering Hot.

So the BAD news is that I did not finish my Bird a Week for last week, but the GOOD news is....

This week I will be making TWO birds so I am caught up again (and no, not one pair of earrings - no cheating here!).

Watch this space for two birdie blog posts before the end of this week. ;-)

Bird a Week 38/52 - Flying Round in Circles

2011-09-22T21:56:00.000+01:00

This week I am back on the more generic style of birds. Flying birds circle all around this ring fine silver ring made using Art Clay Silver and it set set all round with zircon blue and orange 2mm CZs. I was thinking of the blue sky and the orange sunsets with these.

Here is the Haiku

Flying little birds

Sky blue and sunset orange

Circling all around

Bird a Week 37/52 - Decoy Mini

2011-09-18T20:28:00.001+01:00

Week 37! This week I was running a bit short on time, hence I am a day late with this bird. Anyway, I eventually settled on a little mini decoy duck. I think he is quite sweet. Made of fine silver using Art Clay Silver you can see from the photo below he is tiny.

And is that a tear in his eye?....

Haiku

Little decoy duck

Mimicking feathered friends

Maybe you are sad

Bird a Week 36/52 - Pretty Flamingos

2011-09-09T19:57:00.000+01:00

I gone a bit more exotic this week for my bird a week:)

A pair of pretty flamingos. They are actually a bit pinker than this but I am struggling to photograph the colour.

Fine silver made using Art Clay Silver they have Enamelled Accent Flamingos on.

Definitely statement earrings I think!

I shall be putting them into my website shop which is going to have a major update this week with more birds! I have been getting lots of things hallmarked ready for sale.

Still loving making these birds! ;-)

Bird a Week 35/52 - Red Breast

2011-09-02T20:27:00.000+01:00

Week 35 - gosh the year is going quickly! This week's bird is a fairly simple reversible enamelled pendant. It is made in fine silver using Art Clay Silver.

On the reverse is a nice texture and some little decorations. This side is for when you are in a less colourful but more thoughtful mood :)

At the last two shows I have done I have sold quite a few rings so I was determined to make some more this week.

This is the result of my efforts, nice sparkly bling!

This weekend I am at Leeds Castle in Kent. It is a stunning venue and to make it even better this weekend is called Balloons and Bentleys. There will be Bentleys, hot air balloons and steam engines as well as food, and crafts and me!!!

What more do you want :)

Do come along and say hello.

Bird a Week 34/52 - Nature's Way

2011-08-27T17:31:00.000+01:00

After a couple of weeks of plain silver birds we are back into glorious technicolour this week!

I really enjoyed making this one. It is a small lentil bead which measures 24mm in diameter and it is reversible.

On the front I have put a little kingfisher with a tiny fish in his mouth using my Enamelled Accents technique.

The reverse is a zany flower texture pattern with some nice cheerful enamelled colours and, of course, my little Joy logo:)

Here is the Haiku poem for it...

Darting, diving bird

Shimmering, silvery stream

Nature in balance

Lucky Me!

2011-08-24T09:02:00.000+01:00

Recently I was thrilled to receive a wonderful package in the post containing these stunning cabs made for me by Becky Fairclough of Chameleon Designs.

A while a go Becky posted on her blog she was raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and that everyone who donated would be put into a draw and one lucky person would win a day of her time, and guess what - I won!! How exciting!!!

Becky gave me the choice of a one day lampwork lesson with her or she would make for me for one day. I choose the later. Becky produces beautiful beads but what I really love is her cabochons so I asked her to make some of those for me and left it up to her what she made.

My photo above does not really do justice to the wonderful package of cabs that arrived and she has also included a beautiful heart pendant. Watch out for some of these great cabs appearing in my work in the future!

Do pop over to her website and her blog and have a look at her stunning work.

Becky raised a wonderful £308 by her efforts.

THANK YOU BECKY! :)

Bird A week 33/52 - Sampler Birdies

2011-08-18T22:04:00.000+01:00

This week is turning out to be a bit hectic so I have kept my Bird a Week entry nice and simple. These fine silver earrings made using Art Clay Silver have little cross stitch design birds so made me think of a handmade sample. I used a texture plate from my favourite company - Rolling Mill Resource.

Here is the Haiku...

Flying little birds

Cross stitched in linen skies

Needlework of love

This weekend I shall be at Shoreham Airshow. We love this show, lots of nice loud planes to watch! The weather forecast is good so I hope to see you there ;-)

Bird a Week 32/52 - Love a Duck

2011-08-14T14:33:00.000+01:00

YAY - I am more or less back up to date with my birds :)

So this week we have a ring. I have never made a square shape ring before so I thought I would give it a go. On the top is a little heart shape pool with a tiny duckling paddling along. The texture on the ring is created using Art Clay Silver paste.

Cute eh ? ;-)

and the Haiku....

Tiny Fluffy Ball

Paddling around my heart

Makes me Love A Duck

Bird a Week 31/52 - Hummingbird

2011-08-14T14:25:00.000+01:00

Well now, this is very strange as I am sure I posted this bird onto my blog last Tuesday but it is not showing up! So... I will post it again :)

This pendant is fine silver made using Art Clay Silver and has enamel and a patina applied to it. I have been trying out a few of my purchases from Chicago with this piece. I bought a couple of lovely moulds from Penni Jo who was at the polymer clay retreat which ran concurrently to MCWC. The hummingbird is made using one of her moulds. The actual shape is cut out using a QuikArt Template and stylus. I am new to using these but I am really liking them. You can find both of these things for sale at Metal Clay Supply.

The reverse is set with 2mm and 3mm CZs and of course my little Joy logo.

Here is the Haiku for the piece...

Darting green and blue

Betwixt nectar laden blooms
Dazzling Hummingbird

Came onto my blog to post the next bird so watch out for the next blog post now.....! :)

Bird a Week 30/52 - Kookie Konfetti Bird

2011-08-08T15:04:00.000+01:00

While I was at the Metal Clay World Conference in Chicago recently we had a birthday party for Katie Baum. On the table was some confetti including some nice little swirls. It occurred to me they would make the perfect eyes for a kooky bird so I used them to make this piece!! :)

It is a fine silver pendant made using Art Clay Silver with Enamel and a Liver of Sulphur patina. The back has some 2mm and 3mm CZs set.

and the Haiku....

Looking at the world

Dizzy happy spinning eyes

Kooky Konfetti Bird

I am on a serious catch up this week for my Bird a Week. Watch out for another bird tomorrow and one more by the end of the week so I am back up to date :)

Hastings Hot Houses

2011-08-03T10:19:00.000+01:00

I will be taking part in the Hastings Hot Houses again this year. I would like to invite you to come along to see my latest work and to say hello. It would be lovely to see you at any of the open times I have listed below.

We have an exhibition running at the new Stade Hall in the Old Town of Hastings from Tuesday 2nd August to Friday 8th August 10am - 4pm. I have several pieces in the exhibition and will at the hall myself on Wednesday 3rd August 1pm - 4pm, Thursday 4th August 10am - 1pm and Friday 5th August 10am - 1pm.

On Friday evening I will be at the private view of the exhibition from 6pm - 9pm.

On Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th August I will have a full display of all my work at the open studio in Courthouse Street in the Old Town in Hastings. I shall be there both days from 11am - 4pm.

It is Old Town week in Hastings as well with the carnival on Saturday 6th August so plenty of reasons to come to Hastings Old Town :)

I look forward to seeing you soon......

Bird a week 29/52 - Nestled In

2011-07-30T13:22:00.000+01:00

Another week, another bird :)

A rainbow birdie nestling down to roost. This is a fine silver pendant made using Art Clay Silver. The bird and the spirals are added using my Enamelled Accents technique, then I have added some 24k gold and patinated it.

The reverse is set with a 3mm CZ and, of course, my little Joy logo! I really love this texture on the back so you can expect to see this again soon :)

And the Haiku to go with it...

Fading sunlight glow

Night time fast approaches

Nestled in to roost

Snakes and Brushes!

2011-07-27T19:56:00.000+01:00

OK, first the brushes! Have you got your free copy of Metal Clay Today yet? You can download it for absolutely nothing and even better (or maybe not depending on your point of view!) there is an article by me in there! You can read all about my love affair with my water brush! Now that should get you interested! Go over to the site now to download the current issue and sign to be notified when future issues some out.

So... the snakes. Well, the current issue of Metal Clay Artist Magazine, I am delighted to say, has my chain making project in it. The chain is stone set and requires patience to make but if you take the challenge on you sure will be good at making snakes of silver clay by the end of it :)))

Here is a sneaky peak at the reverse of the chain.

If you do not yet subscribe to Metal Clay Artist Magazine you really should. It is dedicated to our medium and full of wonderful articles. You can either buy the printed version or the digital version.

Have fun...

Bird a week 28/52 - Blossom Time

2011-07-24T20:07:00.001+01:00

This weeks bird is a fine silver pendant made with Art Clay Silver with enamel, keum boo and a liver sulphur patina. I am actually still a week behind but I will catch up I promise :)

On the reverse is a handmade paper texture using Lynne Glazzard's technique and it is set with a 2mm lab ruby.

And the Haiku....

Flecks of red blossom

Gold and silver reflecting

Bird with Sakura

MCWC 2011

2011-07-23T14:18:00.000+01:00

So I promised to tell you more about the Metal Clay World Conference in Chicago. Here is a little resume of the event :)

I got to the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort Hotel on the Sunday July 10th. The hotel itself is really interesting and the design was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. All the rooms are hexagonal and in the centre of the hotel is a lovely atrium with waterfalls and plants and a cave bar!

On Monday 11th July I taught my Enamelled Accents workshop. It was a full class with 15 people. It was a really fun day. Everyone produced great pieces and I am waiting for some photos to come through to show you as we did not have time to photograph pieces at the end of the day.

On the Tuesday and Wednesday I had two free days. Time for a bit of sightseeing! On the Tuesday I headed into Chicago in the company of Lesley and Keith Messam. We had a lovely day. We went up the Sears (now renamed Willis) Tower and the views were wonderful.

Then it was a water taxi to the Navy Pier for a nice lunch and taking in more of the great views.

We had not realised there was a stained glass museum there so we spent some time looking at all the wonderful panels. Here are some of my favourites.

On Wednesday we headed out to the local Mall for a bit of shopping and then Wednesday evening the conference proper started.

There was a mad bustling VIP reception mixed with the clay trade. This was where everyone swapped charms they had made. I took 50 silver and enamel charms with me. I will post all about them another time! Making them ended up being rather a labour of love :)

Thursday kicked off with the keynote speech by Michael David Sturlin. Michael is an inspiring person and everyone thoroughly enjoyed his talk. Then it was presentations, presentations, presentations for the rest of Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning! I did my presentation on Enamelled Accents and Beyond 3 times which allowed me plenty of time to take in others. Each presenation was one hour long. Among my favourite sessions were Lorrene Baum Davis on Keum Boo, Pat Evans - A Tool Diva tells All and Jeannette LeBlanc on How to write a Step by Step article, but I enjoyed all the ones I attended. So much to learn.

Thursday evening started off with Meet the Masters - these are the Art Clay World USA Master instructors. This was in the fireside lounge with a roaring fire (It was about 30c outside!!!!) Mind you the air conditoning in the conference centre did seem to be set to artic mode most of the time :)

After that we had a Meet the Presenters evening so I demonstrated how I make wire shapes for Enamelled Accents. Friday evening was the Art Clay Society social and again I was demonstrating. This time it was my good friend Lynne Glazzard's paper texture technique.

In between all the learning there was of course the shopping!! Loads of vendors with lots of fantastic tools and products. I will be telling you more about some of the things I bought in due time. Saturday finished with some closing speeches after lunch and then we all started heading off back to the various parts of the globe we had come from. Phew! I was exhausted.

It was a wonderful conference, exhausting but tremendous fun and so lovely to meet so many names that I know from here and Facebook. If you are on FB you can see more photos in my albums. If we are not already friends please do send me a request:)

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=714589601

I really hope to be able to go tho the next conference in 2013. Maybe I will see you there ;)

Now I must go back to my workshop and finish the bird I am working on ......

Bird a Week 27/52 - Born in the USA

2011-07-17T17:13:00.000+01:00

I have just returned from 10 days in Chicago teaching and presenting at the Metal Clay World Conference. I had a wonderful time, but more on that soon.... :)

I am now a couple of weeks behind on the Bird a Week Challenge but I did manage to make one bird while I was over there. It was an obvious choice really, it had to be an eagle, and so was the name for it - Born in the USA. It is hand sculpted using Art Clay Silver to make a fine silver pendant. It has a bail on the back.

So now I just need to make two more birds this week to be back up to date...

Will not be doing that today though, I just want to sleep. I have been up nearly 36 hours now, I never manage to sleep on planes :(, but I want to hold out for a few more hours yet to try to adjust back to UK time.

More tomorrow ;-)

Bird a Week 26/52 - The Blackbird

2011-07-02T15:12:00.000+01:00

Halfway through the challenge already! Amazing - where does the time go.

This week's bird is a rather large lentil bead I made. It measure 30mm across. I usually use this size for a single sided domed pendant but I made this while demoing during a workshop last week and then wanted to show how to make lentil beads so I ended up with this. It feels nice and chunky though :)

It is made of fine silver using Art Clay Silver and has wires added using me Enamelled Accents technique and then Keum Boo and Liver of Sulphur patination.

The reverse has enamel and LOS patina.

I fly out to Chicago this Wednesday ready to teach a pre conference workshop on Monday 11th and give presentations during the Metal Clay World Conference itself. This may mean I get a bit behind on birds but don't worry, I will get back up to date upon my return!

If you email me and don't get a reply you'll know why, hubby and the cats are not so good at dealing with the incoming emails ;-)

I will try to blog from the conference but no promises :))

Bird a week 25/52 - Soaring High

2011-06-26T15:27:00.000+01:00

Don't you just hate people who say things and then don't do what they say? I'll try be less tardy I said in my last post! Huh - another bird not posted until Sunday. Sorry!!

So this fine silver brooch is made using Art Clay Silver with a coral bezel set cab and keum boo and Enamelled Accent silhouetted bird.

The cabochon is 8mm to give you some idea of the size of it.

The reverse has a handmade brooch pin.

Here is the Haiku poem for it.

Sun shines rays of gold

Silhouettes dark, feathered wings

Soaring high above

Hope you like it ;-)

Bird a Week 24/52 - Hey Duckie!

2011-06-21T22:18:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, sorry, I am a bit late posting this one. Busy times.

So... my very first bird ring!!

I think I over fluffed this little duckling a bit but I still think he is cute. Made of fine silver using Art Clay Silver he sits on his own little pool of water.

Here is his little Haiku poem

Babbling stream beneath

Fluffy duckling paddles fast

Have you seen my Mum?

I will try to be less tardy this week ;-)

Bird a Week 23/52 - Inspiration Birdie

2011-06-12T11:24:00.000+01:00

Birdie number 23. Last week a friend of mine was looking at some of my birds and said how much she liked the little sculpted birds I did early on in the challenge. This inspired me to make this little one so I have called him Inspiration Birdie.

He is fine silver, made using Art Clay Silver. Of course he had to have my little Joy logo on :). It only just fitted!

I was inspired to make him and making him has inspired me to make more.... :)

Here is his Haiku

Sitting so pretty

Looking up towards the sky

Hope springs eternal

MCWC Workshop in Chicago

2011-06-09T11:37:00.001+01:00

It is not long now until the Metal Clay World Conference in Chicago in July. I can't believe it has come round so fast! I am teaching a pre conference workshop and giving presentations during the conference.

I am teaching my Enamelled Accents technique. Above is a little sampler palette showing the colours we will be using. I normally only use leaded enamels but for this I was asked to use unleaded so these are all Thompson enamels. I have tested quite a lot of colours and liked this mix which I think has quite a lot of possibilities.

We have Lime Yellow, Aqua, Prussian Blue, Turquoise and Rose Purple. All of these colors work direct onto silver.

I am now making examples using the colours. I have called this Lunar Lights....

and here is the reverse of it. I made the texture using my friend Lynne Glazzard's paper texture technique and it is set with 2mm & 3mm CZs.

This one is called Squaring Up .....

and the reverse. Another paper texture and a 4mm CZ.

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone makes :)

Bird a Week 22/52 - Rainbow Cockatoo

2011-06-04T19:43:00.000+01:00

I know I know you have never heard of a rainbow Cockatoo, well I don't think there is one. Mind you if you google it you will see some poor birds who I hope were digitally enhanced and did not have a bad day at the birdie hairdressers!! I digress :)

This little pendant is made using Art Clay Silver and is enamelled. I found an old printing block this week whilst I was having a clear out. I acquired it years ago and it is quite worn but there was still enough details left to impress the clay quite well, albeit with some flaws in it it (the little dots).

Having checked out what colours cockatoos came in they all seemed a little boring so I went for a rainbow bright and cheerful version:)

This is the printing block beside it. The wingspan on the fired bird is just 17mm so quite tiny.

And here is my haiku for it

Siting on a perch

In Victorian splendour

Multicoloured Bird

Bird a week 21/52 - Birdie Brooch

2011-05-27T19:52:00.000+01:00

This week it is a brooch! I don't make a lot of brooches but I enjoyed this one and people have been asking for them so watch this space!

I made a paper texture using my friend Lynne Glazzard' s technique and then added one thin layer of enamel to the fine silver (Art Clay silver) brooch. Quite tricky to photograph but it has a lovely subtle look to it.

On the back I made a brooch pin in sterling silver wire which I soldered on after enamelling. Thank you Nic on PMC Tips blog for the idea. I am quite pleased with how it turned out so I am feeling inspired to make more :)

This Saturday I am at the Heathfield Show in the craft marquee. This is a very long day 8am - 6pm and normally a very busy one so fingers crossed! :)

If you are coming to the show please do stop by and say hello. We are near the red gate.

Bird a week 20/52 - Birdie earrings

2011-05-21T09:56:00.000+01:00

Four birds this week!

They will be two pairs of earrings and the style of the birds match some of my recent pendants.

They are quite tiny and will hang from ear wires. They are made using Art Clay Silver and have an XL Gel Liver of Sulphur patina.

The backs are quite plain with my little Joy logo.

Cute eh? ;-)

Bird A Week 19/52 - Sitting Pretty Too

2011-05-13T22:02:00.002+01:00

Yay - this week I am on time with my bird!

I really enjoyed making this one. I shaped some cork clay into a bird form and then painted layers of Art Clay Silver paste to create a hollow bead birdie. I just build up extra layers to for the wings. I had some paste which was quite lumpy so I just went with it and actually I do like the effect it gave with just a little smoothing out.

As there is no back to this piece as such you have to have a photo of the rear end instead! ;-)

I have not yet decided what to make it into. Possibly a pendant but I am thinking maybe a brooch.

Here is my Haiku poem for it...

Tiny little bird

One of natures great wonders

Will you sing for me?

Bird a Week 18/52 - Belated Birdie!

2011-05-10T19:42:00.000+01:00

Todays Bird a week is in fact last weeks Bird a Week. I will think of a proper name for him - honest! I have also not yet written his Haiku poem.

Last week just disappeared in a haze of family ill health sadly. Still this little fellow got made in the end. I decided on nice bright cheery colours. I am not sure any bird like this really exists!!

Here is the reverse set with a 3mm zircon CZ.

Now I just have to get up to date and make this weeks bird ;-)

Watch this space....

Bird a week 17/52 Silvery Moon

2011-04-30T11:58:00.000+01:00

Bird a Week time!

This week some silhouetted birds. Made using Art Clay Silver this fine silver pendant measures approx 32mm in diameter. I actually made the domed section while demonstrating during my workshop at the recent Guild of Enamellers conference. On the reverse is a quick paper texture I made using Lynne Glazzard's technique. I finished it off with a 3mm square lab ruby and my little Joy logo.

There are still quite a few of us on the Bird a Week challenge :-)

Here are links to some of the others.....

Metal Clay Today Challenge - Time to Vote!

2011-04-28T12:07:00.000+01:00

The latest challenge from Metal Clay Today is now open for voting.

The theme this time is Jewellery for Him.

Please do pop over to the site and have a look and vote for your favourite entry.

If you do not aready subscribe to this free online magazine then sign up while you are there!

Bird a Week 16/52 Splendid Blue Wren

2011-04-20T16:11:00.002+01:00

Another week - another bird!

Actually I am rather chuffed with myself because I made this one but have the start on 3 others for future weeks. Lots more work needed but nice to have some ideas on the go :)

Anyway, back to the week in hand. This strange shaped domed pendant was an example for the workshop I taught at the Guild of Enamellers conference this last weekend. I fired it when I got back home on Monday and then added this bird.

Having made a wren I decided I did not want to enamel it brown so I searched around a bit on the Internet and there is a beautiful bright blue wren called a Splendid Fairy Wren in Australia. Just perfect for the colours I had in mind.

It is made in Art Clay Silver and the wren is added using my enamelled accents technique. It measure approx 32mm in diameter.

Here is the reverse set with a 3mm CZ.

And yes.... it is supposed to sit at an odd angle - I was not having a funny five minutes! ;-)

Bird a Week 15/52 - Where Bluebirds Fly

2011-04-13T10:57:00.002+01:00

My 15th bird a week entry! The year is flying by.

This weekend I am teaching at the Guild of Enamellers conference so I made this a workshop example as well.

Just a simple rainbow and some blue birds enamelled on a silver pendant using my Enamelled Accents technique. It measures approx 34mm in diameter.

The reverse is a paper texture made using my friend Lynne Glazzard's technique. It is set with a 3mm CZ.

And...... wait for it..... here is my haiku poem.... :)

Where bluebirds fly

Hope is springing eternal

I see a rainbow

Bird a Week 14/52 - Songbirds

2011-04-08T10:42:00.000+01:00

This weeks birds are a pair of tiny little songbirds which will be a pair of earrings.

They are made using Art Clay Silver and have 24k gold keum boo and a Liver of Sulphur patina applied.

Cute eh :)

On the reverse is my Joy logo.

I have also written my latest Haiku poem to go with them.

Two tiny songbirds

Puffed up breasts glistening gold

Will they sing of Joy?

This weekend I am dong Crafts at Lancing College in West Sussex.

This is a stunning venue and an excellent show of all handmade crafts.

Do pop in and say hello if you are in the area :)

Bird a Week 13/52 - Secret Green Bird

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000+01:00

This weeks BAW is a locket. I made this while teaching a workshop in the last week. Hilary and Alli arrived with a photo of a similar locket and said we want to make these! Fair enough you might think BUT

1. I didn't know until they arrived they wanted to make this

2. I have not made a locket in this style before

AND

3. it was only the second time Alli has used silver clay and Hilary has only been using it a while longer!!!

So it was a bit of a challenge for me as well but they were more than happy for me to make one at the same time and work it out as we went along. Definitely two people who like to jump in at the deep end!! :)

We had three days so it was nice and relaxed and they also made wonderful pendants as well. They both did fantastically well and I will get their two lockets and pendants photographed when I can so you can see what a great job they did. We also had a really good laugh along the way and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Anyway back to the BAW. Once I had finished my locket I enamelled the bird inside, then the leaves on the front, added keum boo and finally patinated with Liver of Sulphur.

I have been reading a book of Japanese Haiku poems recently and really like the form of them so I wrote one for the locket.....

The bamboo dense, tall

A startled flash of green wings

My secret bird flies

I think I might write more haiku - you have been warned!!!! ;-)

Charity Auction for Japan

2011-03-28T14:46:00.000+01:00

I am part of a Collective of artists who do occasional charity auctions. As we were about due one anyway Mel has kindly organised an auction of work which starts today and runs for one week. The proceeds will all be going the Japan Appeal via Oxfam.

You can see all the details here.

There are some wonderful items in this auction so I shall be placing a bid or two myself I suspect :)

You will find my Rainbow in my Heart pendant above and my Peace Dove earrings below in this auction.

I know everyone has already given generously to charities for helping Japan but if you can afford a little more with the added bonus of winning some fantastic work then please do go and check this out.

I would also be really grateful if you would consider posting about this anywhere you can, ie a blog, facebook, twitter etc. Anything that brings in people and hopefully raises more money would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Joy x

Bird a Week 12/52 - La Fenice

2011-03-25T14:33:00.001Z

Last week we went to Venice for a few nights to celebrate my 50th birhday. We had a wonderful time. One of the places we went to have a look at was the very grand Teatro La Fenice. Inspired by this wonderful place I decided to make a very theatrical enamelled phoenix for this weeks Bird.

Made from Art Clay Silver and enamelled, it is patinated with Liver of Sulphur and set with 2mm CZs. It measures approx 45mm x 48mm.

This is the equally theatrical reverse!

All very OTT isn't it :)

I have put two of my pieces of jewellery into an auction with the proceeds going to help in Japan. It starts running next week and I will post all the details here. The two lots are my Peace Doves which were my BIrd a Week last week and also a rainbow enamelled heart. Watch this space for details on how to bid...

An Open Invitation...

2011-03-23T18:01:00.000Z

On the 2nd April we have an free open demo day here in Hastings!

Come along for a taste of two different types of clay :)

Hope to see you there!!

Bird a week 11/52 - Peace Doves

2011-03-14T19:11:00.001Z

As I am a bit short on time this week I had to get ahead of myself so these are early birds! :) (no worms though!!)

A pair of doves made using Art Clay silver and patinated with Liver of Sulphur XL gel. I have called them Peace Doves.

With Japan on everyones minds at the moment I thought you might like to know that we have heard that all our friends at Aida who we met on our trip last year are safe. It is nice to hear a little good news.

Twice a Cover Girl!!

2011-03-14T13:57:00.000Z

ONCE!! - The latest issue of the Art Clay Society Quarterly Newsletter is out and I am on the cover!! (well actually one of my pieces is). If you belong to the Art Clay World UK Guild then you are automatically a member of ACS and can log in and download the newsletters which are full of great articles.

If you are not a member yet you can see a sample of this newsletter here.

TWICE!!! If that was not exciting enough I had fantastic news that I am also on the cover of the next Metal Clay Artist Magazine!!!!! (ok that is my work again not actually me!)

Here is a sneak preview of how the cover will look when it is published ...

Metal Clay Artist Magazine is the only international magazine dedicated to metal clay lovers. You can subscribe online or, even better news for us in the UK, from this next issue you can buy it in W H Smiths. If you are elsewhere in the world check the website as new outlets are being added all the while.

You might also like to start following the Metal Clay Artist Magazine blog. Here you can read a short interview with me!! I shall be adding blogs posts on there myself and if you have a look back you will find I have already done a few.

In the next few days I shall hit the big 50 and never imagined at my age I would be a cover girl twice!!

Good job it is only my work and not photos of me ;-)

Bird a Week 10/52 - Tori

2011-03-10T16:50:00.001Z

My Bird a Week piece this week is made from something I have had sitting around for a while. Hilary comes to my workshops and bought a lovely notebook with her a while ago. I rolled out a bit of Art Clay Silver and took this impression directly off the front cover of the book as I thought it was so lovely.

This week I cleaned up the shape and added the hobnail decoration down the sides. Then I added a bail and decorated the back. Once the piece was fired I added some fine silver spirals and 24k keum boo. Finally I patinated it with Liver of Sulphur and gave it a light polishing.

I have called this piece Tori which is the Japanese for bird (I hope!!).

Here is the reverse which is set with a 2mm lab ruby.

It has been an exciting time for me in the last couple of weeks, I am a cover girl - TWICE!! - and at my age!!!

More on that in my next post in a day or so. ;-)

Bird a Week 9/52 - What a Hoot!

2011-03-04T11:02:00.001Z

Another pair of earrings this week. I have to admit these were inspired by the ceramic workshop I have been taking. Anna makes lovely little owls and these are my take on them.

I think these are happy owls :) I have called them What a Hoot!

Made using Art Clay Silver with a brushed texture and 2mm orange CZs for the eyes.

My ceramic session last Sunday was a longer one and I went with an idea in mind. I will be honest that the first piece looks a bit strange. It started out ok...

Then I got to the finishing touches - that stunted palm tree thing is supposed to be a fountain! It is to hold a few flowers. Bear with me on this one, I am hoping that once it is blue it will look a little more like water! Of course I had to add a little bird!!

Finally I made another coiled bird. I did not have an idea what type of bird I was going to make so started off with a large sealed coiled shape and then the Make It Bird just appeared!! This is about 6 inches in diameter I think.

This Sunday is my last ceramic workshop. I have really enjoyed these. We will be adding glazes to some things and packing a dustbin full of others to smoke fire so we end up with a mixture of different finishes.

All very exciting!!

Here are some more Bird a Week Challenge entries

Bird A Week 8/52 - Fluffy Chicks

2011-02-24T10:30:00.000Z

Two birdies this week as I made my first bird earrings!

I cut these little chicks out of Art Clay Silver and textured the front with a brass brush before they were fired. I added a texture on the back as well and my Joy logo. The wire is fine silver fired in place to hang them.

I knew I was going to be a bit pushed for time this week to make my challenge entry so I just kept it nice and simple :-)

Here is the bird blog hop so you can see other entries

Not Totally Bird Brained!!

2011-02-22T16:00:00.000Z

If you are a regular follower of my blog you would be forgiven for thinking I have made nothing but birds since the start of the year!!

I have been making some other things as well though - honestly :-)

To prove the point here are a couple of rings. I don't normally make large rings like this so this made a change for me. The one above I have called Regal Ring. I bought this large CZ (plus a few others) at the UK Art Clay conference last year with no idea what to do with them. This is my attempt at setting it. Very OTT isn't it!

I set 2mm lab rubies onto the ring band and one onto the face of the large CZ. My friend Bev has one of these huge stones as well so I can't wait to see what she makes with it.

Here is the back of the ring...

This next ring has a 2mm white CZ in the centre at the front and 3mm CZs around the band. The turquoises are enamel.

So there you go - a blog post without a bird or a bit of ceramic in sight!!

Don't worry though, the next birdie will be here soon....... ;-)

Ceramic Fun latest!

2011-02-21T11:08:00.000Z

Just a quick update on my ongoing ceramic workshops with Anna Keiller.

This week we arrived to see the large table filled with all our work from the first two workshops which had been bisque fired.

I just loved the look of my fern bowl with the white ashy remains of the fern still in place.

We spent time applying underglaze paints and oxides to our pieces. Some of them will then have a glaze applied and be kiln fired again. Some will be smoke fired on the last session of the workshop.

Needless to say I got so wrapped up in the decorating I forgot to take any photos until I was about to leave so quickly snapped these two shots of my pieces drying.

The two ducks were the bits I didn't showed you before! See - more birds on the brain!!

The little white duck has a white glaze and a yellow underglaze beak. My fishy wall plaque is all painted with underglaze paints. Mostly though I really liked the oxides. Anna uses these a lot in her work and I really like the effects. We were using copper, iron, cobalt and manganese.

My five session workshop has a break next week before we smoke fire on 6th March. Next week Anna is running a longer one day wonder workshop. I am enjoying this so much I have signed up for the extra session so I can make a few more pieces.

I have a couple of things in mind to make, will there be any more birds? ..... you will have to wait and see ;-)

Bird A Week 7/52

2011-02-17T11:10:00.001Z

This weeks bird is a silver circular domed pendant with Enamelled Accents. It measures approx 36mm in diameter.

The bird is actually indented into the surface and filled with black enamel, and then the flowers and leaves are raised.

I decorated the back with a little flower and a blossom texture from Rolling Mill Resource.

For obvious reasons I called this one Blue Garden! ;-)

Here are some more Bird a Week pieces

More Ceramic Fun

2011-02-14T14:39:00.000Z

Yesterday was the third ceramic workshop with Anna Keiller. It was another very enjoyable session.

First we finished off all the pieces we had made in the previous two weeks so they can be bisque fired before next week. Last week I made pieces to add glass fired in place onto. Above is my fishy wall plaque (yes I know I forgot to add any fins!!).....

...and below is another bowl I have made where I am going to experiment with adding some glass onto the bisque fired piece

and the outside of it.

Then we started making objects using coiling. Anna makes lovely fat birds and owls using this technique so I went for my very own fat baby penguin!

He is about six inches tall. I spent the rest of the workshop making him while I got the hang of this technique (who knew I would be rubbish at making the coils of clay for this when I make LOADS of snakes in silver clay these days :-0).

However after a few goes I got to grips with it.

I think I currently have birds on the brain!

Bird A week 6/52 - Biba Birdie

2011-02-10T14:49:00.000Z

Just the one photo of my little birdie this week as the back looks a lot like the front :-)

I have been working with coiled snakes of silver clay to create work recently I decided to make a bird the same way. It is just 4 snakes of clay and plus the circle for the jump ring to attach to.

When I finished this I thought it had a real sixties feel hence the name. I hope you agree.

Here are some other Bird a Week Challenge blogs

Bird a Week 5/52

2011-02-05T12:51:00.001Z

My Bird a Week 5/52 piece is a bit of fun ;-)

It was my second attempt for this week as the first one did not turn out as planned and now a rescue project for another week! So I had to have a rethink on Thursday and came up with this idea. Just beaks and eyes really.

It is made using Art Clay Silver and then wires were added using my Enamelled Accents technique and finally it was enamelled and patinated. It took me longer than planned as all the wire elements are quite tiny and very fiddley!

I don't make many brooches, not sure why really, but people are always asking for them so this may be the first of many!

I decorated the back with with a few stars set with 1.5mm CZs.

More Bird A week Blog posts are here

Well that was FUN!!

2011-01-30T19:50:00.000Z

My first ceramic workshop today with Anna Keiller was so much fun!!

We started off with big lumps of clay which we conditioned first. After the tiny amounts I use with silver all the while this took a bit of adjusting to!!Anna uses various techniques for making her ceramics and today we covered making bowls by using press moulds.

This is my first attempt using the plaster of paris mould, and here it is once I turned it out after it had been drying for a while (well actually I chickened out and Anna turned it out for me!)...

and the inside.

We were a fun group all working hard. Some had been before so were progressing onto more advanced things like Brian here

This was my second bowl which I decorated inside with pressed in ferns...

and my last attempt where I coiled and pressed in clay. I decided to change this to a wall hanging rather than a shallow bowl so turned it out in reverse.

I had not realised that I had gone for such a swirling theme until I looked at my photos afterwards!!!

So this was my work after 2 1/2 hours. I did make a small extra but I have blocked that out, you will have to wait to see that one :)

All in all a very enjoyable workshop, can't wait for next week.

Bird a Week 4/52

2011-01-27T10:42:00.002Z

Here is my Bird a Week piece for week 4. It is a silver pendant with an enamelled bird. I have added some 24k gold keum boo plus a patina to finish it off. I have not yet decided on a name for this one.

It is quite small, measuring about 28mm in diameter. On the reverse I added three 2mm CZs and my Joy logo.

On Sunday I start my 5 week ceramic workshop. It is only 2 1/2 hours a week but I am really looking forward to it.

I must remember to take my camera so I can show you what I get up to :-)

UPDATE - thanks to Ruth's suggestion I have called this
Lark in a Meadow.

See other Bird a Week entries here

Bird a Week 3/52

2011-01-22T10:32:00.000Z

Here is my Bird a Week entry for week 3.

I have called it Love Bird. Ok so it is an obvious name! :-) Sorry the photo is a little dark, I was trying to make the enamel stand out.

It is my third sculpted bird. Still very tiny, the eyes are 1mm CZs and the bird is just 15mm from beak to tail.

I was keen to try out some new pink enamel I had and with Valentines Day approaching I decided to combine everything at once. The enamel is from Zama UK. It is in the BX range of enamels which fire directly onto silver without any flux. Whilst described as the darker colour it is still a lovely pale pink BX141 but after one coat (sorry forgot to take a photo of that) I realised it was going to be too pale for these hearts. I experimented and found that if you put one layer of the discontinued Kujaku Ruby Red 105A over it you get a fab pink! I was very chuffed to discover this.

If you do not have a stash of 105A already though this info is of no use at all to you!, so I may have a play with some other available colours as well to see what happens.

I decorated the back as well with my little Joy logo so the piece can be worn wither way round.

Another one for the heap to go off for hallmarking next week so I can put it up for sale soon. :)

So that is three sculpted birds in the BAW, time for something a bit different next week maybe....

Here are some other Bird a Week entries

This one is an Angel too!

2011-01-18T16:06:00.000Z

I made a second angel!

This one was for my Mum for her birthday. Sorry the photos are not too good but I only remembered to photograph it just before we dashed out the door to go and see her with it.

This is the back with my tiny Joy logo on it and a little hook for it to hang by. I added a couple of jump rings to connect to the chain.

I had a great debate whether to patinate it or not. I went for the not.

What do you think?

Bird a Week 2/52 - Sitting Pretty

2011-01-12T12:50:00.002Z

Here is my next bird for the Bird a Week Challenge - I have called it Sitting Pretty.

I am not sure what type of bird this is, you can make up your own mind. Is it a garden bird sitting on a fence or a seabird sitting on a groyne? I know which I had planned it to be but I think it could be either now it is finished!

I have never really worked with clay in a three dimensional sculpting way very much before so I am really enjoying making these. It is a wonderful feeling to have a tiny lump of clay and end up with something bird shaped. Just by pulling the tail or pushing the head down a bit it becomes a whole different type of bird. Great fun. I have decided the best way to enjoy the challenge is to not get fussed about trying to make a particular type of bird at the moment but to just be happy with each one if it looks bird like :-)

I am glad I am enjoying working with the clay in a more sculptural way as I have signed up for a ceramic workshop here in Hastings. I am really looking forward to it. It is with Anna Keiller and you can find a link to her workshops on the right hand side of my blog. We start the end of January. I thought it would be good to learn new techniques and maybe I can transfer some of them into miniature to use with the silver.

Here are the other BAW entries so far

New Year, New Challenges

2011-01-08T10:58:00.001Z

So you remember the tiny angel I posted the other day? Here she is with a tiny blue enamelled accent heart and gold wings and halo. The gold was applied by Keum Boo, the ancient Korean art of fusing 24k gold to the surface of the silver.

As you can see she really is very tiny, approx 18mm high.

I seem to have got tiny on the brain at the moment ....

This is my very first bird in the Bird A Week challenge that I mentioned in my last blog post.

As I am hopeless on bird shapes I just made a round flat body and then added simple details. Actually he has come out quite well. I am going to call him the Make It bird. He will sit on my workbench and remind me to make a bird each week.

The only problem is he is so small and my bench is always so untidy I might lose him forever on there!

You can see what everyone is creating in the Bird a Week flickr album. There are no rules so if you are feeling creative just join up and post some birds.

Back to my workshop now to finish off some more pieces :-)

See other Bird a week blog posts here...

Challenging Times

2011-01-07T11:04:00.000Z

How about challenging yourself for the New Year.

The latest Metal Clay challenge is open and photographic entries need to be in by 15th January. The theme this time is Show Me The Love. I won't be entering this one as my last entry came in third (yippee) and winners are not allowed to enter the next two challenges now. So here are a couple of Art Clay Silver and Enamel hearts I might of entered! There are some fab prizes so get your entry in quick.

One of my favourite blogs is Ruth Baillie's Inside the Artisan, Birdland Creations. Ruth makes the most wonderful and amusing pieces, and also is talented in drawing and sculpture. The picture above is one of her cartoons.

Ruth has made the Bird A Week Challenge and I have signed up for it. The aim is simple, make a bird a week for the year and post them in the flickr album she has created for it. They can be any medium so if you are a maker why not give it a go. Since I am useless at bird shapes I thought this would be great for me. By December I should of getting the hang of it.

I will be posting my first bird here later ;-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-01T12:19:00.001Z

Well here we are - 2011. I am not a great one for resolutions but I am really going to try to blog a bit more often this year (yes I know I have said that before!). The run up to Christmas got really busy and I keep finding I have problems getting into blogger so I need to sort that one out.

So what have I been up to. Before Christmas I was very busy with orders, both on ebay selling Art Clay Silver and for commissions pieces of jewellery. This last week though I have been back into the workshop working on some projects.

This little angel is a prototype for an idea I have. She will have some enamel on her plus gold keum boo fused to her halo and wings (the traces of yellow are just felt pen). I hope to be making a host!

These earrings are like some I made on the run up to Christmas. The little mother of pearl birds are ones I brought back from my trip to Japan last year and I decided to make a pair for me as well. Cute aren't they.

Finally a sneak preview of a large project I have been working on all week. This is a tiny section of the test piece I made. Not the best of photos but those stones are only 3mm in diameter!

This is a competition piece so you will have to wait a while to see the finished article! Progress is going well so far though....... ;-)

Hastings Hot Houses

2010-12-07T19:24:00.001Z

This weekend I am doing the open studios in Hastings. I am at 84 Croft Road and will be at the house myself Saturday and Sunday from 2pm - 5pm. Do come along and say hello, and do the trail of all the houses in the beautiful Old Town of Hastings. Full details are on the website http://www.hastingshothouses.co.uk/.

A great opportunity to finish off your Christmas shopping with unique handmade gifts.

Koi Bowl

2010-12-04T19:33:00.000Z

So here are some more pictures of the little Koi Bowl I made.

Dinky isn't it. Just 39mm in diameter. It will be off for hallmarking in the next batch and then up for sale.

Meanwhile our 14inches of snow has now melted in just 24 hours helped by copious amounts of rain today. I am glad we live on a hill!

Before the frozen conditions went we had some fantastic icicles. Here are just a few piccies. I am going to put a load more up on facebook. I am sure these will inspire me to make something - just not sure what yet:-)

Snowed off

2010-12-03T17:58:00.000Z

Sadly my show this weekend at Bentley has been cancelled due to the weather. I am not surprised. By yesterday we had about 14 inches of snow here.

I will be at Battle Late Night Shopping this coming Thursday evening in the Memorial Hall. Next weekend I am doing Hastings Hot Houses but I will post more about that in a day or so.

The little dish above is a new Japanese inspired piece I have just made. I have called it Koi Bowl. The koi is enamelled and the rest of the piece is just patinated. It is quite tiny, only about 39mm in diameter and is made using Art Clay Silver. I will post some more photos soon but blogger is playing up and refusing to load them at the mo!

Maybe it is the snow ;-)

Bring Me Sunshine - a bit of a Challenge!!

2010-12-01T13:37:00.001Z

Like many of you I am now in the midst of the snow with several inches outside. My workshop I was teaching tomorrow is off - it is snow go! (sorry)

So I was wondering if some of you might be up for a bit of a challenge in your unexpected free time. I'm calling it Bring Me Sunshine. If you are snowed in make something that is warm, sunny, or just brings a smile to everyones faces in any media. Post your photo in the Flickr group Bring Me Sunshine. If you are in sunnier climes just post something to warm and inspire others.

The prize - you will be inspiring yourself as well as those who are stuck in the snow and hopefully bringing a bit of sunshine into their cold and frosty lives. Go for it - why not!!

Joy x

PS I actually have no idea if posting your photos to this Flickr group will work as I have never set one of these up before so if it does not perhaps someone will tell me how to do it properly!! :-)

No Jempsons :-(

2010-11-30T13:30:00.002Z

Today I should of been at Jempsons in Peasmarsh near Rye and again next Wednesday 8th December. Sadly due to circumstances beyond the organisers control yesterday evening the whole thing had to be cancelled. I do hope you are no disappointed if you made the journey to see me as I know some people were going to.

I am working away but it is mostly commission work which I don't want to post on here in case the wring person sees this before Christmas! So here are a coupe of pairs of earrings I have made which are now up on my website. I am adding more bits all week to the website.

This coming weekend, 4th & 5th December I shall be at Bentley Wildfowl so maybe I will see you there. Santa will be there too!

Keep warm meanwhile ;-)

A Few Bits of News

2010-11-12T17:28:00.000Z

Good news!

My Radiance pendant that I entered into the Ya Meana Patina Challenge came third!! So thank you if you went to the Metal Clay Today site and voted (even if you didn't vote for me). These competitions would be nothing without everyone voting :-)

I have been busy on some commissions recently and have quite a bit of work in progress. I have managed to finish a few rings. These are waiting to be polished and patinated...

and this one is finished. I made this a couple of weeks ago while teaching and we were thinking of calling it Farewell Paul (the octopus!) or something along those lines.

I hadn't planned for it to be octopus like but once finished it just had that look!!

I have been updating my website and am gradually adding new work to it. I like to photograph in the daylight and the weather has been so bad this week that I have not managed to get as much on as I would like to though. There is more to come.

This weekend I am at Michelham Priory at the Christmas Craft and Gift Fair. I am with the East Sussex Guild of Craftworkers and we are in the Elizabethan Barn. The forecast is not too good but that does not normally deter people from coming out to this fair. It is in a lovely setting and there are some great stands so do come along.

Metal Clay Jewelry Magazine - How Exciting!

2010-10-29T11:14:00.001+01:00

My Enamelled Accents technique is published in the new Metal Clay Jewelry Magazine which is a special edition published by Art Jewelry Magazine. My copy arrived today and I was thrilled that I even managed to just sneak onto the front cover of the magazine, my piece is in the top right hand corner.

Here are the first two pages of the step by step technique inside the magazine. This magazine is published in the USA but you can order from their website to have the magazine delivered directly to you.

I shall be going to Chicago next July for the Metal Clay World Conference 2011 to teach this technique at the pre-conference workshops, and I shall also be presenting about this technique and related uses for it during the conference itself. You can read all about the conference and the workshops here. If you are going to the conference I would love to meet you and why not consider signing up for my workshop. We will be making a piece from start to finish in the day so you will learn the technique hands on with lots of extra advice and tips and tricks!!

P.S. If you have not already voted in the Metal Clay Today challenge (see my last blog post) do pop over to their website and vote for your favourite piece :-)

Ya Meana Patina Challenge

2010-10-22T10:15:00.000+01:00

The latest challenge from Metal Clay Today is entitled

Ya Meana Patina.

The challenge was to create a piece with no naked metal, the surface having a patina of some kind. This is the piece I made especially for it. I have called it Radiance. It has pale blue turquoise and green turquoise enamels with a patina created using Liver of Sulphur XL Gel. I am just loving this XL gel (available in my eBay shop!). I am getting great colours with it straight out of the bottle.

So pop over to Metal Clay Today and place your vote for the piece you like best in the Challenge. There are some wonderful entries. If you are not already signed up for Metal Clay Today which is a free online magazine do so while you are there. You only have to enter your email address.

Remember Dudley?

2010-10-21T14:21:00.000+01:00

If you read my blog regularly you will recall a while ago I showed you a photo of Dudley with a promise to tell you more.

Dudley is a beautiful little handmade bear and he is about 10cm high. He was created by Andy West and Dudley is a Westie Bear. All Westie bears have Andy's trademark little bee on them. Cute eh!

When I was at the Rudgewick Steam Fair at the end of August Andy's stand was opposite mine and Andy spent all weekend creating. It was fascinating watching him working whenever we had any quiet spells. Over the weekend Dudley was created (born?). Hubby and I decided I really should have Dudley as my stand mascot especially as I had been there at the birth!! (sorry this is getting worse :-) ).

However, Dudley could not be my stand mascot without his own bit of jewellery could he?, so I have made him the cutest little medallion to wear. He is proudly wearing it in the photo above.

It measures just 18mm across and is of course silver and enamel. Only the best for Dudley!

I put a bit of my favourite Japanese cherry blossom on the back for him.

So if you collect teddy bears and fancy a handmade bespoke pendant or medallion please get in touch. Maybe I can start a whole new line of work!! ;-)

Anyway... back to reality and I have been busy creating ready for the show this weekend. Mostly earrings with some pendants. These are a few of the pieces waiting for findings.

And this lot below have just come back from hallmarking so will be going out on the stand this weekend and then onto my website for sale afterwards if I still have them.

Do come along and say hello this weekend at Lancing College and you can meet Dudley. He would love to show his medallion off to you!

Getting Back to Normal (I hope)

2010-10-18T10:56:00.000+01:00

Long time - no post!

It has been a mad few weeks. We have had a short break away but also we have had some partental health problems which has meant lots of rushing around and not much posting on here! Things are settling back down again now though.

So a quick update.

My eBay shop ArtClayUK is open again and I have been restocking it back up.

I have been doing quite a bit of teaching which I really enjoy. If you fancy a workshop in Art Clay Silver you can read all the details on my website here. (Remember a workshop makes a great Christmas present to give and especially to receive!)

This weekend sees the start of my Christmas Craft Fairs. I will be at Crafts at Lancing College in Sussex on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October. Lancing College is a fantastic venue and worth the journey alone as you can have a look around the wonderful chapel. The Fair is all handmade crafts and a high standard. You can do all your Christmas shopping in one place at this fair.

I have recently had a Guest Blogger piece about Enamel published on the Metal Clay Today blog. Metal Clay Today is a great FREE online magazine. Just go to their main website and subscribe by entering your email address address. Easy as that!

Finally the piece above is a new pendant I recently finished which I have called Radiance. More about that in a few days....

So sad to see

2010-10-05T10:47:00.001+01:00

I have just been down to the seafront to have a look at our pier. (see my last post). It is a very sorry sight. Clouds of smoke are still billowing out all across the town and every now and then you can see flames coming out where it the fire has rekindled in the strong winds. The shoreline is littered with debris washing up in the waves.

For most of my teenage years I lived with my parents in a flat nearly opposite the pier. I have put together a (not very good!) montage to show you. Our flat was on the fourth floor of Palace Chambers where I have put a red dot.

It is now pouring with rain, that can only be a good thing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11473688

A Bit of History Gone Forever?

2010-10-05T08:37:00.000+01:00

This is very sad :-(((

Our historic Victorian pier in Hastings burnt down last night. Looks like it was probably arson. The pier has been closed since 2006 because of safety concerns but plans were currently afoot to get it restored and open again. An iconic building of the town and a place full of childhood memories for me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11473688

I am just off to go and have a look at what is left this morning....

Conference Workshops

2010-09-25T19:29:00.002+01:00

At the Art Clay Conference there were workshops over three days. On the first two days I did workshops with Ryota and Dice who had flown over from Japan especially for the conference. Aida Chemicals who make Art Clay had kindly sent them over and also supplied all of the Art Clay that we used at the conference. Fantastic support and everyone was very grateful.

Ryota is a master Art Clay Instructor who teaches and helps plan the new projects in Japan. Dice is head of the Oversea Division and also provided valuable translation as Ryota does not speak much English.

On the Thursday the workshop covered making pieces to create a Mokume Gane type effect by texturing using cuttlefish bone and plating pieces in copper which was then polished back to varying degrees depending on taste.

Here is a (very poor!) photo of the group work.

Ryota demonstrating the technique

and these are the pieces I made.

On the Friday I did the Resin workshop with Ryota and Dice. As an enameller I was a little dubious about how much I would like this as usually when I have used resins before I have soon realised I could do it quicker in enamel!

This technique was to make a raised domed area which really is not something that you could achieve in enamel to have any strength.

I really enjoyed this workshop and it is definitely a technique that I will use again. The colours are hollow domes and look lovely. I was very pleased with the result.

Here is a photo of all the pieces made by everyone in our group

Mine is the rather startling orange one at the top (well it would be wouldn't it ;-) ) and you can see a larger photo of my piece at the start of this post.

On the Saturday I taught an enamelling workshop with my good friend Lynne Glazzard. We combined her paper texture techique with my enamelled accents and we had a fun day. Unfortunately neither of us remembered to take any photos all day!!

Here is a photo of some of the pieces from the show and tell the next day, but unfortunately quite a few people had to leave early so quite a bit of the group work is missing.

Still it gives you an idea of what we were up to.

I also managed a bit of sightseeing and have some nice photos in York Minster to post next...

Conference Competition Pieces

2010-09-24T17:22:00.000+01:00

The theme of this years competition at the Art Clay Conference was Past Times. These are the two pieces that I made to enter. I didn't win anything with them but I really enjoyed making them.

The pendant above is called

That Anglo Saxon Feeling

My inspiration for this came from the Staffordshire Hoard with all its wonderful gold pieces inlaid with garnet. For my piece I made it in Art Clay Silver. The twists are actually moulded in the Art Clay. I twisted fine silver wires together and then made a mould from it so I could do it all in the clay. Here is the piece after firing and polishing.

Then I added fine silver spirals, the tiny fine silver circles around the edges and the wires in the centre using my Enamelled Accents technique. I enamelled the piece just with red enamel and then patinated it with Liver of Sulphur XL Gel. I find this new XL gel is giving me great colours in the patination. A light polish on the high spots and viola... finished.

Below is my entry in the ring section of the competition.

I called this

Ring-a-Ring-a-Retro.

Just a simple textured band ring with some black enamel and again patinated. It is actually quite chunky. A retro knuckleduster ;-)

I'll post photos of the conference workshops next...

Having a great time!

2010-09-23T19:34:00.001+01:00

Oooh I have loads to tell you about.

The conference was wonderful. An excellent meeting of like minded people and we all had a fun time. I shall be posting more about the workshops I did etc soon.

First I had some great news over the weekend regarding the piece above. If you read my blog often you may recall I gave you a little taster of this piece above a while ago. So now you can see it in its full glory!! The idea was to make a piece that enhanced the pearl which had to be a Japanese Saltwater Pearl.

I entered it into the 14th Pearl jewellery competition in Japan and I was awarded Selected status. This is higher than the Honourable Mention I achieved with my last competition piece so I am dead chuffed about that but........

if that was not enough ........

within a couple of days I also heard the same piece had got into the

The Art and Design of Metal Clay Jewelry Calendar 2011
I am sooo happy!

This calendar is produced by Holly Gage in the USA and it is wonderful. I can't believe I made it into it.

Here is the press release for the calendar...

The Art and Design of Metal Clay Jewelry 2011 published by Holly Gage of Gage Designs is scheduled for release at the end of October 2010. The beautiful 28 page, 11 x 17 (open) - wall calendar features fine silver jewelry from today's most innovative Art Clay and PMC jewelry artists. Each page beautifully illustrates the diversity, artistry and pure magic of transforming a moldable metal into fine jewelry. You can expect to see silver, bronze and copper pieces studded with gems and precious stones, embellished with gold and rich textures, and accented with the touch of the artisan’s hand.

Throughout the calendar approximately 50 jewelry conferences, classes and competition deadlines are highlighted to encourage the jewelry artist to enhance their education and step out and show what the metal clay community has accomplished in their short history.

Holly Gage was joined this year by 3 prominent jewelry and metal clay artists: Lisa Cain, Robert Dancik, Julia Rai to jury the publication. Erin Meharg, Holly's apprentice, assisted in the process as well. As usual, photo selection for 2011 was difficult, but with the generous help of the jury panel, they were able to narrow 300+ artful submissions into a stunning 12 month calendar.

The 41 artist’s work from around the world that you can expect to see are Jonna Faulkner on the cover and Cindy Miller, Juanita Burton & Karen Richard, Christine Norton, Deb Steele, Claudia Atkins, Donna Lewis, Gwen Bernecker, Tracey Spurgin, Hattie Sanderson, Susan Breen Silvy, Daine Sepanski, Lisa Barth, Emma Baird, Gordon Uyehara, Jennifer Smith-Righter, Delia Marsellos-Traister, Angela Baudel-Crispin, Pam East, Linda Kaye-Moses, Tim McCreight, Vickie Hallmark, Julie Beucherie, Laragh McMonagle, Sondra Hirssig, Wendy McManus, Lora Hart, Lorena Angulo, Maggie Bergman, Joy Funnell, Pat Gullet, Lesley Messam, Lorrene Baum Davis, Nicola Callow, Liz Hall, Natalie Knott, Julia Rai, Lisa Cain, Robert Dancik, erin lane meharg and Holly Gage.

The Art and Design of Metal Clay Jewelry 2011 is a must have for jewelry lovers and makers alike. There will be a limited printing of the calendar, which will be released at the end of October 2009. The calendar will sell for $22.00 plus shipping. For a sneak peek and to reserve your copy, go to http://www.HollyGage.com .

There were quite a few of us Brits in the calendar this year so we must be doing something right in the UK!!

More conference stuff coming soon....

Off to Conference

2010-09-14T19:37:00.000+01:00

Sorry I have been a bit quiet of late. Tomorrow I am off to the Art Clay Conference in York. I am teaching a workshop with my good friend Lynne Glazzard on enamelling. Should all be good fun. I will be home again next week but hope that I may be able to blog from the conference so watch this space.. (just don't hold your breath in case I can't!!)

I will have some nice photos to show you when I get back though ;-)

Back from Japan

2010-09-06T10:54:00.000+01:00

No I don't mean I have just come back from Japan, I mean that my venetian mask Spirito di Venezia has just come back.

Earlier this year I entered the International Silver Accessories competition in Japan and was delighted to be awarded an Honorable Mention. My piece has been on exhibition in Japan and has now just made its way back home to me along with my wonderful certificate. It is large and beautiful on heavy vellum with gold embellishments. It came if a lovely tube so was quite curled and I had to use my murano glass (appropriate don't you think!) paperweights to hold it down plus the mask itself in the bottom right hand corner.

What do you mean you can't understand what it says!

OK, me too ;-) so here is the translation which was also enclosed (phew!)

I am going to get it nicely framed.

Now the mask is back I took the opportunity to take a photo I forgot to do before it went to Japan. All three of my masks together. I decided I would keep my first mask on the left as I use it for all my advertising and the one on the right has not yet found its new home so I pleased to be able to put them all together below.

Finally - meet Dudley....

Dudley is sooo cute, handmade and about 10cm high when sitting.

I tell you more about him soon....

Wot no news?

2010-09-05T20:17:00.000+01:00

Oooh - er, it is over a week since I blogged!

Check back tomorrow for a new post :-)

I'll take some photos in the morning.

Back in Stock!

2010-08-26T17:37:00.001+01:00

At last I have the Graduated Spacers back into stock on my eBay shop!

These are one of my favourite, could not do without, tools that I use everyday.

Created by Pam East in the USA these are the original and best set of spacers in my opinion. If you are using metal clays you will notice that more and more books now show these in the tools lists.

I had been holding out on ordering waiting for a better exchange rate to try to keep the price down on them and they have come in at just about the same price as my last lot.

If you want to buy a set you can order them here. My eBay shop stock generally is a bit low at the moment but it will be nice and stocked up again early next week so keep checking back.

This weekend I am at another fair. The Rudgwick Steam and Country Show. I have not done this event before but it looks good fun. The weather forecast for the Bank Holiday weekend is not too bad but it has been raining all week and there are flood warnings out in the area around the show.

Time to pack the wellies I think ....... :-)

Metal Clay Today Challenge

2010-08-25T10:19:00.000+01:00

The latest Challenge is up on the Metal Clay Today website and voting closes tonight so VOTE NOW. Pop straight over there and you might even see a familiar piece in the entries!!!

If you do not already subscribe to Metal Clay Today then please do so while you are there. It is a wonderful FREE online magazine with load of great articles. All you do is put your email address in to subscribe and that is it. Simple. Not many places you can get something really worth having for nothing these days so make the most of it! ;-)

Show Time

2010-08-20T20:19:00.000+01:00

This weekend I am in the craft marquee at Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex. I love this show. When I say I am in the marquee all things are relative, I shall be rushing outside as often as possible to see the planes!

It get kind of interesting. The craft marquee is packed with people, there is the roar of a very loud jet engine outside and suddenly there is no one left inside but us standholders so we rush out too. All great fun ;-)

Here is a photo of a few pairs of earrings waiting for finding to top up my stock a bit. You can see I have been on a bit of a Keum Boo phase with the 24k gold!!

Have a good weekend....

A great workshop with Gordon!!

2010-08-17T20:29:00.001+01:00

Last weekend I went to Corfe Castle to attend a wonderful 2 day workshop organised by Petra at Silverclay with Gordon Uyehara who had flown over from Hawaii especially to teach. I find Gordon's work to be so inspiring and am a big fan.

We were to make his brilliant bail linked bracelet. Above is the photo of Gordon's example bracelet. Good isn't it!!

There were 14 of us and we had a lovely time. Friendly people and enthusiasm make for a fun weekend.

I was on a table with Ann, Jane and Adela and they were really good company. We all had a laugh as well as working hard. The workshop was quite intensive but when fired bracelets started to emerge from the kilns there were smiles all round. We could not believe what we had managed to create.

We made lots of links and bails...

with Gordon giving us plenty of demos on what we should be doing while we all listened intently...

in between which we worked and giggled!! (Jane on the left and me on the right) ....

and then did more listening and watching - this is Adela concentrating! ...

finally we all breathed a big sigh of relief when our bracelets held together and made it into the kiln...

nearly melted my camera on this shot!! that is about 800c ....

Here are the bracelets the four of us made fresh out the kiln and awaiting finishing. Mine is the largest one at the bottom. No, that does not mean I have fat wrists!!!! I wanted it to fit and like bracelets to be loose anyway .....

So here is my finished bracelet....

and this is the reverse of it. You can see the bail link technique.

This technique definitely needs a lot of patience but is worth it in the end. It has really got me thinking about other designs.

And yes, it does fit, and I love it!

Thank you Gordon.

Busy Times

2010-08-16T21:00:00.000+01:00

I've been super busy and having great fun.

Look what I made!!

Details coming tomorrow.....

WIP Rainbow Enamel

2010-08-10T11:24:00.000+01:00

Here is the Sea Fan texture test piece using the Rolling Mill Resource texture with one layer of enamel on it. I can't make up my mind whether to put a second layer of enamel on to get a much stronger colours or stick with this subtle slightly faded effect. I do like this.

I shall have a think for a day or so and see :-)

What do you think?