Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Woohoo! good news!

I'm heading out to LA on Sat to start a new job on Monday. Of course it means i won't be spending two weeks with my Dad, or going to Tahoe or be in Hawaii when my dad comes to visit - and I'll miss my DH's birthday...but.... it's only for 2 months, so that part is perfect!
It also means I have to hustle on some art projects I have started - and ship the rest to LA to finish!
Also, I upgraded the resolution on the pics of my pmc projects if you want to see them better.
Yikes! now i have to finish them ASAP because I have no access to my kiln once I'm in LA!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Playing with PMC.....

I have been reworking the horse on my newest painting- I hated the layout. So I made the canvas bigger and moved the horse up - I think it's much more balanced now. Alas, no pics to show yet.
PMCsupply.com is having a contest using the Makins extruder and corer. The deadline was today. I just got mine a few days ago, but decided to try it out and see if I could come up with anything. I tested all the discs and the corers with polymer clay, just to see what the contraption could do. I was impressed - way cool. Then I tool out the PMC Clay I had recently purchased, and I went to town clayin'! I made square tubes and round tubes . I twisted some, left others straight. When they were dry I cut them up into little beads. Then I extruded some PMC using a thin slit disc. I texturized both sides and added some thin thin extruded squiggles.
I also used those tiny squiggles to make a birds nest. Lastly I have had an idea for a long time called Postitive ID.. It is a necklace with a thumbprint, an eye, a DNA dbl Helix strand, and some porcelain teeth. I finally figured out how to make Photo Polymer Plates that turn out right everytime I make them - yeah! personalized molds! I also tried out my tumbler to polish all of the silver in. That was so so....I need another pound of steel shot.
So here are my pieces. They really aren't finished, but they were done enough to send in the
pics for the contest. During the next week I will finish them for real. The pics are low pixels - sorry ! i have to get the better versions off my other computer...manana!

Swirl pendant

bird nest (same old same old, only this isn't wire)

Spider with a lampworked body, onyx head swarovski crystals a fine silver hallow textured legs.

Positive I.D. necklace. Thumprint and eye both need to be enameled. Indent in eye will be white and thumbprint will be black. I will also patina it with LOS. I will be adding more home made silver beads to complete the chain. The pic shows the beginnings of this.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Shibori tissue, fusings, Master Cleanse

ok here are the pics I promised. I call this "shibori tissue". It is made with techniques that my friend and very talented fiber artist, Lorri Scott, taught me at the kauai retreat, only i used tissue paper instead of silk. my examples turned out sort of glossy because the left over cheapo christmas wrap tissue paper i used had one side sort of waxy satin shiny. i liked it! i kept that side out when doing the process. I used these really cool metallic acrylic inks that I picked up - the colors are yummy- and thinned lumierre and acrylic paints. The pattern created looks like butterfly or dragonfly wing veining. It would be way cool for fairy wings, too.
here's a whole sheet

this is a close up. I used 4 layers of tissue to make one sheet - you need the extra tissue to give it strength. Note: when using metallic paints, the color goes thru, but not the metallic part. The left side is the non metallic side.

This is a sheet with acrylic glaze and fibers added. It's hard to see the pattern in this photo.
I made the shibori tissue for a technique swap i was in. Originally I wanted to use DJ's Pettitt fuse technique, with a variation of attaching the fibers and threads with bondaweb instead of tar gel. That part went well. But instead of tar gel I thought i was clever to use acrylic glaze medium. WRONG! When I went to fuse iron it, it wouldn't dry and stuck to the parchment paper. It did finally dry, and here is the result:

I wasn't thrilled with it. It would have been cut up into ATC sized pieces. This is a close up:
What an insult to DJ!So I made the shibori paper instead!

My present from my DH arrived - a beautiful heat press! Unfortunately they sent the protective platten covers separately. I couldn't use it because what i was using it for was very messy. The covers finally arrived on Friday. This is the first fusing of a painting I am working on. It is so easy to do! The tar gel fuses with the fabric and the paints and the painting becomes flat and smooth. You can throw anything on it - sequins, threads, fabric bits - most anything that is squashible. I will probably do three fusings, and then one final top paintjob. Then I will stitch all over it. This is a work in progress, and I will post as i progress.....
It is for my sister. She loves tulips and disneyland, so the castle is from a photo of the fantasy castle in Florida. It will get more flowers and a different fabric framing the picture. There is also a one legged rooster (a joke between her and I) a flying red horse (which is her) and a white owl (which is our mama). So I still have a lot of painting to go. But this layer was fused in my heat press and I LOVE that machine. SOOOOOOO much easier and more accurate than an iron. I got a Swingman heat press and the hot upper platten swings out so you can work flat. Way COOL!
This is a close up, first wash of color over line drawings. hmmmm. i may decide to turn it into a purse!

On another note - today is the 15th - the last - day of my Master Cleanse. It has been an experience - and I feel great - lots of energy! I never thought I'd make it that many days, but I had a lot of support from my DH. The next 2 days will be only fresh orange juice, then I add fresh fruits and vegetable soup......and then i can eat normal, but i need to take it slow. I also have been sleeping incredibly sound and have had amazing dreams. I feel very blissful.

I have also been working on little houses for the skyline swap - i'm still experimenting with what i am going to do, so i have nothing to show yet......

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Master Cleanse and New Toys.....

Today I am on day 7 of a "Master Cleanse". Don't ask. My DH is a fabulous gourmet cook - and he does full course meals. Rich sauces, butter, lots of cheese. But alas, I feel like a slug on this type of diet. My brain turns to mush, exercise is difficult and my motivation to get anything done is non existent...and I feel bloated.
The cleanse is for 10 days, although you can do up to 20, and then you need to take 4 more days to come off of it slowly. It is based on a booklet by Stanley Burroughs. I am keeping a diary. I also joined a yahoo support group that gives you great feedback about what is going on in your body as it is ridding itself of toxins, and what to expect - what is normal and what is not. So far so good. Day 5 and Day 6, I got hungry. Otherwise I have not been. My DH still cooks for himself, and I like to smell it cooking - my sense of smell has become very sensitive and I love the aromas. He even puts away the leftovers and cleans the dishes so I won't have any temptations. I am so lucky!
Lately, because I needed to occupy myself (and stay away from the kitchen and refrigerator), I have done a lot of artwork - some backgrounds, some drawings, some experiments. I keep meaning to take pictures - but I haven't!
And my Anniversary presents arrived! I got a Swingman heat press woohoo! and an Omni II glass saw. They are both very easy to use and I have wanted them almost forever!
....but until I clear away the boxes I stacked into my glass area when I had company, I have no space to put them! ...(ay dios mio! manana!