“Citrus Demin” Hand stamped ceramic pendant, oxide rub, celadon and clear glazes; found beads and custom made black cord with stainless steel clasp
This one’s available too at the Annual Salmonberry Silent Auction and Dinner – the school’s main fundraiser event – that takes place this Saturday evening, May 4th on Orcas Island. The details are in the description in the photo caption above. This beautiful piece measures 2.25″ x 3″ and comes with a 16″ black cord, all beautifully packaged in a giftbox. Mother’s Day gift? If this one speaks to you, contact me at optimismandco@gmail.com with your bid (any amount) BEFORE 3pm Pacific Standard Time, Saturday, May 4th and I’ll put your name on the bid list. I’ll contact you with delivery details if you win!
‘Moover and Shaker’ Pin, pendant and bag tag “You Moove Me” Pin, pendant and bag tag“A Moodern Heart” pin, pendant and bag tag
Three of my latest cow pins/pendants/bagtags are available for bids this Saturday at the Salmonberry School Silent Auction and Dinner on Orcas Island – the school’s annual fundraiser. Each pin measures 2.5″ x 2″ and is handstamped and carved from brown clay that is then glazed in iron oxide and satin white. If there’s one you like, contact me at optimismandco@gmail.com with your bid (any amount) BEFORE 3pm Pacific Standard Time, Saturday, May 4th and I’ll put your name on the bid list. I’ll contact you with delivery details if you win!
I made this during the class. The crystal beads are on brass wire so the legs move. They were attached to the clay and cured together in a toaster oven at 275°F for 20 mins for permanency. The moveable arms were attached afterwards.
Go ahead, be a stick-in-the-mud potter (pun intended) and cringe, but polymer clay offers incredible elasticity, negligible shrinkage and versatility. Case in point: Orcas Island artist Maria Papademetriou uses it to create ethereal sinuous ‘veins’ around driftwood branches as part of her assemblages.
I found this out first hand at an Introduction to Polymer Clay workshop by the very gracious Maria herself, whose intriguing artwork reference shrines, amulets and talismans from her Greek Orthodox childhood. The class was held at Monkey Puzzle Workshop – a cosy, new art-discovery space at Eastsound Square launched by the inimitably bedecked Ms. Sallie Bell, as an extension of her stone bead and metal jewelry shop, Monkey Puzzle, a few doors down. In fact Sallie joined the class and together with Charlotte Sumrall, a textile artist, we three had a great time watching Maria’s demos, and getting our hands dirty with rolling and cutting the polymer clay (a hand-cranked pasta maker is involved), stamping with ink, and even applying gold leaf. It is just the most agreeable and approachable medium! To my delight, the material fees included some bead shopping at Sallie’s shop for embellishments to add to our ‘masterpiece’.
Charlotte’s Gal
Sallie’s Belle
Maria has over 35 years of experience working with ceramics, but she is infectiously enthusiastic about polymer clay as a medium. Her enthusiasm alone made the class really interesting. She is an engaging speaker and generously opened the window to precious little tips from years of art practice. Oh, and she also brought a mean plate of homemade chocolate brownies. It was a Sunday well spent. I am still too much in love with ceramic clay but I AM already thinking of using polymer clay elements to incorporate into my own mixed media work.
There’s another class this Sunday. Check it out.
Sunday January 27th 10am-12pm 1pm-4pm
Location: Monkey Puzzle Workshop, Eastsound Square, Orcas Island
Fee is $50, plus a $20 materials fee.
PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Please contact 317-5522 or email monkey@rockisland or information/registration.
P.S. Did you know there is a Northwest Polymer Clay Guild? Check out their site to see the work of artists already using this medium.
Five handcarved ceramic pendants, embellished with seashells, found beads, jadeite stones and vintage buttons. Available as a set or individually.
My first showing of work on Orcas Island! I exhibited two sets of ceramic jewelry in keeping with the show’s theme of Wearable Art. I was surprised to find myself the only artist to show jewelry (not a bad thing on hindsight), which serendipitously complemented the sumptuously handmade, hand beaded cloaks, costumes, fabric, masks and puppets on display. The costume works of Judy Tepley was astounding in their detail and intricacy, and I felt humbled thinking of the effort I spent in the mere bits of beading and threading I incorporated in my set of ceramic pendants above.
The show opened on Dec 1 with a warm reception that was perfectly family-friendly, with artists on hand to help with mask making and sock puppet creations, not to mention a delightful spread of pre-Christmas bites. My boys thus occupied, gave me time to chat with other artists and guests I have never met. It was a nice low-key debut personally.
I love the custom-framed box above and want to give special mention to its designer and maker – the very creative Andy Troxel – who used seasoned wood reclaimed from the humble pallet, and pulled it all together at a week’s notice. Thank you, Andy!
Hung at the entrance foyer of Orcas Center for the Wearable Art Show.My second display at the Show – a collection of elegantly simple ceramic pendants in earth colored glazes, inspired by the twigs and the curled shavings of tree bark picked up while beachcombing on Orcas Island.
Hand-built ceramic slab with handcarved surface detail. Commercial glazes on the inside and outside, iron oxide wash, fired to Cone 6.Handcarved surface detail ensures a firm and comfortable grip for daily use
Sometimes a black dress just won’t do. A little brown and a little blue and crow’s ready for a ball. Or a wedding party in Spring, maybe?
Standing at 4.5 inches tall, in food-safe glaze, oven safe and microwave safe, overall, a great (and safe) bird to have at the table.
I agree, the title for this post needs reworking, but it’s the newest game Sammy picked up at preschool and he has been walking around saying “Duck, Duck, Goose”. In any case, this waterfowl pitcher is a different form I am experimenting with. It has a more elongated base and a wider mouth. The effect, to me, is a bird on the water. The combination of form, texture and glaze recalls the style from a couple of decades earlier. Don’t you think?
Waterfowl Hand-built ceramic slab with handcarved surface detail. Commercial glazes of contrasting colors on the inside and outside, iron oxide wash, fired to Cone 6.
Heading out of the Eastsound Post Office early this week, on Monday, I glanced up at the sky and the first autumn colours caught my eye. Two trees, leaves in copper red, framed the roofline of the café across the street. Already? My summer guests just left!
In my studio, drying on a paper towel, were eight ceramic pieces that I had hand pinched to recall fallen leaves and twigs. They were bisque fired, treated with an iron oxide wash and just given a light coat of satin polyurethane to protect the surface etchings. These were made last summer, entirely on a whim from leftover clay coil scraps that I did not want to toss out (isn’t that how it always begins?). I had no fixed idea of what I intended to do with them, but I had taken them out a week ago and believed that if I kept them in plain taunting sight, I would be compelled to use them for something.
Well, this is what I did on Wednesday with some copper wire and a collection of delicate jadeite beads purchased when I lived in Beijing over a decade ago. I was trying to create the image of nature’s cycle – of an old leaf or twig wrapped in a copper ‘tendril’ that was wet with delicate beads of morning dew.
I showed them to my mother-in-law who quipped, ‘Ah, just in time for fall.’ Wait, it didn’t occur to me in the studio, but perhaps those copper leaves I saw on Monday were the inspiration behind these pendants/mixed media miniature sculptures. Duh!
When I design something, I do think about how it can be used, but this little piece surprised me. Can you tell what this pendant was originally designed for?
Anvil Blue on waxed cords
Not so successful in its original purpose, I strung it on three waxed cords on a whim, the night before a sale, and sold four of these the next day. Something about the shape, the way it sits on the neckline or where it leads the eye, flatters the wearer. Dare I say sexy? Someone said it had a retro reference, well, an added bonus. It looked good with the bare shoulder styles in tropical Singapore. I left it at that.
Anvil Blue on Wool
On Orcas, where the pacific Northwest summer breeze is more unpredictable, I strung the last pendant in this style on a necklace that I had made using curly knitting wool that I had woven like a ‘friendship band’ in some sections, and it changed the look of the pendant immediately. It can be worn lower on the front, over turtlenecks and sweaters, almost like a long, loose scarf, warm and fuzzy around the neck. Neat. Now I have a versatile accessory that adapts to the seasons. It would be fun to wrap around the waist as a belt buckle too. To think it started life as a napkin ring.
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