Jan 14, 2010
I’m continuing to work on web site updates for myself and for clients during this break between semesters at school. I’m also spending hours every week making faces, beads and pendants with ceramic clay. Some will be fired when I go back to school, but some I’ve been firing with the help of my bead and jewelry artist friend Laura. Here are some pics of the first and second batches.
I’ll be making some of these into beaded Spirit Dolls, some into jewelry and selling some of them individually and in new Spirit Doll kits with hand dyed ribbons and fabric. Its all a learning curve as I work with new materials, and I’m happy to say that each batch gets better technically and I’m starting to achieve more of what I want with these. I’m always excited with the adventure of each new batch, and looking forward to carrying out some of the ideas I have connected with them, and seeing how others do too! I’ve got a new doll started already, and I’ll post pics of that in progress next.
Dec 12, 2009
These are some of the miniature faces I made in my ceramics class, raku glazed and fired. I like the fiery nature of taking these out of the kiln while still red hot and dumping them into the trash can with shredded paper, then coming back an hour later to see how they look!
I made a lot of different faces using some of my own silicon molds that I created using my polymer clay originals. Thats something else I really enjoy—the creative connections that different media allow.
These first four faces are all made from the same mold, but look very different, partly because of the varying glazes. The fourth one has no glaze at all on the face, and the bare clay turns black when fired.
Here are two masks that are full sized replications of traditional Noh mask characters, the Maiden and the Fox God. The Maiden’s chin broke during the bisque firing, so I painted her with acrylics.
The Fox is glazed and details were added after firing, like the gold leaf around the eyes using a Krylon pen.
In addition to faces, I also got to try my hand at throwing on the wheel, and managed to create several cups, a teapot, three lidded vessels and two small vases. I had a great time in my ceramics class and look forward to taking ceramics2 next semester!!
Nov 11, 2009
Big masks, little masks…I’m going to be living in mask-land for the next several months as I take LOTS of pictures of mini-masks I’ve collected over the last ten years of Internet swaps and use Adobe Photoshop and its clipping mask and layer masks in order to get all the pics ready for placement (using Adobe Indesign) in the upcoming book from PolyMarket Press titled “A Collection Of Polymer Clay Masks”. Over the last two years, many artists have also submitted images of full size (wearable size) masks also made using polymer clay, and now that I have a computer with enough memory and the programs to put it together, I’m ready to pull all the details together and lay out this book. The goal is to have it all done by the end of summer, so I have a LOT to do, but I’ve already begun! I haven’t done a final count yet, but I know there are at least 400 of the miniature masks, and I’m thinking of how to divide them up into chapters as I don’t want to do them chronologically. So far I’ve come up with “animal, vegetable, mineral, traditional and fantasy” and I’m starting there—if I do all the photos and there are some that don’t fit in those catagories, I will have to change or add, but I think that covers a lot!
My classes in school in digital photography, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are all a vital part of learning how to self-publish beautiful and informative books, and yesterday’s InDesign class covered how to build an Index–vital info for this new book, and I’ve begun to build one with the artists’ names who’s work appears in the book–there’ll be more than a hundred for sure, probably more.
I think its very important for an an artist who is writing a book to have their work at its best on the cover, but in thinking about it over the last several months I’ve realized that this one is NOT a book about my work so much as it is about this fabulous collection and the medium of polymer clay. The book itself is my featured work this time, and I want it to look its best. Once I knew that, it was obvious to me that the image of Katherine Dewey’s Noh Maiden mask (full size) was needed on the front cover. There are hundreds of beautiful mask images in my files already, and more to shoot—but this image is a fave. I moved my Time Mask from its previous spot on the front to the back, and added some of Melanie West’s mini masks as well. The pics shown here are not quite finalized…but as a Work In Progress, they are ALMOST there, and I’ll be sure to show of the final versions next summer when all is done. For now, here’s a peek at the front and back so far! (editors note–I just put up the revised versions 11-14)
Oct 11, 2009
Judith and I are the two and the show is the 37th annual International Quilt Festival in Houston Texas at the George R. Brown Convention Center, October 14-18. We’ve done this show for several years now and love it. The fabrics, tools, embellishments and beautiful work are astounding in amount and variety!
We’ll be there in booths #1848 and #1850, with Fun Polymer Clay Jewelry By Judith Skinner and Sarajane’s Polyclay Gallery. We’re bringing jewelry, beads, faces, spirit doll kits, face bags, dyed textiles, millefiore slices and cabochons, paper dolls, and of course BOOKS! We’ll even autograph ’em.
We made a vow at this show last year that we’d have all our files converted and be globally distributed through Ingram Book Company, and we got it done. Now they are available through sources like Amazon.com and PolkaDotCreations.com and of from us directly.
Learning how to best use the right software like Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator as well as Microsoft Word has taken up most of my creative time this year but now we are ready to go forward with new books, like Judith’s “The Art Of The Blend” and my two books on polymer clay masks.
I did manage to get in a few weeks of dyeing and fabric painting while on break between semesters, and it all does seem to add up, particularly when I try to pack it all into the luggage and haul it around! There are thousands of booths with an incredible variety of vintage and new items, and the explosion of color and creativity there is incredibly energizing and exciting. I’ll be sure to talk about it here in upcoming posts.
Please do come and see us at the show if you are there and say hello!
Aug 14, 2009
On our PolyMarket Press side of things, work is progressing on new books. In 2010 we will see the debut of two new books from me–
Making Faces, Molds & Forms and The Art of Polymer Clay Masks. Learning a lot more about using programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign has been keeping me very busy this year, and now I’m focusing on using them to produce new books. I’ve assembled a fabulous array of hundreds of images from polymer clay artists who create masks, and I am looking forward to sharing them all in print.
Judith Skinner is also beginning work on her new book about the Skinner Blend, the variations of it and the many uses it has for polymer clay. There is a tentative publication date set for Fall 2010. If you are a polymer clay artist who uses this technique and you’d like to submit images for consideration, contact me at sarajane@polyclay.com Judith is seeking the best that’s out there with high resolution images (300ppi) in a size format to fit within a 9″x7″ pages. Submission deadline is March 2010, which gives you all some time to get pics of your best pieces that make use of the Skinner Blend technique. Contact the email above and I’ll respond with the full information letter.
Images will be edited as needed to fit. Each artist will be credited by name so include that along with information as to the size and listing of all media used. Since it was first developed and shared with the polymer clay community, artists around the world have been using this color gradation technique in amazing ways. Just wait till you see the variety gathered into one great book!
