Creative Musings

Anchors Away!

   

Fun with goodie bag packing and then the opening ceremonies

The SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Create Your Style cruise may be over, but the excitement of this amazing creative adventure lingers on! Well over one hundred students from locations across the globe converged on the Norwegian Star for a week of fun, sun and most of all, crystal creativity!

Time to get beady!

Students were divided into class groupings with either Nick Regine (aka: The Professor of Crystal) and Ambassador Diane Fitzgerald, or in a rotation with Stephanie Dixon, Val Hirata, Tammy Honaman, and myself. We were honored to have Bead Style magazine editor, Cathy Jakicic, aboard attending classes and inspiring everyone on behalf of Kalmbach publishers and organizers of the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee this coming June.

 

Loop d'Ombre Bracelet and Iris Earrings 

I taught the Loom d'Ombre crystal bracelet project which is versatile and can also be used as a necklace.Thanks to the generous donation from Beadalon, of the Big Eye needles that I love, beading at sea was even easier. Some students were able to complete both the bracelet and the bonus Byzantine chainmaille "Iris" earrings in class and others met up with me outside of class to work on this fun and flirty project made possible by the generosity of Blue Buddha. 

Ron and Cindy Wilson of Dreamtime Creations and other cruisers enjoying the festivities 

The week began with goodie bags chock full of cool tools and supplies from Fire Mountain Gems and other companies. Students received generous kits of crystals and sponsored materials in each of their classes, but the swag didn't end there. During the trend presentation (given by Marlene Kohlhofer of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS), everyone received another loaded goodie bag from Cindy Williams of Dreamtime Creations.

Diane Fitzgerald teaches her cute paperclip earrings while others work on their design challenges. 

Outside of class, participants divided their tim between relaxation aboard ship, excursions and shopping ashore (with stops in Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel Mexico) or with continued creativity in the conference room through free styling or in teams working on the design challenge.

 

Free Crystal Inspriation books for everyone. Thanks Kalmbach!  

Kalmbach sponsored an Ambassador book signing where everyone received autographed copies of the new Crystal Jewelry Inspriation book featuring projects by many of the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassadors. Demonstrations by NIck Regine, Stephanie Dixon and Dian Fitzgerald were also conducted during the book signing event.

1st Place Challenge Winners with their very heavy swag bags of crystals and other goodies.

The last night ended with drawings for dozens of door prizes and judging/announcement of the three winning teams participating in the design challenge. Many of the ladies attending were previous Polymer Paradise and Crystal Chix cruisers. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends too. The amount of talent among the students (both amateur's and professionals alike) was jaw-dropping.

Ladies from Downunder show how it's done!

A huge thanks to Kim Paquette who organized and hosted the event, making it a smashing success.Everyone left for home with their suitcases bulging with crystals and more, but the best take-aways are the memories of this amazing week at sea. Be on the lookout for a video presentation of cruise highlights and a make-it-take-it segment Rick Boghosian taped of the "Professor of Crystal" (Nick Regine) and me on how to create the bonus chainmaille earring project, featured in my cruise workshop kit     

          

In a nutshell, the perfect opportunity for fun, relaxation, adventure and most of all, creativity!

View more cruise photos in the "Anchors Away" Album on this site. You can learn more about upcoming creative cruises including the Polymer Paradise cruise with polymer clay luminaries Christie Friesen, Maureen Carlson and myself at: Art Across the Oceans.  

 

 

 

 

Creating Across "The Pond!"

Time to Get to the Tele! 

Can I say I adore the UK? I was so very fortunate to spend the last week in England, teaching nine classes for my friends at Palmer Metals. I've know Amanda and Mark Naylor for years. We've long talked about my coming over, but this year they made it reality. 

Claying Around at Palmer Metals

What a treat to teach a variety of classes from SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal design to polymer clay and resin focused classes. I even had some old friends pop in for some classes!

Striking a Pose with Friends Penny Vingoe and Kay Vincent During a Class Break 

The first part of the week was spent teaching at Palmer Metals headquarters, which boasts a lovely training room. All the staff, including my friend Irene McCarthy went to great lengths to treat me like royalty. They constantly brought me steaming cups of lovely British tea. Everything about my trip was grand with perhaps the exception being cold and damp weather, or as the Scottish say, "Dreak!" But who's complaining? I was indoors most of the time doing what I love best, sharing my love of creativity. All the students were delightful.

     

With Amanda and Mark Naylor at the Historic Rose & Crown Pub-Some Things Really Do Last!

Mark and Amanda made sure I went home a bit heavier by way of wonderful meals prepared in their historic farm house kitchen or dining out. I just relish the chance to dine at a historic English pub! We enjoyed a delicious curry one night that I'll be dreaming of for ages. I personally feel that food in the UK gets a bad rap. Who can gripe about a proper English tea?!?!   

It was fascinating getting a behind-the-scenes tour of Palmer Metals plating operation. 

We headed Northward for the weekend where I taught four classes at the Harrogate Bead Fair, while Palmer Metals had a both filled with fantastic creative products. I managed to get in a bit of shopping, both at the fair and one night when Irene took me into Birmingham, for a few hours of power shopping.

Contributing to the British Economy with a Trip to Selfridges Department Store!

My hosts put me in the lap of luxury during our stay there at the Rudding Park Resort. The stunning wedding chapel was the view from my room.

Rudding Park Wedding Chapel

One treat was the drive back and forth from their historic home to their company in Coventry (where my car was made!). I was able to glimpse castle views and enjoy the beautiful British countryside. While it's nice to be back home, my memories will fill my heart to overflowing for a lifetime. To see more photos from the trip visit the UK '13 Gallery here on the blog. Cheers and happy claying!    

 

New Ways to Sparkle!

With Lisa Lambright (center) and Christi Friesen (right) at the Tucson Clay Guild Dinner

Having just arrived back home from the always fabulous Tucson Gem and Mineral Show where I taught classes and exhibited at the Tucson Bead Show, located at the Windmill Inn.

It was wonderful getting to demo for my friends at Parawire with their new Cobra Coiler and Dreamtime Creations with Kellie Defries (aka: The Crystal Ninja) Crystal Katana tool.

       

Kellie's Blinged Out Ride - All Lettering and Rims are covered in crystals!

Last Wednesday, many of the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassadors convened at the Beyond Beadery room at the Whole Bead Show for a signing of our new Crystal Jewelry Inspirations book by Kalmbach. We were joined by our wonderful editor Karin Van Voorhees. Afterwards, many of the Ambassadors joined Lisa Lambright and me at our suite for a late night pizza party.

Ambassadors taking a break from signing

    

At the Dreamtime Creations Booth with my wonderful CraftOptics and with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassadors Kellie Defries (left) and June Beach (right) 

Amidst all of the work and scheduled events, Lisa and I managed to make a little time to visit some of the shows and shop. Fortunately the limited time kept me from running amok with my credit cards.

Mountain of Beads

I was so glad to get the chance to stop by and check out my friend and fellow Ambassador, Linda Hartung's new WireLuxe product. She gifted me with a sample that I am going to develop a project on this year for publication.  

    

AlaCarte Clasps new and fabulous WireLuxe, Tim Hartung in front of the booth at To Bead True Blue 

What a lovely surprise to arrive home and find the new innovations box of sparkly goodness from SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Below is a photo of the sample box. Click on the image for an enlarged view with the component numbers and colors including the Oh-La-La Crystal Rose Gold.  

 

 

Paperworld - Germany 2013

 

 

It was a tremendous honor to be asked by Staedtler (makers of FIMO clays) to demonstrate at the Paperworld/Creativeworld show in Frankfurt, Germany, this past week. Friends from countries Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and the United States came by to visit. It was also a chance to make new friends with some of the people who stopped by to chat about clay and watch some of the techniques and creations I had the chance to work on over the four days. Below I pose with friend and fellow clady, Gerlinda Karg at the Staedtler bar. To the right are some hearts I made during demonstrations to commemorate Valentine's day.   

     

The show floor and the booth were constantly abuzz with crowds of people. After visiting CHA (the Craft and Hobby Show in Anaheim, California) the previous week, this mega show was a real eye opener. The massive event is actually several shows within a show. There was Creativeworld, Christmasworld, and Paperworld. There was no way to cover the entire show, even if I wasn't demonstrating. It's no exageration to say that there are many, many miles of walking in order to see everything. 

I did have the chance to make quick trips during my breaks to a few just a few of the other halls and get an idea of just how extensive this event truly is. It was fun seeing so many beautiful displays in one of the several Christmasworld halls.

 

I certainly got my exercise walking around. This also gave me the chance to place pieces from my "Random Acts of Creativity" project around the show. I managed to leave a few other pieces in the restaurants and airports I stopped in, both coming and going on my trip. 

The Staedtler booth was beyond impressive. It dominated the space in the hall where it was located. It was the first thing you saw when entering and it filled up an incredibly large space. Dozens of meeting tables were filled with an international crowd who came to learn about the latest products and place orders for their stores and businesses.

 

There were private meetings rooms as well as a huge bar that ran the span of the back of the booth. A crew of wait-staff happily served customers and employees an array of goodies including coffee drinks like cappuccinos and macchiatos, frozen fruit smoothies, soft drinks, beer, and champagne. Visitors to the booth could also belly up to the bar for a petite lunch of German sausages and potato salad, sandwiches and fruit salad. The only show I've ever been to that compares with this are the Consumer Electronics and Comdex shows. 

There were several interactive displays with flat panel screens of all sizes throughout. My demonstration space was a raised, illuminated work space with gorgeous, lighted displays of FIMO artwork and samples including a few of my own pieces. It was lovely having a full size oven in the wall behind me to bake some of the demo samples.

A personal highlight was being invited to create the first FIMO covered pens for the numbered and limited edition "Pen of the Season" project. The design they selected are for the Spring season. 

   

Samples of the pens were on display in a place of honor, among numerous high-end writing implements in the luxury pen area. Above is a still shot taken from a looped video that showed feature high-end pens in the line.

The chance to come and work at this show was a dream come true and one I hope to be fortunate enough to repeat one day. For now, I'm working on getting reaclamated to the time zone difference in time to head to Tucson for our suite booth and classes at the Windmill Inn (room #106).

We'll be there Feburary 5, 6, 7, (closed the 8th) and 9, at the Tucson Bead Show. If you come by, mention you saw this blog post and ask for your free gift (while supplies last, no purchase necessary). You can also sign up for one of my Classes last minute. Click the highlighted "classes" link in the previous sentence to see what's available. Most sessions require little to nothing to bring in the way of tools and all materials are supplied at no extra charge. These offerings are being deeply discounted below the normal fees for these workshops and seating is extremely limited. I hope to see some of you there.    

 

 

Crystal Collaboration

Cover art by Lilian Chen

I'm so honored to have been included in the new "Crystal Jewelry Inspiration" book from Kalmbach. I definitely wanted to do a project that  invovled clay as it is one of my favorite mediums. I choose to use epoxy clay for my project and the variations as it's a go-to material for creating pave effects with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal chatons. I was inspired by the crystal rings, some of my all-time favorite elements among the thousands of crystalliscious components. Below is my project contribution: "Check It Out" and two variations that appear in the book.  

        

I'm totally amazed at the amount of talent represented in this book. Reading through the other 29 projects and the gallery contributions was incredibly inspirational. I was so lucky to be among some of my fellow contributing Ambassadors at the recent CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) show in Anaheim, California last week (read more in the previous post). Something tells me this may be the first of many Ambassador books to come, fingers crossed! Thanks to all of the wonderful people at Kalmbach who made working on this book pure joy. If you love sparkle and love to create, I invite you to check it out! 

 

CHA 2013

Tie Dye V Dub bus at Tulip's "I Love to Create" booth

Another wonderful year at the world's largest craft and hobby tradeshow - CHA! My trip to Anaheim was both fun and productive. I managed to squeeze in an Art Clay Silver class the night before the show began at Brea Bead Works. Many of our "Cruisin Cladies" came to the sold out class.

     

(Left Photo: June Beach, Wyatt White, Me,and Lisa Lambright at the Beadalon Booth, Oh-La-La!, Right Photo with the talented O'Neil Sisters, Kitty to my left and Jennifer) 

The next day it was up and early with pre-show meetings with an overseas distributor. Fortified by flapjacks, my Marketing Manager Lisa Lambright and I were ready to hit the show floor. Even though I didn't have a booth this year, I was able to accomplish so much between meetings with clients and prospective clients, to a demo at the Makins Clay booth and the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassador Book signing.

  

With fellow Ambassadors at the R & M West Coast Enterprises booth. From left: Lilian Chen, June Beach, Diane Whiting, Leslee Frumin, Me, and Jamie North. Right: the cover of the book featuring the work of Lilian Chen on the right  

I was joined by several of my fellow Ambassadors who had contributions to the Create Your Style "Crystal Inspiration Jewelry" book from Kalmbach. Judging by the que that piled up to get a copy, this book is going to virtually fly off the shelves!

This was the first time in over a decade that I was able to walk the entire show floor! Friends and fellow artists, Belinda Gaynor and Michele Sutter were able to visit the show as guests and had a ball watching demonstrations and participating in Make-its & Take-its.

           

Photo 1: Belinda Gaynor and Michele Sutter get creative. Photo 2: Jenny Barnett Rohrs of Craft Test Dummies checks out some of my Carmex jars from the "365 Days of Lip Service project, Photo 3: Hanging with my pal "The Crafty Chica" - Kathy Cano-Marillo. Photo 4: The Amazing Karen Thomas at the Yasutomo booth

Being free to cover the show between meetings allowed me to see lots of exciting new products and run into many more friends than I usually do. Trends with paper and jewelry making continue to dominate the creative world.  

         

Photo 1: Cathie Filian Makes Magic at the Plaid booth , Photo 2: Surprizing Suze (Weinberg), Photo 3: With Suze Weinberg, LIsa Lambright and Colleen Baxter at the Viva Decor Booth), Photo 4: One of my favorite people and the oh so talented Michael Strong.

New Creative Endeavors with Random Acts of Creativity!

I've neglected this blog during 2012 in order to concentrate on another project which I blogged about daily last year (365 Days of Lip Service). Now that the project is essentially over, the blog will remain intact with all 366 creations archived so that you can view each and every one of them at any time. I hope that the site will continue to be a source of inspiration to all who visit. There will also be tutorials on how to create your own jars, added to that blog and other related projects in the works.

While my posts to this blog won't occur daily, I have begun another project which commences today. This one will continue indefinitely and posted about on this blog. In the "Random Acts of Creativity" project, I will be making small creations in a variety of techniques and mediums. I will leave these in random locations where I live and travel. Anyone finding one of these can send in their comments by clicking  on the link on the upper right column of this page. I don't expect everyone will do this, but if and when this happens, I will share comments along with a photo of the piece they "discovered." Each creation has a signature hallmark and a number.

How long will I conduct this creative experiment? Only time will tell. Wishing you a creative and inspired New Year ahead!

A Slovenian Clay Affair

Overlooking the Center of Maribor from a Church Bell Tower

 

The polymer clay arts are alive and well in the tiny but beautiful country of Slovenia. Bordered by the countries of Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy, this amazing country has a population of just over two million people. The geography is widely varied from sweeping meadowlands and rolling hills to mountains which offer snow skiing and seaside resorts.

I was lucky enough to be one of several teachers to be featured in the week-long Creative Festival organized by a small chain of bead/art and craft stores known as Art Trade and Beadsi. The owners Primoz and MIhaela brought in artist instructors in several mediums including paint, Pergamano, jewelry making and more.

I taught a total of nine workshops in polymer clay and mixed media, all of which took place in Maribor's (Slovenia's second largest city) Europark Mall. Most of the classes were held in the central mall where dozens of on-lookers could stop to watch the all of the excitement. It was a wonderful way to spread the joy of clay and creativity to a whole new audience each day. Several of the Art Store's wonderfully knowledgable employees helped out in my workshops including wonderful translation for those who didn't speak English (thanks Barbara, Anne and Tonja!) I was overwhelmed by the gifts of chocolates, hand-made artwork/jewelry, and flowers that many of my students brought me. 

Each workshop was filled with eager artists of all ages. Both newbies and experienced polymer clay artists participated including a few who traveled from other countries for the event. I was excited to see how deeply embraced and evolved the polymer clay medium was in Slovenia. It was surreal to see my face on billboards located around the mall along with the beautiful display of my products at the entrance to the store. It was an honor to be asked (along with the other instructors) to judge an art competition. Entries of giant rabbits (in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday) were on display from area elementary schools. In the end, two projects tied for the win based on their humor and best use of natural materials among the judging criteria.      

The people of Slovenia are incredibly warm and friendly. Thanks to my hosts, I enjoyed world class cuisine on a daily basis. Another wonderful experience was the chance to learn firsthand, more about the historic city of Maribor; named Europe's City of Culture for 2012. One of my translators -the lovely Barbara - gave the visiting teachers an amazing walking tour of the city, including a visit to the museum where the world's oldest grape vine grows. The accompanying wine tasting really enhanced the entire experience. Wine grapes are grown in abundance and Slovenian wines are among the best I've ever tasted! As if the opportunity to teach at this wonderful event wasn't enough, my hosts treated me to a day trip to see the coastal resort town of Piran (the town square, seen on the left) and one of my favorite cities in the world - Venice, Italy! 

 

I have to say that even though the space is tight, the Art store at the Europark Mall is incredibly well organized and packs in an amazing variety of products in dozens of mediums. Their store in the heart of Maribor (Beadsi) is a jewelry of creative products in a beautifully designed and well thought out store. The rolling, vertical bead bins are to die for! I only wish we had stores like this in the United States. More photos from the event and my trip can be viewed in the "Slovenia" album of the blog. If you ever get a chance to visit this wonderful country and both of these terrific stores (wonderlands of creativity!) don't hesitate to do it. You won't be sorry!  

I've Got It Covered

 

Yeah, it's been a while since I've posted a blog entry here, but if you've been following my work, you're probably familiar with the blog I began on January 1st of this year - "365 Days of Lip Service." This and my travel schedule has kept me incredibly and blessedly busy. If you're not familiar with this project click on the highlighted name to link to the blog and see how I'm creating a new artwork for each day of the year on the lid of Carmex lip balm containers. I love a challenge and tiny canvases. If you're curious as to why Carmex jars...you'll have to check out the blog for yourself. I've taken a break from the blog project to do something I've wanted to try for years. In all my travels and writings, I have yet to encounter another person who has covered their pasta machine handle in clay. Having an extra handle, I tested it in the oven for an hour to make sure it would withstand the heat that polymer clay cures at. To my delight, no damage or warping of the handle occurred. I covered the handle first with a base layer of thick scrap clay to have a smooth foundation on which to create the decorative veneer. After adding a large (23mm) SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Rivoli button #3015 (in Crystal Volcano M) to the handle end, I then polished it.

If you've ever seen me demo or taken a class with me, you'll know that most of my tool handles are covered or made out of clay. You might have also heard me say that "You make better art when you create it with a piece of art in your hands." Another benefit of covering your tool handles with clay is that no one ever mistakes yours for their in classes and retreats. I hope this inspires you to do the same. Happy claying!

 

 

Polymer Paradise 2011

Most of the Group

I'm back from the 5th polymer cruise from California and I've been knee deep in registrations for next year's polymer and metal clay cruise to Alaska. More on that below. 

This was our best cruise ever with an intimate setting on our first four-night cruise. Everyone clicked and got to know each other in this short time. As usual, tons of goodies were given out to all. A total of three goodie bags were received by students thanks to our generous sponsors, plus loads of other creative gems were handed out in class and demo sessions. We had so many wonderful donations for our drawings that everyone won at least three door prizes, some worth hundreds of dollars!

Just Some of the Swag!

We had to stops at Catalina Island and Ensenada where instructor Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg got her latest tattoo. Most people stayed aboard the ship for bonus demonstrations by KLEW (Karen Lewis) and myself. We had two theme nights on this trip: "It's a Fiesta, Not a Siesta," celebrating our stop in Mexico. Several of our passengers really got in the swing of things with their outfits and a conga line at dinner. Our other theme night was apropos for the ship's formal dinner - "Claysino Royale." We had a clay poker chip swap that night along with loads of shared pranks between staff and previous students. Over half of our attendees were repeat offenders cruisers with Art Across the Oceans. 

Lisa Lambright and Our Surprise Adoption by the Michael and Melody Crisman

On our last class day at sea, someone shouted that they saw a pair of dolphins on the port side. That pair soon turned into a pod of hundreds of dolphins frolicking just outside our classroom window. How often do you attend a workshop like that? We ran out en masse to watch this unforgettable sight. Check out this video on Youtube. It's not the best quality and I ran out of memory before I could pan farther out to sea where dolphins could be spotted jumping out of the water as far as you could see. 

Immediately after we had crystal column classes at Brea Beadworks. Thanks to the students who stayed over to add this to their trip, especially Kay Vincent from the UK!

Next August (14th) Art Across the Oceans leaves from Seattle on a seven-night adventure to Alaska! During our days at sea, we'll be holding a package of 5 workshops (2 metal clay and 3 polymer clay) and at least 6 demo sessions. Our amazing teachers include: Katie Baum, Art Clay Silver Master and President of the Art Clay Society, Christi Friesen, Julie Picarello, Jackie Truty - Art Clay World President and Master Art Clay Instructor, and myself. Although this cruise sold out all sixty seats in a record 13 hours, we are taking names for the waitlist. For more information, click the highlight link for Art Across the Oceans.  

Take a peak at the Polymer Paradise '11 album to see just how much fun we had!