Eco Eggplant

I like to incorporate recycled materials into my artwork wherever possible. Many don't realize that being a Polymer clay artist is one of the less wasteful kinds of art there is. We do accumulate scraps but those scraps are saved and recycled. There really is no need to throw any away. The least you can do with it is to mix up your scraps and use it for the base of so many things. But you can also use other recycled items as well. I have plenty of jars saved to cover as well as many other things , but one day I was changing a light bulb and realized I couldn't put this in the recycle bin, but what could I do with it?

Actually I had some others saved with some dried oranges, some wasp nests and other things I was going to use to spray all gold and make a wreath with some day. Never got the round tuit though, so they sat in a box. I emptied out the box, kept the bulbs and have now started to designs ways I can incorporate them in my clay art. This is my first. It is with a premium light bulb that is longer than most. I thought it was perfect for an Eggplant. I wanted it to be a rather whimsical sculpture so I used various mini stamps and texturizing tools to give the fruit some interest. The stem is actually molded from my mold I made last year from a fairytale eggplant. I have many more ideas in mind for my growing collection of burnt out bulbs, I will share them with you as I do them.

2374

Swan Lake

Last weekend we took a drive to our local lake
(different from the last lake I talked about) and while eating our little snack we'd brought with us this is the view we enjoyed. Those yellow looking trees are weeping willows, one of my most favorite trees. I always wanted to plant one in my yard but DH said no, they are water seeking and will clog the septic tank. Ugg! Well at least now I get to see many of them ( this park has dozens) anytime I want and only barely 10 minutes away.

Isn't that a beautiful view and that is from the side of the road where we parked. We usually see the regulars, the Canadian Geese, the Mallards and some other domestic geese and ducks, but this time, yes, that's right, we got the treat of seeing this beautiful creature~! We saw him or her, two years ago and never last year in all the times we went, but here he/she was, serenely floating on the water and close to the edge, dipping her head down over and over eating at something on the bottom. It was wonderful to sit and enjoy our late lunch and watch this, as well as see the trees getting ready to burst into green and color. This park also has over 50 dogwoods, both pink and white and a street that runs through it is lined with cherry trees and when they start to fall off, it's like a Pink Barbie Parade is happening! I'll get pictures and share in about another month or so.






















I hope this weekend is as peaceful as last. Just look at the rosy glow of the sunset tinting her graceful neck! And when I got home and looked at the pics I noticed that her beak isn't just orange but two shades of pink and then orange. What a beautiful creature, I am so thankful to have witnessed this right before sundown!

I have been super busy this week that is why no blog posts but I promise I have some cool stuff to post soon!

Happy Spring!

Mountains and Rocks

We went up to the mountain lake this past weekend. It was rather dreary, again the sun wasn't out but we had a picnic in the car and then took Jazz for a walk! She loved it but was pooped the next day! I did find some cool rocks I just had to take some pics of. Also some of the interesting winter scenery that I hope won't last for long. It's amazing some things will dry out and stay up all winter!

I don't know what they are but I love the texture! I took several pictures but this was the only one that came out, it was quite breezy and they stand about 4 feet tall so the wind was moving them back and forth quite a bit, but this one stood still long enough for me to capture it clearly.

And here are some of the rocks. I must admit I have always had a fascination with rocks. Walking to school I would have to go down my grandparents driveway which was not paved and I still remember walking and looking down to see what interesting stone may have come to the surface after the last rain. One time I found a stone that on one side looked like Comedy and the other Tragedy. I still have it somewhere. I also remember when I was about 16 I skipped school with my BF and we went riding his dirt bike somewhere I don't remember but there was a stream and I found these most beautiful rocks. I ended up filling my pockets with them and on the way back they ended up tipping us over! He made me dump them all out which I wasn't too happy about, even though I had a skinned up leg and bruised hip!

I love the texture and color of these, I don't know what they are but they are fascinating. And they aren't gray, they really are that bluish color. I think if I could refine that they would make lovely earrings, a bracelet, necklace........... And look at this Beauty. It looks as if someone painted it. Reminds me of the Lascaux cave paintings!





















So it wasn't a total waste, we also found a cool park not far up the road.
They had some old log cabins from some historical site and also a new bandstand. looks like it may be fun to visit in the warmer months.
On our way out, I noticed they had these interesting leftovers from winters ravaging, I think this is some kind of sedum, all I know is I loved the colors and it was beautiful on a dreary day.


















All in all it was a lovely day but I was happy to get home! And on the way, the sun did pop out to give us a beautiful sunset!

Looking forward to those Summer Sunsets

I think I must be looking forward to seeing the sun set somewhere besides outside my window and through the trees. Lately I have been turning towards those colors when my favorites are more in the greens and blues. I found this out when I made my poppy cane and have been experimenting with it lately to see how many ways I can manipulate it and use it. These aren't finished yet but you can get an idea.

I especially like the one in the middle, it is a rectangular piece that is formed with double holes to be a bracelet focal bead. This was actually the end of the cane as I pushed and pulled and beat it to reduce it further from the original size which I made my Necklace from in this earlier post. I cut this away to get a nice slice and saw how the leaves and the flowers were actually popping out from the background of white in a rather interesting way, too interesting to add to the scrap clay boat so I carefully formed this bead from it. I love the 3-D effect it made just naturally!

I can't wait to see what else I can do with this, I'm thinking to shrink it down some more and do some earrings. They are so springy like, but with these colors I am surprised at myself for loving them so much! This cane seemed to have caught the eye of Cynthia Tinapple on Polymer Clay Daily on March 1st as I just stumbled across a link to my necklace on Etsy there on her blog under 'Second Looks'. I was flattered as this was my first cane!

So I will be working with this some more and most likely if things turn out well I will be adding some to the shop. Also I have been experimenting with my leaves, I have been wanting to give them a yin yang look, an all natural and then a more op art look, but not take away from the natural beauty. Since my experimentation with canes I have come upon an idea to give a half and half look, one side the full veining and texture of the live leaf and the other side what one might see under the microscope ( artistically interpreted !).. This is a prototype I thought I'd share and would love to read some comments.

Here it is with a ring I quickly whipped up from the cutaway pieces.

But back to those sunset colors. I got a convo today from Wintergarden ( who does some great things with color in her specialty pieces), who informed me she loves my work and had added one of my pieces to her treasury at etsy. It is titled "Potent! Is the talent of these artists" . When I went to visit it I was pleasantly surprised, it is beautiful and full of the sunset colors. My Edamame leaf brooch sits comfortably along side these fiery hot works of art, and I must say have inspired me more to pursue this colorway! Enjoy!

Chag Sameach Purim!

Once again, they tried to kill us , G-d Saved us, lets Party!

In honor of the holiday, all items in the Purim section of my AlmostARTifacts shop have free shipping!

Also this beautiful necklace, (fit for a Queen) with an ancient scroll bead along with the separate listing of matching bracelet and earrings is the special for this month. If you buy both, not only do you get free shipping, but also free gift wrapping and $6.00 off the set! Go take a look at my selection of Purim gifts. There are 13 in All! ;)