Saturday, February 28, 2009

Unfinished Business

My Collection


I would venture to guess I am not alone in being an artist/crafter with a collection of unfinished projects that I am going to finish "someday". Since I have not been sparked to attempt any new techniques this week, I have decided to pull out some of those unfinished projects. "Someday" has arrived.

As you can see from the sample of my collection in the photo, I have bracelets, earrings, pendants, and half painted boxes waiting for my return. I think this is a worthy endeavor for the next few days.

Of course, I'll share it all right here!

"Someday is not a day of the week." ~Author Unknown~

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

And the winner is....

This was a challenge for one, so I guess I couldn't lose. So what did I learn in the transfer challenge? Well, first I needed to begin at the beginning. How did I intend to use these transferred images? Deciding on how I intended use the transfers would help me choose which methods I should focus on. Next, I needed to be mindful of what type of transfers I had to work with. I had toner copies, ink jet copies, water slide transfers, and images copied on different weights of photo paper. I even threw in a couple of images I had cut from a magazine.

Once I had cleared my head and sorted the transfers, I realized I would like to have a variety of transfers available to apply to other projects. So, if they are flexible, and light in color I will have more options when I am ready to use them. I proceeded to transfer images from each type of paper onto white clay, translucent clay, and liquid clay. Most of the images were transferred onto very thin sheets of clay.

The black and white toner copied images were easiest. Burnish, wet with alcohol, then pull off. For the color copies I used the burnish, wet with water, and SLOWLY rub off method. And last, my favorite method was applying several layers of liquid clay to the image, bake between layers, then soak in water and rub off paper. The liquid clay worked well with the magazine images. I love them! They are thin and flexible and should apply easily to a variety of projects.

In the end I would say I was somewhat successful. I finally figured out what method worked best for each type of transfer. I paid close enough attention to remember how I did each type transfer, so I will not be starting all over again next time.
And one other very important thing I learned about transferring images - patience is required.


My transfer successes!


My Bob Marley Inro with a transferred image.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Transfer Challenge


dragonflyII
Originally uploaded by
katco40

This is a challenge for one - me! I love transferred images on polymer clay, and I have tried my hand at it from time to time. A real "hit and miss" endeavor I must say. I have to decided to concentrate on a few image transfer techniques this week.

So, now I will gather up all of the transfers I have collected over time, on various types of paper, needing various techniques to get the image to the clay. The first challenge will be to remember which technique goes with which transfer. I have water slide transfers, toner transfers, ink jet transfers, photo transfers,... I could go on. Once I get past that hurdle, this should be fun. Hopefully, I will get the hang of it once and for all.

Maybe I will eventually use a transferred image in to create a piece as beautiful as this one by Katherine DuBose Fuerst. Her "dragonfly II" pendant is my inspiration for yet another attempt at this. You can see more of her wonderful work here.

Check back in a few days when I will be sharing my success, or not!


Monday, February 9, 2009

Congrats to the winner of the PCAGOE February Challenge

The Dog Ate My Homework !
Originally uploaded by
beetreebyme

This month's challenge theme was ACEO's. Mary Ellen Nicols of beetreebyme sure outdid herself with this cute one!

Here's what she had to say:
The Dog Ate My Homework !
The PCAGOE challenge is to make an ACEO !!!
I don't know a thing about them !
I 'll need to do some serious studying !
I'll have to learn all I can asap !
But, what if I can't get this assignment finished by the deadline?
I Know.......
I'll just say " the dog ate my

Click here to see all the winners.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Presenting....

My texture tools!

I think I have finally satisfied my texture itch. Here are a few texture plates, texture wheels, and molds I have created over the past week or so. Also, a few small textured treasures made with my newly designed texture tools. Mostly all of this was done with scrap clay too. What could be more fun! I will definitely be making a few projects with these soon.


Okay. What's next?