Scarlet Sails
Finished!

I am done! The Scarlet Sails faux cloisonne wall piece is finished, framed, and shipped to the customer. I think it was my biggest, most challenging, and probably the best piece so far.

See my previous posts for work-in-progress pictures. Here is the finished piece (click on the picture for a larger version):

The faux cloisonne part is 4 1/2” by 6 ½ “, the size of the the whole picture with frame is 11 1/4” by 13 1/4”. The faux cloisonne part has domed edges showcased by mounting the piece on top of the two mats within the frame, not behind them, as it is usually done for flat artwork.

Taking a photograph of this piece turned out to be an extremely daunting task. Due to its size, I could not fit it in my light box and tried to photograph it by simply hanging on the wall in my studio. I immediately realized that due to its shiny surface (two layers of clear resin), the piece works as a mirror. Well, not a perfect mirror, but a good one enough to reflect me and my camera when I tried to photograph it. Yes, and also all my windows... When placed away from the windows, it did not have enough light, but still acted as a mirror. After a number of unsuccessful shots, I was finally able to capture the one you see here. The trick? I had my kids hold a solid-colored piece of fabric in front of the camera. I made a hole in the middle of this screen just big enough to point my camera through it. I also used two of my OttLite lamps on both sides of the picture, but not in front of it.

I am ready for a new challenge!

Second Place, Art Bead Awards

My set of faux cloisonne beads, Conchita, the Beauty of California, took the second place in polymer Clay Beads Category, Art bead Awards 2008. Works of all winners will be featured in November/December issue of issue of Step by Step Beads and on the Step by Step Beads website.

I love using my faux cloisonne beads as little canvas for wearable art. This set of beads was inspired by an unbelievable story of love between a Russian explorer, Nicholay Rezanov, and a daughter of the San-Francisco Governor, Maria de la Concepcion Marcella Arguello (Conchita, as she was called in the family), at the beginning of 19-th century. Coming from the opposite ends of the globe and from such different cultures, they found each other and fell in love. Being a Russian noble, Rezanov could not marry without the Russian Emperor's permission, for which he had to travel back to St.-Petersburg. Conchita promised to wait for him. She did not know that on his way through Siberia Rezanov fell terribly ill and died. Only many years later did she learned of his fate, but refused to believe it. She received many proposals from many admirers, but turned all of them down. Conchita had been waiting for Rezanov for three decades... When the news of his death were finally confirmed, she devoted herself to charity and teaching Indians.

This bead set is done using my faux cloisonne technique, with all details formed out of pieces of wire. The red swirl details were formed with wire as well; the wire was removed after baking the beads and the obtained impressions were back-filled with red polymer clay. This clay contained some glitter, hence the sparks you can see in the picture. After applying two layers of the resin, the beads were adorned with siam flat-back Swarovski crystals.