I am Back!

I have spent the last week in Paris, France, and just came back. This was my first time there, and totally loved it!



The strongest impression? Beautiful stylishly dressed French women pedaling their bikes among cars while wearing high heels and no helmets! I knew there were lots of bikers in France, but I had no idea that they were so different from those in America. Here when you see a person on a bike, he or she is usually dressed in sports gear, rides on a side of the road (or on a special bike path), and all the cars are going out of their ways trying not to come near the biker. In Paris they were right on the roads, racing with the other cars and buses, and definitely doing it not for exercise as in America, but to actually get somewhere...



I brought back quite a few pictures, and you can see them in my Flickr album (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eugenascreations/sets/72157604216620192). However, the things that impressed me the most did not get photographed. For example, I did not dare to pull out my camera in the bakery where we were buying our croissants every morning, even when my daughter volunteered to do it. She just turned ten and knows only a few words in French, so it was a major adventure for her.



Another memorable thing about Paris for me was live music on the streets. We even saw a band of native American Indians performing on the bank of Sena. Their music was so beautiful, with such clean and melodic sounds... I captured them on video, but not on a photo camera.



I was also sadly amazed by the number of baggers on the streets of Paris. No, I did not photograph them either... I am convinced there is always a white and a black side to everything, but the good thin is that even though we saw some dark sides of Paris, they were way outweighed by the positive ones.



This vacation was wonderful. We rented an apartment in the historic Paris, minutes from Louvre and Notre-Dame. We saw lots of Paris, exploring on foot Les Halles, Marais, and Champs-Elysees. I was pleasantly surprised how much my kids were actually able to walk (they claim they grew their leg muscles during this trip). The weather was great, and I was surprised to see lots of flowers and trees blooming there already. But the main thing is the city itself, of cause, with its historic atmosphere, narrow streets, and unforgettable buildings...

Black Cats – Polymer Clay Pins

I added a number of items to my shop on Ruby lane today, including the two cat pins below. These guys are completely out of my style. I made them about a year ago while playing with left-over black clay and watching TV. I have no idea where they came from. I usually plan my designs or at least can figure out what inspired them after the fact. These two are a complete mystery to me. I guess that is why I kept them for so long. Finally I found them in a corner of one of the drawers in my studio and decided to let them see the light so to speak. I think they are fun and deserve their place next to my up-scale designs. Any takers?

New Set on Ruby Lane

I just added a new set of polymer clay and resin earrings and a pendant on a chain with wire-wrapped Swarovski crystals to my shop at Ruby Lane. This is the set that I made as a result of some of my faux cloisonne focal beads back in January (see my post from January, 26).

Although I am pleased with the results, I do not think I will make another set like this, at least for now. It required as much work as the faux cloisonne things I make (since every line on it is formed with wire), but the same result could have been achieved with a rubber stamp. Of course, with a rubber stamp I could repeat the same design as many times as I please, while this piece cannot be duplicated. Is it important? I need a customer who really appreciates the uniqueness of this set to justify making more beads with the same technique.

Live Radio On-Line Show

Mona Hair form Jewelry Connection invited me to be her guest artist this Sunday, March 2. Time Slated for the show is 10am HST(Hawaii) 11am AKST(Alaska) 12pm PST, 1pm MST, 2pm CST, 3pm EST depending on your time zone.

Mona, a talented jewelry designer herself, does a weekly on-line show about works of contemporary jewelry artists. Here is what she says about the show: “The Jewelry Connection is a concept born of my love and appreciation of my fellow artisan jewelry designers. To create with the intention that the world will in some way be more beautiful for that effort is a noble endeavor, for what brings forth hope more succinctly or profoundly than beauty. Thousands of heretofore unknown or barely known artists are involved in this very effort every day. I want to know them, I want to record someplace that they were here and that what they have done was important enough to document. If you are not a designer, but an admirer of original wearable art, I commit myself to entertaining you with delightful Sunday afternoons, where you may enjoy the experience of meeting some super fine people and witness the audio/visual documentation of their efforts in designs of original wearable art!”

To join us at Jewelry Connect, go to http://www.nowlive.com/mona77401 and click on the black and gray button at the top left of the page that reads Start a Show. You may then listen to the show by simply turning your speakers on; no registration is necessary. If, however, you would like to be able to ask questions during the show ether over the phone or by typing them on the message board, you will need to register at www.nowlive.com first. The registration is free and takes less than a minute.

And here is the link to the slide presentation that Mona put together for me:
http://www.youtube.com/mona77401

Click on the video with my faux cloisonne orchid to start the slide show.

Hope to hear from you on Sunday!

Synergy: Moving Forward, Looking Back

I am back from the Synergy conference. I am exhausted and overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas. The conference spread over three and a half days, if I count the registration and gallery set-up on Wednesday. The seminars (three a day) were scheduled from 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM on Thursday and Friday and 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturday, with a Gala Banquet and Closing Ceremony after that. In between the seminars, there were other events, such as panel discussions, teacher and vendor fairs, and other presentations. The information shared and discussed during the conference covered such topics as craftsmanship, business, design, new products, available classes and techniques, history of polymer clay, and many other. No wander, by the end of day 3 people were sleeping in hallways to catch some rest.

I attended two seminars on craftsmanship, three on business, and two on design. Every presentation was excellent – both in the amount and quality of the information shared and in the way it was presented. I was very impressed with the way these presentations were organized. For example, instead of having people crowded around the table to see the hands-on demonstration, it was projected on a big screen through a video camera, so that everybody could see what the instructor is doing from their chairs in the audience. Overall, the entire conference was organized extremely well at every step, which is a great accomplishment of Judy Belcher, the president of National Polymer Clay Guild, and the synergy teem volunteers.

My personal biggest impressions, however, were not from anything new I have learned at the conference (although I learned a lot), but from the people who attended the conference. It was very interesting to see not only the famous works I have seen only on the Internet and in books before, but the artists who created those works. There were lots of talented people, at various stages of their polymer clay career, but all with shared love for what they are doing. For me, it was very inspiring to see all these creative people with different personalities and styles of their polymer clay work. Many of them came to polymer clay from other backgrounds, and many are with scientific background, like myself...

The conference was a very rewarding and thought-provoking experience in many ways, and I hope to be able to participate in many more similar gatherings in the future.

Here is the picture from the conference with Carol Duvall and the conference attendees who appeared at her show. Carol was a guest speaker on Friday. It was amazing to see how many people responded when she asked to raise the hands all those who were introduced to polymer clay through her show...

Synergy Starts Today!

The National Polymer Clay Guild's conference starts today. I volunteered at the registration desk yesterday and was very excited to finally see in person some of the amazing works I have seen only on the Internet before. Gallery participants started to set up their "booths" yesterday (it is a 15" by 4' space, so you have to be creative to display in such a limited space). I wish I could show here a few set ups I really liked, but we are not allowed to take pictures in the Gallery room. Here is my set up (90% finished, photographed in my studio). I am off to the conference with a long day ahead of me (8:30 AM to 9:00 PM). Oh, it is going to be so much fun!

Synergy: Getting Ready

Here are two items I am planning to donate at the National Polymer Clay Guild's Synergy conference which starts in Baltimore next week (February 21).

The first one is a story-telling necklace with a faux cloisonne pendant and necklace ends, "Diana, the Hunting Goddess". The second one is a wall decoration with hand-sculpted orchids and fresh-water pearls.

My Customer's Creation

I just love it when people who buy my beads or pendant send me the pictures of their creations! Linda Faigen sent me the two pictures below. She used the sculpted polymer clay beads I made for her earlier this year to make these beautiful hair sticks. What a great idea! Looking at the hair sticks she sells in her Etsy shop I wish I had hair long enough to wear something as pretty as this...

Business Card Holder - Finished

I finished the plate that will serve as my business card holder at the Baltimore polymer clay conference.

Diameter: 8".
Materials: polymer clay, resin, wire, green fluorite, green aventurine, Russian amazonite, crystal quartz, and fresh-water pearls.

My Work Will Be Published in a Book!

I do not want to reveal all the details yet, but have to share my excitement. Pictures of two of my faux cloisonne necklaces were accepted for a publication in a book about polymer clay. The book is scheduled for release in Fall, 2008.

Making a Business Card Holder (Continued)

The business card holder is almost finished. I put all pictures together in a slide show below. The sculpting part is complited. Now I will have to do some boring technical stuff (like baking, pouring in the resin, and applying the glaze). I think I shall have the final picture in a few days.

Making a Business Card Holder

I decided that cards as special as my new ones cannot be simply scattered over the table. They need a nice business card holder, and I am going to make it myself!

After some consideration, I decided to make a special plate for my cards. The plate will combine my two main styles, faux cloisonne and sculpted flowers. I want to have the smooth cloisonne part in the middle, and the leaves and flowers (in all colors of the rainbow!) to go around it.

Edited: See the slide show in this post:
Making a Business Card Holder (Continued)

Eugena, 01/31/08

New Business Cards

My new business cards arrived today.

This time I made them two-sided to show my two main styles - faux cloisonne and hand-sculpted flowers. I also used the back side to add some information about my polymer clay tutorials and classes. I need these cards for Synergy, a three-day polymer clay conference that will take place in Baltimore this February. I am hoping to learn a lot at the conference and to make new contacts. I will have a table at the teacher fair, and the new cards will be a part of my display.

For more information about Synergy, please check web site of the National Polymer Clay Guild:

www.npcg.org

Custom Order - Hand-Sculpted Polymer Clay Beads with Blue Irises

I made these beads over weekend and shipped them out today. The bases of these beads are 1" in diameter and 1/4" thick. I really like how the irises turned out - they have lots of color with smooth transition from lilac to sky-blue and to dark blue with some purple hues. Just beautiful, if I may say so myself. My customer is going to make hair sticks adorned with these beads. Great idea, isn't it? Beads like that would also make interesting earrings or focal beads for a necklace.

The Oven Is Working

Following my baking fiasco, today I was extra careful with the oven in its new location. I confirmed the oven temperature with a separate thermometer and checked on my beads every few minutes. The oven is working! Here is the result of my last experiment. Not only these sculpted orchids are white (which is always a challenge to bake without darkening), but they also have tiny delicate parts that are difficult to bake properly as well. I am very happy to report that they baked beautifully and have the purest white color after a full-time baking session.

New Idea!

Funny how an artist's mind works... This morning I woke up, remembered yesterday's burned pendants and decided to see if at least the wire work could be saved. So when my kids got up, they found me digging through the trash. This is not the point, though. The point is that when I removed the wire from my pendants and saw the imprints it left on their surfaces, I immediately thought of filling those imprints with some contrasting clay (not on these pendants, however; I will have to re-create those imprints, with adjusted baking temperature). Now, this is an interesting idea! I am not sure how new it is – I have definitely seen back-filled designs, and may be even some created with wire, not sure. But not in combination with the resin! I cannot wait to try this idea and see how it will turn out. Too bad I did not have time for it today...

Burned!

Tonight I am crying.

I was in a hurry to bake some pendants, and I burned them all. Yeh, I know, it happens to the best of us and we all have to make a sacrifice to our polymer clay gods every so often, but I feel so bad! Why did not I burn some experimental pendants I have been playing with recently? No, it had to be the faux cloisonne ones, including the ones with faces, which take forever to make. There were hours of work in that tray!

I could not force myself to throw this stuff away, even though it is good for nothing now – my husband had to do it for me. He also helped me to set up the oven in our spare bathroom now. I had been baking outside (polymer clay smells a little during baking, especially Kato – the brand I prefer). I hope the oven did not work properly simply because it was too cold outside and not because something happened to it permanently.

Well, lesson learned: use the oven thermometer EVERY TIME.

Eugena's First Squidoo Lens

So, I wrote my first Lens on Squidoo.com – both for altruistic and materialistic purposes. I am glad I found another opportunity to spread the word about polymer clay, which is of course my great passion. I am also hoping that the people who came up with the Squidoo idea (including Seth Godin, whom I respect very much) are right, and this exercise will indeed bring all the good things they promise – such as increased traffic, more Internet exposure, incoming links to my web site, etc.

If you have any experience with this stuff, please come and take a look at my Lens. I will appreciate any constructive criticism.

http://www.squidoo.com/polymer-clay-creations

If you do not what the heck I am talking about – well, come anyway and figure out for yourself. This concept seems pretty interesting, so take a look.

New Tutorial!

I just finished my second tutorial - this time for a set of focal beads made of polymer clay and resin. The beads made this way look really great. They have shiny surfaces and cool three-dimensional designs embedded into the clear resin. The beads are also very lightweight, which is a welcome bonus for anything to be used for making earrings, right?

This tutorial is extremely detailed. It has 37 full-color pictures to illustrate all the basic and optional steps. I also included explanations of possible errors and how to avoid or correct them.

The tutorial is currently available both from my Etsy shop and my web site.

New Earrings

I just finished two pairs of faux cloisonné earrings.

The first pair, Elegia, has a beautiful gradation of color from lilac to purple. This is my first experiment with color gradation as a base for my polymer clay cloisonné focal beads, and I am very pleased with the results. Now I want to try other colors.

The second pair, Mria, is an experiment with different thickness (gauge) of wire. I wanted to try it for a long time. I think this experiment went right as well, and there will be more designs with these elements in the near future. By the way, “Mria” means “A Dream” in Ukranian.