Blog and Web Site Updates

I'd like to point out a few changes I just made on my blog and both websites:

Blog (eugenascreations.blogspot.com): added three new pages to showcase my tutorials and polymer clay works, removed dead links and elements that were loading up too slow.

PolymerTutorials.com: added pictures to my list of publications, added more thumbnails and links to the step-by-step tutorials to the side bars of each page.

EugenasCreations.com: updated lists of publications and rewards, added pictures to my list of publications, corrected a few pages to improve their appearance.

I am very proud of myself. The feeling is similar to what I would experience after cleaning up my house. Everything is nice and tidy! Love it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, the cat sculpture in my previous post is based on this old drawing of mine. The cat here is cute, but sad, right?

That is why I decided to post another drawing that would be more appropriate for Valentine's day. Here you go!

Call Me!

Polymer Clay Sculpture

Cat with a Phone

 

Scrap polymer clay, acrylic paint, telephone wire.  Approximately 3"x3".  One of my rare sculpted works, done a few years ago.  I wish neither one of my readers would look like this poor cat on Vilentine's Day.

Treasury:

Fun and Frolic with Polymer Clay

My Steampunk Butterfly Tutorial is featured in a new treasury by RoyzleDesigns.

I think this treasury is a perfect illustration of polymer clay's versatility. Don't you agreee?

From My Studio:

New Bead

This polymer clay bead I actually made quite a while ago.  It is an experimental one - I was just playing with a new technique.

Overall, I am pleased with the design, but have two problems it.

First, the shape is not ideal.  I think I got a bit carried away with the details and perhaps misshaped the bead in the process.  Or I was not careful enough during baking.  Whatever the problem was, this is the one easy to fix.

The second thing is more serious - I do not remember exactly how I've got this effect with the dimensional details.  I know what tools I used, but I seem to be missing some crucial step (or steps?), and because of that the whole technique fells apart.  I just cannot reproduce it!

Back to the studio...

...And take notes next time...


Forgot to say: the bead is about long 1.5" and  0.5" in diameter (4 cm by 1.2 cm).

Treasury:

Gold and Brown Autumn

My polymer clay buttons were featured in this beautiful Etsy treasury
by Binster.

Thank you!

Pictures of Finished Works from the Faux Cloisonne Class I Gave in Texas

I have to apologize...


These pictures of the beautiful Faux Cloisonné pendants made by the people who attended my class in Texas this Spring, were sent to me a while ago.

I should have posted them earlier...

These heart pendants were made by Sandy Williams.

The pendants with faces are by Mary Vanderwood, of cause.

A whole collection of Faux Cloisonne pendants with various shapes and designs by Sherri Sneed.

The necklace with a Faux Cloisonne face and Swarovski crystalls is by Babette Cox.

And these pendants (Faux Cloisonne and cane work, all with the resin finish demonstrated in class) are by Ruth Steiner.

Seeing what other people do with my technique is my favorite part of the whole process of teaching.  I am always learning something new from my students...

Thank you for sharing the pictures of your works, ladies!

Sorry again it took me so long to post them - I am in a rough spot in my life right now, and finding time and motivation for my art is not an easy thing to do at the moment....

Faux Cloisonne Class

in Dallas, TX

I just came back from Dallas, TX, where I taught my Faux Cloisonne class this Saturday at North Texas Polymer Clay Guild.

Below are a few pictures I took during the class.  The works shown in the last three pictures are not finished yet - there are a few more steps left, namely finishing the edges, pouring the resin, and incerting the bail.

My students usually do not finish their projects in class, because the resin takes so long to cure. They do get to practice how to mix the resin and how to pour it over a polymer clay pendant, but they use some mock plastic heart shapes I bring to class (not their freshly-made faux cloisonne pendants). I would love to see the pictures of the finished pendants, and hope to get them in a few days.

From what I am hearing, the class participants seem to have a really good time in my class. I certanly enjoed teaching it!

I want to thank Babette Cox, who did so much work to organize my class for the guild, and Mary Vanderwood, who was my warm and gracious hostess. I enjoyed staying at Mary's house so much! The night before the class, we stayed up until 2 or 3 am, talking, and not even realizing what time it was. Mary is a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and many amazing stories. Her house is full of character, with an astonishing collection of polymer clay works – both by her and by other artists...
...I am getting too tired to write this post properly, so I will probably have to edit it later. I just wanted to say thanks to all my students from Texas for a wonderful time at their guild.

My Faux Cloisonne Class

in Dallas, TX

I will be teaching a class on my  Faux Cloisonne technique next Saturday, April 2, in
North Texas Polymer Clay Guild.

There is still room in the class.  If you would like to join us, please contact Babette Cox.

Featured in Jewelry Maker's Newsletter

I've got a note that my story was featured in the Fire Mountain Gems Newsletter (click the link to see it).

To be honest, I did not even know they had a newsletter.  It must be something that this company just started recently.  The one I've seen looks quite interesting, with lots of good information.  I am going to subscribe!

My Donations

Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild in Central Florida, is holding the Sixth Annual Fandango Polymer Clay Retreat at the end of May this year.  Charline Ahlgreen, OAPC Guild President and Donations Chairwoman, asked me to donate a few of my works to be used in teh auctions and "goody bags" for participants.  Charline says, that the proceeds from the auctions are used to fund their polymer clay community outreach programs (Central Florida Fair demonstrations, public library classes, Bottles of Hope for cancer patients and Beautiful Baubles for hospice patients). The guild also provides two internal scholarships annually that enable their members to take master classes so that they can expand their polymer clay skills, which in turn benefits their more than 40-member organization.

I gladly doated a few of my works for this even, and here are the pictures of my donations.

Indian, Faux cloisonne polymer clay pendant

Red Hat, carved and back-filled polymer clay pendant on a black organza necklace

Yellow Swirls, carved and back-filled polymer clay pendant with an antiqued sterling silver frame

                                                                                                 Sculpted Lily, a polymer clay pendant with genuine Baltic amber, fresh-water pearl, and amazonite beads

Pink Beauty, hand-sculpted orchid over a polymer clay base

Ivy Leaves, Faux Art Glass polymer clay pendant

Happy Valentine's Day!

This polymer clay heart and orchids necklace and a step-by-step tutorial explaing how to make it are available in my Etsy shop.

New Necklace...

I realized I did not show any of my new work for a while, so here is a polymer clay and metal necklace I just finished last week. It is a study of various textures, with every bead being unique and different from all others. The beads are tied together by their common shape and color scheme.








 

...And Disaster

This is what happens when an old oven is not replaced in time. The last couple times I baked in it, I suspected there was something going on with the temperature setting, but never got around to actually check it. This time, there is no doubt. I wonder just how high did the temperature spike to turn one of the last sections of my necklace into this ugly blob (I took a picture of it next to the other sections for a size comparison)...

Merry Christmas!

Silver Medal Prize

Fire Mountain Gems Contest

I just received the results of the Jewelry-Making contest sponsored by Fire Mountain Gems. 

My two-sided butterfly necklace took the second place in the Holiday Category, in Pearls, Organic Beads, and Kato Polyclay section this year.

Many New Items in My Shop

I've been busy today adding some new necklaces and earrings to  my Etsy shop. 

Among the new additions, I have a few examples of my new faux stained glass collection.  These pendants and earrings are made by filling up the cells of filigree with custom-colored resin.  The resulting pieces look amazing when the light shines through them - like real stained glass, with sparkling colors and delicate frames provided by the filigree.

The only problem is that they are really difficult to photograph...

Finally on Facebook

Just finished making my business page on facebook.  Come and take a look.  There is a link on the right side of this blog or you can just follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Polymer-Clay-Tutorials-Jewelry-and-Beads-by-Eugena-Topina/166188150060268

I am still trying to figure out how it all works.  My son says it is a never-ending process since the site is constantly changing.  Sounds encouraging!

EnviroTex Lite Resin

Now at PolymerClayTutorials.etsy.com

The resin needed for the projects described in my tutorials is now available in my shop, PolymerClayTutorials.etsy.com.

It is a two-part epoxy resin, the kind that needs to be mixed immediately before use. I explain how to mix and apply it in every tutorial for polymer clay and resin.

I offer a trial-size kit, 2 fl. oz. total, for those who want to try one (or a few) of my techniques, but does not want to buy too much of this material. This kit will allow you to make a few items following any of my tutorials that call for this resin:



Faux Cloisonné
Faux Art Glass
Faux Lampwork 1
Faux Lampwork 3
Easy Faux Enamel
Steampunk Butterfly
Steampunk Hearts
Perfect Metal Leaf

Ready: Tutorial

Perfect Crackled Metal Leaf

on Polymer Clay

This new tutorial for polymer clay and resin is ready and available both through my Etsy shop and through my web site.

Web Site Updates

Checking the sources of the traffic to my sites a couple of days ago, I came across a post about my polymer clay work at some forum. The post had a link to the gallery at my Eugena's Creations web site with a short comment, something like this: “Polymer clay imitations of cloisonne beads, but very beautiful.”

While I am flattered by the “very beautiful” part of this statement, I felt quite uneasy about the rest of it.

The choice of preposition (“but”, not “and”), probably, says something about the author's taste. I feel, she does not really like cloisonne in general, or she is not a fan of the polymer clay versions of this style. Whatever it is, there is nothing I can do about it.

The first part of this comment, however, made me spend a few hours updating my site. I realized that in fact, the gallery did not represent my work in its variety. I had mostly my faux cloisonne work there (plus a few sculpted flowers), but none of my other works – in steampunk or rustic style, for example. So, I added 25 new gallery pages. Take a look when you have a few minutes.

It was a timely update, indeed. I am shifting priorities in my polymer clay work, concentrating on my tutorials now. I never liked “production” type of work, and with closing of my 1000Markets shop, I decided not to list my jewelry for sale anywhere else at the moment. So, Eugena's Creations web site is now becoming a showcase of my works rather than a tool to lead to my on-line jewelry shop. It is also becoming a portal to my PolymerClayTutorials.etsy.com shop, which will be the center of my attention now. In either case, my gallery definitely benefits from showing a wider variety of my works.