Playin with PMC

I wanted to share some pieces I made with precious metal clay. I took a rings class ( the second time) with Nancy Miller   nancymillerjewelry.com.

I was thrilled with the end results and came away with lots of inspiration and my head spinning with ideas. That's usually what happens. Now I have a sketchbook next to my bed. I am sure I am not the only one who comes up with great ideas in the middle of the night only to forget them in the morning. Instead of my head spinning with no real sense of direction, I can look at my sketches and focus on what it is I want to complete. If you read my blog or know me, you know that I love my horses. I incorporate what I love into my jewelry. I have an Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/Giggleworks where I hope some of the pieces will sell to help to support my PMC habit. Silver is VERY expensive lately so I need to limit how much I use it. The bracelet I finished yesterday ( pictured) has a metal clay focal  and then I combined it with leather and some sterling. The horse head on the PMC is from a sketch I did. I made a PPP ( photo polymer plate) of it and transferred the image to the clay. I then dried, sanded, fired, patina ed and polished. It sat on the work table for weeks until I was inspired to finish it.


I love the wrap bracelets that are so the rage lately and am teaching myself how to make one. My first attempt is coming out good. I just need to get more beads to finish it. I am going to make some PMC components to add to them. I am also working on making horsehair bracelets. I will post pictures when I get one done. All the horses are wondering why I am following them around with a pair of scissors. LOL!

Ohhhh.....the rings! I am keeping the square one and am finishing the other by adding an image and resin into the frame. That one is going to my Momma.

I'm gonna make more............they were so rewarding to do. I loved the finished product!

Definite ramblings on a snowy afternoon

Sometimes I think I am an adult with ADD! I go from one thing to another so quickly. That is why my interests are all over the place. I have been so consumed with paper crafts and mixed media assembleges lately. I made quite a few things to decorate my house for the holidays. It has all come to a screaching halt! So now I am back into my PMC phase.

I have been enamored with PMC since I heard of it 6-7 years ago. I have taken some classes from Nancy Miller, in Saratoga Springs. She is a wonderful teacher and artist who shares freely what she has learned. I have wanted to make my own texture tools using photo polymer plates & the tear away technique. I believe they will give me the type of texture I want on pieces I want to do. I have yet to master either of them so, as the procratinator I am, I have done nothing!. I bit the bullet today and ordered what I needed to make my own photo polymer plates. I had some of the supplies but not all of them. This is one technique, Nancy, my instructor, has not mastered either. Maybe, I will end up teaching her! She has explained and I have read about the tear away technique, but being a visual, hands on learner, I need to look into this more. I purchased some PMC, now I need to organize my space so I can work more efficiently. I have an office/studio space that I have yet to unpack. I am ashamed to say, what I have been doing, has been out of boxes. I get an extra weeks vacation this year and I think I will take a week early 2009 and do a huge organization job. I want to come home from work and walk into my space and be able to work on whatever I want without being frustrated. That's it! I'm frustrated! I cannot find anything, I have no space. How can I do what I want when the place is a mess! Money is an issue. Being a single mom of 2 teenagers with no child support is hard. They come first. I will do the best I can. That is my motto. "Do the best that you can do with what you have." So humor me, as I write this, this readerless blog I have. This is great therapy. I can get out what I have on my mind whether it makes sense or not and just feel better because I got it out. Thank you blog....for being there. I hope my art will improve and grow, I hope my relationships will improve & and grow in the coming year.And I hope 2009 brings an organized space and a working knowledge of PPP;s and the tear away technique, among many other things. Happy New Year to me and to all of you out there in blog land

Keum Boo Cool!

This past Monday I took a PMC class with Nancy Millerhttp://www.nancymillerjewelry.com
,of Saratoga Springs, NY, using keum Boo.I have learned everything I know about PMC from Nancy. She is a marvelous teacher and makes the most amazing jewelry. I have not been able to work too much on my art. We are moving and most of my things are in boxes. It was a wonderful break taking this class and I am in love with the results. I wasn't thoroughly impressed with Keum Boo until I actualy saw it myself. The gold with a liver of sulfer patina, makes me sooo happy! I had this skeleton key and wanted to make a silver heart to put behind it, or a star. My drawings did not come up with anything I was thrilled with. So I decided on wings. The "winged key" will be part of a necklace I want to make for myself. I have an "idea" in my head. Lets see if I can bring it too life. Also in the photo are Celie Fago inspired lentil beads I am making earrings from and a geometric bead I will use in something else. The square piece, made from scraps, has an impression of a horses head I made for my horsey daughter.

I am just starting to think of myself as an artist and seem to be growing into the role slowly. I have always known I could be creative but it has been suppressed for all my life. I just wouldn't or couldn't let it out. Once I started to let myself feel and see, the possibilities seem endless. I am inspired by other artists and follow what they do and what inspires them. I have not yet created my own style, but my guess is that will come in time. Right now I am learning new techniques and appreciating others style in hopes someday it will begin to emerge in what I do as something unique and beautiful. My confidence hopefully will build as I continue to grow and I will not feel so awkward calling myself an artist. My new home will have a studio ( I even feel weird saying that) for me to retereat to. My plan is to fill my spare time creating the visions in my head. Then I will be a true artist and not just a wanna be.

Things that inspire me. Nature, animals, vintage jewelry, old photos , landscapes, the sea

Today's a new day

After an extremely stressful day at work yesterday I am looking forward to some quality time with my family today. It is a beautiful spring day and Jordan, my son, has soccer practice and my daughter, Mariah, has a riding lesson. I hope to expel any leftover stress from work and enjoy today. Maybe this evening I may work on some PMC earrings I have been making in my head. My days never go as planned so we'll see. I made everyone a good breakfast and all is well for the moment. My poodles are extremely dirty and desperately need a bath. They need to go to work with me tomorrow to become white again. My posts seem few and far between but I never have had a journal before and I'd like to use this blog as one. I am not where I want to be in my life. I am not where I should be and am not quite sure how I got here. All I know is that I want it to change. I enjoy what time I can with my kids ( like today) and do the best I can each day. I have faith that a better future will come my way because I do deserve it. I have attached a picture of my favorite boy and his poodle ( "Star"), just because it makes me smile.