September Design Team Reveal Day!

Today is reveal day for the Artisan Clay Design team!
This month we all used buttons for our challenge pieces.

I am running late on my projects as I am scheduled to move my studio across town tomorrow.  Please check out the design teams projects below--- and check back for my project.... as soon as I can get it finished, photographed and blogged ;-)   yikes!

August Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal!

Today is the day.... It comes so fast.  Design Team Reveal Day! 
This month, our guest designer is Amy Blevins.  Amy has had an Artisan Clay Trunk show at her Bead Store, Bead and Glass Boutique.  Make sure to check out her necklace and blog... I love what she has done.  Imagine the fun of having an entire bead shop to work from when designing your jewelry!

This month I did the bead selection a little differently.  Staci suggested that I send out some of the half and quarter round Art Deco beads this month.  I was really happy for the suggestion, since I have started to feel like most of my bead types have already been used.  
     I found just enough pieces for all the designers and packed them up in boxes.  I shuffled the boxes and packed them in envelopes blindly.  I have no idea what beads ended up where...  It turns out that I was left with the largest bead, a crescent in my minty green glaze and made with a clay body that shows a manganese fleck when fired. 

I started making this style of pendant a long time ago and have never finished a piece of jewelry with them until now.  I have imagined them used so many ways;
highly stylized and playing on the Art Deco theme,
strung in a tribal theme,
used in a Native American design....
I tried to mix a bit of a natural, southwestern and native look?  Ha! 
The stacking a knotting of the red beads on waxed linen gave me a feeling of the southwest.  I played around with the idea of adding beads in a bead loom, bead weaving style, but decided I really wanted to open up the body of the necklace into multiple strands as I often do.

What do you think?  I don't have any more of these Art deco beads left here in the studio, but I do have quite a few in the dried mud stage waiting to be wet sanded and fired... Depending on how they are glazed, they have such a different feel.

So... are you ready to see what the team has made?


Have you made something with an Artisan Clay bead?-- then add your link below!

July Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal!

Check out the beads that the design team had to work with this month!

Recycled Glass fused Donuts-- The ones available made to order in standard sizing and colors to be exact.

Everyone picked one piece from this photo.

Except me that is.... for some reason I was dead set on green this month.

Could it get more simple?  Really? 
I had my mind set on furthering my ideas from last month and weaving another collar inspired by the ribbon of seaweed I saw on the beach in Oregon, but--- I couldn't do it.  It was just too much. Too much color, too much action, too hard to wear.   Life for me these days has been so complicated and difficult to figure out and I just long for simplicity.  If only life were more simple.... If only there was a clear yes or no....and people-- the wild card.   So~~ this is what you get, simpler than simple, easy to wear and no competition for the bead. 

When I decided on donuts, one of the design team members mentioned not using donuts in her work before.  They can be kind of tricky to work into a design, but some people seem to be able to find endless ways to do it.  I decided to go through my old photos and show examples of my use of donuts in the past.

I like to chain them up.

This one has a wire loop fired into the clay itself making it easy to string as you would a pendant.

This one also has a wire loop and I made it into a Christmas ornament.

Here I have used one of my cast donut bails in Bronze....

And this piece was chained up like the first few examples.

This last piece was made by Design team member, Carol Dean Sharpe, Sandfibers.  She is dealing with health issues this month and was unable to blog for this month's reveal. 

Carol made this piece for me to show at last year's Bead Fest Philly.  Carol has been so kind to make gorgeous display pieces for every one of my Bead show booths.  Carol has such skilled hands and a magic way with color and I am so lucky to have an Artisan Clay fan in her.  She is an awesome friend too!

So... are you ready to see what the team has made?

Have you made something with an Artisan Clay bead?-- then add your link below!

June Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal!

Check out the beads that the design team had to work with this month!

Everyone picked one piece from these photos.

Large smoke fired donut #22

I worked like crazy on this month's piece. Early in the month, I got this crazy idea and then the rest of the month was spent inventing the wheel. There was so much to think about in figuring out how to make this "idea" reality.

Medium Smoke fired Donut #10

I am sure it's been done before and that somewhere someone has written instructions on how to go about doing what I did...... but..... following instructions is not my way.... and my brain was tickled with the journey.

Oh Boy!  There were sketches, and collecting materials... and collecting materials....and waiting for them to arrive..... and thinking a lot, and saving that picture frame from the dumpster......and tracking down the tape measure..... and collecting materials

And then, this is what I came up with.  I have been obsessed with "constructing a fiber" I have multiple fiber ideas and this one stems from both my trip to the Oregon Coast and the Roberto Capucci exhibit that I went to the first week of June.

Sea Weed

So.... by 8pm Thursday.... this is what I had.... A piece of fabric, woven with Sari Silks... that shortened while I has weaving it.  So, what was I going to do?  First I tried it on my daughters.  It was still just a little to short for a necklace for my 6 year old... Then I found myself at 10pm last night.... STARTING OVER AGAIN!

This time I added a few inches for shortening due to weaving. 

And this is what I came up with.

I hope you find it interesting. 

I would like to explore the idea more with next month's project.

I always have a great time running through these visions.

Are you ready to see what the rest of the team has been working on with their Smokefired beads?

Also---FYI-- I am participating in a Saggar fire this weekend... so, all those wonderful red and brown smoke fired pieces that have been sold out for so long, should return to my etsy shop in the next weeks.  Please follow my Artisan Clay Facebook page if you would like to know when I update my etsy shop.... I have not been doing a good job of keeping the blog updated when I post new work.

So....Check out what the team has been up to!

Artisan Clay Design Team-- The Beads!

This Friday is the Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal Day!

I can't believe how fast it came up on me this month.

Here are the beads sent out to the team.  I sent charm sets to those members who typically use more stringing techniques.  I sent a single cabochon to those members who seem to like to use bead weaving techniques.

I only had single charms left over, so I will use one charm alone in my design....unless..... I can find another set hiding somewhere on my desk....

Why did I choose these beads for the team?

-- It feels like I have made a million of this size bead.  It feels like I have mailed out a million of these beads.  I would love to see them in use.

Simple enough-- I would like to see more ideas of how they can be used.  This is one of my standard sizes and I can make them in many color combinations and make them to order (given time) 

I can't wait to see what the team comes up with!
There are a couple of charm sets in this size in my etsy shop.

Don't forget!  You can join us on reveal day by linking up to a blog post of your own where you show us how you have used Artisan Clay Beads in your work.

Or... you can join us on Reveal Day and feast your eyes on the goodies that the team has come up with!

Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal Day Has Arrived!

Welcome!

I am very excited to announce the very first Artisan Clay Design Team Challenge Blog Hop!

This month I decided to let each member of the design team choose a bead for themselves.  The photos above were what they had to choose from.  I really love this metallic bronze glaze and as soon as I made these funky link focals I have been dying to see them in action.

Now for the reveal!

I had his crazy idea rolling around in my head.  A few months ago I started to have all these ideas for a photo shoot with feathers.  I want feathers in my hair, feathers in my hat, feathers on my purse. I want to have a fun feathery time, put on some sunglasses and pretend it's not me and glam it up :-) 

Ask my friends, I went on for weeks about this and that.

It still would be fun to try. 

I didn't get that far--- but I did buy some feathers and I did work out the hows and whys of adding them to this necklace.   I found it both tricky and fun, because for me, tricky makes it fun.  I like to try to figure out new skills with out being told how to do it.  That might be the hard way, but my brain likes the adventure.

So, what do you think?  I wonder what they would think of it at the office. 

Want to see the what everyone else on the team came up with?  I sure do!

Follow the links below to all of our design team blogs. 

If you are checking in early, and there is not at least 7 blogs listed below, check back as everyone links up.

If you have blogged about your creation using an Artisan Clay Art bead, please add your link below and let us all see what you have made!

Artisan Clay Design Team Reveal Tomorrow!

Our reveal day is the last Friday of April (THAT'S TOMORROW!) and I would like to invite YOU to join us!

Our Awesome Design team has been hard at work this month making, making, making with their Metallic Bronze Beads.  Tomorrow we will share our designs!


If you have blogged about anything made with Artisan Clay Beads this month I invite you to link up to our reveal post tomorrow as well.

Or..... maybe you are the last minute type, or are looking for a fun project for today???? Maybe?

Maybe you have some Artisan Clay beads hanging around your beads stash just waiting for their moment to be worked with.... maybe you like to have a deadline, goal, challenge.....? I invite you to use your Artisan Clay beads in a design this month, blog about it and on April 29th add your link to our reveal party! Contact me if you have any questions :-)  artisanclay (@) hotmail.com or via etsy convo :-)



Make something or not, please join us for the fun tomorrow!

Announcing the Artisan Clay Design Team!

I am so happy to announce the 2011 Artisan Clay Design Team!

The Design Team Members are

Marcie Abney

Shannon Chomanczuk

Susan Kennedy

Carol Dean Sharpe

Staci Louise Smith

Jen Velasquez

Our Designers will receive their Design Challenge Beads at the beginning of each month.
Look for our Design team reveal posts on the last Friday of the Month!

We also have some great Guest designers scheduled in the coming months.
I am VERY EXCITED!

An opportunity--and look what I made.

You can skip to the bottom colored area for the opportunity part--

I found my jewelry making desk last night.  

  It had been hiding behind a pile of half sorted Artisan Clay beads and bead trays that had gone out of control with dividing and combining and newly made additions and half finished projects and ideas to be kept for future reference.   I was nervous to get started, since it has been so long since I have made any finished jewelry.  What if I had forgotten how to make jewelry?  What is my style at this point in time?  And then there is  the stubborn part of my nature who simply cannot handle being like the crowd... What if ~gulp~  I end up making something that looks trendy?  I know, I'm a little bit weird, and there are tons of folks who do very well in life by being agreeable, but I am not those people.  Alas.... always searching out a challenge, always being difficult. 

-I'm not saying that I don't like the current trends or that popular styles aren't popular for a reason ;-)

-I'm not saying the things I made last night were the most inventive new jewelry pieces in all of the world or anything, I just always want to be sure to be the me I need to be, that's all :-)  I was experiencing a little nervous block.

So-- I did end up making a few new things.  I made a secret necklace for the Button Swap with 3 of the buttons that my partner Shannon Chomanczuk (For my Sweet Daughter)  sent me.

I made the chain necklace above with some of my new "porcelain chain link" beads.  It felt good to make.  Those beads have been sitting in limbo for quite a while, stewing in my brain.  So- now I made something with them and so now I can make more beads and let other people have a few :-) 

And I made a pair of earrings.  Now my Etsy shop is back to having an earring section once again.... (with 1 item in it) 

So I've made and sold what seems like a million beads these past months/year/decade.  I wonder what has become of them.  I want to see them in use.  I want to be inspired by the way you use them to make more! 

This is the opportunity part...

I would like to start a design team.  I would like you to be a member.  Artisan Clay Design team members will receive Artisan Clay beads for their use in their artwork.  I ask that you blog/(or otherwise share on social media) how you use them.   

Interested parties should contact me via email at artisanclay @ hotmail.com Please tell me why you would like to be an Artisan Clay design team member, your website links, and what types of my beads you like the most. 

I look forward to hearing from you and getting to know you better.