Art Vessel – week 21

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, candle lantern, flourescent, polymer clay, spoonflower

This week’s vessel is pretty late. I did finish it yesterday morning, but I wanted to wait till it was dark to take photos because it’s another candle lantern. I used one of my spoonflower fabric test swatches on a glass jar with an edging of polymer clay. I wanted something a bit irregular, but also something that would maximise the windows.

Mixed media candle lantern by Cate van Alphen

Lantern with lit candle inside

I used flourescent pink acrylic paint to highlight the texture of the polymer clay, because who doesn’t have neon pink decor – right? The photo under UV light doesn’t really look like it does to my eye, but it does show the glow.

Lantern under UV light

I lined the inside of the mouth of the jar with scraps of fabric before adding the polymer clay around the outside. I was concerned about the safety of having polymer clay on the inside of the jar with the heat of a candle inside. I think it looks a bit more finished than just leaving clear glass with polymer clay on the outside.

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Art Vessel – week 20

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, mosaic, orange, polymer clay

This week’s vessel is more of a techniques sampler than a harmonious object. Some of the things I tried have potential and others not so much.

The ruffled neck of the jar is starting to work, but next time I think I need to do that first and then work on the rest of the jar afterwards to get a more harmonious shape. The feet slipped when I put the jar into the oven on so, in addition to its other problems, the jar tilts to the side slightly.

Because I was planning to do the ruffled top, I did the base of the jar first and it doesn’t look right as a whole. I do like the frilly feet, but not on this jar.

Polymer clay challenge – week 19

Tags

ArtVessel, beads, bracelet, mosaic, polymer clay

This week my Art Vessel is still a work in progress, but I do have a bracelet that I made.

Work in progress by Cate van Alphen

I made this bracelet mainly to practice knotting beads.

Art Vessel – week 18

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, polymer clay, recycled jar, vase

I almost had my 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge piece finished on time this week, but it was sunny yesterday so we went for a walk instead :). This week my vessel is a progression of the lantern I did a few weeks ago. I have used a variation of the solid backing from last week and added a bit of shaping to the filigree snakes.

Polymer clay and glass vase by Cate van Alphen

This time lined the inside of the top of the jar as seeing the thread through the glass really irritates me. It looks a bit chunky as I needed to build up the layers to cover the bumps, but I have an idea to try next time.

There are a few things I’d like to do differently next time, but I think I’m making progress.

Art Vessel – week 17

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, polymer clay, vase

I have been finding my weekly challenge to create vessels pretty difficult. Part of the inspiration to do the challenge was the fact that I have been collecting glass jars (among other things) for years but I never get around to decorating them. Even with the challenge I’ve only used three of them, and not been happy with two of those. So for week 17, I decided to employ some help.

Boudoir Bottle by Heather Campbell

More than two years ago I bought a tutorial by Heather Campbell for a Poly Fiber Boudoir Bottle. I bought all the supplies, and then I never got around to trying the project. I decided to start off (mostly) following the tutorial, but I’ve already got ideas for a couple of variations that I’m going to try.

Here’s my jar vase:

Vase by Cate van Alphen

It was really helpful to start off with an interesting ground to decorate rather than a naked glass jar! There was also no cracking which was a problem with the first jar I did and which I think has discouraged me from totally covering a jar again.

Art Vessel – week 15

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, bowl, polymer clay

Just pretend that this blog entry is from yesterday. Here is my polymer clay Art Vessel for week 15.

Polymer clay bowl by Cate van Alphen

I like the shape of the bowl, but the “glaze” inside didn’t work quite as I planned. I used ink in liquid polymer clay, and most of it ran into the bottom of the bowl. Next time I think I will try to set it a bit using a heat gun before curing in the oven.

The brown colour was from metallic gold ink but it doesn’t show that well on the sides of the bowl. I quite like it in the puddle at the bottom of the bowl though.

Art Vessel – week 14

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, mini bowl, polymer clay, ring bowl

This week I am still suffering from a lack of mojo, so my art vessel for week 14 of 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge is not particularly inspired. I liked the silly shape of my egg cup last week so I decided to make a little ring bowl.

Polymer clay ring bowl by Cate van Alphen

The underside is a fine extruded snake spiralled around.

For the inside I stamped a texture and added some green mica powder.

Art Vessel – week 13

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, bowl, Egg, peace poppy, polymer clay

For this week’s Art Vessel I have made an egg cup for my Easter Egg. I did try last weekend to think of a way to make an egg-shaped box, but I didn’t think I’d get it done in time for Easter (not that I got the egg that I did do finished in time).

I made a mini bowl from polymer clay with the same decoration as the egg.

Inside I wanted to include a white peace poppy. I had intended to make a cane, but I’ve had a lurgy all week so I’ve lost my mojo. Instead I scratched a poppy image into the raw polymer clay and highlighted it with white acrylic paint. It’s not as good as the cane I pictured.

Lets hope I get some mojo back for next week of my 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge.

Art Vessel – week 12

Tags

2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, candle, glass nugget, lantern, medieval, polymer clay

This week, for my 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge, I have finished the lantern I started back in week 10. What I had in mind was something like medieval reliquary – all encrusted with gold and gems.

Glass and polymer clay lantern by Cate van Alphen

Halfway through decorating the jar I thought of something that might make the snakes less clumpy looking, but I decided to continue as I had begun. It was a bit of an exercise in stamina. I’ll experiment on something smaller like nugget pendants to see if my new idea is an improvement.

The ribbon around the top is still on probation. I didn’t want a big slab of polymer clay to hide the thread for the jar lid. I had originally planned to wrap it with beads, however after working on the jar for 3 weeks, I just wanted something to finish it off quickly!

This lantern is much more interesting than my previous one when lit from within 🙂

Earrings by Anna Bragina

While I was working on the lantern I found these beautiful earrings by Anna Bragina. I thought they looked like an elegant take on the look I was going for. I like the minimal bezels. Why didn’t I think of that?

Polymer Clay Challenge week 10

Tags

2016PCchallenge, art bead, ArtVessel, bracelet, handmade bead, polymer clay

This week for my 2016 Polymer Clay challenge I have a sneak peek of a lantern that I’m making and another ballet-time bracelet.

Polymer clay and glass lantern WIP by Cate van Alphen

I decided to do another lantern since the previous one I made was a bit disappointing when illuminated. This time I’m using glass nuggets so it should be more exciting when lit. I’ve only completed a small section, but it’s promising. I just hope it will hold together when I’m done since I’m intending to leave some gaps.

Yellow polymer clay bead bracelet by Cate van Alphen

I used beads from last year’s Yellow Palette to make this bracelet. It’s available from my Folksy shop.