Happy Groundhog Day, pick your colour

Tags

beads, polymer clay

It’s my Birthday today, so I always notice Groundhog Day. Last year my birthday was a fantastic date 02/02/2020 – a palindrome for US and UK alike.

At the time, it seemed like such a lucky number… by the end of February it seemed like a harbinger of DOOM! It turns out that 2020 got worse from there. So I’m feeling cheated. It didn’t happen, I want to try again. Therefore in the name of the movie (Groundhog Day) I am awarding myself a do-over.

So what exactly am I doing again? Back in 2015 I set myself a challenge to work with seven colour palettes throughout the year and make something every week. You can see details here (including links to the colour recipes). At the time I felt like I hadn’t properly explored each palette, so I have decided to have another go. I’m not going to specify timescales at this point because, by now, what’s a year here or there among friends?

I’ve made a little survey if you’d like to click through and choose which colour palette you think I should start with first. You’ve got some time to vote since, at the moment, I’m working on another challenge that I have set myself. I’m working on a video which I hope to share soon (maybe next week?) because I’m hoping others will join in. Here’s a sneak peak…

Polymer clay kaleidoscope pillow beads.

Icy beads fresh out the oven

Tags

artisan bead, beads, handmade, polymer clay, winter

I have had my head down a bit what with second (and now third) lockdowns in England and preparing for Christmas. I don’t like to start my “resolutions” on the 1st of January as I find it’s still too dark and cold and depressing to try deprive myself of sweeties at that point. However I had reached the point of feeling the time had come to start improving my eating habits and sleep patterns when my sister sent me a link to this beautiful video.

The bit that struck me was when she talked about it being okay to have less energy in the winter and that you shouldn’t force yourself to try to feel the same way that you do in summer. Having grown up in a humid subtropical climate in South Africa, I don’t know that I would ever be able to embrace the cold the way she does, but it does look beautiful from the comfort of my duvet in a centrally heated house. I think in these times it’s okay to have a need to comfort eat and want to hide (for a while), so I forgave myself for being withdrawn and sat down to start making beads again.

“Arctic Noon” polymer clay beads

I was also inspired by the way she spoke about light. This is important to me since I derived the name Fulgorine from “fulgor” which means “dazzling brightness, the light of the sun” because I want my work to be bright and joyful. I try to look on the bright side of life and focus on the positives but sometimes it takes an effort to remember to do it!

I really enjoyed making things again and I also have an idea for a new challenge that I hope others will be inspired to join in with. I’m working on a video of my own to explain it, so hopefully I’ll be able to share that soon.

I hope you all had a happy Christmas and are looking forward to a bright New Year.

P.S. I have started a mailing list! I’m not ready to send out regular messages yet, but if you would like to sign up now for when I do, here’s the link.

The end of the rainbow

Tags

beads, handmade, polymer clay, retro beads, scrap clay

The scrap ends of my rainbow cane had some lovely colours, so I couldn’t look at them sitting on my board for long without wanting to make something new with them. I decided to make some of my round natasha beads. I mixed some the bright colours with white to get some tonal variation in the finished beads.

These beads are ridiculously complicated to make, involving an extruded cane cut into cubes, assembled into bigger cubes, then cut into natasha beads and then made round. Halfway through I realised I liked the cube format too, so after much deliberation I decided to keep most of them half formed.

I’m still not sure which I prefer…

I also used Fiona Abel-Smith’s tutorial to make another extruded cane with the rest of the scraps and a few others lurking on my table. I like the vintage granny square look that these have. I textured the surface of these beads to add to the textile impression.

Polymer clay challenge week 38

Tags

2016PCchallenge, beads, necklace, polymer clay, retro

This week I have made some beads using the canes inspired by the vintage teacup I’ve been working with. So far I’ve made one necklace.

The beads have different patterns on either side so the look changes depending on how the beads are flipped.

I plan to make some more beads using the canes, and I have made some accent beads to go with them when I do.

Remember it’s nearly time for the Art Charm reveal :). I’ll be showing the fairy tale inspired charms I made along with links to see what the other participants have made. This will also be the start of the auction to benefit Beads of Courage, so be sure to come back on 30th September.

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.

Just listed on Etsy

Tags

beads, earrings, handmade jewellery, hypo-allergenic, polymer clay

I have been struggling to fit in everyday life and listing things in my Etsy shop. I took a month off from doing the listings, but I got really depressed at the thought that the jewellery I made would end up stuck in a box rather than having the chance of finding a good home to go to. So my new plan is to put aside one day a month every few weeks and do as many listings as possible.

Here’s what I managed to do today. They are old friends but with new photos.

Purple glass bead earrings by Cate van Alphen

Purple and silver bead earrings by Cate van Alphen

Silk tassel earrings by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay bead earrings by Cate van Alphen

Apple zing earrings by Cate van Alphen

Shoulder duster earrings by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay challenge – week 16

Tags

2016PCchallenge, beads, polymer clay

My vessel for this week currently has plaster drying on it as I left it a bit late before starting. I am still finding this challenge to be hugely out of my comfort zone. This week I did manage to make some beads as I find those relaxing, so that’s what I have for my 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge.

Polymer clay components by Cate van Alphen

I really enjoyed the shape of the beads I made for my Art Bead Scene earrings, so I made a few more in a succulent blue-green colour. I added a subtle glaucous edging with some blue interference mica powder.

The pendant started off as a way to use up some of the extra glaze from last week’s bowl, and when I got it out of the oven to put the beads in, I thought the greens went well together. So I added an organic, slightly ruffled edging in the same clay as the beads.

I’m planning to make a few more beads, and then I should have enough to make a necklace.

Bead Composition

Tags

abstract art, beads, Indigo, polymer clay

I like abstract art but, with two young children, I don’t get to do much painting. Then it occurred to me that I had some interesting repeatable components that I could use to create an abstract composition – beads.

Bead Composition by Cate van Alphen

This image started as a photograph of polymer clay beads I had made, which I then cut and repeated using a photo editing program on the computer. It’s not intended to be a realistic space but rather a meditative repetition of shapes.

I’m quite pleased with the image but since it’s the result of photo editing it only exists as a digital file, so I’m not entirely sure what to do with it now. I always find computer images a little disappointing because there isn’t anything real at the end.

 

Polymer clay challenge week 40 – bead

Tags

2015PCchallenge, beads, flower cane, lavender, polymer clay

For this week of my 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, I made beads using my violet colour palette. I reduced and mirrored my flower cane to form a pattern like you’d find on fabric.

Floral fold beads by Cate van Alphen

I made fold beads. They are smaller than I’ve made previously because I wanted to keep them under an inch, so they don’t become focals.

Floral fold beads by Cate van Alphen

I also made some triangular pillow bead headpins. I even sanded the fronts! Unfortunately the sanding rubbed off some of the silver coating on the copper wire, but as long as I add a bead or wrap the top I think they’ll be ok.

Polymer clay headpins by Cate van Alphen

Of course I couldn’t decide if the triangles should point up or down, so I made some of each.

Triangle pin pair by Cate van Alphen

The backing colour is the colour I mixed from the cane ends. It’s not strictly in the palette, but I thought it was pretty. It makes me think of lavender soap.

Polymer clay headpins by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay challenge week 27 – bead

Tags

2015PCchallenge, beads, blue, Cate van Alphen, handmade, polymer clay, polymer clay beads

I spent far to long making beads this week, considering the amount of unpacking I still need to do.

Polymer clay beads by Cate van Alphen

I started off last week making some double-sided sequins to go with the water lilies beads. I made some earrings too which I’ll try to show you soon. (My to-do list is experiencing a bit of a traffic jam.)

Sequin beads by Cate van Alphen

Then I listed a pair of earrings on Etsy, and I thought it would be fun to make more gradient stack beads in blue.

Gradient stack beads by Cate van Alphen

The rustic stack beads came out longer than I had expected so I thought they’d be good in a necklace. So then I had to make some spacer beads to go with them.

Blue beads by Cate van Alphen

Then, because I’d made more than 3 beads the same, I came up with these beads which I think of as “tutu beads”. I made a pair, thinking of earrings, but I think they will become the focal of the necklace I have in mind. I just need to order some findings so I can complete it. I’ll put that onto my to-do list…

Tutu beads by Cate van Alphen