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.

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Polymer Clay Challenge – week 8

Tags

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

This week I have decided to alter the parameters of my challenge – because it’s mine so I can! Last year I tried to do my weekly blog on a Thursday, this meant I could play on Friday evening because I didn’t “have to” finish something off for the challenge. My vessels are taking longer to make than I expect, which is fine because I love doing them, but now I am trying to simplify my ideas to fit them into a self-imposed timescale of a week. I’m not enjoying the stress and I don’t believe artists get bonus points for how quickly they work (unless you use the time is money* equation).

I am now also using the beads I made from last year’s challenge to make finished pieces of jewellery. I do this when I’m waiting while the girls do ballet etc. so it comes out of a different time budget. Therefore I have decided that my challenge will now be as follows: I will work on my vessel each week, and if it is not finished within a week I will post some of my ballet-time jewellery instead.

Maybe by the end of the year I’ll be able to work quicker and more efficiently and have a vessel completed each week? But for this week it’s a ballet-time bracelet.

I used beads from my Orange Palette for this bracelet. I made the red stick beads specifically for it after pairing the square retro beads with the gold pearls. You can find it in my Folksy shop.

Hooray! Tonight I can play. I’ll probably finish off the trinket box I’m working on. But I don’t “have to”. 😉

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* I don’t think money is the best measurement of an artist either.

Art Bead Scene January Challenge

Tags

art bead, bracelet, Cate van Alphen, earring, handmade bead, JAN ABS, polymer clay, star, starfish

As my girls would sing “For the first time in forever…” I have made an entry for the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge. I do follow along every month and usually plan something, but I don’t often get to sit down and make it.

Landscape with Stars by Henri-Edmond Cross
Watercolor over graphite on paper, ca. 1905–1908

I had been thinking about making polymer clay star beads over Christmas, so I thought it would be easy peasy to make a couple for a pair of earrings. But, then I had enough clay for three stars so I thought the third would make a nice charm for a bracelet. So I made a few more beads in different shapes to make a bracelet. And a few more stars in different sizes…

Polymer clay jewellery by Cate van Alphen

In the end I didn’t use the third star charm and I now have a bowl of beads waiting to become something when they grow up. The bracelet ended up daintier than I planned. The chunkier beads in the bracelet irritated me – I think because I use my hands a lot.

Star bracelet by Cate van Alphen

Initially the earrings were just supposed to be the large star charm on the bottom hung from an ear-wire, but they grew.

Star earrings by Cate van Alphen

The back shows a little cross-pollination with Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”.

Back of earrings by Cate van Alphen

Some of the stars twist around the wrong way but they look quite cute – like little starfish. Sometimes I feel like my sparkle is hiding on the inside too so that’s ok. 🙂

Happy New Year

Tags

2015PCchallenge, 2016PCchallenge, ArtVessel, handmade bead, polymer clay, spectrum

I’m starting the New Year with a look back at the old year. I took part in Katie Oskin’s 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge which I combined with my idea of dividing the year into blocks focussing on each colour of the spectrum. Each week I made bead components*. Look at the pretty gradient that they make!

Some of the components need reworking, but I’m pleased to say that I managed to make something every week (despite moving house in the middle). I think perhaps this exercise needs another iteration since one of my objectives was to develop a more homogenous body of work. Maybe I should choose my favourite component from each block and make a version in each colour palette? But that’s not my challenge for 2016…

For 2016 I plan to make a vessel each week. I’ll probably start with covering my collection of glass jars, but I’m also hoping to make items of jewellery like inros.  I’ve made a group on Flickr if you’d like to join in (it’s not limited to polymer clay since although that’s what I work with, I love to be inspired by other media too).

I hope my year, and yours, will be filled with beautiful things!

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* I have a page dedicated to the Spectrum Year project where you can click on the thumbnails and find my colour recipes. I am working on adding some of these beads, and jewellery made using the colour palettes, to my Folksy shop.

Polymer clay challenge week 52 – toggle

Tags

2015PCchallenge, clasp, handmade bead, polymer clay, red, toggle

For the last week of my 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, I have made an old school bar and loop toggle clasp.

Polymer clay toggle by Cate van Alphen

It’s pretty chunky and mostly red.

Polymer clay toggle by Cate van Alphen

I wanted a contrast between the pattern on the side and the front as the bar will be seen side on when in use. I’m mostly happy but I think it could do with another iteration – the stripes in the bar are a bit thinner than I’d imagined.

Polymer clay toggle clasp by Cate van Alphen

The hard part was carving the polymer clay to look interestingly irregular without ending up a wobbly mess. Maybe it could do with a touch more wobble? 😉

This is officially the last week of my Spectrum Year, but I’m sure I will be making more as I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface. For 2016 I plan to make a vessel every week. Have a look at the Flickr group I’ve made if you’d like to join in.

Until then,

BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Gifts given

Tags

faux ivory, handmade bead, lentil, polymer clay, stained glass

Here are the gifts I made this year.

Stained glass lentil bead necklace by Cate van Alphen

This lentil bead necklace is a descendant of one of my earliest necklaces, and was actually a Christmas gift for the same sister. I hope she agrees it’s an upgrade. This one was a very easy baby to make :).

The next necklace was for a Boxing Day birthday. looks simple but it took a huge amount of time to make.

Egg bead necklace by Cate van Alphen

The first issue what the fact that the beads are ivory and white, so I had to work really carefully to keep the polymer clay clean and free from specks. The next issue, which I really felt when it was time to sand, is that the beads are…

Egg bead necklace by Cate van Alphen

BIG! Each bead is about the size of a bantam egg and there are a lot of them to make a long continuous necklace. As they say on the cookery competition programs: “Something this simple needs to be executed perfectly.”

Faux ivory egg beads by Cate van Alphen

For the surface decoration of the beads, I made a marbled cane using ivory, lots of white and transparent polymer clay (I had to redo some of them since my first cane was too yellow – doh!). Here is a tutorial I did for a marbled cane which in turn was based on this tutorial for mother of pearl.

Polymer clay challenge week 48 – toggle

Tags

2015PCchallenge, clasp, handmade bead, polymer clay, red, shank button

This week I made another jumbo shank button/clasp from polymer clay and wire. I used some of the scraps from the earlier mokume gane sheet with some slivers of skinner blend.

Red focal clasp by Cate van Alphen

Again I did two loops on the back, so one can be for the necklace and one for the clasp hook.

Focal clasp by Cate van Alphen

That’s it for week 48 of my 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge.

Polymer clay challenge week 45 – toggle

Tags

2015PCchallenge, handmade bead, magnetic clasp, polymer clay, purple, violet

This week of my 2015 Polymer clay challenge I decided to have a go at making a magnetic clasp. I’ve always had trouble with magnetic clasps pulling open. I figured that two magnets are strongest when you pull them directly apart as opposed to bending them open like a book or sliding them sideways. So I tried to come up with a design where you have to pull the pieces apart as there is no sideways movement available.

Magnetic clasp by Cate van Alphen

The two pieces are a bit like teeth with interlocking roots. There is a tiny magnet in the centre. Both pieces are the same.

Polymer clay clasp by Cate van Alphen

I’m pleased with how it looks, and it’s very satisfying to click the pieces together, but sadly I don’t think it’s strong enough to use as a clasp. It could be because there is still some scope to tilt the magnets apart, so maybe longer spikes would help? Or maybe the magnets are just too small? Maybe magnetic clasps just don’t work? 😦

Polymer clay clasp by Cate van Alphen

I need to let the idea simmer for a bit. In the meantime I’m struggling with my red colour palette. I thought I’d add a sixth colour to match the previous palettes, but now some of the colours are not sitting together well.

Polymer clay challenge week 44 – bead

Tags

2015PCchalenge, handmade bead, polymer clay, violet

This week my beads are pretty simple. I made some stack beads using my violet palette.

Gradient bead by Cate van Alphen

I started off using just the six colours in the palette, but I wanted more of a gradient blend. So I mixed up more colours to go between by combining half each of the colours on either side.

Violet gradient beads by Cate van Alphen

That’s it for my Polymer Clay Challenge this week.

Haloween humbug earrings (flashback)

Tags

Halloween, handmade bead, humbug, Murano glass, niobium, orange, polymer clay, purple

I made these earrings a while ago, and I just realised I don’t think I’ve shown them here on my blog. They would have been a good post yesterday, for Halloween, but I’m not that organised!

Humbug earrings by Cate van Alphen

The focal beads are polymer clay which I made earlier this year as part of my Spectrum Year. They remind me of mint humbugs. The amethyst and gold beads are Murano glass. They are on dark purple coloured copper wire which I have hammered to form a pin (I rather like the way the purple coating came off at the bottom to reveal the copper underneath).

These earrings are currently in my Etsy shop.