• About Cate van Alphen
  • Challenges and Blog Hops
    • Art Bead Scene Studio
    • Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge
    • 2016 Art Vessel
    • 2015 Spectrum Year
    • 2015 Virtual Retreat
    • Virtual Paintout
  • Free Tutorials
    • New Tutorials
    • Old Tutorials
  • Mailing List
  • Shop

Fulgorine

~ My adventures with polymer clay

Fulgorine

Tag Archives: Indigo

Bead Composition

11 Mon Apr 2016

Posted by fulgorine in My work

≈ 2 Comments

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

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.

 

Advertisement

Polymer clay challenge week 42 – bead

22 Thu Oct 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, My work, WIP

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2015PCchallenge, handmade bead, Indigo, necklace, polymer clay, violet

My beads for this week of the 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge are not particularly exciting. I made spacer beads to finish off a necklace I started back in Indigo.

Indigo necklace and spacer beads WIP by Cate van Alphen

Indigo necklace and spacer beads WIP by Cate van Alphen

I also made spacer beads from the other colours in my Violet palette.

Violet palette spacer beads by Cate van Alphen

Violet palette spacer beads by Cate van Alphen

I was going to make some more interesting beads to go along with them, but I didn’t manage to get to it.

Polymer clay challenge week 38 – bead

24 Thu Sep 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, My work

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

2015PCchallenge, cube bead, handmade bead, Indigo, polymer clay, wonky

Last week for my 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge piece I wanted my clasp to be crisp and sleek, so this week for my indigo beads I decided to chillax a bit and plan something a little wonky.

Wonky cube beads by Cate van Alphen

Wonky cube beads by Cate van Alphen

I made wonky cube beads with a distorted cane slices. I gave them a bit of an extra squish so they are slightly irregular and include fingerprints. They are rather addictive to play with, like dice :).

Wonky cube beads by Cate van Alphen

Wonky cube beads by Cate van Alphen

It was fun not worrying too much about getting evenly sized beads, or preventing cane distortion. I think they’ll make a fun necklace.

Wonky cube beads by Cate van Alphen

Wonky cube beads by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay challenge week 37 – toggle

17 Thu Sep 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, My work

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2015PCchallenge, Cate van Alphen, focal, Indigo, pendant, polymer clay, shank button, toggle

This week for my indigo colour scheme toggle I super-sized a shank button.

Indigo polymer clay toggle by Cate van Alphen

Indigo polymer clay toggle by Cate van Alphen

I made a hook from silver coloured copper wire.

Polymer clay toggle by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay focal toggle by Cate van Alphen

I made two loops at the back so one can be used to attach the beads and the other is for the hook. I thought it would give it a better “V” shape to a necklace than using only one shank. It also means that they are off centre so it gives the option to use the focal as a slider pendant without it flipping over.

Polymer clay and wire toggle by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay and wire toggle by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay challenge week 36 – beads

10 Thu Sep 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, jewellery, My work

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2015PCchallenge, bead, bracelet, handmade bead, Indigo, polymer clay, wire

This week of my Polymer Clay Challenge it’s indigo beads so, technically, here is the bead I made. It’s a bit boring, but there is a little bit more to the story…

Polymer clay bead by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay bead by Cate van Alphen

I wanted to make some compound beads to go with my compound focal from last week. I started off making a few test beads, which looked perfect for a bracelet. So I whipped up a toggle so I could finish that.

Polymer clay and lapis lazuli bracelet by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay and lapis lazuli bracelet by Cate van Alphen

I made compound beads by joining my double-sided disk beads together with liquid polymer clay onto wire. I’m still fascinated by the way the colours hide depending on the angle of the bead. These are now part of a half-made necklace. I need some more spacer beads to finish it, but I haven’t been able to make them yet.

Indigo stack beads by Cate van Alphen

Indigo stack beads by Cate van Alphen

I didn’t think sticking beads together with liquid polymer counted much towards the challenge, and I’d run out of time, but I still had the clay from the hole of the toggle. I pierced a hole and shaped the sides slightly, so I have officially made one bead for the challenge this week!

Polymer clay and wire toggle by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay and wire toggle by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay challenge week 35 – focal

03 Thu Sep 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, jewellery, My work

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

2015PCchallenge, Cate van Alphen, focal bead, handmade bead, Indigo, pendant, polymer clay

This week of the 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge I made a ring to go around one of my beads from last week to make a compound focal/pendant.

Indigo compound bead pendant by Cate van Alphen

Indigo compound bead pendant by Cate van Alphen

I even sanded it to make a smooth contrast to the textured bead.

Compound focal by Cate van Alphen

Compound focal side view by Cate van Alphen

Compound indigo pendant by Cate van Alphen

Compound indigo focal by Cate van Alphen

The only problem now is that I think several of them would look good all joined up together to make a necklace, but I don’t know when I’ll find the time to make them.

Polymer clay challenge week 34 – bead

27 Thu Aug 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, My work

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2015PCchallenge, bead, Cate van Alphen, handmade bead, Indigo, patchwork bead, polymer clay, polymer clay beads

I spent my clay time this weekend working on something else, so I went back to my comfort zone yesterday and made some more patchwork beads for this week of my 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge.

Polymer clay beads by Cate van Alphen

Indigo patchwork polymer clay beads by Cate van Alphen

They are always fun to make.

Indigo patchwork polymer clay beads by Cate van Alphen

Indigo patchwork polymer clay beads by Cate van Alphen

But what was I working on this weekend? I’ll be baaa-ck soon to show you 😉

Polymer clay challenge week 33 – toggle

20 Thu Aug 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, Doh!, WIP

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

2015PCchallenge, Cate van Alphen, chunky bead, handmade component, Indigo, marble, polymer clay, toggle

I was tempted to make more shank buttons this week for my indigo colour palette toggle, but then I realised time was running out for me to try some of the more interesting toggle mechanisms I’d planned at the beginning of the year.

Polymer clay clasp by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay clasp by Cate van Alphen

This clasp is formed from two hooks. By aligning the angular cut holes of the two pieces at 90°, they slide together to form a chain link. It’s very satisfying to open and close :D.

Indigo link clasp by Cate van Alphen

Indigo link clasp by Cate van Alphen

The clasp is based on one from a chunky wooden bead necklace that I found in a charity shop, but I’ve made mine from polymer clay instead of wood. It took a few prototypes to get this far, and it is still a work in progress.

Prototype clasps by Cate van Alphen

Prototype clasps

The first couple of clasps were a bit too flexible for my liking, but I didn’t really want to make everything a lot bigger and thicker. I put wire inside the third attempt as reinforcement, but you can just see it peeping through on the inside of the hole.

Clasp WIP by Cate van Alphen

Clasp Doh! by Cate van Alphen

From the photos above it looks like I’ve cracked it, but turn one of the hooks over and there’s wire sticking out. I lost track of which side had the gap in the wire for cutting the hole through, and I chose the wrong place. Doh!

I’ve given the link a good pull apart and although the loops do flex open slightly (the one without the wire noticeably more so) I think a necklace made using the clasp would survive a tug from a toddler. So on the bright side cutting the wrong side helps to prove that the wire does provide some support, but also that I need to think of a way to keep track of where to cut ;).

Polymer clay challenge week 32 – bead

13 Thu Aug 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, beads, My work

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2015PCchallenge, bead, Cate van Alphen, handmade bead, Indigo, polymer clay, spacer beads

This week for my polymer clay challenge I made spacer beads using my indigo colour palette.

Indigo palette spacer beads by Cate van Alphen

Indigo palette spacer beads by Cate van Alphen

I also made some disc beads.

Indigo palette sequin beads by Cate van Alphen

Indigo palette disc beads by Cate van Alphen

And some double-sided disc beads (the other side is indigo).

Indigo palette double sided sequin beads by Cate van Alphen

Indigo palette double sided disc beads by Cate van Alphen

Polymer clay challenge week 31 – focal

06 Thu Aug 2015

Posted by fulgorine in 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge, My work

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2015PCchallenge, blue, Cate van Alphen, flower, Indigo, mokume gane, pendant, polymer clay

This week I made a mokume gane pendant using my indigo colour palette. This was partly because I’m doing a polymer clay summer workshop next weekend, and I wanted to check I still remembered how ;). I can’t believe that all of a sudden it’s August!

Flower pendants by Cate van Alphen

Flower pendants by Cate van Alphen

As you can see, I used the shape that I cut out from the larger pendant to make the smaller one. There is similar patterning on both sides so the pendants are reversible.

Flower pendants by Cate van Alphen

Flower pendants by Cate van Alphen

That’s about all I can say about this week’s 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge piece.

← Older posts

Flickr Photos

Dreadlock BeadsDreadlock BeadsDreadlock Beads
More Photos

Recent Posts

  • Recycled Polymer Clay
  • Wraptious Design Competition
  • Video Tutorial – Dreadlock Beads
  • What’s a wishpot?
  • Tutorial Video – Sheep Components

Archives

Categories

  • Art Charm Swap
    • 2014 Art Charm Swap
    • 2016 Art Charm Swap
  • Challenge
    • 2015 Polymer Clay Challenge
    • 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge
    • 24oz Polymer Clay
    • Art Bead Scene
    • Art Jewelry Elements
    • Art Vessel
    • BSBP
      • 6th BSBP
      • 8th BSBP
    • Earrings Everyday
  • Giveaway
  • Inspiration
  • My work
    • beads
    • fabric
    • jewellery
    • painting
    • WIP
  • Tutorial
    • Doh!
    • How to
    • Tips
  • Uncategorized
  • Virtual Retreat

RSS Link

  • RSS - Posts

Find Me Online

Deviant Art
Flickr
Instagram
Pinterest
Shop
Twitter

Facebook

Facebook

Twitter

  • RT @gingerbugsandco: A bit late to the party but Happy #ChineseNewYear2023 from Gingerbugs & Co! #ChineseLunarNewyear2023 #RabbitYear2023 #… 1 week ago
  • So much texture 😍 twitter.com/rozdowen/statu… 1 week ago
  • Beautiful paintings. I can see why they’d be a challenge to photograph though. twitter.com/SamCannonArt/s… 4 weeks ago
Follow @fulgorine
Fulgor, n.
Dazzling brightness; splendor.
Fulgorine, n.
One who creates that which dazzles.

Find me

Deviant Art
Flickr
Instagram
Patreon
Pinterest
Shop
Twitter

RSS Links

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 815 other subscribers.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Fulgorine
    • Join 261 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Fulgorine
    • Customise
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...