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Fulgorine

~ My adventures with polymer clay

Fulgorine

Tag Archives: phoenix

Christmas gifts given

26 Fri Dec 2014

Posted by fulgorine in My work

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

art bead, bead, Cate van Alphen, earrings, flower, jewellery, phoenix, polymer clay, polymer clay bead earrings

Here is a proper look at the polymer clay bead earrings I made as Christmas gifts this year…

Pharaoh's flower necklace by Cate van Alphen

Pharaoh’s flower necklace by Cate van Alphen

I made a pair of earrings to go with one of the first necklaces I made back in 2009 (dodgy photo is from then too!).

Pharaoh's flower earrings by Cate van Alphen

Pharaoh’s flower earrings by Cate van Alphen

Next I made a pair of earrings to go with the necklace I made for the May ABS Challenge.

Blue and gold earrings by Cate van Alphen

Blue and gold earrings by Cate van Alphen

Finally I was commissioned to make a pair of earrings like my phoenix charms but with a black background. The front of the earring features a feather and the back has the phoenix.

Midnight phoenix earrings by Cate van Alphen

Midnight phoenix earrings by Cate van Alphen

Congratulations

04 Thu Dec 2014

Posted by fulgorine in 2014 Art Charm Swap, Art Charm Swap, Giveaway

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art charm, Congratulations, giveaway, phoenix

The winner of my giveaway is Shaiha Williams. Congratulations 🙂

Phoenix Feather charm by Cate van Alphen

Phoenix Feather charm by Cate van Alphen

The Auction is now complete and raised over $1000 for Beads of Courage.

Art Charm Giveaway

27 Thu Nov 2014

Posted by fulgorine in 2014 Art Charm Swap, Art Charm Swap, Giveaway, My work

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

art charm, Charity Auction, giveaway, phoenix, polymer clay

**Edit: The Auction is now finished & this giveaway is closed.**

This year I took part in Jen Cameron’s Art Charm Exchange. The way it works is that you send in 11 charms, and get back 10 art charms from different artists (one of them is your own). The 11th charm goes towards the Auction to benefit Beads of Courage.

Phoenix charm by Cate van Alphen

Phoenix charm by Cate van Alphen

To make it an even number, I decided to make 12 polymer clay charms, so there is one charm to give away 🙂 Have a look at my reveal post to see the inspiration behind the phoenix and it’s feather, and the blog hop to see all the charms made by the other artists.

Phoenix Feather charm by Cate van Alphen

Phoenix Feather charm by Cate van Alphen

All you need to do to take part in the giveaway is share the link to the AUCTION (or even better, place a bid) and let me know in a comment here that you have done so. Pop in a comment for each share for more chances to win. Please include an email contact. Since a phoenix can SOAR around the world, this giveaway is open to international people too :).

Because the auction is intended to raise money for Beads of Courage, I don’t want this giveaway to discourage you from bidding on the charms there. So, if you happen to win both the auction for my charm, and this giveaway I’ll give you a £20 voucher for either my Jewellery or Component store on Etsy instead (unless you actually want a pair of charms *cough*earrings*cough*).

I’ll announce the winner after the auction completes.

Good luck!

My Phoenix Art Charms

25 Tue Nov 2014

Posted by fulgorine in 2014 Art Charm Swap, Art Charm Swap, My work

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

art charm, Art Charm Swap, blue, feather cane, fire feather, gold, phoenix, polymer clay

When I was 18 I left South Africa to travel the world. I was independent, optimistic and ready to fly! At the time I thought I should get a tatoo of a peacock feather so I would always remember that feeling of freedom and power. I never got the tatoo, and now with two small children and a mortgage I feel a little… otherwise.

As soon as I saw the theme for this year’s Art Charm Swap was Soar, I knew I wanted to capture that lost feeling of lightness and optimism.

“But a peacock is not really good at flying.” I told my muse: “It sort of flaps and hops. Eagles and vultures SOAR.”

“Good point, but a vulture feather is not really as aesthetically pleasing as a peacock feather. How about a phoenix feather?”

“Ye-es, I like the symbolism of the phoenix – that there’s always an opportunity for a new beginning. So what does a phoenix feather look like?”

“Um… sort of like a peacock feather but in fire colours – red, yellow and gold.”

“I see. But does a phoenix soar?”

“Of course, it stands to reason, with all that fire there’s bound to be thermal updrafts. Maybe that’s the reason for all the fire?”

…

And so that is why my polymer clay charms feature a phoenix feather :).

Phoenix Feather charms by Cate van Alphen

Phoenix Feather charms by Cate van Alphen

I used a polymer clay cane but I have individually shaped each one, so they are all slightly different. Just in case you missed the internal monologue and were wondering why I’d done a golden peacock feather…

Phoenix charm by Cate van Alphen

Phoenix charm by Cate van Alphen

The other side features the actual phoenix. If you dare, you can seize the feather and soar with the phoenix into the open blue sky.

Phoenix Art Charms by Cate van Alphen

Phoenix Art Charms by Cate van Alphen


Finally it’s time for YOU to be involved in the Art Charm Exchange…

Firstly you can enjoy the blog hop, and have a look at all the talented artists who have taken part in the Exchange. The * indicates the artists whose charms I received. I will do a separate post soon to feature my hoard ;).

Jennifer Cameron: http://www.glassaddictions.com/blog
Alenka Obid: http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.com
* Alicia Marinache: http://www.allprettythings.ca
Andrea Glick: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com
* Caroline Dewison: http://blueberribeads.blogspot.co.uk
Cassi Paslick: http://badatbeingmom.blogspot.com/
–> Cate van Alphen: https://fulgorine.wordpress.com <– You are here!
Cheri Reed: http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com
* Chris Eisenberg: http://www.wanderware.blogspot.com
Cory Tompkins: http://www.tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com
* Elisabeth Auld: http://www.beadsforbusygals.com
Genevieve Gabbert: https://www.facebook.com/MasuDesigns
Jami Shipp: http://celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com
Jenny Davies-Reazor: http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog
Jill Bradley: http://www.jillybeads.blogspot.com
Kim Dworak: http://www.cianciblue.blogspot.com
* Lee Koopman: http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Lennis Carrier: http://www.windbent.net
Lesley Watt: http://www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Mallory Hoffman: http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com
Melissa Trudinger: http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Michelle McCarthy: http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Monique Urquhart: http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/
Moriah Betterly: http://mlbetterly.blogspot.com
Nancy Dale: http://nedbeads.blogspot.com
Nancy Smith: http://wirednan.blogspot.ca
Niky Sayers: http://silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk
Perri Jackson: http://ShaktipajDesigns.com/blog/
* Renetha Stanziano: http://www.lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Shai Williams: http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com
* Sheila Prosterman: http://catswithbeads.blogspot.com
Susan Delaney: http://susandolphindelaney.wordpress.com
* Susan Kennedy: http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com
Terri DelSignore: http://artisticaos.blogspot.com
* Toltec Jewels: http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com
Vanessa Gilkes: http://culturezine.com/blog/

Most importantly, if you can, take part in the AUCTION which is to raise money for Beads of Courage.

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Fulgor, n.
Dazzling brightness; splendor.
Fulgorine, n.
One who creates that which dazzles.

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