A Walk through the Gardens

After having multiple horribly stressing jobs, I am lucky enough to be working next to a botanical garden.  When I feel the walls closing in around me, I just have to walk straight out of my office and within a hundred yards, I am moving along dirt pathways, surrounded by numerous species of flowers, trees and animals.  The other day, while relaxing on one of the multiple park benches, I watched a chipmunk to my left, a squirrel to my right and a rabbit in front of me, forage for food.  Another squirrel ran past with a mouthful of pine needles and leaves, building up his nest. 

Here are some pictures of my stroll...

Insomnia or Crafting Bug?

So, I dragged myself to bed late on Sunday night, after being determined to finish up a new project of wine glass markers.

As I laid down and turned off the lights, thinking of tasks to do on Monday, my thoughts kept drifting back to the remaining set of wine glass markers that I had not done.  I tossed and turned, debating on getting back up to go downstairs and finish them.  It was an internal struggle that lasted almost an hour.

This time, sleep won out, thankfully too!  

I did finish the second set of wine markers on Monday afternoon as soon as I got in the door from work.

I know I cannot be the only person that has ever dealt with craft insomnia. :D

The Fun of Polymer

I have been sculpting polymer clay for several years.  I took a break for a couple of years, after losing my muse...and it has only been recently that I have been inspired to return to the art.
One of my favorite things with working in polymer is that I can take a piece of clay and manipulate it into something that takes on its own life.  I can then personalize it and give it as a gift to a loved one.  

My Dad and I got certified in diving a few years ago together.  It was so much fun to take a class together and go through the certification process.  At that point, I created a scuba frog out of polymer for him.  (I do not have a picture of that original frog, but should I obtain one, I will gladly post it.)

When his birthday came around this year and I asked him what he would like, he said that he wanted another scuba frog to join his first.  At this point, I was stumped.  I had not really worked with polymer in some time and I had no idea how to "top" that first frog.  I contemplated the project for several weeks until I was struck with inspiration while riding the bus home from work.  Grabbing my sketch pad, I started frantically sketching out the design so I did not forget my original thoughts.  

I had decided that not only would I sculpt a scuba frog, but I wanted to do a combination of mediums to really embrace the diving experience.  After a great deal of research, I concluded that one of the best techniques would be to create an "undersea" experience, along with a surface environment.  

I found a small glass jar and began sculpting a sandy floor by mixing different colors of clay.  I then embedded sand into the surface to simulate the ocean floor and placed real tiny shells.  I wanted to place another creature into the sculpture, so I worked on a moray eel.  He turned out more cartoonish than I wanted, but his personality that came out of the clay amused me.  I gave him a small cave for a home and then surrounded him with marbled kelp.

Below are the pictures of the semi-completed project.  My scuba frog has been baked and glazed.  My next challenge is working on a resin to embrace and simulate water in the glass.  I will post updated photos when the project is complete.