Holiday Gifts, Part 3

Ok, technically Christmas is not for two more days, but, I am going to take a gamble and guess that my Mom will be so busy entertaining us, that she will not be reading my blog, LOL!

Obviously, this necklace is for her.  I actually used the same pattern when I created my pendant back in the summer time.  I thought it would be nice to both have the same flower, even when we are so far apart.

Holiday Gifts, Part 2

I am so excited for this evening!  A friend and I are going to see the Nutcracker Ballet!  I have always wanted to see a live production of it and have watched it for years on the public broadcasting stations while usually wrapping gifts.

I am giving her this as a surprise for her holiday gift.  She has made me three beautiful mugs in her pottery studio and she loves cats, having two of her own, so I thought she would like this design.

Surprisingly, it was very hard to get a good picture of this piece.  There are so many colors incorporated, but pictures definitely do not do it justice.  I used multiple watercolors and mica powders to add color to the scene of this cat looking out over the sunrise (or perhaps sunset)? 

Holiday Gifts

Ah, the holiday season is fast approaching and everyone is scrambling to finish their last minute shopping, baking, wrapping and gift making!  I took Friday off from work in order to finish up my holiday shopping and to finish up some holiday projects.

Since we are celebrating the season with one family today, I will go ahead and share their gifts with you.  As the upcoming holiday approaches and the gifts are given out, I will reveal each one to you.

Some of you might remember the pendant I made earlier this year, using image transfer, clay and Magic-Glos?  Well, I decided to incorporate that into my gift making this year.

This heart pendant featuring primroses will be going to my boyfriend's mom for Christmas.  It uses a combination of clay, watercolor, mica powders and resin to create an eye-catching piece.

 

While his sister will also receive a pendant, featuring a more artistic style flower.  I hope they enjoy them.  Stay tuned for more projects!  What are you making this holiday season?

Work Table Wednesday

So, this is an item I finished a few weeks ago, but I have not had the opportunity to share it with you all.  It utilizes the Magic-Glos UV resin.

While vacationing this summer, I was lucky enough to stumble across both the resin and the curing lamp in a craft store.  I had been looking at these items for nearly a year and to actually be able to hold them, well, let's just say they moved right into my shopping cart and I never looked back...especially when I had a 40% off coupon on the lamp.

So, as soon as I got home and after I greeted the pets, I unpacked and eagerly set up for my first resin project that wouldn't involve mixing equal parts of chemicals and praying I get all the bubbles out...(oh, yes, I have failed with regular resin).

After much debating, I decided to take some white clay and do an image transfer pendant.  Once the coloring of the image and the transfer to the clay was complete, I decided to paint the area surrounding the image with iridescent pearl powders.  This gave a beautiful mother-of-pearl look to the white clay.

Then began the really tedious process of applying the resin, layer by layer.  You have to make sure to spread the resin equally across the surface and try to make sure it touches all of the edges.

This is the completed pendant after multiple layers of resin.

The iridescent pearl is move visible from this angle, along with the varnished appearance created by the  resin.

This was definitely a first project, but I have received multiple compliments on this piece and I look forward to working on more projects with this medium.

The Butterfly Grows

Yay, the poor butterfly now has antennae and a head!  I went ahead and sketched in some flowers tonight and have started the background shading.

The book I am using to teach myself is called Mastering the Art of Drawing and Painting Animals by Jonathan Truss and Sarah Hoggett.  I cannot wait to try out some other techniques in the book.  No, I'm not getting a commission from that link or from talking about the book. ;)  I just like it when I can find things that other people have referenced easily and thought you might too!

Other Projects

Sometimes, one gets to a point and has to venture out to other mediums.  It helps start the creative juices flowing, allows you to appreciate your fellow artists more and sometimes, you find you like it better.

In my case, I have always enjoyed sketching, but never have felt it was my medium.  I picked up a book at Barnes and Noble recently, demonstrating how to sketch animals using a variety of mediums.  Colored pencils, charcoal, oils, acrylics and even watercolor!  It has wonderful tips, a great breakdown of tools needed and just enough guidance to give you a push.

This is the current project I'm working on from the book...a monarch with colored pencils.  I'm curious to see how it turns out, but was amazed at myself how pretty the wings look...but, I've always been partial to monarchs.

Excuse the poor picture. It is from my phone's camera.