Jewel Carnival again! The path to my art!

Well, I do apologize for being late with my blog. We are hosting, at our home, a part of the El Dorado County's Annual Artist's Studio Tour. As I mentioned in a previous blog, there is a painter a potter and me. It started yesterday from 10 am to 5 pm and then I was featured at a Placerville gallery from 5pm to 9pm.

Whew!

Does everyone start their path by drawing on rubber sheets as a toddler .... or on the walls with crayons? Well, if so, I am very typical. My dad must have leaned over my crib to give me a kiss and his ball point pen, prophetically, fell out of his pocket into my world. This may sound silly, but do some drawing on a piece of rubber... It is glorious. The ink just flows so smoothly, the images hint of a future Picasso.... only kidding. THAT was my start.

My mother played with ceramics when I was a bitty bit. And she let me play with some too. She let me glaze the work between the firing process... This image is of the only artwork I have from my childhood. I kinda threw everything else away. I like it because there was no religion in our family... parents were from extreme opposites. They opted for my sis and I to choose for ourselves. Where the praying priest came from I do not know. I do know that I did this when I could barely write... maybe second grade. I signed it:

Lorre
ne

I do like his smile and tiny feet... I guess I didn't know what to do with the toes... heh, heh.

Mom urged my visual and theatrical art all through school. I drew a woman, with a cigarette in her hand in second or third grade... she was quite glamorous.... teacher made me scratch the cigarette out. My medium at that time was crayons. My mother chewed out the teacher for changing my interpretation of what I saw in the world.

You Go Mom!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks...

From then on it was high school art then college. I was a drama major and an art minor. Didn't finish because I didn't want to struggle nor did I want to teach. Well what am I doing Now? Teaching. Too funny. But, hey! I do get to be the star of the classroom now, don't I?
No comment.

Mom.... my sweet one. She loved fabulous jewelry and she instilled a love of it for me. I worked in my dads machine shop in my early 20's: lathe work, arc welding and that gave me an appreciation of working with the ferrous metals.... Then of course was the jewelry class in college.

After marriage my husband and I got very involved with the metaphysical movement in the '80s and I started wrapping crystals and then soldering sterling and silver with a creme brulee torch. That led to my going back to school, Revere Academy, in 1988 and that let to us using my goldsmithing talents by our opening a gallery of jewelry and fine art, and that led to classes in polymer and metal clay in our gallery studio.

Whew! Again!

Since 2000, I have been wholly involved with my two media: Polymer and metal clay. During the eleven years we had the gallery I totally burned out of metalsmithing. When you have everyone telling you what stones to set, what metal to use and hurry, hurry I need it yesterday... well the passion for goldsmithing left. But the creativity and designing was still there.

Now I love making fused glass too. The colors I can add with the glass and enamelling and the entire world of being a maker of what I want to do.... whether it sells or not... I do not care.

And during this period of creativity I have performed in many dramas, comedies, musicals and have directed one mystery, one comedy, one dramedy and one musical.

As the cast sings in "Candide", I have the best of all possible, possible worlds...".

Images: Metal clay and fused glass...... polymer cane I designed and diamond.

Do visit these wonderful artist's below and see what they have written about during their "path to their art".

Lora Hart
Elaine Luther
Angela Baduel-Crispin
Marco Fleseri
Tonya Davidson

I will have to read later. The Studio tour starts again in 30 minutes and I am not set up.

Artist's Studio Tour - This weekend and Next

Saturday and Sunday
September 20, 21, 27 & 28.
It is hard getting new posts to the blog when you are trying to finish up work for the upcoming El Dorado County Artist's Studio tour. Not only do I have to make stuff, I get to clean the house and garden area because we are hosting one of the venues at our home.

A PAINTER
We are featuring a painter (also a lamp work bead maker): Patty Jacobs. Her paintings are ethereal and the animals she creates on watercolor paper have great personalities. Here is
GOT PEANUTS?

Patty Jacobs, a native of Northern California, is primarily a self-taught artist, drawing and painting since childhood. Her work focuses on her love of animals and she donates a percentage from the sale of these paintings to animal charities. Patty has shown her work around California and has been commissioned for numerous pet portraits. Her paintings can be found at Taylor's Art and Soul in Sacramento and also at Gold Country Artist's Gallery, where they have been purchased by visitors from various places in the U.S., Scotland, England, Ireland, and Australia.
You just have to see her work. This is just a sample. During the Holidays, she makes Christmas card of these guys and puts a Santa hat on them... Great Sellers.

A POTTER

Chris Navratil has only been potting for just a few years and is a phenom with her work. Her work is innovative, functional and full of great color sense.

I commissioned her for a set of dishes. See left. My mistake was purchasing a pasta bowl in these colors and became obsessed with having a complete set.

Am I a happy camper? You bet. Come to see her in action. She has been bringing her wheel with her these past few years and everyone loves seeing her throw her pots. Come early for she has a great following that come only to see her work.

AND ME

Just finished these yesterday and am really excited about them. They are cuff bracelets made with polymer clay over a brass armature. I then added acrylic paint as detail and then covered the latter with translucent liquid polymer clay for durability.

I have some new metal clay work set up for the show too.

Saturday the 20th starts the two weekend show and it is also the third Saturday art stroll on Main St., in Placerville. So, at the end of day on Saturday I have to run to our gallery and be gracious until 9pm... it is going to be a looooooonnnnnnggggg day.

September Shows

There hasn't been any post recently because I have been frantically creating new metal clay and polymer clay items for two shows.  

Right now I am being featured at the Gold Country Artist's Gallery in Placerville, CA.  So, I needed work for that. Also, this month, we have the Annual El Dorado County Artist's Studio Tour. Now this is interesting, the tour opens on Saturday the 20th for two weekends. That same night I have to run down to the gallery and attend an artist's reception.  Thankfully I am sharing the spotlight with a wonderful mixed media artist, Karen Hunziker. Here is one of her works.

I have been playing, a lot, with my polymer clay using the Able Cane Slicer. I just love the tool. It can be had at polymerclayexpress.com. One can make large canes and cut really large slices... at just about any thickness. I like really thin slices because it makes my canes go farther. Here are a few new works that I just built.

I used Susan Hyde's Faux Fabric technique on these. I call them 'Peruvian cloth'...

In addition to my Artist's Sketchbooks, there is also a covered business card holder and two cross type pens. Later today I am going to cover some wide brass bracelets.  I love this technique.

Also shown are some beads made with this cane and the ACS.  This tool is a must for any polymer clay artist. If you would like to see how it is used in an online tutorial, click here.

But Wait! Before you go.... I have a few samples here of my metal clay work for the shows.

The first is Trapeze Amphora. I have added an 8mm garnet and used fusible argentium sterling silver to hang it on a sterling snake chain.  The next is the second in my series of 'What Attitude?' women. Another amphora. I love that the 'chip on her shoulder' is a gem grade pyrope garnet.  I have been having a lot of fun with these ladies.  Notice the 'neck' tilt?  Is she not having a major 'tude'?

There is a lot more coming from yours truly and I cannot wait to get back into the studio.