Pods, Micro Organisms, Biologicals...

Call it what you will, but organic is totally "In"...

Artists have taken the bit and are running wild! Check the following pages of work by:

Kathleen Dustin

Grant Diffendaffer

Jeff Dever

Donna Kato

And there are many more polymer clay artists going this route. But polymer clay isn't the only medium experiencing this madness... Take a look at these photographs from the November/December Fiber Arts Magazine, which showcase fiber art students' work:

Pretty cool, huh? Now, if you will excuse me... I have to find my Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms.

I'm All Wired Up

Part of it is coffee, and part of it started when I was chatting with some folks about Jeff Dever's wire work. We were discussing what kind of wire he might be using in his sculptures, and someone mentioned that they thought it might be phone wire. I'm leaning towards spray painted wire, myself. But that started me thinking about wire and how one might use it. A little Googling (yes, that's a verb) led me to this site that showcases baskets from"Wezandla Crafts" of South Africa - they are all made with telephone wire.


And then, I stumbled upon Hapaculture.com, which features a terrific African Recycled Bottle Cap Purse....
This started me thinking about making art from found objects, so I pulled out my copy of Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects....


And then, last night, I watched the CNN Special, "Planet in Peril"... and all this got me thinking about how unsustainable polymer clay is, and.... well.... I got a little depressed.

But then I remembered that the world is not black & white, and that bit-by-bit I have been working towards making a smaller footprint on this fine planet of ours, and I felt a little better. We are only human, and baby steps may be all we can do. Perhaps, some day, I shall shed this addiction to polymer clay, but until then I shall make efforts in other areas to help heal this world. We do the best we can.

It All Started When a Fire Truck Drove Past Our House...

(Warning: Long circuitous story alert!)

Yes, I said a fire truck. To understand how unusual this is, you have to know that we live down a half mile long, narrow, dead end, dirt road that only has four homes on it, and we're next to the last.

Well, as I said, this fire truck comes (gingerly) past our house, lights flashing madly, and I run out to see what the heck is happening. Turns out, they're looking for a fire. Actually... a chimney fire, to be precise. We new immediately that it was most likely our neighbor at the end of the road (long story), so we pointed them in the right direction and off they went.

Being a very rural area, our Fire Department is totally volunteer. So, when there is a call all the volunteers drop what they are doing, hop in their cars and head for the fire. Tom and I decided we better stand at the end of our driveway to direct the volunteers to the right house, and I offered to take the first shift...

I know this is a long story, but stay with me here... it's almost over.

So, there I am, standing at the end of our driveway with nothing to do but wait... and wait... and wait. Boredom is a huge invitation for my muse to get working, and work she did! I spent most of my time staring at the yellow and orange and red leaves against the cobalt sky. Simply stunning! And suddenly, I just HAD to make a cane with all those fantastic colors! Luckily, Tom was just coming up the road to relieve me, so off I went and... here's what my muse came up with...

And then... not being satisfied with just one cane.... I made these...

OMG! Where Do I Start?!?!

Ok, ok. Take a deep breath.

Ah. That's better.

So. My calendar is filling up sooooo fast!

- This weekend I'm heading down to Lincolnville for our second Maine Polymer Arts Guild meeting.
- Next month I've got a PMC get-together with my buddy Betsy from Etsy in Boston. (wicked grin)
- I managed to get one book submission off, and need to finish another in the next week.
- I've taken the Etsy bit in my teeth and am running with it.
- I'm taking a class with (way cool artist) Robert Dancik in January, at The Bead House in Rhode Island.
- In January I'm also going to the Southern New Jersey PolyAddicts retreat
- February is the NPCG Synergy conference in Baltimore, MD.
- And, to top it all off... I've agreed to be a mentor for a local high school student, in a program run by Waterfall Arts. I'm really looking forward to it! (More on this later, when I know more.)

So... yeah. Busy.

Hmmmmm. Somehow, I vaguely remember saying to myself that I was longing for the winter, when "things" would slow down.

*scratches head confusedly*
*runs out of the room screaming madly*
*comes back apologetically*

Ahem. For those who just want to look at pretty pictures... here are photos of some of the beads I'm selling on Etsy... courtesy of my "Shameless Commerce Division".

I faught my muse and my muse won....

For the longest time, my Muse has been telling me to make a face cane. And for the longest time I've been heroically resisting her.

You have to understand, my philosophy, when it comes to making jewelry, is simple... only make things that I might actually wear. And I have no desire to wear anything with a human face on it. Now a cat's face? Definitely. Lizards or birds - no problem (especially if it's a raven). I might even consider a dog's face... maybe. But a human face.... no way.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen some lovely things folks have made that feature face canes. Really beautiful things. But, for some reason, I feel really uncomfortable at the thought of wearing something like that. I know of others that feel this way too, but I haven't a clue why we do.

So, why should I make a face cane, right? Well, this morning when I woke up, I had an uncontrollable desire to make a face cane. I think maybe my muse had put subliminal thoughts into my dreams or something. "You must make a face cane, you MUST make a face cane." *shivers* So, after a cup of coffee I headed to my studio and made this... Sorry for the lousy photo, btw.
Muse wasn't impressed. Oh, what a task master she is!! Hey, it's a face cane, what more do you want?!

Something more, apparently. So, I gave in and let her take charge, and this is what she came up with.


It took me all morning to make it, and then... after a nap, she made me make another one (photo coming soon)!! Oh, the things I do to please my muse. *sigh*

And now... something completely different....

(Yes, that was an "homage" to MPFC.)

If you haven't seen the work of Donald Friedlich, featured in the November issue of Art Jewelry Magazine, you might want to pick up a copy. There's an inspiring Artist Profile of Donald in this issue, and lots of delicious glass jewelry eye candy. I really like the photos of his "Magnification" series. But one paragraph in his interview stood out for me...

"When I was growing up, there wasn't that much emphasis on creativity in our educational system. The kid in class who showed early facility for drawing was the class artist, and everyone else thought they weren't talented. I think there's a lot hidden in people that they don't realize is there. I've never been able to draw well, so I never thought I was creative."

Looking at his pieces in Art Jewelry, it's clear Donald Friedlich was wrong. This quote really sums up how I see our educational system, and most peoples attitude about themselves and their creativity.

But enough preaching! If anyone is interested in what I got for my birthday... hee hee hee.... take a look at this! (Guess who's gonna be working with a lot of PMC soon!)

OK, enough about me. It's time for Mama Raven to crow about her Not-So-Little Raven... Most of what you will actually see is Wes, the best-buddy of Not-So-Little Raven. But don't be fooled. If you look deep enough, you will see the wit, wiles and dare I say... wisdom, of my (not so) little chick, Al.

Now, while you're enjoying the YouTube movies that Al and Wes have made, and drooling over lovely glass jewelry and my wonderful birthday present... I'm going to head down to the Camden Opera House to enjoy a live performance of "Says You".

A La Louise...

So, remember back when I was bitching about all the production I had to do? And, remember even further back, when I was learning some cool techniques from Louise Fischer Cozzi?

Well, I finally took photos of some of the translucent, etched and painted earrings I made for the show (a technique I learned from Louise... in Stresa, Italy). And now, I share some of those photos with you...


Oh, and yeah, those are my own etched patterns, but it was my dear friend "Etsy Betsy from Boston" (wicked grin) who made the photo copies for me. *bows in deep gratitude*

Color Water Transfers

No, not watercolor transfers... color water transfers. (Say that, ten times fast.)

I made a pilgrimage to a Staples Office Supply store today - a short, hour-long drive (hey, this is Maine!) - and I copied five sheets of patterns I made on my computer. Got home and tested them with the water transfer technique on some scrap clay.... and the winner is.... Staples Office Supply!!

Granted, the color of the test on polymer clay was washed out, compared to the original colors. But Doc Sarah, "PAPCG Guild Cheerleader & Web Tinkerer", and regular visitor of Polymer Clay Central, says she really ramps up the color saturation of her images when she prints out the originals to help keep the transferred images bright and colorful. I shall have to try that.

Now, about the actually patterns I've made... Most of them are all my design. A few are adapted images from a wealth of sources (with permission, or non-copyrighted), and are also available as silkscreens. But all of them seem to look a lot like fabric patterns. Funny, that. I really do have a thing for fabric. Sort of a Love from afar. A wanna-be quilter.

Places I've wandered to lately...

It's a cold rainy day, and I don't feel like talking much, so I'll quietly share some places I've been lately. Perhaps they will inspire, or at least make you think....

A poem called "Getting By"...

A Burma look at the Karen Hill Tribe.... (for those who don't know, the Karen Hill Tribe are a group of people who make delicious silver beads.)

For contrast, the Karen Hill Tribe, just across the river in Thailand.

A little something for all you cat lovers out there....

And, last but certainly not least... Crow Cam!

Phew! Thank Goodness THAT'S over!

The Camden Harbor Arts Festival is finally over!! I'm not sure I'll ever do that again. (Funny, I remember saying that last year, too.) The stress level was way too high for a whimpy adrenal system like mine. After a month of intensive Production, and two frenetic days of standing and talking about my work and myself, and trying to come up with the right change at the same time, and then a week of super-duper head cold... well... need I say more?

And for those who like, or have been asking for (Nadja) pictures...

Yes, Funky can be a good thing... Especially when everyone else is a conformist. You see, everyone else had a tidy white tent, with tidy white sides, and tidy professional displays. My booth, on the other hand... well... you can see for yourself. (Note the funky fellow standing there... that would be Tom, pretending to be an interested customer, to give the photo scale.) Apparently, my booth stood out like a sore thumb, and that attracted onlookers like a train wreck. But once they got inside my tent... well.... bwaaahaahahaaa!

It turned out that my booth was the most active in my section (I don't know about the rest of the fair because I was too busy to notice, which is a good thing... I guess). Yes, I turned a pretty good profit. Enough to make me feel like I haven't waisted all my time, and enough to help pay for all the expenses in my trip to Europe that weren't budgeted for.

Oh, and for those who don't know squat about Camden, Maine, where the fair was held... here's the view from my spot in the fair...

Yes, those are huge schooners out there in the harbor, and beyond the masts of all those lovely ships are emerald islands and down right stunning beauty. And later in the day (sorry, no photos) a humungous cabin cruiser pulled in to dock... you know the kind, like what Bill Gates or Warren Buffett might own. And yes, one lady came to my booth and dropped almost $300 in less than two minutes! Oh, to be one of the Beautiful People. *sigh*