Visuals vs Verbals - New Stuff, Same Theme and New Hope for Unemployed Beads

It's funny how being busy creating stuff cuts down on my time and motivation for blogging. I feel like I have very little to say other than "Here's my new stuff, hope you like it." . . .
So far my fan base, if I am allowed to call it that, has been very supportive. Most things that I make and list, sell, which is why I have been busy creating stuff and not blogging. . .

I still find myself strongly responding to old/unemployed beads and found objects, so I haven't been experimenting with new poly clay things lately. I have some ideas backing up in my head, but they will have to join the queue of ideas there already.

Actually, 'Queue' is the wrong word really, it's a bit more anarchic than that. Whichever idea pushes it's way to the front tends to prevail ;-)

At present, things involving upcycled wire with objects attached seems to be my primary output. There is a lot of mileage in it, so I expect it to be my primary output for a while, but who knows how I may feel in the future?

I still have a supply of unused beads and electronic components to spark ideas from, so I imagine they will keep me going for a while yet. People seem to like what I do so that also encourages me to continue down my particular avenue.

Connectors is a new departure, though well within the aforementioned theme. . . Things in frames and the relationship between them is still a theme too.

Asymmetry and offset beads is another thing I still find interesting. It's also a nice way to use image transfer beads that I really liked but that never got much interest as beads in themselves.

Electronic components in fancy frames is a new variation too. They are so bead like, especially the ones in cool colours.

A wide frame gives the opportunity to explore repetition, which is something I am interested in too. These small, double sided, chunky, image transfer disk beads got repurposed in this framed connector thingy

And this Kangaroo bead I made a while ago using a retro rubber stamp from an old set I found in a charity shop got repurposed. I could never work out quite what to do with it before. It might still be less than useful, but we shall see. Maybe it will be big in Australia. . .

I'm still letting eccentric suggestions have their day. I have no idea what this is, but the organic beads and the bit of left over wire seemed to want to be combined somehow. Go with the flow, is what I say ;-)

Hope you enjoyed the pics and apologies for my lack of things to say. Maybe my art can speak for me even though I have no idea what it's saying . . .

How Rough and Distressed Can You Stand? More Biscuit Stuff and Actual Shards. . .

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Well, I've been experimenting again ;-) This time using 'the other' way of transferring images. Namely, using Kato Clear Liquid polymer clay and a heat gun. 

The interesting thing was that I could transfer directly onto the wood rather than a polymer clay shape. 

(see my last post for an explanation of what these wood shapes actually are)

The other interesting thing is that using this method you don't have to have laser prints, you can use inkjet prints, even on photo paper.

For the charms/beads in the images above and below I deliberately went for a rough, distressed look. I split the wooden 'biscuit' twice, to get a splintered texture on both sides. They are three ply so this is possible, if finicky to achieve. I splurged a bit of Kato Clear on one side, squashed the image down onto that then blasted it with the heat gun for about 20/30 seconds, or until the paper started to go brown and before the wood started to singe. . .

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Then I dropped them in water to make the paper easier to scrape off the baked Kato. (the image is transferred onto the thin layer of Kato clear, not the wood base) This was a bit problematic as the Kato started to peel off the wet wood. I let it dry somewhat and then stuck it down with gorilla glue. You may want to wet the paper in a more gradual way, trying not to soak the wood. Lesson learned.

I then painted the wood with alcohol inks diluted with rubbing alcohol to add a subtle tint to it. The backs were painted with alcohol inks or acrylic paint. I varnished them, more to protect the wood than the Kato, as Kato is very tough. Below are some 'half biscuits' I made using the same technique. And the same pattern. . .

Seriously rough and battered looking, especially the ones at the top of this post. Too rough for public consumption? A niche market for sure ;-)
Also the top ones are extremely light weight, not sure if this is a good thing or not. I would probably make a polymer clay backing sheet another time, to add a touch more weight. . . dunno. . .

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The ones below are polymer clay fronted, normal image trans method half biscuits, with a cool organic distressed looking image on them, which was of course further distressed by me. . .

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I also made some earring charms from actual shards, gasp! Not faux ceramic, but the real thing. I broke one of my image transferred tiles (more about them in my next post), and decided to try filing down and drilling a couple of the resulting shards to see if they might work as earring charms or some such. I think they look pretty good.

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Kittens? What kittens? ;-) Oh, you mean those ones. . 

Well we have introduced them to the outside world, insofar as our garden counts as the outside world. They have had fun, strictly supervised of course, prowling through the herbaceous border and running madly after each other in that patented kitten way that they have. They had calmed down a bit when I took the pic. Not for long, mind.

The guinea fowl continue to fascinate. The fascination was mutual actually. The scale is deceptive in the pic as the kitten is smaller than he looks and the guineas are larger. 

It all ended amicably with a mutual orderly retreat. Albeit with some less than melodious sound effects from the guineas. . .

In other news, DIY continues apace but i will spare you the WIP pics for now. I was turned down by Norfolk Craft Soc (humph!) but will (probably) try showing my stuff to some local galleries/shops to see what they reckon. Research is needed.

Anyway, until the next time,

cheers, Jon x