Fun with Biscuits etc. Not a Tutorial. A Journey Down My Creative Process, Such As It Is. . .

Start off by having a silly idea while trying to get to sleep.

Wake up in the morning and think "Why not? What have I got to lose?" etc etc and wander into the workshop. After all it is still Lockdown pretty much and you are going slightly nuts like everyone else. . .

In line with the aforementioned silly idea, take some of these. . .

'These' being what are known as 'biscuits', which shouldn't be confused with what are normally thought of as biscuits round here as they are distinctly inedible, even if dunked in really hot tea.
They are in fact small pieces of plywood used to accurately join two sheets of wood, as in a worktop. Useful things, only I didn't get on with them particularly, even with the proper biscuit jointer power tool thingy. I have plenty of them lying around though, and have previously used them every now and then in bead related projects. (I have no idea if Americans call them 'cookies' or not. . . Quite probably. Whatever. . . )

Now take some of this stuff, which is 2mm diameter approx blue plastic 'wire' from the large reel of it to be found in the shed, left by our house's previous owner. I assume it is strimmer wire but I can't be certain, and am not that bothered what it is. I am just aware of it sitting there awaiting some sort of use. (My strimmer uses those little plastic things rather than plastic wire, which though a bit pricey, is so much better. The wire ones are a complete and utter total pain.)

Lay the biscuits on a thin sheet of polymer clay and cut round them. Bake and then glue the resulting poly clay pieces onto the biscuits. Tidy up the edges.

Drill 2mm holes in patterns or at random intervals in the poly clay fronted biscuits.

Cut some short, roughly the same size, lengths of the plastic wire and poke them into the holes in the biscuits. Try different length bits on each biscuit. Look at the results and go "Hmmm.. ."

Decide to paint the biscuits with bright colours that will set off the blue of the plastic bits nicely.

Decide you quite like the results and glue the bits in place.

Think "Now what?"

Sleep on it. Not literally, obviously as that would be a bit spiky.

Next day, decide to see what one of the simpler ones would look like as a pendant. OK, a bit obvious maybe, but worth keeping. Looks like a little scrubbing brush, but in a good way I hope ;-)

Try one out as a brooch. Kind of funky, but as the plastic bits on this one are quite long the whole thing kind of hangs down instead of sitting nicely on the chest or lapel or whatever.
Try to stabilise it with some upcycled wire grid. That works pretty well. Another keeper.

Now, get distracted by the model railway figures you just bought, and ones you had around anyway. For fun, put the two retro, cute kids on the more minimal biscuit as though standing by a fence or somesuch. Nice. But how to use this as a pendant as it's flat and horizontal, not vertical. Maybe a tallish wire loop would do the job and allow the piece to be hung on a chain or something. That could work. I like. . .

For more fun, put the milk churn carrying man in amongst some shorter plastic bits, like he's walking through grass. How about a wire grid to maybe allow the piece to be strung somehow? The grid obviously needs some electronic components and an image transfer abstract tile to finish it off. The electronic bits also go with his shirt.

I like this 3D effect. The figures have a sort of environment to exist in.

Box carrying man can also get in on the 3D act, with a grid and another image transfer abstract tile above him as he heaves his box through the rather small opening in the 'fence'.

The question "Why?" doesn't need to be asked unless the answer "Because" is sufficient for you, because that's all the reply you will get ;-)

These can be weird pendants or equally weird small ornaments for the mantlepiece.

Just what you've always wanted ;-)

Now call it a day and wait for the next silly idea. . .

Jon x

Just When You Think You're Done With That Idea, Long Furrows and One Thing Leading To Another

Boing!

Just when I think a certain creative avenue has run its course, if avenues can be said to do that, something catches my attention and I'm off again. . . This time that something was these old springs from a knackered and previously mouse invaded and occupied armchair we eventually burned on the bonfire in the garden. The metal bits were left in the ashes, looking interesting, so I clipped a few of them out and took them into my workshop. On a whim I used them in a pair of drops/beads/dangles/pendants along with the usual upcycled wire grid stuff. They looked a bit nuts, in a good way, but I listed them on FB anyway as I figured they might raise a smile. They sold, and someone asked me to make two more pairs ;-) so smiles all round. . .

Digital Nouveau tile beads

I've been making variations on a theme rather than indulging in new explorations lately, which was why I was feeling that this furrow had perhaps been ploughed long enough and that I was in danger of repeating myself. But as with the old springs, some older rediscovered beads inspired some more interesting and creatively satisfying explorations.

Like use of more open wire structures and use of an almost traditional cross shape.

And the use of incised/scratched African influenced designs and a diagonal grid as a sort of 'loop'.

Some old two tiered earrings sparked the idea of twin beaded pendants on a rigid wire frame.

And some old faux ivory dragon teeth beads (from an online tut I read), two thin textured flake like beads and two electronic component thingies just seemed to work together once placed on a wire grid. There is something about the formality of a grid that seems to infer logic to the most illogical of combinations. I find this fascinating ;-)

I have picked up various bits of rabbit skeleton dug up from flowerbeds etc over the last year or so, and kept them aside as I liked the look of them. I also kept the filament from very old bulb/valve which had a mishap and broke. The two just seemed to go together once tied to a rigid frame. No idea how or why. Explanation is an unnecessary distraction. It either 'works' or it don't.  If I think it works it stays. . .

Taking the idea a bit further. .

A couple of very recent things. I love how the textured tube bead echoes the grey resistor or whatever it is. And the little black feet make me smile.

Old and new beads combine in another quite open frame to make something more than the sum of their parts. Which is the whole idea really isn't it?

Anyway, until next time, 

cheers, 

Jon x

Blog Neglect, Cats and Woodpeckers, Old Doubts and Responding to The World

Well. . . I always start with that word! (Except every now and then when I don't of course). Somehow it makes it all a bit more conversational, as though I had just sat down with a cup of tea and was about to tell you about my day. An imposition of course, as you didn't actually ask, but as is the way with us bloggers, we just carry on as if you did. . . I know, "What are we like?".

Do they say that anywhere but the UK? I hope not as it should be said in a London accent, preferably South London. . . . Oh yeah, and the three dots thing, I do that a lot too. . . see? . . .
How much do you bet that I'm going to start the next paragraph with "Anyway"?

Scratched 'African' influence focal rectangle thing

Anyway, (Hah!) I have been neglecting this blog, not through choice, but through lack of opportunity, or at least a space of time that wouldn't be 'better spent' doing something else, and also through the paralysis brought on by guilt. It is ironic that the longer you leave something the louder the voice that tells you that you can't possibly do it now, as everyone will have given up and gone home.

I've got over that one. Mainly coz I have no shame but partly coz you are all nice people and weren't exactly waiting around for my verbal meanderings, but are quite happy to give them the once over when they decide to turn up. I assume anyway. . .

Different size grids

The other morning I got up early, ( I do this a lot, not through choice, but because I am awake and know I won't drift back into sleep however much I would like to. It's an age thing I think as I don't need to get up early anymore being retired and all.) As I was saying, or writing rather, I got up early and glanced out of the window into the back garden, where, in the early morning light, I discerned the cat, (Boudicca, the skinny, wriggly one) wrestling/sparring with something on the lawn. A flippn' Green Woodpecker no less! They aren't small birds, in fact, you may remember the photo of a woodpecker with a weasel seemingly riding on it's back, it was one of those. About three quarters of the size on the cat. . . Anyway, I rushed down and opened the back door ready to rescue the silly thing. Luckily that was enough of a distraction for Boudicca to look away and the bird to scarper, making indignant woodpecker noises. I admit I was also a bit worried for the cat, as those woodpeckers have serious beaks on them. They do frequent our lawn, as despite their name, they much prefer to eat ants out of the ground than indulge in any of this pecking wood business. I think it was an immature one, as I saw a couple of them with their parents on the lawn the other day.

"The Wildlife Diary of a Polymer Claying Man" eh?

Hollow Image Transfer and wire thingies 

My 'beads' thing has been going well ;-) I don't think 'beads' is quite the right word for what I am doing at present. I'm not sure what the correct term would be. Jewelry components' is a bit general maybe? 'Thingies' is kind of convenient but doesn't make it sound like I know what I am doing ;-)

Offset scratchy squares

I seem to sell most things I list on FB these days, which is great, but brings up the old doubts about what I should be making. It's the classic 'problem' that rears ugly head (maybe not so much ugly as unwelcome) when things start to sell. Vis - Should I make more of the things that I am pretty sure will sell, or should I continue the creative experimentation and follow wherever it leads, sales or not?

Not making things that people actually want seems a bit ungrateful somehow, but repeating yourself, and risking losing the spark that makes you You as it were is not such a good idea either. The real crunch comes when you realise that if do the arty thing rather than the more commercial thing, you are turning down an almost guaranteed chance to make a useful amount of money. . . Not easy for a lifelong freelancer to turn down. It's a good dilemma to have though I suppose.

I think the answer is to make enough time to do both.
I'm working on it.

I am also lucky in that I have a client base that seems to be interested and involved in my creative journey, and seem happy to come along with me so to speak. That is pretty special I think ;-)

Texture Squares, new poly clay beads for  change

My recent work has mainly been about upcycling things, beads I put aside for various reasons, and various bits of wire and wire mesh I found stored here and there dating from before this house was ours.
I am always alert to the possibility of reaching a kind of saturation point with particular techniques and concepts, and producing uninspiring work as a consequence. I was feeling like this point was approaching vis a vis wire and poly clay orphans. . .
Until I found some old 'pod' beads I made about three years ago, in one of my bead boxes, and got all inspired again!

Captive Pod, looks kind of Inuit maybe?

Pod Suspended, Organic form meets Geometric Grid

It did make me notice something very obvious, but that had failed to penetrate my thick head, namely, that my work is very much about responding to what is around me. I don't plan anything. I don't sketch or design, I find that it all works better if I let things occur to me and see what happens. I have a general idea, some techniques and an aesthetic worked out, but other than that it's fairly spontaneous. That said, I like to think I have a trained and finely tuned instinct for what 'works' and what doesn't. It's all totally subjective of course, all about me and my personal tastes and preferences, but for better or worse, love it or hate it, take it or leave it, at the end of the day I think I am quite good at being me ;-)

Jon x

Weather Served in Chunks, Crunchy Grass, Wasp Bother and More Arty Components

Grid Spikes, my ideas often end up getting combined at some point. .

It's been a funny sort of year weather wise. Everything has come in chunks. We had a a couple of weeks of cold and snow, just when we were expecting Spring, then we had weeks of wet/very wet weather and now we're experiencing a big chunk of hot, dry stuff. Very nice to have bright sunlight and lovely warm evenings in the garden of course, I don't want to appear ungrateful, but the lawn is brown, and crunches when you walk on it. Time for at least some rain, but maybe not a big chunk of wet weather. Moderation in all things and a bit of variety, like things used to be eh?

Double sided, round, hollow, polymer clay beads on upcycled wire stalks

Talking of 'things', whatever the weather I have been finding some time to make some. 'Things' that is. As in 'not readily definable objects'. I seem to work best creatively when I don't have a solid aim in mind but just let ideas happen and see where they take me. They don't always take me in obviously usable directions, but that's ok, the process is always useful somehow even if the product sometimes isn't.

Well, my process isn't quite as random as that maybe, I do like to set some simple, but not too rigid guidelines to keep the creative flow from turning into a total splurge. 

Freedom and control, the two opposing forces we juggle with and negotiate between. . .

Rejuvenated texture squares and upcycled wire

The things I have been making combine polymer clay beads and wire in various ways.

I have quite a few beads lurking here and there that I never quite found the right use for, never managed to sell, took down from my Etsy shop when Etsy was looking like an increasingly bad option, (it has improved imho) or rescued from unsatisfactory necklaces I made quite a while ago. 

I have been combining them with upcycled, scavenged, thick wire mesh to make simple, what I call 'Industrial Boho' earring components and the like. 

OK, pretentious maybe, but it sounds better than 'Unwanted Beads and Discarded Wire' earring components. . . ;-) 

Kind of African Gothic texture spikes from an abandoned necklace plus bent wire bits

The wire I use is thick but quite malleable, so I can bend it with round nose pliers to make interesting simple shapes, and basic loops, being sure to smooth off any sharp edges in the process.

Distressed image trans rectangle and wire combination

The previously mentioned electronic components get a look in every now and then too. I'll get round to using them more in due course. Plenty of time for that.

I was going to make these into earrings myself, but decided to sell them as is

A groovy 'Traffic Light' pendant - no they don't light up

I recently, as in just the other day found a two part epoxy glue that bonds metal to metal. That is going to be very useful going forward as I am not yet versed in the art of soldering. I tried it out and it works well. Tightly wrapped wire and good superglue has worked well so far but super tough epoxy will work even better.

More rejuvenated texture squares with upcycled wire grid bits, and suitably grey coloured epoxy glue on the wrapped join

The good news is that people seem to like them and my regular customers like them well enough to buy them so I'm pleased ;-)

Oh yeah, wasps. Some smaller than usual wasps were just starting to build a nest in the shed, I only noticed when one stung me on the knuckle as I was reaching for the lawn rake, and another managed to tangle itself in my t shirt at the lower back and stung me there too. That got my attention ;-) I sprayed the beejasus out of those buggers so that will have sorted them. Stinging me! The nerve!

Anyway, off on hols to a lovely Greek island for a week so see you when I get back.

Jon x

Electronic Possibilities, An Embarrassment of Wire, Daft Ducks and Actual, Bona Fide, non pretend Spring!

Cool components. . .

Well, it's been a while. . . Life has got in the way somewhat over the last week or two. My father in law passed away and we had to go up to Yorkshire for the funeral and to sort things out.

Anyway, putting emotional stuff etc aside, part of that process was sorting through stuff in the house to see what should be salvaged and what should be left to the house clearance people. He was a model train enthusiast and was an electronics engineer in his working days so there was a lot of related bits and pieces to deal with as well as the usual furniture, pots and pans and books.

The long and the short of it is that I have rescued loads of electronic components that look like they are dying to be up cycled as jewellery components. Little tubes with coloured stripes etc. I have no idea, and no interest in what the stripes signify, I know it's code for wattage/amperage/whateverage but I just like the way they look. I look forward to finding out how they might inspire future work.

Continuing on from the 'free wire' mentioned in my previous post, there were about twenty or so 100 metre reels of coated copper wire in the attic. Just the right size, once the coating is cut off, for making loops and bails. I rescued 4 reels, so now I have 400 metres of wire to play with! That should last a week or two ;-) It might even inspire me to actually spark up the butane torch I got a year and a half ago and learn a bit of basic soldering etc. . . .

Other news, as if you really want to know ;-) I am signed up, with my wife, (excellent watercolour artist and tutor) to Norfolk Open Studios, which happens in May. I shall be exhibiting my ceramic tile stuff and some prints of my digital abstract stuff as well as some bits of jewellery. This requires me to actually make some jewellery, which is not something I have done for a while. But it is something I increasingly feel I need to explore, to find my 'voice' in a jewellery context, so a deadline might be the kick up the rear I need to get stuck in to it. I don't think bead buyers would necessarily be amongst open studio visitors so I need a way of showing what I do that non beady people might respond to more readily.

Actual Spring sunshine, photographic evidence thereof. .

Spring is actually not only here, but showing physical signs of being here rather than being a sort of winter with added daffodils. I actually ate breakfast, sitting in the sun in the garden today. Wonderful!

Vast tracts of grass, cut with the small mower as the sit-on can't deal with long grass.

And it was actually dry enough to cut the grass! We've had more than two days without rain! Unbelievable! I can actually plant some things in the veg garden. . .

Because we haven't been using the garden door, due to the weather, a duck has decided that the flowerbed just next to the path, just outside the door would be a good place to make a nest. . . sigh.

Ill advised duck on ill sited nest

Oh well, it will have to put up with us walking past from time to time, I'm not going to make silly allowances for a not altogether well thought through duck's nest. So far she seems ok with the arrangement. Not sure what will happen if ducklings result, we have three cats. . . Last year the ducklings lasted about four days (!) and we didn't have cats then, just barn owls, tawny owls, kestrels, sparrow hawks and possibly foxes. Doesn't bear thinking about.

Texture beads - sold

Now we are back from Yorkshire and almost recovered from all the hectic doing, I have had some time in the workshop to make some things. Easing myself back into it all.

I made some spikes and some textured beads and plan on making a lot more stuff.

If I am going to make necklaces etc for the upcoming open studios, I will need plenty of beads. . . So I have ordered some large blocks of Cernit. I am rolling my sleeves up in readiness and doing gentle warming up exercises. . .

No doubt you will hear all about it in due course. . . ;-)

Jon x

Mid Century Primitive spikes, the only ones pictured here that didn't sell. Well I like 'em.

Goodbye Website. . . (My Fault Entirely) - More Creating and Experimenting - Alcohol inks and an Annoying Pink Tint

Custom made long spike beads, close up

Carried along by the general tide of dissatisfaction with the way Etsy was going, (and still is pretty much, for me at least) I decided to set up my own website with it's own shop. (I wittered on about it in a previous post) I got it looking nice, mentioned it a few times but never kept up the promoting pressure needed to drive traffic to it. Try as I might, that sort of carry-on just doesn't sit right with me. I know that's 'unrealistic', self indulgent, not the way it's done and all that stuff, but I'm just not one of life's blow yer own trumpeters, and if it doesn't feel right I'm not going to do it ;-) . . . 

So, I'm going to knock the website on the head at the end of the month. The platform I chose is totally free from blame. Indiemade are very good. It's just me that's not prepared to do the sort of work required to make a success of such a venture. I'll stick with Etsy as my shop for now, as it does have at least some built in traffic, but use Facebook as a selling venue. Any stuff that doesn't sell on there gets put up in my shop. Probably.

Earring spikes with oxidised copper loops - sold

I have just bought the domain for jbdrusticorganic.com so I will probably use that for a stand alone site in future. 'If and when'.

Big, ornately rustic focal - sold

On the bead creation front, some of you will have seen these beads on FB, but here they are again in their full glory ;-)

I enclosed a repurposed wooden bead from a charity shop necklace bought for such a purpose, in polymer clay and then added turned technique bits on either end to make a bigly rustic large focal or two. Using textures on some, and my surface treatments on others. 

Double bead wrapped focal

I sold a couple as well. 

It's a fun process which I will revisit when the mood takes me.

woody, ceramic-y surface treatment on this big focal - sold

Talking of the mood taking me, I often find that I go into my workshop fully intending to make a certain type of thing, and then find I just can't get going, the results don't move me. Then I find I have to let go of my intention and mess around until something clicks, other than the bones in my neck. . . It can be a bit frustrating, especially when you feel that precious studio time is ebbing away, but I trust my instinct and it never lets me down. . .

Custom long spike - sold

I was asked (via FB) to make some long (3"ish) turned effect spikes by an excellent beaded jewellery maker from the West of the USA, so I set to work and had great fun working out how all the different ins and outs and textures fit together on one piece ;-)

Pink and black annoyances

The annoying pink tint I mentioned in the title comes from the nature of the pigments in alcohol inks. When diluted, or used in fairly vigorously applied layers they tend to change colour in a weird way, or revert to some kind of base pigment, sometimes quite unlike the expected colour. At least that is what I think is happening. 

In the pic above, the black ink has turned the white areas pinky purple. (when painting with black alc ink and the brush starts to run dry you find you are painting with purple and not black any more) This happened when I varnished it, the varnish seems to slightly dissolve the black ink which then reveals it's secret purply nature ;-) .

Acrylic paints don't do this.

What I was attempting with these beads was to scrape off the black ink to make a simple black and white design. I ended up with black and pink instead. Not so desirable.

Proper black and white scratch beads

So I made another set and used black acrylic paint, and scraped that off instead. it is denser but more delicate than alc ink, and is easier to use, as you can easily paint bits of black back on if you make a mistake. It sits on the surface of the clay, whereas alc ink spreads out and stains the surface, which makes it less precise. I varnished them, as the paint would just wear or chip off otherwise. I might try matt varnish next time. I really like these sort of simple, African inspired patterns with their simple mathematical logic, which, let's face it is the only kind of mathematical logic I can handle ;-)

Gonna be a busy couple of weeks, the bathroom bits and pieces have arrived, (basically the whole shebang, bath, toilet, shower etc etc) and I am also in the middle of the fake panelling on the landing, while a new set of bannisters is being fitted by a local joiner. I hope I can squeeze some bead time in there somewhere.

Until next time, be good, unless of course being good doesn't appeal, your call. . .

Jon x