New Pieces

I really wanted to showcase my canes in larger form so you can see the individual canes better. I decided to put them in frames and I really like them. The smaller pieces are pins that can be worn as pendants. I get torn when it comes to putting these canes into finished pieces. Part of me says make some beads or something else to go with the focal bead but the other half of me says that something else would detract from the face. I think of them as the "new cameo". I made some simple ribbon cords to use if you want to wear them as a necklace. I hope you like them.

Here She Is!

Somebody got it right. My latest cane is of Botticelli's Venus. You can tell that she is a favorite of mine. I had previously done a cane of her as shown in the second picture. For the mosaic version I opted to make it in the 6 segments which allowed me to take a couple of slices off before I joined the pieces prior to reduction. I cut off the end as I had done on the da Vinci cane. Because I built it in pieces I was not totally happy with the way the pieces looked when I put them together. You can sort of see where the segments were joined. I will try to remember to post a picture of this at some time. I am happy to report that the reduction went well. I was a little worried because some of my Kato clay of late has been a bit mushy. I don't know why the companies can't come up with a consistent product. I really think I am going to have to give fimo classic a try. I am trying to get a few finished pieces with this new cane to take with me to Cabin Fever Clay Festival where I am teaching next Saturday.

Final two pieces

No guess yet on what my latest mosaic is. I will tell you that I did the reduction this morning and she came out beautifully. I have to say she is my favorite cane so far. I will be debuting pieces for sale at Cabin Fever Clay Festival in Maryland in a few weeks. That is if I can get some pieces finished by then.

parts 3 and 4

OK Here are the next two parts. Can you tell what it is yet? I'll be posting the final two parts soon. I am actually going to try to do the reduction tomorrow.

One step closer

Here is the next part of my latest mosaic. Can you tell what it is? I ended up having to replace quite a few pieces in this one. I am a little concerned that I don't have the contrast right. I actually have 5 of the six segments completed I just haven't taken their pictures yet. As usual I am worried that it is not coming out right. But I am pressing on.

The other picture is a credit card holder that I made for a friend of mine. I covered a bungee type card holder with a sutton slice veneer. It looks better in person. I wanted to show that I do more than just canes.

CaBezels

My apologies go out to Wendy Orlowski for not writing about this sooner. I don't know if y'all know about cabezels or not. I was introduced to them at a retreat I was attending and fell in love with them right away. Wendy was nice enough to send me some to try out. I keep meaning to post some pictures of some of my finished pieces but I keep selling them before I get a chance to take pictures. I know I really need to work on that. I promise I will get some up on this site. If you have been following my blog you know that finishing is not my strong point. But I am getting better. Cabezels are nifty little molds that come in different shapes. They give you you the cabochon shape and then its corresponding "bezel". I like them because they are clear which lets you see thru them to aid in positioning your work before pressing them into the mold. If you find yourself "finishing challenged" like me give them a try. They can be found here.

Oops!

Well I am 1/6th of the way thru with my next mosaic. Can you tell what it is? I have worked two weeks on it and this is what I have to show for it. Look back at my earlier post about a "leap of faith". I am tackling this cane in a different way. Instead of making the whole thing which will be too large for the slicer I have decided to build it in 6 segments. I can then take slices off of each segment before I put them together. Keep watching here for further segments to see if you can see her face take shape.

I have learned that there are times when the exact color of the selected extruded piece isn't that critical but there are times that it is. I decided that there were a couple of pieces that I didn't like but it was about 4 rows back in the cane. Fortunately I was able to pull it apart and replace the few extruded pieces with better ones. Hey, it's why I make the big bucks. (Insert alphabet code here like LOL or :) or OMGTFFW (OK I made that one up))