Enough with the face canes already!

I received my copy of Lindly and Maggie's color book and I have to say it is fantastic. I haven't read it all but I can't wait and it has inspired me to do some different kind of cane work. I love the canes of Carol Simmons. I thought I'd try to do a series on canes with the same color scheme. I have a coral colored sweater that I thought I'd like to make something to wear with it. I started out first by going to the website colourlovers.com. It's a great site that lets you create a palette. I then went into their create a pattern section to see what the colors looked like together. It was interesting to change the color order and see the results in the pattern. Anyway my palette consists of a coral, purple, green and yellow. I then made a sketch of my cane. Scanned it into the computer. Tweaked it a little. Then I duplicated it like a kaleidoscope. When I first started this blog I had just had my should surgery and had only one arm to work with and that was when I did the One Armed Bandit Cane. As usual I never did much with the cane but I think people liked me posting pictures of the creation of the cane so that is what I am going to do for these canes.

Here is Lindly and Maggie's book on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Clay-Color-Inspirations-Techniques/dp/0823015017/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251647751&sr=8-1

Maasai Woman Necklace

Ok It's been awhile so I should have gotten something done. Here is a necklace I made form my Maasia woman cane. I have to restring it because I used a magnet closure and it wasn't strong enough to hold together. I like it but I don't think I'll ever actually wear it. It's too big for my taste. (even though I know big is in, it just doesn't go with my usual t-shirt and jeans) I have another necklace almost done that is brighter in colors. I'll post soon.

Maasai Woman - part 1

Here is a picture of my Maasai woman's face. I usually do the more detailed parts large then reduce it. I am pleased with the way she came out. It wasn't until I was looking at the photos that I took that I realized that her nostril needs to be lowered but this should be something I can fix later. I have to admit I have become pretty good and fixing my canes whether its with some surgery into the cane or just by manipulating the slices. This is only part 1 because I plan on finishing her head and my end result (if the face reduces OK) she will have a baby on her back. When we stopped at the Maasai village when we were in Africa I was struck by their beauty. I hope to incorporate some of their bead work into my design. At this point I don''t know if I will do this by caning or with actual beads. Who knows I may do both. Also the Maasai clothing just screams to be caned. The beautiful red plaids and stripes are a stark contrast to the earth tones of Africa. Actually they wear red to keep the lions away.

This has been a challenge for me because of the skin tones but I like it and I hope you do too. I let my canes rest overnight and I will reduce her tomorrow.

Big Amber Beads!

Ok while I am still working on my Maasai woman (and yes I did redo her lower lip) I thought I'd post another picture. These are my Big Amber Beads from Tory Hughes' workshop at cabin fever. Now I have to let you know my big is quite different from Tory's big. Hers were about twice the size of mine. I like the beads but as usual for me I never did anything with them.

Patient Caner

Happy Independence Day! Sorry I don't have any pictures this time. I have been working though. I have been working on the face of a Maasai woman. For the Birth of Venus I tried to do shading with Skinner blends. On this piece I thought I'd go for a more "painterly" look. Theresa, the President of Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild, has said that I am the most patient caner she knows. Usually I'd have to say that I am not patient about anything but I have to admit I am willing to put in the time. Two days ago I spent about four hours working on my cane and do you know how far I got?.........Well I got her lower lip done. I continued to work on it for the last two days and after looking at it all I can say is that I am not happy with her lower lip. UGH! (please feel happy to insert stronger word here. I know I did) Now I have to decide whether to cut it off and start again or learn to love it. Wait - I think it's looking better already.

Birth of Venus

It's taken me a while to post but here are some pictures of my latest face cane. She is inspired by the painting "The Birth of Venus". I think I had some success with the shading which is the hardest part of face canes if you ask me. I did the cane in two parts. First I created just the face. I reduced this and then added the hair and background. I have some of the face left over and have to decide what to do with it.

I plan on posting some pictures from my WONDERFUL week I spent at Shrinemont. I met some fantastic polymer clay artists and made fast friends with my tablemates. I also spent a fantastic week with Kathleen Dustin. She is a gifted artist and is very willing to share her knowledge with others. Of course as we all know - knowing Kathleen's techniques doesn't mean your work will look as good as hers. I do plan to do more of her "translucent techniques".

My brain is overflowing with ideas after my trip to Africa. I definetly plan on redoing a Maasai woman. I'll keep you posted.

Back from Africa

Hello everyone. Well it has been quite awhile since my last post and I am afraid I am not here to write about any clay news. I just got back from Africa and let me tell you it was a trip of a lifetime. I have uploaded some of my pictures to http://www.flickr.com/photos/eekski/3585524107/in/set-72157619018923913/ Please take a look. I am off next week to Albuquerque to take two classes from Kathleen Dustin. When I get back from that my husband is scheduled for knee surgery. Hopefully once he gets squared away I can get back to my clay. Africa has given me a great deal of inspiration.