Christi Friesen workshop

Christi Friesen Workshop & Benefit April 17-19, 2009 Indianapolis
Christi Friesen has offered to do a 3 day workshop, April 17, 18, and 19th, 2009. Three fun-filled days of generously discounted classes. The Indiana Bead Society can't begin to thank Christi for her help in this event.
This workshop is a benefit event for polymer clay artist Ponsawan Silapiruti 's daughter, Ada. You may know the story: On March 2, 2008, Ada was a vibrant, caring young woman full of life, excitement, and promise. On March 3rd 2008 she was in a coma with brain damage and broken bones. Hit by a drunk driver that sustained no damage. The world changed for Ponsawan, Ada, and their family.
Full details and online registration at: http://indianabeadsociety.org/class-friesen.htm
The Indiana Bead Societ hopes that you'll attend the classes or consider a donation to Ada (and Ponsawan). Ponsawan blogs about Ada's progress at http://dearada.blogspot.com .
Featured work by Ponsawan Silapiruti. "You are the Sunshine of My Life"

You are the sunshine of my life

Mosaic in Clay

"Five Maids a Laying"


From scarf pin to wall art, one technique leading to another, between changing and feeding my daughter, the desire to paint and making something big enough to hang on the wall, combination of mosaic and quilting, and everything else in between, I came up with this, what-should-we-call-it, Mosaic in Clay.

This piece is 6"x12" in dimension, the small square mosaic pieces are 1 cm. x1 cm. Some pieces were made with canes that I made and some with canes made with my friends. Look closely for the details.

I wish I had more canes but it is not the thing I like to make. Each mosaic was formed by my fingers. Most of them are different but there are a few "look alike". It's perfect for me who "get bored easily and hate repetition, and can't sit still very long". I can work on one color at a time, get it done and start on another color the next day.


I start out by making a small piece, 6"x6", baked and mounted on the board. Here's the pictures of the first 2 pieces.
















After baking, I found out that the colors got darker and all the details in each piece made it looks "too busy". So I decided to try a bigger piece which I ran in to a small (or big) problem of baking it. My clay oven is too small, I have to sneak it in the "real" oven.


I can make each pieces, bake them and glue them together, like a real mosaic", but the way that the pieces fit together gave out the result that none other material can do. I can also burnish them together and it will look more like painting (go back and see the pin from the last post).

Again, this is just the beginning of some thing big and fun that I will be making. Hope you come back and visit more often.
Hugs

P.S. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK.............



Most of the flower canes I used were made by Keila Hernandez, some are from C.A. Therien and some from Scott Mizevitz. The bull-eye and geometric canes are mine.
Before I start, I made up a bunch of little pieces 1 cm x1 cm. with different colors, many from scrap clay, skinner blend sheet, slides from Mokume gane, and many I make at the spor to make sure get the piece with color that I want.


Here is the piece with random color which is more fun and easier to make.

If you have some canes left over or canes ends that you don't ues, you can send them to me. It would make the piece more interesting details.

P.S. I will offer the "Mosaic In Clay" for sale at my ETSY store (Silastones) as soon as I think they are good enough for sale. So far I only finished 3 pieces and not totally happy about them. Different designs are in the process. Thank you

I thought you would never ask

Anonymous said...
With no pins, how do these stay on?:)Thanks.

Finally,

someone had read my blog again. Yeh. Here are pictures of the back of the pin.

I embedded the wire into the back of the pin, and bent it into 2 hooks. Then I tied the elastic hair tie to one hook, wrap the pin and elastic around the scarf (second pic.) then hung the elastic to the second hook. Val la!

The elastic holds the scarf snugly so you can use it with thicker or thinner scarf, and if you lost the elastic, you can easily replace it.

Now, I promise, I will write the tutorial, someday, when I have more time. :)

Pinless Scarf Pins

On the day that I finished my last scarf pin, I burnt my right hand, my stove, the hood, part of the cabinet and almost burnt down the kitchen. But I finished all the pins I want to make, so here they are.

The first set are pins that covered with the sheet of slide canes that I made.

These two were made with the same cane but different arrangement. They look totally different. Amazing!

Now these pins are much more fun because they were made with scrap clay. I was not happy at first when everyone seems to like these pins more than the first set. Well, I spent so much time making canes, slide them carefully and line them up perfectly, but with the scrap clay, I just kinna throw them together. Not fair.

Well, I did enjoy making those pins and people seem to like the idea of this "pinless scarf pin".

I added the curly-q from the thin strip of Skinner Blend sheet as my signature on the pin. For you; Susan Lomuto.

Oh, I do have another thing on my list to do for 2008; I want to make big, wall piece. I actually start working on it, so, hopefully, I will get it done by 2009.

I won't be able to clay for a while. I hope I sold all the scarf pins. All of the necklace and bracelets will be sent to Thailand for the auction at the class reunion. We will get a new kitchen and I hope next year, things will be better for us.

2008 New Year's Resolution List

It is almost 2009 and I finally have a chance to look back at the list of things I want to do in 2008. It was the same list I had for 2007. First, I promise to learn to make canes. Not that I don't know how, there are so many tutorials out there and lots of advice from the experts who always laugh at me because I don't make canes. Second, I want to make Scarf pin. Third, I want to get into more art shows.

Last month I saw a tutorial on-line. It is different. Not a flowers cane but more like geometric design. I gave it a try, with a twist, I came up with these cool designs the I am excited about. I am not going to take any credits for it. I'm sure someone out there had done this before, but, the point is; I am making canes.

And here they are.

I cut them up into thin pieces and put them together.

Now the scarf pins. I have been thinking about the design for a while. The object is to make a pin with no-pin, but will hold the scarf together, light weight and look like a piece of artwork. And here they are.

The flowers on the pin are from canes that I bought from Keila Hernandez. The white flowers are mine. Not bad, ha.

About the shows, oh well, I'm sure you all know what had happened to my daughter, but I do have one show coming up this Saturday at Eitlejorg Museum.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciated the love and supports that I got from the Polymer Clay community. Instead of turning out the light and cry myself to sleep, I pick up the clay and play with them, make something . I also go on-line, check out other artist's works which always gave me an itch, to Clay.

Passage through Hong Kong

This summer I had a chance to visit Hong Kong for a couple of days with my friend, Angkana. You can read about my trip HERE. As we strolled along the narrow steps from street to street, we came upon the vendor who sell souvenirs near the Antique Dealer district. I stopped and looked. An old couple greet me with smiles. It is the Eastern traditional amoung the street merchants that the first customer is very important. Buying or not, this will dictate how yours day will be. So as a first customer, I always buy something, which mean I can make a bargain and also get a good price. Angkana was waiting patiently while I sort through trays pendants, ran my fingers through tray of beads, picking and looking. For me, it was like a treasure hunt. I must get the best one. An hour passed and I realized that Angkana must had enough of looking at the stone. She must be curious and wanted to knows what would do with a pile of stone that I bought that day. Well, my dear Angkana, this one for you. I had turned them into beautiful necklaces.
Thanks for being my friend.
My new collection, using stone pendants, metal pieces, loose beads that I bought from Hong Kong, and my own polymer clay beads, as well as "stuff" that I had from years and years of making jewelry. Some of the necklaces are half way done. My friend said I must have spout hands to be able to work on top of taking care of Ada 24-7. This is what I do when I can get away, to enjoy myself, to relax and to forget about the horrible things that happen to my life. I need to use my talent so I will not run out of creative juice.
I hope you like them too. I am selling these necklaces at "Twisted Sisters" and if you want any of these, just email me.

My "High Flying" Son

My son, Archie, is specialized in defying gravity. Since he was 5 years old and got his first lesson in Gymnastic, he had put his strength and ability to the limit. Almost humanly impossible sometime.
This past weekend, Archie, the B-Boy, was invited to perform his dance at the new, International Indianapolis Airport and he actually gets paid to do that. Isn't that sweet. he came back home with dislocated shoulder and a sore hand that will need surgery next month, but he is happy and I am too.
I am working on my new collection, using materials that I bought from Hong Kong. Please come back at the end of this month and help me celebrate.
Since we had to remodel our home to make it suitable for our daughter, I have a space near Ada's room where I can work and be near her. I think she like to watch me while I am working and I'm sure she is happy that I can find time to do things that I like. It's the way I cope and keep my sanity.

Donation

If you would like to donate money to help Ada and our family, please visit Ada's blog; www.dearada.blogspot.com. The donate button has been installed. It money will be sent via PayPal.
I also would like to run an auction site for her. Many friends would like to donate something that can be auction off. May be we should put them on ebay. Do you have any suggestion? With ebay, we will get connected worldwide. It's a lot of work but I will get more help soon.
Thanks for those who already made the contribution. And thank to Kim Cavender for the post on her blog. Big hugs to everyone.

Twisted Beads, Jana Robert Benson's style

During the past 6 months that I was away from home, my clay and my pasta machine, surfing the Internet is the only thing that connect me to the outside world. Reading other people blogs, websites and watched my clay friends put their new works on-line make me envy. Every chance I get, I clay. It help me kept my sanity and gave me hope that someday, I will be able to put my new works on my blog again.
With a few minutes here and there, while running from home to the hospital, and a few pack of clays, I can make a few small beads. Put them on the tile and carefully place the tile in the cigar box, bring it home and bake so I can make a few bracelet while I was away. That's how the "Hurricane Beads" came about and I don't need to use pasta machine to make those beads. Jana Robert Benson's twisted beads always make me feel exciting. Last night I came up with these twisted beads made with the mess up "Hurricane beads". They look cute and very organic, and unpredictable. They are fun to make.
Ada and I are home now. I will have a new studio next to her room so I can work and play with clay.
May be, when I have more time to sit down, I can make a larger one.
Thanks Jana.

Here's the bracelet I just finished.

Very "Ponsawan" I might say.

I think I got my "muse" back. What do you think?

Now that I have a bowl of beads

Now that I have a big bowl of colorful beads, I can start making something fun. During the summer, I strung them with some seed beads, tied them up with the waxed cord that I have, and turned them into ankle bracelets. Make it shorter, I get the bracelet, make it a little longer and I get a necklace. This has worked out well because:
1. I cannot repeat myself, yet I still making one-of-a-kind necklaces because they will never look the same.
2. Customers who prefer handmade jewelry are so happy to wear my pieces. It is almost like I made it especially for them when they were told that I made my own beads.
3. With the same material and design concept, I like to experiment many different styles.
4. All I need are some pretty seed beads that will only enhance and compliment with my own beads.
5. I used my handmade button as a clasp so I don't have to worry about the price of the silver that had gone up to the "not affordable" items. The piece looks all together as a complete design.
Ok, I have been making jewelry for many years, this is the design that complete itself and I am still having fun making them.
Many nurses and therapists had become a proud owner of my bracelets. I hope it would remind them of Ada and mom and the time that we spent together. Thank you for everyone who help taking good care of my daughter during our 6 months staying away from home.

Making my own beads

Now that Ada and I had settled down at home, I can continue to blog again. So many things to share but let me start with these little "Hurricane Beads" I made with scrap clay. During the past 6 months, while I stay in the hospital and nursing home with Ada, I found sometime to make small bracelets and anklets and sell them to the nurses. I used to visit my friend who sells good quality Czech beads, but I found out that most people cannot tell the different between top quality glass beads and cheap, China made beads. So I started playing with left over clay and come up with a small size, colorful beads that customer can appreciated more because they are all hand-made.

Not only I have a perfect size beads, but also the color I want and the hole is running from side to side, not top to bottom, which make it lay flat when stung.
I also make the small buttons to use as clasp.
Last week, when Ike landed in Houston, I watch the weather Chanel and it occurred to me that my little beads look like the eye of the hurricane. These beads are easy to make and tomorrow I will show you what I made with those beads.
Happy to be back blogging again. Thanks for everyone who left comments and visit Ada's blog.

With clay in hand

Hello clay friends,
After 5 long months, I can go home in the evening and sleep on my own bed and get a chance to play with clay for a few hour before I go to bed.
My daughter will come home soon and I will becoming a stay-at-home mom again, but this time, I cannot wait to stay home. More time to clay and being able to sell my jewelry on-line is such a blessing. I found a few more local shops that want to sell my jewelry and my friends in Thailand had already place the orders.
I am beginning to pick up the pieces of my life.
Hugs

Dear Ada

I decided to set up another blog for my daughter, so I can update her condition as well as celebrate her life.
Read all about it at www.dearada.blogspot.com

minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day

It had been 16,320 minute, 272 hour, or 11 and a half day since my daughter accident, still, she is in coma. She is showing sign of reflect action; moving her arms and legs when gets pinch, open her eyes half way, twisting her body. She's still unconscious, but hopefully the doctor can wean out the drugs and she can regain consciousness by her own, we hope. No promising what so ever.
I stopped crying after 7 days, no more tear to cry. Fighting my way into the crowded visitor room, gather some couch, chairs and table. I sleep there during the night so I can catch the doctor in the morning then go home. I can see her anytime I want. Many of her friends and my friends had stopped by all day. Many had dropped off dinner. I had my moment but the anger had subsided but the fear of the unknown had set in. What if, what if, what if.
Let's pause our lives for a minute, give your love one a hug, tell them you love them, because you will not know what will happen in the next minute. next hour, or next day. Group hug everyone.
Thanks for all the kind words, pray and encouragement.
Ponsawan