Studio Time: Back to Basics

So I've been struggling with finding my voice on my blog as I restart my artistic journey and I just decided to go back to basics. Start over like I started my blog. Write about my surroundings, my art, and the journey of the experiments.

Lamp work is still on hiatus so I'm playing with polymer again. I've also started looking into classes on ceramics and fusing glass. It turns out I don't mind these opportunities to experiment in different mediums!

When I first started with polymer, I have to admit I felt like it was "too easy." I wanted art that I had to work at. But, as I've learned, polymer isn't that easy. In fact, in some ways it's harder than lamp working. Conditioning clay takes a long time! Plus, I've been following Polymer Clay Daily for a couple of years and this website confirms that polymer artists can manipulate the medium in magical ways. There are some beautiful works of art on there. I aspire to getting published there someday. 

But for now, I'm starting at the basics. While clay manufacturers create a lot of pre-mixed colors, when I was in Hong Kong, I had limited access to the pre-mixed colors. So, I learned to mix colors from the primaries through Maggie Maggio's color scale experiments. I have found that I much prefer mixing my own colors from primaries rather than buying pre-mixed. You get the more gradients that are more natural. I worked with FIMO classic (very crumbly) and just found I loved the colors I could mix from it. I have access to FIMO soft, which I much prefer and I'm thrilled with the color scales I can get. 

So below is last night's work at mixing. I have some rough ideas that I want to experiment with. I'll share as I go.

Below is my new studio. It's the other half of my messy office. I just moved in 3 weeks ago, so I'm still going through and filing papers. I may show that side of the room (and all the wonderful windows) when I get it cleaned. Don't expect that any time soon.

Gratuitous cutie pie pictures. I still miss my dog, Molly, but I'm thoroughly enjoying this new generation of puppies. Sophie (on the left) is 5 years old and Trixie (on the right) is 7 years old. I have a work-from-home job and they sit in my desk drawers while I work. I love that they are so comfortable that they sleep on their back. Sophie has been doing this for a year and I have a ridiculous amount of cute pictures of her sleeping on her back. Trixie just got comfortable enough to start sleeping on her back in the last two weeks. She's been with me for over a year, so it makes me happy that's she's feeling secure enough to sleep on her back.