Wall art « Polymer Clay Etc.

27 videos, step by step, beginner cane workshop

What people are saying about this tutorial. jennifer rose Just finished this first workshop on how to make canes, and I must say I learned so much. This is exactly what I have been looking for, someone who could explain cane making in a step by step that process that I could replicate. I watched the videos, went into my studio and began to create all of the canes Alice showed. I finally have results I can be proud of, and I say thank you so much for doing this workshop. My only question now is when do we get more workshops. If you are only going to take one online class let it be this workshop. Thank you Alice for your hard work, and your dedication to helping others learn the joys of polymer clay.

Catching Up or What I’ve Been Up To

It’s been over a month since I’ve posted here on Polymer Clay Etc. and so much has happened. All good, exciting and fun. You might have seen these images and heard all this before on Facebook etc. but this is for my friends who aren’t on those other social media sites.

First of all I had a private Pen and Ink workshop with Mary Jane Reinhart and she created a great bracelet that day. You should see the work she’s doing now, fabulous! Plus she’s so much fun, I love having her in the Studio.

I was over the moon when I received the newest addition of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine, just before I left town for a retreat.

Laurie Prophater wrote a wonderful article about a challenge she proposed to Meisha Barbee, Julie Eakes and me when they were all staying at my house and playing at Studio 215 while Meisha was teaching. (Read about the fun we had here.) I’m thrilled to be published along with these talented women. Thank you Laurie for thinking of such a enjoyable project.

Next I met up with several claying friends in Denver, Syndee Holt, Julie Eakes, Meisha Barbee, Libby Mills, and Emily Levine, we had a great time. Crazy but oh so much fun!

Then it was on to the retreat where we exchanged bowls. 25 incredible bowls came home with me and this exchange started me on my bird obsession. I posted about my bird bowls and my larger bird wall piece here.

I came home with many wonderful things from an auction we have every year and I purchased some lovely pieces from my friends to sell at Studio 215 with more to come. I can wait to share some of them with you. I’ll be posting them on my Studio 215 blog and on my Studio 215 Facebook page. If you’d like to see what I’m up to at the Studio, sign up to receive a notice each time I post, my newsletter, and like my Facebook page.

I can be found on Instagram , Twitter, and Tumbr too. Whew.

Last week I was featured by Cynthia Tinapple on Polymer Clay Daily and that is always treat and a compliment. Thank you Cynthia.

I was featured with my newest face that I created for the auction at the retreat. I was flattered that there was many bids on it.

I made this cool graphic using an app called Canva. My friend Meredith Arnold shared this with me and I can’t stop using it. Very cool, thanks Meredith.

Here’s another graphic made with Canva showing off my newest bird weed pot prototypes that I worked on while on retreat. I hope to get more of these done showcasing different critters and characters. I’m smiling and that is always my goal, to create things that make me smile.

The beginning of September brought more laughter and fun at Studio 215 when several of my favorite people came to take a Profile Face cane class with me. We had a great time for sure.

Dottie, Kathryn, Barbara, AnnaMarie, Majel, and Mary Jane are new converts to polymer and I believe they aren’t getting away without clay sticking in they brains. They’re having as much fun as I did with I first started, but they’re lucky to have others to share the experience. Thanks, ya’ll are making me so happy to see you having so much fun and making such cool things.

Then to top it all off, Kathryn Obidzinski has been my apprentice for several months now and before I went on retreat she started a palette knife polymer clay self portrait. I think she created a wonderful piece. I know she had fun, learned a lot and I hope I can reel her in to explore polymer clay a bit more.

I’m spending the rest of the day prepping for the Houston Polymer Clay Guild’s Lone Star Retreat. I’ll be teaching along with Randee Ketzel and Sarah Shriver. Next month it’s Sandy Camp in San Diego. Just too much fun!!!

Thanks for stopping in, Alice

Birds Everywhere

I’ve been obsessed with birds over the last few months. (I’m blaming Laura Prohater and Barb Harper, you two know why *g*) It’s all ending with this crazy bird, or maybe its just the tip of the iceberg, maybe there are more of these guys in my future.

He’s 18″ tall and I’m either going to frame him or free hang him. I’m working on a hanging solution that will allow me to hang my characters without a frame.

Now the real reason birds have haunted my dreams. I’ve been working on these bird bowls for an exchange I’ll be taking part in. In the beginning I thought I must have lost my mind to think I would ever finish 26 bird bowls. especially since several broke apart in the oven until I figured out you can’t take the bowl out and add more things and then bake again. I think it was late one night and I was oh so tired. But lesson learned. I really have learned so much about making bird bowls so there might be more on my table soon, or maybe even a workshop at Studio 215.

I used quite a bit of extruded canes with these birds and with my Charming Canes. Looks like I’m on an extruder kick. It fun, effective, and attractive. so what’s not to love?

Into the Garden

My newest wall piece, Into the Garden, 21″ x 29″. It’s funny, I had this almost finished month’s ago, before I bought my new Studio. I sat down with it again and decided to double the size. I worked on it feverishly for days, took pictures to share on Facebook and realized by looking at the photos that I had actually done two completely different pieces.

I shouldn’t share them with you, but hey, we all make mistakes right? I was lucky that I could save this one and I almost have the second one finished. So I still don’t have my larger one, but I will have two smaller ones instead. Both will be for sale at Studio 215.

Here’s the photo of the larger one almost finished. Can you see the two different styles? Just goes to show you that switching in the middle requires a bit of planning,

The bottom part, the part I did months ago is very tight, with flowers touching flowers. the top part has more background, more loose flowers. You can almost see how much I wanted to get this one finished and up on the wall.

Lesson learned. I always take pictures and take a good look at my projects that way, sometimes we are just too close.

I’ve been posting to my new blog for Studio 215, head on over there and sign up for updates when I post and for my newsletter letting you know what’s going on at Studio 215. I shared snydee holt’s visit and our encounters with alligators there the other day.

I also have a new page on Facebook, Alice Stroppel’s Studio 215 what else? I’d love for you to like it and share it with your friends.

Here’s a list of all the workshops I have coming up at Studio 215. I’m having lots of workshops for beginners but I have will be adding more classes all the time. I sure hope you can join me some day.

syndee holt and Studio 215 on Facebook

I’m really looking forward to syndee holt’s visit this month. When I saw her at Sandy Camp in San Diego last year I invited her to come stay a day or two with me before she went to Orlando Clay Fandango.

Then when Studio 215 happened I asked her if she want to teach. Always one to share her knowledge she said yes. She’ll be here to teach Mokume Gane on Tuesday April 28, 2015 from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Download the flyer and application here.

By the way, I’m thrill to tell you I will be teaching a master class at Sandy Camp this year, such a fun group.

I just started a Facebook business page for Studio 215, if you are on Facebook, I’d love it if you’d like the page, I’m at 464, 500 would be so nice. Thanks in advance.

https://www.facebook.com/alicestroppelsstudio215

Deciding what to sell at Studio 215 is turning into a interesting adventure. Of course my main reason to be there is to teach polymer to more people. And just so you know, I really want to hold small live online classes and that’s what I will be working on this summer. Sebring is a winter town for many people and most of our visitors have gone home for the summer leaving downtown quiet and a perfect time for new things to developed. Stay tuned.

It’s truly fun to be in the studio and see what people respond to. I am really having fun just putting all my fun bright canes on things people are taking to their homes or giving as gifts. Very satisfying indeed.

I have been surprised and pleased at the response to these fun wine glasses. Seems like I’m having to restock often but it’s great fun and I love making new canes.

My Salt and Pepper girls are finding new homes as well. Earrings and pendents are waving goodbye too.

I’ve not neglected my larger work though. Here’s a piece that I’m working on that will be 39 x 28 when finished.

No small task, pun intended, but one that I can truly lose myself in and extremely satisfying to say the least. So if I don’t post here as often as I use to, I’m creating, teaching, inventing and selling. See you somewhere.

Blowing in the Wind – A Polymer Clay Painting – How Photos Can Help with Corrections

I been having fun with these polymer painted faces. This one I stopped working on late one night. I was happy with it and took a picture before stopping for the night. I had already cured it in the oven and attached it to a peace of heavy water color paper. the bits of color in the background are bits of pc not watercolor.

The first photo shows this first edition. When I saw it the next morning, I laughed because I could see right away that she was missing the top of her head. Not enough height to her hair. I was tired the night before and didn’t want to make any more hair I guess. Another reason why stepping away from a project and coming back to it or even taking a photo of it is very helpful.

I often see things in photos of a piece that I just couldn’t see when I was working on it up close. It helps to step back from the work, but sometimes taking a photo is even better.

The second photo is where I noticed that her shirt was just wrong, not enough shoulder. I guess I was too focused on the hair to notice the shirt first time around.

This is also another vote for sketching before hand, I did sketch the face, but didn’t know I wanted the shirt until I was in the middle of it all. So I work both ways, planning and as I go.

The third photo is my final try. Quite a difference I think!

I figure I’m a work in progress more than than work. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Abstract Faces

I’ve been working on a series of abstract faces using just polymer clay. It’s fun and kind of exciting to be venturing out into a different but same direction.

Another face, this time using polymer as if it were very thick paint.

Work in Progress – Flowers

I’m working on another large flower polymer clay cane mapped painting. 21″ x 27″! Having fun as always.

Circles – Polymer Clay Painting

Frame 20″ x 20″, design mounted on white mat board. It’s an interesting piece in that the metal leaf makes it pop and shine differently from every angle.

Still having fun just doing.

Graphic Polymer Clay – Wall Art

I went to my annual Christmas party with my best FF’s last night. Each year we have a good gift/bad gift exchange, you know the deal when you all draw a number and the first person opens the first gift and then the next person can steal it or open a new one? Well we do that for both good gifts and bad.

Coming up with a bad gift is easy, sometimes it’s something just too silly or funny or a regift from past bad gifts. We’ve been doing this for over 15 years, so there is plenty of old bad gifts and trust me they do show up again.

Good gifts are well…good and sometimes a lot of stealing goes on.

This is my contribution this year. I enjoyed making it very much because it was going to end up in the home of one of my friends and because it got me back in the studio.

I’m looking forward to really rocking the clay after the 1st of the year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my friends both here in the States and all over the world. And a Happy New Year!

Other World – Polymer Clay Wall Art

I created this new piece while I was in the Rocky Mountains on retreat. At least the main rectangle was created there. Today I framed it and added some polymer clay covered buttons.

I’m happy with this unconventional framing even though it would not have been my first choice. When I started looking for a frame for it, I didn’t have one that would fit. I had just spent a small fortune on frames and didn’t want to run out to buy another one.

I started to center it on the mat but then I began to play around with it and decided to put it at an angle. It needed something else, having the raw edges showing and because they were so straight I covered some buttons with clay and added them.

If you double click on the picture you’ll be able to see it closer.

I was influenced by my fellow retreater in many ways. I hope to explore and expand my wall pieces and continue to add texture and interest.

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