[Philippine Polymer Clay Guild] Mosaic Challenge 2013

Welcome back!

Can you believe it? It's the last day of July - yay or nay?  

I am part of the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild and we recently had our Mosaic Challenge.  There were 28 entries with different themed projects.  You can visit our Facebook page to vote for / like your favorite.  Deadline for voting is on August 3 and prizes await the lucky voter.

Check out these photos:

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Mosaic 2013

The intricate patterns of the projects below are really nice.

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Mosaic 2013

Aren't they all pretty?

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Mosaic 2013

The next photos are really cute!

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Mosaic 2013

Here are some more:

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Mosaic 2013

Thanks for dropping by the blog.  Please visit the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild FB page and cast your vote.  Show us some love and "LIKE" our FB page while you are there ♥.

I cannot divulge my project yet until August 4 but I hope you'll visit us and vote.

Have a wonderful day!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Focus on Life Week 15]: Aged Beauty

It's Week 15 of Ms. Sally Russick's Focus on Life:  "Aged Beauty."

Finding a piece to photograph was challenging because I left most of my old stuff back home until I saw the 2 violins that my sister-in-law and her husband gave me last Christmas.  

I thought, "Oh yeah... those definitely fit the category of aged beauty."  These were his when he was a little boy - I think he was really into it because he had 2 of different sizes.  

They need a little makeover and fine tuning but they look gorgeous to me as it is.

I made this collage to show you the detail and craftsmanship that it took to make these beauties.  Take a look at the beautiful inlaid mother of pearl on the bow.  One of them was a "handmade copy of Antonius Stradivarius" made in April 1978.  Wow... 35 years ago.

Check out the leather case behind...  lovely!

I don't play the violin but I'm surrounded with children who play really well.  I'm a big fan of our Pastor's daughter who is part of the orchestra and chamber in her school... oh my, those kids are dedicated!  Maybe one day, I will be able to hold the bow and make a crisp note.  Good luck to me.

Oh, I wanted to share with you what I made for our Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Challenge that was about surface treatments.  I covered a glass container:  the cover with millefiori canes and the body with textured clay and mica powder.  I also added LP's foil, alcohol inks, acrylic paint and TLS.

Head over to Ms. Sally's blog to see the other gorgeous photos.  Click HERE.

Happy weekend, ya'll.

See you soon!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[P3 Guild] The Mask has Bloomed!

 The mask has bloomed!  

The gold base served as a nice "neutral" template for these colorful flowers... if you've been reading my blog, you know by now that I love to make use of floral themes.

This is for the princess who's going to the ball.  

Simple. Classy. Feminine.

Time to go dancing!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[P3 Guild] W.I.P.

I'm so glad you're back!

When I started reading blogs and updates of other artists, I didn't know what "WIP" was.  Funny me but there are just a lot of craft or jewelry jargon  going around and I can't keep up sometimes.

So this is my current Work In Progress, WIP.

I am working on a mask.  Initially, I didn't know where to get one that could hold the weight of whatever I will adhere to it and it should withstand high oven temperature without melting or burning.  This was what I found at Michaels.  It's made out of paper mache or something like that.  I hope it doesn't burn.

I used Adirondak Metallic Acrylic Paint in Gold.  Oh, I love the rich texture!  I am thinking of a Princess going to a masquerade ball wearing a beautiful gown to meet Prince Charming.

Isn't it dramatic?

I decided to let it dry overnight and will start completing the design tomorrow. 

What do you think would be nice to decorate it with?  Beads, polymer clay, wire, flowers, fiber or maybe a little of each?

Come back soon and find out.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Blessings,

♥  Michelle  ♥  

[P3] May Challenge: ATC Inspirations

The Philippine Polymer Clay Guild had its 1st ATC Swap today and it was fun!

The participants were asked to create 3 Artist Trading Cards 

measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches inspired by a polymer clay Artist.

These were my entries:

"The Renaissance" - this ATC was inspired by Ms. Lisa Pavelka.  

I used one of the images in her Waterslide Transfers and sealed it with Sculpey translucent liquid clay.  It was my first experience to use such medium incorporated in my work.   I laid the image on an ecru/pearl polymer clay mix and added petals and leaves.  I used acrylic paint in burnt umber to distress the piece.  

Finally, I sanded and buffed both sides of the ATC.

"The Renaissance"

 I call this next piece is "Tapestry" and was inspired by Ms. Julie Picarello 

and her book "Patterns in Polymer."  

I used one of the color combinations in her book.  Her techniques make use of mokume gane and I made my own modifications.  After slicing the clay thinly as, I layered it on conditioned black clay.  I added texture using a texture mold before baking.  Gold acrylic paint was added to highlight the image after which the piece was sanded and buffed.

"Tapestry"

 This next ATC is "Flora" that was made using Donna Kato's component caning technique.

I layered the petal canes on a leaf green base and added yellow extruded clay.

The background texture was free-handed and accented using gold acrylic paint.

"Flora"

There were about 15 participants and we had to comment "MINE" in Faceboook on 3 different photos at a designated time.  All the cards were beautiful and very creative - some whimsical and charming.

I am totally excited to receive 3 special creations from different Filipino artists who are making their mark in the world of polymer clay.  My "guild mates" are all inspirations to me.

Can you believe that it's almost mid-June already?

Ayayay!

Happy crafting!

♥  Michelle  ♥

Chained Heart [P3 Valentine Challenge]

The Philippine Polymer Clay Guild's Valentine 2012 Challenge was to create a heart with a steampunk theme.

What is Steampunk?  Google the word and Wikipedia will give you this description:

  "Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.  Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United States—that incorporates elements of either science fiction or fantasy."

There are many artists who make beautiful steampunk accessories.  They make use of those oh so tiny watch gears and other metal products in their works.  It is very fascinating.

This was my P3 Steampunk submission:
 "CHAINED HEART."

There were 2 different colors of Premo polymer clay:  Burnt umber and Alizarin Crimson. 

The tip of the heart was twisted and wrapped with a small-gauged chain.

I added a brass metal gear and secured it with wire.  The background texture was stamped and colored with mica powders and paint.  The blue and white petal is from a millefiori cane.

The back was textured as well.

The concept of the piece is very timely for lent but essentially, it's a message that is fit for any season.

I am a Christian and allow me to share this with you:

The key to being free from the chains and bondage of sin is to put our complete trust in God.

Only then can we have a heart that is pure and white as snow.

Have a blessed day, my friend!

♥  Michelle  ♥

Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Apatchies Challenge [Inchies: Feb 2012]

I love design challenges and as a newbie in the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild, I joined my first challenge with them.  The theme was:  "The Apatchies Challenge'"

We were tasked to make four "Inchie's" that would best describe our style as an artist.  What is an Inchie, you might ask.  An inchie is a 1x1 inch sized clay with a thickness of 3 to 8 mm.

These is my "Inchie Quartet."

These inchies show my love for Floral themes.  I used different techniques such as millefiori caning, Donna Kato's component caning, texturing, molding, and mixed media art.  Each inchie represents different styles and shows a variety of materials such as mica powder, paint and gloss.

Visit us at Facebook:  Philippine Polymer Clay Guild.

Happy crafting!

♥  Michelle  ♥

The Philippine Polymer Clay Guild

Happy Monday, friends!  I have exciting news to share with you:  I am now a proud member of the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild!

The guild is composed of Filipino polymer clay artists who share the same principles and visions.  It's objectives are as follows:
1.  Build a community
2.  Promote respect
3.  Educate
4.  Produce high quality work
5.  Uphold local Pinoy (Filipino) talent.

It feels great to be part of a group of creative artists.  Some of them have been featured in local TV shows, local and international magazines, and recognized by Ms. Cynthia Tinapple of Polymer Clay Daily, Craft Gossip and more.  I was encouraged to join the guild after being encouraged by my polymer clay teacher and after being a "silent liker" of their FB page for a few months, I decided it was time for me to join.  I love that the members have a good sense of camaraderie.  They have a lot of activities and challenges that feature different themes - their works can get very interesting.

Visit our FACEBOOK PAGE or click on our logo to see and read more about the super talented members of the guild.