Need a little retreat?

I know I do! The Kentucky-Tennessee Polymer Clay Guild is sponsoring their fourth (I think) annual retreat at one of the most awesome places in the eastern United States, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. The dates for this event are October17-19, 2008. Marla Frankenberg will be there teaching workshops on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. She'll be covering her unique and oh-so-amazing caning techniques for flowers, ferns, leaves, and the fabulous dots which we all adore. I'm crashing the party on Saturday night to teach a class myself.

I can't think of a more relaxed and stress-free environment than the one at Mammoth Cave. The members of the KTPCG are wonderful and talented and so much fun! Because of the space limitations, they only have room for 30 people at the retreat and the last I heard, there were only 6 spots left.

Here's what I'll be teaching and since we'll be getting all dotty with Marla, you'll be able to embellish your pendants just like I have here.

Here's a few more details if you want to snag a spot before they're all gone. The cost for 3 days of non-stop claying is $150 and each attendee is also responsible for their own food and lodging at the Mammoth Cave Park Hotel. The food at the hotel is great and the rooms are clean and well-priced at a special rate of $59 per night for this event. To register for the workshop/retreat, you can contact Leslie Blackford. Yes, she'll be there, too and I won't blame you a bit if you decide to skip my class on Saturday and just gather around her workspace to watch her make some magic. Reservations for a room at Mammoth Cave Hotel can be made at 1-270-758-2225.

Hope to see some of you there!

Bracelet Envy

I had planned to feature Maureen Thomas and her fabulous work yesterday but the queen of polymer clay blogging beat me to it. I've changed my post to include some exciting new work from other artists but I couldn't leave out this wonderful photo I asked Maureen to send me. I love the organic feel of her jewelry. Maureen told me, "I try to venture out, but texture always seems to work it's way into most of my pieces. I guess it's my 'thing'. My husband is afraid to throw anything away without holding it up first and saying, '....texture????' What a good guy." She's lucky to have a partner that notices the details and takes a real interest in her work.

This breathtaking cuff by Christelle is titled "Dreamtime". She made this piece for the Australian polymer clay guild's competition "Australia Speaks" and her inspiration came from the symbols and patterns of Aboriginal artwork. This is truly one of my most favorite polymer pieces ever! I'd like to grab it right off my computer screen, slap it on my wrist, and run away quickly.

Germany's Bettina Welker has a wonderful new cuff design she's experimenting with, too. I love the unusual shape and the pattern is different and refreshing. As usual, everything Bettina does is beautifully designed and finished.

I'm a sucker for a cool polymer clay bracelet and these amazing pieces have given me major bracelet envy!

Philly's got talent!

They also have a fantastic polymer clay guild, a great website, a blog, a Flickr site just for guild photos, an online newsletter, and 70 over-achieving members to keep it all running smoothly.

This beautiful hollow pendant was created by Martha Aleo, one of the guild's most active members, a very talented mixed media jewelry artist, and a fellow blogger.

Update: This striking jewelry set was made by Patty Pickup.

They have some wonderful show and tell photos from past meetings posted on their website. Unfortunately, I don't have a name to go with this lovely image or for the two below. If you're a member of the Philadelphia guild and/or the artist that created these, please leave a comment so I can fill in the blanks and you can be recognized for your artwork.

Update: The red tile box was created by Dr. Sarah Fisher, who also photographed these three items.

In addition to the Polydelphia Retreat that they host every year, the guild also sponsors several workshops with visiting instructors. I'm thrilled to be heading their way for a workshop the weekend of September 20-21, 2008. We'll have an actual class on Saturday and then on Sunday, I'll be their official "guest artist" and share lots of tips and techniques for creating rocks and beach stones. If you're a member of the guild (I really wish I lived closer!) or considering becoming a member, the price for a whole weekend of polymer clay fun and learning is shockingly reasonable and I'm hoping to see a lot of you there. For more information on joining the Philadelphia polymer clay guild or for registration details on my upcoming workshop, just go to the guild's website and follow the links.



Update: Gwen Agard is the talent behind this striking piece.

Don't forget, I need some names to go with these beautiful images. This one reminds me of aqua terra jasper, a stone that embodies the colors of water and sand. I may just have to claim it as my own if no one comes forward!

A beautiful beginning . . .

. . . to what I hope will be a much better week! This amazing orchid is from Celine (you may know her as Gris Bleu), one of the many talented ladies from France who are doing wonderful and exciting things with polymer clay.

The use of wire in many of her pieces, like this alien poppy, makes for a bold statement. Celine shares snippets of her creative process on her blog and it's definitely worth a visit if you've never checked it out. I adore her work!

It may be several days before I get the chance to make another post. Adam's elusive kidney stones are going to be lasered today and, if all goes well, I should be packed and headed to Louisville by the end of the week for a workshop at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. Anyone have a lucky rabbit's foot I can borrow?

Dirty, rotten concretions!

Amelia Earhart once said, "There are two kinds of stones, as everyone knows, one of which rolls." Unfortunately, my son Adam's kidney stones seem to be the non-rolling variety. They've managed to cause plenty of pain during the past 2 weeks but they don't appear to have any plans for rolling away anytime soon. We'll give it a bit longer but it's beginning to look like surgery is the next step.

I've featured Jay King on my blog in the past and he's become one of my favorite artists. I admire his talent and his wonderful sense of humor. When he heard that Adam was dealing with kidney stones, he created a polymer clay kidney stone just for him and labeled it a "dirty, rotten concretion." It gave us a much-needed laugh. Jay has quite a fan club and the comments under his daily Flickr offerings are almost as witty and wonderful as he is.

Although it clearly states at the top of this page that Imagine Uncommon Things is a blog about "polymer clay, creativity, rocks and other things", kidney stones aren't exactly the kind of rocks I had in mind when I wrote that. So many of you sent nice notes and left comments here when I talked about this last week and I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all the good wishes you've sent to Adam.

I've had some requests to list my teaching schedule so I added a few upcoming classes right under my mug shot. You can drop me a line if you want info on the particulars for any of these events. I'll have more dates to add soon.

Playing with Fantasy

"It's my escape from myself, my salvation and despair happiness and boundless longing for the unhappened. It's like expectation as well."

Speaking about her work, this quote is from Olga Roehl, maker of some of the most extraordinary art dolls I've ever seen. It took me a long time to savor all the amazing images found on her site like these masks and the piece below, titled "Blue Windy".

When I see sculptural work like this, I'm in total awe. If you're looking for a head start on weekend web surfing, I highly recommend losing yourself in the beauty and fantasy that Olga creates.

The things we do for love . . .

This has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen polymer clay used for! Bill Robbins, aka Elmer Presslee, may have a somewhat sick and twisted aesthetic when it comes to his artwork (personally, I enjoy a bit of that) but he also seems to be a great dad who knows what little kids really want. He made this zombie head stroller for his adorable daughter and you've got to check out the photos he took of her riding in it. She must be the luckiest little girl in Utah.

I've been trying to find time to put a blog entry together for almost two weeks but I've been busy with packing and preparation for a workshop. If you're a regular reader, you probably know that the Euro Clay Carnival starts Friday in Nottingham, England. I've been looking forward to my first trip to Europe for months and thrilled, of course, at the opportunity to meet so many of my European online friends. I've been excited about our poker chip swap, too and made sure that I had enough to trade with everyone.

Sadly, although my chips will be there, I won't be able to head across the pond now, at all. Right before my plane was to leave, my son Adam became very ill and after spending the better part of two days in the emergency room, he was diagnosed with kidney stones. He's only 15 and leaving him here while I jetted off to another country was just out of the question for me. To call this the week from hell is definitely an understatement. There's been enough incompetence, misdiagnoses, and complications to send a sane person over the edge. Adam's home now and we're managing his pain, hoping that the stones will pass on their own and that he'll soon be back to normal.

I'm heartbroken to be missing this wonderful opportunity and terribly sorry to disappoint the students (a double class with Donna Kato will more than make up for my absence, I'm sure!) but, I'm where I need to be and doing what I need to do right now. He may be 6' 2" but he's still my baby!

Talking to the Trees

I'm drowning in a sea of things that need to be done! I may be on the mend but I'm overwhelmed with how far behind I am. It's so bad that I may just have to change my name and start over. I have lots of half-finished blog entries sitting around but I chose this one today because I find the artwork so calming and peaceful.

Tamara of Block Party Press shares several photos of this piece during the creative process and being able to see it in these various stages makes me love it even more. You can't even IMAGINE how wonderful it would look in my studio against the aqua walls. I hear the trees telling me to breathe deeply and begin . . .

Balancing Act

Ah, vertigo . . . U2 recorded a song about it but to TRULY appreciate the video, it's helpful to watch it while you're actually experiencing the phenomenon yourself. Just be sure and hold on tight. Alfred Hitchcock made a movie about it and if you've ever seen it, you know just what kind of trouble it can lead to.

As if the freakishly bizarre dog-walking accident I experienced last month wasn't bad enough (The dogs are fine. I, on the other hand, almost lost a perfectly good finger.), I've spent the last week or so on the merry-go-round that never stops spinning. This isn't my first bout with vertigo so I know there won't be too much accomplished until it runs its course. I'm making lots of sketches and lots of lists but it still sucks that I can't do the things I'd really like to be doing or the things I actually NEED to be doing.

So, if you've been wondering if I've jumped ship and escaped to a tropical island with my personal pool boy Vladimir . . . no such luck. I applaud your creative imagination though and I believe I'll give some serious consideration to adding that to my list of things to do when I've regained some of this missing equilibrium.

When Pigs Fly

Today is a sad day for millions of George Carlin fans. The comic genius passed away yesterday evening at the age of 71. I adored his off-color, irreverent humor and although I know it was too explicit for some people, I loved the fact that he poked fun at the truth in ways that I sometimes found shocking and pretty twisted. I went to see him perform many years ago and got to hear his "incomplete list of impolite words". I still laugh when I think about him rattling those off. If you've never heard this part of his routine and think you can handle it, click here. I recommend not having children in the room while you're listening to this. It's full of "bad words" so don't watch it if you have delicate sensibilities about that sort of thing.

I guess I have a bit of the twisted thing going on too, especially late at night when I'm surrounded by funny people like Marla Frankenberg. The above photo is our version of a flying pig, aka Heavenly Ham, that we made after a weekend workshop that Marla did here in WV. I keep it hanging in my studio as a reminder that sometimes life is so absurd all you can do is laugh.

Toni Ransfield from New Zealand has a much more elegant take on the flying pig theme. This one is made around a real chicken egg.

We're all familiar with the whole idea of the phrase "when pigs fly" as a comment on an absurd notion but maybe it's become a bit trite and overused. Perhaps, "when pigs dive" may be a more up-to-date choice in today's world.

May your day be filled with much laughter and minuscule amounts of absurdity.

Mystery Man

I know very little about David Revonav (I think that's his last name) other than he's a Washington, DC - based artist who recently started to work with polymer clay. Here's one more thing I know: I adore this ring in his Etsy store and I'm really sad it's not my size!

Beautiful, simple, clean work with a modern aesthetic. I love it!

One thing I'm not too fond of right now is AOL. I'm struggling to get anything accomplished online. All the more reason to stay at my studio table and keep my hands in the clay. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

All Over the Map

Thanks to the magic that is Flickr, I've traveled the world this week looking at some wonderful artwork from talented individuals that I may never have otherwise had the opportunity to experience.

Enno de Kroon is an artist from The Netherlands who paints on egg cartons and has totally blown me away with his whole concept of two-and-a-half dimensional art. When viewed at an angle, his paintings provide a totally different perspective than the frontal view that's shown here. This is how he describes his choice of canvas and the viewer's experience:

"As a painter I consider egg cartons as two-and-a-half dimensional objects which offer me remarkable possibilities for imagery. The waves of the egg cartons limit the viewer's perception; they also make him aware of his positioning towards the image. The intentional limitation in subjective perception gives room for imagination and recall: the process of occlusion. By a fusion of direct and indirect perception conventional imagery is overtaken. At first sight this leads to a physical and mental incompleteness, that forces an integration which can only take place within the inner experience, apart from time and space."

His Flickr profile is full of fascinating glimpses into the amazing work he calls Eggcubism and the process it entails. You'll be missing out if you don't make a stop here yourself.

A trip to Spain brought me this beautiful necklace by Natalia Garcia. It reminds me of some vintage inlaid mother of pearl beads I have in my stash which I can't bring myself to let go of. I love the look and the feel of this piece, which is also very reminiscent of capiz shell. For those of you who are attending the Euro Clay Carnival in England next month, you'll get to meet Natalia there as she is one of the instructors.

A quick jaunt off to Scotland and I was enjoying the cool fantasy sculptures by Marc and David Green. This one is Tricksy, riddle-maker and master of manipulation.

These artists have provided much-needed relief from what I will always remember as "the summer of the locusts" here in the U.S. The irritating sound they make is bad enough but I happen to have a bad-ass locust eater living in my house that takes every opportunity to chase them down and devour them when he goes into the backyard under the guise of relieving himself.

The poor slow-moving locusts don't stand a chance against the cunning and speed of Baxter, the Wonder Dog. However, they take their revenge a couple of times a day when we're treated to the unmistakable sound of a retching schnauzer who deposits half-eaten locusts in the floor. I'm sure you can guess who has the honor of cleaning that mess up. Flickr is the only thing keeping me sane at this point.

Day of the Dead

I know it's a little early for a Day of the Dead celebration. My research showed that it's observed early in November. But, Tamra Kohl, a Texas artist whose background is in commercial sculpting, celebrates her appreciation for this traditional Mexican holiday every day of the year. I love her caterpillar which brings to mind a strange mutation of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Jack Skeleton from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

And coming to a parade near you, the shriner in his little car is just perfect!

Her tribute to Hank Williams, Sr. is another of my favorites. The talented Tamra shares more of her work here, including some wonderful photos of the process she goes through to create these fascinating, colorful sculptures.

Decoupaged Polymer Clay

Julia, aka White Guppy, is a Spanish artist who's come up with a way to decoupage onto polymer clay. Her beautifully patterned pillow beads first caught my eye on Ebay. Although she sells these beads herself, she's been generous enough to share her method for creating them on her blog and like so many of the talented European clayers, she's also included an English version of her tutorial.

I think her method would translate wonderfully to tube beads, as well. Or perhaps, this half-moon hollow bead design by Michele "Luny" would be a nice way to show off some interesting patterns.

I like the fact that both of these ladies have taken the time to experiment and come up with something unique in their approach to bead design. Hope you find the time to try something different yourself this week!

The world may be going to hell in a handbasket . . .

. . . but Jim Sheely ALWAYS makes me smile! Nope, it's not clay, it's carved basswood. I've blogged about Jim before but his artwork is so cool and edgy that I could talk about him every day. I love his wonderful spirit and the way he never takes himself too seriously. This is what he says about his art:

Imagining things and making them real is my beloved hobby.

If you're a collector of creatures who love to go swimmin' with bowlegged women, check this piece out on Ebay. The bidding is fast and furious!

Back tomorrow with more clay . . .

Save a cow, do some clay!

Thanks to Michael from Mossy Owls, it's easy to get your leather on. She recently shared her method for making faux leather tags that are wonderfully realistic. If you're not into leather, check out her other tutorials on Polymer Clay Web for lots of interesting techniques to try.

Michael recently opened a "button bakery" on Etsy. Her polymer buttons with a liquid clay glaze are just lovely!

She has lots of photos of her polymer clay work on her Flickr site, including several examples of pastries, burgers, pizza, and other foods, like this cool sushi necklace.

Fearless in France

I'm such an admirer of Sylvie (aka Maniquette) and her work. She's been involved with polymer clay for about three years and is totally fearless when it comes to experimenting with different techniques and applications for the clay. The Bubble bracelet above is one of her newest pieces and she's generously shared her technique for these on the English version of her blog.

This seems like the perfect occasion to thank all of the talented European polymer artists who have invested so much time and effort into learning other languages, namely English. As a selfish American who has never bothered to learn anything other than English (the 4 years of Latin don't really count since no one even speaks the language!), I appreciate the fact that I've been able to talk to so many of you. Please don't ever apologize for your English, I'm always humbled by and grateful for your efforts.

Okay, back to Sylvie's lovely work. I love the way she successfully combines pattern and texture in so many of her pieces. This tissue box is a great example of that. In addition to jewelry and tissue boxes, she also makes amazing lamps, clocks, and mirrors. To see more examples, you can check out her Flickr site here.

Her blog is full of fascinating glimpses into her process and I could spend hours lost in her archives. If you have some time this weekend, read about the lovely face cane she made based on a painting by her friend Cat and see her finished bracelet here.

Have a creative weekend!

The Birds and the Trees

For me, there's nothing more rejuvenating than immersing myself in the things I love most about nature - trees, birds, rocks, and the peaceful, calming effect it has on me. I spent last week surrounded by my favorite things and I'm feeling anxious and inspired to develop some new work.

The piece shown here is a collaboration between myself and my talented friend Leslie Blackford. I made the piece of "faux tree" and handed it off to Leslie who sculpted the amazing little bird prince.

It's time to unpack and hit the clay table. New things coming soon!

Ah, the soft colors of Spring!

These calm, peaceful colors are showing up everywhere I look. Lucia Fanjul of Spain just put this beautiful necklace up. It reminds me of soft new flower shoots with stylized buds and blooms attached.

Germany's Bettina Welker has lots of new work available that's just as lovely as she is. I adore her memory wire bracelets that I found on Flickr.

Dee Wilder has chosen to showcase these delicate flower petals in what looks like copper with a wonderful added patina. What a wonderful earring design!

Think soft thoughts and create a piece of your own that's worthy of the beauty found in spring. I'm taking a little time to refresh and renew my own creative spirit and I'll see you next week.

Paying Homage to a Polymer Legend

I was on the phone with a friend today and she asked me if I could name the artists who have been the most influential in my own work with polymer clay. I've been asked that question before and I always give the same two names each time - Lindly Haunani is one of them. The other shall remain nameless until a future blog post. The photos I've included are all pieces of Lindly's work that I've acquired over the years. Although my camera and photography skills don't do them justice the way David Terao does, I'm sure Lindly will forgive me.

When I think about all the ways that I've been inspired by Lindly, color, of course, is the first thing that comes to mind. Taking Lindly's color class was an amazing and clarifying experience that truly gave me the ability and confidence to mix any color I can imagine. Although I'll never have her talent for combining colors that, on their own, don't seem to work, but together, sing so beautifully and perfectly, she's given me such a wonderful gift. She has a magical way with all things involving color and I'm looking forward to her new book which will, no doubt, be just as helpful as her classes.

Lindly's use of texture and simplicity of pattern have both been inspiring to me. I love her jewelry designs that contain numerous tiny bits and pieces and always manage to look clean and uncluttered at the same time. I have to trace my love of mokume gane and inclusions in translucent clay back to Lindly's Tantalizing Translucents DVD. It was one of the first instructional tapes I purchased and remains one of my favorites today.

Although I can't credit Lindly with my love for asparagus, her jewelry and shrines were definitely the force behind all the asparagus clocks I made several years ago. When I was asked to be a guest on the Carol Duvall show, the first question out of the producer's mouth was, "Can you make your asparagus clock for us?" If you read down to the bottom of the tutorial on the HGTV website, you can see who I gave credit to for the design idea.

Today, Lindly continues to inspire and influence me. Her blog is a source of wonderful information and the interesting color tidbits she faithfully posts are always entertaining and insightful. I admire her kindness, her unique sense of humor, and her ability to see the big picture. In addition, as a founding member of the NPCG, Lindly has done more than anyone I know to spread her love and passion for polymer clay and to help promote it as a true art medium. Thank you, Lindly, for sharing so much of yourself with so many of us and for being such a wonderful inspiration along every step of my polymer clay journey.