The Artist’s Way

I picked up The Artist’s Way last night.  It looks interesting.

This morning I started my “morning pages” and on Monday I’ll start the first week.  For those who don’t know, “morning pages” are 3 pages that you write (by hand on paper) each morning.  It’s sposed to be a “brain drain.”  Just aimless babble, ridding yourself of the miscellaneous stuff that’s floating through your head.  It’s to help you clear you mind so there’s room for the creative stuff.  You don’t look at it again for at least a few weeks, maybe never.

I like that part and it seems useful.  I skimmed thru the rest of the book (read it up to the first week) and I’m not entirely sure of the usefulness of the rest but apparently that’s normal.  I’m going to try my best to stick with this (it’s certainly easier than making myself exercise) through the whole 12 weeks and maybe beyond.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has done this, is doing this or wants to do it.

I’d better go change the tumbler grit before I have to list for Dad.  Right after that I have to put the turkey in the oven.  (DH picked up 2 for Thanksgiving and this is the 2nd one)

BHAG.

I had a most interesting conversation with my mom yesterday.  We were looking at Grant Diffendaffer’s new book and got to talking about where I want to go with my art.  Then today I get up and check my blogs and find this post on Artrepeneur.  Judy is talking about this idea she has that won’t go away.  This huge amazing complicated feels-like-its-impossible dream that she has.  That’s what I have.

I want to be a “big name” in the polyclay world.  A heavyweight.  I want to be one of those artists we look at and wish we were them and could do what they do.

Grant Diffendaffer and those who are featured in the gallery in the back of his book are those people.  They’ve taken polymer clay and pushed it’s boundries.  They’ve stepped outside the box – some of them are just outside it and others are 1000 miles away from it.  And even more amazing is that each one has pushed a different boundry.  I want to do this.  I just need to find my section of the boundry to push.

It’s not something I can rush.  It will happen when it happens but I need to keep working for it.  My biggest problem (and yet the biggest reason I love polymer clay) is my need for instant gratification.  I make a bead in just a few minutes and it’s done.  I shy away from ideas that require multiple bakings, intensive sanding or processes that take more than a few minutes.  I must get over that at least part of the time.  There is nothing wrong with making instant gratification beads and some of them can be quite amazing to look at.  But I need to spend some of my time on ideas that take time, require me to think and plan, etc.

 I know that I like rich jeweltones and metallics and that is something I’m known for.  I have trouble selling beads that are pastels.  People don’t expect or want that from me.  I like an organic look – like the bead is from deep in the ocean, a plant, an animal, some other planet or a fossil.  Straight lines don’t appeal to me.  I like curves, waves, flowing patterns.

Now I just have to take those things I like and put them together into something different from what I or anyone has seen before.  I’m getting there.  I sometimes have flashes of what I’m striving for.  As long as I keep trying, keep working towards it, I’ll get there.

I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Kato Concentrates

I got my Kato Concentrates and spent the day experimenting.

I’m offering my notes with full color pics and color recipes for free as a pdf.

Click here:  Kato Concentrates pdf

 It’s been interesting.  Lots of mica shift possibilities and even some darker translucents.

What’s new

I’m sorry I’ve been so lax in updating here.

The Zentangle transfer tut is delayed indefinately.  I need to make new doodles and I’ve not had the time nor inclination to do so.

I got some books as a Christmas present and I’ve been busy playing with the new things I’ve learned.  I’ll do reviews on them soon.  One was the Grant Diffendaffer book and I love it.  It’s quite a bit of info overload at first but once I got over that I’ve been having fun making textured beads.  The only thing that sucks is the sanding, but I pulled my scumbuster out of hiding and it’s not too bad using that.

I just ordered some Kato Concentrates and I’m looking forward to playing with those.  Maybe I’ll finally get a red and a nice dark purple that I can use in mica shift.  I’m also curious as to how they’ll work tinting translucent.

Speaking of translucent, I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of layering translucent canes properly.  I’ll know for sure once I finish the next tumbler batch (though I still have to make enough beads to fill the bowl).

I redid things in my Ebay store to finally take advantage of the ability to put things on sale.  I had been manually going in and changing prices of things I put in clearance but I’d noticed in my Dad’s store that he got more action on items if he used the sale feature.  So I’m trying it.  Still not exactly sure how to work all the details of removing and adding items to the sale but I’ll work that out eventually.

In between all of this I’m working on an ebook about my finishing process.  I’ve got the part about how I use my tumbler done but I need to do parts on using the scumbuster, buffing, glazing and the final bake.