After my disappointing trial with the MagicGlos on paper mosaics, I have decided to try polymer clay (see next post) as an alternative to Friendly Plastic.There are so many more things you can do with it, compared to the Friendly Plastic I have been using – and some of the effects are much more subtle. I have been inspired by some fabulous things/ideas I have seen on the internet and so I have ordered three different books on making polymer clay mosaic tiles (partly paid for by the ‘gift card’ I received from work for Christmas). It will take about a month for the books to arrive, so in the meantime, I am reading as much as I can on the internet – there is a lot of information out there (mostly American) but sadly no workshops in or near Auckland that I can find.
Some of the tools, cutters and other things I have bought to use with Friendly Plastic can also be used with polymer clay, so they will not be wasted. I thought I had better try and use up my remaining pieces of FP, so spent the other evening making brooches out of my off-cuts and thoroughly enjoyed myself, see picture below. I was on a creative roll, they turned out really well and maybe were better for less planning and just ‘going with the flow'.
I have also made a few pre-planned Art-Brooch designs this month and have tried setting them in small artist's block canvases. I am really pleased with how the ‘yacht’ ones turned out and intend to try making the same designs with polymer clay, as a comparison exercise.
Art-Brooch Designs CF032 - CF035
CF032
CF033
CF034
CF035
My last Art-Brooch made from Friendly Plastic (CF036), I have called 'Anything Goes', as it is made from off-cuts but I think will be quite an eye-catcher for the NZ Art Guild 'Anything Goes' Exhibition in May.
CF036
As for the idea of being able to take something creative into work to do, before I start in the mornings – well that just hasn’t worked. Paper mosaics seemed suitable but it didn’t actually work in practice. If I am moving on to using polymer clay, it just is not going to be practical, I shall just have to use the time for reading and researching. This is OK at the moment, because I have so much to learn about polymer clay - there is so much information out there on the internet and my books to read when they arrive.
Quite by accident, I may have hit on a different way to display my Art-Brooches. When I was on my creative roll the other night and running out of space to lay out the brooches I had made, I put a couple on some mini canvases, which were lying around (waiting for me to do some paper mosaic pictures, that never happened). It suddenly struck me, what a perfect and appropriate way for me to display my Art-Brooches. I had been planning to make a mould and cast my own frames, in which to insert the jewellers foam I have bought, to hold the brooch in place. With a small canvas, I can stick the foam in the recess at the back, cut a small slit the canvas through which the brooch pin can be inserted and paint the canvas however I want – and sign it! I will try this out with my most recent brooch designs.
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