ABS October Challenge

The ABS October challenge painting inspiration is an art piece by Kurt Schwitters “Revolving.” Circles and lines are dominant in the painting but what is amazing is its assemblage decorated with splashes of earthy organic tones. I am not particularly fond of geometric styled art work and the painting isn’t really appealing to me but I see myself taking an exciting challenge… that is, perceiving an inspiration that is less appealing.  Haha!

Here's what I've made:

Two months ago, I purchased some Helen Breil Stamps and I thought that the textures in the stamps would be perfect for this month’s challenge. I focused on the lines and circles in the painting and pulled some interesting color mixes from the palette. The challenging part here was the handling of colors from the palette to complete the elegance I want for the project since most of the colors in the painting are repeats or with little variation.  I ended up mixing polymer clay colors achieving some hues of teal, medium blue, dark blue, brown, and dark green and of course I love the touches of metallic bronze and gold for an added contrast. I came up with a floral statement piece made with polymer clay capturing the circles and lines by stamping on the individually sculpted polymer clay flower petals.  I made the assemblage asymmetric (conforming to the minimal asymmetry I noticed in the painting) and that I thought would have been enough but the addition of rhinestones and filigrees instantly added elegance. 

I had fun doing stamped flower petals with my new set of stamps and i 'm lovin' the asymmetric style assemblage which i  thought would drape beautifully on anyone's neck so i made another one:

Thanks for reading and... STAY INSPIRED!!! =)

ABS September Challenge

Art Bead Scene's September Challenge is an inspiration from Giuseppe Arcimboldo's painting "Flora."

This is what I've made:

The inside of the cuff is also textured. =)

I love how the color pallete reflects the color of fall which I don't usually use in my clay pieces. I am used to making pretty floral cuffs so I didn't pay much attention to the flowers in the painting. Instead, it’s my first time to incorporate those really bold colors like orange, amber and some tinges of brown and red which paired beautifully with some of my texture sheets. I kept the flowers into a minimum but I decided to add some filigrees and rhinestones to make them look like art beads and made the piece more stunning. 

Molding Hunger Games Inspired Pieces In My Hands...

My good friends Ciela and Tina have again challenged my creativity by doing some Hunger Games inspired pieces for them. It’s been a long time since a movie/novel like Hunger Games has made me inspired and kept my right part of the brain functional. But the irony of it all, the inspiration came out last... that is... after finishing all the pieces… haha! I never had any idea what the story is all about but I just feel the urge of doing them. I believe that something in the project was fascinating and without any reservation, I gave it a try…

I called this cuff “The HG Flora Cuff.” Each flower in the cuff embodied some characters and images in the film. Though the whole piece was made with polymer clay, I’ve tried to make the flowers look just as pretty as the real ones. I appreciate that Ciela made these illustrations with some inspirational quotes from the novel: 

                       

 

As worn

Here are Tina’s pieces. The mockingjay necklace symbolizes rebellion and the bloody rose ring represents President Coriolanus Snow, the main antagonist in the story.

The Mockingjay Necklace

The bloody rose ring made with polymer clay =)

I had the great pleasure of seeing the film and found those pieces I made come to life in big screen. Haha…  It’s really a wonderful experience! Thank you Ciela and Tina for the inspiration… may the odds be ever in your favor! =)

Artful Inchies

I am part of the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild also dubbed as P3. It is the guild’s requirement to join quarterly challenges to hone our skills and keep us inspired. This month’s challenge is all about INCHIES.  Quoting from the guild’s definition: An "INCHIE" is a small piece of art; a snippet of self-expression. We’re required to express ourselves by making four (4) separate inchies. Oh well, I have to admit that this challenge is pretty intimidating at first and it’s not as easy as it seems. On my part, any attempt to define the kind of a polymer clay artist that I am is already a challenging task. Hence, those four (4) little squares though little as they are, should not fail me…  

I started the challenge by examining my works and by collating some common design elements. I found out that I like wings, steampunk, flowers, romantic images, vintage, rustic but vibrant colours.  I love mixing clay with anything that may end up with a tasteful, bold, and yet feminine piece.  I made some squiggles on paper to compose my ideas and decided to try out some techniques I’ve long wanted to do.

 Just look at what I've came up with:

Techniques used: Metal leaf, Alcohol Inks, Mokume Gane, Steampunk and Faux Cloisonne.  The later is the newest technique that I've tried and was inspired by Eugena Topina. 

I hope that I was successful enough in embodying my work through those four little squares. But I swear….  I’ve managed to complete this challenge with a smile! =)

The entries of the other guild members will be posted on our guild page soon! The guild's logo on the right-hand side will lead you to our Facebook page. Just click it, like it and enjoy! =)

HELLO!

Hello! I’m Ghie.  I love to work with my hands. Crafting is something I do to express myself. As I start this blog, I couldn’t help but think of my Mom. My mom, hands down, is the craftiest person I know. When I was a kid, she would sew beautiful clothes I would wear for school programs and special occasions. She used to design carpets and curtains at home. With such an early influence from my mom, I started crafting as a little girl by making my own dolls and Barbie’s clothes out of scrap fabrics.  As far as I remember, I already did any and all kinds of crafts like cross stitch, paper tole, crochet, embroidery, beading, scrap booking, etc.  I even made everything decorative on my wedding day. Right now, I’m really loving polymer clay art and photography, but once in a while I would still dabble in embroidery and scrap booking (now digital scrap booking).

Crafting… some have a gift for it and I’m thankful I have. Aside from the creative outlet that crafting can give, I find a lot of value in something I made…

First, I get appreciated when I give something handmade to my friends and relatives. I feel proud when people compliment my work.

Second, I earn money by selling my crafts. It’s something I do as a hobby and turned into a lucrative business.  On May of 2010, I opened a humble trinket store I named, “Trinket Tales (hence, the name of this blog).” I sell handmade accessories made of polymer clay mixed with other raw materials like beads and metal findings.  

Third, I come to know new friends by conducting workshops and meet fellow crafters.

Fourth, crafting has allowed me to write.   I am a Chemist by profession and not a writer.  My sentences and phrases are made of atoms and molecules, thus, I struggle with words. So please forgive me for some grammatical errors. Trinket Tales is where I will embellish your world with my crafts and anything and everything about life that is worth sharing! =)