Winter's Work

I have a wonderful and warm studio to work in, but it can still be tough during the long winter months to stay motivated.  This is often a time I turn to pieces that have been abandoned during the year and try to problem solve them to resolution.  This little hollow pod had much potential, but I was struggling with how to resolve a large hole torn in the bottom.  A CZ rolling around my bench served as the perfect inspiration!  I even enclosed a few on the inside so that it jingles when you shake it.

Barrel Bails

I recently spent some time playing with designs for barrel shaped bails that would sit behind and on top of small geometric pendants I had been creating.  They were all part of a small series that I wanted to keep unified, so I needed a versatile design that would fit the varying shapes, while staying visually cohesive.  For these pieces, I began by rolling out a sheet of metal clay 3 cards thick.  I cut it into a long rectangle, wrapped it around a straw I had rubbed with olive oil and sealed it's seam.  I let it stiffen up for just a few minutes before beginning to slice it on the straw.  I held my knife in place and rolled the straw to get an even cut.  I then spaced out each of the pieces and set them to dry in place on the straw.  Once they were bone dry, I gently slid them off and sanded them before attaching them to my dried pendants with slip.  Starting with the longer piece and cutting it apart allowed me to make several pieces at once and vary their sizes to fit the individual pendants they would be attached to.  It was important to cut them on the straw in order for the clay to stay supported and not collapse under the pressure of the knife due to its hollow center.

Whimsical Tree Mural

This week the studio went mobile as I traveled to do a very special mural for a very special little girl.  Working with her parents, we developed a whimsical tree with floating pink leaves to adorn her walls.  This sort of project is not nearly as intimidating as it may seem.  Decal Murals are pretty popular today, but also pricey.  The cost of paint for this project was under $25 and it was completed in one day.  Below you can see the stages of the mural's development.  You can see I started with a simple pencil sketch right on the wall, if you are not comfortable free-handing your image, project it on the wall and trace it.   

Keep the image and the color simple.  The tree trunk is done as a silhouette in brown, this was a huge time saver since I had only one day to complete this piece from start to finish.  I am using latex wall paint for the large brown area and Martha Stewart Pearl Accents Craft Paint for the leaves (the pearl paint has a really lovely shine as it picks up the light).  The larger leaves were done from stencils I cut from manilla folders and dry brushed multiple colors on at the same time.  There was a plan for the larger leaves and then it became more intuitive as I played with where the smaller leaves would float around the closet.  To fill in the rest (and save hours of time), I cut a medium and small leaf out of a sponge (just using scissors) and simply stamped them on the wall.  The finishing touch can be seen in the image on the below right, as that special little girl got put to work and left her own marks among the leaves.

Metal Leaf Case

Recently, a friend was frustrated by not being able to find a small business card holder that didn't take up as much room as her wallet.  Knowing she is an antique lover, I saw a lot of potential in an old cigarette case.  The metal was dinged and scratched, so I thought some of the same techniques that add color to a jewelry surface, might add some interest to the case.  I began by sponging on alcohol inks in blue and purple on the interior of the case.  It dried quickly and I then coated it with metal leaf adhesive.  This adhesive tends to go on milky white and is ready for the leaf when it is clear (which can be any where from 15 minutes to and hour depending on the brand).  I was using a packet of variegated leaf, laying it on gently with tweezers, I then brushed it in a circular pattern which moved the excess flakes around and created a speckled effect on the edges.  I repeated this on the front of the case around the edges and along the center.  When I was happy with the leafing I was left with a bit of a sticky mess on the hinges and the edges of the piece where I left the metal leaf speckled, instead of fully covered.  The metal leaf adhesive never fully dries and leaves a sticky residue.  Using a q-tip dipped in lighter fluid, I was able to clean off the adhesive, be careful since this can also remove the alcohol ink.  Once dry, I went back over the surface with a soft brush until all the leaf was smoothly blended.  I left the piece to dry overnight before finally sealing it with Minwax Polycrylic  water-based sealer.  This case is going to be handled a lot and I've had a lot of luck with this drying clear and leaving a nice protective shell, there are specific metal leaf sealers or something like modge podge will work, as well.  The final results can be seen at the top of this post.  It turned out to be a  great little repurposing project.

Transformed

Last week's post referenced Ernst Haeckel's Art Forms in Nature, which is an intriguing look at biological forms.  Haeckel asked the viewer to look more closely at fantastical biological forms that were often overlooked, there by transforming preconceived notions of what certain things ought to look like.  For this piece, I found myself drawn in by that very same idea of seeing something otherwise forgotten.  While out collecting pods for more pieces, I grabbed a couple of small mushrooms whose texture was irresistible.  As they dried, they curled in on themselves, forming their own sort of cocoon.  I continued using the metal clay slip-dipping method, but was met with very different results.  To begin with, mushrooms are very spongey.  Unlike the paper thin pods that quickly absorbed and then built up the metal clay layers, there seemed to be no end to the amount of metal clay slip the mushrooms would absorb.  Next, continuing to wet the mushrooms with paste began to smell a little like I was raising pigs in my studio.  I began with three mushrooms, but ended up with just one piece.  The first catastrophe occurred before firing as I tried to drill into the delicate form in order to create a channel for the chain, it split into pieces that were not worth repairing.  I was able to soak the mushroom in water and remove the majority of the paste in order to recycle the metal clay for future use.  As you can see below, two mushroom forms made it into the kiln, the smaller of the two with a fine silver wire running through it in order to build a bail after it was fired and avoid trying to drill my way into a second disaster.  After firing, and tumbling, I began trying to manipulate the wire and realized the smaller form was too soft and the spongey mushroom had not sintered properly.  I bent the form back and forth until it cracked and got a look inside of the incomplete layers.  The third piece in this series held up.  A little larger, with deeper textured grooves to hold the paste, this form seems to be the right balance of paste and organic matter.  The center is set with a marquise cut 4 mm green CZ, mimicking the oblong form.  The beautiful texture is further pronounced by a patina of alcohol inks in green and red, a subtle nod to the fall day this form was discovered.

Welcome to the Studio

Welcome to Silver Magpie Studio.  In the last 15 years, my studio has made its home in a lot of different spaces.  Some had a ton of space, some had a ton of mice, some had a lot of noise, most were just plain cold, some were in cities, one was way out in the country, three times I found myself in converted old factories, and there was even one very creepy attic.  As I approach the second anniversary of what I hope to be my final studio move, I figure it is the best place to begin this blog - just a little glimpse into the space where I begin each piece.  A peaceful space that is open and warm with light that floods in from a wall of windows which overlook the natural environment that inspires many of my pieces.   Check back as I share what I'm working on each week in the studio and watch pieces evolve from their very beginnings.