New Dishes Created

I love creating larger items that are functional but finding the time is always an issue.  I finally found some creative play time and decided to make some new dishes.  I discovered that once I started, it got my creative juices flowing and now I have more ideas.

Making items like these require more patience and take a little more time as they generally go through at least 2 bakings but the end product is so worth it!  All of these pieces went to the Shuswap Artisan Market in Sorrento and are already sold so we dropped off a few more pieces today.

Brilliant Rainbow Swirl Dish

Brilliant Rainbow Swirl Dish - Side view

Green Leaves with Lady Bugs Soap or Trinket Dish

Green Leaves with Lady Bugs Soap or Trinket Dish - Side view

Gigantic Bloom Dish in Pink and Lime

Flower Dish in Teal and Lime

Rectangle Kaleidoscope Dish

Yesterday was the final day of the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts show and it will most likely take a few days for Dave and I to get everything put away and recover from the busy week we've had.  It was a great week and we are already planning the next art show we will be in coming up in September but I will share that with you a little later when I have more time.

In the meantime, since I was showing off some of my new decorative ring/jewelry/soap dishes, I thought I would show you one more in a different style, again with more of my left over kaleidoscope cane pieces. This time I used Helen Breil's "Tango" texture sheet to "frame" it.

Hexagon Kaleidoscope Dish

I've been really into making decorative dishes lately.   Here is one in a Hexagon shape using some left over kaleidoscope cane.  I used the Pixie Art Stamp called Magic Mushroom by Mike Breil as well but left it in the jet black color which makes the colors in the center pop.

I used some of the left over scraps of the kaleidoscope cane to create the feet using the Natasha technique.

Bargello Dish in Black and White

In my tutorial, "Building Bargello Motifs in Polymer Clay", I show how to create a bargello pattern in black and white (see  page 12).  I made a sample veneer sheet for the lesson but had not finished it into anything yet.  I had it sitting on a side table in our studio for some time hoping I would be inspired to finally making it into something.  I finally could envision what to do and here it is now as a ring/jewelry dish.

The texture I used to "frame" the piece is a Pixie Art Stamp called "Magic Mushroom" designed by Mike Breil.  Mike is Helen Breil's husband and just like Helen's texture sheets, Mike's are really fun to play with. 

After baking the dish, I added the silver/white highlights to bring the pattern out a little more.

Leaf Jewelry Dishes

One day while I was making our gigantic leaf buttons I happened to cut a cane slice a little too thick which made my leaf a little larger than I wanted.  A thought then occurred to me that perhaps I could make it even larger to create a decorative dish. I was quite excited with the results and immediately made some more.

These will be for sale at the gift shop in the Shuswap Lake Fesitval of the Arts that opens to the public tomorrow.

Dave and I will be attending the artists' reception tonight and then return there again in the morning as Dave will be doing a volunteer shift in the gift shop while I do a live demo at the juried part of the show upstairs.  Each artist that participates must take at least one shift to help out during the 8 days.  We always look forward to working with the other fellow artists and renewing friendships again.

New Home Decor Pieces

I made my first soap/trinket dish for a housewarming gift for some friends.  Their home decor is in silver, grey and black so decided to go with a leaf pattern in those shades.  This was actually my first prototype and I love how the design worked out and plan to make more in different styles.

I hadn't made any candle collars in a while but finally got around to finishing a new set in the chandelier style for a wedding gift.  Their home decor colors were similar to our friends so went with the same leaf pattern.