Back to Shanga...for just a minute!

Travelling back to Shanga, www.shanga.org,  for just a minute to show you what I made with beads that I purchased there.  Some are Shanga beads, some are my own glass bottle beads and the regular, light strand are purchased African--I assume bottle beads.

What do you think?

And, to my facebook friends, I apologize for this coming up on facebook again!

Next stop...Paris!

Well, (again!)  I haven't done much bloggin'.  I've made some jewelry, not much.  Didn't yet even do my tribute to Seminario.  I have too much of a one track mind and already I'm Paris dreamin'.  Not too long from now--although it seems like it's been years since our last trip--we leave for Paris.  My wonderful hubby bought me three nights in Paris for my @!5$&th birthday a few months back.  After that, we join Grand Circle on a cruise from Paris to Normandy.

Besides all that Paris has to offer, some of the highlights of the trip, for me will be the cliffs of Entretat, immortalized by Courbet and Monet, the Benedictine Order Castel at Frecamp--no, I'm not religious--or into monks but this is where they make Benedictine liqueur.  If I remember correctly, the Belgian monks made one heck of a beer too.  Well, I guess they're allowed to drink...

We'll visit Giverny, where Monet lived most of his life and Vernon, where Van Gogh lived for three months from his release from the Asylum, until his suicide and where he created "Wheat Field With Crows" along with almost 80 other paintings.

We'll also spend some time on a river boat, where we'll have a lesson in French cooking and probably some great entertainment.

If I remember correctly, some of the GC  tour guides put on quite a production on board!

I'm sure I'll return with lots of ideas and be back in production soon!

Thanks Robin!

 www.evenbetterimages.com

Finally

Finally my dragon is finished.  Sorry about the photo--but I'm shipping some pics off to Robin www.evenbetterimages.com today for some major improvements.  And I've got to start studying my camera manual--which I can't find--in preparation for my class with Doug Baldwin http://www.dougbaldwinphoto.com/ in June.  But--I digress.

I've also decided that she's pretty obtrusive to wear EVERY day, so I want to make a stand/display for her, now that I've decided that she's good enough to warrant one.

So, with my one track mind I haven't even thought about my next country to visit on my blog, but I will keep you posted and let you know how my display is coming too!

So..what do you think?

                                                                        

Ready to Fire!

My dragon's almost ready for the kiln.  I need to build up the back of the eyesocket and attach a wire to attach the eyeball to after firing and I need to add  a loop and clasp to add the chain (flames).  Then she goes into the kiln.  I'm waiting to hear back from Gordon Uyehara
https://www.facebook.com/#!/metalclay4u on the best way to fire this piece.

I hope that all the scales, teeth, etc are properly attached.

Thanks Gordon for your great metal clay tutorial and all your help.  I can't wait to get your book!  I guess this means I'm not yet done with metal clay!

                                                                            

Dragon's On the Way!

I've finally got my sketch and my ideas down on paper for my Dragon Self-Portrait
necklace.  I think I've figured out how I'm going to do it and the fire will be glass beads all the way!  Yay!!  For the body (head--as it's going to be a head only view) I'm going to use copper clay, because I want it to be dimensional and I'm not going to spend any more money on forming equipment (except for a few new hammers for fold forming...but that's for another project. 

I still need to experiment with the glass--maybe adding some black, sooty stuff (or just burn my glass, which may be easier) and maybe a bit of opaque color to make it look more fire like.

What do you think of my start?  Do you read it as fire?

                                       Here's my thought for the whole thing:    
                           

Oh yeah--I'm thinking a glass eye, too!

                                                                            

                                                                                                                                   

...and Now a Word From Our Sponsors...

Things are going slowly on my dragon.  No drawings yet.  Still I don't know if I'm going to make her out of metal clay or sheet metal.  At first I thought large flames coming from her mouth; then, I thought, "why not make the whole necklace in flames going around my neck?"
For this I'm trying glass flames/beads, or more copper with enamels for color.  Of course, I've never made glass flames, or done much enameling!

So..in a lucky twist of fate, yesterday I found and opened "The Lost Tanzania Videos"

and am publishing a few for your entertainment...

                                                                    
                                                                     Cheetah

                                                                    

                                                            Vultures
                                                              

                                                                 
                                                        The Great Migration          
                                                             

                                                             

                                                                         

                                       http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=52+pairs