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. 

STATEMENT...

Sometimes, all it takes is just one photo to make a statement....

Isn't she fab? She's my very good friend Jhoi and the owner of  Enjhoi with Clay where she displays her polymer clay masterpieces. I made the necklace she's wearing but she also makes lots of beautiful statement pieces out of polymer clay. She's very artsy, a woman of class and appreciates lots of details... but above all she's one generous friend, a confidant and I'm just so blessed to have her! =)

Here's a collage of her masterpieces... "Enjhoi!"

Her mixes of colors and elements in one piece are just brilliant! =)

By the way, here's me wearing one of her works and with my pretty sister-in-law. =)

TGIF! Wishing everyone a great weekend! =)

Flower Power!!!

It’s been definitely an interesting few months for me and I made a handful floral statement pieces. I know of a Romanian polymer clay artist who also makes 3D flowers whose name is Herina Bysoos. I love her flowers and I decided to make my own version. Hers looks fresh and mine is a little stylized.  I don’t know why but even if it’s my own work, I am still amazed with how I manage to sculpt each petal to a blossoming piece.  It’s totally a process… prompting some neck and back pain but it’s a fun creative process! Haha! You really need a lot of patience. The process starts of course with having a real flower inspiration (a photo will do) which I shape using polymer clay. Sometimes though, my imagination which is just laying there… stirred in its sleep… will start murmuring and my hands will begin molding what I call my “stylized” flowers… and that’s where the fun part begins!!! 

The curly flower with buds is imaginary.. =)

looks really nice on the wrist =)

I love my roses and the tinges of gold on it.. =)

There's the Cattleya on the side =)

The Cattleya flower is more obvious here... =)

You'll definitely make a statement! =)

A dainty cattleya locket.. =)

A rose bib necklace for my fab friend "Jhoi." Just wait 'till she wears it and it will totally look more fab! 

Can you spot that stylized flower adorned with filigree and rhinestone?  I just realized that silver with a tinge of color purple and a gold-copperish tone colors would go so nicely together! 

I hope you've enjoyed my flower power pieces! Have fun and be creative! Thanks for reading!

ABS June Challenge

I chanced upon the art bead scene June challenge and I thought the color palette would match the HG inspired cuff I made for my friend Cathy. This month's Art Bead Scene monthly challenge piece inspiration is  a painting by Edward Hopper entitled "Nighthawks."

The cuff  has no metal base and is made of polymer clay which I aged with alcohol inks to embody the post apocalyptic setting of the novel. I thought that a knotted chain would be perfect to embellish it and could also serve as a lock. I made the focal rose a little off-set and put a dangling butterfly locket, which both have meaning in the novel. The hanging beads represent the deadly night lock berries.

Kate’s list and more…

Here’s another wearable art piece for Kate but this time it’s for the real Kate! Kate happens to be the daughter of my client from whom she named her facebook account. I guess you’ve read about it in my previous blog post. I have received an email from her with her picture and a list of her favorite things. I find her list really cute with her own handwriting and drawing in it. She wants a fairy locket necklace from me and I’m happy that it’s not the chibi-ish type. Kid’s stuff is my waterloo. I really have no qualms in making kid’s jewelleries but I just feel that they are all the same fairytale looking characters that I'm not good at. Whenever I receive requests to design something for my clients’ kids (usually the chibi-ish type), these are the moments I wish I live in Cinderella’s time when I can ask fairy godmother to lend me her magic wand. Haha! 

This is her cute list and her email says:  "Dear Tita Ghie,
This is me after swimming. I like my mommys necklace. Please make one for me."-Kate 

I’m thankful that she sent me her photo (not posted here, hehe) where I can take at least a glimpse of who she is.  Her Mom  knows  that I rely on impressions, photos, writings, drawings, etc. in order create pieces that would reflect my client’s taste (btw, this is the 6th time i custom made for her. ).  This is the fairy locket necklace I made for Kate: 

"uuuu... the fairy is shinny!!!" -Kate 
I used a glittery background for this.. =)

A splash of her favorite colors...

"WOOOOWWWWW! Looks really beautiful, Tita Ghie! I love it."- Kate

I also made another Hunger Games inspired Dandelion Cuff for her Mom. I experimented on gold inks to mimic the metal looking base and I’m very happy with the outcome. 

Hunger Games Dandelion Cuff

Design Elements: Dandelion, Tracker jackers, Night lock berries on a faux metal looking twigs base

I wanna share also my third version of the Mockingjay Necklace I made for my co-artist Cathy of Crafter’s Luck. This is for her 13 year-old daughter so I made the details a little modest and the design not overpowering. 

And this is me on the beach, hehehe… Have a happy work week everyone!!! 

KATE...

It’s the name of her facebook account and not her real name. She’s a client whom I find interesting. When I do custom made pieces for clients, I usually check their facebook profiles and make something appropriate based on personal impression, but her facebook profile is blank and I have only seen her photo twice. Before I start working on her pieces, she just sends me amazing quotes and inspirations… a “moodboard” of some sort and I can instantly feel that she’s naturally classy (in my opinion)! I just love her taste! Let me share with you some of the pieces I made for her and her lovely feedbacks. I’ve got a lot from her which turns me giddy at times…

"Your work really reflects your personal touch.. it really looks like inspired art. And it does reflect the time and thought invested in each piece. " - Kate

This is the first personalized piece i made for Kate..

"Hi Ghie.. Wow! Wow! Wow! I adore the locket.. It is so me! Its like you read me like a book! Super thanks!"- Kate

"The aquamarine necklace you made for me with the lady sitting on a rock near the beach is still my all time fave. 
Aside from the recent gun metal necklace you made for me with our picture on it . "-Kate

Yes, that's her and her cute kids.. I blurred it a bit to protect her privacy.. =)


"Wow, I love the details.. You should also take a picture of the back of your works. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your handiwork @ the back of my son's bag tag and my daughter's pendant. BTW, you were right about my necklace.. it is simple yet elegant... " - Kate

Among the pieces I made for her, this set was the most challenging. It took a lot of thinking on how i will be able to put all all elements together in one cohesive look.. they're too many! Not only that, I need to interpret the quotations she gave me. She wanted pieces that will remind her of the most significant message she got from a retreat. It made me inspired all the more,  knowing that I'm becoming part of her personal journey. =) 

"Healing Necklace"
"Healing can only start when you see the beauty in yourself and not just the woundedness."

Meaningful elements:
woundedness: rose
hope: anchor
love: heart
joy: bells
peace: dove or bird

courage: fleur de lis
hope: anchor 

 "MINDFUL THERAPY BANGLE"
Breathe in - mentally think: " I am a flower."
Breathe out - mentally think: " I am fresh"

Breathe in - mentally think: "I am a mountain"
Breathe out - mentally think: "I am strong."

"I am crystal water"
"I reflect things clearly"

"I am space"
"I am free"

"I accept"
"I let go"

"My MTO necklace and cuff is "lovelier in person". Wore both pieces already this afternoon.   "- Kate

This is the hunger game inspired necklace i made for her. I made a version that I thought would suit her style...

"Ghie! You never fail to surprise me!!! I love every single work of art you have created for me." - Kate

I made some cane flowers that represented "Katniss on fire" 


Thank you Kate for your unending trust.  I'm so proud to have an awesome client like you.  You inspired me to keep going and create more...Looking forward to working with your pieces again... =)

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! =)