Amanda's Finished pieces for 2014

[Enchantra]

This is just where I will be posting all the images of my work in 2014 so everyone can possibly learn something from my work.  Small tutorials possibly to come as well.   

[Enchantra]

First one for 2014!

My very first piece in Art Clay Silver!  I'm finally working with metal clay thanks to my wonderful Fiancee Peter!

This piece is going to the woman who is making my wedding dress as a thank you.

[Steve]

Kool.........................

[Enchantra]

Thanks Steve.  Now to work on my FMG entry - the sculpted silver dragons are coming!

[39don]

Nice stuff Amanda........as always it's top notch for sure. I see where you have made the step into the metal clay area..........AWESOME.

I'm wanting to but very hesitant because I'm not very artistic shaping clay........plus the high cost of the clay. The positive side would be the less possibility's of having meltdowns as with the soldering routine.   It's very heavy on my mind.

I have got to get back to the cuttlebone casting as Cowboy does. I have a large piece of rough now so the learning circle begins. 

39don

   

[DonniesTreasures]

That is very nice, Amanda!  Thought at one time I wanted to do PMC, even got a book, which I am still trying to sell!  However after looking at the prices & other stuff involved, I changed my mind.  I have seen some pretty amazing pieces made by other people & I think I will just to continue enjoying what others do.  At least for the time being, anyway.  Who the heck knows what the future holds!!!

[Enchantra]

Donnie - I was only able to finally get into metal clay because of my amazing fiancee (Whom I marry TOMORROW).  Without his support and his willingness to help me follow my dreams this just would not have happened.  He gave me around $500 to invest in a small kiln and the basic supplies.  That's a lot of money and if I were still back east and single I wouldn't be doing metal clay as I wouldn't have had the funds for it.  I owe Peter a heck of a lot, he's turned my life around in so many ways, he's given me hope I didn't have before.  At this time last year had someone told me that I would be living in Phoenix with my Fiancee and stress free at this time next year I would have thought them totally nuts.  It's proof we just never know what the good Lord has in store for us.

[Enchantra]

I'll have pictures at some point tomorrow to post.
However I wanted to say, Gina, you saved my day and didn't even know it!!!!!!

I finished firing and cleaning my silver metal clay pieces for my FMG entry due by midnight tomorrow night.  Went to set the stone and the darn setting had shrunk more than what I had allowed for.  Art Clay silver is only supposed to have about 5-8% shrinkage.  Um sure....  So the stone I designed the setting for didn't fit, I needed something else in the oval shape that was in the same color family.  When you were here almost two weeks ago you gave me a couple Crazy Lace cabs.  Guess what?  One of them amazingly fit the setting and was the right color range.  You saved my day and saved my contest Entry!!!!  Thank you Gina!  You probably never thought you'd help me enter a contest did you?   

[Enchantra]

OK, so here's my FMG entry I'm going to have submitted before the deadline tonight.
This is the one where one of Gina's cabs saved my butt!

Materials:  Art Clay Silver, Silver filled wire, Sterling headpins, cubic zirconia, celestial crystal, faux gold leaf paint, small gold and silver plated rounds (The horns), gold plated headpins, Snohomish River Jasper, Crazy Lace Agate.

EDIT:  And I'm probably going to have Peter take some better photos when he gets home from work.

[Enchantra]

Better pictures, I took these this afternoon and used these for the submission.

[Enchantra]

Here's the latest made with Purple Burro Creek cut by Gina. 

Dentalium shells, Black star of India, Celestial crystal, Sterling tube bail, Czech and Japanese seed beads, pewter, dyed quartz...

[39don]

Amanda you have the "Midas touch" with beads.......WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't, will not, even try to comprehend how to do what you do to achieve amazing "craftsmanship" results.

39don

[wyrock]

Do you just have all this stuff laying around then zip it all together like superwoman? I would love to watch you make one of these because I can not get my brain around how you do it. I would have stuff scattered from here to next week and wear out three pair of tweezers with nothing to show for my efforts.

Do you have any way to make a video?
Jim

[Enchantra]

I'm up with insomnia so I'll answer this...
I've never tried making a video.  Truthfully not sure anyone wants to watch a video that is 8 hours long - which is about how long it took me to make this particular piece.

Wyrock - No tweezers involved.  It's simply Nymo or Fireline beading thread, a beading needle and the beads and whole lot of patience!

I typically do not draw out my designs ahead of time.  I will look at a cab and it just tells me how it wants to be beaded.     Sometimes the design morphs as I work on it, other elements being incorporated.  For instance on this piece the dentalium shells were an add in.  The original idea in my head did not contain them.  When I work on a stone I follow what it's saying to me.  Yes stones speak to me.  It's rather weird - no words are exchanged but it's like this vision just suddenly "pops" into my head and I feel this compulsion to create it.

I do indeed have a vast and ever-growing collection of beads.  If I am at a show or at a store and a string of beads calls to me, there's a good chance I'll be purchasing it.  As my Husband found out at Quartzite - beads and cabs and me are a deadly mix to the budget.  Now that I have the rest of my studio at my command as my Parents brought it with them in my car when they drove here for my wedding last week - I now have much more at my fingertips.  I've been known to sit down with a stone that is speaking to me and go through several caddies full of beads looking for just that right bead to complement the stone as I see it in the vision in my head.

Yes this takes some skill, but it's not unattainable to anyone.  It just takes practice.  Bead embroidery is not some secret artform.  If you can thread a beading needle and know a few basic stitches, it's fairly easy.  I taught myself using books, and studying images of work others had created.  The hardest part was finding a good diagram to teach myself how to stitch a peyote bezel around stones.  Once I found that I was home free.  I used just a small number of stitches in this piece - peyote, back stitch, stop stitch, and brick stitch.  All of which can be found diagrammed in books.

That's about the only explanation I have.   

[Enchantra]

Much need update and of course, a sneak peak!!   

Progress on my next FMG contest entry.