Here are my latest vases done with polymer clay. I took some blue and mixed in a little black to get the dark blue color. I wrapped the glass vases with the dark blue and added the flowers. I wanted the vases to have an oriental feel to them.
flowers
Flowers at Tulsa Botanic Garden
Below are just a few pictures of flowers that are at the Tulsa Botanic Garden. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting more flowers on my flower blog UpCloseToFlowers.
Tulsa Botanic Garden
If you are ever near Tulsa, Oklahoma, anywhere near Tulsa, the trip to Tulsa Botanic Gardens is worth the trip. Even the drive to this remote location, north-west of Tulsa, is beautiful with it’s rolling hills and trees. The garden is absolutely gorgeous. Wear sunscreen, because you may want to stay all day. Wear inset repellent, because you probably will want to take the 1.5 mile nature hike.
More Polymer Clay Roses
Below are batches 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of my polymer clay roses with leaves and stems.
Batch 2:
I took some white clay and blended one edge with some pink clay. The leaves and stems contains three shades of green and gold clay.
Batch 3:
The center of the roses were made from the clay left over from Batch 2. However, there wasn’t enough for three flowers, so I mix a little red with the pink and white for the outer petals.
Batch 4:
I wanted some flowers that glowed in the dark. I mixed bright pink, yellow, and orange clay with some florescent clay.
Batch 5:
These red roses were also mixed with some florescent clay, but they do not shine as well as the pink roses in Batch 4.
Batch 6:
I had just finished the yellow sunflower vase and wanted some yellow roses to put in the vase. But, yellow roses would just be too plain. The rose color from stem to the petal tips are hot pink, orange, yellow, and lemon yellow.
Batch 7:
Some more vase inspired flowers. I used the leftover clay from the vase. I gently it mixed together to make the roses.
Vases with Polymer Clay
I wanted to see if I could put some polymer clay on a vase, bake it in the oven, and have the clay stick to the vase. Below is my first vase experiment. I had a bottle, shape like a light bulb, that was just sitting in a cabinet.
I figured the best way to get it to stick to the vase, was to put a thin layer of polymer clay around the vase and then put the design on it. Since it was an experiment, I didn’t want to waste a lot of time with the design. However, it does glow in the dark.
Since it was a success, I did four other vases.
The Sunflower Vase: I wanted the top and bottom of the vase to look like the petals were coming from the center of a sunflower.
The Gold Flowery Vase: From the beginning I wanted a gold lattice work around the vase. The flower idea come later. After it was baked, I applied paint to give it an antique look.
The Shades of Red Vase: The original intent was to cover the vase in black, then give it a stain glass appearance. That idea change when I saw how nice the reds and pinks looked against the black.
The Flower Vase: I extrudes some blue/purple clay that was left over from other projects. The intent for this vase was to have a delicate flowery pattern.
After the vases were baked in the oven and cooled, I applied polyurentane to seal the clay. Since the clay is not permanently stuck to the vase, I could probably take a sharp Exacto Knife to any vase that turns out poorly to remove the clay.
Polymer Clay Crosses
I spent some time creating crosses from polymer clay, which was left over from all of the other polymer clay projects.
First the pretty crosses:
The difficult cross:
Folding clay and braiding clay is a little bit challenging.
Interesting Crosses:
The weird ones:
Do You See the Butterflies?
Klingon Adventures – Part 2
I am not a Klingon. I did not marry a Klingon, but my sister did. Over the rIntaH DIS (past year) Kur’Den and his be’nal (wife) ‘u’ leng (traveled the universe) looking for qaD (challenges). Upon their visits to jISop Daq ‘ej leS yoS (places to eat and areas of rest) they ta mIllogh (recorded pictures) of belmoH poch (pleasant plants) and chaH Daqvo’ targhHom (transmitted them back to me).
Here are a few of the belmoH poch:
I took the flower pictures and Kur’Den’s official photo and made him a plaque. Below is Kur’Den, Tuq BelmoH Yotlh (Clan Pleasant Pastures)!
No, he will not take his Batleth to my mong (neck). Kur’Den has received many unique and interesting gifts from me that he batlh bey’ (displays with honor).
Yes, he did send me a human version of the sign.
Nope! I Don’t Like That
Here is my latest drawing on four tiles. Almost from the very from the first curve that went down on the paper, I was saying to myself “Nope! I don’t like that.” I few more curves and a little color, still “I don’t like that.” But, I decided instead of trashing the tiles I would complete the drawing and put the tiles away to never to be seen again.
Somewhere towards the end, either when the green leaves were being drawn or the blue background was being added, my opinion of the drawing changed to “Okay, now that really look cool.”
100 Mandala Challenge – The Next Ten
I was reading Kathryn Costa’s book “The Mandala Guidebook. It challenged the readers to create 100 Mandalas in 100 Days. My first ten mandalas for this challenge are posted on the 100 Mandala Challenge page. I am on day 13 and I am seven ahead. That will come in handy when I start my long drive to the south. Below are drawings 011 through 020.
Mandala 020
Mandala 019
Mandala 018
Mandala 017
Mandala 016
Mandala 015
Mandala 014
Mandala 013
Mandala 012
September 9, 2018
Drawing at Chick-fil-a
My goal is to draw something everyday on a 3 1/2″ tile. The something does not necessarily has to be good, just something so I am putting pen to paper everyday. Which is difficult when you are traveling. I have found that drawing and breakfast at Chick-fil-a is a great way to start your day. Here are some of the drawing that were created at a Chick-fil-a between July 6 and July 25 in South Louisiana. I can’t tell you which location, because there were four locations that were convenient to my daily activities.
July 6, 2018
July 10, 2018
July 11, 2018
July 16, 2018
July 19, 2018
July 23, 2018
July 21, 2018
July 24, 2018
July 26, 2018
Why Chick-fil-a verse the other options? First, I don’t drink coffee or tea, so no coffee house. Second, the service is good, the food is decent, and the restrooms are clean. Third, some of their customers have the best conversations.
