Science and Art Come Together

Be sure to stop by Topaz Turtle http://www.etsy.com/shop/TopazTurtle to find some deliciously fantastic coloured jewelry. Also home to gorgeous jewelry made from resin, polymer clay, crystal, natural stone, metal and other wonderful things. Enjoy!

by TopazTurtle
TopazTurtle jewelry designs is what you get when science and art comes together. I’m a scientist by training and I guess I never grew out of conducting experiments even though I moved away from the laboratory in my day job.

Working with resin, reminds me of my time in the lab as it involves a lot of planning, preparing, measuring, mixing and finishing.

Planning and preparing usually involves coming up with a design, trying it out in polymer clay and then moving to the mould making stage. Once the basic shape is ready, there is more planning to decide colours and effects. Then the fun begins with the mixing.

I tend to mix my own colours for my bangles and beads. I just love watching the different hues emerge as I mix two or more colors together. I also love to experiment with embedding items in the resin. Everything is fair game - things I find in the garden, the house and my jewelry making supplies.

And like a good scientist I have to take copious notes so that I can reproduce my experiments. I’ve forgotten about that aspect of lab work but it is slowly coming back to me.

Once the resin is ready I have to knuckle down and do all the sanding and smoothing. It’s hard and dirty work but also very gratifying to see the finished product emerge. Health and safety is important to me and at this stage I use gloves, goggles and dust mask as protection I figure I want to keep making jewelry for as long as I can and I should take all the precautions I can. Once I’m happy with the product, it’s a quick wash and dry and a little more polishing. Making resin jewelry is a very satisfying exercise for me and I think everyone should find something that they do that they really enjoy.
 
 

Here is a picture of Saunthra's lovely and inspirational worktable."It's an old computer table that I stripped, painted and stenciled.The wheels come in useful as I can move it around and push it away into a cupboard when I have to clean up. You can't see from the pic but it's in front of my tv, so I get to listen into programs while I work. My favourite show at the moment is Glee. Just love it."

To see more:
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http://www.facebook.com/topazturtle
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For full catalog of my works please go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/topazturtle

A Visual Feast

Enjoy a visit to Mel's Art Buffet, a unique shop filled with wonderful treats for your eyes. Mel's Art Buffet offers unique designs for your unique taste.

"So if your eyes are hungry come on in and enjoy the visual feast of handcrafted jewelry."

by Mel's Art Buffet

My name is Melissa and I am the proud & hopeful owner of Mel's Art Buffet. Opening my Etsy shop was a huge step for me. I have enjoyed the site for so many years but was intimidated to take the leap. Mel's Art Buffet opened at the end of January 2010 & I couldn't be more pleased. The community has been so welcoming & friendly. It's a lovely home.

I have always had the need to make something, anything. Over the years I have concentrated my creative juices to focus primarily on jewelry. I started going to bead shows & making pieces for myself. And, one day it occurred to me, as my personal stash began to grow out of control, maybe someone else would like to wear this? I am self taught & anticipate learning the next technique which will undoubtedly lead to a world of possibilities.

Polymer clay is currently my medium of choice. I have been working with polymer for over a year now & have not even begun to push it to its limits. It does everything I ask and never argues. Polymer clay is a flexible blank canvas and has completely changed my jewelry designing. A whole new world has opened right in front of me, so exciting! I have been combining polymer clay with my signature thread inlay that I have been developing. The thread inlay evolved from my infatuation with light shades made from string, popular in the 70's. My jewelry is definitely different. But I hope that my unique style will catch on.

Inspiration comes easy to me & feel so lucky for this. My main inspiration is derived from food. I know this sounds crazy but stick with me...Quite a few years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which means no gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, & oats. So, being on a restricted diet I eat visually what I'm not allowed physically. I love to read recipes but more so I love to look at food pics! Alluring food pictures & blogs are where I find major inspiration. I think food is beautiful & the colors are simply pure & inspiring. I can look at a picture of pizza & draw three jewelry sketches. So this is how Mel's Art Buffet blossomed, by combining my greatest loves in life, food  & art.

I don't have much luck with organization in my work space, see photo... but I do have one idea to share - I recently purchased 50+ small bags of seed beads from artbeads.com that were on sale for a $1 each. Seemed like a great idea at the time. Still excited when I received the package. Unwrapping, unwrapping, still unwrapping. Where in the world am I going to put 50 small baggies of beads? If I put them a small drawer organizer, I will rarely sift through to find the right color. After several days of contemplation, I found a solution that would work for me. I took a large Rubbermaid lid from a storage bin that had been sitting in the corner and drilled two holes at the top. Once I ran string through the holes, I was able to hang from the wall. I love velcro & can't seem to keep enough on hand. I placed a circle dot of velcro on the back of each baggie adhered the other end to the lid. Now all 50 bags are displayed for easy use & visibility :)

Links:

Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/melsartbuffet

Ecrater Shop (my beaded jewelry): http://melsartbuffet.ecrater.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/melsartbuffet

Blog: http://melsartbuffet.blogspot.com/

"Balance Myself by Creating"

Check out Lilzo's lovely etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lilzo and her "Promotion Giveaway" - with a purchase of any two pairs of earrings from Lilzo, you'll get one felt item of your choice from the picture below!

Hi! My name is Jacqueline, but I go by Lilzo. I'm half Chinese and half white, and I live in California, although one day I'd like to live in either NYC or Shanghai, China.

If I'm not creating jewelry, I'm probably either studying, dancing, or training at the combat club. I have kind of a hectic schedule with everything I do, but I always make time to balance myself by creating, whether it's polymer clay, baking, or of course, jewelry. My designs aren't planned, but I keep a file of images that inspire me and that helps my ideas get flowing. A lot of my work is done late at night, when everything is quiet and I can relax.

I'm a friendly & outgoing person, and I run my shop as an efficient but lighthearted and inviting enterprise. Feel free to contact me anytime through Etsy's convo system, and I hope you enjoy my work. =)
x Lilzo x

Crow Haven Farm

Check out Michelle's whimsical creations. Each one seems to have a unique personality with a fantastical story to tell.

CrowHavenFarm
Hello, my name is Michelle and I live in a very magical place in Pennsylvania. My studio is located in our 1800’s stone farm house which is surrounded by fields of wheat, corn and soy. It is a wonderful place to live and be creative. However, I do cry every morning when I have to leave my safe haven and go to my day gig in the city, but when the clock strikes 5:00 p.m., my legs are already running to my jeep to get me back home and into my studio.
My husband and I have converted a room on our second floor into my studio. Our Summer Kitchen that is attached to our house has been transformed into his studio (he is a drummer). As you can see by the pictures, I have to be very organized in order to keep things from finding their way into the hallway! I love clear tub containers. I try to get these when they go on sale or I ask friends and family members to donate their old ones to me because I can always use a clear container for found objects from my hunts at the garage sales, thrift markets and the DOLLAR STORE! Love the dollar store. If you are an artist, you will love the dollar store!
My medium that I am currently working on is polymer clay, otherwise known as Super Sculpey. I have tried numerous brands of doll making clay and have found that this works best for me. I also love Creative Paper Clay and Papier Mache. I am currently working on a line that I have entitled Ebs, meaning “Eclectic Beings.” I took a class with Wendy and Toby Froud back in May of 2008 in New York City and I learned a bunch of new techniques and how to use certain tools. This course was a wonderful start to my development of sculpting art dolls. However, my art dolls have taken on such a whimsical feel that sometimes it’s extremely hard to part with them!
My studio is set up so that I can easily get to everything. In one corner I have a table that I use as my painting station. I also adopted a an 8x8 table from Staples that is used as my main table. As you can see the table is being occupied by stackables all the way across it! All of my containers have been marked with what is exactly in them. I have an attic up on the 3rd floor which is being totally refurbished and designed for extra storage. This will help in getting some of my containers out of the studio to give me more space and be able to spread my materials out, instead of using the mat floor! LOL. I do like the feel of closeness. I need to have all of my little bits and bobs around me. I use a lot of mason jars because when you are in a groove you want to be able to see your bits and bobs instead of spending hours on end searching for the exact piece you need.

I love working in mixed-media. I can incorporate everything I love doing, such as, sewing, painting, assemblage, sculpting and needle felting into all of my art dolls. I have recently been playing with canvas boards and cigar boxes using bees wax and oil pastels. I love Bees Wax!
I will be opening a new shop at Etsy in early November. My new shop name is ShodeeHonee.

In the meantime, look me up at http://www.crowhavenfarm.etsy.com/.

I have not added new items lately, but hopefully CrowHavenFarm will be updated with more primitive treasures and ShodeeHonee will be up and running with my new whimsical line of original painting, original drawings and of course my Eclectic Beings, Ebs in November of 2008. Just in time for the Holidays!
Cheers!