Inside a Lentil
November 15, 2014 Inspirational Art
I’ve been wanting to do a hollow lentil bead with a peek-a-boo hole in it all week, but it’s a rather common design these days, at least as a base form. Some people are doing beautiful things with it, but I felt it ought to be really different and objects well recessed, so they look more hidden, and that was harder to find. Then I remembered these window-like hollow lentils Wendy Orlowski created a couple years ago.
Down below the lip of the open window in the one on the right, you can see what looks like a nest with an egg inside it. I wish I could get a closer look. But, this is what I’ve been talking about all week. You know something is there, and our natural curiosity pushes us to look closer to get a better look at it. We simply like the surprise of hidden things. This is a great addition to a piece in that there is definitely more than meets the eye when there is something sitting just inside, beyond our view.
Wendy mentions that she had planned to create a tutorial of this, although I couldn’t find one. If you are interested, you might want to give Wendy a shout through her Etsy shop or with the contact information on her blog. In case you didn’t know, Wendy is the designer who created CaBezels, which I highly recommend. They are a lifesaver for quick and easy bezels to show off your great surface treatments or faux stones. You can find them on her Etsy site as well through Shades of Clay.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
More Crackle with Inka Gold
December 12, 2012 Tips and Tricks
I have had a lot of comments about the products we reviewed in the latest issue of The Polymer Arts magazine. Inka Gold by Viva Decor has been of particular interest. Since we didn’t have room in the issue to actually demonstrate some of the techniques, I thought I’d pause here and send you in the right direction should you want to explore the Inka Gold options.
Inka Gold works very much like Gilder’s paste, although it’s water based so there are some different considerations. We have Trish Hodgens of Poly Clay Play to thank for the overview in the magazine. You can get her tips and tricks for highlighting textures on her website here to start you off.
The best tutorial on the crackling possibilities is probably on EJR Beads‘ tutorial pages. Here Emma shows you how to create a nice dense crackle, such as you see in the earrings below.
There is also this video by Barbara at Joggles.com with great tips for applying Inka Gold to a variety of surfaces. She never actually brings up polymer, but the pieces she works on would behave just like baked polymer pieces, so the tips, such as watering down for transparency, burnishing details, and stamping, would all apply. Wendy Orlowski, of The Art of My Clay and CaBezels, also has some nice stamping ideas for Inka Gold on her blog here.
If you don’t have your stash of Inka Gold, go visit Trish at Poly Clay Play to get some play time supplies.
I’ve been wanting to do a hollow lentil bead with a peek-a-boo hole in it all week, but it’s a rather common design these days, at least as a base form. Some people are doing beautiful things with it, but I felt it ought to be really different and objects well recessed, so they look more hidden, and that was harder to find. Then I remembered these window-like hollow lentils Wendy Orlowski created a couple years ago.
Down below the lip of the open window in the one on the right, you can see what looks like a nest with an egg inside it. I wish I could get a closer look. But, this is what I’ve been talking about all week. You know something is there, and our natural curiosity pushes us to look closer to get a better look at it. We simply like the surprise of hidden things. This is a great addition to a piece in that there is definitely more than meets the eye when there is something sitting just inside, beyond our view.
Wendy mentions that she had planned to create a tutorial of this, although I couldn’t find one. If you are interested, you might want to give Wendy a shout through her Etsy shop or with the contact information on her blog. In case you didn’t know, Wendy is the designer who created CaBezels, which I highly recommend. They are a lifesaver for quick and easy bezels to show off your great surface treatments or faux stones. You can find them on her Etsy site as well through Shades of Clay.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Read MoreI have had a lot of comments about the products we reviewed in the latest issue of The Polymer Arts magazine. Inka Gold by Viva Decor has been of particular interest. Since we didn’t have room in the issue to actually demonstrate some of the techniques, I thought I’d pause here and send you in the right direction should you want to explore the Inka Gold options.
Inka Gold works very much like Gilder’s paste, although it’s water based so there are some different considerations. We have Trish Hodgens of Poly Clay Play to thank for the overview in the magazine. You can get her tips and tricks for highlighting textures on her website here to start you off.
The best tutorial on the crackling possibilities is probably on EJR Beads‘ tutorial pages. Here Emma shows you how to create a nice dense crackle, such as you see in the earrings below.
There is also this video by Barbara at Joggles.com with great tips for applying Inka Gold to a variety of surfaces. She never actually brings up polymer, but the pieces she works on would behave just like baked polymer pieces, so the tips, such as watering down for transparency, burnishing details, and stamping, would all apply. Wendy Orlowski, of The Art of My Clay and CaBezels, also has some nice stamping ideas for Inka Gold on her blog here.
If you don’t have your stash of Inka Gold, go visit Trish at Poly Clay Play to get some play time supplies.
Read More