Cleopatra's Bangle

Cleopatra's Bangle
Originally uploaded by HiGirls by Lisa Rapp

I've always been inspired by ancient Eqypt.  I still find and read everything I see about it in the National Geographic every month, so Lisa Rapp's wonderful Bangle just spoke to me.  She writes, "Inspired by the Cleopatra exhibit in Philadelphia. This is my entry in the PCAGOE August challenge. Made with polymer clay over a wooden base with gold leaf applied over all and partially removed to reveal the color underneath."  I love the effect - like an old inlaid piece of jewelry with the gilding worn off in spots with age.  Lisa's work is always clever and unique.  She uses bold colors and designs that make statements.  She also creates the most fantastic custom purses that she embellishes with her polymer art and beautiful colorful wine stoppers and salt & pepper shakers.  You can find Lisa's ETSY shop HERE or checkout and follow her on her Facebook Fan page.

Today is the last day to vote in the PCAGOE August challenge.  It's been wonderful and inspiring seeing everything that can be created using foil, leaf, paints and inks - the diversity seems endless.  I'd like to thank everyone that has voted this month and if you haven't voted yet, you can still vote HERE until midnight eastern time tonight!  5 lucky voters will be finding out soon that they've been chosen at random to receive wonderful gifts from out member prize pool!  And remember to mark your calendars for September 1st.  The next challenge will be image transfers - where you use one of the various techniques to transfer a printed image onto clay for art or jewelry.  It's bound to be a beautiful challenge!  

The last few months has been not only about setting up lines of products and experimenting with new caning ideas like kaleidoscope canes, but also about learning about beads and bead composition in general - something I think will forever be a work in progress from a learning standpoint.  I've worked out my own technique for small swirled lentils which I plan to write up a short tutorial for in the near future (I say hope because my schedule has gotten increasingly busy) and will share here.  I've also worked on making tube beads from my kaleidoscope and other canes - as seen in the picture at the left and covered large beads for wine stoppers and possibly chunky necklaces.  It's always a quandary - do I make a solid bead or cover a pre-baked form, do I tumble sand or hand sand, what shapes work best,  how to cane slices fit together on varied or tapered bead forms, do I use liquid kato to 'glue' slices to a form,...  so many questions, but the wonderful thing about art is you're always learning.  The brain is a muscle that needs exercise!  =)