tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91583562232578106802024-03-12T18:12:48.102-07:00Deb Hart Fine Art & Polymer DesignsThe work and musings of Polymer Clay and Fine Artist Deb Hart (formerly Deb Tuchsen).rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-5237219054594732002015-06-23T12:39:00.001-07:002015-06-23T12:39:22.814-07:00Summer Tie-Dye!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/18138015642" title="Rainbow Tie Dye Sunburst Cane by Deb Hart, on Flickr" style="margin-left: 1em; "><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7774/18138015642_28126f544b_z.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="Rainbow Tie Dye Sunburst Cane"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/18053304312" title="Tie Dye Pinwheel by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5451/18053304312_6f89266c67_z.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="Tie Dye Pinwheel"></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/17681079958" title="Magic Chevrons Cane by Deb Hart, on Flickr" style="margin-left: 1em; "><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8826/17681079958_bd67049b1b_z.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="Magic Chevrons Cane"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/17684526140" title="Jewel-tone Magic Chevron Cane with White Accents by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8781/17684526140_c51e6679f2_z.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="Jewel-tone Magic Chevron Cane with White Accents"></a></center></tr></table></div> In 2012 I created a few canes out of scraps left from a guild challenge. The first cane that I created was my magic swirl cane, which instantly became a big hit. I made a few other canes while experimenting and the tie-dye chevron cane was one. The cane I made initially was small, so I only had enough for a few cute projects. I'd always wanted to experiment more with it, though - and after a demo trip to Houston to show how to create my magic swirl cane, I had left over colored scraps, so decided to try round two. I was tickled at the response - it completely took me off guard and want to thank everyone for all their excitement and kindness.<br><br>
Admittedly, I was head over heads over my new cane as well, so off I went experimenting with different variations. And then I had to use them! Bangles, hearts, geckos, and I know I'll do a few more things down the line. I now have three new classes on CraftArtEdu with these fun new canes - a variety for folks to choose what they want to learn. The first is a class on how to make the three different cane variations. You can view the preview <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-tie-dye-canes">here</a>. The second is to make the tie-die chevron cane and use it to cover a bangle form. It's a simple, fun class that you can preview <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-tie-dye-chevron-bangle">here</a>. The third is making the tie-dye pinwheel cane and creating a fun gecko pin with the cane.
The preview is <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-tie-dye-gecko-pin">here</a>. There canes are great and can be used with techniques taught in my other classes, too - like the hollow hearts in my <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-lacy-floral-hearts">Lacy Floral Hearts</a> or <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-custom-inro-and-hollow-bead-forms">Inro and Hollow Heart Bead</a> classes, the necklace and earrings in my <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-dragonscale-gems">Dragonscale Gems</a> class, to makes some tie-dye teddy bears using my <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-jointed-floral-bear-pendant">Jointed Floral Bears</a> class, or as a background for my <a href="http://craftartedu.com/rock-and-roll-polymer-clay-inlay-with-deb-hart">Rock & Roll</a> Tin class.<br><br>
The cane and gecko classes are normally $20, but are on sale through midnight tonight for $15. The bangle class is regularly only $7, but is on sale for $5 - which is a great way to learn a fun new cane! As a bonus, you can get ALL THREE classes for only $25 using the code tiedye3 when you check out with all three in your cart! In addition, all my other classes are also 25% off! So now is a great time to get a wonderful variety of classes that you can mix and match the techniques and canes in to get a great variety of polymer clay options! <br><br>
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<table><center><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/236043413/rainbow-tie-dye-chevron-hollow-heart" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; "><img border="0" height="160" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vXx8aW2_S-U/VYHZXzSgZHI/AAAAAAAAAvM/YX4uOr5aymQ/s320/IMG_3826.JPG" width="160" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/235453031/sunset-chevron-bangle-tall" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XaVCeIMQ194/VYHZaV3VvdI/AAAAAAAAAvU/hmqiK3jd5JM/s320/IMG_4024.JPG" width="400" /></a></center></tr><tr><center>
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/236157698/rainbow-tie-dye-sunburst-hollow-heart" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V2VtNymgkko/VYHZg1RtlyI/AAAAAAAAAvk/7ZIqDdodqII/s320/IMG_4025.JPG" width="187" /></a>
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/236045661/springtime-tie-dye-pinwheel-bangle-tall" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uFhQOkPwwdI/VYHZgZsY0UI/AAAAAAAAAvc/O4oaRd__1Cg/s320/IMG_4042.JPG" width="197" /></a></center></tr></table></center>
</div>rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-66295256923894685772015-04-12T11:55:00.000-07:002015-04-12T14:11:02.829-07:00Giving a Hoot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/17111713672" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="A pair of owl themed artisan 'bra' pins by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="A pair of owl themed artisan 'bra' pins" height="400" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7612/17111713672_a9afdd8597.jpg" width="400" /></a>Life is odd sometimes. I generally like to get out my sketchbook, research pictures to figure out layout and colors - plan designs right now to the amount of clay I use. I experiment with scrap clay to figure out shapes and sizes and get my bearing on new techniques. But sometimes, art just grabs you. My new owl pieces came about like that.
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I was sitting at my workbench staring at all the ends and ends from the projects I just finished and starting to clear up the clutter to work on the next project. I picked up a few leftover canes from owl cane projects and while starting to put them away and wondering what the heck I'm going to do with these leftovers, I glanced down at my workbench and saw some teardrop shaped cabs I had made out of scrap clay while experimenting with different die-forming ideas. Well, the bulb went off and within an hour, I had a owl that I had little owl necklace that I had sculpted from leftover canes. I made a couple more - just because one hadn't really put a dent in my leftover pile, took and posted some pictures, and headed down to Houston to meet the wonderful folks in the guild down there. And they disappeared.... and I had requests for more.<br />
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While in Houston, they talked about different charity ongoing and one of them was the <em id="yui_3_17_2_1_1428811738353_1805" style="color: #5c5c5c; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.200000762939453px;"><strong id="yui_3_17_2_1_1428811738353_1854"><a href="http://brazarre.squarespace.com/artists/" target="_blank">Brazarre Houston 2015</a>. </strong></em>Well, owls were on my brain, so I though owls and bras - which is what you see pictured above. I'm donating them to their charity auction. The one with two owl faces is called, "A Nice Pair of Hooters" and the other - thank you, Cheryl Pope Roach - is called "Owl Support You". They are little pins about 3" wide with buna cord bra straps with my signature cane on the back. If you'd like to see more pictures of my pins, you can click on the large image above to go to my Flickr.<br />
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I miss blogging and my newsletter. The last year has been very, very busy trying to work full time while my classes and art were taking off in a way that sometimes brings me to tears. I've now dedicated myself to working my art full time and am putting out more new classes, workshops, and trying to find the time to ... well, just be around people. It's a good feeling, but still scary at time. I'll be starting up my newsletter again soon, but only temporarily as I work on a way to publish it so folks can subscribe to it and read it on their apps and kindle. And for those that like owls, I'm currently working on a new CraftArtEdu class that will be coming out the end of this month or the beginning of next. <br />
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Here is a few more pictures of my different owls. I've including links to my Etsy shop for any that are still available. <br />
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/229067235/small-orange-owl-sculpted-millefiori" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhNe-y9YCfs/VSq23ccPHiI/AAAAAAAAAtU/zMxAyKY8KHQ/s1600/IMG_2788.JPG" height="150" width="150" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/224163001/blue-owl-sculpted-millefiori" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-naZob-L06eU/VSq3RGM4S_I/AAAAAAAAAt0/IKX6lQg4ZxI/s1600/IMG_1871.JPG" height="150" width="150" /></a>
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<br /></div>rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-2893248588402969812014-12-11T21:25:00.002-08:002014-12-11T21:25:30.481-08:00Midnight Owl Inro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ok, it's FINALLY done. I''ve been working on this complex class for CraftArtEdu for several months now and it's loaded! The class is broken up into 3 sections. The first covers parts 1 and 2 of the class outline, including how to make a custom inro base and lay out custom cane designs. The second video section overs part 3 of the class outline, working through various foundation canes used to construct a complex owl cane and then assembling the owl cane. The last video section contains the last part of the class, where we make up the canes to construct out inro and then put them all together.<br />
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With an hour of content, the class covers many great new polymer skill building techniques for anyone who has a good working knowledge of polymer clay, including how to design form to build custom inros around, using pearl ex as a release agent, laying out cane designs, calculating the size canes and amounts of clay you'll need, layering & burnishing canes to make unique scenes, making handcrafted tassles, and how to put it all together. Watch a preview of this class <a href="http://craftartedu.com/polymer-clay/polymer-clay-whats-new/deb-hart-midnight-owl-inro" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </div>
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<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15507613176/" title="Midnight Owl Inro by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Midnight Owl Inro" height="451" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3956/15507613176_f0790971c5.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15531310945/" title="Midnight Owl Inro by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Midnight Owl Inro" height="232" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3956/15531310945_9c73a8c0a3.jpg" width="232" /></a></td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15532141742/" title="Midnight Owl Inro by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Midnight Owl Inro" height="232" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5606/15532141742_d2f5b7ebbe.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-2464462852751801552014-10-10T12:42:00.000-07:002014-10-15T08:03:08.451-07:00Dragonscale Gems<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15229909892/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Dragonscale Jewelry by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Dragonscale Jewelry" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/15229909892_e994ca88dc.jpg" width="400" /></a> FINALLY!!! Life is known for throwing you a few twists and turns in your plans, and I had hoped to have this class up a month ago. As the saying goes though, better late than never!<br />
Dragonscale Gems is my new class on <a href="http://craftartedu.com/" target="_blank">CraftArtEdu</a> and my first full class. I released two free classes un August. I'ven been working on this class since mid August along with another very detailed class that I hope to finish in the next few weeks. This class is a great class for anyone who has caught the polymer clay bug and wants to learn some simple, useful jewelry making techniques. It includes instructions on how to make a deep blue pearl dragonscale cane using Kato concentrates, how to make a beautiful pendant and earrings using simple templates. how to craft wire bails and earwires, and how to cover a scrap clay bangle form with your dragonscale cane to make a making bangle. You can customize the techniques learned in this class by changing the color of the dragonscale or even using different canes altogether using the jewelry templates. Use it to grow your skills and make some trendy jewelry at the same time. You can find the Dragonscale Gems class at the link <a href="http://craftartedu.com/polymer-clay/deb-hart-dragonscale-gems" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15229914042/" title="Dragonscale Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Dragonscale Pendant" height="214" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3889/15229914042_09771a5c59.jpg" width="250" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15043516899/" title="Dragonscale Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Dragonscale Pendant" height="250" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3903/15043516899_cba8629f85.jpg" width="234" /></a>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-16570184000218245092014-10-02T15:05:00.001-07:002014-10-02T15:05:43.524-07:00Catching the Moon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EinTPt2dnKQ/VCzKHao8PfI/AAAAAAAAAqM/cTRVgvRNIqs/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EinTPt2dnKQ/VCzKHao8PfI/AAAAAAAAAqM/cTRVgvRNIqs/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a> I've been working on a pretty big project lately that has me experimenting with several new ideas that I'm hoping will come together in a wonderful, miraculous way. One of those ideas is a Moon Cane. There are several design questions that need answering in making this cane. What color do I start with and will it look more realistic with the light being in the center or on the outside? I want this cane to be extremely easy to make so how to I make the concept of craters or shadows look realistic without making the cane piece by piece like I would a picture. What is the proper balance of light to gray in the shadows so they're visible but not focal? <br />
My first trial was a miserable failure! Though I like the colors of the piece and overall design, the moon didn't look anything like what I was picturing. I started with two skinner blends, one yellow and white and the other yellow, white and black with the black being darker toward the yellow end. I tried to shape where I cut out the shadows and obscure the edges with bits of my darker end of my skinner blend with the black, but the darker blend was too much of a contrast and the edges too distinct. You can see the results in the little piece to the right and the finished piece below.<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/15315218712/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Owl in Moon experiment by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl in Moon experiment" height="200" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3846/15315218712_82e2b7f065.jpg" width="200" /></a> My second attempt was a success, as you can see from my finished trial piece above. The cane doesn't make an exact duplicate of the moon, but gives a good artist likeness for my jewelry pieces. The following tutorial will be part of my upcoming CraftArtEdu class, "Midnight Owl Inro." It's a very detailed class made for those of you comfortable with caning and looking to advance your skills. It included instructions on how to make a custom inro form, how to make the owl that is pictured in the pieces on this blog post, how to make a moon cane and various other simple canes, and then how to put them all together in a very detailed, layered millefiori inro. <br />
Today though, I'm going to share with you the instructions for my simple moon cane.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE MOON CANE</span></b></h2>
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</td><td colspan="2">1) Roll out a 2 1/2" square sheet of white clay on the thickest setting of your pasta machine. Cut a 1/4" right triangle from the bottom edge as shown and replace it with yellow clay.</td></tr>
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2) Form your Skinner blend into a plug with the yellow in the center and the white toward the outside. Flatten the plug to 1/2" height.</div>
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</td><td colspan="2">3) Roll out a 2" square sheet of white clay and cut out a 3/16" right triangle and replace it with yellow clay. Lay two 1/16" black snakes across the blend to tint it toward the gray. Accordion fold your tinted Skinner blend into a block. </td></tr>
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4) Cut two 1/4" circles from your Skinner Plug in the upper left corner and one 3/16" circle in the lower right corner as shown. Make 3 short cuts from your upper two circles, one in the far right upper going to the right and two in the left going down.</div>
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</td><td colspan="2">5) Using a small rod, open the cuts and stretch your openings into a moon shadow shape.</td></tr>
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6) Chop up the circles you removed in step 4 and half the tinted Skinner block into a fine pile of mixed colors.</div>
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</td><td colspan="2">7) Pack your chopped up mix into your moon shadow openings.</td></tr>
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8) Reduced the cane and create! You'll notice in the picture that by using a chopped mixture you will get a random pattern to every slice on your cane, but it also gives soft edges and a hint of shadow and texture. This is a very small cane, but if you were to make a larger cane, the shadow and texture would be finer with more shadow definition.</div>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-80854281384993756672014-08-26T10:47:00.002-07:002014-08-26T10:47:55.924-07:00PUBLISHED! The Polymer Arts <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ok and now for change #4. I'm still pinching myself about this one. I've written an article for The Polymer Arts and it's going to be published in the upcoming edition. This has had me nervous and excited - and I'm still feeling like that awkward person who isn't quite sure what she's doing. It's a big step for me! Thank you for everything, Sage!!!<br />
The Article is called <i>Caning by Numbers: Complex Cane Design. </i>I go through my process of drawing and designing my canes, using graphing paper and math to help me calculate the amount of clay, size of the canes, and the dimensions of my cane for optimal size for reduction. It's probably more 'geeky' than most polymer articles, but I've found that a little of bit of planning helps me to plan and prepare. Plus it cuts down on those leftovers bits that you are always trying to find a use for. =) <br />
I have a class in the works on CraftArtEdu that goes into the process in more detail in order to make a fun, acorn shaped Inro with complex caned details. If you have any questions, please just ask. I think the best way for me to learn as a teacher is to know what my students are looking for. And thanks for all the patience and support!</div>
rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-78905868781177543012014-08-14T12:27:00.001-07:002014-08-14T12:27:43.582-07:00 Change #3 - New Homepage <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With all the exciting new changes going on, I've done a bit of rebranding. When I lived in San Antonio, I wanted a shop name and chose "Renaissance Gals of San Antonio" or "rengalsa" for short. This is still the name of my Etsy shop, but my blog and homepage will now go by Deb Hart Fine Art and Polymer Clay Designs. New color theme to this blog, that matches my new business cards, and coordinates with my NEW HOMEPAGE! Now, for those of you who have known me for awhile, I used to have a homepage that was hosted on apple's website hosting when they had iWeb, but with apple's current changes, they have retired the ability to host websites. I've been hunting for a new <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7hfi02kHgIw/U-rSrd8G-oI/AAAAAAAAAnk/227e_q68-oo/s1600/workshop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7hfi02kHgIw/U-rSrd8G-oI/AAAAAAAAAnk/227e_q68-oo/s1600/workshop2.jpg" height="640" width="297" /></a>venue for awhile that offers the ease and versatility that I wanted, but haven't really had the extra time to fine tune anything. Well, with all the changes, I've been forcing myself to put in some hours and I'm really liking the way it's coming together. I still have a long way to go until it's at the point where it flows like I would like it to, but that's going to take some time....and a few more glasses of wine. =)<br />
The photo above is a screen shot of the home page. From the links you can 1) Read more about me, what my history and accomplishments are, and where you can find my work. 2) View a Gallery of my work. Right now, this is a bit disorganized to me, but contains a lot of images. In the future, I want to simply break it into post 2009, and then highlights from each year after. 3) A shop for my signature pieces. Though I will have some pieces in this shop also listed in my Etsy, I am planning on working toward keeping my Etsy shop open for bead and cane sales only and showcasing my signature work on this site. 4) A link to my classes and tutorials, including CraftArtEdu, written tutorials for download on Etsy, and workshops. 5) A link back to this blog. 6) A forum for any questions on my items, tutorials, or just for fun. 7) A contact form. <br />
These is a lot of information here for those of you interested, but if anyone has any suggestions or improvements, please feel free to let me know. I'm kind of a one horse show right now, so I don't always think of everything because other little thoughts keep interfering (darn those voices in my head). And thank you in advance for giving it a look and for your interest!</div>
rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-45150687708126242372014-08-13T08:26:00.000-07:002014-08-13T08:26:42.251-07:00Change #2 - Museum of Modern Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.themodern.org/programs/Upcoming/Demonstration-and-Trunk-Show-with-Polymer-Clay-Artist-Deb-Hart/2666" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYwqPJMhDNQ/U-mXdBM9Y2I/AAAAAAAAAnI/-1ChZaUl9pk/s1600/Moma.jpg" height="330" width="400" /></a></div>
Ya, when I saw this for the first time - I just sat at my computer in awe for awhile. It's funny when you get so busy working so hard to just make a dent in the vision you see for yourself in your head, that you get surprised when you get to the point where that vision is no longer IN your head. (I really hope that makes sense. lol) So, to sum it up - I'm now selling my creations in the gift shop at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and did a wonderful demo and trunk show there on August 1. <br />
I have to do a full hearted thank you to Lorri and all the staff there for making me feel so wonderful and special. The patrons were amazing and so very interested in watching me create the cane that I was working on (future post - spoilers). I talked until I had no voice - which wasn't very hard because I was coming down with a bug that kept me in bed the whole weekend afterwards. I needed the rest though and sometimes being sick is the only way to force me to stop and get it. It's just all so exciting and I want to make the most of every second of this wonderful life I've been given.<br />
If you want to visit the <a href="http://www.themodern.org/" target="_blank">Modern Art Museum</a> website you can click on the image above or visit there gift shop at <a href="http://shop.themodern.org/">http://shop.themodern.org</a>. Their online selection is limited, but visiting the store in person is definitely worth while if you're visiting the Dallas/Fort Worth area.</div>
rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-69965192473166343402014-08-12T11:41:00.000-07:002014-08-12T11:41:52.598-07:00Soooo Busy... So many changes!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Where has Deb gone? I'm sure that all of y'all (been in Texas too long) have been asking yourself just that. It has been a crazy busy few months and when I haven't had my plate full of activities, I sit down to write something here and zzzzzz.... Well I guess I have to sleep sometime, but I really need to fill you in on all the wonderful changes in my life over the last few months. I'll fill you in in detail over the next few days, but the first wonderful thing is that I was invited to be an instructor on CraftArtEdu! I'm still in a state of disbelief about it. I've taught classes and run craft groups, but I think most of the time when I write here or write a tutorial, it's more creative therapy for me. <br />
So - deep, dark, secret time - though I can handle group situations now (force of habit), I'm at heart a very deep-seated introvert. And as such, I still suffer from the eternal question - am I welcome here, wanted, are people enjoying my company or am I just being a darn pest. (seriously, I think this every day). So, it was with more amazement than I think I could muster on my own that I accepted CraftArtEdu's invitation to become a instructor. Though I think I still am a darn pest on a lot of occasions. =)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-scrap-clay-bangle-forms" target="_blank">Scrap Clay Bangle Forms</a></td></tr>
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Now that I've got that confession out of my system, I'll also confess that it absolutely drives me crazy to record my voice and listen to it!!!! So be patient with me as I stutter along and I'll try not to ramble too much. <br />
Here are the two tutorials that I've already posted on CraftArtEdu. They're both free, so just click on the link or on the photo and ENJOY! Make sure to send me questions and any photos your have of your own work - I really truly enjoy both!!! <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-magic-swirls-cane" target="_blank">Magic Swirl Cane</a> - This was shared on my blog in 2012 and <a href="http://craftartedu.com/deb-hart-scrap-clay-bangle-forms" target="_blank">Scrap Clay Bangle Forms</a> was shared on this blog in December 2013. <br />
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-55794763270911866992014-07-19T07:08:00.000-07:002014-07-19T07:08:22.603-07:00The Trees<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14300778224/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Four Tree Canes by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Four Tree Canes" height="320" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5079/14300778224_6505971b2a.jpg" width="320" /></a> I've created 3 more trees to go along with my palm tree cane. They are a fun leafy tree, a time-worn branchy tree, and a pine tree. These fun canes were also part of a large custom order and have been a wonderful edition to my cane selection in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/rengalsa">ETSY</a> shop.
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I've had so many, many people ask me about how I made these. =) And really, they're not hard at all, so let me tell you - these will be some of my first tutorials on <a href="http://www.craftartedu.com/">CraftArtEdu</a>. I've been working on the details and learning the system and promise y'all that I'll let y'all know when they're done and live. (Just don't laugh at my voice - I'm still adjusting to hearing myself!) <br />
There are so many ideas running through my head that I can use these for - country scenes, woodland scenes, or forest scenes. They would be cute paired with caned houses or barns or with bears or moose for a Northwoods theme. Maybe even throw in a lake, boat and a fishing pole. =) ...but I'd have to keep that one. If you have ideas, I'd love to hear them! <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14301365415/" title="Pine Tree Cane - packed and reduced by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Pine Tree Cane - packed and reduced" height="200" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/14301365415_c0c0f9e660.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14114673639/" title="Branchy Tree Cane - packed and reduced by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Branchy Tree Cane - packed and reduced" height="247" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2917/14114673639_68ffce5a8e.jpg" width="420" /></a></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-91946897250989902062014-07-17T16:37:00.000-07:002014-07-17T16:37:43.338-07:00The Doors <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14114713950/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Four Door Canes by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Four Door Canes" height="320" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2930/14114713950_72e5ca30d8.jpg" width="320" /></a> It's been a rather busy few months here for me and it's looking like it won't slow down for awhile now. =) It's exciting though! First off, the next few days, I'll be catching up on new creations - lots of fun new canes from a custom order. The first set of canes I'm showcasing today will be all my door canes.<br />
There is lots to learn in making canes of doors and maybe the first how to minimize the natural distortion that comes from cane reduction in order to keep the lines straight. There are several ideas I've experimented with during this caning adventure. The deeper you make the cane when first creating it, the easier it is to reduce without the edges warping and pressing the edges against a flat table top to keep the ends from drawing in helps TONS. I'm also thinking in the future I may use a layer of scrap clay around the outside to help with reduction. All in all though, these are meant to be whimsical and they succeed. I did a bit of experimentation with the shading inside the door as well. The glass in the door with the window is a light skinner blend of white and silver. I'm looking forward to doing some experimenting with various house scenes and barn scenes and these will come in handy.<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14301345295/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Four Door Canes by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Four Door Canes" height="203" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3745/14301345295_90aebf066e.jpg" width="320" /></a> Now for all the news that is keeping me so busy. First off, I have been invited by the folks at <a href="http://www.craftartedu.com/">CraftArtEdu</a> to become an instructor. YEAH! I've been teaching art and craft classes privately and professionally and running craft groups for almost 20 years. Creating my own designs and sharing my learnings is one of my passions in life, so I think CraftArtEdu is a perfect fit for me. I look forward to bringing new projects to the polymer world and I'll be sure to let all of you know about all my new adventures. Secondly, I'm now selling my jewelry through the <a href="http://www.themodern.org/programs/Upcoming/Demonstration-and-Trunk-Show-with-Polymer-Clay-Artist-Deb-Hart/2666">Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth, Texas</a> and will be doing a trunk show and demo on August 1 at their monthly First Friday event. I'll be posting more about specifics of the demo in another post once I get my design all laid out. It's going to be a great evening. And there is a number 3 that was on my list, but that'll have to wait until later so I can give you all the details. =) Come August though, I'll need to catch up on my sleep. <br />
<center><table><tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14119873303/" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 0em;" title="Rustic Red Door Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Rustic Red Door Cane" height="154" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/14119873303_a64c131fc9.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14095003611/" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Rustic Black Door Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Rustic Black Door Cane" height="154" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7399/14095003611_2305932002.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14114635489/" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 0em;" title="Rustic Green Door Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Rustic Green Door Cane" height="214" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/14114635489_96388b3b0f.jpg" width="214" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14114681958/" title="Rustic Blue Door Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Rustic Blue Door Cane" height="214" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5538/14114681958_5416877fcc.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr></table></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-60712439391767192112014-05-21T20:14:00.000-07:002014-05-22T09:15:22.019-07:00Kokopelli Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14083955365" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Kokopelli Kachina Tile Bangle by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Kokopelli Kachina Tile Bangle" height="320" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2923/14083955365_fffe36b53f.jpg" width="320" /></a> The Kokopelli is just revered as the herald of spring. Native American legend says that his flute can be heard in the spring breezes, bringing an end to winter. As he talks to the wind and sky, the sun comes out, the snow melts, the grass grows, and the birds and animals gather to listen to his songs. He symbolizes fertility, happiness & joy, and is luck for hunters. When this traveling prankster and seducer visits a village playing his flute, everyone sings and dances the night away. When he leaves in the morning, the crops are bountiful and the women are pregnant.
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The Kokopelli has always been one of my favorite Native American images. As you can see below, I have used the image not only in polymer clay, but also in my other artwork. To me, he reminds me to celebrate life and all the joys it give you. <br />
<a href="http://www.imagekind.com/Gecko-Charmer_art?IMID=303c8740-c107-487f-966b-ddcc6f71f796" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lR7dBAsqdto/U31pGFr62iI/AAAAAAAAAlo/hQo0qXqcXzg/s1600/gecko+charmer.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a> In designing this little guy, I started - like my Clown Kachina - by attaching slices of my yellow and orange zigzag canes from my Sunface Kachina canes to a prebaked & sanded bracelet tile with the help of some Kato polypaste. I then also added the border and corner canes from my Southwestern Bear Claw bracelet tiles. While this background tile was caring, I cut out the face shape from scrap clay and covered it with a thin sheet of black clay. I added a strip of white down the center and textured the edges, and then added the nose. The eyes and eyebrow details were formed from thin extruded white clay and carefully shaped and attached. The color was formed from white and black balls cut in half and pressed together with the help of a touch of Kato polypaste and then textured on the edges. Once the background tile was cured and sanded, I pressed two feathers of different colors - one from each of my first two owl canes - to the top and then added the face, collar, and red ears to the tile with some Kato polypaste to secure the bonds. I placed an additional feather from my Sunface Kachina canes onto the forehead and white triangles to the ears as final touches.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14090245303/" title="Kokopelli Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Kokopelli Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2922/14090245303_452c4b5152.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14067000241/" title="Kokopelli Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Kokopelli Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/14067000241_f9c4954f8e.jpg" width="200" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883593297/" title="Kokopelli Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Kokopelli Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="400" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7393/13883593297_4a01d90f92.jpg" width="400" /></a></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-72585017956470654632014-05-21T09:03:00.001-07:002014-05-21T09:03:32.505-07:00Morning Singer Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13897389158" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Morning Singer Kachina Tile Bangle by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Morning Singer Kachina Tile Bangle" height="320" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/13897389158_e27c5798a4.jpg" width="320" /></a> The Morning Singer Kachina or Talavai wake the Hopi people by singing in pairs from the rooftops. During the day, they prompt the other kachinas and lead them in song. They have a small spruce tree in one hand and a bell in the other.
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This is another of my favorites! I love the colors and the dimension that I achieved from the design. I started by building up the feather headdress on my lined, cured and sanded 2" bracelet tile. I used feathers from my original Sunface Kachina, but in the future will design feather canes specific to each Kachina. I filled in the center of the headdress and cured it along with a short ring of red clay around a crochet hook for the nose/mouth. In the meantime, I cut out the head shape from a sheet of scrap clay and covered in with turquoise clay. I then added the black hair on top and textured it. The rest of the elements I wanted to add after curing the nose/mouth, so I proceeded to created the green color by placing thin layers of left over palm tree fronds around a tube of scrap clay. <br />
After the headdress base was cured and sanded, I attached the face and red ears to it with the help of some Kato polypaste. I carefully inserted the nose/mouth with a bit of Kato polypaste as well and then added the eyes, the white reversed step on the forehead, and the colored oval shapes on the cheeks. For final touches I lined the reversed step and ovals with a thin string of extruded black clay, added a white triangle to the ears, smaller feathers to the hair, and then attached the collar with the help of more Kato polypaste. Time for a final cure, sanding, buffing and tah dah!!!!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883572130/" title="Morning Singer Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Morning Singer Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7302/13883572130_97f98e557a.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14090223413/" title="Morning Singer Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Morning Singer Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14090223413_0e7a6db9bb.jpg" width="200" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883580468/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Morning Singer Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Morning Singer Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5482/13883580468_b4da6a4a92_m.jpg" width="400" /></a></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-59082858295114075082014-05-20T08:16:00.000-07:002014-05-20T08:16:42.420-07:00Owl Cane Take 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14009613813/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Blue/Gray Owl Cane - reduced by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Blue/Gray Owl Cane - reduced" height="320" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2903/14009613813_6951cd7ea4.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13961402901/" style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em;" title="Owl Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"></a> This is my second owl cane. I started with a different sketch and a different color scheme than the first. I was hoping for a more subtle black, blue and gray theme with a hint of cream, but the colors of my component canes when reduced down to the size I was using in my own were much bolder in color that I was hoping for. It's always a learning process though and eventually with enough practice I'll understand the amount of color I need in component canes for the look I'm after. So that is the first challenge I faced in putting together my second owl cane.<br />
The second challenge was the clays I was using. Most of the time for canes of this type, I like to look through my stock of leftover clays from other projects. I guess it's that practical farm girl that still resides in my soul. =) Most of the time it's a great use of my leftovers, but for this one I grabbed a bag of cream colored clay for the owl's face that was made from some clay that I was having issues with. It conditioned well, seemed to<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13962709535/" title="Owl Sketch #2 by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl Sketch #2" height="240" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5104/13962709535_4025942e3a.jpg" width="125" /></a></td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13961402901/" title="Owl Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl Cane" height="240" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5174/13961402901_e5779b2aea.jpg" width="146" /></a>
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have the right consistency, but would split rather than reduce. I didn't realize it was "that" clay until I started reducing the cane for the face and it started breaking into pieces rather than reducing. I really should have just thrown it into my scrap clay jar at that point because it gave me issues in reducing the whole cane. My frugal nature is the death of me sometimes. lol<br />
Challenge #3 was the size. I started out with a fairly small and shallow cane for this one, but have learned from the demand for my previous owl that a larger cane would be worth my time and easier to make and reduce. So in the future I will buy more clay and start with a larger, deeper cane that reduces with less tlc. <br />
Challenges aside, I'm learning and all these challenges are necessary if I want to learn more about how involved complex canes of this nature are. I've been working on a few dragon sketches, a griffon, and several southwestern animal motifs. It may be a few months before I get time to tackle these, but I am excited about the new challenges ahead.</div>
rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-11069459894421224062014-05-19T07:21:00.000-07:002014-05-19T07:21:03.230-07:00Butterfly Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14083926335/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Butterfly Kachina Tile Bangle by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly Kachina Tile Bangle" height="320" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5445/14083926335_f1dec7fabc.jpg" width="320" /></a> The Butterfly Kachina is a herald to spring and symbolizes fertility, rebirth, beauty, freedom and nature itself. Since the butterfly lands and pollinates flowers used by Medicine Men, she is also a symbol of healing.
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The headdress on the Butterfly Kachina is elaborate and left me scratching my head about the best way to design this. In Native American masks the Butterfly Kachina headdress is open, but there was no way to make an open design so I put the different design elements on a white background. The first thing I did was create the cane that you see pictured on the headdress. It is a step cane with a red center, yellow/orange and turquoise blue sides, and a long striped black and white border between the sections. It is slightly reduced on the inner headdress layer (and I'll probably make it even smaller in future masks) and stretched longer on the bottom edge. The outside edge and divisions are lined with black. The inner layer and bottom edge are raised up by one layer of clay (about 1/8") to give the design depth and then the face was layered on top. Finally I placed feathers from my Sunface Kachina and my Blue/Gray Owl Cane in between the layers. I completed this design before attaching to my tile based and curing, but in the future it would be easier to do this in multiple curing steps - sanding in between layers. <br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883578400/" title="Butterfly Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5317/13883578400_120eca4594.jpg" width="200" /></a></td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883579927/" title="Butterfly Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/13883579927_f74c2b5fd9.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14066992491/" title="Butterfly Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="400" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2904/14066992491_0a30d547c4.jpg" width="400" /></a></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-69092093568235197332014-05-14T06:29:00.000-07:002014-05-14T06:29:40.630-07:00Mudhead Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13363475453" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Mudhead Kachina Tile Bracelet by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Mudhead Kachina Tile Bracelet" height="279" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3829/13363475453_77301c66ae.jpg" width="320" /></a>
The Koyemsi, or Mudhead Kachina, is a clown who is seen in many Native American ceremonies. They are called "mudhead" because of the mud applied to their masks - in fact a dancer without a proper mask or late in arriving may easily become a Mudhead. Most of the time Mudheads accompany other kachinas, but you could see a lone Mudhead acting as a drummer for a dance. Mudhead Kachinas dance, play games with the audience, and may act as announcers for events. They often give food or clothing prizes for the races and guessing games they organize.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4571982134/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Kachina Canes by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Kachina Canes" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4059/4571982134_e09a27dcde.jpg" height="162" width="200" /></a>
This little guy presented quite a few trial and error challenges when creating him. First off I created a background tile using the canes from my Sunface Kachina and a black and white step cane as a border. It was cured and sanded along with little paddles that would be attached to the top and sides of the head and little tubes of clay baked around a crochet hook for the eyes and mouth. My first go at this I made the face more shallow, but it wasn't deep enough for the inserted eyes, mouth and paddles to hold. They distorted the head when inserted, so I build up the face to be rounder. I then added a red collar and a millefiori leaf to the forehead, did a final cure, and carefully sanded the complicated facial features. In the future I'll probably readjust the design to be flatter again for wearability, but this was an adorable beta version.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13040719555/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0em;" title="Mudhead Kachina by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Mudhead Kachina" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7305/13040719555_c4662c1e42.jpg" height="140" width="140" /></a></td><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13040711535/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0em;" title="Mudhead Kachina by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Mudhead Kachina" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3586/13040711535_422ce451dd.jpg" height="140" width="140" /></a></td><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13040702735/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0em;" title="Mudhead Kachina by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Mudhead Kachina" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2213/13040702735_49c40b26fe.jpg" height="140" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13040694355/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 0em;" title="Mudhead Kachina by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Mudhead Kachina" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3387/13040694355_38e76cd389.jpg" height="450" width="450" /></a><center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-83724208209748920392014-05-13T06:37:00.000-07:002014-05-13T06:37:00.779-07:00Sunface Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13897298889" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Sunface Kachina Tile Bangle by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina Tile Bangle" height="320" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2916/13897298889_1dd3f3d5a3.jpg" width="320" /></a> The Sunface or Sun Kachina is also known as Tawa. It represents the spirit of the sun and the sun's warmth, bringing hope for shelter for the old and a bright future with playfulness for the young. He often appears in the morning - like the Morning Singer Kachina.
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When I moved from Minnesota to Texas, there was so much I learned about Native American culture and how it's influenced decor in Southern homes. I learned even more living in Albuquerque, visiting the wonderful shops, and admiring the street wears there and in Santa Fe. There is something about Native American art that resonates in me - something we can all learn and something that leaves me wanting to understand more. They are treasures we need to share with the world and that make the world a better place. When I made my first Sunface Kachina, it was in spring 2009 as part of a guild challenge. I loved the idea of using polymer clay to bring out the design detail in these wonderful masks. The color, the patterns, and the overall concept all wrapped up in wonderful symbolism!<br />
I've included in my little pictorial mosaic below some of my earlier Kachina pieces. They've all found wonderful homes and I'm sure this little mask will be home soon, too!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14067029461/" title="Sunface Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="192" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5582/14067029461_e5d2265521.jpg" width="205" /></a>
</td><td colspan="2"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4585440142/" title="Sunface Kachina Tin by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina Tin" height="192" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4039/4585440142_02e157445c.jpg" width="265" /></a>
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<tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/5022728253/" title="Sunface Kachina Necklace by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina Necklace" height="300" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4112/5022728253_d8701e27d5.jpg" width="300" /></a>
</td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14070227535/" title="Sunface Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="170" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2900/14070227535_62502cb7f9.jpg" width="170" /></a>
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4556249216/" title="Sunface Kachina - detail by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina - detail" height="128" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3430/4556249216_230ffe03c9.jpg" width="170" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14067037821/" title="Sunface Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunface Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="470" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/14067037821_a035119b43.jpg" width="470" /></a></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-9704380855349077732014-05-09T07:49:00.000-07:002014-05-09T07:56:42.907-07:00Clown Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13897329600" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Clown Kachina Tile Bangle by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Clown Kachina Tile Bangle" height="320" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2896/13897329600_c1778a3eb7.jpg" width="320" /></a> Clown Kachinas are also known by the names Koshari, Koyala, Hano, or Tewa. They entertain during Kachina ceremonies by humorously exaggerating improper behavior to remind people of acceptable standards. They are loud, boisterous, play tricks, mimic spectators and act out absurd pantomines. They are shown with watermelons as symbols of gluttony and are often drummers for dances. It is the job of the Owl Kachina and different warrior Kachinas to keep these mischievous characters in check.<br />
In making masks on tiles that represent painted faces rather that actual masks, I had to figure out some design elements to make it work. All these little masks are trial versions while I work out design elements that need refining or replacing, but I think I like the way this guy laid out and the feel of the face on the millefiori background. I want the main focus of all these kachinas to be based on cane work, but this face is more suited to sculpture than caned elements, so I started with a tile background with various canes - the yellow and orange zigzag canes from my Sunface Kachina and the arrow and swirl border from my Southwestern Bear Claw Tiles. While my background tile was baking, I created a raised face that i covered in white clay. All the facial details and the "horns" were added to finish the face, which was then attached to the already baked and sanded background tile with the help of some Kato Poly Paste. A second baking and a thorough sanding and buffing resulted in the cute little guy shown below! <br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14047107246/" title="Clown Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Clown Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/14047107246_a72b03e7a1.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883611477/" title="Clown Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Clown Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/13883611477_c25da835fe.jpg" width="200" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883614869/" title="Clown Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Clown Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="400" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7366/13883614869_9834705b9e.jpg" width="400" /></a></center>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-49991862890405339932014-05-08T04:26:00.000-07:002014-05-08T04:26:05.868-07:00Byron Nelson Bobcats<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13650883853" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Bobcat Cane by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Bobcat Cane" height="320" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/13650883853_543d822cd0.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<span style="text-align: left;"> I've been wanting to create this cane since I moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but there has always been something that has interfered with my time and creativity. I had to struggle a bit with the clays I was using - though I leached them, they were still very soft and it made it hard to get crisp lines. But reducing it down to the size I was using made the imperfections unnoticeable. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"> I made this Bobcat school design on a white background and a coordinating paw cane that was white on a black background. For these initial pieces, I used a southwestern motif using the school colors of royal blue, black and white. I made several bangles, earrings, and pendants in this design, but will be experimenting and adding other designs in the future.</span> </div>
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</td><td><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/185272875/byron-nelson-bobcats-shield-pendant" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pIYtUu0AVL0/U0Fbjm5ZPeI/AAAAAAAAAko/uXMAjjsipDA/s320/IMG_0775.JPG" height="205" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/185243732/byron-nelson-bobcats-shield-earrings" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VL7Sj0897e0/U0Fbv2KhXwI/AAAAAAAAAkw/IHHS2nsLv7s/s320/IMG_0768.JPG" height="367" width="425" /></a>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-87165810766069876532014-05-07T06:52:00.000-07:002014-05-07T06:52:15.686-07:00Owl Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14084384254/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Owl Kachina Tile Bangle by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl Kachina Tile Bangle" height="320" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/14084384254_97cda75023.jpg" width="320" /></a> The Great Horned Owl or Owl Kachina is also known as Mongwu. This great spirit is considered beneficial to agriculture because it hunts rodents. During ceremonies, the Owl Kachina is a symbol of intelligence and wisdom - keeping the Clown Kachina in line with the help of the different Warrior Kachinas.
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In making my Owl Kachina you may see several canes that I've used in the past for other projects. The canes for the facial feathers, the side feathers, and the eyes are from my original red/brown owl cane. The feathers on the top of the head and for the collar are from my original Sunface Kachina. <br />
This little owl looks wonderful along side my Southwestern Bear Claw tiles laid out as a bracelet! I'm so looking forward to experimenting more with this design in some chunky necklaces with tapering tiles in various southwestern themes. I sometimes wish there were more hours in the day for all the ideas floating around in my head that need out!<br />
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</td><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13883603650/" title="Owl Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="173" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5465/13883603650_e2abd77e09.jpg" width="173" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/14067045602/" title="Owl Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl Kachina Mask/Bracelet tile/Pendant" height="385" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/14067045602_73e8448297.jpg" width="385" /></a>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-37324112501483944132014-05-06T04:41:00.001-07:002014-05-06T04:41:52.889-07:00New Shapes and Wirework<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qOSC_tBxSkM/Uz1K8uBe4WI/AAAAAAAAAik/bqZWCTqXb9U/s1600/IMG_0694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qOSC_tBxSkM/Uz1K8uBe4WI/AAAAAAAAAik/bqZWCTqXb9U/s1600/IMG_0694.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Lately I've been attempting to expand my knowledge and skill to include different styles and custom features. There are so many wonderful polymer artists to learn from out there, but I always want to put my own personal spin on everything I do and I hope these pieces reflect just that. I will continue to experiment with shapes and design features - adding my own twist and my own love for complex canes. I do have to laugh because so often an idea I find floating around in my head I find has already been thought of or something I consider unique has already been tried by another. Even so, I will continue to try to make my special dent in the polymer clay world.</span><br />
These pieces aren't as complex as they may seem. They were all hand cut, though I will probably develop some templates of my own soon, since I like the shapes and want to make them more consistent.
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12331676013" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Owl Parts Stroppel Cane by Deb Hart, on Flickr"><img alt="Owl Parts Stroppel Cane" height="124" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5472/12331676013_6046bc3ede_c.jpg" width="320" /></a><span mce_style="font-size: 10pt;" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> For these pieces, I started out with a veneer from one of my lovely Stroppel Canes. I cut off slices, ran them through my pasta machine at a #5 (medium small) setting to get a constant depth, laid them out next to each other, burnished the seams, added a few cane slices, and then cut out my shapes. I used triangular 'shield' shapes for these because I wanted them to taper to a point, but any shape will do. I plan on experimenting with other shapes as well. I placed my shapes vertically a glass bottle that was about the diameter of a soda can. (Actually a soda can would work well here also - as long as your shapes aren't longer than the can.) I cured the clay on the bottle which gave me a wonderful dome shape. The back of the piece was then filled with scrap clay, trimmed flat, and then wrapped in a sheet of black clay with my new signature cane. Before curing, I inserted findings to hang the pendants or earrings that I had hand formed using a simple template I made with nails and wood. One more curing, an ice bath, lots of sanding and buffing and VOILA! </span><br />
I will be adding some 'frames' to some future pieces and experimenting with using this technique with caned veneers and kaleidoscopes.<br />
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<td><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/183354802/woodland-shield-earrings-large" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJJO1d4hmbg/Uz1L6FSHyEI/AAAAAAAAAi4/PbNJQ9pDZZc/s1600/IMG_0699.jpg" height="112" width="103" /></a></td>
<td rowspan="2"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/183356198/flannel-and-flowers-shield-pendant" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RxtYG5cLLtc/Uz1MC9iL9cI/AAAAAAAAAjE/rSX4nNVrrew/s1600/IMG_0720.JPG" height="350" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-12881684212283386722014-04-04T05:18:00.000-07:002014-04-04T06:08:47.561-07:00My Signature Cane<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12841243073/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: .5em; margin-left: .5em;" title="New Signature Cane by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="New Signature Cane" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/12841243073_6acde8d146.jpg" height="300" width="270" /></a> I've been wanting to do a signature cane for some time now, but (silly me) it seems like such an important statement. Maybe I think too much about these kind of things, but I wanted it to not only represent my name, but also be a symbol of my work so that it's recognized on multiple levels. At the same time I didn't want it to be so complex that the detail would get muddied in the tiny slice I'd use to mark my designs. So after way too much thought I came up with this design.<br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Iuqk5okOYK5w53gC7RNNPkR40cyKPzHv3w4WLj7OUAGQHgJ85eMAzfch8f0cL9ca391L0Ap9F3dmPiTSekLiHTPCyfVzY5VJzl_fUJXyA0U" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: .5em; margin-right: .5em;"><img alt="Rainbow Swirl" border="0" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6806923040_fe8ae9baa1.jpg" height="150" width="150" /></a> So - first off I wanted it to represent my name, Deb Hart, thus I took my first initial and my last name and came up with a heart pattern inside a letter D. I used my magic swirl cane as the basis for my heart, since it's become so popular. If you haven't seen my tutorial for the cane you can find it in <a href="http://rengalsa.blogspot.com/2012/07/making-magic-swirl-cane.html">my blog</a> or in <a href="http://ymlp.com/zKLThT">my newsletter</a>. I've made some wonderful creation with this cane and you can see an assortment below. The black D was then built around the heart. I went with the black D and white background to separate the many colors of the magic swirl from any color in the design I'm placing the signature cane on - to minimize any color conflicts. And that's about it. This one should last me a long, long time and then I'll have to go through the whole thinking process again. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Su5cPTJNXRQ/Uz477-SFTPI/AAAAAAAAAjU/byxeezuCBdY/s1600/IMG_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Su5cPTJNXRQ/Uz477-SFTPI/AAAAAAAAAjU/byxeezuCBdY/s200/IMG_0206.JPG" height="230" width="230" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HYbYn7ecEbw/Uz487KDjA3I/AAAAAAAAAjo/xtzq2eKElx0/s1600/DSCN2196.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HYbYn7ecEbw/Uz487KDjA3I/AAAAAAAAAjo/xtzq2eKElx0/s200/DSCN2196.JPG" height="230" width="230" /></a></center>
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<tr><td colspan="2" rowspan="2"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/159259411/starry-night-fishing-lurependant" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yMpSv_jmMYA/Uz5GJwkpzmI/AAAAAAAAAkY/Ug1A9skcJLo/s1600/IMG_0155.JPG" height="270" width="310" /></a></td><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sT4mg7mbDIY/Uz48zosnzLI/AAAAAAAAAjg/GGTnL7h20uM/s1600/DSCN2371.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sT4mg7mbDIY/Uz48zosnzLI/AAAAAAAAAjg/GGTnL7h20uM/s200/DSCN2371.JPG" height="130" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td align="right"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s2Ot0Zw0RIk/Uz49AkkvxaI/AAAAAAAAAj4/W1lEVLl3Rt0/s1600/DSCN2681.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s2Ot0Zw0RIk/Uz49AkkvxaI/AAAAAAAAAj4/W1lEVLl3Rt0/s200/DSCN2681.JPG" height="96" width="130" /></a></td><td align="right" colspan="2" rowspan="2"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RK92LnW4-QY/Uz48_M0WQqI/AAAAAAAAAjw/4fim5co3_MQ/s1600/DSCN2183.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RK92LnW4-QY/Uz48_M0WQqI/AAAAAAAAAjw/4fim5co3_MQ/s200/DSCN2183.JPG" height="260" width="310" /></a>
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<tr><td align="right"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/107882328/magic-swirl-earrings" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zJDXmrVRGD8/Uz49HsDVr0I/AAAAAAAAAkI/jQuNurO06c8/s200/DSCN2847.JPG" height="139" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/162776192/magic-swirls-cross-pendant"><img alt="Magic Swirls Cross" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/9761000621_d560a02a33.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/7759659878/" style="margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0em;" title="Magic Swirls Chunky Bangle by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Magic Swirls Chunky Bangle" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7759659878_4d3c6e3cc9.jpg" height="180" width="217" /></a></center>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13363518753/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: .5em;" title="Blue Corn Maiden Tile Bracelet by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7244/13363518753_88ef01232f_m.jpg" width="350" height="350" alt="Blue Corn Maiden Tile Bracelet"></a>
The third Kachina that I created for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1495789990646506/">Sarajane Helm's Mask Swap</a> is the Blue Corn Maiden. The Blue Corn Maiden reminds us to be thankful. She honors Mother Earth and her continuing ability to feed her children and is a prayer for corn. When you place a Blue Corn Maiden in your home or wear this on a bracelet or necklace, you show thanks for the many gifts we receive each day from Mother Earth and this wonderful world we live on. She reminds us to be thankful and reminds me how thankful I've been for all my artist gifts as well. <br />
Here is a Hopi Legend I found about the Blue Corn Maiden on <a href="http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Blue_Corn_Maiden_And_The_Coming_Of_Winter-Hopi.html">http://www.firstpeople.us</a>.<br />
Blue Corn Maiden was the prettiest of the corn maiden sisters. The Pueblo People loved her very much, and loved the delicious blue corn that she gave them all year long. Not only was Blue Corn Maiden beautiful, but she had a kind and gentle spirit. She brought peace and happiness to the
People of the Pueblos.<br />
One cold winter day, Blue Corn Maiden went out to gather firewood. This was something she would not normally do. While she was out of her adobe house, she saw Winter Katsina. Winter Katsina is the spirit who brings the winter to the Earth. He wore his blue and white mask and blew cold wind with his breath. But when Winter Katsina saw Blue Corn Maiden, he loved her at once.<br />
He invited her to come to his, and she had to go with him. Inside his house, he blocked the windows with ice and the doorway with snow and made Blue Corn Maiden his prisoner. Although Winter Katsina was very kind to Blue Corn Maiden and loved her very much, she was sad living with him. She wanted to go back to her own house and make the blue corn grow for the People of the Pueblos.<br />
Winter Katsina went out one day to do his duties, and blow cold wind upon the Earth and scatter snow over the mesas and valleys. While he was gone, Blue Corn Maiden pushed the snow away from the doorway, and went out of the house to look for the plants and foods she loved to find in the
summer. Under all the ice and snow, all she found was four blades of yucca. She took the yucca back to Winter Katsina's house and started a fire. Winter Katsina would not allow her to start a fire when he was in the house.<br />
When the fire was started, the snow in the doorway fell away and in walked Summer Katsina. Summer Katsina carried in one hand fresh corn and in the other many blades of yucca. He came toward his friend Blue Corn Maiden.<br />
Just then, Winter Katsina stormed through the doorway followed by a roar of winter wind. Winter Katsina carried an icicle in his right hand, which he held like a flint knife, and a ball of ice in his left hand, which he wielded like a hand-axe. It looked like Winter Katsina intended to fight with Summer Katsina.<br />
As Winter Katsina blew a blast of cold air, Summer Katsina blew a warm breeze. When Winter Katsina raised his icicle-knife, Summer Katsina raised his bundle of yucca leaves, and they caught fire. The fire melted the icicle. Winter Katsina saw that he needed to make peace with Summer Katsina, not war. The two sat and talked. They agreed that Blue Corn Maiden would live among the People of the Pueblos and give them her blue corn for half of the year, in the time of Summer Katsina. The other half of the year, Blue Corn Maiden would live with Winter Katsina and the People would have no corn.<br />
Blue Corn Maiden went away with Summer Katsina, and he was kind to her. She became the sign of springtime, eagerly awaited by the People. Sometimes, when spring has come already, Winter Katsina will blow cold wind suddenly, or scatter snow when it is not the snow time. He does this
just to show how displeased he is to have to give up Blue Corn Maiden for half of the year.
<center><table><tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13135558504/" title="Corn Maiden Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Corn Maiden Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2769/13135558504_df7ed52d78.jpg" height="165" width="165" /></a></td><td>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13135385773/" title="Corn Maiden Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Corn Maiden Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2162/13135385773_6e5f474bb7.jpg" height="165" width="165" /></a>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13135323233/" title="Corn Maiden Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Corn Maiden Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/13135323233_206912e008.jpg" height="350" width="350" /></a>
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</div>rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-76116089513672491522014-03-20T04:41:00.001-07:002014-03-20T04:41:23.974-07:00Eagle Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13135333643/" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: .5em;" title="Eagle Kachina Tile Bracelet by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Eagle Kachina Tile Bracelet" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7430/13135333643_53677e78c1.jpg" height="350" width="350" /></a> Kwahu, the Eagle Kachina, represents strength and power. He is the ruler of the sky and can carry messages to heaven. Kwahu is the overseer of all Kachinas, an honored guest who is given many presents. In the picture to the right my kachina is a part of a sectional bracelet with 3 coordinating southwestern bracelet tiles.
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This is the second of my 10 mask tiles that I am in the process of creating for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1495789990646506/">Sarajane Helm's Mask Swap</a>. All the little tiles have two holes in the side as pictured below and can be used for bracelets or necklaces. I will be creating other tiles to coordinate with the Kachinas and beads. This little guy has feathers left from both <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12311119243/">my owl cane</a> and my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13040761475/" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: .5em;" title="Eagle Kachina by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Eagle Kachina" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2501/13040761475_160e29e600_m.jpg" height="150" width="150" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4571982134/">Sunface kachina cane</a>, along with a 'pine' accent around his neck made from left over <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/9987778516/">palm fronds</a> from my palm tree cane. The tiles that the bracelet is shown with are a new addition - a Southwestern Bear Paw cane that I made reusing an old Bear Claw cane that I will discuss in a later blog.
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I always find it interesting how, when I start a new project it always opens up other possibilities and - in pushing myself - my experience and skills grow. When I started working with polymer clay about 15 years ago it was just for fun. I saw some cute items in a catalog and thought it would be a fun thing to try and jumped right in and made a very ugly face cane. Of course I was only using Sculpey III so it was terribly squishy. I learned, practiced, and got a bit better - tried making a few fairies from <a href="http://www.weefolk.com/maureen/">Maureen Carlson</a> books, and taught a few polymer classes at Michaels before they changed their classroom format. And then put it away for most of about 10 years until 2009 when situations made me look for a alternate form of income. Long story and hopefully one with a happy ending. Maybe this little guy can take my polymer dreams to heaven as well.
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<td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/13135355403/" title="Eagle Kachina Tile Bracelet by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Eagle Kachina Tile Bracelet" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3711/13135355403_86bd38171d_m.jpg" height="185
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158356223257810680.post-25052682582340527622014-03-06T06:34:00.000-08:002014-03-06T06:34:31.492-08:00Crow Mother Kachina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As much as most of you see my new Kachinas as a "new" idea, it's actually an old idea. I may have grown up in Minnesota, but my very first visit to San Antonio in college left me with a immense love and appreciation for Native American art. <br />
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When I first started working with clay, creating my own canes and creations expressing that love was one of my first thoughts. I have several canes with fetish bears and bear claws and a wonderful design that I made on a Sunface Kachina that I made years ago and I'll be talking about those pieces and revisiting those ideas in later posts as I further explore this path I'm on, but feel free to follow these links to see my past endeavors: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4106120079/">Bear Claw Green</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4744441896/">Bear Claw Maroon</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4106114217/">Fetish Bear Green</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/5023340620/">Sunface Kachina necklace</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4585440408/">Sunface Kachina Art Tin</a>. In some ways its hard for me to look back at those images from 5-6 years ago since I've grown so much as an artist with the help of the wonderful polymer community. I still have a lot of those canes and it's going to be fun to reuse them with the new ideas running through my head. =)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12846170633/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: .5em;" title="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" height="260" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3784/12846170633_9d5be1a141.jpg" width="320" /></a>
The first of my new little creations comes as a result of being invited to participate in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1495789990646506/">Sarajane Helm's Mask Swap</a>. This is the first year I've been invited and the first year I'm participating, so I'm very excited and honored. I'm only doing one group of ten because I wanted to make sure I have the time to put the quality into each that I want. I decided to revisit my vision from 5 years ago and make my masks little Kachina faces. Crow Mother is the first mask that I've finished. <br />
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Crow Mother - also known as <span style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">Angwusnasomtaka - is a Hopi Kachina. She is a figure of great dignity, who is known to lead the initiation of the children. In creating mine, I started with a square base with two holes through it. I lined the sides of the base with feathers left from my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12311119243/">Owl Cane</a> and the top of the head also has feathers, but these are from my original <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/4571982134/">Sunface Kachina</a>. She has a red and black striped head wrapping and the base has forestry 'pine' look using left over palm fronds from my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/9987778516/">palm tree</a> cane. </span><span style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">Isn't recycling old canes great!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"> I backed this little mask with black and added a little slice of my new <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12841243073/">signature cane</a>. As you can see from the photos below - there are holes that go through the top and bottom of each piece. I'll be making other masks and tiles on the same base so that you can string them together as a very fun chunky bracelet or just use the top hole to string the piece as a necklace. I can't wait to see how everything looks together when I get the coordinating bracelet tiles and other kachinas finished! This little guy is my "beta" - eventually I'll be making a numbered set to sell in my shop along with some finished pieces. I got a lot of work ahead of me!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12846526854/" title="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7459/12846526854_6ab110e3a8.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12846053425/" style="margin-left: .5em;" title="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" height="200" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3831/12846053425_ab6ee46780.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rengalsa/12846125025/" title="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant by RenGalSA, on Flickr"><img alt="Crow Mother Kachina Mask/Tile/Pendant" height="375" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3737/12846125025_551d9eda38.jpg" width="375" /></a><table><tbody>
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rengalsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13572036057227172787noreply@blogger.com0