Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

I'm one of those people fascinated by the textures, shapes and patterns of  bugs...  dead bugs - not live crawling bugs!  When I found stylized bug stamps in a glitter store in Cottonwood AZ, I ordered them all in small sizes.  http://www.artglitter.com/   I could use the stamps as a starting point for the silver bug series I've been creating in my head. My first bug is done.  It has 2 orange CZ's in the antennae and a larger orange colored CZ in the center for some bling!  I dried the stamped clay on a round form with a flat piece for the back.  There is shape, texture and dimension in the silver. Bug #1 My second bug is at the firing stage.  I stacked layers of silver clay for the wings on the back to give this one dimension and interest.  There is an aqua CZ in it's head and I can't wait to see it come out of the kiln. Starting to cut the layers for bug #2 Back of Bug #2   Bug #2  not fired.   I think this series will be my spring colle

The Dragonfly Story The Butterfly Story  Looking through my stash of older Hadar’s clay, I settled on Quick Fire Steel XT.  Why I have 3 bottles is still a question in my mind and now my goal is to use it!  First I started with oval links.  My idea is to make these links as my test pieces and use them in a mixed base metal chain when I get enough.  That should make another good story!  Steel Links Next I decided to make a steel frame to house a moving event.  That will be another post as soon as I decide on the subject of that story!  And you will have to wait to see it. Rocks!  I found my box of special smooth rocks the correct size to use as forms for hollow beads.  Of course I had to make a pendant with a center hole.  Following the directions in one of Hadar’s books and remembering what I had learned in one of her classes, the basic form came out great.  I decided to hang a pearl (I think) in the center and made the hole for the wire.  It looked good but not th

                When I took the original picture of the white seed pod, I had no idea it would be the beginning of a series.  First there was the challenge of making a translucent polymer seed pod, then came the seed pod jewelry.  Now the seed pod made of sterling silver metal clay.   I think this is the last of the series.  It was fun to take the idea from photo to translucent to solid forms.   I've  learned a lot about forming and joining shapes in different mediums and about patience and experimenting!  So here is the  procession  of the 2013 Seed Pod!

One sunny fall day while walking by Willow Lake I took some photos of lovely translucent white seed pods.  They were worn by the wind but still standing.  Their shapes were ragged and lantern like.  They hung from straight white dried stems and I just had to see if I could recreate them in translucent polymer clay.  I've been thinking about how to do that for a few weeks and decided it was time to jump in and experiment.  I thought I’d share some of the steps I took. First I bought my 3 packages of Pardo Translucent Clay at Hobby Lobby (all they had).  I had not worked with Pardo before and I love it!  Not sticky like some of the other brands of translucent.  I’m hooked! After making the lantern pattern, I found a great texture plate to give a cell like organic texture to the clay.  The clay was rolled to #6 on my Atlas machine because I really wanted the translucent quality. The first time I did not use wire and I like the look but it was not strong enough.