Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

When I went to Africa among the many animals I fell in love with was the Barbet - a most unusual patterned bird.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-and-yellow_barbet   There are several kinds of Barbets. This is my take on the Barbet, a wearer of many patterns and colors, blue legs and feet and attention seeking. Making the Bird That Flew Out of the Pillow (see previous post), I just had to make another bird.  This time I took some photos of the process to share with you. Materials: steel wire, pliers, wire cutters, Ultra-lite clay, aluminum foil, polymer clay (solid colors and old canes) Taking the steel wire and forming the bird head, body, legs and feet was the most difficult part of the process.  Figuring out the scale, the type of bird shape, how to attach the legs and form the feet definitely took the most time.  It was also the most essential part. Starting the wire form The next step was filling the body with foil and using 28 g wire to secure ...

The Bird Flew Out of the Pillow  Sometimes an idea needs time to foment or stir up the creative mind to action.  This is one of those times!     I have a friend/client who is on the tail end of finishing the decorating of her home.  She is using a wonderful fabric with woven character birds on her kitchen chairs.  We fell in love with the birds and she sent me (she lives in another town) enough fabric to make myself a pillow.  The more I looked at that fabric the more I wanted to create a bird for her table.   This is the product and I'm waiting for my friend to name her new table accessory!   It took awhile to plan an attack.  I used steel wire, wire cutters, pliers, aluminum foil, Ultra lite Clay, and polymer clay.  In my next post, I will go into much greater detail of the process.  I've made another bird and took pictures along the way. I'm sure this bird will have quite a story  when she arrives to her ...

Series of Four - Texture, Color and Nature  It's always fun to start a new project.  This time I wanted to explore nature with techniques using texture and color highlighting sea creatures.  The sea fascinates me with all the large and small shapes of animals, with animals that look like flowers and plants, with seashells that were homes and so much more.   Selecting which creatures I use in this study took some research, planning and experimenting. There is so much in nature we are not aware.  For instance -Sea Slugs and the variety of shapes and colors they come in.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_slug   Nor was I aware of the Ribbon eel - such a graceful unusual creature.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon_eel I began collecting pictures of the creatures that were appealing to me and that might support each other in a texture series.   Before the actual work could begin, the decision of how and what to use for m...

  Ever wonder what you could do with those extra parts and pieces you have in containers?  I happened to pick up a polymer start to a bead and decided to do something else with it.  I may never know why it reminded me of tropical fish but it did.  This was my opportunity to experiment, create and learn.   These are polymer shells I learned to make in Dan Cormier's class and as it happens I got carried away and made several I did not use.  They make great fish bodies!   Next a little research -  I wanted my fish to be somewhat accurate (yes with lots of poetic license!)   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_fish Then I started going through some of my old polymer canes and making some new colors and textures and the fun began!  Just coat the baked shells with liquid polymer and start applying textures and colors.  Once the fish were finished.....ok it was so much fun I may have to make more!...I needed seagrass to a...

A challenge!  That's what I need to take me away from the world's overwhelming daily concerns.  So I wondered how big of a polymer clay bowl I could make.  What could I use for a form?  What technique would I use?  How much clay would it take and what would fit in my oven?  You've seen my 'Small Bowls for Little Things' on my Facebook Page ( https://www.facebook.com/LindaBrittDesign/ )  and in my Etsy shop ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/LindasButtonsBowls ).  If not, please take a look!  Those same questions were ones I had to answer when I started making the small bowls except in the other extreme.  How small could I make a bowl and it still be useful, what form to use and what technique?   One of my favorite bowls is a handmade Mexican pottery bowl with a scalloped edge.  It just fits in my little oven if I take the rack out.  I can use some of my large 3" cane slices that were left over from a Christmas ornament proje...

A collection of polymer jewelry 'Carnival' This week I made a presentation to members of Mountain Artists Guild here in Prescott AZ of some of the things I've made from polymer clay.  The purpose was to expend the members knowledge a about the many possibilities of this wonderful medium.  I wanted to share my slides with you hoping to also expand and inspire you! Collaboration in Wood, Decorated Eggs So many uses of polymer.  So many ways to create!

   My last post told how a mixed media wall piece combined wood, metal clay, feathers and ribbons to produce a story.   I introduced the 'Gastornis' - an extinct flightless primitive bird.  This week I'm sharing the 2 pendants I made at the same time I made the 'Gastornis' wall decor.   This post is about telling a story with jewelry and shows how color can add to the message. The pendant on the left above combines warm brass beads, meaningful red prayer beads and a handmade bronze wire clasp.  Does it made you feel excited?  The pendant on the right combines Hubei turquoise with silver and bronze.  The greenish color along with the silver cools the bronze.  Maybe this pendant makes you feel calmer?   Each of us bring our own color experiences with us.  I find it helpful to understand what we like and why.  That makes selections more meaningful and enjoyable.   Let's look at the pendant on the left and...

                                                                                   New Direction Cleaning up my art studio always produces new directions in my projects.  As I reorganize and open drawers that have been closed for a while, I find tools I've forgotten.   Metal Creator This cleaning session uncovered The Metal Creator I purchased in a crowd funding several years ago.  It was invented by Bill Struve and consists of a foot pedal, a CO2 canister, two tubes and a regulator.  The purpose of this tool is to save hand stress as the CO2 pushes the metal clay paste through a syringe.  If I were using a typical syringe, my hand would push the plunger as the clay is extruded.  That gets pretty tiring after a while.   When I first pur...