Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Last Friday I shared my first buttons in polymer clay.   This week I’m sharing my first bird cane in polymer clay. For those of you who do not know what a ‘cane’ is in polymer clay, it is a long roll of clay that has other colors and patterns in it.   When you make slices from the end, the same pattern appears with each cut.   Look at last Friday’s post for better pictures. I decided to make a bird we have locally, the Black-headed Grosbeak who lives in our pine-oak forests.     I had those colors of clay and I like him.   He has a short stout beak for seed cracking and is butterscotch and black with some white.   I traced a picture of the bird, made a copy to put under my glass workspace and found my clay colors – butterscotch, black, white and tan.   The limb is copper and gray.   The body was first, then the head and last the wings.   I put green around and all this sounds so much easier than it was and took longer too! ...

A friend of mine is looking for a new job.   I imagine all of us have friends or maybe ourselves looking for jobs.   After having coffee with her, I thought about the many times I started over due to a store closing or downsizing or moving.   I was reminded of my photos of windows and doors.   Windows have so many shapes and sizes and so many things on the other side.   They remind me of opportunities, dreams, and stories.   I can always make up stories about what I could do or what someone else has done or should do.   For me windows are the possibilities.   Doors on the other hand require action.   Do I want to go through that one?   Am I prepared for what is on the other side?   Can I walk out again?   What if I pick the wrong one?    What if someone closes it and won’t let me in?   Job hunting was always a little scary, unsettling, depressing, overwhelming and discouraging. ...

If you’ve been following me, you know I like to work in many mediums and learn new techniques.   So when I bought Donna Kato’s book, The Polymer Clay Millefiore Techniques, I knew I’d be making canes! http://www.amazon.com/The-Polymer-Clay-Millefiori-Techniques/dp/0823099180/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340064070&sr=1-1&keywords=Donna+Kato .   I also took several classes online with craftclass.   www.craftclass.com   One day I was playing around on Facebook and joined a group of polymer clay addicts!   ‘Just Polymer Clay Tutorials’ where artists post tutorials about polymer clay for free and for pay.   I’ve downloaded several, watched a few and was sure I could do any of it!   I understood the concept. A friend and I took a trip to a quilt shop. She quilts – I don’t!   I wore my new brass/polymer bangles https://www.etsy.com/listing/102355695/classy-bangles and that got me some attention and started a conversation! ...