Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Several years ago I took my first polymer clay class from Lisa Pavelka .   I was so excited about the things I learned that I looked for ways to use polymer in my professional work as an interior designer.   A client needed a large mirror for a niche area over her fireplace and there was my opportunity!   I explained my idea and she was almost as excited as I was.   She would have a unique mirror and I would be able to make it.   I’ve always liked large but repetition is not a strong point of mine.   My small toaster oven would get a work out with this large mirror.   Better get started.   The back was a composite board cut to her dimensions – approximately 30” x 40”.   The Mirror was attached and the entire piece was on my work table.   I ordered a box of Kato copper clay and started making 10” strips that would ruffle to 6” and fit into the oven – one at a time.   At the time, I had three employees and they all started to help.   It became apparent that we each had a differe

One nice thing about being retired is the ability to say, “Let’s take a road trip!”   This one was a short two day trip to Lake Havasu AZ.   There was a Nutting’s Flycatcher, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black Scoter, White-winged Scoters and a Surf Scoters lurking around the area.   Yes, they are all birds and we like to track them!   We left early one sunny morning and drove the back roads for about 4 hours looking for birds as we talked about life.   We were looking for Planet Ranch Road is a primitive bumpy dirt road that had survived two big storms.   Don’t take campers on it!   My 4-runner was a good choice for finding the elusive Nutting’s Flycatcher.   We think we saw it….but to a birder that statement means little.   Birders have to really get a good look at the shape, the color, the field marks and they are delighted if they get a picture.   Well we think (maybe) we saw the bird! There were scenic hills with caves that made me wonder who or what lived in them;

Black and white makes such a striking statement and I am ready for a statement!   E xperimenting with combining black and white polymer clay, I stacked alternating layers into stripes and swirled them.   Then I cut the swirls into little pieces and compressed the pieces into a one-inch ball in my hands.   Sometimes I cut those balls into 4 pieces and reassembled them into another one-inch ball.   I combined my finished beads with volcanic stone beads about the same size.   It became obvious that I created two basic designs and they would not go together.   Some of the black and white balls reminded me of zebra stripes and some were much more abstract.   I had to make a decision! Two statements - one now and one for the future!    I used smaller black matt beads for the back of the necklace with a silver toggle. And this is the happy result!