Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

My father loved rocks.  He was happiest when he was rock hounding or cutting and polishing rocks.  As a child, I did not want to have anything to do with my father's hobby of rocks or rock hounding.  And that was definitely my loss.  Today I have many cabochons that he cut and polished.  It is why I started designing and making jewelry.  One day I came across Cynthia Tinapple’s information on making rocks and I took her Craftscast class http://www.craftcast.com/class-or-recording-item/166269-making-beach-pebbles-from-polymer-clay .  I've been collecting tips from other polymer artists and I decided that would be my first project for my ‘Polymer Clay Personal Workshop’!  Before Curing - nature's rocks in center I can almost hear my father say, ‘You made rocks?  Why?  You can just go out and pick them up!”  I guess my answer would be, ‘Because I can!’   I remember him being astounded that I bought large rocks for my yard in Tucson.  His comment as he shook

You may have noticed that it has been quiet in my corner of the Facebook world.  That’s because my Peter was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had robotic surgery in Tucson.  We know so much about prostate cancer and the choices for treatment available now.  Peter is doing well, going close to full tilt on his projects and helping me with mine.  We started building a bookcase before all this happened and today we finished it, moved it into the studio and I’m starting to organize and fill it. Of course that entails emptying the bookcase next to it and incorporating all the boxes of wire, metal, metal clay, polymer canes and clay and all the tools.  I’m sure it will be better and that I will be able to find things easier.  We will see.  ! Thought you might like to see the improvement! This is  quick before shot just after I returned from "Metal Clay on the Bay" and lots of things live on the floor. This is after the bookcase is in place and my plastic cont

My friend, Luana, makes beautiful quilts and fabric purses/bags.   When she asked me to make 4 large beads for the rope she wanted to use in her latest ‘origami’ bag, I was flattered!   And of course I said, ‘sure’.    And we all know it wasn’t as easy as that!   I had a package of Sculpey’s Ultralight Clay that had not been opened and I thought this would be a great time to learn to use it.   It was such fun!   I molded lots of large beads with the idea that 4 needed to be about the same size.   These were going to be handcrafted and I did not want them to look perfect (like a machine made them).   After forming the bead and made a large hole in the center, I cured them in my convection oven.     The colors in the fabric turned out to be a challenge with lots of pinks and oranges.   I started polymer flower canes and made several and did not like any of them with the fabric flowers.   I made more.   And then I realized that if I combined the pink canes with the orange

The stone I selected for my class project is a Plume Agate.   I did not realize how healing the process of setting it into silver metal clay would be.  As you know, Prescott had two fires close by this summer – the Doce Fire and the Yarnell Fire.  It is not possible to have a fire close to your town without being affected.  It is not possible to lose 19 firefighters in one of those fires without being affected.  When I selected this stone, I saw plumes of smoke with the sun setting behind them.  I saw the burned ground with the lacy texture at the base of the stone.  I saw the beauty and the destruction of fire and I knew this was going to be my commemorative piece.  As I sketched the design for the setting, I wanted to emphasize the texture at the bottom of the stone.  I wanted to keep the main part of the setting simple so the eye would go to the plumes and I wanted to continue a flame from the front to the back.    The fine lacy texture at the base of the stone contin

There are so many amazing places to explore in the Southwest and so many surprises.  I had never been to Cedar Breaks National Monument (near Cedar City, Utah) and in fact, I was not even aware of it.   Peter had been there and wanted to show me the area and we both wanted to take photographs.  As we drove up the mountain to 10,000+ feet, the trees thinned to a few.    It was a surprise to step out of the car, walk through the bristlecone pines, juniper trees, wildflowers and grass to look out 3 miles and down into a half-mile deep natural amphitheater.  Breathtaking actually!    This monument is open June thru October (snow in the winter precludes travel) and I understand that the fall colors are incredible in September/October.  The rock colors come from iron and manganese in a varity of combinations to produce reds, oranges and yellows with some purple.  My colors!  The Indians used to call this area the ‘Circle of Painted Cliffs.’  Again the repetition of shapes capt

Bryce National Park is fascinating.  As I walked to one of the overlooks I saw such variety of rock colors and formation shapes. I was spellbound and if it had not been so hot, I could have stayed for hours. The repetition of shapes, shapes that reminded me of pictures of Angkor Wat Cambodia from my long ago art history course, had me imagining ancient cities with ancient gods guarding those cities. While man made the Angkor buildings, nature used wind, water and temperature (freezing) to create these shapes.     The ‘hoodoos’ are tall and slender spires that rise from the arid basins.  They range in height from the height of an average man to the height of a 10 story building and no place has as many as the northern part of Bryce Canyon.  30 to 40 million years ago this was a lake bed.  You might enjoy reading more about them at   http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/hoodoos.htm   The vast array of hoodoos and combination of colors is almost overwhelming.  There are

A week ago I posted in Face Book that I had finished several pair of earrings made from Hadar’s clay.  I was experimenting with techniques from her book, The Handbook of Metal Clay Textures and Form, and I promised to share my experience with you.  The larger oval pair of earrings (lower left in photo) combines Brilliant Bronze and Copper.  I carved curvy stripes in the copper oval and laid in snakes of bronze, sanded flat and fired.  I know I could polish and make them smoother and shinier but I like the more rustic look.  I used Baldwin’s Patina to bring out the color contrast. The upper right pair of earrings also combines the bronze and copper.  The back textured layer is bronze and the smaller rectangle is copper.  I was concerned that the copper might be too thick and not bond well but as you can see – no problem! The earring on the lower right also has a backing of bronze.  I carved horizontal strips and laid the copper snakes in.  Then a textured the snakes cut

Peter and I just returned from a road trip to Utah.   We drove to Coral Pink Sand Dunes that were once (170 million years ago) covered with ocean.   We climbed a steep wet sandy hill of beautiful coral colored sand and stood at the top looking across miles of coral colored sand dunes, high ridges swooping into flat beaches.   We carefully walked among the Welsh’s Milkweed plants taking pictures of the lovely thick-skinned leaves and the globe-shaped blooms.   The thick skins protect the plant from heat, wind and sand damage as the deep roots tap into water under the sand and send horizontal runners making new plants.   These plants are only found in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona and are on the federally threatened plant list. This is where I began to pay attention to the repetitions of shapes and lines throughout the road trip. I always try to be aware of design elements around me and I enjoyed focusing on this idea. I think I could have spent hours studying this inte

Why would I spend time making a kitchen sponge holder when I could have bought a pottery one at the craft faire?   In fact, Peter wanted to know why I needed one at all. It was just one of those things…..I saw it at a craft booth and thought “What a great idea!   I bet I could make one of those out of polymer clay!”    So the project began. First I measured the sponge and was explaining to Peter how it worked.   It was actually like a napkin holder – 2 sides with finger slots and a bottom.   That is when Peter started asking questions like “how would the sponge dry with no bottom holes?” “How would the water drain with no feet to hold the sponge higher than the counter?”   And that is when I decided to really put my design to the test with “Good Product Design Requirements” 1.        Function - Does it work? 2.        Repairability – Can it be repaired? 3.        Reliability – Will it work every time? 4.        Durability – Will it stay together? 5.        Producibil

One of the polymer clay groups on FaceBook is 'Polymer Clay Collective'.  This is a group of artists working in polymer clay who share ideas and support each other.  I'm so glad to be a part.  A new feature of this group is the 'Polymer Clay Collective Conversations' where a different member answers a set  of questions.  I get to be first - the trailblazer! I hope you enjoy learning a little more about me and in two weeks I get to learn more about someone else. • Tell us a bit about where you live. I live in Prescott AZ right next to the national forest.   When I look out my studio windows, I often see large black ravens swooping between the pine trees.   Binoculars are always available for close viewing of our smaller forest birds.   You’ve probably read about the forest fires we have had in our area this summer.   The monsoon rains we are having are so welcome. • What do you do when you're not polymer claying? As of 2010, I became a retired interi