David Christianson Inspiration

This week I thought I would teach you something as someone requested. Thanks Tirza for the nudge.

Here are glass pendants by David Christianson.

That inspired me to try them with this new…………. to me anyway technique of using 2 part epoxy resin with clay. Of course I couldn’t find the inspiration pieces when making the clay ones.

I am not going to tell you how to build the base use your imagination and do a search of polymer clay pendants you will find something. The thing to remember when picking a pendant is that you will be wrapping the pendant to make an area that the epoxy can be layered and will stay in not run over the sides.

Here is an example of my bases before any layering. Notice the height of the sides?

Follow the directions for the 2 part resin you are using. The brand I used was EnviroTex Lite Pour on High Gloss Finish. I bought mine at the local craft store and with the 50% coupon it cost $8.00. The directions for mine were to mix exactly the same amount of resin and hardener, and pour on the item to be covered.

I found that if I used 2 disposable drinking cups, and a bbq skewer to mix it eliminated major clean up headaches. I poured exactly the same amount of resin in one cup and in the other cup the hardener. When pouring you will always have one cup that has more than the other one use that cup and pour it into the first cup. Mix thoroughly. I mean really mix it ideally you want to see a lot of bubbles in the mix the more the better. (( Sorry I was not taking a pic of the bubbles)).

Pour it on your pieces covering any clay you may have. You see all those bubbles??? The way to get rid of them is to breathe or blow on the epoxy. Something in the resin makes it have a chemical reaction in about 5 minutes and the bubbles form and pop. It really is amazing to watch they just keep popping and popping even at the point when you cannot see any bubbles they still keep going to the surface and popping.

You need to let the first layer rest for at least 8 hours I let mine rest 24 just because I wanted to make sure that I would not damage the first layer when adding to it. I placed the next layer of black and white clays that had already been baked for 30 min at 275*. I mixed more epoxy and then poured the second layer again blowing to release the bubbles.

Lets see where your creativity can take this idea. These are just my samples to see if it can be done.

FOCUS

No this blog is not going to be all f words (might be an interesting challenge though). This week I could really use some focus. I am not talking about finishing an order focus, we ARTISTS know how to do that one. Ha I said it did you notice?
Last week after posting on Friday I went home with a terrible cold and crawled in bed and stayed there until Monday night. It was one of those colds where you literally eat nothing and really don’t even want to drink but know in your heart that you must stay hydrated. So no food from Friday until Monday and I went through 2 boxes of Kleenexes got the picture?
Back to work on Tuesday I was a body at a desk useless but here it is Friday and I am still not 100%. On top of all that since I do not have a maid, and my husband is out of the country for a month and a half, all the household things I would have done this last week have piled up. I kind of feel like a person again and would love to sit at the clay table but how can I with all the house stuff to do?

FOCUS
When life happens as it does with a holiday, illness, company visiting, insert your excuse here, how do you get back in focus?
1. Get rid of all the distractions. If you are thinking of the laundry that is piled up, house that needs cleaning etc. you are not able to focus on your art. First remove the distractions or things you know you need to do and then you can concentrate on creating. I am not saying do ALL the laundry before you create, start by sorting it into loads.
2. Get back into your daily routine. Now your daily routine and mine may be different but do what you can to get back to normal and then you will feel like your old self and not be distracted with all you need to do to catch up.
3. Take time for you. Even if it is 10 minutes just relax, take a breath, and once back to creating or cleaning you will find a new energy that hopefully will be very positive.
4. Get plenty of rest. If you are tired, stressed, and behind in your work of course your sleep will be affected and your art as well.
5. Perform a quick 15 minute organization of your workspace. You would be amazed at what a quick touch up to your workspace can do for your creative energy. First you can find the stuff you need to work with since you put it where it belongs and you’re sitting at a clean space which always promotes creativity!
Finally ENJOY!