This month, April Salcedo will be be introducing the guild to Christi Friesen‘s Sculpture series books. April received permission from Christi to share her work with you for our meeting. While she doesn’t have one particular project to show us, she plans to do a small demonstration on how to make a “starfish” and a “baby turtle.” These are quick & easy (should take about 15 minutes), and will allow us to become comfortable with the style of sculpting & a few other techniques before we tackle the bigger projects. April will also be bringing these books for us to look through and find project(s) to make on our own:
* Dragons – All about dragons
* Welcome to the Jungle – Jungle life and greenery
* Under the Sea – Sea life (April’s personal favorite)
* Cats Big and Small – Cats, cats, and more cats. The newest book – just released!
Here’s the meeting details:
* When: Saturday, August 11, 2007, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
* Where: The new Hobby Lobby in Norman, 2417 W. Main, Norman, OK. (The classroom is up front, near the check stands. Go right after entering & it’s the first door on the right.)
* What to Bring:
* Clay: Approximately 2 blocks. April suggests using Premo clay for these projects as Sculpey III can be too soft and brittle to stand up to the projects. April also recommends blending/marbleizing two complimentary colors (e.g., gold and green, blue and white,ecru and white, orange and yellow, etc.) to bring more interest to your project. You might consider bringing more clay if you want to make multiple little project from the books.
* Tiles: To create your projects on and put directly in the toaster
ovens, so you don’t have to move your work.
* Various Beads: Seed beads or smaller type round beads work well. April also recommends the smaller shell beads. The beads will be cooked in your projects, so make sure they can withstand the cooking heat.
* Craft Wire: 28 gauge. This will be used to attach your beads to your project. April will also be bringing her wire, and there should be plenty for all to use, as it doesn’t take much.
* Wire Cutters, Chain Nose Pliers: April will have hers, if you don’t
want to buy any. Only used to prep the wire for the beads.
* Pasta Machine or Brayer
* Brown or Burnt Umber Acrylic Paint: For finishing and
bringing out the details.
* Glazes (optional): If you want to put on to seal your work. This is a
personal preference and you don’t have to do this.
* Sculpting Tools: Used for details and adding texture. This might be
wooden, toothpicks, straws, shells, whatever catches your fancy. No rules here!
* Paper Towels or Wipes: To clean up with — the paint/patina stage can
be quite messy!
* An open mind and your imagination!
April has a few of her completed turtles in the display case at the front of the Norman Hobby Lobby if you want to see some finished projects. She will have completed examples of her sculptures at the meeting. She highly suggests heading over and taking a look at Christi Friesen’s site before our meeting. It will give you a sense of who Christi Friesen is (if you don’t already know) and a better understanding of what to expect walking into our meeting. The site includes some of her own sculptures and focal beads. There are a few projects for download at a minimal price, info on her classes, and a list of shows and magazines she’s been published in. April will be passing out information at the meeting about a group special buy on her books that Christi has extended to our guild (see a list of books here.) She’ll also have a handout about Christi’s class information to consider if we would like for her to be a guest artist.
April and her daughter were two of our earliest guild members, and April now serves as our guild photographer. You can see some of April’s works on her Kreative Karma site, at her Etsy store, as well as on her Flickr photo page. April says:
“When I first got into Polymer Clay about a year ago, I did a search online and found Christi’s site. I was and still am very impressed by her art work, but more I really love her books. I like the humor, and the way she guides you through the creative process. I’m not one that has a ton of patience for meticulous work, and with these particular sculptures, you don’t have to be exact spot on, and you’re not 100% replicating a process. She gives tons of suggestions and encourages you to be your own creative self.”
Hope you’ll come be creative with us!
We had a smallish-turnout for our August meeting — but we still had a lot of fun! There were 4 people present for our “Sculptures Inspired by Christi Friesen” lesson — our teacher April Salcedo & her daughter, Cassie; Angela; and first-time visitor (and brand new member!) Shirley. April explained how to make the starfish first, then a baby turtle. She also went over some of the goodies in Christi Friesen’s various books. Everyone seemed to have a great time creating beautiful marine life.