Too Aquarius

Elaine is one of a small handful of people who has been actively commenting on my blog since those long ago LiveJournal days.  Our mutual interest is polymer clay, and even though somewhere along the line I went from polymer artist to ADD crafter, I’m so happy she’s stuck around.

Q&A With Elaine Robitaille

When and why did you start your blog?

I’ve had a blog of some sort for around 10 years but the current incarnation of my  blog, at Tooaquarius, is 4 years and counting. Past the terrible twos. How fast they grow up!

I like writing, chatting and showing what I’m doing. Having a theme to it – in this case, my polymer clay art and business – helps me be more coherent and creative and still get the therapy and networking jolt.

How does blogging (reading and writing) fit in to your daily life?

I read my feed list every morning. Religiously. Some of it indepth, some of it is a quick scan but every morning. So that I’m ritualistic about. And usually before everyone else is up, with coffee cup in hand.

Writing my blog is something I TRY to schedule in but invariably it’s a by-the-seat-of-my-pants thing.

What kind of a reader are you?

I read a lot. Online, offline, books, magazines, cereal boxes, blogs… you name it. For blogs specifically, I read primarily in Google reader. I do visit blogs to leave or read comments but I read the feeds first.

I love the variety you can have with blogs. There are news items in my reader. There are market research (shop feeds for colleagues) ones. There are comic strips. There are blogs by artists I know (like Lisa!) in fields I’m a part of. There are artists, moms, comedians, computer geeks, productivity bloggers, personal finance bloggers, who I read just to fill my brain up with good things.

I also tend to read the corporate blogs of about a dozen sites I sell on or buy from just to keep an eye on my work world.

How important are reader comments to you?

I would blog without comments though I love comments. Discussion is important. Networking is important. I am a reclusive craft-geek and at my worst I am downright hermit like. I find that blogging is good communication.

I try to comment on a few blogs every day though I find it too easy to just read and move on. I watch people without talking, too. Working on that.

In what ways has your involvement in the blogosphere enhanced your life, if any?

oh boy! The short list: I’ve met many, many customers at shows who found me through my blog so that rocks. I’ve met friends I made online through blogging. I’ve been picked up for promotions, product testing, gallery showings, classes because I am a reasonably prolific blogger.

Most humbling though, is that I’ve been able to see that I have a nice chatty spot in a whole world of nice but different chatty spots and that all of this talking, chatting and visiting will truly shape the world. It is hard to hate or even to really dislike people once you learn about them and get to know them. And the blogosphere brings that right to you.

If you could only visit three blogs today, what would they be?

Boringly then, because I read the “”work”" related ones first:

• Polymer Clay Daily by Cynthia Tinapple
• The Storque, Etsy’s mix of articles
• The Art Bead Scene

Do you have a theme or a reason to blog? Like are you a tech blogger or a mommy blogger?

I blog about my work as a polymer clay artist. I try to keep my personal life sort of as the side notes. I try to keep my technical work out of it for the most part. So the bulk of my blog is craft related to keep it cohesive.

Just like you’ve found some of the good of the blogosphere, have you noticed negative aspects?

Sometimes the blogosphere is like any group of highly opinionated people (given that bloggers are going to be people who have opinions AND the willingness to express them). It’s loud. It’s rude. It can be mob-like. Rumours get spread. It amplifies the worst parts of gossip and blaming. And once you write it, it’s out there, so your reputation follows you.

Thank you, Elaine, for taking the time to answer my questions!  It’s been fun reading your answers and recognizing some of my own tendencies in the habits you describe…

Want more?  You can find Elaine in the following places:

• Blog: Too Aquarius
• Artfire Shop: Too Aquarius

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• Morning Coffee with Penny Richards (4)
• Morning Coffee with Julie Smith (3)
• Morning Coffee with Heather Bruggeman (19)
• Morning Coffee with Erin Harris (11)
• Morning Coffee With Cynthia Tinapple (9)

Beach pendant parts.  I think I have shown you various beach pendant parts all summer long… it might be nice to have some actual finished pieces one of these days. *sigh*  At the moment I am waiting for various mail-order components, as well as an opportunity to snap a few more seaside pictures.  Next week.  I’ll have something fun to show next week (right?  oh I hope!).

Here’s a sheet that is about to be cut up and turned into a skirt (or two or three).  I just need to shove all of the clay supplies out of the way so I can set up the sewing machine. Ah, the joys of being multi-crafty in a small space…

And this is not technically in progress, unless you count the time it spends wandering around my brain, being considered, and morphing into an eventual project.  I’ll be reviewing this book sometime in the next week or two (first impression? delicious, of course), as soon as I’ve had a chance to find the embroidery hoops I bought recently.  Oh, and I’ll need to learn to embroider, too.  That will be helpful.

That’s it for my creative endeavors at the moment.  Before I sign off, though, I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my poll!  It’s been fun watching the different topics duke it out for first place.  Some of what I am seeing is a little surprising, actually, but I won’t get into all of that now.  The poll closes on Friday morning, and after that I’ll be sure to yammer on about what I’ve learned and all of that good stuff.  If you haven’t voted yet, be a dear and go let me know what you think.  Thanks.  You’re a peach!

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• Back to School Book Week: Craft Books (4)
• Where cameras fear to tread (6)
• Summer Studio, look two (12)
• Summer Studio Sneak Peek (4)
• Summer Studio (1)

You’d think with all of the clay rolling, image transferring, baking, re-baking, baking again, sanding, buffing, cutting, twisting, and assembling there has been around here, that I’d have something to show for it.  You’d think.  I’m not sure what made me think that image transfers could be my “thing.”  They have never been my thing.  We have never gotten along, image transfers and I.

The Mr. and I had a getaway last night, thanks to my lovely sister-in-law who passed along to us a gift certificate she won.  We had a lovely time at a local B&B.  It was a nice, cool night, so we opened all of the windows in the room, turned on the gas fireplace, put on the fluffy robes we found in the closet, and talked, and talked, and talked.  One of the many things we discussed was my current clay project, and how it would be so much easier to abandon the transfer idea and bring the pendants to life another way.

I’ve begun to give serious thought to that, going so far as to buy some of the supplies today on the way home from the inn.  Abandoning my clay? Oy.

And yet… even with part of the image sanded-off, I do really like the way the clay pendants look.  And feel.  So smooth and touchable.  I can’t help but think a little more experimenting will yield fabulous results.

But will all of the work required to make the perfect pendant price this jewelry right out of my usual market??  I’m conflicted.

More thinking and learning to do this week, it seems!

In the meantime, I just could not wait to open that new Etsy shop!  And so I did.  No jewelry in there yet, but I am selling prints of my favorite beach photos.  And for those who like to take their poison digitally, I’ve got desktop backgrounds available for download.  I hope you’ll check it out.

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement!  If you have any feedback or ideas for the new shop, suggestions for what other photos you’d like to see in there, thoughts on image transfers, etc.  I’m always interested in hearing such things.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• Opinions to weigh. maybe. (10)
• Twinkling Toes, Pretty Posies, and Toothless Grins (4)
• Treasures in the Mail (6)
• Think you can stand looking at a few more scarves? (6)
• The posy saga and more (0)

So, yes, I’m working on this new line of photographic pendants, and it’s going well.  Photo transfers are not second-nature to me, so this process has involved more trial and error than I am accustomed to.  I do think it will be worth it in the end, but for now I’m working out the answers to such questions as:

Border or no? I’m thinking yes.

Pattern on the back or no? Again, I’m thinking yes.  I like relying on my vast library of canes for this task.

How best to protect the image so that I may sand it smooth after baking? I’ve been using thin layers of liquid clay.  I vary the number of layers and the thickness of them, but nothing has seemed right just yet.  My next step is to try an ultra thin layer of translucent clay.  If I can get that thin enough, it should work.

Big pendant or small? I’m thinking both.  Big can stand alone, small can include extra doohickeys and danglies for added interest.

Danglies or no? See above.  Might do it both ways, might just do it with the smaller ones.

How does a pendant that’s been buffed shiny with a Dremel lose it’s shine? I started the day with a glossy pendant, and ended it with a satin one – what happened? My perfume? Oils from  my skin?

What brand bench buffer should I buy? Is there a difference? I’m considering this one.

Should I also sell prints or notecards featuring the photos I’m using? I’m seriously considering it, but would anyone buy them? (I don’t mean the ones of my kids, obviously – I’m thinking more of the scenic beach shots.)

Feel free to chime in, if you’ve got any opinions.  I’ll probably just do whatever I want anyway (just ask my husband. heh.) but it’s always nice to have other opinions to weigh.

I’ve got my new Etsy shop all ready to go, it just needs the products to be made and photographed.

Oh, is that all?

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• Activity, conflictedness, and a grand opening (0)
• Twinkling Toes, Pretty Posies, and Toothless Grins (4)
• Treasures in the Mail (6)
• Think you can stand looking at a few more scarves? (6)
• The posy saga and more (0)

I’ve got some research and refining to do, but once I’m ready, I’ll be hanging my sign on a new little Etsy shop and offering some goodies that I hope you will enjoy!  Stay tuned for more information on that…

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• Summer Studio, look two (12)
• Summer Studio (0)
• Summer Studio (1)

I had a very specific quilt project in mind when I bought these fabrics recently, but circumstances may have changed since then.  I’m not sure if I’ll make that quilt anyway, or find something else to do with these.  I need some time to mull it over.  I do love the colors very much…

I remember the days (less than six months ago) when I lamented the lack of babies in my part of the world.  It had been soooo loooong.  Now I know of three arriving this fall.  What’s in the water??

This is a half-finished hat for one of them.  I can’t wait to give you more details about this when I finish it – the yarn has one really interesting ingredient that I have trouble wrapping my brain around!

This is the very beginning of a seed of an idea that I am very excited to explore.  The details kept my brain so active and awake last night, I finally had to put it to sleep with several rounds of Palm solitaire at 2 a. m.   Thank goodness I keep the Palm by the side of the bed, or I’d probably still be lying there, my brain chattering away excitedly about photos, and transfers, and printable fabrics, and pendants, and and and AND!

Those of you who have been sitting around patiently wondering when I’d get back to the polymer stuff, this project just may be the one you’ve been waiting for…

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• Summer Studio (1)
• Summer Studio Sneak Peek (4)
• Summer Studio (0)
• Seeking balance (31)
• Morning Coffee with Heather Bruggeman (19)

So this weekend is the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, and I’m heading down there with the yarn shop on their annual bus trip. This is the first time I’ve gone (on their bus or otherwise) so it should be interesting!

One of the activities planned on the bus is an “outrageous earring contest” and since staff are allowed to play along too, I decided to get my clay out and see what I could come up with.

Clearly not my best work.  I think I ended up with “ugly” more than “outrageous.”  I do have another idea I will try, if there’s time.

Speaking of time… Working at the yarn shop has been great so far, but it’s really affecting my ability to get things done in other areas of my life. I’m not sure what made me think I could be outside of the house 10-20 hours a week and still run two businesses, keep a household functioning relatively smoothly, have quality time with my family, and still find moments of personal peace and creativity, without feeling a little extra stress, but that’s exactly what I thought.

It’s never pretty when my optimistic can-do attitude crumbles into a mess of self-pitying how-am-I-going-to-do-all-of-this weepiness. And yesterday, that’s just what it did.

Today I am feeling the optimism come back, but it’s tempered with a bit of necessary realism, which I think is a good thing.  It’s time to sit down and re-examine my expectations, get organized, and maybe delegate a thing or two.

By the way, I have been so thrilled with all of the feedback on my craft show table! I’ve already taken steps towards implementing some of your suggestions. As soon as the banner and fabric I ordered get here, I’ll give you a peek!

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• The Texture Collection, and other stories (12)
• The shawl pins (20)
• Spoils of the Festival (8)
• Christmas Mokume (3)

The sparks for this new Texture Collection were provided by Patti Kimle, Susan Gross, Ellen Marshall, Julie Picarello, and Kathleen Dustin.

Patti’s book got me thinking about the idea of echoing polymer patterns in metal clay.  Susan influenced my shape choices by consistently making and wearing earrings I covet.  Ellen taught me that even though I have a preference for smooth millefiori, there’s a place in my work for texture.  Julie got me back into mokume with an inspiring texture tool, and she also made me realize that the extra effort of sanding and buffing are well worth it in the end.  And Kathleen taught me that an ear wire should never be an afterthought, but rather an integral part of the design.

So, I thank all of these great artists for their generous spirits and for presenting concepts that stuck in the crannies of my brain.

See the whole collection in the shop.

In addition to the new Texture pieces, I also added some of the work I completed at the Clayathon.  Yes, I know that was more than two months ago.  Luckily earrings, necklaces, and shawl pins don’t spoil!  You can click here to see everything that’s new, but here’s a peek:

I am so grateful to those of you who choose to spend your hard-earned cash supporting my artful endeavors and decorating yourself with a little bit of the Cottage.  I hope you like these pieces, and I thank you so much for your business and your encouragement!

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• The shawl pins (20)
• Yarny things (8)
• Whatever you wish for (2)
• Updates of the shop and oatmeal kinds (2)
• Twinkling Toes, Pretty Posies, and Toothless Grins (4)

I feel so lucky these past few months, to be getting the chance to flip through some very excellent craft books, often before they officially hit the market.  Today I have to thank Karin, who is a blog reader and also the editor of Patricia Kimle‘s new book, Perfectly Paired: Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays, for sending a copy of it my way.

For my last few book reviews, I did projects directly out of the book.  That’s generally how I operate when I’m knitting or sewing, because I don’t feel those crafts are in my blood just yet.  I’ve still got a lot to learn.  Polymer clay, though, is a different story.  I very rarely do a polymer project straight out of a book.  What I am more likely to do is flip through the book, look at the pictures, read the most intriguing projects, and then let the whole thing percolate for a few days.  At that point, the book either inspires me to action or it doesn’t.  If something emerges, it is most often a hybrid of things I saw in the book and things I already knew how to do.

Luckily, this is one of those books that got me to the clay table within a few days of first looking through it.  I have a little bit of experience in metal clay, and I still had an unopened pouch from the last time I touched the stuff several years ago, so I was good to go as soon as I knew what I wanted to try.

What I ended up with was two pairs of earrings and two pendants, all of which combined elements of the “Layered Leaf Earrings” and the “Layered Pattern Pendant Necklace” (the top two images pictured from the book up there) with things that were already second nature to me.

I pretty much flew solo for the polymer parts, but I was glad to have Patti’s instructions to remind me of some of the things I’ve forgotten about metal clay.  Also, I’d never used liver of sulfur before to give my silver a patina (I’d always used the hard boiled egg method) so it was nice to have some guidance there.

The verdict?  I love these pieces.  Especially the semi-circle earrings. I want to make more!  More!  MORE!

This book is well worth it, if you like the look of silver and polymer together (and really, who doesn’t?) I like that it jumps right into the projects, saving the “basics” sections for the back of the book.  As someone who has experience in both types of clay, I like not having to wade through all of that introductory stuff in a book, but I like that it is available as a refresher if I need it (which I did, for the metal clay).

Also included in the book are some wireworking and metalworking basics, which I didn’t need for this project, but may come in handy down the road.  I was intrigued by some of the jewelry that involved attaching purchased silver parts to the silver clay parts, but I am not quite ready to take on soldering just yet!

So how about you? Interested in trying some of these techniques for combining polymer and metal clays? Leave a comment here and be entered to win your own copy of Perfectly Paired.  I’ll choose a random winner on Sunday night (3/21).

Until then, here are some links to keep you busy:

• Preorder the book from me at Polka Dot Creations (if you win, I’ll adjust your order so you get it free)
• Read all of my blog posts about this book
• Visit Patti’s website

[edited to add: based on the discussion in the comments re: lack of kiln, I wanted to mention that I fired my pieces in a hot pot, which came with a beginner kit several years ago.  It's been great for someone like me who can't afford a kiln, and who is jumpy at the thought of using a torch.]

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• And the winner is… (3)

I have Sherri Haab to blame for all of this.  And by “this” I mean the polymer clay supplies that lurk in many corners of my house, the business I’ve built around clay books + videos, and the piles and piles of polymer jewelry mostly gathering dust in my bedroom.  (You know how that goes – you have your two or three favorite pieces, which soon are replaced by new work, and this continues through the years until you have a jewelry box full of stuff that is just hideous compared to your most recent masterpiece. You wouldn’t be caught dead in them now, but you feel funny throwing them away, knowing as you do all of the blood sweat and tears that went into making them back in 1996.  Please tell me you do this too.)

Anyway, I’m sure it’s completely unfair to blame Sherri.  I should probably be blaming Neil, who brought the book into the house in the first place.  Or maybe I should just accept that polymer clay and I were destined to meet one way or another, and the mechanism by which we came together those 14+ years ago is largely irrelevant.

In any case, I did get my first exposure to polymer through Sherri Haab, I enjoy her style, and I like her books, even the ones that are not specifically about polymer clay, like this brand new one: Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio.

There are three polymer projects in the book, all of which are interesting, but none of which really float my own particular boat.  Luckily, what Sherri lacks in polymer clay depth here, she makes up for in general clay breadth.  In other words, I don’t mind the lack of polymer here because she’s playing with other kinds of clay that I find pretty neat.  In particular, metal clay and epoxy resin clay.

I plan on dusting off my metal clay supplies in the next week or so, but until then I decided to try a more instant-gratification project.  I had trouble choosing between the Sea Urchin Rings and the Resin Clay Flower Bracelets, but in the end I chose the bracelets.

Like I mentioned a few days ago, we’re in a financial crunch around here, so I didn’t want to invest in any new materials (as super cool as that epoxy resin clay sounds) so I substituted polymer in making the flower.  This is one case where the material used really doesn’t matter, because the sculpted part could be cured by itself.  (In other projects, it might not be appropriate to substitute an oven-bake clay for an air-dry clay, because the materials embedded in the clay may not be heat-resistant.)

I also used some of the leftover clay from the flower to make the easiest. button. ever. instead of using a mass-produced one.

I actually think that this bracelet looked just as nice before I put the flower on it.  I may have to make myself a little pile of braided fabric bracelets with matching solid-color buttons for the spring…

So I had fun with this book.  There’s nothing overly artsy or complicated here, just plenty of fun, lighthearted, and hip designs to play with, and a handful of new materials to explore.

How about you?  Want to have a little fun with this book?   Learn to make this bracelet, some big funky rings, vintage glass bead earrings, metal clay charm pendants, and more?  Leave a comment on this post, and I’ll choose a random winner sometime Monday evening (3/15).  Good luck!!

Until then, here are some links to keep you busy:

• Buy the book from me at Polka Dot Creations
• Read all of my blog posts about this book
• Visit Sherri’s website

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

© Lisa Clarke for Polka Dot Cottage, 2010. | Permalink

Related posts

• The results are in (1)
• Handful of Randomness (7)