Polymer 2013

The new year has begun quietly, and we are taking advantage of the lull to gear up for Synergy3 and all the other excitement planned for the rest of the year. We are lining up wonderful teachers. There will be a lot of new work in the gallery. Filigree and More, our in-house supply store, is expanding, yet again. We are adding new products all the time. We have opened some new accounts in our quest to find unique products and deliver them at reasonable prices. When we can find a bargain, we like to pass it on to you. (You’re welcome!)

A panoramic view - entering Creative Journey Studios

We are now carrying Pardo Professional Art Clay. We have the primaries so you can do some dynamite color mixing. We have the metallics, and most important, we have the translucent, which is the clearest translucent we have tried. We’ve been experimenting with it and really like the results. Viva Décor is also making opaque alcohol inks that have some interesting possibilities with the translucent clay. Stay tuned!

We are handling Foredom products, like bench lathes for polishing your beads, filter hoods to collect the polymer dust from the lathes, flex-shafts for drilling and hammering, and all sorts of other goodies. We continue to expand on Eurotool offerings. If we don’t have it in stock, perhaps we can order a good pair of pliers for you, or help you pick a fabulous new hammer. We all love tools!

We are carrying Christi Friesen tools and her new Swellegant line. I’m planning to play with some of our brass filigree with her coatings, patinas and dyes.

We are still carrying the pressed cotton balls from England, and are trying to get the 15mm ones to use with Bettina’s tutorial for her jellyfish earrings.

If you are hunting for an esoteric product or gadget, check with us. We are always anxious to find out about new, interesting products, and perhaps we can add it to our supply store. You can be sure the price will be fair and we will educate ourselves about anything we carry, so we will be a good resource. It’s easy to do business with us….we’re located just north of Atlanta, and we’re just a phone call or an email away.

Be sure to investigate some of the other pages in the blog. We have a page for upcoming classes, and one for “First Thursdays”, a series of mixed media classes with Ellen Prophater and Patricia DiBona.

Sit back with your morning cup of coffee and spend some time perusing our site. There is a lot of food for thought here. While you are at it, check out our Creative Journey Studios Facebook page, “like us” and leave us a comment.

Something for everyone on your list....

Holiday shopping is in full swing, and people are excited to have a place to find unique polymer artwork. Husbands are being dragged in with their wives, only to discover polymer could be their new hobby, and at the least, that they have found a source of fun presents they can surprise their wives with. We are delighted to have new work from Judy Belcher, Lindly Haunani and Leslie Blackford, who have been with us since we opened. Equally exciting, we have a new artist in our old friend Dayle Doroshow, who sent us a collection of her mixed media art, from dolls to pins to cloth and polymer bracelets to wall hangings with pins as an integral part, as well as a spectacular polymer, abalone, bone and stone necklace. We have some wonderful new sterling, brass and colored copper pieces from Deb Karash. We’ve loaded up on Ron Lehocky hearts, including some Christmas ones, knowing that these are great teacher presents and stocking stuffers. The man is into his next 20,000 hearts and we intend to do our part! No rest for the weary…..love you, Ron!

Hope you are asking for Synergy3 for holiday gifts, and don’t forget about the bus tour to Buford….it’s filling up, so don’t miss out! We still have space in Dani and Natalia’s class on the 10^th and 11^thbefore Synergy3.

Awesome Addition to your Synergy 3 Experience

Creative Journey Studios is excited to offer a wonderful polymer experience – two days of sharing polymer ideas with Dani Torres and Natalia Garcia de Leaniz. This class will be held in advance of Synergy 3 on March 10th and 11th at the Studios in Buford, Georgia. This dynamic couple from Spain presents new ideas for working with their favorite art material – polymer clay.

 

 

Natalia will lead you back to the retro world of the sixties while exploring color and textures, combining different types of free cuts - straight, curved and conical - to build chunky and eye-catching beads.

 

Natalia will cover two kinds of beads that bring together many different techniques, each one more useful, quick and easy to enjoy: free hand blade and craft knife cutting, drilling, texturing, Skinner-blending, and using liquid clay. She will then help you combine them to make bracelets and necklaces, looping for the perfect balance from bead to focal, from form to color.

 

Dani will share his particular interest in hollow forms, where polymer clay's unique capabilities to balance lightness and structural robustness meet the endless possibilities for inspiration, ever most beautiful, offered by Nature. In this class Dani will help you create super-hollow pieces to wear. He’ll share views and tips on design, balance and composition to fabricate ethereal beads and bracelets.

 

If you are coming to Synergy 3, we hope you will expand your visit by taking advantage of this opportunity to learn from these international superstars! Experience a mini-retreat at Creative Journey Studios, where an intimate teaching environment with a gallery and study collection full of inspiration will breathe new life into your polymer art.

 

We are taking registrations for this class at 404-314-5767. The cost for the two days is $225. Your place can be secured with a credit card over the phone. A short supply list will be provided to students closer to the class time. 

 

Synergy 3 Bus Tour to Creative Journey Studios

Just a brief heads-up that the sign-up button for the Synergy 3 bus trip to visit Creative Journey Studios is up and functioning. (Already have had four sign-ups!)  There is limited space so don't procrastinate and miss the fun. Go to www.creativejourneystudios.com, read the blurb, get your credit card and hit the Paypal button. You know the drill! We know it is going to be a fun day. Christi Friesen and Leslie Blackford are going to be giving demos. We're going to be having drawings for polymer prizes. We think this will be a highlight of your trip. If you have questions, give us a call at 404-314-5767.

I'm worn out just writing about it!

I have a feeling that things will be like a whirlwind around here in the fall. We have new products in Filigree & more, new tools in the toolroom, new artists in the gallery, some wonderful new pieces in the exhibit (like a new pendant from Libby Mills, three necklaces from Julie Eakes and a fabulous new necklace from Jeff Dever!), and a parade of classes coming up. In September we will have Christi Friesen rockin' the joint! We love Christi (but she wears me out....she doesn't sleep, I'm sure...and she always has a smile on her face...except when she is sticking her tongue out.)

She is going to be sharing her tricks for sculpting and then using resin to capture our sculpted treasures and turn them into unique polymer pendants. Her second class will introduce us to her new product line - Swellegant. These are metal coatings, patinas and dye-oxides that can be intermixed to create  unique metallic finishes. I can hardly wait to experiment with her!
Right after Christi, we have a new class from Lindly Huanani. Just when you thought you knew all there was about color, here comes Lindly with a new way of looking at color and color mixing.She will increase your confidence in combining colors and show you how to combine color shifted stripe patterns. You'll learn new ways to 'audition' color combinations, so you feel confident striking out on your own. You'll work toward creating a 'library' of 12 to 15 color-coordinated canes to work with.
The following weekend we're headed to Savannah for a demo for Polyform at a new Dick Blick that's opening. If you're in the area, come see us and say "hello". The next weekend we're off to Arrowmont for a class with Deb Karash in cold connections, and with Gail Nelson in enameling. It's our annual get smart week! At the end of the month, it's time for Mammoth Cave -- the Kentucky Guild Retreat.
Stay tuned for what's up in November and December. We'll be involved with Synergy3 planning. We hope you are setting aside time to come to Atlanta for Synergy3 in March. The International Polymer Clay Guild is having its biennial conference here in town. We are planning a bus trip out to Buford so you won't miss Creative Journey Studios. http://www.theipca.org/index.php/synergy-conference-mainmenu-108 We have some wonderful pre and post-synergy classes in the works. Watch the blog for details as plans solidify.

Fantastic weekend with Julie Eakes

We had a wonderful weekend workshop with Julie Eakes, teaching her techniques for making face canes. It was an impressively organized and orchestrated workshop. Julie has done her homework in getting ready to teach this class. Everyone got a lot of individual attention, and got a good grasp on caning techniques, in general, as well as creating very impressive face canes. Learning how to reduce a large cane was, in my opinion, worth the price of admission! We discovered our new work bench in the tool room was a fantastic place to reduce the canes. There was a lot of pounding around here--I wonder what the boys downstairs were thinking of the racket!


Julie and Anita deep in discussion.


On Monday, after a farewell lunch at Aqua Terra, Julie headed back to Charlotte, but not before adding to our retrospective collection, "Polymer from the Beginning". We are so excited to have three of her necklaces, including two using her new framing techniques. These have to be viewed first hand to really appreciate the artistry and precision of the layers of frames she has created. I felt like I was viewing the intricate frames around a renaissance masterpiece, housing one of her extruded cane mosaic 'paintings'. They are really amazing!

Creative Journey Studios and the SyFy Channel present Lindly Haunani in “Shape Shifters Attack the Mother Cane in Rural America”…….

Well, maybe not….perhaps it’s just a dynamite new workshop with one of our favorite polymer masters, Lindly Haunani!

This new and exciting two day workshop, “Color Shifting Canes” will increase your confidence in combining colors while exploring combining color shifted stripe patterns. To start, Lindly will guide through the creation of a large “Mother” cane reflective of your personal color sensibilities. Your starting palette may range from super vibrant to deep rich muted fall colors.  You will then learn how to mix a dark that will give your color combination punch, along with strategies for auditioning color combinations to expand your ideas.

Once your “mother” cane is complete, you will be creating five different patterns including: leaves, herringbone, outlined stripes, a pin -wheel quilt block and lined stripes in multiple color-ways.  You will then have a library of 12-15 color-coordinated canes.

Explore using the same graphics at different scales, combining multiple patterns, creating edges and finishes to enhance your designs- while making a series of brooches. Lindly will show you how to make “twigs”, pinch leaves, shape shift your canes and explore finished jewelry design possibilities.

This is a wonderful opportunity to play with color and open yourself to new design ideas while having a fun weekend workshop. Here's a little insight into Lindly--and how her mind works. This is the quilt (www.anneparker.com/gradations.htm) that inspired the development of this class.

Quilt by Anne Parker

Scroll down on the Summer Classes page for more information, pictures and pricing.