Bon Voyage to Ponsawan and Ada

We are eagerly watching for news of our friend Ponsawan Sila and her daughter Ada as they make a new life in Thailand. We have watched the preparations for travel and witnessed the many months of planning and anticipation. Finally we held our collective breaths as they flew half way around the world in a leap of faith that family will prevail and life will be good.
Hard to imagine fitting all your belongings into six suitcases. In the culling of treasures, Ponsawan decided to share one of her amazing mosaics with us for the retrospective collection here at Creative Journey Studios. It joins an already incredible collection of necklaces, pins, bracelets and vessels made by Ponsawan thru our years of friendship.

Isn't it an amazing piece of art? It's aptly named "Hugs From My Friends"! Thank you, Ponsawan, for sharing it with us and the visitors to the collection. Every time we walk past it we will think about you and your incredible talent.

A fresh new year...full of fresh new Ideas

Happy New Year!  It's a new year full of wonderful possibilities. We hope you will spend time with us this year, learning about polymer clay, having fun and discovering all sorts of happy inspiration!

New Classes! New Products!

              New Help!

   (Welcome to the GNOME!)
Gallery Needs & Office Minion Employee: Randy Prophater

It's going to be a banner year!



Ellen has been planning classes for 2018, and I think you are going to like the lineup so far. In January, she is teaching two weekends which we have already filled. If you are interested in taking a class from Ellen in the future, let us put you on a waiting list.

In February (9th to the 11th) we are excited to welcome Claire Maunsell to Creative Journey Studios for a jam-packed three days of Hollow Forms and Surface Explorations. We have been admiring her veneers for a long time and the idea of applying them to hollow beads that we learn to make in the class sounds great. You should check out her flicker account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stillpointworks) to see some of the possibilities. There are only a couple spaces in the class, so if you are interested, don't dawdle. Call me with a card at 404-314-5767 and join us!

On a side note, we are delighted to have added some work from Keven Carlton to the gallery. Keven is a dental hygienist by day and a polymer sculptor by night. I think you will be able to tell this if you look closely at her wonderful Santas!

Moving right along...

We've had a good spring and early summer. Jeff Dever was in for two sessions of hollow pod making, followed by amulets and talismans with Sarah Shriver. Talk about two dynamite classes! We are delighted to have their work in the gallery now (Jeff, for the first time, and lots of new work from Sarah!)
Next on our class agenda is Doreen Kassel. I hope you have been following her facebook posts along with Donna Greenberg, as they get ready for Synergy in August. It is definitely whetting my appetite for Doreen's class making flowers, pods and butterflies.....and her whimsical figures! We have some wonderful examples at the studio so you can be tempted.

We will be on the road again (in mid August) for the IPCA's Synergy4 conference up in the Philadelphia area. Ellen has the honor of speaking at this important international polymer conference. Hope you will be attending to get her take on mokume gane. She is already busy gathering photos and fine tuning her talk.
Be sure to check the upcoming classes page.  We've updated the rest of the year's classes. Classes fill up fast so if you are interested, you need to hop on it quickly. We are trying to have a second session of Lindly's color class. There is a spot in Laura Tabakman's class on wire and translucent clay.

We'll be winding down the year with Leslie Blackford, November 10-12, right after we get back from Ron Lehocky's Dam Retreat at the end of October. She has a fun class on tap, as she helps you clean out Auntie's old jewelry box!

Hope we'll see you for a class. Plan a visit to see what's new in the gallery. We have lots of new products (that you know you need!) in the supply store. Come check out Ellen's new long and double design silk screens before we run out again.

February 2017......Really?!

How did it get to be February already? Guess I better catch everyone up on the goings on at Creative Journey. We had a nice holiday season and now we are busy fielding the aftermath of Ellen's two classes on texture. We are spending a few hours restocking the clay and rotating the packages.We have undecorated from Christmas---oops! Now we have to clean up the leftover glitter and pack up the decorations. We have a nice batch of new valentine hearts from Ron Lehocky. Soon it will be time for Easter hearts! And Mother's Day is coming! There is always an appropriate heart for any occasion.
We have new work from Nikolina Otrazan. In advance of her class (which, sadly, we had to cancel due to fears of the travel ban) she sent work for the gallery and some wonderful pieces for the collection. Her work is really interesting and you should definitely plan a visit. While you are at the studio, you can check out all the new products we've gotten since your last visit! Primary Elements arte-pigments, Silks acrylic glazes and Mica Minerals are new lines from Colourarte. We have loaded up on Moiko silk screens. I'm going to try to get some pictures up on line so at the very least you will be able to call and place an order.
Pictures and descriptions are slowly coming in for the year's lineup of classes. It's quite telling that despite no class descriptions on the "upcoming classes" page, most of the classes are already full. We are starting waiting lists and/or trying to line up second classes.
We are very excited to host Jeff Dever in April. His first class is Sunday to Tuesday, the 2nd to the 4th. We are trying to fill a second class from Wednesday to Friday, the 5th to the 7th. He will be teaching all about 'miniature polymer holloware' whict he is known for. Jeff is a frequent lecturer at Synergy and has work in many museums. He was a major presence at Racine Art Museum's groundbreaking polymer exhibit, filling a wall with hollow pods. (google 'Jeff Dever Racine pods' for a great picture) Check the classes page for a more detailed description of the class. We have several great examples of Jeff's work in the Collection. Another great excuse for a visit!

Gearing up for the Holidays and beyond!

We hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. We have been busy with shoppers looking for a unique gift. They have come to right spot! Whether it is a piece of jewelry, a sculptural piece or a bowl, a scarf or an ornament from one of our seventy-two artists, a wonderful woodfired piece of pottery (from my talented son, Rob Sutherland) or some new gadgets from Filigree & More, our supply store, we are here to help you choose. We could probably even do a gift certificate for a class for next year.

We have a dynamite lineup for 2017. Many of the classes have already almost filled, even before I have posted a description. Where we can, we will have a second class. I guess my point is: if you see something you want in on, don’t procrastinate on signing up. The classes are limited to ten people and they do fill up!

Watch the classes page, and as pictures and description become available, I will post the fun! What I post below is subject to minor changes when we get text and pictures from the instructors.

First up is Nikolina Otrzan, coming all the way from Croatia. She will be teaching from March 24^th to the 26^th (two spots left) and perhaps March 27^th to the 29^th, if there is demand. We first met Nik at the Atlanta Synergy and have watched her techniques develop. You can probably find her work on Facebook to see her tempting veneers and construction techniques.(Sadly, due to fears of issues with visas and entering/exiting the country, Nikolina has cancelled her class. We will reschedule, hopefully later in the year. We'll be in touch with the people who expressed an interest.)

Jeff Dever is coming from Maryland April 2^nd to 4^th. We are already reserving spots in a second class from April 5^th to the 7^th. We have some of Jeff’s work in the collection for you to admire and get a feel for what you will learn. Jeff is an amazing teacher and we are very excited to share this opportunity with you. This will not be a beginner class. You will need some skills to take advantage of all he has to share.

Sarah Shriver is coming back June 2^nd to the 4^th to teach “Hinged Pendants”. We have started a waiting list for this class, as her class is already full.

Doreen Kassel will be here July 14^th to the 16^th to teach Translucent Flowers and Pods. We have some of her work in the studio for you to see. It’s very appealing. Once you see it, you will want to try your hand at it.

Lindly Haunani will be back at the end of August (August 25-27) for her annual color class. This is your knowledge fix for the year and it is always fun. It’s more than a project. It boosts your skill and makes all your work improve.

Laura Tabakman will be here Sept. 29^th to October 1^st to teach combining wire and translucent clay.

Leslie Blackford is coming “round the mountain” (from Kentucky!) in November (10-12) to show us how to use ‘vintage’ costume jewelry to enhance your polymer piece. We will be haunting all the antique shops between now and then to find discarded treasures from ‘auntie’s’ jewelry box that will be perfect with polymer.

As you can see, we have an exciting lineup for 2017. We hope you can join us or at least come in to visit. We have lots of new products(Moiko screens and Primary Elements) and a steady supply of Premo, Fimo and Pardo for your claying needs!

Back in the Saddle...

If it seemed as though we had dropped off of the face of the earth, perhaps it is because we sort of did. We had a marvelous color class with Lindly Haunani, followed by an adventure in eating to Savannah with her. The day after she went home, I checked into Northside Hospital for some back surgery. Well, the new improved, hardly gimpy at all, Sue is back, after only two and half weeks. We are back in the studio and working more hours each day. I will admit to getting tired, but I’m trying to be here for your needs. Obviously, it is wise to call before driving any distance to see us to make sure we are indeed in.

That being said, we have a bunch of new products out for sale. Primary Elements pigment sets, Silks Acrylic translucent glazes and Pure Mica Minerals with separate ColourArte Medium to mix with the pigments. Ellen has started experimenting with these products and I think you will be excited by the results. We also have seven or eight sets of PanPastels to choose from.

If you haven’t been in to see the retrospective collection in a while, you need to schedule a visit. We have quite a few new pieces. In addition to adding one of her fabulous “shards” necklaces to the collection, Libby Mills brought us a few pieces of Judy Dunn’s work, and a wonderful fish by Dawn Stubitsch that she won at a retreat auction. Mari O’Dell donated an Japanese themed “billet-doux”. Lindly made us two mounted Quilt Squares, a pin from her Sagacious Shale series and an incredible translucent petal necklace.

Cynthia Tinapple is coming next week to teach us the “Secrets of Inlay”. In addition to being the well- known blogger of Polymer Clay Daily, she has been inlaying polymer into wood for years. We have one of her large bowls in the collection, and her home is sprinkled with wonderful caned inlays. Don’t stand still too close to Cynthia or you might end up with a cane slice on your forehead!

We will be closed the last week of October to attend the Kentucky/Tennessee Guilds’ retreat at the Falls of Rough Dam State Park. Ron Lehocky with a few helpers puts on the retreat annually, and his new venue is even better than Mammoth Cave where it used to be held.

Finally, our last class of the year will be November 11-13, 2016. We are hosting Leslie Blackford for three days of fun making a “Winter Woodland Bracelet” and nightlights or lamps. She always has lots of great ideas and sculpting help. This class always amazes me. Everyone always claims they don’t do sculpting, everyone always leaves with a fantastic night light. There is some magic in the air!

 Don't forget to watch the "Upcoming Classes" page for classes coming up next year. If you see something that intrigues you, don't hesitate. Classes are small and fill up quickly.

Next...

We’ve had a wonderful week with Julie Picarello. She taught two wonderful sessions at CJS and is now winging her way back to California to her “day job” as a computer circuit board creator. Julie is such a good teacher and she shared all her techniques, from her style of mokume and ‘lizard tails’ to button blossoms and lunar beads. Our heads are spinning with all our new found knowledge and all I want to do is get back in the studio. Too bad I’ve got to straighten up and get set for Ellen’s two upcoming mokume survey classes. 
Then we have Lindly Haunani, our favorite color-meister, coming for a color class with a twist. We will be making skinner blended “fabric” to make quilt squares for wall hangings. It’s all about getting a palette that sings to you, so your work will make you happy, whether in wall hangings or jewelry. After all, it all starts with color.

 

There are more pictures with the description on the "Upcoming Classes" page. This class is a great confidence builder if you always struggle with your color choices. 

You will also see the new class description for Cynthia Tinapple's Inlaying Polymer (in anything that will hold still). There are also some new dates to put on your calendar for classes coming in the new year. Ellen has been busy lining up some fantastic classes for 2017....Laura Tabakman, Nikolina Otrzan, Jeff Dever, Sarah Shriver, Lindly Haunani...and we will get the descriptions up when it's time to sign up.