Thursday, November 14, 2013

Late Fall/Early Winter Goings-On

Hidey-ho friends,

Ovenfried Beads has been spending a lot of time doing things other than polymer clay lately. I've been really inspired to experiment with inks on papers (various kinds of both), creating non-subjective patterns and weird shapes.  I have no idea what they'll become, but when I figure that out, I'll have a lot to work with!  Have you ever tried Suminagashi?  Suminagashi is a Japanese marbling technique that is just so fun....not as messy as Western fabric or paper marbling.  I'm still in the wee experimental phase of doing it, but I'm really happy with the results.  It's very mesmerizing.  I will add pics once I get them taken and uploaded.

This summer, after I took a fabric marbling class, I started rusting fabric.  Boy is that fun!  It's one of the easiest things on earth to do, much like the mushroom spore prints I played around with during warmer, mushroom-producing months.  I have lots of pieces of fabric to play with, and look forward to the cold cold days of winter when there's a foot of snow on the ground, work is called off and I can just play with the reserve of materials that were created.  Below are photos of the rusting setup, rusting result and a piece of multi-media art I created.
   
This is the fabric over the rusty bits I collected for years

                                         This is the fabric after it was rusted, rinsed and ironed.

                                       
                                          This is the multi-media piece of art I made from leftover paper.


Shows have been scarce for me this year.  My day job requires working weekends, which is when most craft shows occur.  I'm okay with that...I love my job, but I also love selling my work.  SO, if you are in Cincinnati, or will be visiting, you should totally come see my booth at a 2-day show on December 6th from 5:30-8pm and December 7th from 11am-5pm.  I'm having a hard time uploading the swanky PDF that the organizers provided, so here's the address until I can get it up on here.  The New School Montessori, 3 Burton Woods Lane, Cincinnati OH, North Avondale neighborhood.  If I didn't have to head off to work in 5 minutes I'd hunker down and make the poster happen.  Anywhoo, all I can say is that it's going to be a fabulous show featuring staff and alumni of the school.  I used to work there, so I guess I'm staff alumni.  Some of the new experimental work will be for sale.

Gotta run....I'll bring more updates sooner than later.  It's been a crazy month, so I hope this weekend or early next week I can entice you with more photos of new work!





Thursday, September 5, 2013

First Outdoor Park in Eons -- Folksiders in Edgewood

The frequency of my blogs is pretty unacceptable, and I accept that.  Why on earth did I wait until 2.5 days before a big show to say anything here?  Because I am a procrastinator.

Tons of new stuff.  Some loose beads and buttons, but the focus will be on new jewelry.

Come one, come all!  39 vendors to browse and shop.  I know some of them.  Cool cats they are!

Folksiders
Freedom Park
Edgewood, KY
Saturday, September 7, 2013
12 noon - 8pm


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bead De-Stash at Pendleton Art Center Annex

(July 3 update....I will return with my destash beads for the July Final Friday.  That will be my last destash opportunity for you to get great deals.  No bagged beads sold last week, so they're all there, waiting for you!)

Hey Cincinnati-area fans....

This Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center Annex, I will be selling most of the beads that I have accumulated over the last 10+ years.  There's nothing wrong with them....it's just that as the jewelry market gets more and more competitive and my own creative interests turn more and more to fiber, I want these beads to go to good homes.

Click here to see pictures of my sale display.

These will be in bags and strands, priced no more than $5, with many retailing now for $20 and up.  One of the only exceptions is seed beads, which I plan on keeping and using.


~ Pyrite
~ Malachite
~ Hematite
~ Coral
~ Moss agate
~ Picture Jasper
~ Agate
~ German glass
~ Vintage German Lucite
~ Seeds (natural seeds, not seed beads)
~ Wood
~ Abalone
~ etc, etc

There is a table of a variety of great earrings, bracelets and necklaces (and a seed bead embroidered barrette) that are Buy One Get One Free.  You don't have to worry about if it's going to be hot in the studio, because the Annex has central air....if it's 100 degrees outside, you will cool off.  Shop in comfort.


Final Friday Annex, suite 10 on second floor. (Window has large red neon circle in it. The studio window faces the larger main building...you can't miss it.  Stair access only.)
June 28 and July 26, 2013
6pm-9:30pm
Valet parking available.
Due to my day job, I will not be there any Second Look Saturdays.
The studio is being graciously lent to me by Margie of Going In Style.

There is a possibility that I will be continuing the de-stash for August's Final Friday.  Stay tuned here or follow me on Facebook to stay informed.  My polymer clay beads will likely creep into the mix in July and/or August.






Friday, May 31, 2013

Ovenfried Beads is back on Facebook

So I was on this "I'm leaving Facebook" kick and had a great time with a much simpler life:  a quieter mind, more time to hike and create and get back into beadmaking again. 

Well so much for that.  This time I'm going to be much better at managing my time on it. 

I missed out on family event photos and stuff.  Ovenfried Beads had one less majorly important place to toot it's horn about shows and new merch and Etsy sales.  

SO, if you like Ovenfried Beads, then please "LIKE" Ovenfried Beads.
The page is basically brand new again but I will refill it with pretty pictures.

In the meantime, I will be selling my jewelry at the Pendleton Art Center Annex tonight (May 31) from 6 to maybe 9:30 if there are people there.  The Annex is the short building across from Artist Alley.  There's a big sign that says ANNEX.  I'll be upstairs.  It is air conditioned!

New photos coming soon.....new mokume gane pieces have been baked but need a little more work before they're presentable and ready!  Stay tuned!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

April Polymer Clay Classes

I'm teaching 2 classes in April at Silk Road Textiles in Cincinnati.   The messaging system on the class descriptions page doesn't work for all emails, especially Gmail (I know because I work there...we're looking into it), so it's best to stop in or call to register.  I copied the class descriptions straight from the page, so that's why it looks like I'm referring to myself in the third person.  ;)

For the button class, I will provide a pasta machine and a whole bunch of neat tools to play with.  When it's summertime, I plan on doing an extruded cane class, but for now we're doing basic canework and fooling around with experimentation.

Class size is limited to 4 (5 if someone brings a pasta machine), so sign up early. 




Stacker Beads/Embellishments                             
$65
Skill Level: No Experience Necessary – appropriate for adults and teens
Fri. 4/19 10am-1pm

Students will learn how to make “stacker beads”, a polymer clay bead design by the instructor, Amy Wallace. Amy created this bead design 12 years ago, and it is popular among polymer clay artists. Her “stacker beads” were published in Polymer CafĂ© magazine in 2003. They work great as embellishments on quilts, finished yarn projects and coiled bowls as well as making beautiful jewelry.




Polymer Clay Button Making                                
$65
Skill Level: No Experience Necessary – appropriate for adults and teens
Fri. 4/26 10am-2pm

Students will make handmade buttons using various techniques with polymer clay. Safety and proper tool use will also be covered. Student may bring their own tools and clay if desired, however materials are included.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Final Friday in Cincinnati

This is the main Annex building.  I'll be upstairs.


This is almost as last-minute as you can get, but this Friday, March 29, from 6pm-9:30pm I will be exhibiting and selling my polymer clay jewelry at the Pendleton Art Center in Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati.  It has been  a little while since I was there.  My friend Margie has a gorgeous studio in the Annex, the shorter building directly across the brick alley (aptly named Artist Alley, from what I recall) from the 8 story main building.  There is a neon sign in the second story window...formerly the studio of Frank Satogata....just take the steps to the second floor, and I'm in the first studio, #10.  Margie has work there, as well as wire/metal sculptures from Cincinnati artist John "Wire".  Since this is my "maiden" show in her studio, I will be bringing only my most awesome jewelry....loose beads and buttons may come at a later date.

Who knows....if you come and mention you saw this blog, I may just have a special goodie for you.  I accept cash and checks with photo i.d.

If you don't want to wait for or pay for valet parking, the new Horseshoe Casino a couple of blocks away has free parking after 6pm.

Hope to see you there. 

(Updated March 29..... Tonight I had a great time up in Margie's studio.  It's such a warm and comfortable room with such a neat variety of items inside.  I plan on being there again for Final Friday on April 26.  Thank you to all who visited and purchased some of my work!)

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Addicted to Fiber

Working in a yarn and fabric store means a lot of things.  For one, I am surrounded by amazing things that I could never afford.  Most of it is totally within the realm of my pocketbook, over time.  But the cool thing is, I can be around it, talking about it, teaching about it, squeezing and touching it, five days a week, and get paid to do it.  (Although, some of my paycheck does go right back into the store....cycle of life, right?)

Then there's the other part. Being around it so much means I have a LOT of ideas of what to create.  I want to create so much more than I will ever have time for, and it often overwhelmes me.  Unless someone comes by, sweeps me off my feet and says, "Live your dream, Amy....I'll take care of the rest," sewing, knitting, polymer clay, paper cuts, you name it.... will always be for my time away from work.  Sometimes I want to lock myself into the house for a week and just see what happens.


So here's part of my newest yarn acquisition.  Malabrigo Worsted Weight ....merino wool....a perfect felting fiber.  I've gotten it in my crazy head that instead of buying wool to cut, stitch, embellish, and sculpt, I can make my own felt fabric.  And will I!  This is going to have to wait though, because I spent over 10 hours in the last week working on a giant scarf (approximately 6-1/2 feet long, and very wide) that I finished at 11:05am this morning.  Technically I still need to weave in the tails, but I wore it to work today and people loved it. 

My next project will be featured in my next post.  Here's a hint:  My mom left me with 19 pieced quilt squares that I discovered only after she died.  There will be photos.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Saying "See ya!" to Facebook

Hello friends and fans....

I've decided to cut the cord for good and leave Facebook, both as me and as Ovenfried Beads.  It's time to simplify. I've grown weary of Facebook and the time it has stolen due to my inability to moderate my own time on it.  For me it has turned into one giant vat of advertisements and an overload of information that frankly isn't doing much to inspire me to get busy.  I will disconnect some time on Saturday. (March 23)

So if you've recently "liked" my Ovenfried Beads page on there, I apologize for the short virtual relationship that we have had.  (This past week there have been a LOT of new likes...I wonder where that came from!).  Fret not...this blog is going to stick around.

In any case, this will be the only place that I announce new classes, shows, sales in my Etsy store and other occasional random riff-raff.  Please follow this blog or visit it to get updates.

My other blog, A Very Pedestrian Snail, features my photography that has absolutely nothing to do with Ovenfried Beads or my craft adventures.  Mostly nature stuff....nature is my main inspiration for all things creative.  If you like moss, lichens and fungi, you should bookmark that, too.

I hope to update this blog about once a week if not more.  I'm branching out into fiber art again.  This is a good one-stop shop for me to post pictures of what I'm doing.  Now that I'll have the time to really create, I'll have more time to truly SHARE with you what is going on. 

I always welcome comments and questions, too, so feel free to chime in!

Have a great day!]

(March 24 update:  Getting rid of FB was like taking a whole warehouse full of garbage and burning it.  It was the best computer-related decision I have ever made.  Highly recommended.)

Monday, January 28, 2013

New 2013 Work and New Blog

Hello friends and fans!

   2013 started with a terrible creative slump.  The cold dark days and holiday recovery just really got the best of me.  I toyed with the idea of just scrapping Ovenfried Beads altogether.  Honestly, I didn't think that I'd ever really be moved by polymer clay again. 

   Then I installed some lights in my new basement studio.  This Thomas doubts no more that there has to be an endless spring of creativity that just ebbs and flows.  Sometimes it's a torrential rush that turns into compulsive creation....and sometimes it trickles so slow that it seems like adding something to mashed potatoes is a genius idea. 

   I've been digging out beads that were packed up for moving.  A trip to the craft store resulted in some new findings that I've been needing for a while.  Classical music on public radio, even during the winter fundraising, set the mood.

   SO, as I posted on my Facebook page this morning, my big liquidation sale ends Wednesday.  I have new work to post, so if you happen to read this before January 30, get your behind over to my Etsy store and save a boatload on everything you like there.  Don't forget to enter the promo code!  If you forget, you will pay full price.  I just really don't have time to cancel transactions, relist and have someone re-buy them so that they can get the sale price.

   Wednesday night I will be putting it all back to regular price so I can freshen it up with new work.  These photos are items that will be available for sale.  (After they're posted I plan on linking them to the actual ad. If I remember.)

OH, and by the way....just one more thing to tell you.  I have a new blog that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Ovenfried Beads or my handcrafted art.  Photography is another one of my hobbies, so if you like neat pictures of nature and urban stuff (lots of closeups), just hop on over to my new photo blog: A Very Pedestrian Snail.  It's pretty much just all photos.







Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Etsy Sale Just Got Deeper

Hey ya'll's. 

My Etsy Store liquidation has been on the slow path.  Perhaps starting it right after the biggest spending-money-on-others season wasn't the most strategically smart thing to do.

In any case, everything that is listed is 48% off the listed price IF, and only IF you enter the coupon code "OBEADS48" when you check out.  If you don't enter it, you'll pay the full price.  (Which would be really cool, actually.)  Valentine's Day is less than a month away, and Mother's Day will be soon after that. 

I still have room in my Stacker Bead class coming up soon, as well as the Polymer Clay Buttonmaking class.  The Fabric Coiled Bowl class is almost full.  Check out my previous blogpost titled "Winter Classes with Ovenfried Beads" to get the full details.

Have a great day! 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Winter Classes with Ovenfried Beads

Hello!

Here is a near-carbon copy of my last class update from this past fall at Silk Road Textiles in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The classes are the same, but the dates and times are not.  If you can't make these dates, there will be others in March, April or May. Stay tuned!  You can also sign up to receive emails about class updates by clicking this link

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Fabric Coiled Bowls
See those Stacker bead buttons? Scroll down...there's a class for those too.
Students will learn how to create a specific style of functional bowls using fabric and
rope. Good manual dexterity in both hands is necessary. I was featured on HGTV's "That's Clever!" in 2007 making this bowl, so if a TV network thinks it's cool, it's probably worth signing up for. The bowl you see above is a huge version of what you'll be making in a 3 hour class, but it gives you a good idea.

The lady behind the company Recyclabowls took my coiled bowl class and turned it into a business. Even though her technique is similar, she has turned it into her own "thing". In fact, her bowls are available for sale at Silk Road Textiles and at several stores in Cincinnati.

Class fee is $35, and students must purchase 3 cotton fat quarters from SRT. The rope, hot glue, string and needles will be provided by me.

Sat. 2/2 9am-noon

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Polymer Clay Buttonmaking

These are some random buttons that I have made recently.
Yours will be unique...your own design.

Students will make handmade buttons using various techniques with polymer clay. To alleviate stress and work on the student's part to gather the many tools and clay needed for this 4-hour workshop, I am including everything in the package, so the class fee reflects the added expense on my part. I will cover some basic techniques in polymer clay (simple canes, marbling, and/or stamping, depending on the group) and students will create their own buttons.
Note: If a student has polymer clay tools that they would like to use, like a favorite blade, pasta machine, stamp or even colors of clay, they are free to bring them, but the class fee won't change.
Class fee is $65. 

Tue. 1/22 10am-2pm

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Stacker Beads/Embellishments

Students will learn how to make Stacker beads, a polymer clay bead design that I perfected about 12 years ago. Stacker beads make amazing embellishments, so even though Silk Road Textiles is not a bead/jewelry supply store, students can learn this technique to embellish their own fiber art pieces or make them into beads. I will supply all the clay and tools needed.

Class fee is $65. 

Wed. 2/20 9am-1pm
Note: If you do not live in Cincinnati or can't take my classes you can purchase a PDF of my Stacker bead tutorial directly through me. It's $16 and I'll email it to you.  Email me if you are interested.  I accept Paypal.  (I normally have it on Etsy, but since I'm having a store-wide sale, it's not available there at this time.)

**********************************************************************
There are many other great fiber art classes being offered at Silk Road Textiles. If you are interested in learning more, visit their website or "like" their Facebook page (or both) to find out more.   The class list is updated on a roughly quarterly basis.

Etsy Liquidation Sale

Happy New Year, dear fan of Ovenfried Beads!


Click pic to see the Etsy ad!
 
  This is the 18th year I've been "playing" with polymer clay.  Well, technically it will be mid-June that I will have filled my life with such a colorful adventure.  Right now I'm at a point in my life where I am ready to slow down a bit and explore other/additional creative venues and re-visit outlets that I love but have ignored.  Though I do plan on continuing creating with polymer clay, it will be part of larger things.  Mixed media with fiber.  I don't want to give away too much information, but let's just say the "artist" in me wants to bump the "crafter" in me off to the side and take the wheel for a while.


Click this one, too!
  Therefore, I'm having a whole-store liquidation sale in my Etsy shop.  Everything in the store is 33% off.  Ideally, I'd like to sell it all off and start fresh.  There are an awful lot of great classic pieces in there that need homes.  Items in my Etsy store represent my best and favorite, work.


And don't forget about this!
 
  Please take a minute to browse the store and check out the great goods that are there.  Many people in the industry have told me that it's already reasonably priced.  The 33% discount does not mean it's second-tier.  I just need to move it out and get started on new things to post once the stock has whittled down.  If you want to purchase something, all you have to do (besides be registered with Etsy) is enter this coupon code when you check out:  OBEADS33.  That's it.  In case you haven't used Etsy in a while, you're now no longer required to pay with a credit card through Paypal.  You can pay straight through Etsy. 

  If you are interested in purchasing my Stacker Bead tutorial PDF, you may email me directly.  I accept Paypal and will email you the tutorial upon receipt of payment.  The tutorial is $16.00.  It's 4 pages with full-color step-by-step instructions. 

  Thanks for your time...next blog entry will be about my newest classes.  If you can't wait, visit the website of Silk Road Textiles' class page and click on the "More Fibers and Fabrics" tab to find out about my Fabric Coiled Bowl class, as well as the "Mixed Media and Embellishments" tab to get info on my Polymer Clay Buttonmaking and Stacker Bead classes.