How This Necklace Came To Be… From Burnt Clay:
Admiring jewelry pieces from other artists is a great way to inspire your own creativity. Now I don’t condone that you copy their work exactly. But you can allow yourself to be inspired by the way the artist uses certain colors together, or by the way they have strung the beads.
For example, here’s a beautiful polymer clay necklace created by Maureen Thomas at Maureen Thomas Designs. The photo was sourced from Flckr.
I love this necklace for a few reasons. First for it’s name, Burned Leaves Necklace, which reminds me of many years ago when in the fall we used to burn big piles of raked leaves. Of course now that is an environmental no-no and so today we compost. But the cold and smoky air was “Everything Fall” to me and it brings back many fond memories.
Another thing I like about the necklace is how it got it’s name. I understand that Maureen the artist had accidentally burned her leaf shaped beads… but then ended up loving how they looked and used them anyways. Sounds like something I would do. :-)
Lastly, just the shape and texture of the necklace is stunning and I can see that it would be very dramatic lying against the skin. Beautiful!
Oh and by the way, if you missed yesterday’s Polymer Clay Tip #22, here’s a link:
Help! I’m having problems making my beads perfectly round.
No worries. Try this… How To Make A Round Bead
If you have any beautiful polymer clay necklaces or jewelry that you’ve made, let me know below. I’ll get back to you with instructions on where you can email me a photo and I’ll post it in this section for others to see.
Cindy, thanks so much for the positive comments on my necklace. I certainly don’t advocate the intentional burning of polymer clay (even though I personally love the look) for health reasons. But, this was one of those happy accidents! Thanks again.
You’re welcome Maureen! Your work is so beautiful, it needs to be shared!
Cindy’s last blog post..Polymer Clay Cane Designs Inspired by Dainty Spring Flowers
It’s good to know that even our worst disasters can be turned into somthing beautiful. I love to throw things out so it looks like I will have to retrain my eyes to see things differently & keep everything[could end up being a bit of a horder].
Don’t worry, a little hording can lead to some pretty creative jewelry. Wouldn’t have never made silverware jewelry if I threw everything out!
I really like the necklace, I have been wanting to get to my clay last couple of weeks. I hope I can get some time in studio this week.
@NORA: Thanks for your comment. I hope you get some time in your polymer clay studio too!
@EVERYONE: I would love to see some of you guy’s work as well. You can use the “Contact Cindy” form at the top of this page to let me know about any photos you may have available. I’ll respond and let you know where you can email them to me so that I can feature your work in a future post.
What can be done to salvage over baked polymer clay jewellery, earrings in this case, that are slightly burnt looking. They were left in the oven and then the grill was put on!!
Thanks for any help you are able to give. Janette
Hi Janette, sorry to hear about your charred piece. Some of my favorite pieces have been salvaged from burning. You have to first let go of your original vision of how the piece was supposed to look. One you do that, you can see the potential of what it can be now. With my pieces I usually sand the piece and make sure it looks finished and has a lovely feel… Removing burnt bubbles etc. Then I will sometimes give the piece a color wash with paints… antique the piece… add other elements… gouge, scratch, distress, carve, add paint markings, add metal embellishments, combine with new veneers, etc, etc. Burnt pieces are strong, have a warm aged look to them and will often look lovely if you run with the distressed aspect of how they look now. But you can also do things like completely paint them and get an entirely different look. So although this answer isn’t specific on what you should do with your piece now… I do hope it helps you to see it with fresh eyes. Have fun and experiment. At this point you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!