1-A: Stream
2-A: River Bed
3-A: River Flow
4–A: Brook
Don’t you just love the amazing depth of colors that a body of water has as it flows over a rocky river bed? Water itself is essentially clear, yet there are blues, greens, grays, whites and a myriad of watery colors that can be drawn from this single snapshot alone. This is caused by the mineral and organic content of the water, the depth, clarity and the way light is passed through it.
This photo was taken by Doug along the Skykomish River where we stopped for lunch on our PcT Roadtrip last summer (2013). It was on Hwy 2 (Stevens Pass Hwy) in Washington State, somewhere in between Gold Bar and Monroe, for those of you who know the area.
Anyway, we found a spot large enough to park the truck and trailer and I started to make lunch while Fisher hauled out his computer and Willow and Doug walked down to the river to take some pictures. Willow was wearing flip flops so she actually stood right in the water, but Doug stood along the shore and shot his photos from there.
We were tired and stressed during this leg of the trip, but you wouldn’t know it by this peaceful photo. It makes you realize that Nature just does it’s own thing, no matter what the crazy humans are fussing about at the time.
The river just keeps flowing. Maybe if we were more like the river, we would just flow along too… and not worry so much about controlling each step along the way? We’d probably be a lot less stressed if we did.
So let this river take you away… let it flow over you and leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Enjoy this peaceful inspiration for the Vol-071 A-series color palette!
The following Vol-071 A-series River Flow Color Palette will be added to the Polymer Clay Members Library at the beginning of April 2014:
- Stream (Recipe 071-1A)
- River Bed (Recipe 071-2A)
- River Flow (Recipe 071-3A)
- Brook (Recipe 071-4A)
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… Stream is that peaceful blue green of the water as it flows over the boulders in the stream. River Bed is the color of the shallow waters flowing over the pale river rocks. River Flow is the soft blue color where the deeper blue tones of the mineral dense waters mix with the frothy bubbles of the turbulent rapids. And Brook is the clear true blue where the current moves the slowest and swirls around the deep sink holes created by the years of erosion.
Cindy, thanks for the lovely color palette this month. You always seem to put together just the right ones at this time of year! I will have to get busy and mix up some more recipes. It’s amazing how fast they accumulate. I can’t tell you how many times I refer to my big binders of recipes for clay colors. ~DixieAnn-S
Not only a beautiful palette, but your story too. You see things with the eyes of adventurer! Your whole family seem mesmerized. What a place to share. Your descriptions of the colors are so vivid – I felt as if I were there… Love this. ~Patt-W
I’m not sure if I enjoy your colors or your descriptions more… but I always find the beauty that you guys share with us inspiring. ~Tantesherry
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If you would like more information about the Members Library, here are some direct links:
Library Member Benefits and What Others Are Saying
Order Page for Color Recipe and Video Back Issue Packages
Become A Full Member at the Library
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What a beautiful photo, i thought it was a painting at first, it looks as though it should be framed and hung on a wall. I appreciate your color recipes for so much more than just mixing new clay colors…. I struggle with color in every aspect it can be used!!!!!! From painting my walls to designing new pieces of jewelry and everything in between!!!
I just wanted to say Thank You for these color recipes (I call them COLOR RESCUES). Currently I am working on a jewelry piece, as part of a design challenge, and this color recipe gave me the fourth color I was struggling to add for some dimension!!!! Have a great week and THANKS AGAIN!!!
Kelli Nelson
St.Croix Falls,WI
I also have a question~ Have you hand-torched regular yellow Brass headpins? Did it work like the bronze wire or copper? I have accidentally torched some silver -filled wire and it turns out with the red balled ends the same as copper does just an FYI !!! And how long would you say the homemade pickle usually lasts?
Thanks AGAIN for all the great information you and your family provide all of us for such an AWESOME PRICE!!!! Anyone on the fence about signing up for the membership ~ This site is about ALOT MORE than polymer clay and they don’t really know what they are missing!!
Kelli, thank you so much for your sweet words! I love it that you call the recipes, color rescues!
As far as torching brass goes, it can be tricky to get it to ball unless you have a really hot torch. Even the bigger propane ones are not really hot enough. You can get the bronze to ball, if it has enough copper in it. But a small torch isn’t going to do it either.
Copper balls wonderfully, if you use a propane torch. A small butane torch may not get hot enough unless the gauge is quite small.
Silver filled wire is hit and miss. If they have a copper core it can sometimes work, but if it is some other alloy it may not work too well.
The pink end you got on your Silver fill means that yours indeed had a copper core.
Fine silver and Argentium SIlver are the easiest to ball up and they don’t get any fire scale, which means there is no need to pickle them. And they make a nice smooth even ball, without the pockmarks that Sterling Silver gets where the copper and the silver melt at different rates and sputter a little when melting.
I don’t really know how long a homemade pickle will last. I haven’t really noticed, since I tend to do things in batches… like make a whole bunch of headpins, pickle them and then not do it for a year or so. If I come back to my pickle and it doesn’t seem to do anything, I just dump it out and make another batch. (I neutralize it by dumping in some baking soda first, before throwing it out though, so it is not hard on the drains.)
Hopefully I answered your questions fully enough.
Thanks again for your comment! I love hearing from you!
……………………………………….THE RIVER……………………………….
I was standing on the river bank
With the waters flowing by
Chuckling softly to itself
And gurgling with a sigh
How many miles has it wandered?
What wonders has it seen?
So many colours are there in it’s depth
From here it looks cool and serene.
But further down this river
It begins to gather pace
Foamy white spray flies high in the air
It has put on a different face.
As it smashes and crashes over the rocks
Racing along at speed
Tearing the earth from both of it’s banks
Be-moaning the human’s greed.
Leave me alone it seems to gasp
As it gives a mournful cry
It’s waters now full of a toxic waste
Dead fish are floating by.
The colour has turned a deep crimson red
(Is it crying tears of blood?)
No, it’s the waste that is pouring into it’s heart
Damming a mighty flood.
Oh! foolish, foolish creatures
Can you not leave well alone?
Why would you want to alter it’s course?
Pick up your tools of destruction
Pack them in your trucks
And go home.
Now it has rushed past the danger
It’s heading towards the sea
On it’s preordained long journey
To escape and to be free…
Fantastic poem Elaine! Once again I am amazed with what an inspired voice you have. I do love having you posting your poems here for us. Please keep em coming! … As long as you have words that you want to share… you will have eager ears and eyes that want to hear and read them!
Thanks to you Cindy,
You put the pictures into my mind with your beautiful river flow palette. The hard work that goes into creating all your recipes is much appreciated……………….cheers xx…..
Thank you once again Elaine for a beautiful poem. You certainly have a wonderful talent for writing them. I hope you have saved them all as it would be nice to read them all from time to time. You should start a blog with Elaines Poetry and then you could record them so they can be shared with the world. Be sure you get them copyrighted as you never know who the next person will be looking for the words to a new song.
Thanks Dixie, no they are free for anyone, but it would be nice if Sir Elton decided to put music to my words…..rock on xx
Elaine, thats a spendid idea. Sir Elton is a fabulous artist. Why not send him copies?
Ah such a lovely spring color pallet that many of us on this side of the planet have been waiting for! The snow is gone, the weather is warming and the sun is shining most of the days. The river photo reminds me of all those good fishing days ahead.
Cindy you certainly know how to invoke such lovely thoughts with your colors. You are certainly a child of Mother Nature!