TH EARTHY INFLUENCE NECKLACE

THE TORY HUGHES EARTHY INFLUENCE NECKLACE.

This is the necklace I've been working on since I took the Tory Hughes class two weeks ago.  I wasn't able to finish it right away because I had to finish the buttons for our clay guild's exchange this Saturday.

We took two classes from Tory.  One was called mixed media and the other one was hinges.  This necklace was made with mostly Premo clay.  I textured the front and back and then antiqued it with acrylic paint after it baked.  The necklace is made of deep brown chips and small pieces of turquoise.  The toggle is a beautiful antique copper piece that I found at a bead store.  The top hinge was made from 20 gauge copper wire that I bought from A Beaded Affair http://www.abeadedaffair.com/.  She sells beautiful copper wire and has an Etsy page also http://www.etsy.com/shop/abeadedaffair.  I love this wire and won't use any other copper wire.  I got spoiled.  The bottom pieces are 18 gauge copper wire (also from A Beaded Affair).

This is the back of necklace.  I guess I could wear it either way.

As you can see on the top, it leans down to an angle.  I wasn't sure how I was going to do this so it would hang straight so I used the 16 gauge copper wire and made eye pins and attached them to the piece and put the chips going between the eye pins.  The single turquoise piece on the bottoms swings freely which I really like.

I'm still working in my dining room because of the flood in my studio and the new window won't be in till the 24th of February so, I guess I'll be here at least another two weeks by the time everything is done.  I guess I should be thankful.  It could have been a lot worse, at least I can still do clay and my 18 year old cat Booboo is sleeping right here next to me.  He got a blanket in the mail from Humane Society of the United States and he loves it.  He sure snores loud though.

Hinged Polymer Clay Pendant

This is going to be a short blog today.  I have to get everything out of my studio because the construction guys are coming tomorrow to take the walls down and repair the damage from the big storm we had two weeks ago.  I don't know how long I'm going to be working in the dining room but I'm getting claustrophobic already.  AND, I can't find anything.  I put things in the garage and the closets and drawers and boxes.

Anyway, the picture is of a hinged pendant that I made this weekend.  It's polymer clay and I made the hinges myself.  I took a Tory Hughes class on Saturday and Sunday and it was fabulous. She's the only woman I know that travels with a 40 pound belt sander and a drill press.   She is a great teacher and she went out of her way to show me that I needed to reach within myself to find my art.  I like using cutters and forms and texture sheets and doing things that are more classic instead of earthy.  Tory is a very earthy person and her work reflects that.  It's beautiful and complicated but soft and when you look at it, it says Tory Hughes on it.  She tried to make me feel that and at first I was afraid but then the inner me took over.  My piece is still not without some outside influence but it's better.

Tory makes you want to be one with the dirt and the earth which is hard for me because I'm not an earthy person.  I was raised to be classic and mop up the dirt not put it in my clay.  Maybe I can be one with the plaster for the next few weeks.

Thanks Tory, YOU ROCK and dirt and paint and hinge and sand and drill :0).