Where to go.....

We are in the midst of getting our main website back up and running the way it should, so going forward look for us at www.creativejourneystudios.com. This will be our interface with the polymer world and we hope you will bookmark us and join us on a regular basis. It will be the home base for our blog, information on our classes, new product information, new artist and gallery stories, and all sorts of fun!
This will be my last post on Blogger (I won't miss it!) and the beginning of my learning curve with WordPress. We will leave all the old posts up as an archive so you can look back and hopefully enjoy my strange sense of humor and the tons of information I've posted over the years. We had multiple sites (creativejourneystudios.blogspot.com; creativejourneyart.blogspot.com and the neglected filigreeandmore.blogspot.com and eventually they will all link automatically to our 'new' site.

One important bit of news----Don't forget the trunk show for Julie Picarello on July 12th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at our new location (12630 Crabapple Rd, Suite 220, Milton, GA 30004). It's a nice opportunity to meet Julie, see her work and talk polymer. OH, and try some ginger shortbread cookies from the lady at The Crab and Apple on the ground floor here. The class is July 13th to the 15th, where Julie will be teaching her "Meshed-up mokume pendants with bails, her feather beads and her faded tapestry look....a full weekend, to be sure!

 Here is some 'vintage' Julie from the Retrospective Collection

If you missed the class announcement and are now kicking yourself, it's not to late to call me and join us for the weekend. (404-314-5767).
Of course, we will still use Facebook to post news but we are trying to consolidate, so you don't miss anything. And I am always available for a visit to the new store. We'd love to see you!

Whew!

Well, we survived our opening. We were still arranging shelves at ten minutes to 5:00, when the doors were supposed to open. I think it is a family trait to use every last possible second to finish the job.
We had a nice turnout and everyone proclaimed that they were amazed we were ready. We could not have managed without all the helpers....from the packers in Buford (Thanks to Anita Kennerley, Patty Lee, Stacy Nathan, Cyndee Suckling, Lynn Abernethy, Sherry Moser, Stan Fong, "Bunny" Zahn and Ian Nicholas, to the unpackers here in Milton (thanks to Dustin Johnson, Mark Jackson, Jonah, Patrick and Jason Ryan, Cyndee Suckling, Sherry Moser, Lynn Abernethy, Anita Kennerley, Amy Koranek and Lindly Haunani). Lynda Gilcher and her wonderful husband Jon surprised us by driving in for the opening. Lynn Abernethy, not only drove over from Alabama and spent a couple nights to help with the work but she celebrated her birthday so we had an excuse to have a cake from Collets!

Catherine Taylor from Collets sent beautiful flowers and had one of her wonderful helpers, Jessica, come and help with the food. Lindly worked her magic with the food table to set a beautiful spread. Of course we had pastries from Collets! Ellen's cousin Mark and his wife sent a beautiful bouquet to help us celebrate! Cyndee, after taking all the orchids home to her house and taking care of them for six weeks, brought us two new beauties.

Polyform Products sent Amy Koranek to demo some of their new products. She did an amazing job, especially showing how to use the new liquid polymer, which she had nice sample packs of, so you could race right home and continue playing. We really appreciate the support from Polyform.
We were also excited to have a trunk show of Lindly's work. She had some asparagus necklaces, bracelets and earrings that were just amazing.

We have all been working like fools, but I have to say that we could not have done the move, the set-up or all the construction do-overs without Randy. Ellen's son (aka the Gallery Gnome) has made all this madness possible. He is the consummate salesman and in his usual manner is learning as much as he can about Creative Journey Studios to help you enjoy your visit and find what you need (even is you didn't know you needed it!)
Ellen is working her magic in the gallery to make a room full of beautiful displays to showcase all the amazing art we have for sale. She is also getting ready for the first official classes in our new space. She is teaching design techniques for the next two weekends. She is having you dig out all your old treasures that you could never figure out how to use. She'll help you transform them into a finished piece, even if you have to whip up a few filler pieces under her watchful eye.

Welcome to our new world!

Creative Journey Studios is about to reopen in its exciting new location, north of Atlanta. After three months of packing, moving, building and resetting up, we are about to have our grand opening! We have a whole weekend of activities planned to celebrate our new location in Milton, Georgia. Crabapple Market, our complex, is dedicating their new park, The Green, on our opening weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with them. They plan on live music and food, which should add to our fun. Plug our new address (12630 Crabapple Rd., Suite 220, Milton 30004) into your GPS (and mark it as a favorite!). Come help us do this right! Amy Koranek from Polyform Products is coming to do demos all weekend long.

Lindly Haunani, internationally acclaimed color guru, artist, teacher and author, will be joining us to welcome you. We’ll be having a trunk show for her on Friday night. She’ll be debuting her new asparagus earrings along with some new ‘shale’ earrings that are to die for!

My son, Rob will be visiting to play a little mandolin music for us. We are excited to show off his top mount sinks in our bathrooms. They are exquisite and sit atop beautiful maple counters made by our old Buford neighbor, Paul DeGrood. The combination is spectacular. Kudos to Randy for the fine finishing job he did (twice—but that’s a story for another day!)

Many of our artists have sent new work for the opening. Christi Friesen sent a whole new batch of Ghoulies to greet you. 

Deb Karash has made a wonderful batch of lapel pins with the guys in mind. 

Donna Greenberg has created a whole new series of “Bro-oches”, also known as 'Dude-Pins'. Barb Fajardo has sent a new batch of her collaged mokume. Sue Screws outdid herself with new leaf earrings. Tina Wujick created a series of pens and pen/pencil sets. Bettina Welker and Libby Mills sent new work for the opening. Ernie Hendrix created a wonderful batch of cards, as well as some new inros. Margaret Polcawich, a friend from our beginning days of polymer, joins the gallery with some delightful sculptures and tiles. Sherry Moser has created some new glass pieces. She carves and sandblasts the glass for an unusually beautiful finish and her silver work is impeccable.  In addition to her necklaces and earrings, she has created some cufflinks for your French cuffs. Mary Pratt is bringing us several of her large paintings to grace our walls. You will probably recognize her work from having seen her murals around Buford. We got a nice batch of new work from Mary Filapek and Lou Ann Townsend, and Betsy Baker, while we were at the spring ACC show in Atlanta. We picked up some new work from Ann Dillon and Jeanette Kandray while we were enjoying our spring retreat. Our artist count hovers around 75, and we appreciate their continued participation. There is lots to see…and love! Help us spread the word about polymer AND the gallery. Bring a friend and come for a visit!

The Retrospective Collection….Polymer from the Beginning…. has a bunch of new pieces and has expanded into 18 cases. You’ll want to set aside some time to really study it. We’re extremely proud of what we have been able to put together to promote the use of polymer clay as an art medium. Unlike museum collections that come and go, Creative Journey Studios' collection is always on display to give you inspiration.

A lot of planning has been going on. We have lined up some fabulous classes all the way into 2020. Ellen has been helping your favorite teachers come up with new exciting classes. We are pleased to have some new teachers who haven't taught for us before. Carol Blackburn is coming from England, Celine Charuau from France, Bonnie Bishoff from Maine, Anna Belchi from Spain, and Kathleen Dustin from New Hampshire. Keep up with what's coming by checking the classes' page often. If there is a class you are interested in, be sure to let us know so you have a space. Our classes are small and fill up fast. 

We hope you will visit. We are very excited about our future and would love for you to "Join The Journey!"

Alice....thru the looking glass!

This post got lost in the shuffle of our move, but I still wanted to put it up. This piece will have a happy home in the revamped collection in Milton.

We are over the moon about a new piece for the collection by our friend, Alice Stroppel. We traded out some of her old work for a nice collection of new work, now for sale in the gallery. In the box with her new work was this exquisite 'polymer painting' that we watched on facebook as it developed.

You need to make a trip in, just to admire this extraordinary work. It will blow your mind. Alice has been with us from the very beginning....even pre-Creative Journey! She even scrubbed toilets before we opened our business. Now, that's a good friend.
We are delighted that her shop in Sebring is spreading the joys of polymer clay. Her classes on cane mapping look amazing and she continues to develop new ideas to share.

Work in Progress...

If you follow us on Facebook, you have a leg up on the news! We are in the midst of moving to a new location closer to home. Crabapple Market in Milton will be our new roost! Milton is a newly incorporated area of Fulton County, just north of Alpharetta.....which is north of Atlanta. I know it seems like the suburbs of Atlanta encompass half the state of Georgia. That's just because they do. We will be about the same distance from downtown Atlanta but it may be a little easier to get here. MARTA comes up this corridor from the airport and there is public transportation in this direction.

We had hoped to be settled in time for Bettina Welker's class in April. We created a makeshift classroom in one of the center's open spaces....the old Mugs coffee shop. It actually worked out pretty well. The light was good and there was plenty of space to work. Bettina flew from Germany to share a new class on connections using polymer clay. Everyone marveled at her ingenuity and were delighted with what they learned. It really got us thinking of lots of 'what ifs'.

One of the things we are looking forward to in the new space is a wall of floor to ceiling windows. Ellen and Randy, with the help of Elizabeth Hamilton, our lighting expert, have also sourced light fixtures that will bounce light off the ceiling to eliminate harsh shadows in the work space. We have also found some wonderful chandeliers for the gallery portion of the space.

The retrospective collection, "Polymer From the Beginning", is expanding from fifteen to eighteen cases. A whole bunch of treasures have been unearthed from Ellen's office in preparation for the move, so plan on setting aside a good block of time to enjoy the work on display.

In between packing boxes and organizing clay, Ellen has been busy lining up an amazing array of teachers all the way into 2020. We remain dedicated to being a center of your polymer world and serving your needs as best we can.

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.

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 around the start of September (probably Sept. 8-10) 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. 

Heads Up!....

Big News!!! We filled Julie Picarello's class so quickly that many of you missed the sign-up. Several people called after the fact and wanted us to squeeze them in. That was something we couldn't do. One of the pluses of Creative Journey is the small class size where the students get lots of attention from the teacher and us. So, what to do? We called Julie and prevailed upon her to add a session. She was willing to change her flight and come early, so we are announcing a new session on Monday thru Wednesday, July 25-27 (10:00-5:00). Check the "upcoming classses" page to see the details of the class. Also, don't miss out on Lindly's class in September---it's already filling up.