Catch up with the news!

We hope you will read beyond the first page of the blog: check out the Summer Class page and the First Thursday page to keep track of the classes coming up: Wire Weaving with Cindy Moore on July 21 & 22; Etched Collage with Cold Connections with Kim St. Jean on August 4; Steampunk Dangles with Kim St. Jean on August 5; Pollage with Patricia DiBona on August 10^th; Face Canes with Julie Eakes on August 11 & 12; Wirewrapping with Jan Stephens on August 18^th; Patricia and Ellen will guide you in making a Gratitude Altar on August 22 and 23; First Thursday with Patricia and Ellen on September 6^th; Captured Curiousities with Resin with Christi Friesen on September 8^th; Fee Fi Faux Fabulous (Introducing Swellegant metal coatings and patinas) with Christi Friesen on September 9^th; and finally….Lindly Haunani is coming back for a weekend workshop on September 15 & 16 where she will share a new class she is debuting at CJS. Whew! It’s getting to be a whirlwind around here…not to mention a couple trips out of town (for the Connecticut retreat and Arrowmont).

A highlight of our summer was a wonderful class with Sarah Shriver. She presented her kaleidoscope cane techniques on the weekend, and then on Tuesday we used our newly made canes and skinner blends to create “Big Beads with reverse inlays”. She is an amazing teacher. Being able to watch her hands closely and glean the little tricks she uses was invaluable. We will definitely be bringing her back next year.

 We just wanted to catch you up on the latest news and excitement. We have been busy expanding the retrospective collection and creating new signage. We also have been adding new artists and rearranging the work for sale in the gallery. Everyone has new tent cards with the Creative Journey Studios logo on them. Between that and combating the major quantities of dust from all the road construction, we have been very busy. We’ve also been stocking new items in Filigree & more, our supply store. We are now carrying Pardo clay—the translucent is amazing, especially for building hollow beads around pressed cotton balls from England (we have five sizes!)  We have a new cutting tool---the Testor blade that Ron Lehocky recommended at his demo (which was fantastic—he shared a lot of pointers on pendant construction.

The tool room is shaping up. One of Patricia’s student’s husband put together our work bench and we have a new bench lathe for polishing beads. We also have a new flex shaft ready to be explored. We are now Foredom distributors, so check with us before you plunge on any of their fantastic tools. I think you will find we are more than competitive with the pricing.

Jimmie Boatright has designed some new class pieces. We have made her some new polymer cabochons which she is using to make wonderful bracelets. She is all set to teach her new techniques.

Patricia DiBona has been busy gearing up for some shows and has created some new numbered shadow boxes featuring her “frozen Charlottes”,  little porcelain dolls from Victorian Germany. She’s been organizing her studio and finding lots of vintage goodies for her future classes. She has a soldering class coming up on July 18th, so check the class schedule on the blog (www.creativejourneyart.blogspot.com). She is always willing to put together a class designed especially for you. She and Ellen will have a special “First Thursday” class on August 2, with mixed media and polymer components –“Story Necklace”. You’ll be making and stringing beads that have special meaning to you. I think I’ll go for the faux ivory bead with “energized” stamped on it!

Let's "Face" it--Julie Eakes has got it goin' on

 

Creative Journey is planning a busy, entertaining weekend of face cane making with Julie Eakes. Julie has been busy creating new takes on the ultimate uses of her wonderful canes, so you will not only learn the her style of face cane making, but get a grasp on how to utilize your wonderful finished product. She will expand your knowledge of cane reduction as well. Julie is the “queen” of giant cane reducing---it’s a treat to watch her techniques.

If you haven’t experienced Creative Journey Studios yet, this is a great class. We keep our classes small, so you get a lot of individual attention. You are surrounded by polymer inspiration with the gallery and our retrospective collection. You have access to our supply store, Filigree & More, for last minute purchases of hard to find products. You can walk into our working studios to see what is being created on a day to day basis. In short, you can come to ‘Polymer Nirvana’.

Join us on August 11^th and 12^th for face cane making fun. Come with your clay conditioned (we’ll post a list of supplies soon), so we can jump right in and accomplish this big task in a two day class. Julie has blogged about the class on her blog at www.julieeakes.blogspot.com, so you can see some additional pictures of earlier classes.

The latest word....

Free Demo on Saturday (June 23^rd from 1 to 3pm)! Ron Lehocky, who makes polymer heart pins to support his charity, the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies in Louisville, KY is coming for a visit to Creative Journey Studios. He has graciously offered to give a free demo about how he makes his wonderful hearts. His techniques can apply to all sorts of polymer pin making, and it will be fun to watch him in action. After 19,200 hearts at last count, Ron definitely has some tips to share. We've been busy at the gallery and have expanded our retrospective collection to an even more mind-boggling size. This is a great opportunity to see what we are all about, have some good snacks and visit with other hardcore polymer addicts.

Also coming up is Sarah Shriver. Sarah will be teaching a weekend workshop on July 7^th and 8^th on her intricate kaleidoscope cane techniques, using painterly skinner blends. You will learn to obtain the illusion of depth and movement by using a repeating interlocking pattern. You will develop the visual texture and quality of a fairly simple cane to create infinite and intricate variations. Sarah has lots to share about bead construction and finishing techniques. If you have ever had the chance to see Sarah’s work up close, and to feel her beads, you know this class is not to be missed.

Sarah is staying to teach an extra session on Tuesday, July 10^th. She will present her take on making ‘Big Beads’, using Sculpey Ultralight clay (which Polyform is providing for the class—thank you, Iris). Using kaleidoscope cans or simple skinner bends as veneers, the class will make molds, pinch, carve and utilize Sarah’s new techniques for reverse inlay to create an array of beads that showcase these cool techniques. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of polymer’s premier teachers. The weekend is just $215 and Tuesday is $105. You can hold your spot by calling 404-314-5767 with a credit card. If you have further questions, please give us a call!

Be sure to check the summer classes page often. Don't miss Cindy Moore, Julie Eakes, Christi Friesen, Lindly Haunani, Kim St. Jean, Tammy Honaman, Judy Belcher and Jana Roberts Benzon. We're making lots of fun plans for the rest of summer and into fall.

We "heart" Ron....

.. especially when he hearts us! Ron Lehocky, heart pin maker extraordinaire, is coming to visit Creative Journey Studios. He and his lovely wife Peg are vacationing in Georgia, and Ron has offered to give a free demo on how he makes his amazing hearts. ( He has raised over $180,000 for his charity, The Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies www.kidscenterky.org  $10 at a time.) Come join us on Saturday, June 23 from 1 to 3 pm. We'll have lots of hearts for you to choose from. (Here's a link to see some of his hearts posted on Polymer Clay Daily before he topped 18,000. www.polymerclaydaily.com/lehocky

Back from the hills....

Barbara McGuire has moved to the mountains north of Asheville and has settled in a darling little house outside of Mars Hill. She will be back in town to teach a one day, special class for us, here at Creative Journey Studios. Join us on May 26th from 10 AM to 5 PM to learn how to make "polymer cabochons with silver bezels". This two sided necklace will provide lots of possibilities for texture options, as well as color.

You'll need to decide how many beads you want in your finished creation, as you sign up and we'll reserve that many bezels for you (the silver is in addition to the class fee of $85) There is more information on the Spring Class page about this and other upcoming classes.

Also coming up in May on the 25th (from 10 to noon), Patricia DiBona is teaching her introduction to soldering class. Learn to solder using time tested techniques. The class will cover basic layering, creating, wrapping and soldering techniques. Glass, images and resources will be included in the $75 class fee. Finish your piece with a leather choker or a silver plated chain that you will assemble to complete your project.

Saddle up your horse and polish your armor!

Panel from the Bayeux Tapestry

Let the jousting begin! Just kidding! Seeing awesome chainmaille does strange things to me! We have a new teacher and some of her fabulous work to sell in the gallery. Dian Parker is coming to Creative Journey Studios to teach how to create a Byzantine bracelet in chainmaille. If you, too, have always been fascinated by this higher use for a jump ring, join Dian for this new class on June 21. We're having two sessions to choose from (1-3 or 6:30-8:30pm) for $50 plus supplies (~$40).
We have some lovely examples of Dian's work in the gallery. Stop by and check it out!

Also, don't forget that another fun "First Thursday" project is coming up. On May 3rd, Ellen and Patricia are teaching "Your Outer Goddess". You'll create a polymer goddess pendant and a wired bead chain. What a deal....a fun afternoon or evening and you go home with a treasure!



New Work in the Gallery

We have new artists (Debbie Jackson and Peggy Martin) in the Gallery, and new work from one of our original artists (Kim Korringa). Debbie's new collection of earrings and necklaces has a wonderful tribal or ethnic bent. Debbie was fortunate to take an amazing trip to Ghana where she was able to visit with many of the talented artists doing batik and brass work. It has definitely informed her new pieces. You'll definitely want to add one of these spectacular one of a kind pieces to your collection.

Peggy Martin's new work is in cold connections and fold-forming of metals. She has made some wonderful pendants and uses interesting chain. She also has brought us some dynamite earrings. Kim Korringa sent a new batch of her wonderful fairy wing earrings. They are really special. There are even two pairs of black and white ones that are really fun.
We also have some new local teachers who will be creating new fun classes on a more regular basis. Jimmie Boatright will be teaching beading classes for us....we already have her scheduled to teach "embellishing filigree" and "capturing cabochons". We had an opportunity to photograph a large portion of her work, and I foresee other classes in the making. Mamie Velez is going to share some calligraphy based classes, like drawing flourishes. I see these as potential surface designs for polymer pieces. She is also going to teach the "artful doodle", which is similar to zentangling with calligraphic elements. We all love to doodle so why not doodle on polymer....hmmm!
Patricia DiBona and Ellen Prophater are busy dreaming up new classes for their combined class that they present the first Thursday of every month. Their collaborative work is expanding both of their horizons. I can hardly wait to see the effect of the encaustic painting symposium up in Massachusetts they are going to attend in June.