Synergy 3 Bus Tour to Creative Journey Studios

Just a brief heads-up that the sign-up button for the Synergy 3 bus trip to visit Creative Journey Studios is up and functioning. (Already have had four sign-ups!)  There is limited space so don't procrastinate and miss the fun. Go to www.creativejourneystudios.com, read the blurb, get your credit card and hit the Paypal button. You know the drill! We know it is going to be a fun day. Christi Friesen and Leslie Blackford are going to be giving demos. We're going to be having drawings for polymer prizes. We think this will be a highlight of your trip. If you have questions, give us a call at 404-314-5767.

I'm worn out just writing about it!

I have a feeling that things will be like a whirlwind around here in the fall. We have new products in Filigree & more, new tools in the toolroom, new artists in the gallery, some wonderful new pieces in the exhibit (like a new pendant from Libby Mills, three necklaces from Julie Eakes and a fabulous new necklace from Jeff Dever!), and a parade of classes coming up. In September we will have Christi Friesen rockin' the joint! We love Christi (but she wears me out....she doesn't sleep, I'm sure...and she always has a smile on her face...except when she is sticking her tongue out.)

She is going to be sharing her tricks for sculpting and then using resin to capture our sculpted treasures and turn them into unique polymer pendants. Her second class will introduce us to her new product line - Swellegant. These are metal coatings, patinas and dye-oxides that can be intermixed to create  unique metallic finishes. I can hardly wait to experiment with her!
Right after Christi, we have a new class from Lindly Huanani. Just when you thought you knew all there was about color, here comes Lindly with a new way of looking at color and color mixing.She will increase your confidence in combining colors and show you how to combine color shifted stripe patterns. You'll learn new ways to 'audition' color combinations, so you feel confident striking out on your own. You'll work toward creating a 'library' of 12 to 15 color-coordinated canes to work with.
The following weekend we're headed to Savannah for a demo for Polyform at a new Dick Blick that's opening. If you're in the area, come see us and say "hello". The next weekend we're off to Arrowmont for a class with Deb Karash in cold connections, and with Gail Nelson in enameling. It's our annual get smart week! At the end of the month, it's time for Mammoth Cave -- the Kentucky Guild Retreat.
Stay tuned for what's up in November and December. We'll be involved with Synergy3 planning. We hope you are setting aside time to come to Atlanta for Synergy3 in March. The International Polymer Clay Guild is having its biennial conference here in town. We are planning a bus trip out to Buford so you won't miss Creative Journey Studios. http://www.theipca.org/index.php/synergy-conference-mainmenu-108 We have some wonderful pre and post-synergy classes in the works. Watch the blog for details as plans solidify.

Fantastic weekend with Julie Eakes

We had a wonderful weekend workshop with Julie Eakes, teaching her techniques for making face canes. It was an impressively organized and orchestrated workshop. Julie has done her homework in getting ready to teach this class. Everyone got a lot of individual attention, and got a good grasp on caning techniques, in general, as well as creating very impressive face canes. Learning how to reduce a large cane was, in my opinion, worth the price of admission! We discovered our new work bench in the tool room was a fantastic place to reduce the canes. There was a lot of pounding around here--I wonder what the boys downstairs were thinking of the racket!


Julie and Anita deep in discussion.


On Monday, after a farewell lunch at Aqua Terra, Julie headed back to Charlotte, but not before adding to our retrospective collection, "Polymer from the Beginning". We are so excited to have three of her necklaces, including two using her new framing techniques. These have to be viewed first hand to really appreciate the artistry and precision of the layers of frames she has created. I felt like I was viewing the intricate frames around a renaissance masterpiece, housing one of her extruded cane mosaic 'paintings'. They are really amazing!

Creative Journey Studios and the SyFy Channel present Lindly Haunani in “Shape Shifters Attack the Mother Cane in Rural America”…….

Well, maybe not….perhaps it’s just a dynamite new workshop with one of our favorite polymer masters, Lindly Haunani!

This new and exciting two day workshop, “Color Shifting Canes” will increase your confidence in combining colors while exploring combining color shifted stripe patterns. To start, Lindly will guide through the creation of a large “Mother” cane reflective of your personal color sensibilities. Your starting palette may range from super vibrant to deep rich muted fall colors.  You will then learn how to mix a dark that will give your color combination punch, along with strategies for auditioning color combinations to expand your ideas.

Once your “mother” cane is complete, you will be creating five different patterns including: leaves, herringbone, outlined stripes, a pin -wheel quilt block and lined stripes in multiple color-ways.  You will then have a library of 12-15 color-coordinated canes.

Explore using the same graphics at different scales, combining multiple patterns, creating edges and finishes to enhance your designs- while making a series of brooches. Lindly will show you how to make “twigs”, pinch leaves, shape shift your canes and explore finished jewelry design possibilities.

This is a wonderful opportunity to play with color and open yourself to new design ideas while having a fun weekend workshop. Here's a little insight into Lindly--and how her mind works. This is the quilt (www.anneparker.com/gradations.htm) that inspired the development of this class.

Quilt by Anne Parker

Scroll down on the Summer Classes page for more information, pictures and pricing.

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.