It's not too late to sign up! May 2-3, 2015 Spring Workshop with instructor Carol Simmons

Build Your Color Mixing & Finishing Skills 

in a Kaleidoscope Cane Workshop

with visiting Polymer Clay expert Carol Simmons

Saturday & Sunday, May 2-3, 2015    9 am to 5 pm

Swissvale Fire House   7400 Irvine Street, Pittsburgh  15218

Carol will show you how to choose a harmonious color scheme, create a complex Kaleidoscope cane out of polymer clay, and apply your beautiful design to a bracelet or pendant. 

You will mix color blends from primary colors, and learn how to modify your blends to maximize the light/dark contrast. (Clay will be provided.)

Next, you will combine the small canes to make a wide variety of detailed, repeating patterns. Then, using Carol’s special slicer, we will make perfect, wafer-thin slices to apply to a pendant or bracelet. 

Carol will share numerous tips on how to achieve the highest quality results including cane construction, veneer application, forming, sanding, buffing to a high shine, and drilling techniques. 

See Carol’s work on www.carolsimmonsdesigns.com

To reserve your space in the workshop, or for more information, write to
berecca at aol dot com. Please put “Simmons Workshop” in the subject line.

$175 for PPCG members; $185 for non-members

Fee includes workshop, coffee, soft drinks, snacks, and lots of fun with friendly people. Optional pay-as-you-go items include lunch both days for $15 (one authentic firehouse fish fry lunch!) and we hope you’ll join us for a dutch-treat Saturday night group dinner. Contact Rebecca Watkins at berecca at aol dot com to reserve your space, find out how to submit payment, and receive the supplies list. 

Cancellations before April 18 will be 100% refunded. Cancellations after April 18 will be refunded 50%.

Surf & Turf Workshop photos, part 1

Here's the happy group of clayers!
From Left to right (front and back rows): Deanna Miller, Judy Slater, Wendy Casperson, Laura Tabakman, Deb Zaniewski, Denise Graham, Cathy Roth, Randee Ketzel, Linda Small, Denice Girardeaux, Selma Andrews, and Jan Montarsi.

Below are a few photos of work by members of our Guild at the end of the Surf & Turf Bracelet (faux techniques) workshop with Randee Ketzel.
More pictures to come later this week.

Rebecca Watkins

Denise Graham

Deanna Miller

Deb Zaniewski

Laura Tabakman

Selma Andrews

Spring Workshop is just one week away!

Workshop weekend is almost here!

We're looking forward to learning how to make a variety of faux gems and imitation wonders of the natural world next week when Randee Ketzel comes to town for our Surf and Turf bracelet workshop. It's not too late to join us so send an email to berecca @ a o l . c o m if you're interested in attending.

Also next weekend, a few of our members will be manning a booth on Sunday, May 5 at the Creative Marketplace outdoor artists market in Verona, PA. This is the first weekend for the monthly event that will be happening all summer, so go check it out.

April 21 Clay Day report

We planned out a slate of demos and activities for the next few months which you can see on our web page, www.polymerclayintheburgh.org/clay_days.

Irene Hill demonstrated a faux ceramic technique. During our clay time the fire house alarms went off and the firemen and trucks went flying out the big doors. Thankfully, the alarm had nothing to do with our heat gun usage for the demo...we all thought it would be very bad form to start a fire in the fire station! No chance of that because we followed good ventilation procedures -- for the portion of the demo that required slight scorching of the clay, we took the project outside!

Our room at the fire house has plenty of space for us to spread out our tools, as you can see by this photo of  Selma in front and Judy in the distance. We didn't even mind sharing space with the fryers left out from the Lenten fish fry!

Sarah Shriver Workshop: A Good Time Was Had by All!

Sarah is a great teacher and this intricate Kaleidoscope Caning class had a lot of "content" (how many times did she say this word today?) so it kept us busy for the entire two days.
The class structure was perfect...Sarah would take 20 minutes to show us a few steps and then we'd go back to our tables for 60-90 minutes so to try it. And look how nice they all turned out!
This was where we left it at the end of the first day:

Canes, canes, and more canes!

Barbie Mullinix

Deanna Miller

Deb Rusonis

Denise Graham

Denice Girardeaux

Diane Dick

Kathy Bintrim

Sarah Shriver's demos made during class.

Selma Andrews

Wendy Casperson

Diane's variations on her canes.
After the first cane was built, we cut it into smaller pieces ,
and put the pieces together in new ways.

back row: Barbie, Rebecca, Kathy, Denise, Deb, Selma
front row: Marcy, Sarah, Denice, Diane, Deanna, Wendy
(Cathy had to leave early.)

Sarah Shriver Workshop

Intricate Kaleidoscope Caning JUNE 2-3, 2012 — 9 am to 5 pm   Pittsburgh, PA (Bridgeville area)

Students will create a polymer clay cane with the illusion of depth and movement by repeating an interlocking pattern and Skinner blends. The class will take time selecting colors and working on the visual texture and quality of this fairly simple cane. Then Sarah will show the class ways of kaleidoscoping the cane to create infinite and intricate variations. She will also share ideas on bead construction and finishing techniques.

All skill levels welcome!

The workshop will be held at

Georgetown Clubhouse | Valley View Drive | Lawrence, PA 15055

Lunch available for an extra fee paid at the workshop

The deadline for the deposit ($100) is April 20, with the balance due May 18.

$165 PPCG Members; $175 non-member

Polymer Clay Workshop with internationally known instructor

Please contact Rebecca at berecca [at] aol.com to reserve your place,
get instructions for mailing payment, and receive the supplies list.

Cancellations before April 20 receive a full refund of your registration fee. Cancellations between
April 20 and May 18 will receive 50% refund. After May 18, your registration fee will be refunded by
50% only if your space can be filled with another student.

Sarah Shriver

NEW DATE!! JUNE 2-3: Workshop with Sarah Shriver

PPCG Spring Workshop  -  JUNE 2-3, 2012  - Pittsburgh, PA

Sarah Shriver

 Intricate Kaleidoscope Caning

Sarah's description of the class:
Students will create a polymer clay cane with the illusion of depth and movement by using a repeat interlocking pattern and the Skinner blend. We will take time selecting colors and work on the visual texture and quality of this fairly simple cane. Then I will show you some ways of kaleidoscoping the image to create infinite and intricate variations. Lastly, I will share my ideas on bead construction and finishing techniques.

Read About Sarah's process

All skill levels welcome  More details to come. Watch this space for cost, location, supplies list.
If you think you might be interested in attending, send an email to berecca at aol dot com

 

Workshop Creations!

Here's a sampling of finished work from our workshop with Ronna Sarvas Weltman. We did pendants, rings, enigmatic writing, vegan gut, and a whole lot more!

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Wendy Casperson

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Deanna Miller

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Denise Graham

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Diane Dick

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Irene Hill

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Rebecca Watkins

 

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Selma Andrews

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 Stephania Harden Martin

First day of Ronna's workshop!

Today was the first day of our workshop with Ronna Sarvas Weltman.

She showed us a method of making marbleized clay and how to make a variety of shapes for beads -- round, cones, disks, "bowls" -- plus eye pin loops, clasps, and dangles out of wire, as well as a clever way of creating a sturdy bail for the back of a pendant by hiding a metal bead under a strip of clay. We saw lots of tools to help form the shapes and others to add interesting finishes. After lunch we practiced with wire and some of the new clay shapes. Tomorrow we'll learn more component-making tips and then begin putting our new knowledge into practice.

PPCG Workshop: Ronna Sarvas Weltman

Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1, 2011

With much excitement and anticipation, the Pittsburgh Polymer Clay Guild (PPCG) is hosting artist, author and teacher of polymer clay, Ronna Sarvas Weltman, for two days of  instruction. Wire beginners will learn how to work with wire, and those with experience will learn new tricks, including how to enhance their organic aesthetic in their wire skills. 

We will also play in depth with polymer clay, paying particular attention to incorporating wire into polymer clay (and polymer into wire). This is not a project class; students will learn a whole bunch of tricks. Ronna's classes are focused on helping every student feel empowered in articulating her or his own "artistic voice."

The workshop will be held at:

 Georgetown Clubhouse  Valley View Drive  |   Lawrence, PA 15055  

Please contact Laura Tabakman to reserve your place.  

lauratabakman (at) yahoo (dot) com

Member fee $170.  Non-member $185.

Ronna is providing clay and wire for the workshop so if you've always wanted to "test the polymer waters" before buying a bunch of supplies...this is a great opportunity. We'd love to have you join us!