Good stuff and allure of polymer

We've mostly tried to follow the lead at SHAPE, preferring to find ways to support them rather than reinventing the wheel or turning things upside down.

But on the last full day at the Sandy Bay location, after a phenomenal send off luncheon, the opportunity presented itself to make some beads with polymer clay. The super thing is that you can actually give a very basic intro. class in about 15 mins., can't you?!

--- Soften the clay, follow the baking instructions, wash your hands thoroughly...have fun! ---

Our instructions were a little more detailed than that but not much and there was an immediate interest, comfort and affinity with the mush-ability of clay. (Thats a word, right?)

Woody, who is in charge of the paper recycling, is a true artist and immediately seemed to understand the potential. He asked "what can it do?" and I could see his creative wheels turning. Good stuff. Amazingly he had already ordered some FIMO so he'll have more to play with than the couple of packs that I brought along. Providence.

Then Lolly, the grant writer/teacher, who said she had never done anything creative, really got into it. Within 15 mins. of me teaching her, she was working with Wendy, who is blind , making seed beads!  Good stuff! Others joined in. Within a day they had used all the clay I'd brought.

Wendy went blind 8 years ago from glaucoma  - that could have easily been treated had she had proper eye care. (Saint Helena only has a eye doctor for 6 weeks a year.)  Her situation does not seem to have dampened her spirits or her enthusiasm to try new things. 

 And now we are off - we board the ship at 1400 hrs. But we are so hoping we'll be back soon! 

Making "seed" beads

Its probably a bit ambitious to be making jewelry to give to friends we'll be visiting on Saint Helena in just a few short weeks. I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. But since quite a few of these people are artists/craftsmen themselves this seems appropriate. 

Today I'll be making a bunch of "seed" beads. I've gotten a lot faster with these and this is how I quickly make a lot that are all about the same size. This is much quicker than pinching off pieces of clay and then rolling them and its easier on the fingers too.

I roll a long piece as evenly as possible. This is the slowest part and I do it on a larger scale than what I am showing today. If the log is even it helps the beads be even. For larger beads make a fatter roll - tinier beads, tinier roll. 

Then I chopped even chunks off the roll. You could put a ruler along the top of the log and actually measure but with practice I can get them very close in size, quickly. Like a chef with a carrot except the clay sticks to the work surface a bit so you don't have to use your other hand to hold it still. 

Then I roll beads using both hands. I like organic shapes so I don't shoot for exactly round. And I pierce them with a needle. 

I can do this like a little factory now and I find they are comfortable on the neck.

One of the artist's I'll be visiting is Mrs. Rose Bennett. (Here she was in her front garden in 2008 showing us fresh acacia seeds.)  She been making seed bead jewelry on Saint Helena since she was five years old. It would be interesting to learn more about her techniques and try using my beads so I think I'll take a small stash with me.