I have hundreds of these pieces! They are fun to make and there are nearly endless combinations. Most of the beads are glass, but I've made some with freshwater pearls or semi-precious gemstone beads as well. The wire is usually colored copper because it has the flexibility needed for knitting. I've done bracelets, necklaces, chokers, and earrings, although the bracelets are probably the most wearable.
You can also see here some examples of my cameos. These are made out of polymer clay. I've done a variety of faces from mythology or folklore and the occasional children's book. Typically, I will sculpt a face or a small figure, then make a silicone mold, and use multiple color polymer clays to imitate a cameo. As always, combining something traditional like a cameo with unexpected elements like monsters or bats is what appeals to me.
I have made about a dozen gargoyles over the years. This is an example. I make them out of two-part epoxy clay that was originally developed for boat repairs. As such, it is nearly unbreakable and resistant to outside weather. I have always loved gargoyles because of the incongruity of finding their ugly faces in the most beautiful buildings in the world, but are they really ugly? There are reasons the builders chose these critters for their churches. I try to be original and not copy historic figures, but I want them to still be recognizable as gargoyles.
Redwork is a simple kind of quilt where the picture is embroidered on a plain backing. Historically, they are red because Turkey Red was one of the earliest, cheapest, and most accessible dyes available to a home sewer. Varieties of color started to be available in the last century and now we can make these in any color we like. I like using red for tradition, but some designs call out for different colors. I really enjoy combining unexpected pictures with the traditional technique. I am a huge fanatic for children's literature (just ask my son Oz!) so illustrations from classic children's books are one of my favorite sources. Line illustrations lend themselves to this technique so well. Ozma of Oz is one of my favorite characters from the later Oz books.
I made a couple of these small wall hangings a few years ago based on images from the Rider-Waite tarot deck. The figures are sculpted from polymer clay, and the rest of the images are combinations of quilting, appliqué, and embroidery. In my opinion, they were mixed success technically, but I still like to look at them.
These two small scarfs were simple projects I whipped up a few years ago. They are warm, comfy, and turned out well.
Polu Texni, A Magazine of Many Arts, is open to submissions again. I've re-written the guidelines, and there is a new submission email, submissions@polutexni.com.
I've re-booted the old dollmaking website as well. We are starting off with a sculpt-a-long challenge. We have a series of deadlines for the different stages of a doll, on a storybook theme. I've started working on mine. I hope to see you there at http://www.dollmaking.org.
The old dollmaking email list still exists, and we'd love to see some new blood. If you want to talk about making dolls, please join us at www.dollmaking.org and look for the link for the email discussion list.
It's been seven years since I updated the old site, and the image management software I was using had broken. So I archived it. I'm working on getting some new content put up.