Next Meeting Oct 14th

Our last meeting was a nice chance to chat with other members and to get down to the nitty gritty of planning for the Country Christmas Show in Nov. (above image is the new Pikes Peak Polymer Guild banner, designed by Tejae for the Christmas Show.) Thanks to all who came. We also had two nice visitors, Terry Barber and Sherron Corry. We hope they will drop in again :-)

The October meeting is Sun the 14th - Tracy has offered to demo another "plastic" art form - she has made some amazing jewelry from shrink plastic... Marian Gurnee may also demo a fun technique (as long as it doesn't snow!)

We will field nominations for board positions - Tracy wants to step down from President after serving for two years and Bev Pressey wants to step down from Treasurer after serving since the guild's infancy - can't blame her for that!If you will not be attending the meeting, please send me your nominations... a list of nominees will be sent to all members following the Oct meeting and voting can be done by return email or by voting at the Nov meeting.

The sign up for the pen SWAP is now closed and 7 members signed up... the swap will happen at our Nov meeting... should be fun! Each swapper should make at least 8 pens so the guild can have a set for posterity :-)

When we finally get our cabinet, we can keep our collections there along with the library etc. Thanks for signing up!

Eva Rosado

Lynn Thomas

Peg Montieth

Cathie Graeser

Betty Wilkinson

Barb Watson

Marian Gurnee

Pen Swap

Hello to those of you involved in the pen swap and even for those who are not!

Here is a link to a really neat looking pen thanks to our friends at Polymer Clay Central!

http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/bamboo_pen.html

August Guild Meeting Results

Nice meeting this month! We had a terrific group of members attending and two guests, Patti Moore, who came with Barb Harper and Catherine Rose Roche, who came with Marian Gurnee. Catherine joined us as a member and we welcome her!

Those who participated in the B/W Bead SWAP got our sets... thank you Barb Harper for getting all that together... you did a terrific job with a complicated situation with two guilds who meet at different times... we sure appreciate you! Can't wait to string mine into a necklace. We have a set for the guild to keep in our library, too... will be fun to look back at our efforts. The Art Dolls that were brought in by Barb Harper, Eva Rosado, Tracy Miller, Tejae Floyde and Barb Watson were amazing. Those who have done ArtDolls but were unable to attend can bring them next time... please let Tracy Miller know if you have an Art Doll... tmsilks@msn.com

Betty Wilkinson gave us some tips on covering pens and Patti Moore donated a whole slew of pens for us to use... what a great gal! We also talked about the SWAP and sign up for the pen SWAP is now open --- should be fun! Several members brought pens they had made or pens from swaps they had participated in - amazing variety and fun ideas. If you would like to participate please send your name to Cathie at cathiegraeser@juno.com We also decided that name tags would be a good idea and encouragemembers to make their own unique polymer clay tag to wear tomeetings... hard to remember names now that we are happily growing :-)I found some interesting small alligator clips with a hook on the bottom at one of my favorite stores... I kind of think it was Michaels but could easily have been Hobby Lobby or JoAnns - Catherine suggested that people would be able to create different name tags,seasonal, whimsy changes in mood, whatever and have a metal loop on top that could slip over the hook on the alligator clip.



We also had a huge Bummer moment when we attempted to assemble thec abinet I had bought at Home Depot... it was missing 3 very large andvery crucial pieces and two others were cracked... we groaned and disassembled what we had done and I will try to get it exchanged...RATSOID. Once we have a secure place to keep items, we plan to purchase a buffer and perhaps more videos and books for the library. If you have suggestions for other items, please let us know... I would love for usto have a good convection oven... for example. The toaster ovens can be somewhat erratic.

Those who are participating in the Country Christmas Craft Show in Nov are busily claying away to create merchandise. The board will be meeting soon to plan for what is often our most funquarter... Oct will bring nominations for board officers and the pen SWAP ... November brings elections and....? and December is ourpot-luck and silent auction.

Debbie Jackson Workshop

Mile High polymer clay guild is hosting a 2 day Debbie Jackson workshop August 16 & 17, 2007. Mesmerizing Metallics for the first day and Metallic Bead Bonanaza the second day. $70 each. Or take both days for $120.00. Material fees are included. Must be a MHPCG member in good standing paid up 2007-08 dues. New members welcome.

Class Description:

MESMERIZING METALLICS:

Take a fascinating journey, using a variety of metallic mediums with polymer clay and many innovating techniques with Jones Tones Foil, Pearl-Ex powders, Glitterati Film and Fibers, metallic paints and glitter!

Four Techniques
-Components & Embellishments
-Collage Pendant
-Stretch Bangles
-De-bossed Earrings

METALLIC BEAD BONANZA
If you are into rich, luxurious beads, this class is for you! You will create an assortment of fabulous metallic polymer clay beads with Jones Tones Foils, Pearl-Ex powders, Glitterati Film & Fibers, glitter, composition leaf, metallic paints and more!

Four Techniques
-Granulated Beads
-Fuzzy Beads
-Freshwater Stick Pearls
-Glitzy Beads

For more information email Susan Mueller or visit MHPCG website.

Guild Meeting July 8th

It is really summer out there now! - here is an update on the happenings and the upcomings...

At our JULY meeting, following an important and short business meeting to discuss guild matters, please plan on claying as you wish -- bring a project, or even better, come planning to make beads for our bead jar or to cover bottles for Bottles of Hope. Mile Hi has long had a bead jar (tho they greatly outgrew just a jar!) that is managed by Barb Harper. She makes an item for a member who is ill or has a loss etc when need arises. We need to designate a Bead Jar Maven to do this for our guild. I know the items made from the beads will mean a lot to anyone who receives them. The Bottles of Hope, for newer members, are small, usually medicine size, bottles covered with clay that are donated to hospice or cancer centers to be given as a token of hope to patients. They are very well received and it is a great way to use our hands, hearts and talents for those in need.

Cathie Graeser reminded me (thank goodness!) to remind bead swap participants to put their beads in a plastic bag with a business card saying who made the bead forour swap or to put a wire or string through the bead with a tiny card that has your name - it is fun to know who made the bead later on and very hard to remember since there will be 29 different beads! You will be making 31 total so that each guild can also have a strand to keep for posterity -Your beads are due next Sunday! I know there will be some claying going on this week... remember that beads must be black and white only... our Mile Hi buddies are more aware of the traditional rules than we have been and let me know about this.

Following the meeting (or perhaps during if time allows) those who are participating in the Country Christmas show will meet to organize - be thinking about decoration theme, the type of items you will have, how we will "woman" the booth, etc. Anne Morris is our chairman for this event.

Donna Kato Workshop

What a wonderful day Saturday was at the workshop! Thanks to all for participating and for helping with set up and food. It is so nice to be with a group that just jumps in when they see things that need doing. And also so cool to be around a welcoming, friendly bunch who know how to have fun while they learn. Donna was gentle. professional and easy to understand - as always :-) quintessential teacher!! We are so lucky to have her in our guild. I can't wait to practice the things we learned... and I think one of my pieces from Saturday might even be wearable with considerable sanding and buffing LOL...

Thanks, too, to Barb Fajardo , our new member from Albuquerque, for the very sweet flower chokers - what a lovely gesture!Our other new members are Madellen Spaete (who is a friend of Sally and Terry), Jeanne Foute (who heard about us through Bev) and Holly Williams (who is from the Denver area) and Maria Clark (who also attended the Haunani workshop) - welcome and thanks for joining in - I hope we see all of you again soon! ~Peg

Shane Smith

Shane Smith shared her mini mask demo at our June guild meeting. A portion of the demo, Shane showed us how to mirror cane slices for the base of the mask. Shane showed off some her canes pictured above. They were simply beautiful. Pictured below is Bev's finished mask.

I'm also including an image of Barb Harper's stunning polymer clay work, butterflies with foil embellishments. Wow!

Bead Swap Update

The bead swap between Pikes Peak Polymer Guild and the Mile High Polymer Guild is set for the July meeting with the cut off for signing up June 10th. Peg Monteith and Barb Harper are the joint swapmiesters. We decided after discussing it with both guilds to restrict it to black and white because that would make a cohesive group that would make a nice necklace or bracelet. Hopefully we'll get the same number of participants for both guilds. The plan is to make as many beads as the number of people who sign up. Barb will collect beads in July and distribute them to Denver in August since the guilds meet on different days. The picture above of B&W beads is from a past swap. This should be an easy swap to produce items for since beads are pretty easy to make. I'm looking forward to seeing what we come up with. I really enjoyed the last earring swap. So if you're a member and you would like to sign up contact either Peg Montieth or Barb Harper.

Clay Carnival Las Vegas 2007

Interested in 3 days playing with clay and learning techniques from 8 polymer clay instructors?? The carnival begins November 30 - December 2, 2007 at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. For more information click this link... Clay Carnival or you can join the clay carnival yahoo group here... Clay Carnival Yahoo Group

April Demo: Tracy Miller Art Dolls

We had a very exciting meeting in April. I think we had a record number of members show up! It was great to see so many new faces. Our guild is really growing! Everyone enjoyed the demo Tracy gave on making a polymer clay doll for our doll challenge. The "art doll" idea came from Art Doll Quarterly the summer 2006 edition.

Supplies needed:

19 and 24 gauge wire (Ace), polymer clay, aluminum foil, and wire cutters. The wire base was made to support the aluminum/polymer clay body. Gina included little beads on her "skirt" where the 24 gauge wire is wrapped around the 19 gauge wire. (sorry for the blurry image)

We decided to give members 3 months to complete their doll. We will present our dolls at our August meeting. Dolls should be professional grade and reflective of your style. Below is the list that we currently have signed up. If you haven't signed up, please email Tracy at tmsilks@msn.com and she will add you to the list. Tracy Miller, Kay Wilson, Barb Harper, Suzanne Kennedy, Barbara Watson, Lynn Thomas, Cathie Graeser, Gina Stephenson, Becky Carver, Deb Mather, Darlene Whitt, Marie Cacciatore, Tejae Floyde and Louise Ferris I also believe that Eva Rosado is participating.

Our latest swap was a big success and I'm so glad I participated and got so many cool pairs of earrings.

Barb Harper was at the meeting with examples from swaps that the Denver guild has done as well as samples of beads. There were so many I couldn't count! We are planning on our first swap with the Denver guild. Beads will be due at our July meeting. More details will be forthcoming.

April Demo: Tracy Miller Art Doll

Our next guild meeting will be Sunday, April 22 at 1 o'clock at Cottonwood Artists School. Tracy Miller, our guild president, will be bringing in a wire armature for a visual demonstration of constructing a base for a polymer clay art doll. Interested participants are welcome to sign up to participate in an art doll exhibit which will be held tentatively around August. We can make our dolls to have their own personality with our own unique style of working the clay. Members please bring in 16 gauge wire along with needle nose and round nose pliers so you can begin creating your art doll armature.

We will have our earring swap and the rest of the time can be playing with clay to make sheets to start covering the doll armature.

How exciting our very own Yuriy is featured on Polymer Clay Daily. Congratulations Yuriy!

Yuriy - March Demo

Yuriy demonstrated his intricate cane technique for our March meeting. What a treat! Yuriy brought his mom, Irina (pictured below). Yuriy made all the huge canes at our meeting. Our demo's aren't usually 4 hours long but everyone was eager to stay an extra hour to see him finish his bead. It was absolutely fascinating to watch. We all learned alot. Yuriy was a great teacher and full of tips and innovative new techniques.

There were also a few new faces at the meeting. Welcome new members! We're looking forward to seeing you all next month (April 22) when Tracy demonstrates the polymer clay art doll.

Great contrasting colors.



Shaping the crescent.



Interesting patterns.


Combining patterns.


Combining all the patterns.


A view from the top.


Yuriy reduced the cane down and shaped it into a triangle wedge. Then he sliced little triangles and began putting them together to form the star shape.


Leveling out the clay.


Front of finished bead.





Back of finished bead.


Yuriy and Irina.


Thank you Yuriy for a fantastic demo! Great job!

Lindly Haunani Workshop May '07

Lindly will be teaching 2 separate one day classes (BEST BUY - both days including materials fee $157)
May 5 day one: Wearable Color Samples/ Colorful Textile Inspirations
May 6 day two: Haunani Gane
at Cottonwood Art School, Colorado Springs, CO.

contact pegmontieth@aol.com for registration form and further information

Lindly Haunani May 5 workshop- all levels
Materials fee: $15 Includes clay and findings Join Lindly Haunani, an acclaimed colorist- best known for her sensitive use of color AND her somewhat colorful sense of humor- for a fun and enlightening day. You will learn strategies for designing and mixing cohesive color schemes, including how to choose a level of saturation within your comfort zone. You will learn the secret to making successful "skinny" skinners that will be used to make several different laminated textile patterns including the popular Log Cabin Quilt design, Seminole Patchwork and a variation of Nine Patch. In addition to having fun, you will leave with a series of wearable color samples. You will increase your awareness of how appropriate color choices and contrasts can add impact to your work.
Haunani Gane
Lindly Haunani Workshop
May 6 2007
Some say that Mokume Gane rhymes with "play with clay all day" and that is exactly what you will be doing during this fun, fast paced exploration of this excitingly versatile technique. You will learn valuable tricks and tips while making a brooch, pendant and earring set.

Haunani Gane =Glistening, gossamer, intriguing layers of polymer clay characterize this version of Mokume Gane.which is an adaptation of an ancient layered metalworking technique. You will learn the keys to color selection, how to tint translucent clay, make a mokume block and useful strategies for multi-layered construction. Discover what works best for beads, sculptural surfaces and flat pieces that have the illusion of real depth. Explore ways to manipulate the surface finish to accentuate the beautiful designs you have created.
draft
by poly play 3/2/07

Colorado Country Christmas Show

Ladies of the Guild . . . GEAR UP!
We are hoping to stir enough interest in selling our goods at the Denver Merchandise Mart in November, to reserve space . . . SOON! This could be a great market for us for a very low price. If you want to participate, or need more info, email Anne at annemorris@adelphia.net.

Earring Swap

Earring SWAP - registering now - deadline for sign-up is March 1 with
SWAP at April 22nd Guild Meeting (members and associate members only)

Parameters - entries can be any style and do not all have to be
alike -- Contact Peg Montieth to sign up and on March 1st participants will be notified how many pairs of earrings to make... we estimate 10.

Image above is a crackle technique made by our very own Anne Made Designs.

Donna Kato on Craftcast

Guess who is this weeks guest on CRAFTCAST?? It's our very own Donna Kato. Alison from Craftcast said "it was great fun talking to her, and she gave lots of wonderful polymer information." Be sure to hop over to Craftcast and listen.

February Clay Day

This Sunday was one of our best meetings ever... Barb Harper was a delightful teacher and the Jones Tones foils were great fun to experiment with - I never ceased to be amazed at how a single demo can stimulate such a huge variety of outcomes from members. And we had avery good turn-out. Barb also mentioned an article in Polymer Cafe in the fall 2003 magazine that used the Jones Tones foil to make a very nice pair of earrings... speaking of earrings, we discussed an earring swap for next month. Check out the Earring Swap blog post for the details.

Next Month:

Yiuri Luzof will be demo'ing his wonderful cane technique - and if time allows he will show us bead or sculpture techniques too - if you haven't caught the show at the BAC, get there soon - he has some great things entered!

May 5&6 Lyndly Haunani workshop - getting registrations fast so be sure and sign up to save your seat. Contact pegmontieth@aol.com for more details.

June 30th our very own Donna Kato 1 day workshop (did you hear that Kato liquid Polyclay is going to be coming out in COLORS? We got a sneak preview at the meeting - hmmm - think of the things we could do with THAT...
Happy claying,

Peg

Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild

Welcome to the Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild. We are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The purpose of this blog is to share our guild happenings; monthly meetings, demo's, swaps, inspiration and workshop information.

Please have a look around, check out our fabulous links and if you have any questions contact us by email pppclayguild@yahoo.com or leave a comment on the blog.

This blog is a work in progress and as our guild grows and changes so will our blog with a new banner, logo, artwork and links. Check back often to see our progress.

The image above is from our May 2006 polymer clay guild meeting. Darlene Clark showed off some of her awesome beads.