mary jane dodd
'play is the beginning of knowledge.'
~ unknown
just like you, i would often cringe at the thought of trying something new... the past two years have brought a change in that thinking though... in the scope of life's experiences, trying something new here pales in comparison to some of the things that we might have to adapt to...
and so as serious as i am about my work, i try to view my new ventures as play... experimentation... in fact, in the times of greatest chaos in my life, i will often leap towards a new technique or medium to try... it is grounding, makes me feel alive and is confidence building if for only having done something unknown...
resin is fun! do i groan because i like to be able to use most of the 1/2 ounce? yes... so i try to have lots of things to do with it when i sit down... if i am making paper drops or paddles, i want to have a lot of them - i despise throwing out unused product (that is how i hold myself up)...
if i do a big batch i also have pieces ready to work with in the future - which is nice...
this is the perfect medium if you love paper, words, old books...
a 'dr. seuss' challenge inspired this piece:
a calder challenge pushed me to try tinting it because i wanted to be able to evoke the colors and movement found in his 'blue feather' stabile...
you can fill pre made bezels or make them yourself... what i absolutely love about this product is how much you can do with it... make it shiny and colorful, use it with patterned papers, try it in molds...
here are some examples i found on etsy...
lil smile pendant by jade scott
drops of color earrings by ajc design
in my reading around in the blogosphere, i notice that resin is often mentioned as something that people have purchased but not tried... if this applies to you, i encourage you to give it a go... visit www.iceresin.com to learn about it... go to youtube and look for instructional videos by susan lenart kazmer and her team... it runs about $24 for the kit...
so go ahead and play!
and don't forget to enter april's call to create - inspired by your favorite song...
8 comments:
I LOVE the necklaces you made! I've eye-balled the resin kits at the craft store many times, but figured I have enough going on to keep me very occupied and didn't need to get into anything else :)
Thank you for the inspiration, Mary Jane! I recently made a piece for a friend in California that had a handmade resin pendant of Frida Kahlo, and I liked it so much that I decided to do a whole series of pieces with my own resin pendants that were paintings or photos of Kahlo. So, I bought the resin kit...and have had it sitting on my work table since then. Next time I have a work day, I'll definitely be cracking open that resin and giving it a try! Gorgeous stuff!
Wonderful post! I've been into my ICE with a vengeance the past couple of week and having a ton of fun. Now you have me motivated to try some color experiments. Yeah!
LOVE that suess inspired necklace!!!!
I'm the same way Mary Jane, I have yet to break open my bottles because I know I'll need to do a bunch to use ip even the smallest amount I can mix. I think I have plenty of stuff I can load in to them but I need blanks to fill and lots of them!! I also just got Susan's book Explore Create Resinate, it's good! Love all your creations!!
Great Post MJ!!
I'm a sucker for charms (and your paddles!).
The charm necklace is just too special.
I wonder what it means that you go to a new technique when your life is in chaos. Most people would go to what they know and where feel comfortable. I guess it makes sense that you would want to go new to occupy your mind rather than comfortable and leave room for your mind to wander.
Have a great weekend.
I'm guilty...I bought the ICE resin about two months ago and have yet to try it. I haven't quite decided what I want to do with it so will have to wait for the right idea to turn up in my mind.
What beautiful examples of resin work, Mary Jane. I remember your Dr. Seuss necklace- that is one of my favorites of all of your work so far. And just look at all of those paddles lined up! Just beautiful.
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