The Art of Healing

by Staci Louise Smith

It has been a sad couple weeks for us in the Smith home.  On the 5th we had to put down our furry companion of 15 years....our black lab Jake.

It was time, his body was failing him, yet it was still the hardest decision I have had to make.

We miss him terribly.  I had two weeks of just terrible sadness.  Weeping at the drop of a hat.  

Jake was my first baby, with my oldest son coming about a year later.  They grew up together, and he too, took this very hard.

So we had him cremated, and decided to make an oak box together for his ashes.  My husband made the box, and the kids helped to sand and stain it. 

It is so healing to do work with your hands.  Whether it is art, or cooking to serve another person, or digging in the soil to plant your own food, its just good for the soul.

Making this box, allowed us to cry and smile at the same time.  It allowed us to do one last thing for Jake as a family.

I finally got around to my part, which was to make the name plate for the box.

I used my jewelry skills and sawed out a heart and a lab silhouette. 

Stamping in a straight line is not really my thing, but I did my best.  

 It is getting backed in felt to soften it up, and will get tack nailed to the box.  

Art therapy really does help.  

Have you ever turned to creating to help you through a tough emotional time?  Share in the comments.....we'd love to hear your story.

Steel Clay: A Peek into my Playtime with a new (to me) Metal Clay

by Staci Louise Smith

I have been playing in metal clay for almost 13 years now.  I just dabble really.  I started out using PMC and have moved to copper and bronze clay with the rise of silver prices (and the size of my pieces growing each year!)

I found that when I started PMC there was a world of books and tutorials and information on the clay- how to use it and fire it.

However, when the base metal clays began to take stage, there was barely anything out there on them.  I think because there are so many, and some of them, like bronze, can be finicky, there is just no sure fire way to get it right each time (pun intended!)  Firing bronze takes some real trial and error to figure out how to properly fire your pieces.

(one of my bronze moons below)

In the process, I have tried white copper clay, because I wanted a silver substitute.  I didn't like it.  It tarnishes a bit like silver plate pieces do, and I didn't like the look of that (sort of a brown tarnish).

So I finally took the plunge and bought some steel clay.  I have been checking into Hadar Jacobson's steel clay on and off for years, but it always was a deal breaker for me, because it said it was brittle after being fired.  To me, steel should be strong, and I want my metal clays coming out of the kiln with all the qualities of the metals they are. 

http://www.cooltools.us/Hadar-s-Clay-Quick-Fire-Steel-XT-50-gram-p/stl-011.htm

Well, I checked recently to see what is new in the steel clay world, and found she made low shrinkage XT steel clay now, and it says its sturdy enough to stand on its own as a base.  So I bought some- back in August.  I was hoping to have some NEW steel pieces to sell at Beadfest, and jumped right into making a batch.  However, when I went to fire it in my kiln, I realized it fires WAY higher then bronze and my kiln wouldn't go that high.

(Steel clay low shrinkage XT fires around 1700-1750 degrees F).

So, after Beadfest I invested in a new kiln for myself.  Not only can it do steel clay, but it can also do ceramic.  (I bought ceramic clay as well, I can't wait to play with that!)  

Last week I finally hooked up the new kiln, made some more steel clay components, and tried out my new ceramic firing vessel at the same time! 

I must say, I LOVE how they turned out.  

Now, I know that steel rusts.  So, I wasn't sure how quickly this would rust, or how much I would have to seal it to prevent it from rusting.  

Well, let me tell you, it rusts pretty fast!

After tumbling the steel, I took it out and set it on a paper plate and paper towel to dry out a bit.  I didn't get in to sand and polish it right away.  By the time I got in here, about an hour later, it was already rusting.  It didn't rust much on the pieces, but the water that was draining off was rusty.  You can see here on the plate the rust that was left.

So I put them back into the water in hopes they would stop rusting.  I pulled each one out as I was ready to sand and polish it and dried it off really good.

Then I used a fine sanding pad to buff the high spots

.

Then I used a polish cloth to shine it up a bit

then they looked like these

After that I used Clear Guard to seal them.  I left two unsealed, and lightly sprayed them with water.  After a couple days, they look like this.  There is some slight rust in the unsanded recessed areas.

 I need to put another coat of sealer on the others before I test them.  Once I have sealed them a few times, I want to spray them, and put some in water, and see how it holds up to rust.  

In the meantime, here are my thoughts so far on the Low Shrinkage Steel XT:

1.  It is easy to mix and work with.

2.  It fires in one stage at full ramp, so that is a perk for me

3.  It does require a kiln that fires up to 1750 F

4.  It must be fired in carbon

5.  I really like the antique look of the metal once cleaned up and can see it fitting in with my work

6.  My only hesitation about it is rust.  So, I will work on making sure I find a way to create with it and not have it change over time.  (I will do a follow up on the post once I experiment some more)

For more information on Hadar's clays and how to fire them, check here

http://www.cooltools.us/v/vspfiles/assets/images/hadars_clay_instructions1.pdf

Stay tuned for a follow up post about how the steel clay holds up once sealed!  

Art is a Blessing: Polymer Play and Mixed Media Musings

by Staci Louise Smith

Art is such a blessing.  I think someday's I take creativity and that I get to do this for a living for granted.  Art is such a huge part of who I am.  I see art in almost anything.  I take in colors, and textures and composition no matter what I look at.  It leaks into all parts of my life, and for that, I am grateful!

It's that time of year, where I have spent the entire year making beads and jewelry.  I try to allow myself some playtime around the holidays.  It allows time to make gifts for people and get out some of my other art supplies.

One of the blessings, is that my children get to be creative too.  they learn the fun of play, and the business of selling their work too.

To start off the season of creative playtime, Julia and I worked on some polymer pendants for the Hereford Bazaar.  It's a craft show her school puts on.  All three of my kids made stuff for it and I got them a "real" crafter table there!  

It was a lot of fun to prep for a show that was NOT my own.

Now, Julia (age 11) is not known for her organizational skills, and she brought me these bags of polymer clay.  They contained every color of the rainbow and then some.  So I said, how about we mix them up and swirl them, and then she could use that as a base to stamp her designs onto!  

We had a blast putting odd colors together and running them through the pasta machine and finding the  surprise patterns that arose.  She is a color junkie, so she was in rainbow heaven!

After that was done, she stamped them and cut out the circles to add to her bezels.

I had so much fun with the kids in the studio.

Collin (9) made little owls and got to use alcohol inks for the first time.  I showed him how to make these easy little "squish" owls and he picked it right up!

My oldest, Aiden (14) makes jewelry.  

Here they were at the show- they all did really good and had a blast, and I must say, IT WAS THE MOST FUN SHOW I DID ALL YEAR!

Here they all are, and yes, I am a proud mama!

Here are Collin's key chains and bracelets he made

Here is Julia's set up, with magnets and necklaces in polymer

 And here is Aiden's work.  He loves working in gemstones and beads, but has started doing more wire work and polymer too

So, that was a great week to get the creative juices flowing.

As you may know, I have dabbled in mixed media before.  But I have wanted to add more of my polymer into the mix.  I have had ideas, but no time to try them.  

So finally I gave myself a week to play.  It's almost up, and I am almost done these piece.  They are finished, all but the three in the lower right corner.  I hope to make a few more today and finish these, and then its back to business for a week.

I love being able to pull from all the different media I have worked in to create art.  It is such a blessing to my soul to be able to freely make what is in my head and heart.  It is also nice to know that I get to use all those things I have learned through the years, a million different ways.  I REALLY encourage you to always keep learning new techniques and mediums.  You never know when the skills you learn will pop back up!  

So be blessed and create art!  Never stop learning and playing.  It's all part of the process.

In the Wild

by Staci Louise Smith

I am really blessed to live near two awesome caves (that are open to the public, there are more around here then that) in Eastern PA.  

We have Lost River Caverns and Crystal Cave.  I have visited both throughout my life, but it had been a long time since I had been to Crystal Cave.  

Crystal Cave is located in Kutztown PA.  So my parents and the kids and I went out to spend the day exploring it all over again ( we had all been there before except my two youngest).  

I fell in love all over again.  I brave cave tours, because the rock lover in me is stronger then the claustrophobic little person in me!

Anyhow, I love the entire site of Crystal Cave......they haven't changed a thing.  It is outdated, but I love it, because its a piece of small town history.  It was the first cave in PA to be made open to the public, and everyone from around here knows the story.  

So, without further ado, here are some pictures from my day.

The Family (my parents and kids)

CRYSTALS IN THE WILD

Also known as Arragonite

You may be used to seeing it like this though

or in bead form like this

www.firemountaingems.com 

There was so much texture and variety in the stone.  My first love in jewelry making was a love of stones.  :sigh:  I felt so energized this afternoon.  Being surrounded by stones "in the wild' was just so inspiring.

The only downside was that the tour went pretty fast, because it was crowded.  I wish we would have had a bit more time for pictures at each spot.  I didn't get to fully take everything in.  Maybe next time........

I am not one to buy kitchy souvenirs, but I did want to get something to remember today.  So I thought these were just perfect.  They had a whole bin of these narrow little geodes, 

and what I saw when I looked at them...............was caves.  So,we each got one, and this is mine.  The kids already ran off with their treasures.

Anyhow, I know we are way off topic of jewelry and all, but I thought my day around rocks was close enough.....I know it made me want to play with stones and rocks and crystals!

The kids ended the trip panning for gems.  Such a cute set up, and I must say, its fun.  We were all digging through the gravel!

I am so ready now, to make some nice, organic beads!  Inspiration has set in......and I am antsy to get into that clay!

And that is the great little cave not even an hour from me. 

Someday I will get to Larray Caverns.  someday..........

How about you guys?  Any awesome caves that you live near?  Or want to share that we must visit?  I know I am not the only rock hound in this group!  Please feel free to share in the comments- your stories and favorite places to visit.

Contrast: Blinging up my Rustic

by Staci Louise Smith

I finally decided to try adding a little "bling" to my rustic.  I love contrast, and I am surprised at myself, for not trying this sooner!

I love how Gaia Copia uses crystals with her natural shapes, like her ammonite and crystal earrings.  Her rustic bling has always inspired me!

you can check our more of her work here- while her website is under construction

https://www.facebook.com/GaiaCopia

So I ordered me some crystals and got into it.  

I spent a day making these before I left for our trip, and just could NOT wait to paint them and see how they looked finished.

So then of course, I painted a few before we left too, because I am so impatient.

(they are mid-paint here)

So when I got home from vacation and went to clean off my desk, I could not just put these to the side, they were begging to be made into something right now.  

So of course, I obliged.

So now I can move onto other things on my list.  

Do you ever have that happen?  That you can't move onto what you are supposed to be doing, because you just HAVE to finish something that sparked your creativity?  Happens to me all the time!

The rest of the beads are not done, but the necklaces are available through my Facebook page (below) if you are interested, just message me.  Otherwise, they will venture to my next show with me. 

https://www.facebook.com/stacilouiseoriginals?fref=ts