Wearable sculptures made of polymer clay, gold leaf and suede.

Mini Abigails

I made some very small Abigails, they are about 2.5 cm long (0.9 inches). The pictures aren't very good because it was cloudy and my camera is old and bad.

Am facut niste mici Abigail, sunt aproximativ 2.5 cm lungime. Pozele nu-s prea bune deoarece era innorat si aparatul meu foto e vechi si prost. 

Curing polymer clay in a gas oven without thermometer/ Cum sa coci lutul polimeric in cuptorul cu gaz fara termometru

Because not all of you out there have an electric oven and can't really check the temperature in a gas oven without a thermometer, there are some tips that will probably help you. Also, you can't miss out on experimenting with this great medium just because you don't have an electric oven and you might also miss out on some skill development until you get one. Since I've been working with polymer, I've had some accidents regarding its curing temperature and I've learned a few things I want to share with you.

I've lived in various places and many times I didn't have the utensils necessary to craft with me (you can’t really carry everything around with you all the time) and I had to improvise. Since I've used many types of ovens for baking clay, there are some tips that apply to all.
 

1 - Always preheat the oven, it depends a lot on the gas pressure but usually you have to preheat it for about 10 minutes on minimum.

2 - After preheating the oven put your sculptures, jewelry, etc. inside and make sure that you keep it on the minimum. If you want to be sure that the temperature is over 110/130 degrees Celsius (230/266 F) you can put a bowl of water inside and when it starts boiling you know that the water has reached 100 degrees Celsius and you can put in your things. Remember to keep it on minimum.

3. I usually bake things for 15 minutes if it's a new type of oven I'm not familiar with, and inspect them closely afterwards to see if they are burned or cracked. Make sure that you do that. Afterwards you can bake them a bit longer until you are satisfied with the result with lower or higher temperature.

4. Place a bit of polymer clay with the items you bake and you can cut it or stick something in it to see whether is done or not. This way you won't risk cutting the good pieces.

5.You can also microwave your clay, but I never tried it. However, you can check out this page here where a few tests have been done.

6. Remember that some clays will change colors during baking, so you need to make a test with a few pieces of clay if the project you are making needs exact colors.

7. You have to keep in mind that polymer clay, when it’s just out of the oven, will still be elastic, so it might appear uncured. If you think it’s cured, you should wait for it to cool down and you can try and bake it again.

8. Polymer clay can be cured multiple times in the oven, even when it’s already cured and hardened; you will need this for some projects so don’t be afraid to do it, nothing will happen if you respect the temperatures and curing time. Speaking of temp and time, you should also keep in mind that some brands of polymer clay have different curing times and different temperatures, you will need this if you are trying to combine them. For example Cernit needs a higher curing temperature than Fimo.

I’ve made some charts that you will certainly find useful (scroll over the Romanian text):




Pentru ca nu toata lumea are un cuptor electric si nu prea poti sa masori temperatura la cuptorul cu gaz fara termometru, voi veni cu cateva sfaturi care sa va ajute in directia asta. De asemenea, nu trebuie sa pierzi experienta cu acest mediu minunat doar pentru ca nu ai cuptor electric si s-ar putea sa pierzi si cateva ore bune de dezvoltare a indemanarii in directia asta. De cand lucrez cu lut polimeric, am avut cateva accidente in timpul coacerii si am invatat cateva lucruri pe care vreau sa vi le transmit si voua.

A trebuit sa ma mut des si de multe ori nu am avut ustensilele necesare sa fac anumite lucruri (nu prea poti sa cari totul cu tine) asa ca a trebuit sa improvizez. Din moment ce am folosit mai multe tipuri de cuptoare pentru a coace lutul, am invatat cateva lucruri care se aplica la absolut toate cuptoarele.

1- Intotdeauna se va incinge cuptorul inainte de coacere; in functie de presiunea gazelor se poate tine mai mult dar in general aproximativ 10 minute este perfect.

2- Dupa ce cuptorul a fost incins, se pun proiectele inauntru si se da pe minim. Daca vreti sa fiti siguri ca temperatura a ajuns la 110 grade Celsius, puteti pune inauntru apa si atunci cand aceasta incepe sa fiarba stiti ca a ajuns sigur la 100 grade.

3- De obicei eu tin pentru 15 minute proiectele daca este un tip de cuptor nefamiliar mie, si dupa aceste 15 minute le scot si le analizez. Veti observa ca daca a fost dar focul prea tare, vor mirosi ciudat si isi vor fi schimbat culoarea. Dupa, le puteti pune pentru inca 5-10 minute in cuptor pana obtineti rezultatul dorit.

4- Pentru a elimina orice risc puneti o bucatica de lut polimeric pe tava de coacere si atunci cand nu sunteti sigur daca s-au polimerizat puteti intepa bucata respectiva. Daca se rupe foarte usor, mai trebuie tinute.

5- Puteti sa folositi si cuptorul cu microunde dar personal nu am incercat niciodata. Puteti gasi mai multe detalii pe aceasta pagina.

6- Tineti minte ca unele tipuri de lut isi pot schimba culoarea cand sunt coapte, asa ca daca aveti un proiect care necesita niste culori exacte, puteti face teste cu bucatele mici de lut inainte.

7- De asemenea, trebuie sa tineti seama de faptul ca lutul polimeric imediat scos din cuptor va fi in continuare elastic asa ca poate parea necopt. Daca credeti ca s-a copt, asteptati sa se raceasca si il mai puteti coace inca o data.

8- Lutul se poate coace de nenumarate ori in cuptor chiar daca s-a intarit, pentru unele proiecte este nevoie de coaceri multiple asa ca sa nu va fie frica sa o faceti, nu se va intampla nimic daca respectati temperaturile si durata. Si daca tot vorbim de temperatura si durata, tineti seama de faptul ca unele firme de lut au timpuri si temperaturi diferite, mai ales atunci cand incercati sa le combinati, de exemplu Cernit trebuie copt la o temperatura mai mare decat Fimo.


Am facut niste grafice utile mai jos: 

Challenge Revista Atelierul/Provocare Revista atelierul

Revista Atelierul has a cute challenge that involves making something that uses an Easter theme, so I did this figurine:

Revista Atelierul vine cu o provocare draguta pentru produse handmade si de autor de inspiratie pascala. Eu am facut figurina asta:

Some New Pendants

These are some new pendants, a ring, and hair accessories in the same style I made the previous rings.

Am mai facut  noi pandantive, un inel si cateva accesorii de par in acelasi stil ca cele din postul precedent.

New Stuff - A bunch of rings

I wanted to make some sort of quilling technique on my polymer clay jewelry so I came up with a bunch of rings that I'm going to show you.Some are with applique and this quilling thing while others are just with this quilling technique.

Am vrut sa aplic tehnica quilling la bjuteriile mele asa ca am facut urmatoarele inele. Unele au si tehnica applique in timp ce altele sunt facute doar cu tehnica aceasta de "quilling":

Armenian Inspired Part 6

Here is the last part of my Armenian collection. I saved the best for last. These are the Armenian pagan goddesses. My source for the descriptions is Wikipedia.

Aceasta este ultima parte din colectia Armeniana si am pastrat ce era mai bun pentru final. Urmatoarele pandantive intruchipeaza zeitele pagane armeniene si o figura nationala cunoscuta. Sursa pentru descrieri a fost Wikipedia. 


Anahit

Anahit is the goddess of fertility and healing, but also the goddess of wisdom and water. In Armenian Mythology she also appears as the goddess of war and by the 5th century she was the main deity in Armenia.

Anahit este zeita fertilitatii si vindecarii dar si a intelepciunii si a apei. In Mitologia Armeniana ea apare si ca zeita razboiului si pana in secolul al 5-lea devine una dintre cele mai importante zeitati din Armenia.

Asya

made with beautiful shades of blue and other colors that
make us think about water/ sea/ healing 

In the earliest prehistoric period Astghig, commonly referred to as Asya, Astghik, or Astlik, (Armenian: the later heathen period she became the goddess of love, maidenly beauty, and water sources and springs. Her Hence, the name is not believed to be related to Semitic Ishtar.


In perioada preistorica Astghig, Asya, Astghik sau Asktlik sunt nume pentru aceeasi zeitate. Astghig este zeita paganda a fertilitatii si dragostei cu cerul fiind considerat o personificare a ei. Mai tarziu devine zeita iubirii, a frumusetii tineresti si a apei si izvoarelor. Numele este diminutivul de la astg, care inseamna stea.

Nane

  

Pendant showing Nane, the war god.

Nane (Armenian: Նանե, Nanė; Georgian: ნანა, Nana; Bulgarian: Нане, Nanė; Russian: Нанэ, Nanė) was an Armenian pagan mother goddess. She was the goddess of war, wisdom, and motherhood, and the daughter of the supreme god Aramazd.

Nane looked like a young beautiful woman in the clothing of a warrior, with spear and shield in hand, like the Greek Athene, with whom she identified in the Hellenic period.

Nane este zeita razboiului, a intelepciunii si a maternitatii dar si fiinca supremului zeu Aramazd. Nane era o femeie frumoasa si tanara in armura cu o sulita si un scut in mana, fiind adesea comparata cu Atena.


Nar

Tsovinar or Nar was the Armenian goddess of water, sea, and rain. She was a fire creature, who forced the rain and hail to fall from the heavens with her fury.
Her name Tsovinar means "Nar of the sea".

Nar a fost zeita Armeniana a apei, a marii si a ploii. Ea era o creatura de foc care forta ploaia sa cada din cer cu furia ei. Tsovinar, celalat nume al ei inseamna “Nar a marii”

Armenian Inspired Collection - Heart of Armenia/ Colectie inspirata Part 1

I've been working a lot for this collection, gathering all sort of resources, reading about history, mythology and religion in Armenia. It took me about 2 month of research and trying all kinds of colors and designs, I wanted to make sure that I included most of the patterns, the right colors and all the characters. This is the first of the countries I am planning to be inspired by. Some pieces are painted while others are made out of polymer clay using different techniques.

I tried to get inspired by the traditional clothing as well as the bridal traditional dresses, but also by some of the patterns that I noticed were most used in their art. This is definitely my take on Armenia and in no way I tried to create something that was exactly the same, I just wanted to make sure that I incorporated some of the elements in my jewelry with a modern touch. All jewelries and figurines that will be shown are unique and cannot be remade. I also hold copyright for all the designs shown in this collection and of course all pieces that are signed Abigail Smycken.

Am lucrat mult la colectia aceasta, am strans tot felul de resurse, am citit despre istoria, mitologia si religia Armeniei. Mi-a luat cam 2 luni de studiu si de incercat tot felul de culori si design-uri; voiam sa fiu sigura ca includ majoritatea modelelor, culorile potrivite si toate caracterele. Asta este prima dintre tarile pe care am de gand sa le folosesc ca inspiratie. Unele piese sunt pictate in timp ce altele sunt facute din lut polimeric folosindu-se diferite tehnici.

Am incercat sa ma inspir din hainele traditionale si din rochiile de mireasa traditionale, dar am folosit si multe elemente din arta Armeniana. Asta este cu siguranta o versiune personala asupra Armeniei si nu am incercat in niciun fel sa creez ceva care sa fie exact ca anume lucruri cu specific armenian. Am vrut sa fiu sigura ca incorporez unele dintre elemente in bijuteriile mele cu detalii si aspecte moderne. Toate bijuteriile sunt unice si nu pot fi refacute. De asemenea, detin drept de autor pentru bijuteriile postate in aceasta colectie si evident toate piesele semnate Abigail Smycken. 

We'll start with earrings/ Vom incepe cu cerceii:

Sisian Earrings - named after the beautiful Armenian city/ Cercei Sisian (numele frumosului oras Armenian)
- made with steel, polymer clay and silicone/ inox, lut polimeric si silicon:

Armavir Earrings - named after Armavir province/ Cercei Armavir - (provincia Armavir)
- made with polymer clay and antiqued brass/ lut polimeric si alama antichizata


Face 1/ Fata 1:

Face 2/ Fata 2:

 Ararat Earrings (Ararat Mountain) - Cercei Ararat (Muntele Ararat):

-steel, polymer clay and silicone/ inox, lut polimeric si silicon

 Masis Earrings - named after Masis Town/ Cercei Masis - (orasul Masis):

- made with steel, polymer clay and silicone/  inox, lut polimeric si silicon

What I've been crafting lately.../ Ce-am mai lucrat in ultimul timp...

I know that I update my Facebook page a lot, well at least a lot more than I update my blog. I've been quite busy lately, I've been working for about 2 months for a collection that will start a series of collection I am planning to do. I have a lot of ideas but so little time to work and there are never enough hours in the day to make sure that I do everything I planned. I'm also a bit of a procrastinator, so there you go, that's the reason why I'm having a hard time updating things. So I've been doing these:

Stiu ca pe pagina de Facebook adaug mai mult continut decat aici dar am fost destul de ocupata in ultima vreme. Lucrez de cateva luni la o colectie ce va incepe o serie de colectii. De asemenea procrastinez foarte mult asa ca asta probabil e principalul motiv pentru care nu prea updatez. Sa va arat totusi ce-am mai lucrat: