Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Carol Simmons Workshop in Dallas, Texas

Thanks to the North Central Texas Polymer Clay Guild for hosting Carol Simmons last weekend.  Four members of my local polymer clay guild drove to Dallas to attend and it was well worth the drive.  Carol taught us how to start with 3 primary colors - for instance blue, fuchsia and yellow - to create a wide range of rich vibrant colors.  The addition of white in specific areas added to the range of colors available to work with.  And all of these colors - because they started from the three primary colors - are harmonious.  We used those blends to create simple canes, then combined them to create more complex canes.  These 9 simple canes were combined to create the triangle cane.  What was really funny was that everybody kept talking about how ugly their cane was!  THEN the magic happened when Carol showed us how to square up the canes, then how to turn them and combine them in different ways to create completely different looks.  We had a great time, made some new friends and learned a great technique.  Fabulous weekend workshop!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Retirement! I'm loving it!


I am loving retirement!  I’ve had several people ask me how I’m adjusting to retirement… do I miss work… that sort of thing.  All I can say is that I haven’t stopped smiling yet!  I’m thoroughly enjoying not setting the alarm clock and not wearing a watch. 

I’ve been too busy since I retired to even think about being bored.  I’ve been working on getting my studio ready for a major renovation.  Amazing just how much “stuff” is in here that has to be packed!  And this past weekend I drove to Dallas to attend a workshop with Carol Simmons.  Excellent workshop.  More on that later. The picture shown here is the end result of the workshop.