MCC 2017: SCHWARZENBERG ADDED TO TEACH NEW WORKSHOPS – REGISTER NOW!

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SCHWARZENBERG: BUTTERFLY WING CANE-O-RAMA Friday, June 23 9AM-5PM

Beginners and advanced students alike can ‘spread their wings’ with Lynne Ann’s proven teaching style and over 25 years of experience while learning to make this butterfly wing cane in polymer clay. Students will learn to blend custom colors and transform them into a base cane that will be turned into the wings of a butterfly. While the cane looks quite complex, Lynne Ann has broken the process down into a series of easy steps shown in a packet with over 100 step by step color photos. The magic happens when Lynne Ann shows students how to transform the wing cane into all kinds of beautiful pieces, like a mermaid’s tail, complex flower petals and other recombinant canes.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP.

SCHWARZENBERG: FILIGREE/FLORAL FUSION  Saturday, June 24  9AM-5PM

The simplicity of leaves and petals and classic beauty of turn of the century style filigree come together in this beautiful piece that can be worn as either a pendant or a pin. Students will learn to create a subtle gradient blend with polymer clay, turn it into two different canes (one leaf, one petal), then build a pendant using neo-classic filigree pieces from Kabela Design and finish the piece off with a Swarovski Rivoli crystal and a finding that combines a bail and a pinback, making it wearable either way. Lynne Ann will cover cane design and construction, even slicing, the best way to create a metal and clay fusion piece using special adhesive material, finishing without sanding (as it is nearly impossible to sand a dimensional piece), and metal to clay and crystal to clay fusion.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP.

SCHWARZENBERG: PICTURE PERFECT PODS  Sunday, June 25 9AM-5PM (cancelled)

Learn to use polymer clay canes to create gorgeous, realistic or Avatar-like supernatural pods and buds! We’ll make a beautifully shaded petal cane, create these awesome little buds that work great as beads, earrings, pendants and more. Learn to form, reduce and manipulate the petal cane, construct a realistic looking pod and add sculptural elements like twisted calyx points. Learn to antique and shade the pods for more realism and finally, the best way to finish the piece without all the tedious sanding!
Please note: This picture demonstrates an assortment of pods, but students will be making just one petal cane and a couple of pods due to time constraints. However, each student will make enough cane to swap pieces with the others so that they can make several other pods with the techniques they’ve learned.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP.

 

MASTER CLASS CAMP: ROBERT DANCIK TO TEACH JUNE 23-26, 2017

If you have never taken a workshop from Robert Dancik, it’s time to start.  He will be joining us for the 5th Master Class Camp, June 23-26, 2017, in Laurel, MD.  Robert is not only charming, but he is and artist with a vision and the ability to create unique one-of-a-kind pieces. Registration will open to the general public tomorrow.

Robert will be teaching To Die For: Die Forming with Polymer clay and Mixed Materials (June 23-24) and Concrete : Not Just for Sidewalks Anymore (June 25-26.)

Below are the descriptions of workshops Robert will be teaching:

To Die For: Die Forming with Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Material (Fri/Sat June 23-24, 2017)

Learn an easy way to die form and if desired, use the actual die as part of your final piece.  You will use the easy to cut and work Faux Bone to form your die – the part you press your metal into – and then cut away part of the Faux Bone leaving behind the section you want to include in your finished piece.  Then you can easily attach your findings to the Faux bone with no soldering or special tools.

If you use the die-formed metal without the Faux Bone, you can turn your piece into a hinged locket, a focal bead or use it as a mold for polymer clay, concrete, epoxy resin, metal clay, epoxy putty or hollow Plexiglas beads.

Additional techniques and procedures you will learn include (but are not limited to), how to texture and fold-form your metal before die forming; cold connections including several riveting techniques, micro-fasteners, prongs and tabs and easy hinges to form a locket, hinged bracelet or hinged pendant.

You will also learn that you DO NOT need an expensive press to do die forming!  All you need is an inexpensive vice and you’re on your way to all sorts of possibilities.

This class will allow you to broaden and deepen the possibilities for your work and increase the range of your artist’s voice.

Concrete : Not Just for Sidewalks Anymore (Sun/Mon June 25-26, 2017)

As unlikely as concrete for jewelry may seem, it is easy to use, extremely versatile, unbelievably inexpensive and….  surprisingly lightweight.   In fact it is lighter in weight then stone, resin or metal of comparable size and this makes it perfect for jewelry and other forms of personal adornment as well as small sculpture and utilitarian objects.

It can be pigmented in numerous ways and the surface can be finished with a variety of textures from very rough to smooth to polished!  No special tools or equipment are needed and all materials will be provided.

In this workshop, you will learn how to set your polymer clay work in concrete and the concrete pieces you make in polymer clay.  In fact, you will be able to “set” virtually any object in the concrete withoout the need for a bezel or finding – however we’ll use those in the concrete as well.  Materials such as found objects, metal, glass, ephemera, gemstones, bone, enamels and of course polymer clay can be “trapped in the concrete with no fasteners or mechanical means.

The concrete we will be using is extremely strong even when made as thin as 1/16 inch thick.  It can be cast in rubber stamps, candy and baking molds, polymer clay, any silicone mold – both those you make and buy and many other items you have around your studio or home.

We will start by making non-soldered boxes as in one of the examples pictured here.  These can then be filled with concrete (or polymer clay, resins or any combination of these) and include virtually any material or found object you please.  We will also delve into methods of setting your creations using various cold connections such as rivets, tabs, prongs, etc, which will allow you to combine them with any other materials or objects you may work with.

Additionally, we will talk about the references that are inherent in using a material like concrete such as permanence, rigidity, protection and obstacle and how you can incorporate those references in the narrative of your work.

All these materials, techniques and procedures are applicable to work you may already be doing or they may open the door to work you may want to pursue in the future.