Saturday, September 11, 2010

Studio Saturday with Creative Impressions In Clay


Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a 
free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
This weeks winner is Paige MaximCongratulations! 
You have won a a pendant from the studio of Jennifer Heynen
Send Jennifer an e-mail with your address and she will get it right out to you.


This week we visit the studio of Tari Sasser at Creative Impressions In Clay.


I have lots of cans lying around since I made a fish with recycled cans for the scales. 
I have a show next weekend and I have been trying to come up with a jewelry item using the cans. Above is one of my ideas for using the aluminum cans. I cut disks out with a large paper punch, put 2 together with eyelets that are used for scrapbooking. Michaels was clearancing a wire spiral maker doohickey by Beadalon, which worked well for this application. 
Paula Radke dichroic beads were used as a drop for the earrings. 

My Question this week is:
What would you do different if you were brainstorming jewelry incorporating a recycled material? 
Use less, add more? Different material?

Leave a comment and you could win 2 small puzzle piece buttons.

Have a great beginning of Fall Weekend!

15 comments:

Yeli said...

I would definitively make the recicled material the focus of the piece. I love vintaj cans, but I also love any kind of metal in jewelry.

It would also be fun to create some focal pieces out of recicled paper, but it would have to be coated and sealed with something. I have just not gotten to try that yet.

Lovely puzzle buttons. I hope I am the lucky one this time.

Enjoy your weekend!

Alice said...

Sweet earrings! So far I haven't used recycled materials in my jewelry, but I have been saving used gift cards and hotel key cards. I plan to cut them into shapes and use them as charms by adding eyelets.

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

I'm not entering. I just want to say how much I love the earrings you made starting with pieces of aluminum. Really lovely!

Erin Strother said...

I like layering pieces together, so I'd probably glue or wire the aluminum discs on top of some other material(s). You could dap the discs to add some dimension.
Erin S.

TesoriTrovati said...

First, I love your fun and funky designs using the tin. I am doing some layered pendants and earrings with tin, especially after I made an outstanding necklace using recycled bottle cap flowers from Glass Garden Beads. I have been very inspired to reuse things! I think that there are treasures around us if we are willing to look a bit at the possibilities. What I especially love about using found materials is that you can be really creative. And when people do a double take because they think they have seen that object before in another life, I think that is when you elevate that to art. I like little touches here and there. Great use of materials and thinking outside the jewelry box, Tari!
Enjoy the day!
Erin

CreekHiker / HollysFolly said...

My favorite thing for recycling and jewelry came about when I was an avid painter. Every painter I know wipes their brushes on paper towels. It used to KILL me to throw them away. I ended up making beads by cutting long triangles from the papers and rolling them around skewers into bicones. I would secure with watered down glue or a little more paint.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Well, Cari certainly knows that I am a fan!!

I would try to use plastic, since it lives forever and try to design something really unusual and of course pair it with metal.

Gail W. said...

I love the earrings & this question.My husband is a plumber,I get LOTS of stuff off his truck,washers,copper pipe,little things with holes & without,I can make holes.My daughter is a nurse,those drug sales people give her all kinds of reusable things,you just have to look at things in a different way.Once you start doing this,you will have so many possibles that people might think you need help with those Hoarder people!My family stopped asking about 2 years ago.But I really like the washers.Different sizes,different metals,great for many things.But I never thought of tin cans.Another freebee,thanks.

Creative Clutter said...

First off, I love the buttons. Anything with puzzle pieces reminds me of my autistic grandson. I would love to win these. How about recycles cans, but in a fallish leave motif or pine needle spray? Perhaps placed against a paper or plastic or clay background?

hihihi! said...

I cut out many small circles and make them into earrings, the small aluminum circles in a chandelier like pattern :)
the buttons are soooo cute!!
and i love making recycled jewelry! I like your tropical colours in the recycled earrings, too! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm into charms right now and would add more recycled bits to make necklaces and bracelets. I also would make molds of some fun old buttons or shapes and then remake them into jewelry pieces.

Katina
kjkoukla(at ) hotmail.com

Islandgirl said...

Think I'd use less... I seem to sell simple earrings the more I add to things the longer they take to sell!

Love the puzzle piece buttons!

Barbra said...

Love using recycled or upcycled materials. The only jewelry I make are pins and I've used cast of jigsaw puzzle pieces and buttons so this piece really caught my attention. Sometimes I only use the pieces and sometimes they are a base for the pins piled with buttons.
I NEED those buttons!♥

:-) MaryLou said...

I don't know if it counts as recycling, but I'm always scouring the ground to find old bits of metal and other interesting objects. I have a whole collection of rusty washers, bolts, nails, etc., that I've found; and I've been noodling over ideas to use some of the really funky pieces with some air-dry porcelain to make some ooak focals. So far all I have are sketches, but one of these days (hopefully before my porcelain dries up) I'm going to make something! :-)

Tari of ClayButtons.com said...

I love everyone's comments! I have a couple more designs I believe I am going with for the show this weekend.
All of the input has been great.
Glad you like the puzzle pieces.
Tari