Art Bead Scene Challenge and an Update

I took a little time off after completing the Controlled Marbling tutorial to rest my tired brain and rev up the creative juices again.  My clay stock is very low, but the artwork which is the inspiration for the challenge this month at Art Bead Scene did its job, and I am totally inspired to create an entry this month.  

I was also very pleasantly surprised to find that Erin Prais-Hintz included one of my faux red jade focal beads in her Sakura Pagoda Etsy treasury, too!  Wow!   Thank you, Erin.  It is gorgeous collection sure to inspire.  It is already working wonders on my tired brain cells! 

I wish I could post a photo of the artwork chosen for this month's challenge, but it is copyrighted, so I hope you will visit ABS and check it out yourself.  This month's artwork is Heijinja by Toshi Yoshida, and features a color palette of orange-red, blush pink, soft gray and white.  Think cherry blossoms on a gentle Spring morning against the backdrop of a stunning scarlet red pagoda.  

And speaking of my Controlled Marbling Tutorial, the response has been tremendous since its debut last month.  Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy.  Many of you have also sent me photos of your marbled creations, and I have received fantastic feedback letting me how much you are enjoying the technique.  I am thrilled to know you are having so much fun with it.  

I love creating these marbled pieces, too, and when Jan Montarsi asked me to contribute to an article he is writing on finishing polymer work for the February issue of The Polymer Arts, I couldn't resist creating a few marbled pieces to illustrate my finishing process, which, as most of you know, includes treating the back side of a piece with as much care as I treat the face side.

  

Jan, and Sage Bray, the publisher, decided to use a few of my photos in the article, and I hope you will get a copy and check out the article.  I believe the magazine comes out February 18th and the article will be "The Back Story."  I added a bunch of the finishing photos to my Flickr photostream, but here are a few "before and after" illustrating my finishing and sanding and buffing process.  I decided to create a pair of earrings and leave one of the pair completely unfinished.  The other one I finished as I normally do, so you can see the difference sanding and buffing make.