K. Hernandez Art

Adventures in Bookbinding

2011-06-28T20:37:00.003-05:00

I'm in a book! Let me rephrase - my work is in a book! Jeannine Stein author of Rebound and the newly published Adventures in Bookbinding contacted me a while back about participating in her new book. So I made 2 polymer clay book covers that she then bound into BEAUTIFUL diaries. They look amazing! The book is available through Boarders, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

I did a show this past weekend and had her book as well as the 2 handmade ones on display and I got such positive feedback about them that I think I will have to make some more to have at my next shows. First I will have to learn how to do the binding - but that's OK because I have Jeannine's book!

If you click on the preview of the book you can see one of mine on page 6. It is the green cover with the pink cherry blossoms. The full write up on my books is on page 83. Hooray!

Big Announcement Coming Soon!

2011-06-18T16:38:00.002-05:00

Stay tuned to my blog in the next few days I have an exciting announcement (well exciting for me anyway). It has to be postponed a few days because I am waiting for something to arrive in the mail. To be continued...

New Camera

2011-04-01T21:22:00.003-05:00

My old camera finally bit the dust a few weeks ago. I decided that I didn't want to put off buying a new one too long with my newest addition growing and changing everyday. I also wanted to be able to take better pictures of my work without having to spend forever on photoshop trying to make the picture actually look like the real thing. I got a pretty nice Cannon and I am now trying to figure out how to make use of the SUPER COOL settings that it has! The 2 bottom pictures were taken using the "poster" setting. I had some fun taking pictures of the kids today. I used up the whole memory card in about 20 minutes - note to self: 14 mega pixel camera needs a bigger memory card. So fun!

My Latest Work of Art

2011-01-08T15:28:00.002-06:00

Here is my newest masterpiece! Eden Naomi, born on Wednesday!

New Jewelry - New Pictures

2010-09-10T14:14:00.007-05:00

I'm making up for lost time! Another blog post and more listings in my Etsy Jewelry shop. The links to my shop are on the side bar of the page and you can see a preview of what I have in my shops there. Getting listings up takes longer than I anticipated. I think that always seems to be the case. I spent a good chunk of the day yesterday taking pictures of some of my jewelry and then trying to edit them. I just have a basic camera and I was convinced that was a big part of why my pictures just don't turn out as well as I would like. However, I've now learned the secret! PHOTOSHOP! Call me naive but I just thought that good photographers just took good pictures, period. Now I'm no photographer. But when you are selling things to people through the internet, where they can't touch and feel and try on, your sales are only as good as your pictures. I'm still no expert, and I will need many more late nights playing with Photoshop, but I've discovered a few tricks that really helped my shots.
Here is an example -
This is the before picture. They always seem to have this grey haze that I didn't know how to fix. But with Photoshop...
no haze and the image is so crisp you could just reach out and touch it. YES! Now on to the next challenge, listing description. Maybe that will be a good post for tomorrow :)

My Big Girl

2010-09-03T10:43:00.004-05:00

This week was Lena's first day of Kindergarten. When did she grow up? She is loving school! I thought she would have lots of trouble getting up in the morning. Sleeping (or at least not getting out of bed) until 9-9:30am was not unheard of for her. But this week when I went into her room at 7:15am she sat straight up in bed and couldn't wait to get ready. So here are the pictures of my big girl on her first day.

Etsy Treasury

2010-09-01T13:38:00.001-05:00

I'm in an Etsy Treasury! My cane, that is. Very exciting, here is the link

Chrysanthemums

2010-08-31T09:23:00.002-05:00

New chrysanthemum canes are now in my etsy shop khernandezcanes! Ready for Autumn clay projects!

News and New Stuff

2010-08-29T21:20:00.004-05:00

Alright, once again I apologize for the gigantic gaps between my posts. Ahh, such is life.

So on to the news...There are new things in my life - first of all there will be a new addition to our family this winter! I am now in my 21st week of pregnancy - Baby #3 should be arriving around January 7, 2011. Everyone is excited as we get ready for a new little one.

That is the family news and now for the clay news.

I have a new Etsy store! khernandezcanes.etsy.com This store is devoted just to polymer clay canes. My other store khernandez.etsy.com will be for my finished jewelry and other finished art pieces.

So far I have several new canes listed and I hope to get some jewelry up in the next couple weeks.

Since I always like to add pictures, here are some canes! I would show you all pictures of my expanding waistline but it's not quite as cute for #3 as it was with #1 :)

Inspiration

2010-04-27T19:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's post on Polymer Clay Daily was about artist Carol Blackburn. When I clicked on the link I saw some awesome necklaces she had made with a technique I'd been wanting to try. So I did.

The result was great! I wore the finished necklace today and got so many compliments. (Thanks for the inspiration Ms. Blackburn!)I will definitely be trying it again...but perhaps with a different twist ;)

What is it they say about good intentions??

2010-04-16T14:56:00.004-05:00

I am the worst blogger in the world! Right after I say how much I want to be better, I go forever without posting. I haven't been working on anything new lately so I've felt like I don't have much to blog about. I do have a ton of new ideas and a ton of new supplies that I recently ordered. The problem is I don't seem to have a ton of time to get the ideas out of my head and into reality. Hopefully the next post (whenever that happens) will have more content and pictures of new and exciting pieces!

Feeling Edgy

2010-03-12T14:13:00.005-06:00

I was asked the other day to make some gauged earrings. Maybe there is a different term for earrings like this but I don't know what it would be. Anyway, there are a lot of ways to design this style of earring ranging from super simple to elaborately twisted designs. These are more on the simple side but I would love to try some more complicated ones. Really a basic concept, but staying symmetrical takes a careful eye.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

P.S. Having another "clay day" after school today!

Featured Artist

2010-03-04T10:32:00.004-06:00

Today I would like to showcase the work of a budding artist. Magdalena Ester Hernandez spends most of her free time creating. Her favorite medium is colored pencils but she also excels with crayons and markers.

My daughter Lena loves to draw and I keep a lot of her pictures in a folder. She gives them away to everyone, her preschool teachers, Grandma, my friends. Yesterday I thought I would take some pictures to share with you all since this is mostly a blog about art, but also me and my family. So here is little combo of both. BTW Lena is 4 years old.

This was yesterday's creation. She puts hearts on everything. And she wrote her name all by herself.

This one is from the "Beach Series" she made different pictures with coconut trees, orange trees and banana trees.

(I drew the little bird and the crazy looking squirrel, but Lena did everything else. I think she is pretty good for 4 :)

Canes

2010-02-28T20:33:00.004-06:00

I'm going to try to be a better blogger. I will try to post something at least once a week. That is being very ambitious for me. Here are some canes I finished in the past week or so.

It's a Miracle!

2010-02-26T10:15:00.005-06:00

I tried my camera one more time this morning and I guess it made friends with the computer now because it worked! Hooray! So here are some pictures of a few things, some of the ones I took weren't so nice when they were bigger than the tiny screen on my camera. But a least now I can retake and get them on the computer!

These are some of heart pieces I did for the Heartfest show. The bracelet has more BLING! than anything I've ever made. Heart beads on heart chain and a heart clasp...I was following a theme :)

My set up at the show. I have never set up my booth to be open on 3 sides like this. It was different - changed it up a bit the next day by opening the triangle (with the shelves) into more of a curved wall.

Updates - and anyone know how to fix a camera problem?

2010-02-17T08:10:00.004-06:00

So I haven't posted for a very long while. What else is new huh? The weather has been crazy here in the Midwest and there have been many days so far that school has been closed. Personally, I love that! Snow days mean Noe gets to stay home with kids and me or do pastor stuff like visiting families. That is his favorite part of pastoring - he is the most "people person" person I have ever met.

SO... on to clay stuff. I have been making a lot of new pieces lately, and I took pictures of most of them to share with the world via my outdated blog, BUT... They are stuck in my camera. I don't know what is wrong but for some reason my computer won't recognize my camera. It starts reading the pictures and then a few seconds later tells me that it can't locate my camera and to make sure it is connected. ?? I don't know. So until I can figure this out my blog will remain picture less, which is way boring for a blog. I don't know about anyone else but when I read peoples' blogs I care about the pictures!

I had a show last week in Des Moines. Honestly I was disappointed with how it went. I only do a couple of full weekend shows a year because I have a weekly Sunday commitment ;) So I was hoping that it would be time well spent. But it was really slow. I spoke with some of the other artists and some of them didn't sell anything at all, or not even enough to cover their expenses. Fortunately, I did manage to come away in the black but not so much that I will go back next year. Oh well lesson learned right?

I've been teaching 2 art classes for kids for the past few weeks. They have been going really well and I think the kids are having a good time. Each week we make a project and then I take everything home to bake. I've been really impressed with the kids and hopefully I'll have some pictures to post before too long.

Lastly, this Friday I get to go to a "Clay Day"!!! I'm super excited! The teacher with whom Noe (husband) is working and another teacher in the school are polymer clayers too! So we are getting together to play clay. I think there may even be a few more who are joining us and it should be a lot of fun. I'm planning on making canes all night so I'll have some new stock in my Etsy shop....as soon as the camera situation gets fixed that is.

Silent Night....Long Night

2009-11-14T21:26:00.006-06:00

My daughter had a few days off of preschool this week so we went over to my parents. Of course I took all my clay with me because I had an idea for a grand cane. So while the kids rode in the tractor with Grandpa and Uncle Jake, I went to work on what turned out to be the biggest cane I have ever made. By the time all was said and done the honker weighed in at around 7 lbs (about what the real baby Jesus must have weighed)!!! Most of it will be used for Christmas ornaments for my up coming shows but I am selling some pieces of it on Etsy if anyone is interested.

Here are my pictures of the process, all together it took about 10 hours to construct and reduce.

Gris Bleu

2009-10-16T10:40:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to quickly share with you one of my favorite blogs. GrisBleu. Its all in French so I have very little idea what it says but a picture is worth a thousand words and this site is LOADED with pics. So much fun and so inspiring! Enjoy!

M & J Art Gallery

2009-10-15T09:03:00.004-05:00

A local gallery is now carrying my work. The M & J Art Gallery in Ottumwa is focusing on the art work of area artists and I get to be one of them! One of the owners (Chris) who is a fabulous artist, told me yesterday that they have out some images of my work up on their website. Go check it out, and while you're there take a look at all the other fine artists featured on the site. Here is one of Chris's paintings to get you started.

They're back!

2009-09-21T12:55:00.007-05:00

After an absence from my Etsy shop, the canes have returned. I have lots of new designs and a few left of some old favorites! Stop by my shop via the link on the sidebar!

My Babies!

2009-09-14T08:29:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while I like to show off my kids. This blog is primarily for my clay stuff but I'm a proud mama too :)

Here is my 4 year old Magdalena (Lena) on her first day of preschool and My 2 year old Santiago sampling my mocha (no, I don't give him coffee on a regular basis!)

Victory!

2009-09-14T07:39:00.004-05:00

After 2 days, 11 containers, many cups of coffee and 14 lbs (!) of clay i have finally gained victory over the scrap pile(s). I don't know about the rest of you, but I tend to collect bits here, pieces there, ends of canes, projects that were, well... ugly. All of these get tossed into a container to be sorted later. I also don't actually have a set place to work on my clay so I tend to wander around the house to where ever the light is the best or where my kids are playing. So I found little bowls of scraps in my bedroom, in the basement, and around my kitchen table. Because of this I also tend to open a pack of clay, not use the whole thing and later, in another location, open more of the same color. So I end up with many half used blocks floating around my 3 areas too. I don't like wasting any clay so what I do when I finally get around to dealing with the pile is sort the scrap by color and blend the groups together into new colors. Any clay that is too muddy already or maybe got dusty goes into the "crap clay" pile. This will become project bases and bead guts. This time I documented the scrap adventure and I'm pretty pleased with all of the good clay I discovered in the process. After two full days of my family having to eat at the coffee table, I think my husband is glad to have his table back :)

Here are my containers full of canes, partial blocks of clay and scraps

Moving through the piles - cell phone ready, and I think that is the second cup of coffee...

Here I have my color piles which I will sort into smaller piles based on shades. (or is it hues?)

Half way there - I've switched to a new coffee cup, BTW that blue and brown mug is my favorite mug! It was made by a local artist.

Look at all my pretty new clay!

Nicely organized canes - but looks like I'm running a bit low. Next project massive cane building with my new colors!

Alas, not all clay can be saved. Looks like I'll have enough bead guts for a lifetime!

Still holding on to summer

2009-09-10T18:36:00.005-05:00

What day is it? Can it really be true that summer is over? Days seem to just fly by recently. I just had my last show of the summer. It has officially been one year since my first solo show. Once again the "Walk on Art Street" was a tremendous success. I had a few new items that seemed to go over well. I made beaded wine bottle stoppers, key rings and tiny delicate necklaces specifically for this show. This show was held in the town where I live (Ottumwa, Iowa) and to make it even more special, I was a featured artist in the local paper! A reporter came to my home the week before the show to interview me. I think the added publicity really paid off too, many people came to my booth because they said that they saw me in the paper. I didn't actually get to see the article because we don't get the paper but I read it online. So if anyone out there happens to have an extra copy could you send it my way??
Here is the online version of the article.

Updates #2

2009-07-09T20:43:00.009-05:00

The week following the Oskaloosa show I had the opportunity to teach polymer clay art to a group of students from the local high school. Ottumwa's community college has a program called Upward Bound to encourage would-be first generation college students. These students live at the college for 6 weeks and attend classes to get an idea of college life. If they participate the summer before their Sr year they can also receive some college credits. It was a really neat program and I was proud to get to be a part of it. I took pictures of some of the students work which I will add when I find my camera...

I taught the kids how to make some simple canes and showed them some different ways to use them. We made covered pens and stands, ring bowls, key chains and other fun stuff! I also showed them how to use their cane ends for swirled lentil beads.

These are the pens and holders the class made. I think they all did a great job!

Yoslin with my stack of clay books and magazines (wearing her new bracelet!)

One of the guys perfecting his swirl technique.

Updates #1

2009-07-09T20:16:00.005-05:00

My life has been non stop crazy for the last several weeks. Is it already July???? I thought that Summer was suppose to be the time of year when we all slow down and enjoy the outdoors, BBQs and the good life? Well maybe we get a bit of that but everything else still seems to come at 100 mph. So I guess I should break this up into instalments

Mid June marked the first show of the season for me. It was held in the near by town of Oskaloosa, IA. This was my first time doing this show and I thought that it went very well. Even though the weather was quite cool and a bit damp they had a good crowd and I had decent sales and good feedback. As usual my ring bowls were my best seller. This was also my first opportunity to try out my new propanels and shelf displays! I only used 3 of my walls for 2 reasons; first I was concerned that if it got hot I would have no breeze with the walls all up, and second I found out that my tent is too low for the support poles on my walls. but by using just the tree I was able to secure them right to the tent and still have some air flow.

One Lovely Blog

2009-06-19T13:09:00.002-05:00

I was just notified that Alice Stropple has given my blog a "One Lovely Blog" award. How sweet! Now it is my job to pass on the award on to 15 blogs that I enjoy. That will take me a bit of time to choose! Thank you so much Alice!

New work and New Pics

2009-06-15T21:02:00.003-05:00

It's show season again and I have been very busy getting myself ready. I have new product lines and a revamped booth as well. Today I finally got around to taking some pictures and wonder of all wonders, I've even loaded them into my computer and onto my blog in the same day! (That is a big accomplishment for me!) So as they say, a picture says a thousand words.

Aghhhhhh!

2009-05-04T08:14:00.003-05:00

For the first time ever I have killed a batch of beads. :( I was baking about 2 dozen beads that I had been working on for a few days. Meanwhile I started making lunch. I don't know where my brain went during the next few minutes but without thinking I turned on the broiler to roast some peppers! I know I should have a separate clay oven but I don't at this point. When I opened my oven there were my new black beads. It had only been maybe 3 mins or so but they were toasted and smoking. The beads went outside and all the windows were opened. In all the years that I have been working with clay this is the only time I've ever burnt something. I really should get myself a clay oven

One more thing...

2009-04-30T09:12:00.003-05:00

Here is my first batch of summer beads. Yeah for colors!!!!! They are not sanded yet but I just had to take a picture of the pretty colors. :) They look like candy. These will become bracelets and earrings. After looking at them yesterday I realized I need about twice this many...back to the clay table!

More Diversity Conference

2009-04-30T09:00:00.004-05:00

I've finally loaded some of my pictures from the diversity conference this past month.

Pens and bracelets with faces and flowers. I took these pictures towards the end of the day, had I been thinking (and on time in the morning) I would have taken pictures in the morning when I had my full stock. This is what I had left at the end of the day. I made a bunch of ring bowls with face canes and they went fast.

My little section of table. I had to really condense my display since I usually have at least 2 tables.

Retreat!

2009-04-18T17:26:00.003-05:00

I am officially register for the IPCG retreat in Chicago! Hooray! The whole family will be going to Chicago to visit family and I'll take a few days to play clay! If you are planning on going you should sign up soon, I think they are capping attendance at 75 (my application number was 61, though I don't know if that actually is the number that have registered so far). Here is the link to the registration page.

Many Faces

2009-04-05T07:36:00.002-05:00

This past Friday I had a table set up at our local community college's Diversity Conference. The theme for the conference was "Many Faces, One Vision". A perfect opportunity to use my face canes! I had the good intentions of making beads and bracelets and earrings and ring bowls and even some new bookmarks all with faces. However when reality hit me I settled for a few bracelets and lots of ring bowls. I did make beads but I didn't have time to sand them. It turned out that the ring bowls with the faces were very popular. I even had a couple sales that someone was just walking by and saw the bowls, stopped and bought one. I didn't even have to tell them what it was, how it is made, "No, there is no paint on the bowl." :) It was a pretty good day.
Now my next project is to prepare for my next two shows. I have about 2 months but one of the shows will by far be my biggest one yet and I need LOTS of inventory. This week will be dedicated to cane making. The first step.

Necklace for Ada

2009-03-19T20:04:00.005-05:00

This necklace will be one of the door prizes at the Christi Friesen workshop that will benefit Ada Silapiruti. Ada is the daughter of Ponsawan who made the mosaic I blogged about a few posts back. Just over a year ago Ada was in a terrible car accident involving a drunk driver. Read about Ponsawan's art here and all about Ada and her road to recovery here.

Warm Weather and Smooth Beads!

2009-03-06T09:42:00.003-06:00

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful, 65 and Sunny! The kids played outside all afternoon, and I actually got some findings put onto a group of pendants while they played.
For the past several weeks I've been filling up a bag with beads and pendants that needed to be sanded. Since I hate sanding I had been putting it off and putting off, now I was left with this huge bag of unfinished stuff! I decided to buckle down and I told myself I could not work with raw clay until my beads were sanded. Now I know that a lot of people use a tumbler to sand their smaller beads, and I've tried that too, but I just don't feel like the quality is as good. So I do everything by hand. It took me forever but I finally finished the bag so now I need to put everything together into finished pieces. During the 13+ hours of sanding I did discover a new little trick! I generally shy away from round beads because mainly they are so hard to hold onto when I sand. But not any more! I discovered that I can use my needle tool to poke through the hole (I don't pierce all the way through so it fits tightly) and use it as a handle with the smaller beads! The saves time and my finger nails! I'm sure this idea is not original but it helped so much! Today should be another nice day so maybe I'll get some more work done. Happy Friday to everyone!

In a van down by the river....

2009-02-27T18:42:00.003-06:00

What does that mean anyway?
Oh well. We have a new van! Well new to us at least. About 1 hour ago my husband and I finally purchased a Windstar mini van. I can not tell you how happy I am that we now have two cars. Several months ago our second car (a 1988 Toyota) died. Since then we have been a one car family. With Noe gone as much as he is with church stuff, work and school I have been stuck in the house with kids at all times. I'm free at last!!!
So what does this have to do with polymer clay? Easy! The mini van will be my glorious transportation for all the shows I hope to do!!!! Lots of room for displays and Art! (Does that make it a business expense??????) :)

New Items on Etsy

2009-02-19T10:22:00.003-06:00

My camera works now. I don't know what happened but I plugged it in again yesterday and now it works.(???) I finally put some more of my work in my etsy shop so go check it out! (The link is just to the right) These are a few of the things that I have for sale.

Blast from the past!

2009-02-11T22:17:00.006-06:00

I've gotten a little behind on my blogging lately. Well I have a good reason for that, I spend too much time reading other people's blogs! Ok, but here is my post. This week I worked on some new pendants and finally took pictures today. But for some inexplicable reason my computer won't recognize my camera. I have no idea why and I don't know how to fix it so I guess showing off my newest (and therefore favorites) will have to wait. So...instead of the newest, lets take a look at some of the oldest. I shall now embarrass myself just a little. These are some things that I made about 10 or 13 years ago. I would have to look at my 4-H record book to know exactly when I made them (see that darn record book does serve a purpose later on!). So lets see that would mean I was 13-16 years old.

Here we have a few figurines, a couple pins, and some earrings.

Necklace, bracelet and a huge pin with some of my first face canes.

I have boxes and boxes of stuff that I made long ago. All these are from before I knew what a skinner blend was, before I would even touch a brand of clay except Sculpey III and before I ever sanded anything. Ahhh the memories...

Polymer Clay Daily

2009-01-30T09:49:00.003-06:00

I'm on Polymer Clay Daily...ok not really, but several of my canes made it! My clay friend Ponsawan made this beautiful mosaic wall piece and used some of my canes as pieces. (check out the little flower ones) Today's feature on PCD was her mosaic. Ponsawan is very talented and a very sweet person. Visit her blog to see more of her work.

Back to School

2009-01-29T12:16:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I was invited to help with Ottumwa Christian School's art class. They have been doing some work with polymer clay for a couple weeks so I was invited as the local "expert". I showed the kids some of my work and then demonstrated making a simple cane. Then they dove in trying their hands at their own creations. I had a ton of fun and I hope they did too. I brought my camera with me but, as I have the tendency to do, I left it in my bag and didn't take any pictures. Lena (my 3yr old) also came along to teach the kids how to "play clay."

Canes

2009-01-27T14:12:00.001-06:00

These are my latest 2 face canes. The one on the bottom is what I cut off after reducing. The rest of the cane looks a little less depressed. :)

Faces

2009-01-27T10:53:00.004-06:00

After about a week of not touching my clay at all I have been working on a new project. I am making face canes of women from around the world. I've spent the past several days searching the internet for beautiful portraits of women wearing traditional ethnic clothing. Then I try to draw out how to adapt that face to a cane. It feels like a very long process but I just finished one last night. It is of a woman in Bangladesh. This is the picture I used for inspiration and also another inspiration picture I will hopefully be caning soon.

Bangladeshi girls

Hmong woman

A little side note, I found the picture of this Hmong woman on a website that just fascinated me. http://www.inspiringelements.com/pohw/index.html There are several portraits of Hmong women and excerpts of their life stories. When my husband and I were in college in Minnesota many of our friends were Hmong (we were even members of Hmong Student Fellowship:) Anyway, looking at all the pictures made me reminisce and miss my friends.

Hearts

2009-01-09T21:32:00.000-06:00

These heart brooches were made following the instructions in the latest issue of Polymer Cafe. I don't usually do projects, it kind of seems like copycatting. But through it I learned how to cut a beveled edge and get a rounded edge on a flat piece. They were fun!

IPCA

2009-01-08T13:58:00.000-06:00

Formerly the National polymer Clay Guild, now the International Polymer Clay Association, has announced that this years conference will be held in Chicago! Can I just say that I am so happy!!!! My husband's family lives a mere 25 mins from where the conference is being held. That means the whole family can come and we can have a bit of a summer vacation, complete with clay! Well, maybe. I'm still not certain of all the details and we will have to see if the timing works out for everyone but HOPEFULLY I will be able to go. Hooray!

I hate it...I love it....

2009-01-06T08:15:00.000-06:00

SANDING.
For those of you that read my blog who are not familiar with polymer clay this posting will sound like the ramblings of a crazy woman who has been sniffing her clay. For everyone else I know you understand the paradox.

I hate sanding. It drives me crazy. It is SO time consuming. It turns my fingers into raisins. Sometimes it even makes my fingers bleed because I haven't noticed that in addition to sanding a bead I have been sanding my finger as well. All in all it is horrible! But...when I hold in my hands a perfectly sanded piece that has been buffed to perfection...ahhh sweet bliss. I LOVE IT! There is nothing better than touching the silky surface of a finely finished piece. (oooooo, alliteration, clay as poetry)
OK. so I know that I'm going a bit over the top but I just finished sanding and buffing a batch of brooches and I am enjoying the finished product.
Can I get an "AMEN!" from the clayers!!

Family Picture

2009-01-05T18:51:00.000-06:00

Here is my family at our Christmas celebration.

My parents are in the center with my (tall) brothers and wife (left) and fiancee (right) and then the hubby, kids and me in front. Oh, and the cute fluffy one is Charlie.

Let there be LIGHT!

2009-01-02T13:26:00.000-06:00

My parents got me a light box for Christmas so I have been experimenting with trying to get some better pics of my stuff. I still having a little trouble getting the light just how I want it but not a bad first try. I am now searching my house for good backgrounds!

Something to think about...

2008-12-17T08:09:00.000-06:00

This post has nothing to do with polymer clay but I thought I would share it anyway. This is a link to an article that a college friend of mine (Ellen) posted on her blog. Ellen and her husband were blessed last year with a precious little girl they named Nicole. Nicole happens to have Down Syndrome. Ellen frequently posts on her blog about Nicole and way that their family has been changed and enriched by the blessing of her life. I don't normally (actually ever) get political or get into controversial issues on my blog. Although anyone who knows me could tell you that I am a very opinionated, or shall we say passionate, person. But this is something that I felt compelled to share. Read the article, visit Ellen's blog, and maybe get a new perspective on the issue. One last thought from Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who - "Even if you can't see them or hear them at all, a person is a person, no matter how small."

New Pendant

2008-12-13T10:02:00.000-06:00

I just finished a few of these last night. I've been wanting to make this design for a while now but for some reason I couldn't get focused enough to finish it. I like how it turned out. I used a sterling silver plated bail on the back and I think that this will be a bit more secure for future pendants.

Just Because

2008-12-10T13:04:00.000-06:00

My babies.

Why trucks are evil...

2008-12-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

Here is a pic from the show I did this weekend. This is my dear friend Letty who helped me out all day. We had quite the adventure after the show ended.

After we had cleaned up our area and loaded the truck (Letty's Dad's truck) Letty went to move the truck away from the loading area and it wouldn't start! Being much more handy than I, Letty fiddled with the connection to the battery and finally got the truck started (only after a few dramatic sparks I might add). We then went back inside to the reception for the artist and we enjoyed some nice little snacks. When we finished, Letty went out to start the truck back up. A few minutes later I followed outside only to find her standing outside the truck!? I know you're thinking that the keys were locked inside but she had the keys in her hand but the door would not open! We tried and tried both doors but neither one would open. We got the window open a little and tried to unlock the door with a hanger (just like on TV) and a slim jim but no luck. One of the other artists tried to help us too and also a kind man that just happened to be in the parking lot but we couldn't get either door open. It was the strangest thing because the key would turn and you would think that the door was unlocked but it just wouldn't open! By this point we had been trying for about an hour. BTW it was 14 degrees outside. I then called my husband to ask him what we should do and let him know we would be quite late. I don't have a cell phone so I was using Letty's and the phone kept dropping the call! The other artist let me use her phone and I finally got a hold of my husband who called a friend we had in this town (about 25 miles from where we live). He was hunting but could be there in 30 mins. So while we waited we sat in the jeep of this other lady trying to warm up. So then our friend Scott shows up and still we can't get the door open! So Scott went to the police station and soon after out hero show up and after about 10 mins got the door open!!!! Yea! We were saved! Scott left and the officer left and we jumped in the truck....It wouldn't start!!! Can we get anymore drama??? A few more sparks later and we were finally headed back home, half frozen but on the road! These kinds of things always seem to happen to Letty. :)

Come on Ring those Bowls! (I mean bells)

2008-12-04T08:25:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my latest ring bowls. They are pretty tiny, only about 2 inches across. These are probably my biggest seller at the shows I've been doing. I keep one on my work table (actually that's where my rings are right now) and one in the kitchen for when I roll cookies or make meatballs and (occasionally) wash dishes. They are fun to make and I can use my canes without the pain of having to slice tissue paper thin slices. I'm actually pretty consistent with the whole slicing thing but I need a really fresh blade and I'm out. Hint, Hint Mom, I would like sharp things for Christmas :)

Etsy Transition

2008-12-03T11:25:00.000-06:00

I am making changes to my Etsy shop. Since I opened it I've basically just been selling canes and from time to time some beads. But now I want to carry my finished jewelry. My business cards that I give out at the shows have my Etsy address on them so I figure that I should have my show pieces for sale there too. I'll still be doing canes here and there but I think it will mostly just be for my own work. Unless someone out there reading this just really wants some canes! I will of course make an exception!

Happy December

2008-12-01T10:10:00.000-06:00

December 1st...yesterday we awoke to a beautiful covering of snow. It continued to snow all day and everything looks so clean and fresh. I always get excited for the first snow. Ask me in February or March if snow still excites me and I'll give you a very different answer. But for now I will enjoy being inside with my coffee.
On a slightly different note, It seems that every time I do a show another one just appears. Because I'm just starting out I'm not very familiar with the art shows in the area. (I have decided that I definitely will be doing art show and not craft shows). I was thinking that this show I just finished would be my last one for the year except for an open house a friend of mine wanted to do. But last week I was invited to attend a show in a nearby town...This weekend. Very last minute I'm feeling ambitious and I want to take advantage of every opportunity that I can so I said yes. That means I have a ton of work to do so I better get busy and stop playing on the computer!

I ♥ Polymer Clay

2008-11-21T12:40:00.001-06:00

These are my new heart pendants. This is a great way to use up those cane end that I always have in abundance. Sometimes I make them swirled but I thought I would try these with a confetti look. They look very elegant with the sterling bail and chain.

I took my product over to the gallery last night. Hopefully all will go well this weekend!

I'm Still Here!

2008-11-19T20:48:00.000-06:00

Yes I'm still here and I'm still working. Actually I'm working now more than ever because I'm finally selling my work. I had a small show a few weeks ago and I'm participating in a Christmas open house at a local art gallery this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it and I've got some new things to show off. I am the worst picture taker ever and I still can't quite figure out how to use the photo program to make my pictures look their best, so have mercy on my lack of photography skills. The blue pendants are a completely new style for me and I love the way they turned out. I wore the middle one tonight to youth group.

Flickr

2008-09-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

I have a flickr site! I finally set up a page with some pictures www.flickr.com/photos/khernandezart check it out, leave me comments. :)

Hooray!

2008-09-08T21:00:00.001-05:00

My show was a huge success! I was super busy the entire time and I never even got to take a look at the other exhibitors. I was so impressed with how the show was run and the over all quality. This was the first time this show has been put on and I hope it will continue. Good Job Cindy! We were suppose to start at 10am but I had people at my booth by a little after 9am. By 11:30 I had already sold out of the little ring bowls I had made. Next time I'll need twice as many! My stock is totally depleted so I'm going to need to work extra hard to be ready for the next show. I found one in Iowa City that will be the first weekend of December. I think I will try to get into that one if I can. They are taking applications until October 10th. We will see what happens. Here are a couple pics of my booth and my OOAK Necklaces in my garage before the show. I was so busy that I didn't get any other pictures. I was pretty happy with how my display turned out, need to fix the gaping hole that my table cover makes in the front, but over all pretty good!

Show and Tell

2008-09-04T10:26:00.000-05:00

My show is this weekend! I think I'm almost ready, I still have a few more things I want to finish up. I've set my booth up in the garage and while it sure isn't the booth of my dreams I think it will work for now. Especially considering that it was almost free! Talk about using found objects! We already had some tables from church but I wanted to raise them up a bit. I was going to go to Menard's to get some PVC pipe to use as leg extensions but then I started digging around the garage and found that the people who lived in the house before us had left a PERFECT pipe just for me!! I also wanted to add some levels to my display so I started looking around the house for anything that I could use. My square waste basket? Perfect! I spray painted it black and I think it should do the job. Next table coverings. This I did buy, I found 2 king sized black flat sheets on clearance at WalMart. Again not perfect but they will do the job. They actually look pretty nice and they are long enough even with the table leg extensions. Finally I needed something more. I pulled out some old matchstick bamboo blinds and cut them in half and made super cool table runners! I'll post some pictures after the show as I would be quite embarrassed to have my messy garage in my photo!

Here are some pics of some of the other things I'll have at the show.

Pens

2008-07-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

I made these pens yesterday. I'm slowly getting ready for my first real show. Well at least my first real show that I will be doing solo. It's just a local show but I figured what better way to start. The show isn't for another several weeks but I know how deadlines have a tendency to creep up, so I decided I better get moving now to save stress later.

My Ladies

2008-07-23T09:31:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of the lady brooches that I've been working on. The ones with the leaves belong to the Eve collection (as in Adam and Eve) and the others are my Retro Ladies. As I'm making them I love thinking about their would be personalities. So fun

Aloha

2008-07-02T21:09:00.000-05:00

While the kids and I were at my parents' house someone decided to drop a little gift on their front porch. We were watching tv one night and heard a strange sound outside. When we looked out there was this cute little kitten all alone. Now, my parents live in the middle of the country with no neighbors, there was no way that this kitten found their house without human intervention. She was very tame and sweet and my daughter soon informed me that her name was Aloha. The imagination of a three year old! Well before we had to say "aloha" to Aloha I took this picture of the kids. I just thought it was too cute to keep it to myself.

Shum Inspired

2008-06-28T08:01:00.000-05:00

I was surfing the internet the other day and I came across these beautiful pins by Wanda Shum. They reminded me of some things I made a very long time ago. I made some face pins years and years ago and I was never very happy with them. I had trouble envisioning someone walking around wearing a extra head on their shoulder. But after seeing the beautiful patterns and colors that Wanda uses I thought it was an idea to raise once again from the ashes. So I spent last night making my first face cane in at least 7 years. As I went along I suddenly recalled one of the problems I always had with face canes, underestimating the amount of skin color I would need. The cane just kept growing and I barely was able to finish with the color I had. It was a custom blended color, I would not have been able to reproduce it.
The batteries in my camera are dead so I'll get some pics when I can. In the meantime enjoy Wanda's site, she has such a fun style!

Riding the bangle wave!

2008-06-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

I'm jumping in on the bangle trend! After being on polymer hold for the past several weeks I'm finally getting some work done. I'm having great fun with this bangle thing and I'm planning on doing more in a few other styles. These are just my proto-types you could say. I really like the retro style one and the caned ones. I'm not as crazy about the swirl ones but I like the tie-die yellow orange and blue. These aren't even sanded yet but I felt the need to finally post something!

My hubby is in Mexico until next Saturday so I'll be going to my parents after church tomorrow. I'm sure my mom would love to help me sand! And my clay will be traveling along with us. No husband for a week means more clay time!

Not this year...

2008-04-08T15:16:00.000-05:00

The deadline for the Bead Dreams competition has past and I didn't enter. I'm a little sad but I decided that I just have too much going on in my life right now to get involved in one more thing. I haven't done a whole lot of new stuff since my last post. Just a few canes and I made a set of beads in the plum blossom style in a smokey blue shade. I really like them but I haven't quite decided how I'm going to string them up yet. When I figure it out I'll post a picture. Until then check out my new Blog: mrsottumwa2008.blogspot.com

Plum Blossom Necklace

2008-03-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

Last night I was up burning the midnight oil. I just couldn't stop until I was finished. Now this is just my first attempt but this is the idea that I am working with now. It still needs a bit of tweaking.

Opinions anyone?

Pendants Take 2

2008-03-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

When I was in Baltimore at the ACC show I watched a demonstration of a Chinese painter. He was telling about the significance of the plum blossom which is the national flower of China. The plum blossom has five petals that symbolize five qualities of life that everyone desires. I can't remember what all of them were right now. But listening to him tell the story of what he was painting got my mind going on a way to expand on my floral pendants.

I really like the way this one turned out and I'm planning on doing more in this style. I also changed the bail from a silver ring to a clay bail that is hidden. I like the all clay look especially with the softglass cord. I still have a few more ideas that I'm going to try, hopefully tonight after my kids are in bed. I had an idea late last night and I had the hardest time falling asleep, so tonight I think I have to get in the clay!

FRUSTRATION

2008-03-05T17:13:00.000-06:00

So I just had the most frustrating thing happen to me and I feel like I'm going to explode. So I thought I would write it out here.
In June I will be participating in a pageant. I've never done anything like this before, but it's one of those things that I wanted to do when I was younger and never did. A good friend of mine participated in the Miss Iowa pageant and had a wonderful experience. So I looked into what was available for married women. It turns out there are tons of pageants for those who have said "I do" so I emailed a couple for more information. A few days later I received a call from the pageant director asking me if I wanted to participate. After a bit of though I said yes!
That was in November, and now as the pageant draws near I am getting into high gear to get ready. One of my get ready steps is getting shoes, and thus begins my frustration! Because I live in the middle of Iowa there aren't a lot of store that carry the 4-5 inch high heel, clear acrylic (death trap) shoes that are typically worn for the swimsuit portion of the competition. So I turned to the Internet. The friend I mentioned earlier had let me try on her shoes. They were too small for me but I thought the style was very classy looking and not too, well, stripper-ish. So I found a place online where I could get the same shoes in a larger size. The place I found with the best price ($70.00) does not take returns because since people only wear the shoes for a very brief time they could be returned after wearing. Understanding this I ordered.
The next day a received a call from the shoe store telling me that they are no longer carrying this particular shoe and they only have one pair left that was the sample shoe that had been tried on and showed signs of wear. They offered me another shoe that they said was almost the same only that it had a different colored sole that wouldn't show anyway. I told the very polite woman that I was uncomfortable to order a shoe I had never tried on. The woman assured me that I would be very happy with this shoe but if I wasn't to call and specifically ask for her and in spite of the policy we would make it right under the circumstances. And so I ordered. (by the way they had already charged me for the shoe that they didn't have, $1 more than the shoe I received. $1's worth of salt in the wound!)
Yesterday the shoes arrive! I was so excited that I felt like a kid at Christmas. When I opened the box I felt a bit uneasy thinking these looked a little extreme. I tried them on and yikes! I could barely stand let alone walk! I thought these are not just like the ones my friend had. I measured the heel and they were a full 1 inch taller than the ones I had ordered! I looked like a street walker! UGHHHHH! At this point I'm more disappointed that anything else because I really needed to start practicing wearing these shoes. But I thought at least I can return them, good thing I specifically asked!
So just an hour ago I called the shoe store and told them I was unhappy with the shoes and they were not as originally described (the heel height). She told me the woman I wanted to speak with was not at the store but she would call her and get back to me. A few moment later my phone rings and the sales lady tells me that they will not accept a return or exchange and The woman I spoke with never told me otherwise! I was LIVID! So she is calling me a liar! I keep my composure and spoke a bit more with her about how I specifically expressed my concern about the no returns and I was assured that we would work around it. She told me flat out no returns. What could I do????? I told her I guess there is nothing else to say and I hung up.
How infuriating! So now I am out $70 that I don't have just lying around, and I have a pair of hooker shoes!
Well I feel a little better writing out my struggles. Even though I doubt anyone except my mother will even read it. Oh and by the way, they kept the $1! Tacky!

Synergy Lessons

2008-03-03T11:21:00.000-06:00

I've been home now for over a week and I still haven't had the chance to clay, but my notebook is full of ideas for new stuff and ways to make the old stuff better. So instead of posting pics of my latest work (of which there is none) I thought I would share some of the things I learned while at Synergy.

#1. Everyone makes crap. This was the most wonderful and freeing thing I heard all weekend. I know that it was completely unrealistic but I had this idea in my head that "real" artists sit down at their work table or go into their studio and just make beautiful pieces and the ideas are always flowing and everything they touch comes out looking gallery quality. NOT TRUE! I learned that even the artists that I most admire go through times when they don't have ideas and everyone has a box, a drawer or even a closet full of junked projects. How nice to know that I'm not the only one with a box full of stuff that I consider rejects! One presenter even said that when she wants to create a new line first she makes about 20 drawings of an idea, then puts the 10 best drawings to clay, then narrows that down to 5 and after revision maybe 1 or 2 will actually become a product for her. In the past I have felt like every time I want to clay I have to create something fabulous and award worthy. So many times this has caused a complete creative block. I was told over and over that the only way to really make something good is to make a lot until it becomes good.

#2. There should be evidence of decision making in every aspect of your design.
This was the main point in Kathleen Dustin's session on earring design. She gave us examples of earrings that were a wonderful bead or design and then were put on a store bought earwire without thinking. By adding a little thought and a bit of time to make your own earwires that relate to the design of the earring the quality of the design as a whole is greatly increased. This leads to better sales and also greater value of the earring itself. I'm already trying my hand at making my own earwires (I think it's one of those practice makes perfect things) and I already feel more confident in my finished products.

More Later!!

Home Again, Home Again

2008-02-28T07:46:00.000-06:00

It's been a few days since I got home from the Synergy conference and my head is still reeling! It was such a wonderful experience and I got to meet some neat people (you know, the ones I think are famous)! I also made a new friend, Elizabeth, who makes sculptures and specializes in wedding cake toppers. Check out her Etsy site ElizabethBonura.etsy.com . It was great to be around people who not only understand my love for my clay but also share it. Everyone here at home is like "what is it?" or "So when do you paint it?" or "Tell me how you make a, what is it called, cane?" Ahhh, but to be around other people who already know what a cane is...sweet bliss. I made a ton of new stuff (canes, beads and pedants) before I left and I still have quite a bit left so check my etsy shop for new stuff often. I did sell WAY more than I expected in the Synergy gallery. I think 13 boxes of canes and 7 pendants. HURRAY! I was so excited I though I would explode! Now I have some money to get...New Clay! Oh one other thing, I purchased a SH.A.R.K. (SHeet Adjusting Ruler Kit) from Polymer Clay Express / Dan Comier. It's this little barrier that goes on the pasta machine so you can control the width of your clay sheet. I have seen people use magnets to do something similar but I saw this SHARK in action in one of my seminars and I knew I had to have it. (and I never buy anything on a whim, I am the cheapest person I know). I won't get it for about 6 weeks since it was the very first one to be ordered, and they are not on the market yet, but as soon as it comes I will let everyone know how it works! Well I think that is enough rambling for one post!

This is Elizabeth and Me at the banquet

This is my little corner in the Synergy Gallery

This is Elizabeth and me talking to Barbara Forbes - Lyons and Jana Roberts Benzon! Barbara is wearing one of my pendants! I know I know, I look like a little kid asking for an autograph! I'm such a dork!

Pendant

2008-02-13T11:48:00.000-06:00

I made a bunch of ornaments in this style for Christmas presents for my family. So I thought that I would do a slightly smaller version as beads and pendants! I'm planning on having some of these in my gallery section at Synergy. Only a week to go!!!

Home Show

2007-11-19T08:42:00.000-06:00

I'm toying with the idea of doing some home/open house type shows. I want to start selling some of my stuff but I don't really want to go to the work and expense of art and craft shows yet. So I think I'm going to try doing this type of thing starting sometime after the new year. That should give me enough time to figure out a few of the details and get an idea for displays. I'm going to ask my mom to host the first one with her friends because I have this problem with trying to sell to my own friends. I feel like my friends would buy stuff out of guilt rather than really liking something. I know that is probably just silly, but I think I need a little more confidence in my work before this feeling that I am somehow manipulating them will go away. Strangers won't feel bad telling me no.

Beads and Thoughts

2007-10-26T08:27:00.000-05:00

OK, not the greatest pictures in the world but you get the idea. So here's what I've been thinking; I really like making floral canes, but I feel like typical floral beads aren't my style. I think I make them well enough but I think I'm more leaning towards the black and white set. But those still seem like they are missing something. Well these are my thoughts and those are my beads. :)

Roses Roses Everywhere!

2007-10-23T08:20:00.000-05:00

I made a few new rose canes the other day. I really like the way they turned out. I've already put them up on Etsy along with some other newer canes.

Color Wonder

2007-09-25T22:31:00.000-05:00

I have recently discovered Crayola's Color Wonder markers and finger paints. They are a clear "paint" or marker that only shows on special paper. So my two year old can color off the side of the paper (or couch for that matter) and I don't have to clean up her lovely art work from where it shouldn't be. Such a wonderful invention! I'm fascinated by color and this has naturally led me to Maggie Maggio's blog "Smashing Color". She is what I would call the color guru particularly of the polymer clay world but also in other artistic fields as well. Anyway, I was looking through her gallery of works and I saw her lovely watercolor beads...jaw droppingly beautiful I must say. Well I had to try to make some of my own. I'm not entirely sure of her technique but I made my best guess and came up with some beads that I am very happy with. They definitely aren't as good as hers but I'll take them! I'm still struggling with finding my "thing". I don't know if that makes sense but I want to find my style, my voice in my work if you will. I want to be able to make a piece and when it is all said and done someone could look at it and say "That is Keila Hernandez's work". Right now I've been doing a lot of imitation and experimenting but I haven't gotten there yet. I don't know how long it takes for an artist to find their voice but I hope it happens soon. Well here are the latest pictures of my stuff. Maggie style beads and an experiment with metal leaf, liquid clay and a heat gun. (very fun by the way!)

Tragic Loss

2007-09-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

No, no one has died, however I have suffered a great loss. In my husband's good intentions of making our computer a happier machine by reformatting it, he failed to double check that my pictures were entirely backed up. Therefore, I have LOST nearly all of my pictures from the past 8 months. This includes not only all my recent clay work but even worse the pictures of my kids. I am a excessive picture taker, I want to savor every moment and (eventually) put all my picture in a scrapbook. Like most scrappers I am about a year behind in my books so I hadn't even printed any pictures except for some from March... I suppose life goes on but I am just about in tears about having next to no pictures of my 9 month old son.

This was all a few days ago and to lift my spirits I just finished the biggest cane I have ever made. It had so many components (and a lot of translucent) that it just kept growing and growing. By the time I was ready to reduce it it weighed 1.5 pounds! I know a lot of people make canes a lot bigger than that but most of mine are just a few ounces. I was almost afraid to slice it after I reduced because I was so scarred that it would be terrible and I would have wasted all that time (nearly 4 days) and clay. But when I cut it open my fears were relieved and I think that it turned out pretty good. Let me know what you all think.

In Progress

2007-08-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the things I'm working on right now. I was visiting Donna Kato's site the other day and I was admiring her translucent cane work so I decided to try a bit of my own. These colorful beads are what I ended up with. I still have to sand and buff them but I couldn't wait to take some pictures.

The next 2 pictures are the results of my new clay extruder! I was at Hobby Lobby and I couldn't resist getting one. Even better was when the lady in the checkout behind me gave me a 40% off coupon! What a deal! So I've been having a lot of fun making extruded canes in several colors. I also picked up a cabochon mold so I've been trying that out too. I'm not really sure what to do with them yet but I'm sure something will come to me!

Finally, I made these little ladies from a tutorial in Polymercafe. They are about 1 inch tall and they have a hole through the shoulder to make them beads. Kinda fun but a little time consuming.

Links I Love

2007-07-01T15:37:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my favorite most visited sites and blogs for you to enjoy.

www.polymerclaydaily.com
www.etsy.com
www.catherienarts.com
http://www.npcg.org
www.polymerclaycentral.com
www.silastones.blogspot.com
www.claychicks.com

Leaves

2007-06-29T10:23:00.000-05:00

I am growing a forest! I ran out of leaf canes the other day so I set to work making some new ones. I'm loving the new technique I learned from C.A. Therien with the stem piece in the center.

These canes are now up on my etsy shop too!! http://www.khernandez.etsy.com/

Latest Etsy

2007-06-26T21:37:00.000-05:00

I had a good cane making day today and I posted some new ones on my Etsy. Go take a look!! khernandez.etsy.com

Keep checking back, I'm going to be working hard making canes all week!

Art Festival

2007-06-18T09:26:00.000-05:00

This Saturday was my first experience with selling at an art show. My friend Bethany who uses my beads in her jewelry designs had a booth at the Indian Hills Art Festival here in Ottumwa. It was an outdoor show with about 25 vendors selling their art; some jewelry, pottery, paintings, photography and a handful of other things. It was a lot of fun even though the temperature was pushing the upper 90's. I'm super excited too because a pair of earrings with a set of my floral beads won the Regional Business Award for fine arts! How cool! I was told that jewelry never wins so that makes it even better. Bethany graciously let me keep the ribbon so I have a new big blue ribbon hanging over my clay table! I would put a picture up but I left my camera in one of the jewelry boxes that my friend has with her. oops. I'll post them as soon as I get my camera back.

One more blog about Bead and Button

2007-06-12T15:45:00.000-05:00

Ok one final blog about my wonderful time at the Bead and Button show and then I can move on with life. I just wanted to share some of my pictures from the week.

There are my cute little beads on display next to Jana Roberts Benzon's bead set! wow!

This is a close up shot of my set.

This is the full case that they were in. There were several cases displaying all the wonderful beads and beaded creations from all over the world.

This was the class I took with C.A. Therein on cane making. Ponsawan Silas was our assistant for the day. She is such a enjoyable lady.

Finally, this bewildered lady with a dopey look on her face is me doing an impromptu demo at the National Polymer Clay Guild's booth. See the sign...I'm not making this up!

At Bead and Button

2007-06-08T22:03:00.001-05:00

You will never guess what happened to me today! First my day started by taking a wonderful class with C.A. Therien. We then took a break for lunch and I got to show her some of my pieces. She gave me some wonderful advice and then we returned to finish our class. This evening I went down to the show floor to do a little looking and buy a few things I had been wanting. I stopped at C.A.T.'s booth and she took me around to meet some other polymer clay people and such. We stopped at the National Polymer Clay Guild's booth and I was volunteered to do a demo on the spot! Way out of my comfort zone but I did it and it was great! What a day! I'm so pumped I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight. I never did even get to buy the things I was planning on getting, maybe tomorrow! I have just been overwhelmed with the generosity of the people of the polymer clay community. If any of you that I met this week read this, thank you so much.

Bead and Button

2007-06-05T03:28:00.000-05:00

In a few hours I shall be on my way to the Bead and Button show. Yikes! I'm not even packed yet, I need to clean my pasta machine, collect my beads that I want to take with me, so much to do so little time! Here's a couple more pictures before I go. This first one is an earring bracelet set that my friend Bethany made with my lavender and cream swirl beads. I like the way she paired them with the faux ivory beads.

This picture is two jungle bracelets, kinda fun!

I will have a laptop with me and hopefully I will have Internet access so I can post some pictures while I'm at the show!

For the Love of Clay

2007-05-30T08:19:00.000-05:00

Ahh my first post! What to say, where to start? Well, welcome to my blog! My goal is to keep anyone interested in what I do up do date. Right now I'm preparing to attend my first ever Bead and Button show!!!! I'm so excited! I entered a couple of my bead sets and one of them was accepted. I'm also going to be taking a class from C.A. Therien on cane making. I already make canes, but I figure the more I can learn the better, besides, I've never taken a polymer clay class before and I really admire C.A.T.'s work.

I'm also getting a collection of beads ready for a local art show June 16th. I make the beads and my good friend Bethany Goodman puts them together with lovely crystals and makes stunning jewelry. Check out her stuff at http://www.lotusanddragonfly.com lots of fun stuff.

Don't forget to also check out my canes, pendants, covered eggs, and other cool stuff in my Etsy shop www.khernandez.etsy.com

Ok, well lets see if I can figure out how to post a picture!

This is one of my latest pendant designs. It is a half lentil so even though it's large it is light weight. If you love it I have it in my Etsy shop!