After a long time of not creating I've at last listed some new pieces on ebay and Etsy.

Just in time for Christmas:-)

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=karooart&_sacat=See-All-Categories

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Karooart

More ruffles....

I found these ruffle beads on Flickr today..... just love them!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizbits/

Inspiration for today

From the Montreol Botanical gardens

Flickr find Friday

"Handworked wood with false pebbles of polymer clay. This started out with the colored piece which was inspired by the skinner blend. I had to use it and decided for pebbles. When I assembled the necklace piece, I thought it would be interesting to make it with false pebbles, then came the wood piece in the middle. And right after the handworked wooden parts associated with sterling silver" is how Maniguette describes her creations.

Beautiful simplicity!

Have a wonderfully blessed weekend!

Festival of Nations .....

It was sooooooo much fun.

The people were wonderful! Lots of interesting conversations.....just amasing how quickly the world becomes very, very small. I met 3 couples that's going on vacation In South Africa in the next 6 months, so many more who has already been there and wants to go again - a people and a country that finds a place in your heart and soul forever!

Today I listed what was left of the jewelry in my Etsy store..... more to come during the rest of the week;-)

A Little bit of Africa

I know I've been quite and did not blog as I should the past few weeks...the reason? Our local Festival of Nations.

I've been painting tablecloths......

made polymer clay spoons and napkin rings......

and a few pieces of jewelry...yes, it's real porcupine quills!

Today I still making little Zulu love letters and then the baking starts!

Cannot wait till the 15th!

Enjoy your week and may it be filled with blessings!

Missing home Monday

Beadingvera in Germany made this wonderful bracelet and when I saw it this morning some of the "missing home and family" feeling suddenly felt a lot better:-)

I love the simplicity of the piece... the colors and the way she uses the cording made this a favorite of mine.

Anti abortion painting - Carin van Lingen

I blogged about this painting of Carin, my daughter a few months ago and she decided she wants to sell it.

Available on my Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27494153

Bead Dreams 2009

I still cannot believe it..... the 1st time I entered Bead Dreams - a dream come true!

The beads I love to make most of all...ruffles!

More pictures of the beads on my Flickr

A tutorial for the ruffle beads is available in my Etsy store

Flickr Find

A picture by susannedt of a street in my beautiful South Africa!

Hope it fills your day and the week with joy!

I did it!!!!!

For forever I've shied away from doing a market..... do not know why.

Twice a year a gift shop in town has an artmarket and I just decided I have to close my eyes and do it! It was sooooooo much fun. I loved the people, the conversations, sharing my art and educating others about polymer clay.

I had a few surprised reactions to the material..... it is as if they cannot believe that it is just polymer clay.

Perhaps in a few months time I'll do it again....

Sun Ruffles

Mila lives in Belgrade in Serbia. She's director of customer service for an electronic company and makes jewelry to feed her soul in her workshop at home.

A few weeks ago she purchased my ruffle bead tutotrial and great was my surprise when I got the most beautiful pictures of the stunning beads she made.

She made the neckpiece for a competition with "Sun" as a theme... I think it's just perfect!!!!

It is always interesting to see how every artist interprets a tutorial, a picture, a inspirational piece..... everyone "sees" differently.... in his or her own unique way.

You can see more of Mila's work on her Flickr page

Deep under the Sea

...is what Magrit calls het new beads.

See more inspiring an unique work on her Flickr page.

A little bit of spring....

...and something a bit more more elegant.

The past few weeks I've been practicing making inro's. I am fascinated by these wearable vessels and when the Aussie polymer clay guild made it the project for the months of April and May, I could nor resist.

I've also been playing with the new spring/summer fashion colors published by Pantone.

This bracelet is the first of a few new listings in my Etsy store:

What is wrong?

Saturday morning my daughter took this picture.... the kitty in the bird's cage..... the bird on top of the cage:-)

Paper Cuts

Today me and the kids kept ourselves busy by doing papercraft. Carin made a pandabear, Robert a tank and I'm still deciding between 2 Japanese buildings.

You can find wonderful papercraft projects here: http://papercraftparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/papercraft

While googling "papercraft" I stumbled upon the work of Brian Dettmer.

When it comes to reusing old books, he has perhaps one of the most creative ideas ever: he turns them into fascinating carved sculptures called ‘Book Autopsies’ that transform them from dust collectors to fine art. Dettmer’s work goes beyond the simple concept of carving the pages of a book into a shape. The paper is cut to reveal certain words and images, for a shadow box-like effect.

Paper isn't just paper anymore!

Pure, simple perfection.....

Eva Ehmeier(Hoedlgut) from Austria made a bracelet that took my breath away.

It's pure and simple perfection. Color, texture, composition, contrast......everytime I look at the piece I see somthing new, another little suprise hidden in the folds of the clay and the imagination of the artist.

Vader Claerhout

Vader Frans Claerhout is perhaps one of my favorite South African artists.

Frans Martin Claerhout was born 1919 in Belgium.
Residing in SA since 1946. Self-taught painter in oil as well as a variety of other media producing sculptures, murals, monotypes and linocuts. Has exhibited in Belgium, Canada, Germany, USA, UK, as well as throughout South Africa.

This extrodinary man is a Roman Catholic Priest who has had great success in the artistic field. He died on 4th July 2006.

Going to Church on Sunday

Girl with Flowers

Dazzling Resin

Serena Kuhl is a toy designer and Senior Art teacher living in Darwin Australia.

I discovered on Flickr that she makes dazzling, funky, and joyful resin jewelry too......the perfect remedy for the late winter blues:-)

Her work is available on in her Etsy store

Vibrant

Etsy Treasury

What a wonderful surprise to be included in this treasury of a group of truly talented polymer clay artists.

Thanks Kim!

They've got their hooks in me

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=45750

Colors of Spring

For such a long time I just have not sat down at my claytable and played. Today I had to escape.... sometimes I find myself retreating more and more into my own space....it's a time to renew and recouperate. A time to get my thoughts together and find joy in the act of creating.

This bracelet has been taking shape in my imagination for a long time. Sometimes an idea has to grow and become "whole". The execution is far from perfect, but it worked! The soft, spring colors was just what I needed, the whimsy and delicate nature of the piece lifted my spirits and filled me with new hope!

Ruffle bead tutorial

So many have asked to have a tutorial for the Ruffle bead that I had to take the time to write the tutorial (my first) and take the pictures.

It is available in my Etsy Store.

My only wish is that everyone will find the same joy I did in making the beads. Make it your own, play with color and patterns..... I'm sure there are so many more possibilities that what I could think of!

I would love to see your creations.

Texture paint

A little while ago I wrote about a texture painting class I did with Suzanne Alley.

Yesterday I finished my "paintings". It was such a enjoyable experience. I forgot about the world around me...everything that was unsettling my spirit just fell away and I was at peace while working.
Today I'm rejuvenated and can't wait to paint some more!

The 3 pieces separately











and all together:-)





I just need to do this some more..... the process flows in it's own way.... no planning, no patterns, no fuss....it just happens and become alive in it's own unique way.

Play and feed someone hungry today

"FreeRice is a sister site of Poverty.com. Our partners are the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the United Nations World Food Program.
FreeRice has two goals:
Provide education to everyone for free.
Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site.
Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.
Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you."

Etsy find of the day

Where did the past week go? School was closed for 2 days because of cold, but the rest of the week? It slipped by so fast!

Today I'm going to teach a class to 6 art teachers in a nearby town. I'm not a qualified teacher.... I just play with clay and hopefully teach others to enjoy the medium too. Thumbs crossed that everything will go well... I'm nervous, but at the same time excited.

Today's Etsy find.....

Beautiful, organic, simple and earthy.

Ceramic pod pendants and beads by Tabmade.

Hopefully I'll be able to bring you pictures of today's class tomorrow.... wish me the best!

Polymer Clay Cafe

I am published!!!!!

I could not believe my eyes when I saw my Dreamtime cuff featured in the Reader's Gallery of the February issue of Polymer clay Cafe magazine.

Yes, I did send the picture to them and got a email saying it would be in the gallery, but I just could not quite wrap my mind around it:-) My art in a magazine? I still cannot believe it:-)

Great was my surprise when I found another article featuring the same cuff in the Australian Beader magazine! Melani Dilday wrote an article about the Australia Speaks competition I made this cuff for.

What a wonderful way to begin the week.....this is just the encouragement I need to get myself motivated and start claying seriously again.

A new year filled with peace, love and....

COLOR!

My wish for 2009......

To spend more time with my children and hubby.

To make more time for my art and myself

To enjoy the little things in life

To simplify

Heather Stokes of Stokes Galleries is a favourite of mine. I love her work...simple, elegant and just beautiful!

In these earrings she combines polymer herb leaves and a quite and peaceful color blue.

Just what I need to start a new year!

You can find these and more of her beautiful work in her Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5366694