Open Studio Evenings in Full Swing

Hard at work, laying out designs and mixing concrete

Four intrepid souls from the Sead Beaders' group helped me kick off the first of three open studio evenings. 

Couldn't have asked for nicer weather - in fact the sun was so bright we ended up having to pull the curtains for much of the evening until it set. 

Shelly smoothing concrete over her designs

It was fascinating watching what people brought to use for inclusions - so many new ideas.  I can't wait for this Thursday to see how everyone's pieces turned out.

And I hope everyone is pleased - often, they have a bit of an ugly duckling look about them until we've had a chance to brush them up with a little sand paper and add a touch of acrylics or resin to help bring out the design.

And that's what this Thursday evening is all about - and playing with resin as well.

A tray of colored concrete pancakes waiting for their reveal

For those who attended last week: you'll have a chance to put the finishing touches on your concrete cabochons.  If you weren't able to attend, but are curious - I will have the concrete available for experimentation.

We'll work with the epoxy resin both in conjunction with the concrete and on its own.  I plan to spend some time this evening drawing little designs that might get used in the resin. 

Steampunk bracelet from Cindy's ResinObsession blog

Here are some fun links on working with resin:

• Resin Obssession - an entire blog devoted to resin jewelry, with a recent article on a Steampunk bracelet.
• Resin Jewelry Tutorial with John W. Golden - the video is a little long, but he's quite thorough.
• Resin Jewelry Making