Happy Monday- updates

I hope you all have had a wonderful week and an even better weekend.
I have been very busy.
We have our annual retreat for the San Diego Polymer Clay Guild coming up and we are all trying to get ready for it.
I have been packaging things for the store that we have there.
Making things, and getting ready for the demo I am going to do.
I am going to demo flower petal canes. The necklace above is something I made from those canes.
I love how this turned out and the canes are simple fast and fun.
I have also been playing with the new book I won from Nicole at Beadwright's blog. Of course I would get something new and exciting to play with when I am supposed to be concentrating on the guild retreat. ;-D
We packed all of our goodie bags last Friday and had a great time doing it.
This is our 13th retreat and we are having a Halloween theme, so I am very excited.
Our committee is a group of 13 wonderful women and we have a great time together too. How can it get any better than that? I enjoy myself so much I actually look forward to seeing everybody and doing the job!

I have also started making some Xmas presents, it is pretty hard for me to believe this year has flown by so fast.
I need to start now, otherwise I will not get everything done.
So this last week has been nose to the grindstone and things prioritized out of the week and others placed in front of those, late nights, and working, working, working.
I am still here and hoping you all are doing very well and life is treating you with kid gloves and ease.
Have a great week.
Smile at someone this week and share your light with them.
Change the world.

PCCMMR- another story- altered art puzzle pins

I have a post today that is about Pccmmr-Polymer clay collaborative and mixed media retreat I went to in West Virginia in June.
Read about it here: http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2009/06/pccmmretreat-arriving.html
Here: http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2009/05/polymer-clay-collaborative-mixed-media.html
Here: http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2009/06/lovely-meta-part-deux.html
or search PCCMMRetreat on this blog in the google search to the right.
They are getting ready for 2010 (can you believe that, 2010 weird)

My friend Meredith writes about Susan Z here: http://mereditharnold.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/creative-queens-like-susan-zacher/

One of the all time highlights of my time there was the final demo of the week long retreat.
Susan Zacher had done her preparation and this was sooooooooo much fun.

She had painted puzzle pieces with Lumiere paints front and back for our substrates. Those were beautiful by themselves. I love Lumiere paints, I can use them for almost any surface and they are permanent. I LOVE the Metallic Olive Green in the first picture? My fave. Plus I carry them too, it is a blatant plug. I love products that can be used for tons of things.
Anyway... then she brought out all of the things that we could embellish the puzzle pieces with.

OMG!! a ton of stuff and some things I got to work with that I never had, so much fun.

Stickles, black and white old timey images, plastic jewels, words printed on paper, she even had clay pieces but I didn't do those (sometimes I just have to put down the clay), stamp pads with different inks, stamps (I used some word stamps that I had from ERAGraphics), metal pieces, fabric stuff, feathers, and so much stuff it was unbelievable.

It was like walking in to a portable craft shop.

Crazy fun and I could have done this for hours. 

Check out how she made up words directed at a polymer clay group, such consideration in the gesture.

One of the best demos I have ever gone to.

She supported us with encouragement and showed us how to use some of the products worked if we had never used them. Guiding with out making us do it her way. She would say "well you could do this, or this, or this", or "you might want to do this" or "you can do whatever you want".

OMG!!! I can do whatever I want??? Hee hee hee, gets me every time.

One of the best parts is when I asked if I could make another and she said..."Make as many as you want". Geesh I didn't move, I was on a mission then. You know, I don't sit down and do many demos, I watch them for a moment and then move on, but I am so glad I did take the time to sit in on this one. 

We put pin backs on them (she brought those in several different sizes) left them to dry a bit and took home this pirates booty of wonderful, personal, and brilliant art from our hearts.

Susan, Oh Susan you are coming next year, right??? 

Thank you from the bottom of my pointy heart, this is a jewel in my life and I love you for sharing this with me.

I had sooooooooooo much fun.

Sandy Camp

Well... I am tired and exhausted, but in a very good way! My guild, the San Diego Polymer Clay Guild, just threw our annual event called Sandy Camp. We have it at Warner Springs Ranch in Warner Springs, California every year for the last 8 years, the staff is so very kind to us. It was our 10th anniversary. IT WAS AWESOME! the best ever (imho). It is one of the nicest things, to have one of the best retreats I have ever been to, be part of what and where I am. Many wonderful and dear dear people had five fabulous days of fun, clay, food, spa, neck rubs, laughing, and general chaos. Demos and private little spontaneous classes, mass sharing and big hugs. I made a cone head, Dawn Schiller's competent and guiding light led several of us through an impromptu class, and then more (after I opened my big mouth about it), we loved it Dawn. I think that was the only thing I finished, LOL!!! Say hi to snake man, look at those teeth, that is porcelain white.
My cohorts on the Sandy Camp committee did a great job, in spite of things that sometimes get thrown in the way. We had a great time planning it. What a team.
The people and companies that came through for us went above and beyond the call of duty in supplying us with Goodie Bag stuff and wonderful things for the raffle, it was unbelievable. Thank you all for coming through for us yet again, you are treasured for your generosity in oh so many hearts. You are the best!
You have heard of the perfect storm? Well this was the perfect event, the weather even cooperated with us until the family feast, and even then it wasn't much of a bother. We had homemade cherry fudge and lavender fudge (I can not begin to describe how wonderful this is, except for it is f-ing good, not regular good), cake, pie, and other assorted desserts after that and then... the raffle, or opportunity drawing as it is known by. I won two jackets from Lee Kellogg at StampaFe Art Stamps, I wanted one so badly last year and now I have TWO. Thank you Lee for bringing them again. YAY for me!!!!
And if you get a chance check out her stamps they are wonderful, sacred hearts and shrines and lots of others that are so cool. And... Un-mounted are half the price. Check out deities/religion, hearts, and skeletons for some very interesting stamps, of course, as always, in my humble opinion.
http://www.stampafe.com/
She brings the jackets every year and it is what we all pine for except of course all the other stuff and Jami Millers hand made quilt, which was a show stopper in itself.
And last but not least, the wonderful and vibrant women that came from Israel, thank you all so much for sharing your love, your talent, your country, and your joy with all of us, we are forever better because of the experience.
There is so very much more to add but my brain is on leave.