Autum Leaves Monarch Butterfly Necklace

"Autumn, a second spring where every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus

I love to pick colorful autumn leaves to press, but the colors of THIS polyclay version will never fade. The leaves and acorns are made from PREMO polyclay using vein impressions made from real leaves and a mold made from a real acorn. The leaf color formulas contain some fluorescent clay to make the colors “pop”. All are tinted with a powder made from crushed soft artists pastels before curing. The butterfly wings were from PC canes*. The  butterfly has a PC body, wire antennae, and seed bead eyes. The butterfly wings are attached to a  thin black butterfly-shaped aluminum sheet that allows the wings to be repositionable. The individual components are attached to a collar made from sewn macramé cording. The ladybugs were made using PC and acrylic paint. *Caning is a labor intensive construction technique borrowed from glassmaking similar to making jelly rolls where colored rods of clay are laid horizontally forming a complex pattern from which a thin slice is cut allowing the pattern to be seen. See a photo of raw Monarch cane below. A special thanks to Leigh Ross whose excellent leaf tutorial originally got me making polymer clay leaves many years ago and who got me excited about working with PC and who still educates and inspires me. http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/poleigh/leaf.html

This necklace is sometimes for sale at
MelodyODesigns at ArtFire
If it is currently out of stock it may be available via special order. To inquire about placing a special order please send me an email via my profile.

            Raw, unreduced Monarch cane

 The Monarchs have landed in Cottonwood!