The joy of seeing one's own handmade ornaments for sale in a retail shop

My Sedona/Southwestern ornaments (made from polymer clay with a touch of "magical" Sedona red rock dirt) have been selling at two local Christmas shops for almost a year, but I'd never actually SEEN them displayed in a shop. Last Saturday we visited them for the first time. What an incredible high to see the decorations hanging amidst the many gorgeous holiday displays. Seeing them displayed there was like the fulfillment of a Christmas dream, right up there with sugarplums and fairies. If anyone is headed to Sedona, Arizona, check out "Feliz Navidad Sedona" located in the Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village and their sister shop, "Merry Christmas Sedona" located in uptown.

................and if you're NOT headed to Arizona but want to add some Sedona or Southwestern ornaments to your holiday decoration collection, you can always purchase them at my online shop! MelodyODesigns at Etsy.

Thanks go to my talented husband husband, Sy, who not only took the photos, but patiently stood by and waited while I shmoozed with the buyer.

Production work, Zen and our 2013 Family's Sedona Southwestern Christmas tree with polymer clay ornaments

All the decorations on the tree are available in my shop MelodyODesigns at Etsy 

Though it's not yet Halloween, Christmas is on my mind. It's the time of year that I like to decorate and photograph our family's small Christmas tree so that I have time to share all our 2013 MelodyODesigns ornaments before most people are even thinking of Christmas decorations. I supply two Christmas shops in nearby Sedona with ornaments (that contain a bit of "magical" Sedona Red Rock Dirt), so for me, making Christmas ornaments is a year 'round way of life now.



Since I started to sell wholesale and do production work (potentially mindless repetition reproducing a gazillion copies of the same pieces) my time in the studio has undergone some radical changes, some that have been a bit difficult to get used to. It's different re-creating piles and piles of identical ornaments instead of creating something brand new each time and I've been exploring ways to stay in the moment and make my time in the studio just as interesting and joyful as when I create something brand new.

Many years ago I took a seminar with Tim Gallwey, whose books include "The Inner Game of Tennis" and "The Inner Game of Music"and around the same I time read  Robert M. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. I credit all three with giving me the desire and some of the tools I needed to let myself create (and re-create) IN THE MOMENT. 

Rather than letting my mind wander (which tends to lead to angels with no wings and fingers cut with tissue blades) I do my best to let myself become absorbed in the details of making the piece, gently directing my attention and senses to the playful joy of creating each tiny detail, the color, the texture, each individual dot of paint........

……. the magic of childlike creation.

Of course I don't always succeed in staying "in the moment", but when I do it's really FUN!

Santa's Workshop, Southwestern Kokopelli Christmas Ornament from Polymer Clay

It's August and once again here in Arizona my studio looks a bit like Santa's Workshop, filled with Southwestern and Sedona Red Rock polymer clay Christmas ornaments in various stages of being birthed. It's my favorite time of year because making ornaments reminds me of all the happy times we had as a family making ornaments and Christmas cards together around the family dining room table.

Kokopelli Ornament is available at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

 This season I have some new ornaments to share in my shops in addition re-inventing some of the other ornament designs from past Christmas seasons. During the winter and spring I created several new Southwestern and Sedona designs for two wonderful sister Christmas Shops in Sedona, "Feliz Navidad" in Tlaquepaque and "Merry Christmas Sedona" in Uptown Sedona. They have been selling well, so I thought I'd begin selling them at my on-line shops, too. Over the next few weeks I'll be unveiling them here at my blog. I hope to also include some "behind the scenes" studio photos and share some of my favorite products or tools. 

The first is 3 1/2 inch tall version of Kokopelli made from terracotta colored polymer clay with the addition of some "magical" Sedona Red Rock Dirt in the matrix. He is decorated with tiny slices of turquoise and terracotta colored canes. Kokopelli is an iconic image of the American Southwest. There are many legends and much folklore that surround the beloved flute-playing hunchback. According to Navajo legend, Kokopelli is a God of harvest and plenty. Legend has it that this "Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers" was also a bit of a rascal and trickster and he is sometimes thought of as a fertility deity.

I think it's interesting to see behind the scenes studio photos to see how things are made and what interesting  tools are used. Below is a photo of some of the materials and supplies used in making the Kokopelli ornament.

 To gently "nudge" edges of cut polymer clay pieces into shape I use two tools I made from round toothpicks by dipping them several times into "Tool Magic", a heavy duty liquid rubber coating that is sold to apply to tips of pliers to help cushion them protect them from marring the finish of wire. I consider these two toothpick tools indispensable for finishing off and smoothing cut edges and for straightening out little "oops" bulges. 

I use rough 36 grit sandpaper to press into the clay surface to give it a rustic terracotta look. Using the end of a tiny syringe to gently poke sideways into a cut canes slice helps me to place them more  precisely and doesn't mar the surface.

The round and triangular terracotta and turquoise decorations are made from caned slices. For those who are not familiar with caning, caning is a labor-intensive construction technique where colored rods of clay are laid horizontally forming a complex pattern from which a thin slice is cut from the end allowing the pattern to be seen. It is borrowed from the glassmaking technique used to create millefiori beads.

Last season I added the following four disc mini-ornaments to my MelodyODesigns Southwestern Ornament Collection and one of the discs also contains an image of Kokopelli. You can tell he's one of my favorite Southwestern images!

Please click to read a blog post on my Cat Angel Christmas ornaments and animal shelter Christmas tree

Southwestern Christmas Ornaments from Polymer Clay with Sedona, Arizona Red Rock Dirt in Matrix

This Holiday Season we decided to decorate one of our trees in a Southwestern theme using polymer clay ornaments in a faux red rock and turquoise color scheme. To honor the Sedona area where we live each of the ornaments has a tiny bit of "magical" Sedona Red Rock Dirt embedded in the matrix. I thought it would be fun to make a series of ornaments that have tiny Arizona scenes appliqued on them, some embellished with hand painting using liquid polymer clay mixed with heat set oil paint.

Roadrunner chases a dragonfly amid blooming yellow prickly pear cactus and a lonely coyote howls at the moon under a Christmas star.

Kokopelli plays his heart out on his flute and a coal black horse frolics under the desert sun near a blooming saguaro cactus.

The set of four ornaments in addition to other unique handmade Arizona, Sedona, and Southwestern ornaments and jewelry are available for sale at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Sedona Arizona Red Rock Bead Necklace from Polymer Clay

Sedona inspired red rock southwestern bead necklace with a bit of "magical" Sedona Red Rock Dirt in the matrix.

These beads were designed in honor of the Sedona, Arizona area where we live. My husband and I love the red rocks and often hike in them. The beads are designed to look like they are crafted from red rock, but are made entirely from artist-quality polymer clay with the addition of a tiny bit of "magical" Sedona red rock dirt embedded in their matrix.  They are textured using coarse flint sandpaper.

Each bead is decorated using appliques crafted from a mix of PREMO and Kato polymer clay in homemade molds and adhered to the bead using a mixture of Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS) and Clay Softener. Tiny colored details are painted on using a mixture of TLS, Genesis heat set oil paints and colored mica powders. The tip of a "used up" ball point pen refill and also the nib of a Micron .005 pen are used as the "paint brushes". The turquoise tube spacer beads are made from a mix of various tints of turquoise clay formed around a knitting needle, cured and then cut apart.

They make a wonderful way to remember a Sedona vacation! Click here to see the entire "Southwestern Ornaments and Jewelry Collection: MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Roadrunner and prickly pear cactus red rock pendant necklace.

Kokopelli playing hearts from his flute red rock pendant necklace.

Black horse and saguaro cactus red rock pendant necklace.

Coyote howling at the moon red rock pendant neacklace.

Butterfly and prickly pear cactus red rock earrings.

Dragonfly and prickly pear cactus red rock earrings.

Hummingbird and prickly pear cactus red rock pendant.

 

Kokopelli Necklace from Polymer Clay

This necklace was made as a gift for an Arizona flutist who loves the Kokopelli image. The pendant was made with PREMO poly clay, cured and wet sanded on a piece of flat glass till totally flat. Then the image was rubber stamped and overpainted with  "Brilliance" brand archival pigment graphite black ink. I wanted to create an "ethnic" primitive look so the design on the cured white beads was made by using a Speedball linoleum cutter with #2 V-gouge blade (a process which ended up requiring small plastic bandages on several fingers). The designs were antiqued with a mix of black acrylic paint and a little Varathane.

This particular pendant is no longer for sale, but I do have several other forms of Kokopelli for sale at my online Etsy shop including a necklace that incorporates a small amount of real Sedona Red Rock into the design and a hanging holiday ornament. Please check out: MelodyODesignsatEtsy