New Palomino horse necklace unveiled and Sedona Red Rock pendants get a new look

 

For several years I've been having fun making Sedona Southwestern jewelry and ornaments for my shops using a faux red rock polymer clay base that includes a bit of "magical" Sedona Red Rock Dirt in the mix. A customer (now an Internet friend) asked me to design a pendant to pay homage to her beloved Palomino horse, "Sunshine", and I thought it would be a great time to shake things up in the collection and update some of the pieces while I was at it. Out with the old and in with the new for 2014 (just a little bit early)!
 
My raised applique Southwestern Sedona faux Red Rock pendants are now shaped like a disc, measure 1/4" (6.3mm) thick and are a substantial 1 7/8 (4.7cm) in diameter.  They look a lot like real Red Rock. They now have an 8mm jump ring at the top that allows for the cord chain to be removed so one can substitute their own chain if they prefer. The entire Southwestern Sedona Ornament and Jewelry collection can be seen at MelodyODesigns at Etsy.

The following studio photos show some of the equipment and supplies I use to make the raised appliqued pieces. The photos show the older style of pendant. 

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!

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.