Santa's Arizona Workshop full of Southwestern Sedona Ornaments

Here in sweltering Cottonwood my studio is jam packed with ornaments and has a kind of Southwestern Sedona Christmas in August Santa's Workshop look to it that's colorful and FUN!

A lovely gift shop/gallery called Dragonfly Local Art in Old Town Cottonwood is now carrying my ornaments, both the Southwestern Sedona Ornaments (that have a touch of Sedona Red Rock Dirt) as well as the colorful Cat and Dog Collection. So, I've been very busy creating stock for the 3 shops that carry my ornaments, as well as for my own online shop. 

Earlier in the summer my husband and I began working together with Ann Metlay of Adrift Wood Assemblages to design and create a natural wood display "tree" for the ornaments. Built on a base of a gorgeous handmade walnut Lazy Susan made by Paul's Specialties, it revolves to make for a visually attractive 360 degree display area.

So, if you get to Old Town Cottonwood, Arizona stop by and say hi to Kathleen and Cynde when you're on your way to visit the locals wine tasting rooms or eat at one of the many excellent restaurants. If you can't make it to Cottonwood right now I invite you to visit my online shop MelodyODesigns

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!

Arizona Saguaro Cactus, decorated Saguaro Christmas Ornaments and behind the scenes Studio Photos and Tips

 The Christmas Saguaro ornament is available at MelodyODesigns at Etsy 

As a tribute to my adopted home state of Arizona I've designed a new decorated Saguaro Cactus Christmas Ornament made from polymer clay to add to my Southwestern Christmas Ornaments Collection. Saguaros are iconic images that immediately come to mind when one thinks of Arizona. They are native to the warm Sonoran desert and can reach a height of 40-60 inches (12-18 meters). After the rainy season when water is plentiful an adult saguaro can weigh 6 tons or more. 

When the saguaro reaches 35 years of age it begins to produce white flowers with yellow centers that attract bees and butterflies and the fruits provide much needed food for birds, jack rabbits, mule dear and many other native animals. The indigenous people of the area used the saguaro for both food and building materials and members of the Tohono O'odham people still gather the fruit today to use in making ceremonial wine, jellies, candy and use the seeds to feed their chickens. Branches normally begin to appear when the saguaro is around 50-70 years old. Their life expectancy is 150-200 years. 

Saguaro at Catalina State Park near Tucson, Arizona. Photographs courtesy of Sy Brandon

Saguaro at Usery Mountain Regional Park, Phoenix, Arizona

Saguaros primarily grow in the southern part of the state and are not native to the Sedona/VerdeValley where we live, though there are some that flourish in the courtyards of private homes. However, the hoards of both international and US tourists who visit the Sedona area still seem to want to take home "all things saguaro" as souvenirs and gifts. Tourism is a huge industry here. In fact, the Sedona/Verde Valley made the list of Lonely Planet's Top 10 US travel destinations for 2013  So, it made sense to add a saguaro to my ornament collection that sells at two wonderful sister Christmas Shops in Sedona, "Feliz Navidad" in Tlaquepaque and "Merry Christmas Sedona" in Uptown, as well as at my online shops.

While behind the scenes in Santa's Workshop..........some of the tools and raw materials that were used in making the Christmas Saguaro Ornament:

 After the ornament is cut out with a craft knife it is textured with a piercing pin tool to mimic the spines of the cactus. 

The white and yellow flowers were painted onto the raw clay with a mixture of TLS (Translucent Liquid Sculpey) and Genesis heat set oil paint. They were painted using the tip of an "out of ink" Extra Fine-tipped Sharpie pen.  

The cactus is decorated with little round red Christmas balls. The balls were decorated with tiny dots of Liquitex Iridescent Bright Gold Heavy Bodied Acrylic and applied with the tip of a "spent and out of ink" Pigma Micron 01 pen. A #11 gold seed bead was pushed into the top of the ornament to give it a "hanger". 

The star was made from gold PREMO polymer clay that was rolled out in a thin sheet, lightly powdered with corn starch and punched out with a Fiskers star punch. Once cured, the star was lightly covered with a layer of Art Glitter Clear Fabric Adhesive and diped into Art Glitter Vintage Fine Glass Glitter.

The Christmas Saguaro, other Southwestern/Arizona Christmas Ornaments and many other pieces are available at MelodyODesigns at Etsy

Article and images © October 28, 2013

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