Thursday, April 23, 2009

Faux Ivory Samples for POCO

In between getting ready for sales and doing some teaching, I had a chance to stop by Poco Créations last week to drop off this sample of faux ivory the class will be working on this Saturday. After creating the beads we'll incorporate some fabulous beads from Poco to make the pieces truly standouts. The faux ivory will be textured before baking, but I'll also demo a scrimshaw technique and perhaps a post-baked incision, if time permits.

Speaking of scrimshaw, when I was at the Artisan's Market this past weekend, there was a fellow who did this work in old ivory piano keys. His work was marvelous, and the details were incredibly small...of course he used a jeweller's magnifier, something I have been meaning to get for a while. Even though I have new glasses with much greater magnification, I still have a bit of trouble trying to get the perfection needed for really intricate designs. That's not an excuse, I realize, so I'll have to "bone up" on my ivory or sharpen up my needle points.

Looking forward to a fun weekend. Gotta get some striated ivory made tomorrow in preparation.

2 comments:

Ashlyn said...

Aaaugh, why is everything awesome happening on Saturday this week?!

Is there somewhere I can see a schedule of the classes you're planning on teaching this summer? This way I can plan ahead haha

Pat Sernyk said...

Hi Ashlyn,
I am sorry but other than a couple of classes at Poco, I haven't completed my schedule yet. There are a gazillion things going on right now, and unfortunately, I haven't had time to map out my summer yet. If you email me privately, (to fishwife@mts.net) I can get back to you when my schedule is up to snuff. Pat