Do you have a thing for opals? Me too. The flash of color, the mystery. In college, as I gestured enthusiastically my hand brushed against a stucco wall and my opal Christmas ring shattered. That got me started.
Melbourne’s Leanne Fergeus (leannefergeusart) has explored the alchemy of polymer opals. She’s still experimenting and she’s mighty close.
Texas’ Randee Ketzel provides us with this weekend’s pile of bling.
She’s stockpiling her imitation opal cabs for sale at the upcoming IPCA retreat in Ohio. She’ll be working with these babies and demoing how to set them in bronze bezels (plus teaching a pre-retreat class).
Can’t come? Take a look at Randee’s recent book, Polymer Clay Gemstones: The Art of Deception, that provides 20 projects on how to make your own ancient artefacts.
Opal has tickled the “faux rock” area of my brain since Donna Kato offered her free online tutorial. Camille Young, Randee Ketzel, Liz Hall and others devised their recipes.
My husband’s turned walnut bowl and a looming show deadline gave me the perfect opportunity to try out my own color combinations and mixtures.
Though I learned along the way and would do some things differently, these ideas are finally out of my head and strewn about my studio. It’s been a long time since I’ve shared with you and I want to start the year right.
Party tonight over at Craftcast where the group from the Polymer Clay Master Class book will gab and guffaw. Lots of prizes and fun. Join the gang!
Liz Hall and Randee Ketzel are leading a resurgence of polymer artists taking another run at making a believable opal. Their techniques are coming mighty close to fooling the eye and driving the rest of us crazy figuring out how they do it.
Liz (left) is partial to boulder and Yowah Opals. She says, “I make the initial shape with iridescent mediums embedded into many different layers and types of polymers to get these results. I finish these faux opals by coating them with resin then sanding and buffing them on the wheel.”
Randee prefers hers embedded in fossilized limestone with traces of primeval seas. They’re both obsessed with simulating opal perfectly in polymer.
