Just to show what a cane with well defined segments looks like:

This cane was made using Jane Roberts Benson's DVD on arabesque caning.  To make a cane like this, you make each of the individual elements (basically anything that is surrounded by black was created separately) and then they are stacked together to form a triangle, which was huge to start with - as I recall that first compilation was about 8 inches tall and about that wide at the bottom of the triangle.  It was about 6 inches long.  But then I began to compress and stretch it, until it was more than 3 times its original length.  Doing this part of the process without distorting the design is a challenge! 

In this photo, you can see the total result of my claying adventure that day.  The large square on the left was made after combining the triangles together to form a square.  And you can see there are many many possibilities when it comes to combining the sections and how they can be used.  I've used this cane for jewelry, to make small bowls, in a mixed media piece where the round cane slices became "china" on the shelves of a china cabinet - all many of ways.  And I still have a large amount of that cane. Canes generally go a long way, as you have to start large to get such fine detail.  And of course, we slice the canes as thinly as possible.

This last photo is of the combined cane and what was originally one of the elements of the first cane, but I kept adding all the scraps that accumulated during the process and made a large "junk" cane. 

BTW, on the octagon cane, note the various lines on the outside of the cane - parts that aren't covered with black.  They are deliberately built into the design to use as registration marks to keep the cane's design true and straight. 

Ok, I'm through with cane lessons for a bit.    I am nearly finished with my entry for the February challenge at the PCAGOE website, and will soon be working on getting just the right photo to submit - we can use only one!  Joe stopped last night to pick up the wedding cake topper and he really liked the challenge piece.  I'm ok with it.  I need to tweak a bit...

My pain level has been fairly high these last weeks.  Not sure why.  I'm not sleeping well, and that often makes my pain worse.  I'm using my hands a great deal claying.  And then there's the cold weather, although it's been warmer this past week.  Dunno.

Faron's biopsy is next week - the 27th.  Please pray that he doesn't have cancer and that if he does, that we can deal with it in a manner that will bring glory to God. 

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But hopefully, others among you might find them of interest. 

Eleanor said she'd have liked to see the butterfly cane when I said it was garbage.  Of course, I'd already recycled it to use in the new and improved version.  But I had this cane from a while back in which made a similar mistake:

Here you see it reduced to two sizes.  The main problem is that the "packing" part of the cane - that green that surrounds the fish - is too close in color to the fish's head.  The head virtually disappears.  Two things could have made it work - one, I could have used a different color for that packing - but I was hoping to make it look "watery," without being obviously blue, or, I could have outlined each segment in a contrasting or complementary color.  Black is used most often, I suppose, although a deep green or navy would work, too. Even white. 

The idea for this type of cane, which is made with a large amount of translucent clay mixed with a standard opaque color or colors (the greens are both a custom blend this way) is to place the cane on a background of the same color, sliced so thin that it's difficult to handle, emphasizing its translucency.  The background of the cane then virtually disappears.  But I made this particular cane more opaque, even though I used translucent clay, because I made bracelets from it - well, one bracelet, which I gave to Maggie.  I cut the cane in slices about a quarter of an inch thick, pre-drilling holes to thread elastic through, baked it and then polished and strung it together.  She and her mom, like Faron & Jason before them, both thought the fish looked like a whacked out pineapple.  I didn't have the guts to finish the bracelets I'd planned for Jennie & Rachel, as mementos of our trip to the Bahamas that year. 

This photo shows one way of achieving those ultra thin slices needed for a truly translucent cane:

We use thin, very sharp blades and a cane slicer - a contraption into which we place the clay, with the amount we want to slice off just sticking out onto the measuring base, then we rest the blade against the brass edges and slice.  The two slices in the foreground were so thin I had trouble moving them.  In fact, one of them tore and I had to perform a patch job. 

The butterfly cane that failed needed definition, just like this one does.  I should have wrapped flat, narrow strips of purple clay for the wings with black clay so that each scale showed up in a well-defined way.  As it was, it was just one large purple blob. 

I have been quite busy claying this past week.  Made several canes after I'd finished the cake topper (which is now packed up and waiting for Joe to pick it up this weekend when he comes up from Maryland for National Guard duty) all in varying combinations of black and white.  I have a few photos but I want to edit them.  Also made good progress on a couple of pieces I'm entering into the Monthly Challenge at the PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artists' Guild of Etsy) website, pcagoe.com.  The deadline for entry is Jan. 28, but since Faron's biopsy is the 27th, my own "personal" deadline is the 26th, to make sure it's finished in case he requires a lot of attention after his owie.    I'll post photos of the entries as well as remind you all to go and vote.  There's a random drawing from the pool of non-member voters, from gifts we all contribute to a prize pool, that each of us have made.  While I appreciate that my readers are biased in my favor, trust me, when you see what some of these people can do, you'll know I'm truly a newbie!  So much to learn!  And that reminds me - I must get a package of my pieces out in tomorrow's mail. 

Hope to post again sooner than the last time. 

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You'll be forgiven if you don't recognize this for what it is...

This is the better part of 3 days of work - conditioning clay, mixing colors, building a cane that was, frankly, garbage, because I didn't define the sections by wrapping them with a contrastic color - I thought the disjointedness of the white sections would be enough - hah!

I mushed that all together and got this pretty shade of purple, and started all over again - and I think I like it.  It's based on an image in a napkin, being used at a wedding reception.  Amy's sister is getting married next month and I offered to make the wedding cake top.  The butterfly will be the main event, but it will be sitting on a bed of flowers - and this is all you're going to see until the wedding.  (Lori, don't panic, you'll see it all along the way.)

I haven't "reduced" the cane yet - meaning as of now, the wings are so large that this butterfly, if put together with a body and another set of wings, would have a wing span of about 7.5 inches.  A bit large.  The next step is to begin squeezing the cane as evenly as possible, into a smaller size - actually, several smaller sizes - which will lengthen the cane as it reduces. I'll cut off sections as they reach the sizes I like, and continue reducing.  There is a lot of butterfly here!  I see earrings and pendants and all sorts of things in the future from this one cane.  But for now, to reduce!!

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The photo with the logo beneath is actually the backside of the one that has a couple of views of Stefan on it.  I think they're the photos a student can trade with his friends?  Anyway, it's pretty cool. 

And that's today's photos.  I think I have only one more day of pics.  For now. 

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These are two of Penny's kids and a grandbaby!  Her first. 

Zachary Allen (who looks like a MAN!), his big sister Amber Nichole, and their nephew, Courtney's new baby, Cameron James. 

More to come!

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Christmas cards this year were full of great photos, so I thought I'd share some of them here...

I scanned these as one unit, so I'll describe them below:

The bottom row has its own description - my great-nephew (Hazel's grandson) Erik and his family.

The first row is my great-niece, Danielle (Clara's granddaughter) and her family.  From the left, Porter, who is six, and is a charming scamp, I hear.  And Victoria, Danielle's husband's daughter, who lives with them now, and who is a wonderful kid, from all reports.  Finally, that's Danielle and her husband, Jake. 

Lovely families, eh? 

Things are going well here.  We're in our wait-and-see mode, for the latest round of test results, and the test he'll have on 1/27.  He feels good, though, and thankfully, we've avoided the bronchitis epidemic that struck most of Hazel's crowd.  We didn't go down on Christmas morning because I was afraid of ice, so we missed the generous sharing of these nasty germs!  There are only a few of her kids and grandkids who DID NOT get that stuff.  Poor Darla has bronchitis and a sinus infection and just can't seem to shake it.  So it's wicked!

Jason and Tiana are in Minnesota, visiting with her family & friends, and freezing, according to J.  He has to keep reminding himself how much he loves his wife, as he hates the cold fiercely! 

We had a lovely Christmas, first with J & T on Christmas Eve, then with Joe &Amy the day after Christmas.  It's been quiet with so many of the extended family ill, but quiet is not a bad thing! 

I have been claying up a storm.  Be sure to check out my Etsy shop as I add new stuff.  Just ready to bake about 2 dozen pieces, most of them for Valentine's Day.  I'm also working on a wedding cake topper for Amy's sister, who announced her engagement at Christmas.  It's a new venture for me, and, quite frankly, I hope to use it in my "portfolio," for future commissions.

I hope to post a couple of more Christmas card photos in the next day or so.  I have many!

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Or turquoise...

This is a lovely selection of pieces made by my fellow PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy) and offered up as an

Etsy Treasury

One of the ladies' 5 year old granddaughter prefers "turtle quoise," to "turquoise.  Either way, they are well worth taking a look at!

And here's one all in purple:

Purple Treasury

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This is as close to a Christmas card as I'm going to get this year.  First, I'm inserting a short video from various members of my family, from our family Christmas party which took place on Saturday. 

The video started out as a demo of what my camera could do.  I know Duke & Kim both thought I was getting them to pose for a still shot.  Kim hates being photographed.    The greetings are from Harry, my great-niece April's husband; Amber, my great-nephew, Erik's wife; April, said great-niece; Duke, my nephew; and finally, Kim, my beloved sister.  You can see and hear various other family member, as well as my voice in the background.

I like the video for a Christmas greeting not only because it contains the happy faces of people I love, but because their varied reactions are so typical of life in a big family, and Kim's switch from annoyed big sister to congenial "Merry Christmas," wisher is so typical of how we are during this wonderful, crazy season.  Thanks, Kim, for getting it Just Right! 

This has been an eventful year for the Matthews family, adding two precious members to our number, officially, that is.  Jared was already counted, even though he didn't make his appearance until March, and, of course, we'd already welcomed Tiana into our family and into our hearts, but the wedding in May made that official. 

Tiana changed jobs, working full time now at Geisinger Medical Center, adding a long 45 minute commute each way to her day,  She loves the job, though, and she's gaining experience with pediatric and trauma unit respiratory therapy.  She works per diem still at Williamsport Hospital, just to keep that connection.  And Jason changed jobs, as well.  He now works for the Williamsport Ambulance Service as night-time dispatcher.  He handles things like transfers and such, not 911 calls.  He also does billings for the ambulances in the rest of the county.  They will be with us to celebrate Christmas here, leaving a few days after Christmas to drive out to Minnesota to be with Tiana's family for their big shebang, which is at New Year's. 

Along with the wedding came trips to Las Vegas and Minnesota that have already been documented here, as well as all the work we've done to the house in preparation for the reception we had at our house.  The work continued throughout the summer and fall, in fact, continues still, as Faron & Jason are semi-finishing the back porch into an exercise room with a space at one end for Faron to start and nurture vegetables and flowers in late winter and early spring. 

Faron also has given us a few health scares, all at once.  To date, he's recovered from the Swine flu and we're on hold about possible kidney problems until he sees the urologist this Thursday.  And I suppose we won't really know anything then - likely more tests will follow. And as to the spots on his lungs, they are still there, but have not grown, so the plan for now is to check them again in 6 months to see if they've gotten larger.  Your continued prayer for him and all of this is much welcomed.  He is being very stubborn about having his torn meniscus in his right knee repaired, but on the other hand, he's convinced he's up to preparing to run a marathon in June.  Whatta guy!  Tiana nags him (I'd never get away with it) about having the surgery but even she hasn't had a lot of success.  Maybe Amy ought to teach Derek to sign, "Grandpa, please get your knee fixed."?

The twins are so much a part of our lives, I decided to give brief updates of their happenings, too.  I mention them often enough, I know.  Joe & Amy and the kids more so because they get here more often, but we love Jim & Karen and their kids, too. 

Joe will have his Masters degree in May, thanks to a lot of hard work and very long days for him and for Amy.  (Two small boys who think the sun only comes out when Daddy gets home each evening can be very bored on the days he doesn't get home until after 10 pm!) It's such fun to see how three faces light up when they spy one another.  Jared flaps his arms and kicks his legs and makes a panting sound as Joe comes in the door, and Derek launches himself at Joe's legs.  Joe loves it, laughing and tearing out of his coat to scoop up both of them at the same time.  Of course, Amy makes her own sounds of relief.  Finally she can take a shower or finish a sink full of dishes or put clothes away!  Amy's talking of going back to school after Joe finishes, perhaps to study nursing.  We got to see this happen "live," the other night as Joe was on Guard duty this past weekend, and Amy drove the kids here for an overnight "layover," before the four of them headed out to have Christmas with her family.  They'll be back this weekend to celebrate with us and Bud & Shirley and their families. 

Joe's twin, Jim, is currently stationed in Alaska, where they've been for nearly 3.5 years.  In May, they'll get a BIT closer to home, moving to Rapid City, South Dakota, where he'll probably be for the duration of his enlistment, 5 years from now.  (Joe said the other day that he already has 15 years in with his active enlistment and National Guard service.  FIFTEEN YEARS!  How did that happen?  Wasn't it only yesterday that I had a passel of boys sleeping on my living room floor or front porch, depending on the season?)  Jim & Karen's oldest, Zach is already in Jr ROTC, and plans to enter the service (I think Air Force like his dad) when he finishes high school.  He'll be 15 in May.

And I've had an extremely good year, healthwise.  I didn't get to enjoy the pool at all this past summer.  The one time I went my skin reacted so badly I was in bed for days with icky feet.  I'm hoping that won't be the way of things!  I'm claying a lot and loving that, and I am spending lots of time on the Internet.  Facebook is a lot of fun for connecting and staying connected.  Addictive! 

So that's our year in review.  I'm sure I've missed lots of things but those are what came to mind. 

Thank you all for being part of our lives, friends and family.  We are thankful for your love and support and we pray that as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, you and yours are blessed with good health and the joy that passes all understanding.

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And, if you don't, well...Sorry!

The other morning I looked out my window, as I always do, and saw a beautiful "Red sky at morning."  I snapped a couple of pics through the window but they didn't capture the colors.  So Faron kindly (as he was dressed for work) took my camera outside and snapped this:

The next morning, I think, we had this, our first snowfall:

That one is from my window, looking toward our neighbor, Jack's house.  It was just enough to be pretty. 

I've been claying like a madwoman since I got off the sleeping pills.  My creativity has returned, and I'm enjoying it a lot more again. Here are a few samples of stuff I've recently posted on my Etsy store's site:

A couple of star pins, made by fusing red clay and gold leaf. (Imitation gold leaf - can't afford to use the real deal!)

In this one I cut strips of the gold leafed clay and alternated them with strips of red clay, then cut the star shapes.  The slightly glittery bow came from scraps of both kinds of clay kneaded together. 

This one looks kind of lacy, and it was cut from the gold leafed clay after I'd smooshed it through the pasta machine.  Same scrap clay was used for the bow.  I think they're both rather pretty.

And this piece is a fun little (less than 2" tall) tree made of more of that striped stuff:

After I'd put these in to bake, there were scraps of the gold leafed stuff left, and I came up with this:

I really like it - wouldn't it look great holding a holiday scarf on your shoulder?  Or mine?    Maybe it won't get listed...

And this little 4" box is made from an extruded cane and other extruded clay pieces fitted around a chip board box.  Lois has requested one in shades of blue, and I'll get to that when I can get to a craft store and get the box! 

I covered the little bun feet with the cane, too.

Here's a view showing the top:

I'm very pleased with it. 

All items are, along with many other new pieces, available at the Arrowdale Art Studios (for didn't you know that's what my bedroom is??) Etsy store.

We're doing well.  We got the results from Faron's 2nd CT scan.  The spots are still there, but haven't gotten any larger, so they are not inclined to be overly concerned.  He'll have another CT in May to make sure they haven't grown, but he feels so well now, we're pretty confident about that.  Still has the urologist to see on Christmas Eve.

I'm enjoying being clearer of mind, and have one day where I think I can be about more "normal" kinds of activities, only to be reminded by two days of exhaustion that while my brain is clearer, my body is still under siege by Dercum's aliens! But I'll live with that. 

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I've been claying up a storm these past weeks, and this morning I put a few new items up on my Etsy page.  I have several more to post, but I got bored with it quickly.  I'd rather create than try to sell the stuff! 

Check out my new profile photo - isn't it gorgeous?  Such beautiful boys!  Amy snapped that pic the other day and emailed it to me.  I haven't it as my desktop wallpaper and when I open my laptop it's nearly a life-sized photo of my sweet boys, peekin' through at Grandma.

I'm doing pretty well - a bit of swollen glands this morning.  Will watch to make sure it doesn't develop into anything, but other than that I feel ok.  Faron, on the other hand, has new problems cropping up daily, it seems.  I think I mentioned here that he had to have a CT scan of his kidneys because of some symptoms he's had.  A few days after the test, on Monday, the doc's office called, insistent on speaking with Faron only.  He hasn't put me on his HIPAA form, the stinker.  They said they'd call after hours that night (I've never had them do that for me.) and so I started to worry, and just to be fair, I called Jason to share so he could worry too.

It seems that when they did the CT on his kidneys, the scan picked up some nodules on his lungs. So now he's to have another CT scan, so they can take a closer look at the lungs.  Dr Wallace says he thinks it's likely nothing, but we must check it out.  So he goes back to Dr Wallace next week to be sure the Swine flu hasn't hung around, sees a plastic surgeon for the cyst above his eye in early December, and on December 24, he sees a urologist about the possible kidney problem, aaaaaand, he's having this other CT scan, but we haven't a date yet for that.  Hopefully Dr Wallace hasn't missed anything.

Finally, I snapped this photo from my bed early one morning as the sun was lightening the sky over the hills behind our house.

Thanksgiving plans: just the four of us, cooking together and stuffing ourselves like fools. 

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