Saturday, January 26, 2013

Studio Saturday with Creative Impressions In Clay


Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
This weeks winner is Meadowland DesignsCongratulations! You have won Peacock Pendant. 
Send Erin an e-mail with your email address and she will get it right out to you.
This week we visit the studio of Tari Sasser at 
Creative Impressions In Clay.

I wanted to show you buttons that have yet to make it to my website. Why haven't they made it there, you say? It takes time and usually updating my website is at the bottom of the list because it's so very time consuming. Granted it needs a major overhaul but there are certain things you dread, and for me, that is one of them.
One of my favorite customers is a wholesale customer. Lucy at the Cheshire Cat in Vermont. Lucy has been designing her own line of clothing for many years, starting out with a children's clothing. She and I have been working together for maybe 6 years. OK, I can't remember how long, I've slept since then. Sometimes she chooses buttons from my existing button collections and other times I create new ones. The next three photos are of new ones I designed for her. She gives me a color palette to use and I go from there. I glazed the bees originally with eyes and that didn't fly so we went with them being implied and a brighter yellow. The Birds and the Bees and it's all Rosy...or something like that. 

There's no place like home. The original design is the round bottom button. Instead the final version is a more childlike interpretation. The house has since been made as an ornament in the size shown and a super size version as well.


I love to travel! The travel collection of buttons. I am missing one that I couldn't find, it's a Route 66 Sign button. We have an old suitcase with all the travel stickers, a License Plate with LUV2TRVL and a Stamp. The stamp is a combination piece. She wanted a car and a stamp so I found an old stamp design that combined both. As you can imagine carving some of these designs take a lot of time. You then hope your mold pouring skills are up to par the day you make the mold and you don't get any bubbles so you then have to repair the mold. Next is glazing the color combinations and applying them. On the dimensional buttons can be not only a challenge but time consuming. Efficiency counts to make a profit. For some of my design they just take time and there isn't a way around it.


These were made for one of Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenges. Based on Kandinsky's Farbstudie Quadrate. I believe there were 6 originally. I love the art of Kandinsky.


Since I make buttons, I attend fiber shows. A lot of my items are geared towards the Needle Arts Community. Above is a two-sided magnetic item. Trying not to call it a needleminder since the name is copyrighted. One part goes on the back of your canvas or quilt and the other goes on the front. It stays put along with your pins and needles. Or it can be set next to you as you work and still minds your pins and needles.


These were a custom order from early in my button making. A woman in California who made hats needed specialized designs that became pins. Along with shells was an Octopus and a Mermaid. I still have the molds but these will most likely never be made again except for the Mermaid. She appears these days as an ornament.


It's a cabochon of a different color. Special order for a beading artist. Lots of cabs in many colors and designs.
If you didn't know all of my buttons can be made as cabs, pins, pendants or with as many holes or loops in any place on the button. Since each is made individually these options are possible.


My question today is:
What do you want to see for Studio Saturday?

Do you like Studio Saturdays? Should we continue? Are we doing it right or wrong? Do you only want tutorials? Not of interest you? 
I ask this because when you only get 5-10 comments for Studio Saturday you wonder if its you or the content.

Leave a comment answering the question on Art Bead Scenes Blog and you could win 3 Cabochons. 



Feeling Sassy as usual!
Tari Sasser
Creative Impressions In Clay