What inspires me to create

I am always in the look out for inspiration and I always go to where my heart is closed to, my country and my culture.
This week I had to create a ring for my ring a week challenge and I was not very motivated, when this happens I go back and take a look at my work from other years and see if something calls my attention.
Looking at my pictures was a good source for inspiration, and when I saw the first bowl I made with bronze clay I knew I had my inspiration for my ring.

I hand sculpted and carved this ring with FastFire Bronzclay.

OAXACA
©2011 Lorena Angulo
FastFire Bronzclay

This is a collage images with my ring after it was fired in the kiln and my bronze bowl who was my inspiration. This bowl was made inspired in my big love for the folk art in the beautiful state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

OAXACA
©2011 Lorena Angulo
FastFire Bronzclay

What do you do when you are looking for inspiration?

Southwest School of Art-All School Exhibition 2011 (Russell Hill Rogers Galleries)

The Southwest School of Art is having its annual All School Exhibition 2011 from June 2 thru August 14. The exhibition is a juried showcase of outstanding work by faculty, studio artists and students.
During the opening night (June 2 from 5:30-7:30 pm) the school recognize a distinguished faculty member, and present students awards including a "Best in Show."

I am happy to have two of my pieces in this exhibition.

MILAGRO HEART pendant
©2010 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver
3.56 inches by 2.31 inches by 0.53 inches

ARBOL DE VIDA
©2009 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver and CZ Garnet
2.44 inches by 2.22 inches

If you live in the area, you can not missed this opportunity to visit the gallery; come to the opening night and celebrate with us this wonderful exhibition.  I will be there and will love to see you too !


"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
Henry Ward Beecher

RAW (Ring a Week) 21/52

I have been playing a lot with new clays like Creative Paper Clay and Craft porcelain. These new materials are very fun and can give me a lot of freedom (because they are very economical) to go crazy with my ideas and create pieces without any limitations.


I love to experiment with new mediums and by doing it I also can have a very good impression on how my drawings or spontaneous ideas can look like in a three dimensional form.


This is the case of this first ring I made with Bronze Clay (FastFire Bronzclay) inspired in my craft Porcelain ring.

Bronze Clay                                                Craft Porcelain

I am very pleased with how this ring looks in metal and I am sure I will make it in silver very soon.

ALCATRAZES
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Hand sculpted with FastFire Bronzclay

ALCATRAZES
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Hand sculpted with FastFire Bronzclay

Happy Birthday Metal Clay Artist Magazine !

Metal Clay Artists Magazine is celebrating its 2nd Birthday and I am so proud and happy for all the accomplishments this wonderful magazine has obtained. 
I still remember when I was introduced to the magazine in its first ever sample of the magazine. I was happy to see there will be a magazine fully dedicated to the metal clay community. I was more happy to have met via Facebook Jeannette Froese LeBlanc , she is such a great woman and full of energy. 
I admire the hard work she and her husband, Carl LeBlanc, have done to keep the magazine growing. 
When I finally met Jeannette during the PMC Conference in Purdue last year, I could totally see her passion for what she does and how much she loves the magazine. 
The magazine has a fantastic group of artists that are always helping in putting the magazine together with great articles, projects and wonderful tips, like Margaret Schindel (senior editor) who has done a great job helping with the magazine. The list of helpers is very long and I also THANK YOU all of you for helping keep this great magazine on its feet.
The gallery section is always a pleasure to look at, artists from around the world sent images to be included and it is very nice to see the different styles and ways to use metal clay.
Here are the issues this wonderful team has put together.

I can not wait to see what is coming next!! Every new issue is bigger and full of great information. I am sure you will love to received this great magazine.

Here are some links that you can visit and join the groups.

Website

BLOG

Facebook Page

Flickr Group

Subscribe

Happy Birthday Metal Clay Artist Magazine !!!

A creative Sunday for me

 I am known for making a lot of hearts in my work, this is the reason some people call me "The Queen of Hearts". :o) Sometimes I think I will stop making them, I do not want to bore anyone with them but I just can not stop. 
Every heart I create has its own life and personality, each heart looks different than the others I have made. I have been waiting for the right moment to transform a bronze clay heart I made a while ago. Today was the day I felt it was the right time for me to do it.

Here it is my journey on this new heart which I love as much I love all the others I have made.

I made a lot of drawings and to be honest, I did not go with the first one I made for this piece. I just did not feel it was a good match for my bronze clay heart. I decided to go with a different framing and instead of using copper I chose yellow brass this time.
After I finished sawing the frame in my brass sheet, I filed the piece and prepared it for my chasing tools. This is one of the steps I enjoyed the most because I see how a simple metal cut-out can be transform into something so different and soulful.
After I finished with the stamping I applied heat patina to the brass to bring out the copper in it. I sanded some of the patina out just to leave enough coloration to give the piece a warmer look.
The bronze clay heart was attached with rivets to the frame and now I am trying to choose if I want to rivet a bail or fabricate a chain to the piece.

SOULFUL HEART
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Bronze clay, brass, copper rivets and coral.

SOULFUL HEART
(Back view)
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Bronze clay, brass, copper rivets and coral.

SOULFUL HEART
(Back view)
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Bronze clay, brass, copper rivets and coral.

SOULFUL HEART
©2011 Lorena Angulo
Bronze clay, brass, copper rivets and coral.

Mixed metals cross

I have always mentioned my love for folk art and my passion for collecting it. One of my collections is my "Milagro" crosses from Mexico and local artisans. Most of my walls have some of them and I enjoy every time I see them.


They are very spiritual for me, crosses have a soulful and peaceful meaning.
Its been a long time since I created a cross and I was very happy to found a wood cross cut-out the other day at a craft store. I wanted to transformed it into a new piece of art representing my style and passion for folk art.


I metal embossed with aluminum the wood cross (which was painted in red) and draw a frame into a copper sheet. After I sawed the frame I used my chasing stamps and textured the frame.The metal embossed cross was riveted to the frame with brass rivets and I added a bronze clay piece in the center of the cross with a brass rivet.

©2011 Lorena Angulo
Copper, Aluminum, Bronze clay,wood, brass, pearls.

All it needs now is a fabricated chain or rosary style chain. I am moving more into the rosary style chain.

©2011 Lorena Angulo
Copper, Aluminum, Bronze clay, wood, brass, pearls.

©2011 Lorena Angulo
Copper, Aluminum, Bronze clay, wood, brass, pearls.

©2011 Lorena Angulo
Copper, Aluminum, Bronze clay, wood, brass, pearls.

Now I need to think about a name for this new piece.

Do you have any suggestions ?

Love, Lorena

I am featured in the Metal Clay Academy's Newsletter

I have been honored to be featured with Lora Hart in the Metal Clay Academy's Newsletter this month.
I was interviewed by Emma Gordon and it was a pleasured !


Here is her article:

What's your Inspiration? LORENA ANGULO I think for most people in the Metal Clay community, Lorena Angulo needs no introduction; her style is distinctive and instantly recognisable.  Lorena is based in the U.S. but originally comes from Mexico which she tells us is her biggest inspiration and no wonder given that it is such a vibrant country with a wealth of culture and traditions.  She is a metal clay artist who works primarily with fine silver and bronze and copper clay. She has joined the Southwest School of Art where she takes the occasional class to perfect her skills in metal smithing but is more known for teaching Metal Clay there.   The piece which Lorena has chosen for this article is her 'Arbol de Vida' or Tree of Life which has to be one of her most iconic pieces. She says that this was one of the first pieces she ever made with metal clay, creating it initially in silver but admits that she was not totally happy with the piece until she remade it in bronze clay. Since then, she has gone on to create it in copper, bronze and silver enjoying the different looks that each type of clay can bring to the piece. The silver pieces are typically 'antiqued' with Liver of Sulphur but the copper and bronze pieces are left without patina since these clays have a warmth after firing that needs no enhancement.  The Arbol de Vida in mixed metals Although Lorena now lives in the United States, Mexico quite clearly continues to be an everyday influence and inspiration. She says that it became so apparent, just how important her heritage was to her when she moved away from her homeland to live in the US. In fact, she states, most of her designs are inspired by her country; its folk art and traditions. However, she does look to other cultures and folk art for inspiration too telling us that she often goes to museums and immerses herself in great pieces, which she claims can be found anywhere and everywhere. She also loves using the internet to explore other places which she might never be able to go and says that she is inspired by 'mythical cities and cultures from around the world'. Her pieces are her interpretation of these things that she admires and respects. When we ask her about who inspires her, she tells us that she has a great deal of admiration and respect for those folk artists who create with The Arbol de Vida in Creative Paper Clay love and passion. However, she does name one specific artist who she tells us, gave her a different perspective on how to create her art when she was lucky enough to take a class with him. Robert Ebendorf, she tells us is a big inspiration because he has enormous love and passion for his art and for teaching and taking his class was a wonderful experience. It is quite clear to see when communicating with Lorena that her art has enormous significance in her life but it seems that how you approach it, that is with love and passion, is equally as important as creating something beautiful. Perhaps that's why her work is so unique and special. Thank You Emma and Metal Clay Academy for this great article ! Love, Lorena