Bead and Button

"Moondial" polymer clay and mixed media
5 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 7"

Today is the deadline for entries for the 2013 Bead Dreams competition.  This annual international competition is sponsored by Kalmbach Publishing and occurs in conjunction with the huge Bead and Button show in Milwaukee.

I've entered four years and have been fortunate and honored to be a finalist in 2008, 2010, and 2012.  So I'm trying again.

My moondial is in the "Objects and Accessories" category and the MoonOwl Treasure Box is in the "Polymer Clay" category.  They both would have been in polymer clay, except for that category the piece needes to be at least 85% polymer clay and that's not true of the moondial.

I made the owl treasure box last year but just finished the moondial yesterday.  The bear turns manually, cycling through the 28 sections of the top disc.  These sections represent the 28 days of the moon cycle and as the bear moves he points to the progressing phases of the moon.

For the moondial, I sculpted the bear, owls, tiny black birds, and starburst the bear is standing on from polymer clay.  The top is a disc I cut from wood topped with a found metal object and then the starburst and bear.  The base is part of an oatmeal box.  The owls have feet made from wire coils and I attached the wire-wrapped beaded branch through these coils.  This piece was fun to make and really makes me want to get back to mixed media assemblage.  But, at least for Monday through Friday, it's ACEOs!

"MoonOwl Treasure Box" polymer clay,
vintage watch face, 3" x 3" x 5 1/2"