To celebrate Grubbi's birthday I'm having a sale! 40% off for the next 48 hours, so great savings to be made if you've had your eye on something in my store. Use code HAPPY2ND for 40% off at checkout
And if you're interested...
It's Grubbi's 2nd birthday! I've gone through quite a journey over the last couple of years...starting out making jewellery, progressing onto wanting to create my own beads and becoming a polymer clay addict, playing around with metal smithing and MissFickleMedia's metal patina's (still the best ones in my opinion!), soldering, texturing metals, etching copper and brass, a very small dalliance with metal clay which left a lump of copper clay stuck to my fingers and finally, ceramics.
I am totally in LOVE with ceramics. I tend to get bored very easily and flit from one kind of medium to another...nothing sticks with me for too long, I love to try new things and have learnt some fabulous techniques from the "beading community". I was content with Polymer for a long time...but they never gave me the clinkity clink satisfying noise that glazed beads do.
I thought I would get bored but I haven't! I've finally found a medium that I want to explore with, try a million techniques with, progress and evolve with and I love it! I feel settled.
I'm already wanting a bigger kiln, a much bigger kiln! I want a pottery wheel too. Unfortunately I don't have the space, so I shall be evolving on a very small scale. BUT there's so much to learn...I've touched upon a little bit of sculpture...something very basic but I found I was good at it, it wasn't difficult to master, it came easily...I also made a pot...that didn't turn out so well, but I think perhaps I need to remove the thought in my mind that pots NEED to be perfectly round. I love mishapen, odd looking things but when it comes to trying something myself, I kinda want perfection the first time I try something...have to get over that so I can find my own style...or evolve with my own style, something I feel I'm finding now as I progress with clay.
The name Grubbi came about through a brainstorming session with a friend of mine...I was looking for a name that fit me. I love old worn looking things...always have. Old buildings, peeling paint, ruined castles, patinated metal, shabby furniture, aged jewellery, rustic beads...anything a bit different. I began playing with words and stumbled upon the word "Grubby", which means a bit dirty...worn looking, or the other less romantic meaning, infested with grubs!!
Anyway, less of the infestation...so I liked the word Grubby, I like words that end with an "ee" sound, they roll off the tongue and so I switched the Y with an I (cos the I makes it cool! :p) and Grubbi was born!
Plans for the future...I'm sketching away with ideas for handsculpted pendants...it's difficult coming up with ideas that haven't been done before. I have new glazes on the way, I plan more experiments with layering...maybe even adding a bit of copper clay into the mix. I have some bead bundle kits in the making...and hopefully a bead club starting soon (limited spots!). I'm also experimenting with Sgraffito which is great fun (carving into underglazes). I have more doodle bead sets coming soon, I'm experimenting with metal clay (metal section soon to be updated) and best of all, I'm off on holiday with my amazingly lovely boyfriend at the end of the month! Scotland here I come! :D
Oh and here's a picture of my claying buddy...Jelli (my favourite cat, but don't tell the others!)
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