Beads of Clay Fundraiser Day with Mestra Rafaella
Saturday April 17, 2010 10:30am - 4:30pm
Class fees: None! The class is free!!!
Age appropriate for 12 y/o &up (my condo is not small-kid-friendly)
Email for Address/directions - rafaella13(at)yahoo(dot)com

Greetings all.

Mestra Rafaella is hosting a "making beads out of clay" day studio in Tualatin on Saturday April 17 to assist with baronial fundraising efforts. Just so we're clear, clay beads can't be finished in a single day, but what we get started I'll finish (or get volunteers to assist) and we can sell them later in the season.

The studio can comfortably accommodate 6-8 and if it's a nice day we can spill out into the patio/yard a bit. Please make sure you've had your TETANUS shot or recent booster before class, really really really. Clay is fun but full of biological beasties.

The class is free!!! Parking is limited; carpooling is encouraged. Smoking is allowed on my back porch. If you have allergies I have two cats (who generally don't go in the garage-studio, but they own the rest of the house). The cats will be put into the office so please don't let them out. Everybody puts the toilet lid down. thanks :-)

Please dress warm in stuff that can get dirty (or bring a smock) and bring a chair if you can . You might bring a dust mask. The terracotta clay (red & white) we'll be using is somewhat staining so be forewarned. Please no food in the studio, covered drinks are okay. In the kitchen/living room, I'll have tea and some snacks, but please bring eats if you want something more substantial.

What else do you need to bring? Design ideas! Clay is very versatile! cookie cutters, rubber stamps, textured fabrics, good strong linear designs are all good fodder for clay (of course, you won't want to cook or rubber stamp with those design tools again!) I have a TON of design books & tools, come bring your creativity and desire to help the shire promote itself (in more ways than one). Does anyone have a populace badge dragon stamp? Clay is no risk! If you don't like it, mush it up and start again. come on, have fun and try something old and different!

For ideas, please see the bead set on my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafaella13/sets/72157594408022639/
(not everything I make is historical, but a lot of it is...)

and this batch of tokens was decorated by a whole crew of folks for DMDT2007:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafaella13/580286392/in/set-72157594408022639/

For folks that prefer to paint rather than mold clay, I'll try to have some bisque pieces done so maiolica painting can occur (if I can swing it in the next couple of weeks...)

I get a lot of my design ideas from period glass beads:
http://www.ancienttouch.com/ancientbeads-eye%20medieval.htm

Not sure what I'm talking about? send me questions? Email me!

Hopefully the folks who have been asking me about beads and/or maiolica can show up for a bit and get some instruction. We'll all have fun and get some stuff done for the Incipient Barony!

In Service to the Crown,
Mestra Rafaella d'Allemtejo, OL