My work has taken a new turn that I am excited about. I decided to work on some brooches yesterday after a few weeks of low production. I had some wonderful dark Premo "Blue Granite" polymer clay that I thought would make a dramatic crow or raven, but I wanted to do something different from my earlier ravens. I love Inuit stone carving. In an earlier post, I talked about some of the pieces these carvings inspired. This time, I envisioned something flatter, for a brooch, and I thought about those wonderful Inuit art prints I have seen and enjoyed over the years. I found a wonderful print of a raven, which directly inspired the first of the two brooches I completed yesterday.

I chose to go dramatically bigger in size for these brooches. After shaping the first piece, I attached the pin back by baking a flat strip of polymer clay across it, doubly secured by a coat of liquid polymer clay before baking. I signed the piece on the back. I then used silver and Aztec gold mica powders lightly to create a mottled metallic look throughout the brooch, front and back. The second brooch is made from a mixture of the blue granite clay mixed with black. The shaping and texturing on both pieces was done by hand, without any stamps or molds.

I am very pleased with these dramatic raven brooches, which complement each other, while each retaining a unique and individual look. They have something of a steampunk look to them, I think, especially the second brooch.