Hello our mixed-media friends! Today we have a very special treat for you - Clare Horner from the ICE Resin Design Team. Clare has an amazing, easily recognizable style that will surely enchant you. Her creativity has no limits and the way she is using ICE Resin on her jewellery pieces is just stunning. Clare wants to share her story how she got into this amazing mixed-media industry and how she joined the ICE Resin Design Team, and believe me, it's very inspiring! Sit comfortably, grab some tea and enjoy :)

Hi everyone, I am so pleased to be sharing my love of ICE Resin with you for the wonderful Artist Trading Post. Having been a customer of Artist Trading Post before and I was thrilled when my lovely ICE Resin boss, Jen, asked me to do a feature for them. My first response was they have fabulous customer service and great delivery times too so I would be more than happy to oblige!

I will start with a little about myself. My name is Clare though universally I am know as ''Gotpaintinmyhair'' I am Yorkshire born and bred and have lived in West Yorkshire all my life with my other half and four kittens that I rescued. I went to College studying Art but on entering the real world, did as every one else round here and got a job in an office. I yearned to do something creative and found a local shop one day while being dragged to a garden centre (kicking and screaming!) that has a craft shop in it. I was hooked the second I walked through the door! I have since gone from card making, to scrapbooking, to art journaling, to mixed media, to basic jewellery making and more advanced jewellery making, and finally have landed on Silver Smithing and back at college again, I am about to enter my final exam project for my 2nd year of college.

I don't really remember how I found ICE Resin, but I had been interested in resin for a few years. I became quite obsessed with finding a resin that would work for jewellery, would not yellow over time, would not crack over time too. It was quite a hard task, all resin is not created equal I fast found out! I had many a disaster and grew quite frustrated. I was given a half used bottle of ICE Resin, back then in the blue packaging, by a friend who ''couldn't get along with it''. I became hooked, self levelling, self doming, self healing! Oh it was divine so I did some research and followed Susan and Jen instantly everywhere I could, I became quite the stalker, never daring to speak to them because their talent was so intimidating to me. I quickly learned that actually, they were amazing and friendly and so very quick to help on the odd occasion I had to pluck up the courage to ask a technical question. I eventually got over my fear and became inspired by them, it was seeing Susan's metal work that made me research ''propper Silver Smithing'' as I thought of it, and signed up for a evening course at college. I must have been on a high being accepted into the college class because that same week the Creative Team call was put out into the world, so I applied, never once imagining that I would be accepted, I didn't hear anything back for the longest time and thought I hadn't made it. Turned out in my haste to fill in the form I had fat finger typed my e-mail address wrong! Oh my heart sank when I had a message on facebook from a stranger asking if I still wanted to be part of the team as I hadn't replied! That was when I met the lovely Carol, the team manager, who turns out, could be my long lost twin we are so alike and get along so well!

The rest really is history, I have been part of the ICE Resin family since the end of 2013, it has been an amazing ride and will only get better! I am lucky to be a Certified Ice Resin instructor since the start of 2014 and the only one in the United Kingdom. I love to teach and will travel anywhere in the country to share my passion. If you would like to follow me you can find me on all the normal social media platforms, usually as Gotpaintinmyhair. I am a bad blogger! But I am trying to change that, aren't we all...
Thank you for taking the time to visit
Clare ''Gotpaitninmyhair'' Horner

Clare also prepared a special project for you. If you would like to try to work with Ice Resin and Iced Enamels to create a similar piece of art, simply follow her detailed instructions:

Ice Resin 1oz Syringe	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Medium	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - Turquoise	Vintaj 4 Ounce Ball Pein Jeweler′s Hammer	Art Mechanique Inclusions German Glass Glitter - Chartreuse
Ranger Heat It Tool	Round Jump Rings x 40 - Brass	Chain Nose Plier With Cutter

and...

Decorative biscuit tin
Doming block
Disc Cutter 1/2inch 3/4inch
Toggle clasp
Chain from stash
1.5mm hole punch

Clare, thank you so much for sharing your talent with us and our readers. You are such an inspiration - we can't wait to see more of your creations.  

Hello! It's time for May's Guest Designer. This time we are very excited to have one of our past Design Team members here - we are sure you know her amazing style and creativity very well, and just like we you still can't get enough of her beautiful works. She describes her style as a variation between vintage and grunge. She says: "more recently I have been recycling and altering various items. I have attended numerous workshops over the years and have shared my knowledge and skills with friends, family and colleagues at work, enabling them to create stunning keepsakes." Let's welcome Annie Gilmour!

Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Medium	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - Glitz Silver	Ranger Heat It Tool	Mod Podge - Gloss	Ice Resin 1oz Syringe
Square Cabochon base mount x 2 - Copper	Round Cabochon base mount x 2 - Gold

Isn't it amazing? Annie's creativity knows no bounds. Now take a look at Annie's other stunning works - visit her blog and leave her some love :)

Kasia

I guess there are some of you who are frightened to use ICE Resin®, as it may seem quite a complicated medium.  I know what I'm talking about because I myself bought ICE Resin® about a year ago and wasn't brave enough to try it for few months, but believe me - ICE Resin® is very easy to work with. Once I tried I couldn't stop and now I'm adding Ice Resin to almost every project. Let me start with a short explanation about the product:

ICE Resin® is a 2-part epoxy resin. Part A is the Resin. It has a slightly blue tint. Part B is the hardener. It has a very slight yellow tint.
Part A and Part B must be poured with a one-to-one ratio and mixed gently but thoroughly for ICE Resin to dry and cure properly.

Crystal Clear –the beautiful, glass-like finish is more transparent. Properly cared for, your jewelry will not fade or become brittle.
Naturally Doming—like water bubbles on a freshly waxed car, ICE Resin has surface tension, and this tension allows the user to fill a bezel and make a dome.
Self-Leveling—because of its surface tension, ICE Resin levels itself in a project.
Self-Healing—the user can sand an area of ICE Resin out of a project, mix a new batch of ICE Resin and paint the resin on or pour the resin into the area and viola! Just like the cat hair, stray piece of glitter, et cetera never happened.
Cold Cure –because ICE Resin® was formulated with an 8 to 12 hour drying time and 3 day cure time, the user can colour the resin with organics an/or place organic matter in their arts and crafts projects.

Iced Enamels™ were expressly developed for creative people who enjoy the look of torch-fired or kiln-fired enamels. Combine Enamel Medium with our quick-melting Relique powders and solidify with a craft heat gun for beautiful mixed-media metalwork in minutes. Seal with a thin coat of ICE Resin® to create a permanent Cold Enameling bond that will never rub off or fade over time. 






And now if you already know the basics here's Chantal Johnson's video that I'm sure will inspire you to experiment with the ICE Resin®:


Visit us on Monday as we are going to have our first Guest Designer this month. Please also remember about our May challenge - only 11 days to enter now :)

My work is built on years of researching cultures, repairing
ethnographic adornment, Art school, training in the craft of
metallurgy and a strong fashion back round. This has made my
work that I call, Expressive Adornment, a unique voice in the
industry. My work includes building Talismans, Prayer boxes,
Amulets and magic for the fashion, museum, gallery and
commercial world for over 20 years.

Susan’s early hand made collection began at Henry Bendell, Banana Republic, Nordstrom, Ann Taylor and more, where she began building a handmade and a commercial line of jewellery.  Susan’s work participated in numerous museum exhibits including Smithsonian and Art Institute of New York. Author of her second book, RESIN ALCHEMY, an Amazon 2013 best seller list, It includes a pioneering ten year body of work combining metal and resin. She also creates a successful commercial line of components called, Industrial Chic.
Susan’s innovative new work can be seen in March 2014 issue of U.S. ELLE as she re-enters the fashion world and on the runway in New York.

How did you develop your style? Was it a gradual process or did you always have a specific artistic vision? Explain.  

I have both. I trust the process. I usually get my cues from what is around me. I usually go intuitively. I have taken a cue right now for new beginnings in my work. I'm working with heavy gauge wire, circles, sheet metal. I take my cues of what I'm feeling and what I feel I need to work on. I build for myself. It takes a lot of courage to build for yourself and then bring it out into the world as new ideas.
  

What are you most proud of? 

To not have fear of exploration. I am very willing to go into my studio and fully explore a medium from the beginning and attempt to push it as far as I can. For example, one of the editors of a very prominent magazine said to me that resin was not even a material in the fine art world into I brought this medium into the market with work. It took a lot of courage to have my jewelry work with resin viewed as a viable material in the art world, but because I first went into my studio and worked it out and came up with a museum-quality body of work, I knew I had done my best to create something fresh and new and unique. I believed others would see it that way as well. 
  

Where do you see yourself going in the next couple years? What are your goals?  

Recently I just had 10 pages of my work in Elle Magazine (March 2014 issue) and I began working with a stylist on my wearable adornment. I'm considering some opportunities that have presented themselves to go back into the fashion world. In the 1990s when I was just out of art school, I was fortunate to have some instant success with my fashion jewelry line called LenART Collection. I built one-of-a-kind pieces that were sold at Banana Republic, Anne Taylor, Barneys New York and other high end boutiques in New York and Los Angeles. 

What do you want the readers to know about you and your work? Any special advice to other designers who are just getting started? 

Follow your heart and do not look at what people are doing or what is popular now. I think my success has come from just building and being true to myself even if my work wasn't in the fashion of the time. If you build from your own experiences, your own life, your own heart, you time will come. Stay true to you and do not absorb others. 
  

What are some of your special finishes?   

I spent years working with liquid enamels and enamels and love the glass surface it brings to metalwork. There are a lot of people who don't want to use kilns so I came up with a surface finish that looks like enamel work - called cold enameling that uses paints, Iced Enamels and resin (glasslike surface). Iced Enamels is a whole new category in itself and I've been able to do some brand new and interesting work with this cold enameling medium. 

Susan is definitely an inspiring artist, but also lovely and kind person. Me and Jamie are both huge fans of her style, and we are sure that many of you also adore Susan's creations. Here are some of them:

 Some of products Susan Lenart Kazmer used in above projects:

Ice Resin 1oz Syringe	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - Ivory	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - Turquoise	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - German Silver	Art Mechanique Inclusions German Glass Glitter - Amethyst
Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - Raspberry	Ice Resin - Iced Enamels Relique Powder - Garnet	Rectangles One - Silver Bezels	Ovals One - Silver Bezels	Rectangles One - 5 Pack - Silver Bezels
Art Emboss Lightweight Copper Sheet 9 1/4" x 12"

And there is even more coming. Through the whole of May we will share inspirations with products from Susan Lenart Kazmer - Ice Resin, Iced Enamels etc, including more of Susan's works and videos. We are also going to have a few very talented guest designers so stay tuned.

Please also remember that you can win Susan Lenart - Kazmer's DVD in our May challenge - "Exploring Resin Jewellery - Making":