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FREE TUTORIALS

I’ve been thinking about it for a while and it’s done: I’ve made changes for six of my tutorials. I am happy to offer them now for free. Indeed, I still find them interesting and for some still innovative. I don’t think that the content of these tutorials is outdated but it seemed wrong to continue to charge for content that I worked on a few years ago. I was lucky enough to offer these tutorials on Craftartedu, (the teaching platform run by Donna Kato) back in 2014. That platform no longer exists but I Read more…

bague createur contemporain

SILVER JEWELRY

In France, the laws for making and selling precious metal jewelry (silver, gold and platinum) are strict and numerous. I summarize the most important ones: You have to apply to the guarantee office (customs) on which you depend; to have your’s hallmark made (once it has been validated by the customs office); to fill out a police book and to own an approved scale. In view of the many constraints and the investment that this generates, I hesitated for a long time to jump in. I finally took all the steps after having weighed the Read more…

stage metal et pate polymere

METAL AND POLYMER CLAY JEWELLERY WORKSHOP

I am pleased to present a new workshop project to create jewellery that combines metal work and polymer clay. I hesitated for a long time to offer this type of course until I started working with rivets (also called cold connections): fixing two materials together without the use of heat. This was much easier to set up. No soldering, no torch and all the materials that go with it. Rivets allow you to combine polymer clay and metal in a solid and elegant way. It is not necessary to have complex equipment to participate in Read more…

FREE POLYMER CLAY TUTORIAL

Murmurs earrings I offer you a free tutorial to create unique earrings in polymer clay. It requires very few materials. In the following video you can see how it is made. Si vous voulez conserver une trace de ce tutoriel, il existe en version PDF avec la liste de matériel, le gabarit de dIf you want to keep a trace of this tutorial, it exists in PDF version with the material list, the cutting template and the essential photos of this video. You can find this tutorial in the TUTORIALS category. If the video is Read more…

Creative review of the last semester

I don’t take enough time to write articles in my blog. I posted a bit more on social media but I have to admit I’m not very good at communicating. As an artist, business owner and teacher, there are inevitably times when you doubt yourself: Of your ability to renew yourself, to be different. You ask yourself a thousand questions: will my work appeal; will this training proposal be interesting? Is it attractive enough? Is it interesting enough? And then the question that comes up most often for me: what path do I want to Read more…

creative notebook

THE PROCESS OF CREATING

The challenge in collaboration with Hélène Jean Claude on Facebook made me want to share here an article I wrote for the Winter 2018 issue of Polymerweek magazine (a magazine focused on polymer clay and published in English). It was about the creative process. The article was longer but I chose to share what I thought was essential. I also replaced some of the photos that were in the article with slightly more current ones. Most people use the word inspiration to talk about the creative process. Inspiration is something that happens suddenly and imposes Read more…

Online course polymer clay

ONLINE CLASS : TO GO FURTHER

Online course polymer clay, self-paced, lifetime access, online Facebook community My online class “To go further” is now available in English. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy creating in your studio, in your home at your own pace. No matter where you live, what time you like to create or how many times you want to watch. In this class I will guide you through the process of creating a mold and filling this mold with polymer clay to obtain a stone effect. I will also show you some tricks and tips to play Read more…

polymer clay tutorial

MIYAJIMA NECKLACE TUTORIAL

This tutorial is about making a necklace all in polymer clay with a sliding part allowing it to be adapted in length. How does it work? You will have acces to : a video of over 50 minutes A hundred pages long PDF with pictures and texts that you can download several printable templates a printable graph paper to help you for some cutting and drilling steps 2 bonus vidéos : One video in which I show a surface technique different from the one shown in this tutorial and another video that explain further the Read more…

STENCILS AND I

There is a real love story between stencils and I ! After using them on walls and on furniture, I started using them on polymer clay in 2014, especially on the project of this tutorial: The next project was totally different but also included the use of stencils. Then I continued with a brooch project that I taught at the JAFA in 2015 in Verneuil (close to Paris). The tutorial project “unbalanced necklace” also uses stencils. I have an impressive number of scrapbooking stencils but often they are too large for satisfied me on polymer Read more…

MIXED MEDIA DIARY

Today I should have been in Verneuil with studients for a workshop . I find it hard to believe that today is the 48th day of lockdown in France. In reaction to these events, I chose to keep a constant: being at the studio every day and working. Here is a video that resumes part of my activities from last month. I followed the challenge of @anabondu  #30daysofmixedmediawithana using my favorite medium : polymer clay. Here is the notebook created from this challenge.

mixed media on polymer clay

QUARANTINE NEWS

You haven’t heard from me on my site since the start of quarantine. The current situation has destabilized me (like you I think) even if the quarantine for my family is easier than for others: I live in the countryside with a large garden. My two youngest boys are with me as well as my husband. My eldest son is far from me, but in a country where the spread of the virus is fairly low (in Australia). We hear from him very often. Of course, my business was severely impacted and I, like you, Read more…

abstract painting on polymer clay and polymer clay molding

WORKSHOP DETAILS

I had a few questions regarding the workshop that I will teach this year. It seems that I have scared some of you by mentioning the use of vector drawing software. So I’m going to try to explain this workshop in a better way. Put this vector drawing software aside. This does not concern the content of the workshop. This is a gift that I offer to my students after the workshop (it’s a video tutorial) which will be useful if my teaching has aroused their appetite. Indeed, what I sought while working on this Read more…

polymer clay workshop Olga Nicolas

TO GO FURTHER

I work with other materials and I discover new technologies. I learn a lot. My creations in polymer clay evolve also thanks to these new experiences. What I like most about my job is organizing trainings and meet you during workshops. So I worked; tested; experienced and I propose a new workshop all in polymer clay. I’m looking to organize it in FRANCE (Rhône) in March or April (but I’ll be happy to travel to teach it in your place. To learn more about this training: TO GO FURTHER

video about Olga Nicolas

STUDIO SECRETS

I often feel frustrated not being able to express, through the photos of my jewels, the path of their creation. Why this shape, this design, this material … For almost a year my work has evolved and I use, for some of my jewelry, other materials such as wood or acrylic. Welcome to my studio to discover the creation of earrings from drawing to completion. The video is short but it presents the work of several days, weeks and even months.

wood and polymer clay earrings wearable art Olga Nicolas

SHIPPING

Yesterday I spent my day fighting with the shipping settings on my website. It was difficult; I was scared because my website went down for a moment but I finally won: I wanted to offer free shipping for orders of a certain amount. Work is done : Free shipping for an order over 65 euros and delivered in France. Free shipping for an order over 100 euros and delivered in Europe, United States, Canada or Australia. I also adapted the shipping costs according to the shipments: cheap postage for stencils or for personalized stamps; shipping Read more…

wood and polymer clay earrings wearable art Olga Nicolas

ANGLE OF VIEW

You know it: I love creating (and wearing) earrings. When I was working on these earrings, I looked for simple shapes but a design big enough to express myself on polymer clay. Until now I have always created earrings that are seen when looking at the person from front . My latest earrings come to light when looking at the person from profile. So I had a hard time making all these photos: take pictures of my own profile: I can tell you that it is not easy!

ALCOHOL INK COLOR CHART

I often work with inks but as I have a memory like a sieve, I often forget how colors change with baking. I thought it would be a great idea to make a color chart of my inks after baking. I just did not realize that I had stored more than 140 colors over the years. It took me a while. At one point I had doubts about my sanity. You have to be nuts to spend so much time on a color chart…. Nevertheless, I have a tool that will help me a lot. Read more…

DON’T GIVE UP

When I look at this necklace, I’ m really proud. Despite its simple design, it gave me a lot of troubles. I had already made a similar design but not with 2 kinds of wood nor with a polymer clay part to insert into the wood. First I completely reworked the file that allows me to cut and engrave the wood. I had prepared a wood panel using a rosewood veneer on one side and a maple burl veneer on the other. Using my laser cutter, I then engraved each piece of the necklace before Read more…

My favourite Jewel

I really like earrings. Maybe because I could not wear them until I was 32, when I had my ears pierced. I like long earings, colorful and with original shapes. But I really do not like the feeling that my ears are lying on the floor at the end of the day (that’s the impression I get when I’ve worn heavy earrings). My latest earrings are light and yet they are imposing. I realize that wood is actually lighter than polymer clay. I spent a lot of time drawing this shape, modifying it, changing it Read more…

WINK

I could have called this article: “Looking back to move forward”. I like to think about the creative process. Why this shape, this design? Where does my idea come from …. What inspires me, interests me, feeds my work? I found in my old notebooks my sketches and notes taken in 2012 when I started making this necklace that I called virgule (that means comma) and was asymmetrical. In the original version, the backs were nice and textured. In the 2019 version, there is no more back but the possibility of wearing it on both Read more…

tampon signature pour pâte polymère

PERSONALIZED STAMP

It’s been 10 years since I signed my jewelry with a small acrylic stamp. I used it a lot; he is indestructible. His very small size allowed me to sign discreetly on the edge of my jewelry. I wanted to continue signing my creations this way but with my name and no longer with my pseudonym. As I could not find anyone to make such a small stamp, I looked for a Fablab (a place where you can work on machines that are difficult to own as an individual) to create it myself. At the Read more…

contemporary earrings wood and polymer clay

ROLLER COASTER

I spend the last few months thinking and developing a new project. It all started with the desire to change my signature. I wanted to continue signing my jewelry but with my name and no longer with my pseudonym. I looked for how to make a stamp such as the one I had (it was acrylic made). This search took me much further than I thought. I discovered a new tool (laser cutting) that opens new possibilities for me to express myself.. I   tried to laser cut the polymer clay (successfully) before realizing that laser Read more…

boucles d'oreilles réversibles

NEW PERSPECTIVES

  I love working with polymer clay because of its infinite creative possibilities. After more than 12 years of use and experimentation, I still feel enthusiasm to work this material. Enthusiasm is exactly what I felt when I started this new search. I wanted to work with “emptiness” and with the passage of light through my creations in the manner of moucharabieh. My inspirations are architectural: I think in particular of the Mucem in Marseille, a door of the Casa Mila de Gaudi in Barcelona and the wrought iron art. I have used laser cutting, Read more…