Another July Challenge

Also during the month of July, the moderator of the clay-polymer group at yahoo.com, Patty Barnes, announced the first challenge for our forum. A light switch cover with the theme "Summer". Boy this would be hard. There are so many excellent artists in that group. Then Twisted Papers offered to supply the prizes. I was hooked.

Trying to imagine what a "Summer" light switch cover would look like one warm evening outdoors, a firefly caught my eye and imagination as it flew into the rosebush in the corner of the yard. I had a design! This switch plate represents a summer evening with the lightening bugs flickering in the grass and sky turning from light to dark as the stars come out.

I tried hard to keep the switch plate thin enough for actual use. The sky is a dark metallic skinner blend that was highlighted with Pearl Ex powder. The leaves of grass are three layers in three shades of dark green, cut and laid one on top of the other. The tips and sides of the grass leaves are accented with green Pearl Ex powder. The lighting bugs were shown in flight, their gossamer wings of through the center cane, and outer wings of gold and black cane.

Glow in the dark clay was used for the stars and the bodies of the lightening bugs. The same clay was added to the sides of the leaves near the bugs to look like the light is reflected on the leaves of grass. After the lights are turned out, the effect is really cool. And, I got it done on time to enter.




I took two pictures, one a full color scan, the other shot in a dark laundry room using the night vision of the camera. Not a good pic as the camera could not focus well but it shows the glowing bugs and stars.