Inaugural Ball Polymer Flower Bouquet – Karon Cowger
Video #454: Roadtrip #2-03 (WA): Karonkay finally gets to share her amazing “Presidential” story.
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IN THIS POST: — sculpted — layered — formed — flowers — organics — polymer clay flowers — polymer clay roses — polymer clay bouquet — inaugural ball — white house — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
Topics Covered In This Video:
- For those of you who have been following this Polymer Clay Tutor Blog for a while, you will know that we have been taking our business out on the road in a 31-foot travel trailer to start visiting with members of the PcT Community, and with potential sponsors. Here is a link to the post announcing our very first PcT Roadtrip back in 2012.
- On the first (2012) PcT Roadtrip we had visited Karon Cowger (Karonkay) and her husband Dave, out in Spokane, Washington. When we visited them then, Karon showed us a room full of polymer clay flowers that she was making for a very special (and secret) project. Well… now that the project (event) has come and gone, she doesn’t have to keep quiet about it anymore. So, on our PcT Roadtrip #2 which took place at the end of August 2013, we went to see Karonkay again. This time she was able to reveal all, about her amazing polymer clay flower adventure!
- Here are Karon’s words about her incredible project… “The reason it was a secret was because it [her polymer clay flower bouquets] was for one of the Inaugural Balls in Washington, D.C. The American Indian Society, asked me to do two bouquets for their main sponsors of the ball. So we got to do two of them… I actually did four. One for me, one for my sister who lives in Washington D.C. and the two for the ball. In the United States here, we have, of course, a State Flower for every State. And we thought that was very appropriate for the Inaugural Ball, after the big fighting of the Election (2012) and everyone being mean… we thought we’d bring all back together, with every State in the Union in the bouquet. And so we decided to do the official State Flower for every State. So, I really got to stretch my wings.”
- Please Note: This 15-minute video is a bit longer than our usual weekly clips, because Doug couldn’t bear to cut any of the footage of the beautiful flowers in the bouquet. Fifty different state flowers takes a while to shoot… and even at that, we did not even get to them all. However, 15 minutes is nothing compared to the full year it took Karonkay to complete her polymer clay flower bouquets. Do watch to the end. It will be well worth the time for all the inspiration you will gain.
00:00:03 –> 00:00:07 Hi guys, its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor, and we are on the PcT Road Trip in
00:00:08 –> 00:00:14 Spokane Washington, and we are here with Karon Cowger.
00:00:14 –> 00:00:21 And you may remember last year, we came here on our first PcT Road Trip and she had the
00:00:21 –> 00:00:29 table all spread out with tons of flowers and things, and she was working on a big special
00:00:29 –> 00:00:34 event, now, this event has happened, and now she can tell us about it ‘cause it was kind
00:00:34 –> 00:00:35 of a secret, wasn’t it?
00:00:35 –> 00:00:41 (KC)Yay, it was, it was (CL)Now, first of all, tell us about the project and why it
00:00:41 –> 00:00:42 was a secret.
00:00:42 –> 00:00:48 (KC)The reason it was a secret is because it was for one of the Inaugural balls in Washington
00:00:48 –> 00:00:57 DC, the American Indian Society asked me to do two bouquets for their main sponsors of
00:00:57 –> 00:01:06 the ball, and so, we got to do two of them, I actually did four, One for me, one for my
00:01:06 –> 00:01:12 sister who lives in Washington DC, and the two for the ball.
00:01:12 –> 00:01:20 (CL)Now, what is special about these bouquets is that you made a flower for every State.
00:01:20 –> 00:01:25 (KC)Correct, in the United States here, we have, of course, a State flower for every
00:01:25 –> 00:01:32 State and we thought that that was very appropriate for the inaugural ball, after the big fighting
00:01:32 –> 00:01:37 of the election and everybody being mean.
00:01:37 –> 00:01:42 We thought we’d bring it all back together with every State in the Union in the bouquet,
00:01:42 –> 00:01:50 and so we decided to do the State flower…the official State flower for every State, so
00:01:50 –> 00:01:52 I got to really stretch my wings.
00:01:52 –> 00:01:57 (CL)Yes, now because you…when she first started making flowers, it had started because
00:01:57 –> 00:02:01 of the Dogwood flower tutorial that we did, and then she kinda made a few dogwoods, and
00:02:01 –> 00:02:04 then she had made a bouquet for your mom, right?
00:02:04 –> 00:02:09 (KC) My mom (CL)And then it just sorta…and then her…your sister is sorta involved with…or
00:02:09 –> 00:02:10 she is…
00:02:10 –> 00:02:16 (KC)She is, she worked at the White House for many years, and she was involved with
00:02:16 –> 00:02:24 the American Indian Society, and she had seen pictures…because she hadn’t seen my mom’s
00:02:24 –> 00:02:27 in person yet, she saw pictures of them that I sent…
00:02:27 –> 00:02:29 (CL)Of your bouquets that you sent to your mom.
00:02:29 –> 00:02:35 (KC)Right, and then she went to visit my mother and actually saw the bouquet, so she presented
00:02:35 –> 00:02:42 it to the ball committee, and they agreed that I should be doing them.
00:02:42 –> 00:02:43 (CL)That was an amazing project…
00:02:43 –> 00:02:44 (KC) It was very exciting.
00:02:44 –> 00:02:48 (CL)Because it took you a whole year to get all of the flowers and stuff ready for both
00:02:48 –> 00:02:49 bouquets, right?
00:02:49 –> 00:02:51 (KC)It did… it’s a good thing they gave me a year.
00:02:51 –> 00:02:56 (CL)And it had to be a secret ‘cause you know, it’s like security and whatnot.
00:02:56 –> 00:03:00 (KC)Exactly, you’re not allowed to tell anybody that you’re doing it because…I
00:03:00 –> 00:03:04 don’t know, National security, Homeland security, all those…
00:03:04 –> 00:03:10 (CL)Who knows, maybe some of you put bugs in them, I don’t know, but look at this…
00:03:10 –> 00:03:15 we had to drop down the bouquet a little bit lower so you can see it with us still in the
00:03:15 –> 00:03:23 shot, but there’s a huge bouquet here, I’ll just spin it around, it’s in a vase, maybe
00:03:23 –> 00:03:28 we’ll have some other pictures with the full bouquet in it, but you’ve got like…
00:03:28 –> 00:03:31 kind of start pointing out some of the flowers that you made here so that we can…
00:03:31 –> 00:03:32 (KC)Oh my goodness, I can’t remember the names…
00:03:32 –> 00:03:36 (CL) Maybe on the front side (KC) You would think that I would know all of these by now,
00:03:36 –> 00:03:42 this is a Rhododendron, Washington state flower; I know that one ‘cause I live here.
00:03:42 –> 00:03:46 Apple blossom, there’s probably five, maybe six states with the apple blossom…
00:03:46 –> 00:03:47 (CL) Oh, really.
00:03:47 –> 00:03:49 (KC) as their state flower.
00:03:49 –> 00:03:51 (CL)Okay (KC)The Peonies…
00:03:51 –> 00:03:55 I have no clue where they’re from, but there you go…I can’t remember.
00:03:55 –> 00:03:57 (CL)This almost looks like Dusty Miller, is it?
00:03:57 –> 00:04:00 (KC)No, this is actually Sage (CL) Oh Sage…
00:04:00 –> 00:04:04 (KC) Which is either North or South Dakota as their State flower.
00:04:04 –> 00:04:07 (CL)Right and then Arizona has a bunch of Sage, but they have a Cactus thing, don’t
00:04:07 –> 00:04:08 they?
00:04:08 –> 00:04:09 (KC) They do, have…
00:04:09 –> 00:04:13 (CL) Okay, well let’s go around, you’ve got a…you’ve got an Iris here.
00:04:13 –> 00:04:18 (KC)There’s an Iris, there’s the Roses, of course, several States have different Roses,
00:04:18 –> 00:04:25 New York, Washington DC, not technically a State, but they have a flower as well.
00:04:25 –> 00:04:27 (CL)Oh, Washington DC isn’t technically a State?
00:04:27 –> 00:04:31 (KC) No (CL) Oh, I didn’t know that, see we don’t…
00:04:31 –> 00:04:33 (KC)It’s a possession, (CL) It’s a possession…
00:04:33 –> 00:04:35 (KC) Well, I don’t know, something like that.
00:04:35 –> 00:04:37 (CL)It’s kind of like a city.
00:04:37 –> 00:04:42 (KC)It’s actually the District of Columbia which isn’t really a State (CL) Okay, that’s
00:04:42 –> 00:04:43 cool.
00:04:43 –> 00:04:45 (KC) They would be 51 if we had it.
00:04:45 –> 00:04:49 (CL)Now this is a Magnolia, (KC) The Magnolia (CL) Now, what you should look at guys…
00:04:49 –> 00:04:53 like when you see all the different flowers here, she’s like done a beautiful job in
00:04:53 –> 00:04:59 like the edging, it’s nice and paper thin, like a real flower would be, it’s not all
00:04:59 –> 00:05:03 clunky, that’s one thing you’ve really mastered in your flowers, some of you guys,
00:05:03 –> 00:05:07 your flowers are just too clunky, unless you want them to be, that’s fine, now your center
00:05:07 –> 00:05:09 here is made of clay too, right?
00:05:09 –> 00:05:11 (KC) It is, it is…
00:05:11 –> 00:05:12 (CL) Okay, now what else…
00:05:12 –> 00:05:13 (KC)Real fine strings…
00:05:13 –> 00:05:15 (CL) Oh now these are? (KC) That’s the Yucca flower.
00:05:15 –> 00:05:19 (CL) Yucca right…that’s that big pointy cactus, with the big green…spikey…
00:05:19 –> 00:05:22 (KC) And that’s from Arizona….yeah we didn’t make it as big as it really is…
00:05:22 –> 00:05:25 (CL) Right ‘cause they’re huge (KC) Yeah, they’re huge, absolutely huge.
00:05:25 –> 00:05:28 (CL)This is the mini version of it, now you’ve got some other little…oh you’ve got…is
00:05:28 –> 00:05:29 this a…
00:05:29 –> 00:05:30 (KC)That one’s from Hawaii.
00:05:30 –> 00:05:31 (CL) Oooh…
00:05:31 –> 00:05:37 (KC) and I wanna say Hibiscus but I’m not sure that that’s correct.
00:05:37 –> 00:05:38 (CL)I don’t think that’s a Hibiscus.
00:05:38 –> 00:05:41 (KC) I don’t think that that’s true, it’s a flower…
00:05:41 –> 00:05:47 (CL) It’s a tropical flower, you’ve done…you’ve worked so hard at it, you probably just took
00:05:47 –> 00:05:48 your… all that work…
00:05:48 –> 00:05:54 (KC)I actually have a book that I put every State flower in, with the pictures that were
00:05:54 –> 00:05:55 of the actual flowers.
00:05:55 –> 00:05:59 (CL)’Cause it was a massive project (KC) It was (CL) And then you …not everything
00:05:59 –> 00:06:04 turned out perfect, and then you had to keep making things, and fitting for the bouquets.
00:06:04 –> 00:06:05 (KC)This little flower right here…
00:06:05 –> 00:06:06 (CL) Now that’s…
00:06:06 –> 00:06:09 (KC) It’s probably one of the worst, it’s the California Poppy.
00:06:09 –> 00:06:12 (CL)California Poppy…well ‘cause it has such an airy feeling, it was probably difficult
00:06:12 –> 00:06:17 to get the right look, (KC) Yep, it was, I must have done that flower 15 or 20 times.
00:06:17 –> 00:06:22 (CL)And it’s probably the one that is the least complicated, so you think, oh, I’ll
00:06:22 –> 00:06:25 just leave that one, it’ll be easy to do, and then you go, “No.
00:06:25 –> 00:06:26 Wrong”.
00:06:26 –> 00:06:29 (KC)Yup, should have not left some of those for the end.
00:06:29 –> 00:06:31 (CL)Oh, and then this looks like a Wild Rose.
00:06:31 –> 00:06:33 (KC)It is a Wild Rose…
00:06:33 –> 00:06:38 (CL)Good, yes indeed (KC) Yes it is, it’s called the…I believe, that’s a Cherokee
00:06:38 –> 00:06:39 Rose.
00:06:39 –> 00:06:40 (CL)Cherokee Rose?
00:06:40 –> 00:06:41 Now you’ve also…
00:06:41 –> 00:06:44 (KC)Maybe it’s a Prairie Rose, there’s two, one’s White one’s Pink.
00:06:44 –> 00:06:50 (CL)It’s pretty, and it looks a lot like the Alberta Rose, like they have… their…Alberta’s
00:06:50 –> 00:06:53 Provincial flower is a Wild Rose and that looks a lot like it.
00:06:53 –> 00:06:58 (KC)Oh, right, yeah, there’s a White one in here somewhere, that…I think I had them
00:06:58 –> 00:07:03 backwards, I think that that was the Wild Prairie Rose, and the other one is the Cherokee
00:07:03 –> 00:07:04 Rose.
00:07:04 –> 00:07:05 (CL)Oh, I see, now you’ve got some like…
00:07:05 –> 00:07:07 (KC) Black-eyed Susans.
00:07:07 –> 00:07:10 (CL) Black-eyed Susans, and now you see you’ve used the flocking powder in the center.
00:07:10 –> 00:07:15 (KC) I did (CL) She… if you’ve ever seen like at Michaels or whatever, they have…there’s
00:07:15 –> 00:07:20 flocking powder you can buy, Martha Stewart even sells some, and she’s used that in
00:07:20 –> 00:07:23 the center of her flowers here to get it… that right fuzzy look.
00:07:23 –> 00:07:24 (KC) So that it looks fuzzy.
00:07:24 –> 00:07:27 (CL)Now you said the biggest trouble one, and you had…
00:07:27 –> 00:07:29 (KC) It was this one.
00:07:29 –> 00:07:31 (CL)It’s a Blue Bonnet right?
00:07:31 –> 00:07:32 (KC)It’s a Blue Bonnet, (CL) It’s the Texas…
00:07:32 –> 00:07:35 (KC)It’s the Texas flower, Texas almost wasn’t represented.
00:07:35 –> 00:07:40 (CL)But you did a great job, it’s so complicated (KC) I did…not gonna do that one…
00:07:40 –> 00:07:45 (CL) It’s like…it’s like our Lupines up in Canada (KC) Uh, huh, yes.
00:07:45 –> 00:07:48 (CL) and it’s very similar but it’s got this little…I don’t know if Doug can see
00:07:48 –> 00:07:51 it, but it’s got this little White center to it with some little Red specks in it that
00:07:51 –> 00:07:56 makes it unusual, and then just… it’s a lot like a Sweet Pea flower.
00:07:56 –> 00:08:00 (KC)Well, and it has these little Elephant ear things… is what I call them, there’s
00:08:00 –> 00:08:03 a little bulb here on the bottom of every one…
00:08:03 –> 00:08:07 (CL) Yeah, it’s a little like an Orchid (KC) They look like little Elephant ears on
00:08:07 –> 00:08:09 the side that have to go back, and … (CL) Yeah, it’s complicated.
00:08:09 –> 00:08:13 (KC) I don’t know…it’s just… it was just not a fun flower.
00:08:13 –> 00:08:19 (CL)Now you’ve got…I don’t know if Doug can get low enough…but you have some Lilacs
00:08:19 –> 00:08:22 down here below, just stunning.
00:08:22 –> 00:08:25 You also have… and I see you used the Parrot Tulip tutorial…
00:08:25 –> 00:08:29 (KC) I did, yes I did (CL) for the leaves, that’s awesome, it’s neat to see it on
00:08:29 –> 00:08:35 such a large scale, ‘cause my tutorial… the little tulips were tiny, but you used
00:08:35 –> 00:08:40 it on a larger scale and I can see…you can’t see from here, but inside she’s even got
00:08:40 –> 00:08:43 the little stamens and everything and it looks stunning.
00:08:43 –> 00:08:45 Now what…I can’t see this very well here…
00:08:45 –> 00:08:47 (KC)That’s…this is a bitterroot, it’s kind of a weird flower.
00:08:47 –> 00:08:49 (CL) Oh, it’s got like a big…
00:08:49 –> 00:08:50 (KC) It’s got a root on the bottom.
00:08:50 –> 00:08:51 (CL) Oh, weird.
00:08:51 –> 00:08:55 (KC)And here’s the little roots, and it actually grows that way on top of the ground,
00:08:55 –> 00:09:01 it basically has no leaves, and that one I do know, it’s Montana (CL) Oh, cool (KC)
00:09:01 –> 00:09:03 Because it’s so different.
00:09:03 –> 00:09:11 (CL) it…I’ve heard of bitterroot, I think maybe they use it in some old like herbology
00:09:11 –> 00:09:15 kinda stuff, but I don’t know…I haven’t actually seen the flower, so that’s neat.
00:09:15 –> 00:09:17 (KC) I know, that’s it… that’ll be it.
00:09:17 –> 00:09:19 (CL)And you’ve got, what else up here?
00:09:19 –> 00:09:23 (KC)That’s a Mayflower, (CL) A Mayflower, (KC) A Mayflower, (CL) Now, I’ve heard the
00:09:23 –> 00:09:24 name of course, but…
00:09:24 –> 00:09:27 (KC) It’s a very, very strange flower.
00:09:27 –> 00:09:29 (CL)It doesn’t have the May apple on it, does it?
00:09:29 –> 00:09:34 (KC)No, no (CL)No…okay, I don’t know what that is, and you’ve got the Dogwoods, she’s
00:09:34 –> 00:09:35 got…
00:09:35 –> 00:09:39 (KC) Yay, the Dogwoods (CL) Now, what is…I know it’s… this is our British Columbia
00:09:39 –> 00:09:42 flower, our Provincial flower, but which state?
00:09:42 –> 00:09:43 (KC)Virginia.
00:09:43 –> 00:09:44 (CL)Virginia?
00:09:44 –> 00:09:49 (KC) Yes (CL) Oh and that’s way on the other side, so you had…your…though our Dogwood
00:09:49 –> 00:09:51 flower is a little bit different, it’s got 6 petals, slightly different…or 5 petals
00:09:51 –> 00:09:58 is it, I can’t remember, it’s slightly different, but it’s similar, and then you’ve
00:09:58 –> 00:10:03 got quite a few other ones, ooh, this is… this is, Saguaro…the cactus one?
00:10:03 –> 00:10:13 (KC)No, that’s the Sego lily, (CL) Oh, Sego lily (KC) and that one is…Utah’s State
00:10:13 –> 00:10:14 flower.
00:10:14 –> 00:10:21 (CL)Utah, oh it’s complicated, she’s used a bunch of different canes and everything.
00:10:21 –> 00:10:26 It’s so exciting this got to go to an Inaugural ball, I mean I’d love to go to an Inaugural
00:10:26 –> 00:10:27 ball, it would be so neat.
00:10:27 –> 00:10:28 (KC) Oh, wouldn’t it be fun?
00:10:28 –> 00:10:31 (CL)Yeah, it would be so cool, now…your flowers got to go there.
00:10:31 –> 00:10:32 (KC)Yes they did.
00:10:32 –> 00:10:33 (CL)They did.
00:10:33 –> 00:10:38 (KC) They got to go, I do have pictures, so…they had a blast.
00:10:38 –> 00:10:41 (CL)They did, and now she’s got…she’s got some pine cones.
00:10:41 –> 00:10:45 (KC)Those are…Uh huh, somebody’s State.
00:10:45 –> 00:10:50 (CL)Somebody’s State, see we’ve only got like 10 that we have to deal with, so you’ve
00:10:50 –> 00:10:51 got like 50.
00:10:51 –> 00:10:57 (KC)I do have 50, but like I said, some States are easier, because… and that’s why there’s
00:10:57 –> 00:11:00 so many Apple blossoms is because there’s so many states that have that as their flower.
00:11:00 –> 00:11:04 (CL)I didn’t realize that they had the same flower, now you’ve also got some other ones
00:11:04 –> 00:11:07 in here, big Peonies, some Roses, this is the…Fire…
00:11:07 –> 00:11:09 (KC) Indian Paint Brush.
00:11:09 –> 00:11:11 (CL) Paint Brush.
00:11:11 –> 00:11:14 (KC)And we have a huge Sunflower down here.
00:11:14 –> 00:11:15 Have to do this one.
00:11:15 –> 00:11:16 (CL) Oh right.
00:11:16 –> 00:11:24 (KC) These are Minnesota, their State flower is the Lady Slipper, a protected species.
00:11:24 –> 00:11:26 (CL) Oh right, that was stunning.
00:11:26 –> 00:11:31 (KC)So I have to have these, because I’m not allowed to have those.
00:11:31 –> 00:11:32 (CL)Oh, you couldn’t cut it…
00:11:32 –> 00:11:37 (KC)You can’t cut them, you can’t dig them; they’re a protected species.
00:11:37 –> 00:11:38 (CL)So you can’t even move them.
00:11:38 –> 00:11:39 (KC)You can’t move them at all.
00:11:39 –> 00:11:41 (CL) Can you not propagate them either?
00:11:41 –> 00:11:43 (KC) I don’t know…
00:11:43 –> 00:11:48 (CL)Somebody should propagate them so that they’re a little less endangered, we have
00:11:48 –> 00:11:49 the same thing with Trilliums.
00:11:49 –> 00:11:50 (KC) Do you?
00:11:50 –> 00:11:54 (CL)Trilliums are a three-petalled flower that’s out in the woods and you can’t
00:11:54 –> 00:11:55 touch them.
00:11:55 –> 00:11:59 (KC)Yeah, there’s quite a few here that they have protected, although they’re not
00:11:59 –> 00:12:01 State flowers, but…
00:12:01 –> 00:12:07 (CL)Well, Karon, this project was amazing, you did a beautiful job.
00:12:07 –> 00:12:08 (KC) It was fun.
00:12:08 –> 00:12:11 (CL) I’m really pleased to see that you made one for yourself; that was probably a
00:12:11 –> 00:12:16 very, very smart move, though she said that it took her longer to finish this one up….it
00:12:16 –> 00:12:19 wasn’t us coming here that forced it, was it?
00:12:19 –> 00:12:21 (KC)Actually it was.
00:12:21 –> 00:12:26 (CL)Coming here put the fire under her so she could put it together and make sure she
00:12:26 –> 00:12:28 had one of her own, and to show us…
00:12:28 –> 00:12:34 (KC)A lot of the flowers… as I did them, I made some for each bouquet… including
00:12:34 –> 00:12:40 mine, but at the end, I was reaching a deadline and I was extremely worried about that, (CL)
00:12:40 –> 00:12:45 Right (KC)And so I stopped making the fourth flower for everything.
00:12:45 –> 00:12:49 (CL)Oh, and then you had to do that at the end here to get…and you know it was quite
00:12:49 –> 00:12:56 a project to do, it was a stretch for you…I mean this was a challenge, and a stretch and
00:12:56 –> 00:13:03 you’ve grown a lot, I can see a big difference in just… just the quality of your flowers,
00:13:03 –> 00:13:04 the way they’ve just…
00:13:04 –> 00:13:09 I mean they were beautiful then, but they’re just…you can see that some of them are just…just
00:13:09 –> 00:13:10 stunning, they look real.
00:13:10 –> 00:13:14 (KC) They’re blooming (CL) You can almost smell them.
00:13:14 –> 00:13:17 Actually that would be quite a complicated bouquet, with scents, wouldn’t it, with
00:13:17 –> 00:13:18 all those different flowers.
00:13:18 –> 00:13:22 (KC)We actually did scent some of them that we sent, (CL) Oh did you?
00:13:22 –> 00:13:28 (KC)Only the Roses, we put the scent on the Roses that went to the ball, (CL) Oh neat.
00:13:28 –> 00:13:32 (KC) Because we really thought that if we put all of them in there, it would just…
00:13:32 –> 00:13:35 (CL)Oh yeah, it would be a headache of perfumes (KC) Pretty overpowering.
00:13:35 –> 00:13:36 (CL)Yeah.
00:13:36 –> 00:13:40 Well I’m very proud of you, and it’s very exciting and quite an honor for you to get
00:13:40 –> 00:13:41 to be at an event like that.
00:13:41 –> 00:13:45 It’s a big deal here down in the States, and it only happens every 4 years.
00:13:45 –> 00:13:46 (KC) 4 years.
00:13:46 –> 00:13:52 (CL)So you know, you were a lucky Polymer clay-er to get to represent the industry and
00:13:52 –> 00:13:57 the whole… beautiful flowers, so… very proud of you (KC)It was an amazing project.
00:13:57 –> 00:14:02 (CL)It was amazing, and now you’ve got a great thing to commemorate that.
00:14:02 –> 00:14:06 (KC) and to give to my children (CL) To give to your children.
00:14:06 –> 00:14:14 So we’re just gonna wrap this up, if you like this, please give us and Karon a great
00:14:14 –> 00:14:17 big thumbs up, that would be awesome.
00:14:17 –> 00:14:22 And my question for you today is, what do you think of these stunning flowers of Karon’s,
00:14:22 –> 00:14:27 I’d love to hear your comments, and your support for her on this great project, it
00:14:27 –> 00:14:30 was a big deal for her to pull off.
00:14:30 –> 00:14:34 And don’t forget to subscribe, we have new videos that come out every week and you’re
00:14:34 –> 00:14:36 not gonna wanna miss a thing.
00:14:36 –> 00:14:38 So we’ll see you next time, (KC)Bye.
00:14:38 –> 00:14:39 (CL) Bye.
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Hi…I am wondering how Karon Cowger is doing. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her for awhile so thought I would write and see if she is still around. Karon…if you are still close by, let a fellow Spokanite know. Thanks.
Really great job karonkay! They look real. How inspirational.
What an honor. The flower are amazing. Is Cindy going to make some tutorials on some of these flowers? I love your work. I am working on making my flowers to look like yours and /Cindy L. Thank you for the lovely video and sharing. I also like the Jool Tool Video and now I want one too,
The other Cindy P
Hi CIndy P, I do plan to do many more flower tutorials in the future. I was thinking of possibly doing all of the Provincial and State Flowers but since there are so many of them, it would either take years to do them all or I would have to do them in a separate project from the membership. Maybe Karon will do some of her own tutorials as well, though I am not sure if she would be doing them in video or not? We’ll have to see what happens.
Thank you all for so many sweet and encouraging comments. To be sure it was a project of such immensity that I would ,even today after completion, wonder at my sanity in undertaking it. But looking back it was a year of wonder and great accomplishment. Thank you all for watching the video.
We do indeed have plans of sharing the how to’s with everyone in the future. So happy to hear you all would like to learn from all my errors. But the outcome was well worth the time and effort. Of course I owe alot to Cindy for her inspiration and the first flower I ever did. She will remain my teacher and friend through all my future plans and accomplishments.
Hugs to you Cindy.
As with everyone else, I was so in awe of your talent with flowers. And as Robin Benik said – think you should definitely write a book on all the flowers you have mastered.
Wow absolutely stunning Karonkay! What a privilege to see this wonderful bouquet, thanks so much for sharing it has brightened my wintery day.
Oh, my Goodness, Karonkay! What stunning work! I am always inspired by what I see other artists accomplish. But this one is…over the top…lol! Congratulations! And I am so glad you did one for yourself, too, for it is always good to look back and see how far we have come!
All I can say is WOW. The flowers are amazing … So life like.. So thin and gentle looking.. I to would purchase videos( which I prefer to books) if you did them in conjunction with Cindy or on your own.. I just purchased the floweracademy tutorials from Iris Mishly from PolyPediaOnline … She does flowers thAt Cindy has not done.. I was impatient… Could have waited for Cindy but the deal was too good to miss… There price was going up the next day…once I try them I will let the pc family kneo how it goes..
Again I love your work Karon … You represent the PC family with pride.. Lad to you you part of our great and expanding group
And Cindy &Doug —- don’t know what we would do without you wonderful tuts with great pictures and videos
Natalie. Aka safti
Amazing!!!! You did an absolutely phenomenal job Karonkay. I’m so impressed at your ability to see this massive project through to the end. You’ve inspired me to come up higher and see my projects through to the end. Way to go!!!
Doug and Cindy,
Thank you for a beautiful presentation of Karon’s success. What kind of flower(s) would have represented the two of you? They would have to be beautiful as well as hardy and colorful, yes?
Hi Joyce, I am not totally sure what you mean, but if you mean, which of my tutorials helped Karon to make her flowers, there was the Dogwood Flower, Clover Flower, and Parrot Tulip, directly and several other flowers more indirectly in the sense that Karon used some of the concepts learned in other flower tutorials like the Roses, Iris, Daisy, Sweet Pea, etc as well as some of the color recipes. Karon came up with most of the ideas on her own though and used me mostly as a source of knowledge, inspiration and encouragement. Karon did a beautiful job on this very impressive project!
Truly amazing, Karon. What a beautiful bouquet you have grown. Just the knowledge you have acquired to accomplish this project and to have it displayed in Washington, DC. Congratulations! Great feats are usually not accomplished overnight so your patience and dedication to get the job done is remarkable. Truly you must feel so much satisfaction. Needless to say you deserve all the accolades
that have come and continue to come your way. You are an inspiration. I think your
inner beauty has come forth in your bouquets as well as in the interview with Cindy.
The best to you as you continue life’s journey.
Oh my gosh but they are wonderful and it was a total pleasure to watch this all the way through. What beautiful work you have done on each one….Any idea of where the bouquets are at this time?
Hi, as I stated above the bouquets were gifts at the end of the celebration. The only one that I am sure of went to The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, I am an enrolled member. I did a separate smaller bouquet for them to honor our tribal members who attended the ball.
STUNNING GORGEOUS AMAZING – Karon you are an amazing artist.
Wow!!! If ever I think that a project is overwhelming, then I will remember this one! It makes you realize how versatile polymer is. This is so inspiring, I’m sure Cindy, it must make you feel great too!
Hi Joy, you are very right! I do feel a lot of joy at seeing Karon’s work come into fruition. I am very proud of her!
KaronKay, what an honor to have your work chosen for display in the White House. I am so impressed by all the fine detail work and volume of this project!
I will spend many days in the future slowly scrolling through the video so I can see all of the lovely State flowers you created.
Kudos for such a wonderful job!
Thank you Cindy and Doug for bringing this amazing artist to our attention.
The flowers were not on display at the white house, don’t want any misconceptions there. They went to one of the inaugural balls held in the city. A bit of a history lesson here: The balls are sponsored by people who pay to go. The tax dollars are not used to put on the different balls held for the celebrations. As you know there were eleven this last year. The bouquets graced the tables of the largest donors and were a gift to them after the ball. There was also some smaller ones for different sponsors. I have pictures on my facebook page of one of them. It was indeed an honor.
Wow. Absolutely stunning. Flowers are my favorite tutorial videos and I can never have enough. I’d love to learn more about creating any of the gorgeous flowers…whether they are for jewelry, bouquets, buttons, or whatever, I vote to learn more!
BRAVA!!!!!! I second the idea of publishing a book on making the state flowers, I too would purchase it. Congrats!!!
Absolute beautiful flowers Karon. You did a wonderful job.
Beautiful bouquet!
The peony is the state flower of Indiana.
Karon
Awesome…well done!
Dear Karonkay – what an honor to be chosen for this project. How thrilling and daunting! Your flowers are just beautiful. I can only imagine you staying up late at night figuring out how to make a particular flower.
Cindy’s tutes are so thorough. It helps to think in certain way. All this from a single flower -it is amazing. You must be very proud!!!! We are all proud of you…………..
A BIG CONGRATS for all your hard work………………..
Karon, Beautiful flowers!! You should now write a book teaching others how to make each of the 50 flowers. I know I would buy it! RBenik
The flowers are amazingly realistic! Could one of the bouquets be placed in the permanent collection at the Racine Art Museum. It seems very appropriate.
I would love that. For that I would make myself another,LOL.
AMAZING!!!! As a Texan, I so loved the Bluebonnets they looked awesome. I’ve always wanted to try to make them in polyclay but it scared me. But you, Karon, are a genius and infinitely patient.
Karen you did an amazing job on your bouquet. They are all so beautiful and what an honor to place them in Washington DC! I can see now why it has been such a process informing us all of this fantastic endeavor. I am so glad Cindy and Doug made such a great video showing all of your hard work. You are such an inspiration to the rest of us and I am so thankful you are such a huge part of our clay family.
What an awesome project. The flowers are gorgeous and so life-like. Such an honor for you to make a bouquet for the inaugural ball. Congratulations on a job well done.
Beautiful work, Karon! I had read a bit about your project on Marlene’s blog, but it was great to see all your “babies” up close and personal. A true labor of love :)
Beautiful work. You should be very proud.
What an amazing job you did Karonkay – your kids will cherish them forever
It is so inspirational that this all started with the Dogwood flower tutorial. The bouquet is just beautiful. What an honor and experience. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing!
These are all so beautiful! Congratulations on the astonishing work!
I am so in awe of the techniques and skills that went into these realistic looking flowers.