A Guide to the Best of Southern California : DESIGN : She Made It Out of Clay

ALTHOUGH THE technique, called millefiori , is one the Venetians perfected in their creation of intricate patterns in glass, artist Martha Breen’s clocks and picture frames look as though they were inspired as much by refrigerator cookies or sushi as by glass beads. Breen makes her dazzling pieces from polyform clay, mixing her own shades (about a dozen per piece), which she combines in bold strokes.

The process consists of, first, forming long “canes” (as in candy canes) into patterns--checkerboards, stars, stripes, pinwheels, flowers. Making the canes is the difficult part; it takes weeks to produce the proper designs and colors. Then, just as with making cookies, Breen slices the clay and arranges the pieces, cheek by jowl, into wild faces and picture frames. A bit of baking (again like refrigerator cookies), and they’re finished. The result is a bit folkloric and a bit psychedelic. The clocks, which are about 5 to 6 inches square (some have pendulums), sell for $130 to $165; the frames, which stand 4 to 7 inches high, go for $37 to $50.

Martha Breen’s clocks and frames are available at New Stone Age, 8407 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (213) 658-5969.