The server ate my homework! I snagged a nasty link earlier in the week. Let me know if you come across pieces of the site that aren’t working. (Sigh)
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September 2008
Yesterday’s musings kicked up some dust! Judy Belcher pondered the theme for the next Synergy conference (and she added a great new photo of her work). Judy Dunn explained how creating polymer clay cranes nourishes her and her audience.
Thanks for participating in the discussion.
For a little mix and match, here’s a polymer clay shield shape that Lauren Cole Abrams (LaBeana) grew into something much more interesting. Experimenting with Donna Kato’s crushed ikat technique, Lauren then added her own signature style.
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One lovely end-of-summer shot of color from a Russian site called Disbrain. Translation isn’t helping much and I hope that the picture says it all. NOTE: The link had lots of porn attached. Go to http://disbrain.livejournal.com/1652.html only if you’re virus protected. Thanks to those who alerted me.
Last week’s American Crafts Council salon that’s now online as an audio file got me thinking about crafts and activism.
Polymer clay has been mostly drawn to admirable charitable causes like Bottles of Hope and Breast Cancer Awareness (one of many sites) and Ron Lehockey’s Cerebral Palsy Kids Center support. (Click on his new halloween hearts.)
With our recent conversations about the perils of gold and diamonds, we’re inching closer to making bolder statements about our medium. The deviant art crowd turns away from the pretty and the comfortable to examine another viewpoint. Overall we’re a mostly tame and generous group. That tameness may change.
In his book Buying In, Rob Walker, one of the salon speakers, suggests the following.
Maybe in some sense, the craft idea is a kind of gateway drug to a different way of thinking about material culture – and about consumer behavior that doesn’t merely feel like being part of something larger than ourselves, but really is.
Thanks for listening today. I’m reading and thinking.
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What I unearthed as I sorted through mail begins in the housewares and tools department. These playful wall hooks are built with polymer clay over wire by Turkey’s Arzu Musa. She also specializes in flower pots and glowing candleholders.
New frame and cabochon molds from Canada’s Shades of Clay also caught my eye. The templates are paired to help you shape a perfect bezel for each cabochon. Wendy Orlowski created a photo gallery of inventive ways of using the clever molds. This looks helpful to those of us who have trouble cutting even borders and mitered corners. The group introduces some intriguing tools and textures.
If you’re one of those polymer clay artists or illustrators who comes from the graphics camp, you’ll want to answer NPCG’s call for proposals for a new logo to reflect their broadening international image.
Congrats to all who completed Friday’s pop quiz. Don’t fret if you didn’t get a perfect score. This won’t go on your permanent record. It’s only meant to improve your color vision or bolster your argument for a better computer monitor.
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