Take a peek at Grant Diffendaffer’s updated site where his new polymer clay work and upcoming book are featured. His blog is called Many Parts - the definition of poly-mer, get it?
Grant’s Polymer Clay Beads book
will be out from Lark Books in January and it boasts twenty different beadmaking techniques and thirteen pieces of jewelry. "Learn my latest techniques for lathe turned and textured beads, mica beads, recursive molded beads, mandrel formed beads, hollow form beads and more," he promises.
His extruded and lathe-turned bead technique is simply a wonder to behold. If you’re itching to learn something completely different and can’t wait for the book, he’s got a class coming up in San Antonio in October.
And speaking of classes, Dan Cormier still has a few seats left in his October 13 "Form and Finish" class at the ArtWay in Maryland. The rest of his east coast tour is sold out.
Polymer clay’s most famous color girls, Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio, have moved into writing mode as the deadlines for their new book loom. They’ve been exercising their writing skills by posting to their blogs.
Lindly’s running down her "top 100 tips" list and Maggie’s examining how the color blind experience color along with some great links to see how your web pages look. We’re in for treats as they warm up for book writing. They’re also looking for photos to illustrate their concepts. Submissions are due to them by November 1.
Details for submission are on Lindly’s site.
One more plug for our own Leslie Blackford whose polymer clay covered nightlights will be featured in the October 20-21 Maker Faire in Austin, TX. Maker Faire is a two-day event that celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset.
The DIY movement is helping to revitalize the polymer clay community and Leslie Jo is our canary in this coal mine. Craft and Make magazines are dense quarterly magazines full of quirky and clever ideas. Want to know where young artists are headed? Take a look. Maybe we’ll even be making our own plastic in the future!
Texan Dawn Barker’s polymer clay Escudo do Mar represents life under the sea, capturing its color, movement and vitality. The 24" by 30" mosaic of 1.5" polymer clay tiles is mounted on stretched canvas and was voted the winner in the Etsy Guild’s August challenge. The details glow in the dark, giving the piece an entirely different look at night. A lovely summer memory.
Hit the books! If you’re itching to expand your vocabulary and sharpen your design skills, you may want to consider these two books on design. Design!: A Lively Guide to Design Basics for Artists & Craftspeople by Steven Aimone and Design Language, Interpretive Edition by Tim McCreight were favorites in the conference library. The books are not specific to polymer clay but they can help you build a good design foundation.
France’s Mathilde Colas’ colorful site is just what we need to begin a glorious weekend. Take a look at her glowing work. She has several books in print and a new one out next month. 
The link was sent in by Wisconsin’s Sari009 whose site is a fun diversion as well (caution, it loaded slowly for me). Have a great Labor Day weekend.
It’s fun to poke around in the polymer clay items offered in The Artful Home online catalog. The prices are nearly as inspiring as the work (like this spectacular box by Bonnie Bishoff and J.M. Syron).
And speaking of prices, I was captivated by Alison Lee’s interview with art business coach Bruce Baker on her CraftCast podcast.
Bruce theorizes that the very high and very low prices we see on artwork are extensions of what’s happening in our economy. "Art becomes a metaphor for what’s happening in our culture," he says. The middle is vanishing. He predicts that after this war, as after wars in the past, there will be increased appreciation for the earth and the arts.
Lindly Haunani’s purple polymer clay pods are on the cover of August’s Crafts Report magazine! Lindly talks about how she uses marketing materials to set up workshops. You can download a terrific article free from the magazine (along with great pictures). Fourteen polymer clay artists share their insights about making a living in the medium of polymer clay.
Read marketing tips from Jana Roberts Benzon, Lindly Haunani, Diane Manzi (her mosaic is pictured at right), Valerie Wright, Judy Kuskin, Louise Fischer Cozzi, Consuelo Okdie, Peggy Houchin, Eileen Cressman-Reeder, Donna Kato, Luann Udell, Georgia Ferrell, Judy Summer and Loretta Lam.
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