Daily tips about polymer clay art and artists from Cynthia Tinapple
From a recent ASJRA newsletter:
It is purported that to create one 18k gold ring results in:
Thanks to Elise Winters for the info.
In my search for the perfect polymer clay extruder, I finally hit upon a dream machine.
I’ve written a short article about it (read it here) for Stacey Apeitos’ arts and crafts e-zine. Her Astarte’s Megazine is an Australian online magazine that you can subscribe to. There’s plenty of lovely info free on the site as well.
My hunt for a good small extruder (see an earlier project) became such an odyssey that I felt I could break my rule not to discuss tools on this blog. The BullensWullens adapter (contact pat@bullenswullens.com) was developed by an Ohio couple which makes my discovery doubly special.
Happy birthday to Susan Rose and her PolymerClayNotes.com. Susan has generously shared her finds with me over the past year and now she's launching her own site concentrating on polymer clay techniques and tools. There are other such sites but few webmasters have her sleuthing ability and her panache.
I found the fondant rolling pin above through a link on Susan's site and was lusting after the lovely dotted fabric it makes. My husband suggested that I make my own roller out of polymer clay. Of course! There were a few other things, however….
Happy first birthday to the Polymer Clay Guild at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society (LACS). The young guild is collaborating with the New England Bead Society (Beadesigner International) to celebrate the guild's first birthday and the bead society's twentieth. The birthday show runs October 7-21 at the Parson's Gallery in Lexington, Massachusetts. The purse shown here is by member Karen Swiech.
And speaking of guilds, you should note that the national guild has posted its 2007 Progress and Possibilities juried exhibition application forms. Entries are due by April 1.
Speaking of guild sites, you should probably take a look at the Southern Ontario Guild's site too. There's some very good work in the gallery - like these spiral topped containers from Margi Laurin. (The guild's server is a bit sluggish so try again later if it kicks you off. The links below work fine.)
And you're a link away from another treasure of that guild. Member Helen Breil's texture plates are now available from Canadian supplier, Shades of Clay.
Helen's first shipment of these quirky and touchable textures sold out quickly. She's bulked up her inventory so that you can confidently order them.
For the DIYers, note that at the bottom of the texture sheet page Helen offers an 8-page "Creating Your Own Texture Sheets" booklet.
Whenever I'm stuck in the design doldrums, I head for France (well French web sites) to give myself a whole new look.
I'm not sure who's behind "Benita Loco" but the site is chock full of strange and interesting polymer clay creations. The technique is usually rough but the sensibility is self-assured and chic. And the necks of the models are always young and lovely.
If you tire of the polymer section, you'll find colorful treats in the rest of the site too.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stay focused on polymer in my web surfing last weekend. I ended up ordering books and CDs and this wonderful ring (actually, two are pictured here) from Dynomighty.com. Magnetic jewelry has always intrigued me and a magnetic ring offered too many possibilities to resist.
I'm hoping I can cover this baby with polymer clay. Think it's possible? My favorite magnet user is Cathy Johnston who closes her perfect miniature books/pins and purses (scroll down her class page to see this wonderful design) with magnetic clasps.
Look to the right on the home page. I've added a select list of recommended blogs in the right hand column. I'll keep the list short so as not to overwhelm you. These blogs are quite special. Happy Monday.
Helen Breil has posted photos of some great new work. Her technique will be featured in the fall issue of Step-by-Step Beads.
Textures are her latest focus and she’s designed some new pattern sheets that will be available later this year through Shades of Clay.
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In the Guild.com site I found only one piece of polymer, this "O’Keeffe Pin" by Ford and Forlano. These two artists, the text says, "…primarily make one-of-a-kind jewelry, passing pieces back and forth between themselves at different stages in the creative process. With the introduction of precious materials such as sterling silver, gold, and pearls, their work is as bold and expressive as ever. Part of their goal is to transform an inorganic, man-made material into something that looks as if it was found on the beach, or growing in the woods."
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