Perhaps a little black and white polymer from Maria Psaltis will cool off our hot summer. Maria is from Australia where it’s winter.
She does a cool rendition of Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s Ancient Modern rings and then pairs them with her more complex Persian Rug canes for building bangles. See more of her ethnic influences on her Flickr pages. (Ronna has two new DVDs just out.)
Shopping update
Thanks to Kim Korringa, Brenda Urquhart and Jeanette Walters for reporting back about their shopping at the Grove and Grove sidewalk sale. Enjoy shopping vicariously by reading their stories here.
Gera Scott Chandler fearlessly fuses polymer clay with digital photography, canvas, silk, inks, acrylics and found objects to create textured three dimensional interpretations of the mood and spirit of her west coast Canadian landscapes. Gera often incorporates beachcombing ephemera into her compositions.
It was her Arbutus mixed media collage on canvas in the Synergy exhibit that helped fuel recent experiments by other artists in combining liquid polymer and fabrics. Her research and development is constant (the lantern at left is a recent example).
Gera has moved on to combining polymer and resins and offers the results of her experiments for comparison shoppers. She has a way of bringing remarkable colors to polymer and she’s working to enhance those colors further with resin.
Following Gera’s work is like being on an adventure that leads from the beach to the garden to the studio.
London street artist CityZenKane’s has added a new video to his arsenal. His ray gun video shows the making of his 3D street sculptures. CZK sculpts the basic form in polymer, casts it and then paints it or covers it with cane slices. He also works with polymer UV and neon effects on his street art.
These additional articles and photos (here, here and here) may give you a better perspective on CZK’s work. The link is from Italy’s Leila Bidler.
I’ve been so wrapped up in vacationing and spring that I’ve neglected some of the edgier, more interesting developments in our community. Here are some of the recent polymer-related books you may find of interest as well.
Jana Roberts Benzon says that the stunning new works on her site, “…are the fruits of those priceless de-stressing days.”
“The first three show the fun I’ve had playing with form; this type of work is zen-like and apropos to my state of mind. The last three images show my woven style of work, this time with undulating dimension,” she explains.
In Jana’s Dimensional Woven Brooch, she builds on the bargello style first popularized by Laura Liska and adds dimension within flowing shapes. Jana’s works are sold at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Thanks to Randee Ketzel for the link!
by Cynthia Tinapple on April 13, 2010 · 8 comments
Kim Arden’s current solo polymer show at 20 North Gallery in Toledo, Ohio gives us another example of “forced” creativity. “Adorning Glory” is the gallery’s first all-jewelry show.
Kim explains that, “Making work for this show has been a wonderful yet bittersweet journey. I recently lost my mother, my greatest fan and critic. In creating these new pieces, I was able to get away from the heartbreak and emerge a little stronger each day. Mom would have been proud of this new body of work and surely would have picked out a few pieces for herself!”
Kim’s bold works are featured within gold picture frames hung at eye level throughout the gallery. It’s a simple and effective exhibit technique that leads viewers comfortably through the show. The gallery’s web site gives you a 3D view of the show and Kim’s latest works can be seen more closely on her revamped website.
