Portugese portraits

Ana Reimundo is a Portugese artist who has recently begun turning her portrait sketches into a series of polymer clay brooches called Deditos.

She combines basic shapes and bright colors into engaging portraits that convey an innocence and openness.

Enjoy her work on her site, fric_de_mentol, on Etsy and on Flickr. Thanks to Philadelphia guild president Sue Springer who brought the link to us.

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Abrams’ pieces go larger

Pennsylvania’s Lauren Cole Abrams(LaBeana) has returned to polymer clay, making graphically inspired, larger necklaces and brooches. She also makes a line of resin purse handles and buckles using molds of her polymer clay designs.

She explains, "I start by honing my designs on paper, drawing ideas from a lifetime of work in graphic arts and painting. Then I bring them to life using polymer clay, a process I enjoy in itself. From there I make RTV molds of the originals and cast them in resins…tinting them with different colorants, dyes and metal powders. When the pieces are cured, I remove them, sand and polish them and do any hand painting, staining, buffing and finishing they require."

Vacation note: I love looking at what other artists are reading. Here are a couple that I found on friends’ desks.

  • The Gift – Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde
  • The Artist’s Mentor by Ian Jackman

Hughes takes a new direction

Leave it to Victoria Hughes to take the whole magic bead/mokume/texture trend that we’ve been examining in a new direction. Her colors! Her shapes! This is not your grandmother’s brooch yet this one hints at something ancient.

Victoria has a page of new brooches on her web site. She’s also included her roster of east coast classes this spring including a debut of a promising new pietra dura (stone mosaics) technique.

The weekend simply got away from me! How can it possibly be Monday already?