Polymer painting with feeling

Deborah Stanley paints feelings with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Deborah Stanley exhibits this 14.5″ x 17.5” polymer portrait of Breonna Taylor entitled Remember in KORE Gallery in Louisville.

Like many of us, Deborah began a project with her young son. She was soon hooked on polymer. “For my first several years as an artist, I exclusively created abstract designs, always determined to let go/let flow with the clay.”

A portrait commission challenged her to express herself and to create a likeness. This pivotal moment taught her that she could put both a likeness and feeling in every piece of art.

This week was packed with online classes and conferences. Ideas and tools and tips zoomed around and we’ve snatched some up for StudioMojo. We’ll be chock full of luscious links. Subscribe now and gear up for Spring.

Spikey bracelet for a weaver

Rebecca Thickbroom weaves coastal influents into polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

London’s Rebecca Thickbroom created this “Spikey Isle” bracelet for weaver Camilla Thomas.

Rebecca picks up the subtle colors, designs, and shapes of this fiber artist for Camilla’s commission. Even the findings could have been washed up onshore. It’s a combination of ancient coasts, quiet colors and modern patterns.

Explore the two artists’ sites to see how their aesthetics mesh.

Happy International Women’s Day from Stroppel scraps

Alice Stroppel finds faces her her scraps on PolymerClayDaily.com

Happy International Women’s Day from the work table of Florida’s Alice Stroppel. Alice paints scraps onto a glass tile that she puts directly into the oven. She mounts the finished commissioned piece on wood.

Her father produced a cartoon for the local paper each week when Alice was growing up. She reminisces about how exciting it was to watch over his shoulder as he drew faces. Now we lean over her shoulder and marvel at the women she finds in her scraps.

Come on over to StudioMojo to see whose work we’re examining, what products have promise, and what we can learn from other art forms (or what they’re learning from us). We bump into the most interesting developments in the most unlikely places!

Swimming in polymer

Donna Greenberg dives into a 10' commission on PolymerClayDaily.com

Imagine making this 10′ x 28″ triptych commission! New Jersey’s Donna Greenberg takes viewers on a deep dive to an ocean floor filled with her fantasy biosystems.

Donna’s studio must have been swimming in undersea pieces and bio parts for months.

Shapes that look strange and foreign on their own, come together in a believable new landscape. Her last step is to adjust the painted surfaces slightly to lead the eye comfortably through the new 10′ wonderland she created. Immerse yourself in the close-ups and in-process shots on Facebook.

Over at StudioMojo, we explore everything polymer from simple to sumptuous. This week we’ll also link you to the best tools of the year. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, you’ll find something on the list that will tickle your fancy. You’re more than welcome to join our Saturday gathering.