If you thought polymer-covered switchplates were passe, look again at the work of the Anchorage artist at Bull’s Eye Studio.
She canes and carves and layers home decor items as if they were small canvases. We touch light switches every day so why not make them eye-catching?
Her sculptural wallflowers are captivating and she adds utensils and card cases to her line of functional pieces. Bull’s Eye came to Flickr in late December and you’ll want to keep watching her there and on Facebook.
The UK’s Angela Garrod has been named a 2011 polymerista on the European Voila site. Experimenting with making extruded polymer into links, chains and coils, Angela came up with a number of fascinating hollow designs like this Hula Hula necklace.
She says of her Hula Hula necklace, “It is 13″ long and flexes like a snake. Colours range from all shades of greys to violets and magenta and reds. Basically like a giant skinner blend.”
The construction of this dramatic piece is baffling. You can see more of her experiments on her Flickr site. If you ask questions in the comments, maybe Angela will tell us more.
by Cynthia Tinapple on January 6, 2012 · 6 comments
France’s Dorothy Vantorre photographed her step-by-step work on this polymer bearded collie sculpture making the story both funny and educational.
The piece was commissioned by her best friend as a gift for another person. The dog’s thick coat meshes perfectly with Dorothy’s preferred way of working in layers. You can understand Dorothy’s frustration when you look at her big pile of extruded dog hair pieces.
She captures both the look and the spirit of Joy, the dog. She even made a special show box for the gift. Dorothy has sworn off all future dog commissions saying, “I’ve been very pleased to learn that the person who received this gift was very moved! But I want to clarify that the next person who asks me to make a miniature dog will be immediately banned from my contacts.”
Check out Dorothy’s illustrations, cake toppers and sculptures. Her in-progress shots reveal a distinctive style that gravitates to friendly monsters, pink rabbits and hangman earrings. Her biggest trick may be making it all look so easy! Have an easy weekend.
by Cynthia Tinapple on January 2, 2012 · 7 comments
“Paciorky means necklace or beads in Ukrainian,” says Christine Bondar (dzjunka online). Christine’s extruded and carved Amazon River polymer beads offer variations on techniques spread by Vera Kleist and Margit Böhmer.
You’ll see developments in that part of the world on Maria Petkova’s Bulgarian blog that features artists mostly from Eastern Europe as polymer continues to gain popularity.
I’ll be writing a book on global polymer this year and I’m interested in hearing your ideas on what the story should be about. And I’d love to learn about new artists you’ve run into. We’re off and running into 2012!
