It’s Come to This

Call it spring fever. Call it desperation. I’ve got nothing but myself to write about today so here’s the latest inlaid bowl that my husband turned and I inlaid with polymer.

After years of making polymer jewelry, I moved over to the housewares department. It was great fun to add knobs, switchplates and lights in our little Marrakech bathroom. The sink is a walnut bowl inlaid with matching polymer, naturally. And the tub surround is roofing copper. Add candles and bathsalts and a bath becomes a very exotic experience.

So there you have it. Now all I have to do is find something for tomorrow!

Worth the Wait

Hmmm…here’s a treat for your Monday morning. A new site from Deborah Banyas and her husband, T.P. Speer.

It’s a yummy site and I especially like the studio shots (scroll down to see them). Don’t we all want to live in a place like hers with a wild and colorful garden? And I feel compelled to remind you that she’s from Ohio.

This should start your week off right.

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Multiple Palettes

This exhibit from last fall at the White Lotus Gallery in Eugene, Oregon, caught my eye. Multiple Palettes/Varied Visions: 30 Jewelers Explore Color covers a variety of media and their emphasis on color is instructive even though only a few (MaryandLouAnn and FordForlano) are polymer artists.

You’ll find lots of inspiration here. Be sure to visit the site of metalsmiths Barbara Minor and Christopher Hentz, Lulu Smith, Ellen Wieske, Deb Karash and others for the complete color experience.

Dittmar’s Guys

Portland, Oregon's Meredith Dittmar first started sculpting while trying to avoid getting her computer science degree. After graduating she worked as an interactive designer/programmer and her digital works have been shown in international film festivals, exhibits and magazines.

For the past ten years, she's put the digital realm on the backburner to pursue her three-dimensional passion. The first "guys" were made in 1994 when she discovered polymer clay.

Ever since that day, a steady flow has continued. Thousands have been created and no two were alike until the recent "clones" series. "Guys" are made out of premo and flexible sculpey.

They're quirky, colorful and fresh. And you can put them on your phone or watch a Converse Video (scroll through until you hit "Polymer Playground") of these creatures.

Pongo Olympics

I don’t know much about this artist…Howard from Como, Italy…but thought we should tip our hats toward the Olympic hosts this week. This one’s called "Pocketbook".

Pongo is apparently the Italian version of polymer clay and Howard sculpts all kinds of delightful things. You can buy his images on cups and shirts in addition to his pongo pieces.

The comments on his site are hilarious…."I can’t believe you did a pongo of my pre-operative uterus Howard. How sweet." Only the Italians could bring us this art! We should all learn to be so playful.

Two Heads Are Better

Karen Woods has some new works on her site. My favorites are her collaborative works with beadweaving artists. Some of the best in polymer team up with others to produce doubly interesting work.

If you’re looking for something to enliven your creations, consider enlisting artist friends in other media.

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Diving In

I’ve finished monkeying around. These finger puppets made from polymer were a vacation shopping find and I promptly forgot the artist’s name. She’s a Whidbey Island artist with some wonderful characters in her head. Her work is at the Bayview Art Center on Whidbey (sorry, no web links).

I pondered what to do with these pages, fretted over where I’d find new things, and considered where the art of polymer is headed. A week of pondering while looking at the water and visiting with friends is theraputic and I’m ready to dive back in.

More Clever Transfers

These reversible poetry rings from Julia Sober illustrate another interesting use of transfers on polymer. Julia also met the challenge of designing the metal parts to hold the polymer securely.

Julia has new polymer pieces on her web site that you won’t want to miss.

More Noyes and others

The CraftBoston site contains some great inspirations plus new images and more information about Karin Noyes(see the post below), Ford and Forlano, Louise Fischer Cozzi and others. Mary Filapek and Lou Ann Townsend are new to me. Take a look.

Thanks to Chel Micheline for her prompt tracking of more information on Karin Noyes and leading us to the Boston site.

Updated Traditional

Still prowling the ACC site, I came across Karin Noyes. It's her thoughtful color palette and the attention to cane detail that makes these traditional bowls so stunning.

There's not much other web info on Karin…her web site's under construction. Can you viewers fill me in? Or did I not Google her properly?

Thanks to Corinne Appleton for finding Karin's site!

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