Bouquets

Bouquets to all of you for your support this week. Yes, I got the book (and cancelled my online order) and yes, my ear is healing and I'm feeling fine. Thanks for all your comments and good wishes.

The bouquets come from Florida artists you won't find in many books. Nancy Bundy and Bob Paris have been working at polymer clay for years but driving their motor home from show to show every summer hasn't left them much time for publishing.

Now that they're paring down to two shows a year, Nancy's wonderful flower collages have taken on more dimension and Bob is developing his considerable talents in the wheeling and dealing arts. Bob's a great sport and you shouldn't miss the pictures of him reducing an 18-pound cane (click on the "next" button).

Have a wonderful weekend. Fireworks remind me of the works of Grove and Grove. I'll dig out those pieces for Monday. Stay tuned.

More McCaw

Wow…lots of comments yesterday. Everyone has the book but me! That drives me crazy because I thought I was being so diligent by ordering it early in December. You all tell me that this often happens with Amazon. Who knew?

Since I'm in a rush to get to the bookstore, I'll leave you with a homegrown Sandra McCaw demo. She may kill me for publishing these 10-year-old pictures but they tickle me. I took the photos at an early Shrinemont conference. Note that the gradation was done in a "pre-Skinner" way (see the individually wrapped colors in the next-to-the-last picture). Remember how we used to blend the color for each layer separately? Bless you, Judith Skinner.

The demo shows three blocks of graduated colors. Sandra then began by slicing and swapping slices between the blocks. She reduced and recombined the resulting blocks in various ways. I hope you get the idea. And I hope I'm not in too much trouble with cover-girl Sandra. She's in the middle of a move right now so perhaps she'll miss today's post. I'm off to the bookstore.

Can’t Wait

Some folks already have their copy of this new Katherine Aimone book from Lark….and it's killing me. Amazon isn't shipping yet (though the ship date says June 7) and my order is languishing in the queue. Lark doesn't even show it on their site.

Those who have advance copies say that it's the best thing to come along for some time with high level projects and a cool gallery of exceptional work. Sandra McCaw agreed to let us publish this picture of her new work which is featured in the book (and on its cover). The delicate translucent petals beg you to touch them.

If you're one of those fortunate early recipients, feed me some tips or pictures. Does anyone know what the delay is about?

Two sides

Another example of the benefits of treating the back and front of a piece with equal care. I received this link to an Israeli artist from Susan Rose. Adina Plastelina has a section on her site called "Two sides" which shows reversible bracelets.

The rollover pictures rendered a little slowly on my machine. I suppose the electrons take a while to arrive from such a distance. The site is clean and fresh and fun and her story's an interesting one.

Seattle Exhibit

Facèré Gallery, one of downtown Seattle's most popular galleries which specializes in art jewelry, will hold a special exhibit of polymer work from August 4-12 in honor of Ravensdale 2006 and the 10th anniversary of the Ravensdale conferences.

Limited to eight artists' work, the show will include outstanding new pieces by instructors Meredith Arnold, Dan Cormier/Tracy Holmes, Jeff Dever, Judy Kuskin (shown here), Barbara McGuire, SL Savarick, Julia Sober and Sarah Shriver. Judy Kuskin has freshened her site with photos of new work. Be sure to revisit it.

Polymer and Pearls

San Francisco's Susan Kinzig says, "Everything we see can be abstracted to a shape, a line, or a dot. I find myself forever intrigued by the endless combination of these elements and their relationship to one another."

She adorns her metal jewelry with a wide range of materials including pearls, stones and polymer, regarding each piece as a small kinetic sculpture.

I found Susan's site as I was browsing through older ACC sites. The artists in this August's ACC San Francisco show are now viewable…always a pleasant diversion and a rich source of inspiration. Have a lovely weekend.

Magic Carpet

Oh my, did I ever get lost on the web. Before I knew it yesterday I was in Brussels, Belgium learning about Gum/Paste Flowers, Kokeshi dolls and Unazukin fairies.

Go look at the Kiwi Handmade and you'll see what I mean. It's a multilingual site that often uses PolymerClayDaily for its links. That's flattering and just fine but you may find it a bit jarring to read about yourself in another language and in these foreign contexts. The world really is flat!

As often happens, my web trip ended up back in my own backyard and I found that Judy Dunn has some new pieces on her site. I like the way her bracelet, pictured here, is simply and elegantly constructed.

If you look at the bottom of the right hand column on the PCD home page, you'll see "Who links to me?" which is like boarding a magic carpet to see everyone who's tuned in here (ignore the casinos and extraneous links). What fun.

Healing Arts

The healing power of our art seems to have emerged as a theme this week. And those who know Lindly Haunani can attest to her healing skills as well as her mastery of color, and her polymer clay talents. Lindly is a CHTP (Certified Healing Touch Practitioner) and has spent the past six years in the intensive study and practice of energetic healing modalities.

This cool shrine (front and back shown) is the class sample for her "Healing Journey" classes at Maureen Carlson's facility this July 22-23 (scroll way down to July). Inside is a piece of polymer chocolate, a small stone and a rainbow slinky (humor, lightness, food for thought).

Says Lindly, "The design and construction of a small portable artist’s shrine is an intensely personal, illuminating and enjoyable process. Students explore heartfelt communication via color, texture and form."

Students are encouraged to ask themselves, "As an artist, what makes my heart sing?" What a great question to ask ourselves today.

Transcendence

Christine K. Harris is a New Jersey art therapist who leads healing arts programs for children who have experienced painful challenges and losses.

Her polymer clay works resemble stone. She molds and carves the clay, incises and draws on it, sands, paints, and buffs it. Then she combines it with found objects and collage to create a richness not possible in other media.

Christine says she is drawn to winged figures, prevalent in the myths of almost every human culture. These figures, caught in flight, represent the spirit of the individual seeking to transcend the limitations of matter.

Thanks to Barbara Forbes-Lyons for the link!

On the mend

Hot and bored and slightly grumpy…impatient for my body to mend. It's time to cruise the online galleries and get jazzed up about new designs. Let's look over the shoulders of the other artists. Here are four jewelers who got me thinking about polymer clay in new ways.

Plus the latest Ford/Forlano sighting at the Signature Shop Gallery. Start your week off right with some fresh ideas.

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