Polymer Clay Daily

Lazy Days


These hot summer days have made me lazy and my polymer clay research has consisted of thumbing through the guestbook and clicking artist links to see who’s showing new work. While these names may be familiar, their new work is not.

Judy Dunn has a whole page of new feathery and soft shapes that she’s calling "Organic Chemistry."

I’m still pondering faces and self-portraits and thought the face pin that Julie Picarello dropped in the guestbook was worth a second look. Simple and bright mokume gane faces. Have a lovely lazy weekend.

Challenge Yourself

I’ve been hoarding these fiber and polymer clay portraits by Dayle Doroshow. I have fond memories of her building these collages bit by bit over several days, her sewing machine purring quietly in the corner of the messy polymer workshop. I’m intrigued by the combinations and wonder about their stories.

Dayle has wonderful ways of showing groups how to evoke memory and meaning which are then translated into work. More than techniques and tools, it’s those skills that infuse our art with power.

Take a look at what the Etsy guild members came up with in their self-portrait challenge. Maybe it’s time to challenge yourself to create a meaningful piece.

Thai Flowers

If you’re hungry for summer color, take a look at these photo albums.

Bangkok polymer clay artist and entepreneur Ravivan Petchprepa says of her work, "My flowers are handmade out of clay dough. We have to hand sculpture them petal by petal, paint, then gather them into a bud/a blossom then into a spray/stem. We are group of housewives and maidens handmade these like real clay flowers in the suburban of Bangkok, Thailand. You may email the pictures of any kind of flowers or plants including the sizes to us to quote."

It’s eye-opening to see how women in other countries employ their artistry and fascinating to catch a glimpse of their joyous colors. Thanks again to Kim Cavender for her detective work.

Lizards

I’m not usually drawn to lizards and snakes but these are spectacular ones made of polymer clay by Sandra Lee, a western U.S. artist.

There’s little information about her on her photo site and she doesn’t google well. (Please comment if you know her.) Sandra’s lizards on intricately painted gourds are something to behold.

With the fires out west, one starts to consider the fate of creatures like this regal horned lizard. Of course my eye gravitated to the Huichol-like colorful snakes she creates as well. Many thanks to Kim Cavender who spotted this new treasure for us.

Trendspotting Monday


Washington artist Pam Sanders signed the guestbook with an intriguing polymer clay piece so naturally I went exploring. Her loose and playful approach is very appealing with a nice sense of balance and color. I wish I could see more of her work.

And Pam gives us another example of that jewelry/sculpture pairing in her "Dream Temple" piece shown here which incorporates a wearable pin into a 5 x 7 collage meant to hang on the wall.

I’m spotting a trend.

Sherbet


Another example of a simple polymer clay technique done right comes from California’s Maureen Thomas. The bicone swirl/lentil bead is so much fun to master that it’s often overdone.

Maureen’s beads remind me that when the colors are right, as in these "summer sherbet" colors, the technique is enlivened. They tickled my fancy on this first day of summer.

Sharing


One of the people to emerge from yesterday’s lovely flurry of activity was Israeli polymer clay artist Lesya Binkin. She’s turned her graphic arts and fashion experience into fashionable, graphic jewelry which you can see on her Etsy site and study more closely on her Flickr page.

The tip came from Christie Wright whose Dragonfly Lane sites (Etsy and personal) are also a treat.

Thanks so much for your great response to yesterday’s guestbook. I got many great links and heard from people I’d completely lost track of. And the worldwide connections are stunning, aren’t they?

Guestbook

Mandy Rentmeester van Goeije from the Netherlands has been working quietly in polymer clay for 10 years. The bonanza of supplies and guilds and classes that we in the US enjoy aren’t available in her country.

Mandy did what enterprising artists around the world are doing. She created a web presence, joined an online guild (etsy), set up shop, uploaded some pictures to a photo site and began making connections. Read her story and see what she’s accomplished.

It’s so gratifying to see those worldwide connections grow that I decided to experiment with a little piece of new software today. Share a picture of your work let’s see what happens.

Swimming Pool Palette


Polymer clay extrusions are so much fun the first few times you do them. Soon, however, the shapes and color combinations that seemed so magical become boring. It takes a keen and curious mind to push the technique into something fun again.

These extrusions from Germany’s Kerstin Rupprecht reignited my interest. Kerstin’s friend, Ulrike, supplied the tip and says that Kerstin fills the clay gun with varying tints of translucent blues interspersed with thin slices of white. Perhaps it’s her swimming pool colors on this hot summer day that make me ready to dive into extrusions again.

Ikebana

Bead Dreams winner, Pennsylvania’s Marlee Page, carved her winning entry, Ikebana 2, from a faux bone mixture of polymer clay formed over a wood and wire armature. This functional hair ornament can be displayed in the stand when it’s not being worn.

We spotted a similar dual functionality of jewelry/sculpture last week in the Ford/Forlano exhibit.

PMC/polymer artist Robert Dancik markets his own version of Fauxbone®. His gallery of Faux Bone pieces and Marlee’s winning entry may move you in a new direction this week.