If waiting for the stroke of midnight makes you fidgety, keep yourself busy studying this clever polymer clay mokume gane trick from a new tutorial on Ponsawan Sila’s site. She says it’s a combination of techniques she’s learned from several people. Here’s the link to her Flickr pictures.
I’m combing through this year’s posts, trying to detect some patterns, trends, insights to share with you this week. The year flew by, didn’t it?
Wishing you peace and prosperity in 2008.
Here’s a wintry looking polymer clay piece from Rebecca Geoffrey in wintry Ontario. Her designs have a clean, clear, precise feel to them. Very appealing.
Rebecca runs with the Etsy/Indie crowd and I’ve been cruising through the Indiepublic site to try to figure it out. There’s so much to see, oodles to learn. What to join? Where to put my energy?
I panicked this evening when the PCD site went down. “Loading issues,” the server tech calmly told me. Yes, this is the weekend to deal with our “loading issues” as we look at the year ahead.
I hadn’t visited Arizona’s Richard and Jodi Creager’s site for a while when I bumped into their polymer clay sculptures on their EBay page.
Richard and Jodi have been designing dolls together as a team since 1979. They produce 10-15 dolls a year. You’ll immediately understand why their works are in private and museum collections across the country. The detail in their collaborative figures is breathtaking.
This was one of their special Holiday Dahlia Darkling offerings. The Creagers say of their work, “To be able to create a human form, an image, a personality…to be able to express what you have inside and put into form your mind’s and heart’s vision, and to stir emotion in someone … all from a piece of clay… this is our True Joy in Life”
I’m totally distracted by my new Apple Itouch. Who would have thought you could post to a blog from this tiny device? My husband totally surprised me with this perfect gift and I’m not sure which I love more, him or the Itouch.
I’m downloading some of the color meditations that Lindly Haunani recommends. She’s got some great stuff tucked away on her site. Check out Colorstrology…skip the intro and get to your birthday.
Lindly’s on the mend and posting away like crazy! She’ll be out of that awful contraption by Valentine’s Day with any luck.
Who first started using a pasta machine for sheeting polymer clay? What persuaded Nan Roche to write a book about Fimo? The answers are at your fingertips.
On this day of giving and sharing Elise Winters presents to you a new site, PolymerArtArchive.com, which she hopes will become an essential reference for the serious study of polymer art, a resource for curators and editors.
Years ago Elise realized the value of preserving the early history of polymer clay and she began collecting slides and other memorabilia that she thought might one day be valued by art historians.
“Many of those ‘polymer pioneers’ became dear friends, and I wanted to make sure that their names and achievements would get full recognition and respect as the artists who laid the foundation for our flourishing art form,” says Elise.
“The efforts I’ve made to set up and maintain this website are in reality a bit of payback to my wide, supportive circle of friends, colleagues, and fellow artists in the polymer clay community. If, through Polymer Art Archive, I can return to my community some of the benefits you have freely given to me, I’ll feel a highly satisfied woman.”
Enjoy this gift from Elise and your fellow artists. Use it to educate and sustain your work through the coming year. Have a happy holiday.
I pulled these lovely polymer clay pieces from my stash of items saved for use during the holidays. But I neglected to name them properly so I can’t link them or identify the artists (one identified, one to go).
I love the elfish character speeding downhill. And the Christmas tree pin design (Kim Korringa’s!) was so simple and appealing that I just had to share it.
Enjoy these tidbits while I wrap your present. If you know the creator of the skiier, let me know and I’ll link you to the rest of his/her works.
Come back tomorrow to see what’s under the tree.
Scroll right over to Kathleen Dustin’s new blog. Kathleen reports on her polymer clay workshop at the international bead conference in Istanbul. It’s a good read even though the conference was a bust. She struck up a friendship with Turkish artist Alev Gozonar whose large works (shown here) impressed Kathleen and she taught a great class.
Kathleen’s a newbie blogger and I’m sure that clicks from you would boost her enthusiasm and her numbers. She’s had 400 visitors so far. Let’s all go over to her place and party. Have a merry weekend.
Arizona’s Camille Young works mostly in Lumina air dry polymer clay. She’s begun covering her wire and findings with clay so that her necklaces appear to sprout from the wearer and vine around them. She demonstrates her process on the site.
“I first start out with a length of the beading wire, and with crimping tubes, I attach shorter pieces of the beading wire to make loops, branches, etc. As I go, glass beads and pearls are added to complete the wire form,” she says.
A computer artist and painter, Camille gives her works a decidedly graphic feel and bright, exciting color. They’re for sale on her Etsy site.
Julie Picarello’s polymer clay pendants are soothing and her palette is like a cleansing breath in this hectic season.
Julie’s developing these designs for her Cabin Fever Clay Festival (CFCF) class. The festival is a hands-on event held in Laurel, MD February 17-20 prior to the Synergy Conference.
Other teachers at CFCF include Jana Roberts Benzon, Maureen Carlson, Christi Friesen, Donna Kato, Nan Roche, Marie Segal, and Sarah Shriver. Contact the organizers for more information.
At the ArtWay in Damascus, MD, you can catch a “Personal Containers” class with Seth Savarick before Synergy or enjoy a two-day “Beyond the Blend” class with Dan Cormier after Synergy ends. The Baltimore area will be a hotbed of polymer clay ideas and talent this February. Need a gift for yourself? No wrapping or shopping necessary!
Lori K. Gordon’s Katrina Collection is composed of the rubble of her life. Gordon constructs art from the mounds of debris that covered her property, often using polymer clay to unify or embellish her pieces.
“I lost my home and studio in Clermont Harbor, Mississippi to a 35 foot wall of water and 150 mile per hour winds. In both a literal and a metaphorical sense, this series is composed of pieces of the storm,” says Gordon. The site requires some scrolling to capture the impact of this powerful story.
This link was sent by Lindly Haunani who’s recovering from her own natural disaster – a fall on the ice. Perhaps she’s taking comfort in Gordon’s story of healing after the storm. Be sure to send Lindly some merry wishes this holiday season.
