Libby Mills has redecorated her site and freshened her pictures with some great new work, including more silver and polymer combinations. The graphic feel of her polymer designs is mirrored in her treatment of the silver.
Each time you refresh her home page, you’ll be rewarded with a different photo. Like Pavlov’s dogs, I sit and click again and again for a treat. There are some new pieces on her Flickr page and a peek into friends’ studios as well. Have a treat-filled weekend.
I keep finding things that help me prolong summer. Here are Ella Becker’s polymer clay fantasy fish full of color and glitter and motion.
This Israeli animator admits that, "Animation for me is not only a profession but also a way of experiencing the world in a visual way, full of color, texture and motion, working together to create emotional impact." There is raw energy in her jewelry and sculpture with color and flash that increase its impact. She gives a dynamite haircut too! Something wild for the end of summer.
This lovely arrangement of polymer clay urchin beads by Vancouver’s Tina Holden gives us a last look at the beach this summer.
Tina’s not the only one to borrow from Mother Nature, of course, but her imitations are particularly inviting and soothing – like a cool dip underwater.
I’m baffled by how Tina creates her hollow forms and glad to hear that Canada has made collecting these real creatures from their waters illegal.
Time for falling leaves, polymer clay style. You’ll find these leaf pins on Donna Kato’s site along with some other new work including more fabulous bangles.
Speaking of Kato, I’m loving the faux lampwork beads from Sharon Solly who’s mastered using colored liquid polymer from Kato Products to simulate glass. Take a look at what she’s doing. Metallic liquids should be available soon.
Garie Sim gives his own interesting side-by-side comparison of liquid clays which he colors himself with oil paint.
While there’s no polymer mentioned in Kaaren’s website, it’s obvious that she’s transferred her love of tole and decorative painting into polymer work quite effectively.
Congrats to all the Bead Dreams participants. And remember there are only a few days left (September 1) to enter your work in the NPCG Progress and Possibilities exhibition. Apply online here.
Another illustrator, Ana Reimundo of Portugal merges watercolors, markers and polymer clay to create ethereal original compositions that look terrific tucked among treasures on a shelf.
What a great way to immortalize the last few slices of my favorite summer canes.
Or, of course, you can purchase Ana’s versions on her Etsy site. Have an ethereal weekend.
No dog days here. The weather is so lovely that I haven’t wanted to sit in front of the computer and neither do you.
FimoSaique is a one-stop polymer clay link that will get you over the Wednesday hump and back to work or play in a jiffy. (Here it is already translated into English.)
Helene K of FimoSaique has been successfully experimenting with flat button disks, stringing them in every way imaginable. One scroll down her page and you’ll have a whole new outlook. And you’ll see glimpses of her French countryside as well.
A little more from Julie Picarello. She’s bravely added her latest polymer clay experiments to her website. Julie’s returned to her job designing integrated circuits and her studio work may slow down as a result.
These are her prototype pieces for classes at the Fall Foilage Clay Festival in Wisconsin. "I bought a bunch of gorgeous silks from Class Act Designs and students will be mixing clay for mokume gane stacks that match the silks," Julie explains.
In the August/September issue of Beadwork Magazine the editor interviews Julie as the featured beadmaker.
NPCG president Judy Belcher and her crew of officers have done a gold-medal job of taking the national (now international) guild to new heights. But this is a relay event and the baton must be handed to a new team of NPCG officers.
The new group will have the support of an executive director plus past and current officers to help realize their vision, their ideas. The same skills you use to create and problem solve in the studio can be used to impact a worldwide community of artists. Read Judy’s tell-all and the list of positions to figure out where you’d fit best. Then submit your nomination. There are only two weeks left and NPCG needs you.
The six open NPCG positions include: President, VP Education & Outreach, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Guild Liaison, International Guild Liaison. Write Julie Picarello for more information.
As long as you’re getting paperwork out of the way, don’t miss the chance to share free NPCG space at the ACRE show. The deadline for application is September 10.
Julie and Judy are mindful of your need for eye-candy and sent along these sweet things to seal the deal:
Just back from touching base with the Euro contingent, Judy Belcher was stunned by the energy and vitality of the polymer clay art there as sampled in the work from Spain’s Ana Belchi.
Julie Picarello sent along a link to fellow Clayville California Guild officer, Maureen Thomas.
A long-time button collector, Maureen was creating a polymer clay tile bracelet based on a Gwen Gibson design and found that her elastic was too thick to knot and pull back into the drill hole. She grabbed a button to use as a clasp and made it a focal point of the bracelet. Check out her can-do approach to polymer on her Flickr site and blog.
