Winners of the NPCG Progress and Possibilities competition have been announced and a browse through the gallery of the winners and finalists will brighten the start to your week.
Kathleen Dustin’s “Grass and Pods” neckpiece was judged best in show.
Here’s the direct link to the slideshow.
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Alexis Pier and Penina Meisels (Pier and Penina) stopped by for a visit on Friday. They’ve both moved from California to Santa Fe to continue their polymer clay collaboration.
Their focus has moved from jewelry to sculpture. These two small sculptures are from Penina (look for Alexis’ tomorrow). The hollow form on the right is made of polymer and covered with organza which is painted with Prizmacolor markers and blender pen.
Since their web page hasn’t been updated recently, I’ll add a picture of Penina’s earrings here for your Monday inspiration.
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Carol Simmons built this William Morris inspired cane here in New Mexico to add a new color way to her line of designs. I watched her construct the original extravagant cane that was about 6″ across by 2″ deep. Reducing the cane took a couple of hours with one or two 3-second trips to the microwave. She had only a miniscule amount of waste.
From this one cane, Carol generated at least 16 kaleidoscope patterns which will be turned into many, many beads. It’s a fascinating process that will soon be featured in a new color book by Maggie Maggio and Lindly Haunani.
New Mexico is a “target-rich” environment which means I won’t have to do much computer research this week. I’ll just pick up my camera and shoot. Even the sunsets are Skinner blends.
Karin Noyes has a few new images on the CraftBoston site and her bio on her own site is a good read (the quickest, quirkiest life story I’ve read in a while). Like her life, her bowls show that what starts out simply can be combined and repeated to create a fascinating and complex work.
Louise Fisher Cozzi also shows some of her newest pieces on the CraftBoston site. The holiday show will be held this weekend.
I’m a bit jet lagged and gabbing with the girls.
I’m in travel mode and gravitated to this polymer clay postcard from Dayle Doroshow. I’ll be hanging out with her and if anyone can wake up my muse and kick-start my mojo, it’s Dayle. Go visit her site and you’ll see what I mean.
For more travel vibes, go to Tory Hughes site. Navigation, travel, and stamps figure prominently in many of her works. With any luck, we’ll run into her while we’re on vacation too.
My conditioned polymer clay and tools are packed and I’m thinking about what I want to experiment with on vacation. I’m considering new shapes and these two artists are way ahead of me.
Spain’s “CynsClay” uses open rings of polymer clay to build her Calder-like pendants. The spacer beads add color and a dash of humor.
Austria’s Carina Feichtinger nestles curved leaf shapes within each other to create the appearance of larger overlapping beads.
I’ll add these two to my binder of “possibilities” that you all have provided me with. We’re off to New Mexico.
I’m blitzing through my weekend polymer clay reading as I get ready to go on vacation this week (not to worry, I’ll have wifi and I’ll post on the road).
You simply must click through the list of web sites of the finalists in NPCG’s Progress and Possibilities competition. There are some new faces and several familiar names have new work on their sites.
On the PolymerArtArchive, Elise is featuring a couple of Jeff Dever’s recent pieces (here and here as well) that must be seen to be believed. Go mine the riches on these sites while I pack.
Many things have changed in our world this week which has drawn me to polymer clay designs that match my off-balance mood and introduce me to new concepts.
England’s Christine Dumont introduces her two collections (ossocopia and cellularia) which are strangely beautiful. I like the offset beads surrounding this pendant. There’s much more on her site. (Thanks to Loretta Lam for the heads up.)
And then from the Dutch “Girls Next Door” site comes this multi-strand necklace that combines large and small beads. Marjon and Saskia and their friends (the purple beads are from friend Jellina) have compiled projects that run the gamut from imaginative stringing ideas to a faux-Burberry cane and scarab bracelets.
Enjoy finding your balance this weekend.
Philadelphia’s Emily Squires Levine has launched a new site that showcases her decorative tiles built with a polymer clay base covered in a two-part resin. Durable and heat resistent, these tiles can be used as kitchen backsplashes or as coasters. She’s also drawn to polymer clay bowls and eggs.
Frustrated with the early clays’ stiff consistency, Levine gave up caning for a few years and was delighted when she returned to softer reformulated clays. Says Levine, “My next goal is to create a larger piece, combining multiple tiles which are connected visually through color, pattern and shape.”
Thanks to Martha Aleo for introducing us to Emily’s new site.
Georgia’s Lisa Mathews called it with her polymer clay image of Barack Obama. Her African-American characters exhibit lots of hands-on-hips attitude and style.
“My work is generational, past and present,” she says, “It reflects the tremendous love I have for this culture and the pride I have for the strength and perseverance of its people. I endeavor to use my artistic gift to create sculpted images that capture the spirit and essence of a people who through great trials and tribulation have birthed traditions of family, faith, social contributions and human conscientiousness that are the foundation of our existence.”
