A reader recently reminded me that I don’t often feature polymer clay flower canes. Busted! I’m a geometric kinda gal and it was good to be reminded to change my focus from time to time.
Today I happened upon these detailed flower canes from France’s Petit Poucet (Nathalie Duval) who makes stunning canes and assembles the beads into blooming fashion statements.
You’ll note that she mixes her flowers with geometric canes….which suits me just fine. A compromise, n’est pas?
Her waif-like face canes mix nicely with the flowers as well. Browse through her collections for a fresh floral perspective.
This tetris bracelet (based on the computer game) from Ukraine’s BeautySpotCrafts lured me into the Deviant Art site. Her gallery is full of unusual polymer clay designs (check out the piano key theme) and following BeautySpot’s links will lead you to other treasures like the gallery of Meella (Camille Young).
My web connection is down today and I’m hitchhiking on a friend’s network. Start your week with a bit of exploration. I’ll wait for the repairman. Thanks to Lindly Haunani for helping me out with today’s link.
The Venice Biennale is the world’s oldest and most pretigious international forum for contemporary visual art. This year the polymer and mixed media work of New Zealand-born Francis Uprichard will be exhibited there.
Her polymer sculptures in the installation Save Yourself include searchers, dreamers, dancers; consumed by their acts of meditation or lost in reverie. One reviewer calls her a doctor of contemporary voodoo and says that,”…the mix-up of history, mischief and meaning is a potent mixture.”
The polymer community is a potent mixture too – jewelers and miniaturists, illustrators, dollmakers, celebrities, sculptors, fine artists and hobbyists around the globe. Today PCD marks 1000 posts that have covered it all – from dining room tables to the Venice Biennale. Thanks for following along!
The icing on today’s cake is the fine polymer work of Oregon artist Dede Leupold which made its online debut in her budding site and Etsy gallery. Have a sweet weekend.
Note
Yesterday’s artist, Mary Tempesta, writes that she is from L’Aquila, Italy, the site of that monstrous earthquake in April. Mary and her family have to rebuild their home and she says, “My work with polymer has been great therapy and has given me a push to start over anew.”
It’s June, the month for weddings and polymer clay cake toppers. Australian born Mary Tempesta (MaryMade.it) lives in Italy and has a particular flair for capturing personalities in her cake toppers.
Though the faces and shapes of her creations are simple, she builds character definition through distinctive clothing, hair (the hairstyles are particularly fun) and setting.
You’ll see loads of her finished works on her site along with jewelry, animals, and keepsakes. A browse through her site will put you in a happy June mood.
Alaska’s Sue Savage introduced her wares at this year’s Acre wholesale show. Her web site tantalizes us with a few pictures. Judy Belcher and the polymer participants at the show reported that Sue’s work reflects her surroundings in Alaska and is a treat to see.
Time to go fishing through the hundreds of posts that you have added to your blogs overnight.
Jodi Creager has posted a couple of luscious recipes on her hilarious blog. Her “Truffles Thimble Doodle” doll looks as strange and forlorn as I sound this week. I laugh. Perfect. Reel her in.
Note:My post meter will hit 1,000 this week! No wonder I’m taking a look at my process. That’s a lot of choices.
These watermelons from polymer artist Natakorneeva are from a Russian site that translates incomprehensibly and muddles my brain. All I know is, “Me likee.” What more can I say?
Some days sorting out the best, the most interesting or the cleverest polymer clay art from around the world feels like trying to drink from a fire hose. Try me tomorrow and enjoy Natakorneeva’s summer fruits in the meanwhile.
Toronto polymer clay artist AfsanehTajvidi (JooJoo) makes such charming miniature sculptures that I could hardly believe my eyes. Can cute be that perfectly done? I ordered some from her Etsy site and can report that the answer is yes.
The mini-sculptures that you see best on her Flickr site are as flawless and charming as they appear. In an interview she reveals that she draws the sculpture first and is satisfied only when the clay character matches the drawing.
You might guess that she’s also an illustrator/painter/computer artist. She and her sister have a website for their digital works which offers a great free treat – computer icons and wallpaper for jewelry afficianados like us! I am delighted with the turquoise earrings that dangle on my “polymer” desktop folder. Look here under “goodies” for a fun freebee to start your week!
Victoria, BC’s Gera Scott Chandler ends our week in a sea of polymer clay flowers. “She Could Only Choose One” is Gera’s largest piece to date. Composed on fibreboard, it’s 16″x19″(46x40cm) and weighs 11lbs. (5kg)!
Most recently, Gera’s been working with polymer on 5″x7″ stretched canvases, developing her own distinctive look and refining her painterly polymer techniques.
Weekend thought
If you’re in the mood for a bit of creativity talk, you’ll enjoy this TED.com talk by “Eat, Pray, Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert. She reframes our thinking about creativity and suggests that instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.
Elsa Mora is a Cuban born California artist most recently known for her intricate evocative papercuts. Lucky for us, she’s picked up polymer clay again, sculpting and carving it and mixing it with recycled findings. Her bird brooches look very old…and completely new.
She explains that, “There is something about pins that make me really happy. They are like a little miracles. I often plan my outfits around them. In my collection the most important themes are flowers, birds, bugs, cameos, fruits but I also have elephants, cats, dogs, snakes.” She promises to share pictures of her pin collection soon.
Elsa’s clean quiet website is not only a treasure trove of resources, it’s an oasis of calm. Once you read her story, you begin to understand the calm and the intensity that radiates through all that Elsa does.
Utah’s Cody Craynor sent me a link to his meticulously constructed polymer clay faux African chevron beads. Cody is refreshingly clear that his interest is only in the beads, not in making jewelry. He claims that his passion for beads began when he was transfixed by the color and clatter of a bead curtain in his parents’ 1970s bathroom. Take a look at his new site and work.
The mention of African beads derailed my daily research as I remembered earlier faux ancients. Here’s where the wayback machine took me:
I didn’t quite get the concept of last week’s Play-Doh/shaped cane breakthrough. I missed the part about Play-Doh only being used for a barrier layer with filler polymer layered on top. This video from ArtbyYonat answered all my questions. All reports are that the technique works.
