Polymer Clay Daily

Polymer pastiche

Russia’s Tanya Mayorova applies slices of extruded cane with layer overlapping colorful layer to create a bangle that is rough with color and texture. The design circles around one small stone.

As you flip through her Flickr pictures you’ll see that this denseness and a preference for jewel tones combine to make Tanya’s signature style.

Polymer is well-suited to this pastiche approach. Look at how Joan Israel has applied canes onto bottles to achieve a similar dark, rich texturing. Here’s Joan’s latest work.

Sweepstakes

Don’t feel bad about not winning this week’s lottery, you can sign up for the CraftArtEdu Sweepstakes! The odds are better (20 chances to win), the prizes are great and your ticket doesn’t cost a cent.

Simple gifts

As long as we’re talking gifts, we’d better think about the kids. These poseable pieces from Australia’s HollyJayne are so cute and simple (she has a 2-year-old son). Of course Holly’s mastered the devilish details that can make simple spectacular.

Holly shows the pieces and parts on her Facebook page and she sells them on Etsy. See all her creatures on Flickr.

Speaking of simple, don’t you just love these little striped Christmas trees from Ukraine’s Masha Shupova? These are just the thing for that sylish, minimalist friend. Here’s her Etsy gallery.

The key to good gifts

As you start to make polymer mementos and gifts for the holiday season take a look at what you may think of as the lowly keychain.

Zona Manualidades (the photo) and Silvia Bordin (the keys) demonstrate a couple of memorable and fun options.

Baking polymer designs right on the keys makes construction easy and the hardware is minimal. The ball shown here contains tokens or coins.

I’m guessing that the bezel on the photo is polymer which has been filled with clear resin. The cording could have been strung through or baked in.

Think of it, there are few things you handle more often than keys! Make them memorable.

Polymer power

Michigan’s Adriana Allen created what she calls her Flower Doodle earrings using her stamp pressed deeply into polymer. Several colors of paint are washed into the crevices and hollows to create what you’d swear was aged copper.

Adriana has had arthritis since childhood and says, “I never gave into it. I decided to ignore it, which has not been easy since it had paralyzed me at one point in my life and now it is close to claiming my hands. Every piece I create reminds me of this fact, but the disease cannot stop me from doing what I love.”

She doesn’t like to talk about herself but will in this case because, “…I consider it a proof of the strength of mind over body, and the power of creation over everything else.” Adriana tells more of her story in this month’s Polymer Arts Magazine. She sells on Etsy. She’s also on Facebook.

Bottled polymer

The peek-a-boo quality of Donna Greenberg’s polymer covered glass vase catches your eye. Rich colors and patterns with metallic sheen add to the allure.

Organic shapes and rough textures replace the flowers and frills we’ve come to expect on polymer covered items. Donna’s bottles shake up our expectations on this Cyber Monday. Be sure to visit Etsy and other online galleries as you start your holiday shopping. Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes offer this coupon for discounts on their tools and techniques today.

Here’s Donna on Facebook and her FB fan page for more browsing.

More scribbles

You may have to study Vera Kleist’s attractive scribbles necklace to figure out how she did it. The polished polymer lines are surrounded by deep grooves that she’s enhanced with white grout and called To Be Different. Here’s her Etsy link.

Your scribbles

You readers have been great about sharing data with Judy Belcher and me. More data is better! If you haven’t yet filled them out, here’s Survey 1 and Survey 2 that will tell us how the polymer community is trending. We’ll report back at Synergy3.

Druzy doozie

If you need a little sparkle on Thanksgiving, check out Barb Jarman’s polymer and druzy media mixes. Druzy is the name used for the natural crystals that form on other rocks.This pairing with polymer may give you lots of ideas.

Barbara comes from a painting and mixed media background which is reflected in her pendants that look like small wearable canvases. Carol Dresben was inspired by a class she took from Barbara in California and sent us the link.

I’m thankful for you readers who send in links. You make my job easier and widen our circle of artists and friends. Pausing to appreciate what you have? Here’s a list of 60 things to get you started.

Variations on the Stroppel theme

Just when we thought we’d seen every Stroppel variation possible, we stumble on Sue Corrie’s latest riff on the technique. My eyes danced around her colors and landed on those gradated round slices with cherries on top. Even slight variations in color make a difference.

And this was just my favorite. You’ll like others in her gallery and on her Flickr site.

Be sure to read how Sue selected her business name, GhostShift.

I forgot to push the “publish” button so we missed coffee with you this morning.

Tumbling polymer blocks

There’s a buzz around the neat colorful tumbling blocks canes by Germany’s ST-Art-Clay. This updated interpretation of the historic quilt pattern uses shades of the colors to give the design dimension created by extruded triangles and edging strips.

ST’s colors are vivid and fun and she shows lots of variations on her Flickr page. You can see that she’s taken great master classes and that caning is her forte. She is able to control her canes in ways that many of us envy. Did you see her wildlife canes? ST is about to go wild!

The link first came to PCD via Cate van Alphen. Thanks!

Home sweet polymer home

Usually houses don’t sell so well at this time of year but Nevada’s Marjorie Dalgarn is doing a brisk business in home sales.

She uses polymer to sketch custom house ornaments and she’s booked through the season. She stamps the name and date on the back and they’ve made such popular gifts that she’s already stopped taking orders for the holidays. Should you add “Build a polymer house” to your holiday to-do list?

Marjorie also makes family ornaments, cake toppers and other themed polymer works and beaded items. She offers a free pumpkin pie tutorial just in time for Thanksgiving.