Squiggles in polymer

I’m out of town and out of time so I’ll lean on Ford and Forlano to bring you some Monday cheer with their Squiggle necklace from this season’s Artful Home catalog (always a sure thing for serious browsing time).

Wrap it, tie it, knot it! This polymer necklace can be twisted into lots of configurations.

Thanks for letting me play for another day. Happy New Year!

Festive polymer

This polymer wall piece, Garden of the Hesperides, by Florida’s Jayne Hoffman suited the season and even though there are only small versions online, it felt right to share something Friday festive.

Individually cut strips of polymer clay were accented with inks, glitters and foils, textured and swirled next to each other giving the piece a quilt-like appearance.

Jayne’s also working on some pencil-colored, inked and patinaed pendants found on her Pinterest site.

Aged polymer

Polymer artists like Kansas’ Christina Butler (Polygolems) are using the new faux aged metal finishes so well that my job has gotten harder. Is it metal? Is it polymer…or something else?

You’ll have to look closely to figure it out. Christina makes it even harder by mixing real metals with her faux. The small pieces are copper – I think.

There’s more to oggle on her Facebook pages and in her Etsy shop.

 

Polymer artifacts

You’d be hard pressed to identify the polymer techniques that Washington’s Pam Sanders uses in her Paul’s Gift neckpiece. There’s some caning, some carving, some sculpting but the real strength is in Pam’s composition and in its strong, dark rawness.

She makes all the copper findings that carry the theme throughout her Urban Artefacts Jewelry line. “I love bizarre art,” Pam says on her profile. “Myth, magic, ancient cultures and fantasy novels are the inspiration for the art I create,” she says.

Be sure to check the photos in her Facebook gallery as well as on her website.

Best holiday gift


It’s warm in Australia and Sabine Spiesser needed some summer color for her brooches. Her display in the Waverly Arts Society netted Sabine the Best In Show award. Well deserved, wouldn’t you agree?

You can see a couple of the samples Sabine created for Helen Breil’s new book on her Flickr site.

Keep those juices flowing

Jodi Creager is wishing that all her friends receive a big bottle of this precious elixir this season. As Jodi says, “Merry Whatever!”

Polymer bib

New York’s Kathryn Fotorny promises a dose of whimsy with her funky polymer 3.5″ by 2.5″ focal orange sherbet piece. No ho-hum round beads here.

The 18-inch bib necklace is filled with pods, dimples, suctions and stones that are attached to a brass chain with a filigree connector. On her Delicious Hobo Etsy site Kathryn mixes flavor and funk for your Christmas Eve pleasure.

Coarse weave polymer

This newest faux polymer experiment from France’s Sylvie Peraud may take you back to the 80’s. Didn’t you own a sofa made of this material? With roman shades to match?

It makes me smile to think that the coarse weave is back in fashion and that Sylvie has mastered it in polymer. When you zoom in, you’ll swear it’s real.

Go to her site and her Flickr pages. I think we’ll be seeing more. Have a nostalgic weekend.

Understated polymer

These holiday polymer earrings from Michigan’s Sandra DeYoung-Niese may calm you in a hectic week.

Sandra created her own mold from a real evergreen branch. It’s a subtle holiday image with just a touch of red and a dusting of snow.

Wander slowly through her understated Etsy items and her Flickr site where the soothing vibe continues. Breathe!

Polymer karma

This bracelet from Anja Overdijk (based on Helen Breil’s shapes) jarred me. You can move from pendants to bracelets and beyond using Helen’s ideas! Anja’s bracelet helped me see the possibilities.

Mentioning Helen’s book is karmic payback. Helen mentioned the Nepal women’s project to the Kazuri Bead folks in California. Because of her recommendation and with Wendy Moore’s help, the Samunnat ladies in Nepal will have their polymer beads for sale at the Tucson Bead Show. Don’t you love how that works?

Helen’s e-book is also dynamite in its own right as many of you have discovered. The link to Anja comes from Karin Breukelman who’s minding karma for the members of the Dutch Polymer Art Guild.

Breil curves and cuts polymer

Sinuous shapes in polymer are lovely but for those of us who weren’t paying attention in geometry class, these smooth curves look impossible. How in the world would you make those cuts?

Luckily Helen Breil’s new e-book comes to the rescue. It’s 180 pages of step-by-step instructions and clear explanations of cuts and twists you probably haven’t even considered.

The book’s gallery is full of real-life examples from artists you’ll recognize (you may have run into them here on PCDaily). This beautiful spiral version is from Ron Lehocky.

Don’t take my word for it, download the free 25-page sample. Why fight your way back through geometry class when you can simply follow what Helen has so brilliantly figured out? Here’s the free link. Buy the $20 book here.