Polymer Clay Daily

More Meisha

Barbee on PCDaily

It’s rare that I have to jump up on my soapbox these days. But California’s Meisha Barbee still doesn’t have much of a web presence other than PCD! How can that be? (Sigh) She has a little spot on Facebook.

She’s won a Niche award! She does a big wholesale business. Her refined, color-perfect work makes us feel good in an updated-retro sort of way. Wouldn’t you like to see more? She wants to start teaching so she’ll surely have to have a site soon.

I’ll be hounding Meisha for the next couple of days at Synergy and you can join me by leaving a comment. More Meisha! More Synergy on Monday after I’ve had time to sift and sort photos and process all the great ideas floating here.

Size matters

On the Synergy display tables here in Atlanta I was flabbergasted by how much larger pieces were than I had guessed from photos.

Take this new brooch from Kathleen Dustin. I would have guessed it as moderately sized but it’s quite large. Look at these pictures to get a better idea of size. Note the care she has taken with the back, the submerged hardware and the additional loops that allow it to be worn as a pendant.

On the front the shapes are thick and the designs flow from textured in one block to smooth in the next with a fascinating interplay that teases your brain. Its size makes the brooch more imposing and causes us to rethink how size matters.

As an aside, Kathleen mentioned that she does not condition the translucent clay that finishes the foremost block. Her theory is that putting the clay through the pasta machine repeatedly introduces more air into it and she wants the thin top layer to be as bubble-free as possible.

Synergy is off to a great start but it’s late. Please visit tomorrow for more news. I need a bit of sleep.

Wheeling to Atlanta

Humpert on PCDaily

While Anke Humpert is excited to bring her work to America (like these new distressed hollow Wheely beads) and visit the U.S. for the first time, we Americans are excited to meet our European counterparts.

Anke is speaking at the IPCA Synergy conference in Atlanta, talking about the European scene and the German polymer clay group, Polyclaykunst.de. She’s trained as an architect and has published a number of books and classes. Read more on Flickr and Facebook and check back here for the next few days to see what I see at Synergy.

Rainbow polymer

Tatiana Begacheva of Russia admits that this Rainbow bangle made of extruded cane bits became quite heavy on her slender arm. Still, the construction is fun.

If I’m reading the translation right, she sandwiched memory wire between the layers to give the piece more strength.

She’s got some great ideas. Go browse through them while I pack for Synergy where I hope to find another rainbow of ideas to bring you.

Magic polymer

Dixie103 on PCDaily

These shapely complex beads from Dixie103 (Julie) provide a pleasant start to the week. Her husband thought they looked like magic lamps and dubbed them Alladin beads.

The shapes and patterns and muted colors make your eyes dance around to take in all the delightful curves and canes.

Julie is still shy about her work though it’s now her fulltime day job. See what she’s up to (she even posted her first tutorial) on Flickr.

The Deerclayer

When Arlene Groch‘s son asked her to cover a resin deer’s head to hang on the wall of his San Diego office, he was serious and it was a request she couldn’t refuse. The black and white pattern was his choice.

In a post on the Philadelphia guild site Arlene explains how she covered and baked the beast. Arlene doesn’t divulge what kind of business her son is in. Aren’t you curious to see how the mounted head looks in place?

For more of Arlene’s work, visit the Xanadu Gallery site. She was a finalist in this year’s Niche Awards (and not in the taxidermy category).

Guild web writer Sarah Sorlien sent the link along.

Raw polymer

Anar on PCDaily

Anarina Anar puts raw energy into her rough and vibrant pieces. You can feel the Greek sun and the heat in the colors.Texture and dimension add a tactile quality to the pattern on her striped bracelet.

Anar on PCDaily

Anarina also shows a hemisphere necklace on her Flickr page. I thought readers might mutiny at the sight of another one of these designs that have captivated me so you can see it here if you’re a fan of the trend.

Polymer damselfly

Obakke on PCDaily

Lestes, the Damselfly is a 12-inch tall polymer and fabric creature created by the Filigree, a Nashville-based husband and wife team. Martin Øbakke, native of Denmark home to the little Mermaid, met Celena Cavala, ballerina and Nashville native, in Italy where they started making fairy tales.

Martin does the illustrating and polymer sculptures while Celena sews and writes about the fantasy they live in, the Filigree. In their world the filigree are thin gossamer strands that connect everything.

The couple offered their latest creations this week and already they’ve all flown away. Each Damselfly comes with immigration paperwork. You can see the entire collection including their dragons and unicorns on Flickr.

Floating around the hemispheres

Kato_flat_disks

Techniques float in the wind currents around the globe, don’t they? Donna Kato posted this Natalia hemisphere necklace on her Facebook page in mid-February – well before PCDaily caught onto the flat disk craze.

But then Donna claims that she was just giving her African twist to Natalia Garcia de Leaniz’ design from a while back. PCD followed with this post and then this one.

Though we don’t know exactly how the fad started, you can see that decorating the edges of flat disks has become a popular fashion trend this season.

Kato_clasp

Donna finished her piece by adding a clever clasp. The flat disk has a groove cut in its edge. A rubber buna cord circle slips into the groove. “It works really well, the clasp doesn’t turn and it’s comfy, plus it’s the right scale!  I was very pleased with that – had to think a while about the mechanics but then it all came together,” says Donna. More sample designs on her Facebook page.