Comfortable shapes

Minnesota’s Jan Geisen knows how to make shapes comfortable with each other and just by looking at her Flickr gallery you start to understand how shapes on top of shapes can work harmoniously.

On this bracelet overlapping circles are cleverly constructed on bases that snuggle between larger ovals. There’s a soft ease to the colors and patterns as well. See more on Etsy.

Jan’s a photographer and there must be some architecture or engineering in her background as well. Have a comfortable weekend.

Polymer comic relief

Enjoy a little comic relief from Pavla Cepelikova. These cute polymer pins are the work of students in her Comics class. What a fun introduction to polymer. Go see the rest on her Flickr site as I soak up the final few days of my vacation. Need more? Try Etsy and her Czech site.

Seeing spots

Polka dots are fashionable and classic…and very hard to make in polymer. I’m putting the finishing touches on tonight’s Craftcast class where you’ll learn how to make dots in your own palette and use them in a variety of ways. Then there are extruded tubes that become birch branches or curvy tubular accents…and so many other ideas!

If squeezing polymer out of a tube is a mystery to you, join us for some fascinating answers.

Tomorrow I’ll be less frenzied and it will be back to PCD business as usual.

Strings of polymer

These polymer pieces from Russia’s Victoria Mkhitarian are probably extruded strings. Either way, you’re going to enjoy a trip through her Flickr site to see her earthy colors tinged with an updated ethnic vibe.

In her Polymer with Spices necklace Victoria makes a Natasha bead look like a folk museum piece. Natasha beads are fun but they are rarely put to such good use.

Wednesday extrusions class

Only one more day of my rant about extrusions. There’s so much to pack into one online Craftcast class that I had to enlist the help of friends to give a bunch of techniques a try.

I had no idea that these longtime polymer artists were extruder newbies and it was fun to watch them “get it.” Still time to reserve a good seat (and of course you can download and watch later too).

Blazing new polymer paths

Sandra Trachsel’s works will have you squinting and scratching your head. How is that kind of precision possible?

Sandra (ST-art-clay) explains that she combined an illusion quilt pattern from Caryl Bryer Fallert and Dan Cormier’s matrix cane idea. For her mud cloth bracelet, she credits Donna Kato for the cane ideas and Dan Cormier for the forms.

A trip through Sandra’s recent work shows that while she’s been inspired by great teachers, she’s veering off on her own path which we’ll happily follow.

Polymer snails

This Snails 17″ necklace from Madrid’s Silvia Ortiz de la Torre shows us bright new ways with extruded polymer. We’ll have to guess how the coiled strips reveal their hints of other colors. Are they mounted on a backing or baked as a single unit?

Admire more of Silvia’s works on her blog and in her Etsy shop. Learn easy and time-saving extrusion tricks in my Craftcast class next Wednesday…I’m adding more to wow you.

Have a great weekend!

Extruded sunset

Libby Mills assembled this polymer collaged 4-inch tile as she quietly worked at our table at a recent conference. Backed with a Skinner blend, the tile combines a layer of ripple blade slices, swirled extruded strings and dabs of solid colors and textures in a fall palette. Her goal was to produce a series of decorative compositions for a wall.

This snapshot of Libby’s work popped up as I prepared samples for a class next Wednesday. (It looks very Santa Fe sunset!) My new extruded disks are now on sale on the Kazuri West site and I’ll be teaching extruder tricks (like perfect polka dots).

Extrusion is an enjoyable technique that we can use as another nifty tool to cover large areas and to produce consistently-sized elements. Ok, I have a thing for extrusion, do you?

Space girl polymer

PCD was happy to rediscover Tammy Durham, a polymer illustrator who now lives in Fort Collins, CO. (We last saw her in 2010.)

Her Space Girl on a Mission panel is complex and cheery and she shares the details of her process on her Facebook page. See how she sketches and plans and tries to keep a dust-free workspace. Tammy also keeps an archive of her earlier work on FB.

Tammy’s art appealed to me as I immersed myself in editing and uploading video for my upcoming Craftcast class on extrusions next Wednesday. We can all identify with Space Girl.

River polymer

Wednesday is the last day of Gesine Kratzner’s epic exhibit, River Without End, at Albina Press coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. Gesine and artist Sarah Hall installed a 300-foot paper river around the shop’s eight walls. They mounted boats, animals, bridges, sea creatures, mermaids and dragonflies on the river.

The polymer, paperclay and epoxy characters tell a story that flows around the room. Each of the mounted characters was for sale…and sold briskly. Great idea! See all the photos of this imaginative show here.

Gesine is an illustrator, sculptor and animator (featured here on PCD). She also sells from her Etsy shop, Blobhouse.

Maggie Maggio and Laurel Swetnam told me about the show where they each bought pieces like this Father and Son.

Extrusions everywhere

Sherri Kellberg’s earrings from polymer extrusions jumped right out at me. They’re subtle, simple and clever and her site is full of similar examples with fine finishes (she offers a tutorial for that) and appealing color. This Florida artist also offers a tutorial for faux lampwork that is tempting. Here’s her Etsy shop.

I’m working on my Craftcast extrusions class for November 13. You know how when you’re focused on something you suddenly see it everywhere? Be prepared for extrusions this week.

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