Palm Beach weekend

Thanks to Scotland’s Melanie Muir PCD readers hitched a ride to Palm Beach, Florida last weekend. Melanie was teaching and exhibiting at the Norton Museum’s Bijoux Show. Melanie’s show collection is cataloged here.

She caught up with Kathleen Dustin at Palm Beach Fine Craft Show. Melanie shares more than 20 snapshots of Kathleen’s new work including the pendant at left, part of her carved Tribal Queens series.

It seems that Melanie missed Deb Groover’s large polymer wall art at the show but you can see Deb’s work on her site and here on Facebook.

Thanks for the vicarious thrills, Melanie.

Have a ducky weekend

Aww, look at the handfull of polymer clay miniature bath toys from Ukraine’s Svetlana Pavlova (sweetminidollhouse).

She shows lots of mini foods and fun stuff on her Etsy site but the tiny rubber duckies warmed my heart. Lots of us dabbled in miniatures on our journeys through the polymer world and have a fondness for small things.

See Svetlana’s minis closeup on this magazine site and have a ducky weekend.

Unveiling polymer

Take one television show, 5 pounds of clay, 50 patterned canes, 4800 slices, a 30″x 40″ canvas and what do you end up with? A lovely portrait of actress Sophie Turner from the Game of Thrones television series.

Well that’s what you end up with if you’re Julie Eakes. She brings plenty of intensity and expertise to her latest project…to say nothing of the hours and hours she spent assembling it. The subtle skin tones were a big challenge.

Not only is this Julie’s most ambitious mosaic piece, it’s also the one she’s most proud of. Follow the in-progress shots and explanations on her blog. Then fast-forward through the construction on YouTube.

Julie’s also been unveiling her work on Facebook. Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder, Julie.

Where the blues lead us

Few things can make a polymer artist more jealous than someone else’s neat stash of luscious canes. Libby Mills adds heaps of vision, skill and focus into one tidy box of blues group canes.

Then she shows us her next step, slices assembled into a sheet of veneer with some solid colors plus black and white stripes added to balance the mix.

She says beads are next but this is plenty for my eyes to absorb for now. To see where the blues take Libby, check Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Polymer platters

Victoria’s Gera Scott Chandler works in dark, bumpy, rich coiled polymer on this bowl. You might have thought it was fabric at first glance. She scratches and paints and reveals until the colors release their magic. See more fish platters and bowls on her Facebook page.

Gera’s Fusion bracelets are made of two tubes that fit comfortably inside each other. The painted and textured semi-circles show a bit of metal leaf and mysterious shine.

Gera’s a coastal soul and many of her muses and influence come from Canada’s rough west coasts and untamed beaches. She also worked with young children and takes inspiration from the art they taught her. See more on her site and Instagram.

Polycolored polymer

Nikolina Otrzan’s Polygonal Color brooches will wake up your Monday. Imagine lining up those angles and colors! The stripes bring another level of complexity while almost imperceptible dots of color add grace notes.

Nikolina takes her geometry in other directions as well. See what she’s up to on Flickr, Pinterest and Facebook. Surely she’ll teach her clever technique on CraftArtEdu soon.

Exploring gardens

There are hints of flowers in the online air. These from Alaska’s Katie Way (Bullseye Studio) are updates from an earlier polymer garden.

Her thin multi-layered disks are textured then enhanced with a wash of paint and stacked. If you know Katie’s work, you’ll recognize them as hers instantly. Look on Facebook, Flickr, and Etsy for more.

Simple, subtle, modern and they give us a taste of the colors ahead. We’ll explore a few more gardens next week.

Featuring flaws

You might want to reach up on the shelf and blow the dust off Elena Sevva’s vessel. Her polymer-covered jar makes a charming accent with an ancient flair.

I’m drawn to Elena’s piece because my first impulse when covering my own items is to chase all the seams and smooth away the imperfections.

What if you and I celebrated and featured the flaws and highlighted them with paint like Elena does? Could you allow yourself this approach? Could I? Just wondering.

See how Elena embraces looseness and imperfection in her artworks on Flickr and Facebook.

Color cravings

Do you have color cravings? My mouth watered and my stomach said, “Yum, let’s eat that!” when I saw these polymer and silver donuts from Ford & Forlano’s booth at the Baltimore ACC show. (More new work here.)

They’re not edible but those reds look mighty juicy and my system gets confused when bombarded by beauty. The earrings’ blues vibrated and hummed happily too.

If you’d like a calorie-free color snack, go sample the goodies on Dave and Steve’s site and Facebook page.

Perpetual polymer spring

Eva Thissen’s Blue Bird earrings are part of her perpetual spring collection. They’re also perpetually puzzling. How can she work so impossibly small?

The earrings measure 2cm (3/4″) in diameter. Eva uses a needle to apply and texture very dainty and bright pieces of polymer.

Her new things on Etsy and Flickr make you feel that spring is just around the corner.

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