It’s Valentine’s Day, pass it on! Ron Lehocky’s meter rolled over 37,000 polymer hearts at the first of 2017.
That’s $370,000 worth of polymer hearts that Ron has made and sold in the past 11 years. The money goes to the Louisville Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies where Ron is a pediatrician as well as an artist and fundraiser.
Watching Ron make hearts is like a restful meditation (you can see him in action here). If you ever doubt that you can accomplish something with this artform, read Ron’s stories on Facebook…and pass it on.
New York’s Donna Greenberg calls her newest wall art an Olive Eater Urchin but I call it sunshine. An 11″ diameter prickly sculpted, textured and painted sunshine is a perfect way to begin our week.
“The weirdos do add up,” Donna says of her other-worldly constructions, “Some have new homes to fly to, others will be in shows or going to workshops with me. Table room is at a premium in the studio these days.” She has created these decorative gems at a prodigious rate.
You can see lots more of them on her website and Pinterest. Donna will be sharing her techniques in a Tidal Pool pre-conference class at this year’s Synergy.
Her spare, minimalist architectural sentiments merge with an attraction to smooth, curvy natural forms. She takes simple techniques and gives them power with spare and elegant design. Don’t miss her wall pieces featured on her Etsy site here.
Remembering the Dalai Lama pendants we shared along the trail on our Upper Mustang trip in 2014. Makes me wonder where these little photo transfers are now.
My husband upgraded his computer and he’s had me on tech duty so today’s post is a TBT from the photos I had on hand. See his photos more clearly on my Instagram. Now to write this weekend’s StudioMojo. Join us!
This 26″ x 15″ wall mixed-media collage by Wisconsin’s Christy Ann Skuban adds an eye-grabbing hit of color to a wall. It’s entitled My Sunshine Loop Dee Loo.
Christy used to dress windows for Saks Fifth Avenue so she knows how to guide your eye to the sweet spot.
Colorful telephone wires often add a delicate hint among the large polymer and wood elements. Here’s a quick video review of some of her wall pieces and her workspace.
Christy started her career by working on large wall pieces. When people began admiring her small mock-ups, she started producing them as jewelry. See her on Facebook.
Could your work translate into something bigger? Is it time to change size?
We are closing in on the big day for hearts so I went on the hunt for some new looks which led me to Ireland and back to Oxford, England as two artists collaborated.
In Northern Ireland Helena Benkoczka (AretobeadsJewellery) made the polymer beads that she stamped and colored with chalks. The colors bounce off the bright white touches. See her unusual color palette of chalked beads in her Etsy shop,Pinterest and Instagram.
It didn’t take long to discover how Sue Robinson (UtterlyLovelyStuff) in England had bought Helena’s beads and enhanced the hearts by surrounding them with glowing glass beads and wrapping them with wire. See more of her creations on Facebook.
It sometimes takes skills from an inspired collaborator to show off lovely beads in their best light. And it’s a relief to know that you don’t have to do everything yourself. Do what you do best!
Slovenia’s Marjana Cajhen shows how minimalist designs that aren’t technique-driven can delight us with openness and wearability. Thin graduated flat squares of polymer veneer are stacked on each other separated by tiny spacers.
If Marjana’s sensibilities mesh with yours, look at more of her work on Pinterest, FB, and her blog.
PCD is closing in on 3,000 posts and 300 weekly weekend StudioMojos. That shocking number paralyzed me temporarily on Friday and I took the day off to recover.This link from Lindly Haunani jarred me back into action.
The painterly backgrounds on these flower canes from Maine’s Jayne Dwyer accentuate the realistic flower images.
The backgrounds are not just Skinner blends, they are chunky blends of companion colors that blend into brush strokes and set off the main images.
You may be wowed by Jane’s realistic scenes in polymer on her sales site here and on Facebook. If want to see what inspires her, visit her Pinterest boards.
Be sure to look at her latest teapot to see how Jayne gives salvaged items new life by applying her slices to them.
Your messages on my birthday burst onto my computer screen as I packed up for a class yesterday. Thank you!
And the surprise party where I was named Polymer Prison Princess for the day was so memorable that I have to share the scene.
The polymer wishing well filled with good wishes was a special gift from students at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
The workroom was festooned with hand-colored toilet paper streamers that ended in rosettes. The table was strewn with confetti made from colored paper scraps interspersed with glints of silver from small pieces of saved pop tart wrappers. The wishing well was wrapped in a potato chip bag turned inside out to camouflage the label.
Students commissioned a couple of songs written and sung by a talented inmate. Cards were hand-lettered. The birthday cookie bar was cleverly made from commissary items (Meghan said I could share her special recipe).
I’ve never been to a more festive party. You couldn’t find more resilient, creative and generous women and I felt truly honored. They follow your work (via printouts of PCD posts), read all the donated books and magazines. You can be proud to have them as members of our community.
