Nailed it!

Christine Kaczmarek shows how metallic oxides like polymer on PolymerClayDaily

Florida’s Christine Kaczmarek dazzled us in the bowl swap with her sparkling 4 1/2″ round shallow swirl bowls. Those of us who don’t keep up with the latest nail treatments couldn’t figure out how she’d achieved such sheen and sparkle. See more on Christine’s Instagram.

Lumiere Lusters and Born Pretty powders are her favorites. Many other metallic oxide powders used in the nail trade are available online. These powders almost jump onto wet nail polish and they are equally attracted to polymer clay. Glass artists use them too.

The fine powders are tricky to work with. Sneezing, heavy breathing, and ceiling fans will make them take flight. But once you get the hang of it, they’re immense fun.

Christine gave us a demo of both the powders and how to construct this swirl pattern. I’m staying up late to edit it into a video for StudioMojo. If you want to know the rest of this shiny story, join us for the weekly update every Saturday morning.

Playing with cutouts

Linda Pearl considers a quirky use for photos on PolymerClayDaily.com

Maryland’s Linda Pearl expands her exploration of photo transfers with these jointed figures using stock images. She simply smooths laser prints onto polymer and lets them sit for a while while the toner transfers.

Linda was challenged to incorporate filigree from Jackie Swartz and experimented with wired joints. (See how she connected them

here.)

Challenges and experiments are often launching points that produce charming, quirky first efforts. Linda says she’ll add jointed knees and elbows next time.

Her prototypes may make you reconsider new interpretations of your family photos. See more of Linda on Instagram and her site.

Bowl morph

Linda Loew begins with a bowl that becomes a pendant on PolymerClayDaily

What started out as a small bowl by Baltimore’s Linda Loew became a layered, moody pendant.

A photo transfer of a man stares off into the distance from the second layer topped by a multicolored oval frame on top.

Turns out that this bowl wanted to be a pendant.

Just because you’ve made a bowl doesn’t mean it can’t morph into something else. See more on Instagram.

Mixing up a bowl of sparkle

Ann Dillon stirs up sparkles in her swap bowls on PolymerClayDaily.com

It’s going to be a week of bowls and other beauties from here in Virginia. These free form black and whites are from New Hampshire’s Ann Dillon.

I was entranced by how they sparkled under the lights and then realized that the twinkles don’t translate very well in photos. You’ll have to imagine the silvery magic that Ann created by using glitter clay in her canes.

The bowls are swap items and there are many to choose from. This is day one of the conference so there’s no telling what else may emerge.

Long-running projects

Watch Cristina Garcia Alvarez challenge herself for 100 days on PolymerClayDaily.com

Spain’s Cristina García Alvarez (espiralarte) gives us a window into her journey through a 100-day project on Instagram.

On day 20 she took a turn that you may like when she paired Skinner blends with Bettina Welker-like retro canes. She added quirky textures and sped along with variations on the days that followed. Cristina gives us a window into her world as she continues to explore these designs. Click through her days and watch her progress.

We’ll be looking at how artists grow and change in the StudioMojo weekend newsletter this Saturday. Instead of sulking about how I haven’t participated in 100-day efforts like Cristina’s, I’ve decided to celebrate that StudioMojo has been perking along for 408 weeks. Yikes! It’s my own kind of long-running project that you can join at any time!

Exuberant colors

Christine Pecaut lets her spring colors dance on PolymerClayDaily.com

France’s Christine Pecaut (Chifonie) works in colors that speak to us on Thursday.

Shimmery teal, navy, and cobalt patterns show up in her exuberant spring line. On the hair barrette, small triangles line up jauntily with one pop of rhinestone bling. The pendant is more flowery with one connecting blue element.

Enjoy Christine’s vision of spring colors on Instagram.

Mystery in twelve parts

Olga Perova's patterns zig and zag around this vase on PolymerClayDaily.com

Perth, Australia’s Olga Perova showed this 7″x11″ polymer vase in the Wanaroo Arts Awards exhibit.

She is drawn to vessel shapes and bargello-like patterns. Here she combines both favorites, lining up multicolored patterns in a most meticulous way.

By my count, there are twelve segments to this piece. Can you imagine applying all those strips of clay? It seems too textural to be a cane. It is baffling.

Look more closely on Facebook and Instagram.

How does your garden grow?

Juliya Laukhina shows us the beauty of weeds on PolymerClayDaily.com

Moscow’s Juliya Laukhina forces us to take another look at the weeds we’re battling in our yards.

Juliya reveals the beauty of simple plants in this bangle made of textured polymer tiles. Pressing fresh cuttings into clay or molding material, she creates texture plates that she bakes. Then she presses raw clay into the baked plates.

She gathers the resulting soft-edged rectangles around a bangle form and highlights the textures with a wash of dark paint.

Voila, those nuisances in the garden enjoy a new life on your arm.

Watch Juliya on Instagram and Facebook.

Hitched in polymer

Bonnie Bishoff coordinates the wedding party with this tie on PolymerClayDaily.com

Rub the sleep from your Monday eyes and look closely.

This snapshot of Bonnie Bishoff and her son Jaime holds a surprise you may have missed.

At the Nuptials exhibit at Maine Craft Portland, more than 20 artists created one-of-a-kind ceremonial adornment, accessories, and jewelry for those looking to get hitched in style.

Bonnie created a collection of delicate flowery polymer and wire pieces for the 2-month long exhibit. Her son sports a Nuptials tie in this photo. Envision a wedding party completely coordinated with polymer art.

See more of Bonnie’s collection on Instagram and Facebook.

High speed earrings

Bonnie Gilmore layers her Friday earrings at high speed on PolymerClayDaily.com

Australia’s Bonnie Gilmore (HatchingSparrows) launches us into the weekend with a frenetic Instagram video that will kick your Friday into high gear.

She cuts, positions, layers, textures, smooths and readjusts at high speed. The resulting earrings carry that energy and brightness with them. Here she is on Etsy.

If you’re looking for energy and brightness but not so much the frenetic part, hop on over to StudioMojo. We slow the pace down and take a more leisurely Saturday morning look at the week’s developments in our polymer universe. Kind of a spa treatment for your over-stimulated creative brain. Relax with us.

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