Polymer Clay Daily

Rebounding polymer

Nancy Nearing's small works show big progress on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ohio neighbor Nancy Nearing displays these four small artworks in a local gallery’s “Small Works” show for the holidays. We covered the start of this project as a work-in-progress in August.

What is remarkable is that Nancy’s new spurt of creativity comes after a tough year of grief and change.

Nancy Nearing's small works show big progress on PolymerClayDaily.com

“Nine months, ten trips, three clay retreats, and one class later, I’m starting to rediscover the joy of creating new pieces and series,” Nancy says in her blog post.

Going through a slow period, dreading the holidays, facing a crisis? Nancy shows us how creativity can disappear or remain dormant and then come back full throttle.

Polymer schnitzels

Kim Arden cooks up some polymer schnitzel on PolymerClayDaily.com

“I love making these veneer sheets out of the tiny schnitzels that I get after cutting out pendants and earrings,” says Ohio’s Kim Arden.

Kim Arden cooks up some polymer schnitzel on PolymerClayDaily.com

“I gather up all the bits and piece them together like a puzzle. Once assembled, I’ll put a backing behind it for strength. It’s painstaking but an enjoyable task that I came up with just by fooling around with scraps.” she says. This petal necklace is one of the results.

Since I’m working to finish a new book on scraps this felt like a big gift dropped into my lap.

Kim proves my theory that all the bits of design decisions in “schnitzel” can add up to something richer, bigger, bolder than we ever expected.

Read more and see Kim’s in-process shots here on Facebook. Thanks to Kim (and to Sue Screws for pointing it out).

Bird in the snow polymer

Colorado’s Jenny Sorensen (WishingWellWorkshop) was inspired by a twig she picked up. The result was this charming cardinal on a snowy polymer perch. It makes a lightweight tree ornament or a visual seasonal treat hung from a shelf.

The trick is the smooth surface of the snow and the just-right color and shape of the tiny bird. A sweet and easy-to-make gift to start your week.

Fiona Herbst creates a contemporary design for the holidays on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ireland’s Fiona Herbst has added this simple sophisticated pendant design to her holiday lineup. Colors like these are easy to wear with almost anything.

She knew she was onto something when the pendant was snatched up before it made it online.

Browse through Fiona’s Instagram to see what other crowd-pleasers she’s creating for the season.

Over at StudioMojo, we’ll be looking at more holiday offerings and I’ll share what my trainwreck of a week taught me.

Fall meets winter in a brooch

Valerie Bodino Nazet lets fall and winter collide gracefully in a polymer brooch on PolymerClayDaily.com

Now isn’t that the essence of fall?

France’s Valérie Bodino-Nazet situates a polymer shield shape of fall’s oranges, golds, and blues next to winter’s black and whites. She bisects the brooch with a flowing wire shape. 

I couldn’t tell if Valerie had finished the construction when she took this photo but my eye shouted, “Stop! That’s it.”

Here’s the brooch on Instagram.

Pattern repeats make a polymer fabric

Cecile Bos turns little canes into repeating patterns on PolymerClayDaily.com

Aren’t you tempted by these in-process photos from France’s Cécile Bos (11Prunes)?

Cecile made 17 or so small canes with distinct geometric elements, all with the same high contrast color in the background. She assembled them into a larger complex cane.

Cecile Bos turns little canes into repeating patterns on PolymerClayDaily.com

The resulting pattern repeats and gives the cane a fabric feel. The beads made using this method have a delicacy that pulls the eye in to examine.

Put this on your to-do list. We’ll be seeing more of these.

The vibrancy of fall

My vacation’s over! This necklace with wild fall colors from Ukraine’s Irina Karminova shows us how vibrant and exciting the season ahead can be if you keep your eyes open.

Welcome back! Vibrant fall colors from Irina Karminova on PolymerClayDaily.com

Irina explains that “I rarely use such shades in my work, but a recent walk in the park inspired me! I saw a bush of fall wild barberry with leaves of pink-purple colors and bright red berries! So unusual and beautiful! And I decided to make it!”

Thanks for coming back for a daily dose of polymer art that will nudge your work forward.

If you hunger for more, trot right on over to StudioMojo.org for a weekend wrap up and insider’s look.