Polymer Clay Daily

Constraints bring creativity

Squint and bite your lip, ogle and admire…that’s what I’m doing with these seed necklaces from Ford and Forlano that are part of the Smithsonian show. Stripes and dots? Bring it on!

Can you spot the exciting twists in the latest creations from Steven Ford and David Forlano? They’ve upped their game with new seeds, tubes, and shells.

Everything has shifted as the Smithsonian show has gone virtual. That seems to have broken loose some creativity as well. The bidding process is confusing but it’s forced the artists to lean into coming up with new must-have designs.

Check out Ford/Forlano, Bishoff/Syron, Wiwat, and more.

Time to rotate

Silovia Heartmade reminds us to rotate the wardrobe on PolymerClayDaily

Must clean the closet!

Tweedy stripes from Spain’s silovia heartmade look like the favorite thick sweaters and turtlenecks we stowed away. We’ve slogged through 2020 to cold weather. Time to pull out the woolies.

She pairs her rough textured and bifurcated shield shape with a fat leather cord and a bronze jump ring that keep the rustic, wintery vibe going. Here she is on FB.

The speckled clays have been popular recently and now we understand why.

Screaming cookies

Anakay's biscuits scream on PolymerClayDaily.com

In the hands of France’s Anakay (anakay_fimo) during this spooky season, popular BN cookies take on a more sinister tone. Her polymer versions turn into earrings on her Instagram.

Anakay's biscuits scream on PolymerClayDaily.com

It’s Friday so we’ll slip into the weekend with some spooky sweets. Even the cookies are screaming these days.

In this Saturday’s StudioMojo we’ll bring the screaming down a notch. No hustles, no pushing. You probably have your own little inkling of something new you want to try. Come see the bright ideas you may have missed. 

Unbroken circle of friends

Keeping in touch Kentucky style on PolymerClayDaily.com

I like the bags of “inchies” swapped and then squirreled away in ziplocks in the back of the bottom drawer. They make me nostalgic and bring a smile. But much better to do what the Kentucky group did this year and create arty trinkets that you can wear or drape from shelves.

Swappers received short lengths of ball chain onto which they add their beads. Members amassed their trades and snapped the lengths together. One look and longtime friends know whose work is whose.

It’s a way of touching base, waving hello, saying something comforting or sassy or silly.

We’re still here and with any luck, we’ll be together again.

Joan Tayler shared this swap idea some years back. The Kentucky guild whose members are sprawled across the midwest decided to use it in a year when this is this is the closest we can get. Ron Lehocky heads up the group while Mary Clyde Sparks and Francie Owens (and others I’m sure) made it all work.

 

High voltage color

Little bits of high voltage colors on a slab on PolymerClayDaily.com

We’ve gotten ho-hum about slabs. Make a base, add some bits, press in, cut out. Yeh, yeh.

With high voltage colors and neatly stacked bits in a controlled composition, Australia’s Linzy (graciefaceau) makes us look again. Her site isn’t ready yet and her shop opens this weekend. Now she’s got our attention!

Further exploration shows that the slab is a collaboration. The slab is from Linzy and the colors are from Katherine at Hellorobbo. Recipes for her latest palette go on sale this weekend.

A nip in the woods

Chris Owens creates a flask for the woods on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Chris Owens (chris325o) uses layers of Cernit metallic clays with a touch of Sculpey Souffle white to achieve this tree bark look. She’s made a big mokume gane veneer that wraps all around the Blue Bark Flask.

Chris makes luscious mid-century modern patterns collide with woodsy colors. Usually, you hide a flask but I’d want to set this right on the table for all to admire.

Aren’t you curious to know what she used for those patterns? She’s Retrovenue on Facebook.

Dive into Monday

I find myself gravitating to bigger and bigger earrings. Seems it’s the upside of these strange times. “Why not?” I ask myself.

These lovelies are from Dallas’ SmallTalkHandmade. The Dive line is her take on a modern-day tassel made entirely of clay. Hard and soft, light, and heavy. The extruded strings hanging from a cutout square call to me. You too?

Stinky polymer cheese monsters

You may be pretty used to monsters during October, but I’m betting that cheese monsters like these from Spain’s Carlos Medinilla Castro (carcreatures) didn’t just pop into your head.

His polymer creations are part of the toy and art doll exhibition in Barcelona. Carlos’ art pays homage to the gastronomic and stinky universe of cheese with a zombie touch. You can sniff him out on Etsy too. Deliciously creepy.

And check out the hamburger workshop here.

I forgot how I get lost online. Whew, I gotta pace myself.

If you’re looking for the offbeat, cheese cutting edge of polymer news, come hang with us over at StudioMojo this Saturday. 

Polymer pumpkins

Kobotamatsukuri celebrates the pumpkin shape on PolymerClayDaily.com

PCD is back just in time for pumpkin season. It will take some time for me to get my grab-and-go skills back. I’m rusty.

This polymer pumpkin is from Kobotamatsukuri who is a research scientist in Japan. Pumpkins are sprinkled throughout her Instagram so obviously, they’re important and intriguing. But how and why? She doesn’t explain.

We’re all missing being able to travel so I brought you something exotic and mysterious. You’ll have to search for clues about this artist. Let me know what you find. It’s good to be back.