Gearing up

Fabi Perez Ajates brightens a corner on PolymerClayDaily.com

Spain’s Fabi Perez Ajates gears up for next year’s classes with a trio of layered polymer rounds (16″. 10.5″ and 7.5″) that work together.

The three circles brighten the corner of the room with their swirling color palette and engaging textures. Your eye is pulled into the variety of patterns circling around small hearts at each center.

Gift yourself a grouping that will brighten a corner in your home.

Retro reindeer

Nadia Elkina stylizes her reindeer for a retro holiday on PolymerClayDaily.com

Poland’s Nadia Elkina makes a retro reindeer brooch to give the holidays a mod look. Her strong image is enhanced with some simple texturing on the face and leafy antlers.

Silver is a nice change of pace after an overload of red and green. Star earrings and little leaves complete the set.

What’s in the stars?

Katrin Yunh sees Taurus leading the charge in 2021 on PolymerClayDaily

Ukraine’s Katrin Yunh (on Etsy she’s Lunchik) carefully sculpts galaxies on a powerful looking 2.5″ fantasy bull, a symbol of 2021.

Katrin uses Cernit with Genesis paint then adds horns and stars in glow-in-the-dark clay.

“I create cute and crazy characters that live in my visionary world,” she says. Taurus is the second of the 12 astrological signs and is represented by the bull constellation.

I understand that you’re a stubborn bunch but I’ll leave the astrology to you. You’re also intelligent, dependable, hardworking, and dedicated. Sounds like that’s just what we need for 2021.


Yep, we’ll be looking for signs and reading tea leaves over at StudioMojo this weekend. Join us for some attitude adjustment and tips that can help you smoothly surf through what’s ahead. 

Try, try again

Marie Segal's small Christmas tree and a free tutorial on PolymerClayDaily.com

Marie Segal uses the tiniest bits of Cernit to create her pudgy Christmas tree.

Her most recent free small-scale experiments reel us in. Mix a small circle of pearl with a smidge of color and see what happens. No advanced 65-page detailed instructions to plow through.

Trying out her mokume gane mini-tutorial might just convince you to try something new…or not.

Truth is, I’ve never mastered the technique. Maybe I should try again.

Did you know that Marie Segal is credited with first using a pasta machine in 1983 to flatten polymer? She knows a thing or two!

Petal dangles add spice

Enliven your look with contemporary shapes from TheClayEdit on PolymerClayDaily.com

Virginia’s Ariel (TheClayEdit) gives us a hint of spring with her contemporary petal dangles. These are not your mother’s clip-ons and I wonder if I dare try something so youthful.

“Statement earrings have the ability to transform an entire outfit. They’re the icing on the cake, the spice that pulls the whole recipe together.” Oh, I certainly hope so.

Ariel is on Instagram and Etsy.

Reverse mosaics from Maine educator Diane Manzi

Teacher Diane Manzi teases us with a basket of reverse mosaic ornaments on PolymerClayDaily

It’s Monday and I really didn’t feel much like trolling through Instagram and Facebook. Maine’s Diane Manzi must have sensed my overload.

She emailed me photos of her reverse mosaic ornaments and switchplates which set off a series of alarm bells that chimed gaily, “We have a winner!” Her ornaments and switchplates have a woven, scrappy, graphic, contemporary look.

What in the world is “reverse mosaic” and will she share her magic? She claims to be a doodler. Tell us more!

Teacher Diane Manzi teases us with a basket of reverse mosaic ornaments on PolymerClayDaily

Photos of the ornaments and switchplates show off her style much better than the little photos on her website. She’s an art educator. Lucky kids to have such a teacher. I’m jealous.

Bravo for Diane bravely sending her work to PCD. Now we want more, more from her. Here she is on Facebook. Let’s coax her out of her shell.

Take time to ponder this trick

Lynn Yuhr makes us believe in magic on PolymerClayDaily.com

My head knows that if you put light to dark next to dark to light you’ll get the sensation of curving dimensional color.

So why does the trick surprise me every time?

Lynn Yuhr shows us how it’s done with her ornaments. Flipped alternating Skinner blends produce the magic.

German artist, Philip Wiegard takes this concept even further and his free tutorials will wow you.

Too much for your brain on a Monday? So sorry. Pour yourself another cuppa.

Simple geometry

Molly at Slab_and_Stone creates simple holiday shapes on PolymerClayDaily

Recognize the Christmas tree in these earrings from Chicago’s Molly (SlabandStone)? She calls them Modernist.

Shapes boiled down to their essence make me inexplicably happy. Look at the way Molly pairs semicircles, half rounds, and ovals with metal shapes and her own fresh twist on terrazzo polymer cutout shapes. Here she is on IG.


Fresh twists are what I’ve bumped into again and again this week as I scoured the web for StudioMojo tidbits.

I’ve found some real bright spots in this December-to-Remember. Come squint at the 2021 sky with us to see what’s ahead.

Out of clay, full of imagination

Kathy Koontz turns scrap into not-so-ugly Christmas sweater ornaments on PolymerClayDaily

Soulth Carolina’s Kathy Koontz (FlowertownOriginals) thanks the pandemic for one of her best sellers this season. Yes, Covid slowed the manufacture and shipping of clay but she didn’t let that stop her as she saw her supplies running low.

Kathy Koontz turns scrap into not-so-ugly Christmas sweater ornaments on PolymerClayDaily

Kathy got creative with her scraps. “Whether it’s old canes being reimagined or unsuccessful veneers that I somehow knew to keep, they both found a place in these Christmas sweater ornaments. So thanks corona virus!” There are a few left on Etsy.