Polymer Clay Daily

Spring fever is contagious

Mary Anne Loveless spreads spring fever on PolymerClayDaily.com

Now that February is thawing in this hemisphere, we’re thumbing through garden catalogs and skewing our palettes to pinks, yellows, and greens.

Utah’s Mary Anne Loveless can’t wait. The green sprouts in her garden prompted her to heap flowers on these earrings in her spring collection. Let’s celebrate Spring Fever!

Over at StudioMojo, we’re still harvesting tips from this month’s online conferences and classes. If you’re in the mood tor the best homemade tools and the most clever new designs, hop over to the right column and sign up for Saturday’s newsletter.

It’s not about perfection

Michelle Sansonetti makes humble bottles and jars into art on PolymerClayDaily.com

When Melbourne’s Michelle Sansonetti (zedembee) picks up bits of old projects to cover humble glass jars and bottles, she unleashes her inner abstract painter. She gets loose, She shines!

There’s a common blue/green thread that runs through her palettes and when you put them together, there she is in all her glory. It’s not about perfection, it’s about being present.

BAE in NYC

Go big and swanky with this mother-daughter duo on PolymerClayDaily.com

You might want to take a page from the book of NYC mother/daughter duo Malisa and Imani Parke who started their Swanky Designs in 2019.

March 1 they launch with Macy’s and relaunch a new site.

Their mission is to create designs that encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and live a Swanky lifestyle with their big statement earrings (or BAE – big ass earrings as they call them…look it up, it’s a thing).

They’re here on Facebook.

 

Build-a-bug

Watch Wanda Shum build a bug in 3 minutes on PolymerClayDaily.com

Sometimes watching an artist’s hands is so instructive and calming.

That’s what Canada’s (BC) Wanda Shum does in this 3-minute bug-building video. She’s in control, she knows what she’s doing. Sigh! Relax and watch.

Wow, that bug’s got a lot of wings! Who knew?

Wanda uses the littlest bits of canes to build an extravagant creature. Lots of wild variations crawl around on her site.

Polymer meme

Popular polymer meme finds itself on PolymerClayDaily.com

“In the end, Waldo found himself.”

Relax and breathe as we start the week. My husband spotted this polymer meme on Facebook. Blair has never sent me a link before so I’ll reward his effort with a post.

I hoped to locate the artist but memes spread like wildfire, The posting and reposting obscured the artist’s identity. The name is lost but the meme lives on. (Let me know if you have a clue.)

Polymer’s popularity has contributed to the current clay shortage. Young people are picking it up and it’s being woven into the culture. Looks like we’re finding ourselves.

Polymer painting with feeling

Deborah Stanley paints feelings with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Deborah Stanley exhibits this 14.5″ x 17.5” polymer portrait of Breonna Taylor entitled Remember in KORE Gallery in Louisville.

Like many of us, Deborah began a project with her young son. She was soon hooked on polymer. “For my first several years as an artist, I exclusively created abstract designs, always determined to let go/let flow with the clay.”

A portrait commission challenged her to express herself and to create a likeness. This pivotal moment taught her that she could put both a likeness and feeling in every piece of art.

This week was packed with online classes and conferences. Ideas and tools and tips zoomed around and we’ve snatched some up for StudioMojo. We’ll be chock full of luscious links. Subscribe now and gear up for Spring.

Black cameos honor the past

Dianne Quarles' cameos celebrate Black women on PolymerClayDaily.com

“I saw many elegant, beautiful cameos but only one with the face of a black woman so I started making my own,” says Atlanta-based Dianne Quarles.

The name, Maruva comes from the initials of four generations of creative Black women in Dianne’s family. Her Maruvian Women series honors her great grandmother, a runaway slave who became a successful, independent “modes”.

Each face is customized to give it an original personality. “Black Panther,” was the inspiration for her warrior women. The symbols are from the Ashante tribe of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

The works are featured in the Roswell Roots Arts Festival, in Roswell, GA for the month of February.

Wintery polymer

Meike Lucia Friemel brings winter to polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

“It has to be a long time ago when we had such a winter with low temperature and so much snow. Of course, I went out for frosty photos and frosty hands and feet,” says Germany’s Meike Lucia Friemel (MeikeLucia) who is both a metalworker and polymer artist.

“I like the difference between “slow” metalwork and “fast” clay work,” she says. Polymer gives her the possibility of neverending color.

See how Meike brought the wintery weather into these bangles. They may make you shiver here on Facebook and Flickr.

Celebrating lineage in polymer

Dominique Scaife shows how Roots Run Deep on PolymerClayDaily.com

I have a story to tell of the beauty I see. Of a beautiful people that are my lineage. The intent of my art is to capture the vastness of who we are as a people, our culture, our style, our essence and share that beauty with the world,” explains Pittsburgh polymer artist Dominique Scaife

In her 2019 solo show, World Melanation: A Celebration of Hue, Dominique exhibited 20 one-of-a-kind sculptures created to celebrate the beautiful skin tones of black women. 

Dominique’s newest works are part of the Roots Run Deep: A Contemporary Survey of African American Hair Culture at Brew House Association. She’s here on Instagram.

Dominique Scaife shows how Roots Run Deep on PolymerClayDaily.com

Roots Run Deep looks at the ways in which Black hairstyles are tied to tradition and examines the historic influences on modern styling. The show runs through March 6.