Polymer Clay Daily

Charming polymer

Stroppel on PCDaily

Florida’s Alice Stroppel has a high energy style that keeps evolving. She’s moved into her own gallery and set up classes. She upcycles furniture and adds polymer that turns flea market finds into fantasy.

Here’s she’s shifted into a minimalist groove, maybe in reaction to all the hubbub and excitement around her.

For her charms she slices thick slabs of square canes, embedding buna loops and dangling dabs of pattern. The palette is distinctively hers and the treatment is slimmed down, fresh and fun for her new gallery site.

Alice added more to the tea set we looked at last month. Here’s the video.

Lazy Monday

Lazy on PCDaily

Until 2010 Leah Lazy was a full-time cake decorator. Her customers wanted to keep her gum-paste characters so she switched to polymer and developed her line of monsters called Little Lazies.

Zombie kitties, pandas, bears and other beasts – all the colorful characters on this Virginia artist’s pages have colorfully bandaged owies.

It’s hard to feel threatened by an injured turquoise guy with a purple tongue, especially when you’ve seen him deconstructed. Leah makes her process seem deceptively simple.

Lazy on PCDaily

Creating endearing expressions, consistently smooth finishes and colors that grab – those tricks take patience, skill and a real love of monsters. Witness Leah’s work on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Etsy.

Cleaning up after the flood

The flood of Facebook posts from PCD has stopped. Thank you for your alerts and your support. Of all days, I was sick in bed with a bad cold and not checking in.

The autoposter went crazy and you got a crash course in polymer. I’m still under the weather and will take a couple of days to regroup and get over my embarrassment. Your notes were all very kind and understanding and I heartily appreciate that. What a kind audience you are.

Clay on clay

Loveless on PCDaily

MaryAnne Loveless shares her own brand of mixed media. She throws ceramic pots, leaving spaces for polymer. Clay on clay.

A polymer stopper top or a band of color are added after the piece has been kiln fired. Of course the ceramic piece can tolerate another baking.

Loveless on PCDaily

She added a wire and polymer handle to the ceramic teapot below. See how she mixes media on tins, wood bases, ceramics by checking her out on Flickr and Pinterest. What can you pair with polymer?

Nuts! I published early. My site’s clock seems to have a bug in it. I’ll try to fix it and bring you your regularly scheduled programming as soon as I can figure it out.

Polymer crystals

Wallis on PCDaily

The UK’s Claire Wallis used translucent and metallic clays plus paint as she experimented with her imitative rock crystal ring. She plans to tweak and explore what she’s discovered and we’ll plan to watch!

This new work is a departure from the large and intricate complex canes that she demos on Facebook. She shows more on her site and on Flickr.

 

 

Polymer revealed

bohmer_carved

Margit Bohmer’s Carved Beads may prompt you to rummage through your nail tools for your old cuticle trimmer. These bright colors are revealed by shallow slices carved off the extruded strings which have been wound around base beads.

Margit’s fond of rainbow colors which look even more dramatic when exposed against the black exterior of the strings. She sometimes goes a step further, smoothing and sanding the carving to achieve a more shibori-like look.  See how she manipulates color by slicing and sanding on Facebook and Flickr.

Inky polymer

Mishly on PCDaily

Israel’s Iris Mishly has updated her look and combined all that she’s learned about polymer and inks into a new INKredible II class (live classes or online tutorials).

The news out of the New York design shows indicates that Iris is on track. “Our first trend pick of the season is the inky, hand-drawn graffiti markings threaded throughout many shows this season,” says the popular DesignSponge blog.

Get out your gloves, it’s going to be a messy, inky summer. See more of Iris’ graffiti on her blog, on Pinterest, Flickr and Etsy.

Personal polymer sculptures

Bishoff on PCDaily

This cheery eye candy comes from Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff. She and her husband, J.M. Syron create both large and small sculptures – furniture and jewelry from polymer and wood.

Bonnie’s jewelry statement sums it up nicely, “We endeavor to create daily messages of joy, balance, challenge and intrigue; small personal sculptures that enliven the wearer and communicate in intimate detail.  We transform specific materials to create tactile, curious and wearable forms, and rich surfaces of continuing interest.”

This piece measures up to their intent, right? They’re also on Facebook. Don’t miss Bonnie’s shawl pin site.