Poly willows

A bunch of dried pussy willows in a booth at the farmers market caught my eye. What if I picked off the fuzzy blooms and replaced them with polymer ones?

This bunch of blossoms in my living room would provide a splash of color and a clever visual pun. Here’s a closer look.

I raided my old canes and piles of color scraps, recycling them to make hundreds of little ovals. I baked them and fired up the hot glue gun. The worst of the whole process was removing the fine webs of glue threads that draped themselves on the branches.

I considered saving this idea for my class on polymer and power tools at Maureen Carlson’s facility in Minnesota in late July. But by then all the pussy willows will be gone.

Besides, I have plenty of ideas for tweaking our medium with the help of simple tools and an adventurous decorating spirit.

The Poly Willows may never make it to our living room. The other artists want them to stay on display in the studio.

Polymer CPR

Ron Lehocky just hit the 30,000 heart mark in his campaign to raise money for Kentucky Kids Center. He’ll continue to make hearts as he begins teaching CPR.

Not that CPR! His first class is called Come Play with Ron, May 22-24 at Creative Journey Studios in Georgia.

Dr. Ron is easing up on his medical hours and he’s beginning to share some of the finer points that working with polymer day in and day out taught him.

He’s perfected Roney Gane, the Easy Peasy Cane and developed clever ways to recycle canes and enliven surfaces. Ron explains more on this short video. He’s donating the 30,000th heart to Creative Journey Studios’ polymer history collection.

Polymer by month

Each month I upload all the PCD photos to my Flickr gallery. April’s features were particularly photogenic. Have a look.

Polymer for tea

Who uses silver tea sets these days? Alice Stroppel does. This set immediately sent her to Wonderland and she embellished the serving pieces with polymer characters from Lewis Caroll’s tales of Alice. Examine the pots closeup on her Flickr page. Here she is on Etsy and Facebook.

Syndee Holt took the pictures as she visited Alice’s shop/studio in Florida. Continue the tour on Syndee’s Facebook page. You’ll spy a silver pitcher in the front window that’s revived with polymer. Nothing escapes Alice’s talent for recycling.

Stalking polymer

Philadelphia’s Emily Squires Levine has moved from bowls to wall art and her Celestial Spring hides six constellations (the red dots) among a grid of openwork polymer panels.

The 16″ x 21″ composition of squares and rectangles is set on pins that project out at varying distances. The shifting sense of the piece is easier to understand from the angle below.

Even better, Emily’s friend and admitted art stalker, Veruschka Stevens, gives us an absolutely fascinating look at Emily in a lovely post on her blog. You get a devoted fan’s view of Emily’s work, her studio, her process.

Be careful, you’ll easily be sucked into Veruschka’s world of color and fashion as well. She set up a serious handmade, custom-designed fashion jewelry business several years ago. Her site quickly grabs you and you’re drawn in by her vivacity.

The two artists share a love of color and a methodical approach to design and construction. Emily earned an MBA and spent 30 years in finance. Bolivian-born Veruschka worked as a software engineer and brings determination and an energetic style to all that she does.

But you’re probably already stalking these two yourself. Find Veruschka on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Flickr. Follow Emily on Facebook, Flickr and her site.

And then slip over to Craftcast to see what Loretta Lam will be teaching this evening.

Watchdog Wednesday

Cynthia Toops has added several 2015 works like this micromosaic Watchdog to her website. She lists a full lineup of spring/summer exhibits which have spurred her production.

Some of the items were created for a July/August Matter of Materials exhibit at Facere Gallery in Seattle.

From June to October she and her collaborator/husband, glass artist Dan Adams, are part of an exhibit of familial artists at the Racine Art Museum. All in the Family investigates how artists are influenced at home or in shared environments.

Cynthia’s carries her palette of prebaked thin threads of polymer in a divided plastic box. When I went to Philadelphia for a class, her teacher’s traveling studio fit in a small duffel bag while we students lugged large rolling carts of bulky supplies. Oh, to work small and with such concentration.

Calming Fischer-Cozzi

Too much upsetting news! Louise Fischer Cozzi’s calm, understated jewelry feels like shelter from the storm.

She takes the simplest shapes and classic patterns and puts them together in a sophisticated way with only perhaps a painted gold edge of flash. Louise was riveting and etching translucent polymer before it even dawned on the rest of us.

Here she turns a brass bangle into modern art. She covers the form with ultralight, sculpts it with a surprising jag, then paints and distresses it. Her work encourages you to look carefully and breathe deeply which is just what we need.

Here’s her Etsy shop, her site, her Craftcast class and her Artful Home profile.

Read Kopila’s comment on yesterday’s blog post to keep up with the Nepal news.

Namaste

If you’ve followed PCDaily for long, you’ll know that we have a special affection for Nepal and the ladies of the Samunnat project in Birtamod. Wendy Moore is there now, visiting and planning for the future which was surely shaken by Saturday’s earthquake. (She created these polymer sculptures.)

While Birtamod is 250 miles east of Kathmandu, the quake was definitely felt. The building that the polymer community helped fund still stands tall. Open fields around the building give the ladies a place to run to during continuing aftershocks. The country and many, many Nepalis are in great distress.

You’ll feel like you’re there as you follow Wendy’s first-hand accounts of this disaster on their Facebook page and blog. Your comments and thoughts are very meaningful to them. Please like and comment. It’s quite amazing to see how connected we are to our sisters a world away.

The donation button on their blog says Raise the Roof should you wish to help them. You can buy individual polymer beads at KazuriWest, their US distributor.

Because their Etsy shopkeeper (Wendy) is not at home in Australia, their finished jewelry is not available until she returns. For disaster relief, Wendy suggests giving to reputable organizations like the Red Cross. If you want a delightful snapshot of Nepali life, take some time to look through her After the Monsoon blog. Namaste.

Tropical Friday

Melissa Terlizzi’s tropical delights end our week with a hit of color and a touch of whimsey. The tropical business card holder (left) was commissioned. The structure wraps around the cards with a bouquet of flowers and frogs added for a happy effect.

The Feathers and Foliage piece was created for a 3D show at her gallery. Enjoy progress pictures of the scarlet macaws on Flickr and follow her antics in polymer on Facebook.

Have a colorful weekend.

Tropical polymer

The Feathers and Foliage piece was created for a 3D show at her gallery. Enjoy progress pictures of the scarlet macaws on Flickr and follow her antics in polymer on Facebook.

Have a colorful weekend.

Italian inspiration

My heart did a little spring flip-flop when I spotted the work of Italy’s Monica Rotta on Facebook. These pieces come from her Tribute to Claire (Maunsell) series. The further I clicked through her photos, the more delighted I was. Transfers, textures, appliques with startling colors and a look all her own.

“In my case the geographical context in which I live (the hills of Brianza) flavors especially my sensitivity to respect and to wonder at the marvels of nature,” she says in an interview. She satisfies her need for organic materials by mixing leaves, black rice, stones, wood, dried fruits, shells, paper and other objects with polymer.

Monica worked for 6 or 7 years with no formal instruction until she took her first classes in 2013. Here she is on the Ganoksin website and on Flickr. On Pinterest you’ll see work-in-progress shots from an exhibition of works in collaboration with the painter Annare Gioielli. Now Monica teaches and she has a couple spots left in her Trees of Life class this Sunday.

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