Indiana’s Riley (RiClayCollection) gets ready for Mothers Day with a twist.
She gives a narrow pale ribbon of polymer a slight twist and ends the earrings with a delicate matching ball. The effect is both contemporary and classic.
Riley is an arts fundraiser and finds herself surrounded by inspiration. She started with clay during quarantine.
Do cowgirls (and cowboys) wear barbed wire earrings? Wait! Maryam (GraciousRebelDesigns) is from Philadelphia so she’s probably not aiming for ranching types.
In fact, Maryam says she makes earrings for the brave and the rebellious. She started during the pandemic.
These polymer barbs and hoops are much more comfortable than real wire. They look quite convincing.
Come on over to StudioMojo this weekend where we continue to focus on upcoming artists with fresh perspectives. Gracious rebels are just what our community needs. In-person classes are being scheduled and clay is appearing back on the shelves. We’ve got the scoop you’ll want.
Virginia’s Angie Wiggins gets lost in the swirl of a bead. She puts blends and cane scraps on a base bead and does a bit of rock and roll to make a swirled bicone bead. It’s hard to explain but fun to master. (See a video here.)
Angie enjoys putting her own spin on this pendant. Tiny dots in companion colors track the swirls. She has a background in embroidery and loves to add her signature surface embellishments. Now it’s definitely her swirl.
Diandra (41stivy) had tickets to the Van Gogh exhibition in Vancouver on the weekend. A girl has to wear the right earrings, right? It took her just over three hours to build the sunflower painting in polymer.
Here’s Diandra’s in-progress video on Facebook. Her speed may make you want to hit the ground running on a Monday.
Japan’s Chica3f gently offsets delicate translucent petals on a barrette finding to create a springlike hair accessory. She also offers them in spring tones. Like wearing cherry blossoms in your hair!
She lets us take a peek at the translucent curved bar on which she floats the petals.
StudioMojo will be full of surprising trends and introduce you to some of the new artists on the scene. Many new names have burst onto the scene with huge followings and busy stores. They seem to have secrets and savvy that you won’t want to miss. Sign up and come see.
Isis Blackstock (littlepiecesjewelry) turns squiggles and wrinkles and tubes into polymer chic.
Isis’ pieces are light on technique and heavy on making a smooth, sleek, modern statement.
Australia’s Belinda Broughton has gone too far. Paint, powders, inks, crackle. You name it, she wants to try it on polymer.
The farther she goes, the more crazy, juicy, color-soaked patterns Belinda brings to life. Here she has a Thelma and Louise moment and drives off the cliff. It’s a joyous moment and she’s got the earrings to prove it.
Surface design is not for the timid. It’s going to be that kind of week. Hang on.
Houston’s Alyse Morrissey (morriseymadeclay) makes lovely, monochromatic dangles in pale earthy pastels. She has an eye for shapes that flatter.
Alyse has worked with polymer for a year and she’s taken to the whole art/biz thing like a duck to water.
You may have noticed a growing number of young artists in your midst lately. I say welcome and wow!
If you’re wondering how the clay supply dwindled, polymer popularity within this new group is part of the answer.
This youthful infusion is what the polymer community has wanted. What now? That’s what we’ll look at in this week’s StudioMojo with input from a clay manufacturer. Discover the answers with us.
No messy dip-dying for South Carolina’s Kathy Koontz (flowertownoriginals).
Her Easter eggs are covered with polymer scraps turned into stripes and then taken a step farther.
Kathy offsets the stripes to make a bargello veneer. Her resulting zigzag pattern is hypnotically, obsessively detailed.
Now what? Veneers are fun to make but it’s not always clear how to use the results. Eggactly!
If making bargello is new to you, watch this YouTube tutorial from Australia’s Jessama.
The earrings that I raved about earlier this week were from Houston’s Sally Kirk (Blossomandclay) using Moiko silkscreens. Right tool, wrong artist.
Once I fixed that, I went to her Instagram for a wander. Sally’s two little girls giggle and sing and sort components for their mom. They are very proud of her. They scribble and paint and work on their own art just like mom.
I could be wrong again, but these waterfall earrings appear to be extruded strings laid out precisely. Such a simple and glamorous treatment from Sally.
Pandemic purchases…we’ve all made them. An imprint tool that will make you a mokume gane star. A class that will uncover deep secrets. We are all susceptible to the idea of a quick fix, the magic pill.
StudioMojo will offer you a few more. If you’re lucky enough to be economically stable, some of that stimulus money could be patriotically spent supporting artists. We’re all in this together and we’ll talk you through it on StudioMojo. Join us.
