Polymer Clay Daily

Reduced obsolescence

Jude Radwanski (firefly art jewellery) resists obsolescence and so do we all!

Saskatchewan’s Jude Radwanski (Firefly Art Jewellery) scratches and scribes polymer jewelry as she works to create jewelry that enhances the designs of clothing manufacturers and retailers.

“Polymer clay is extremely durable and suits my commitment to reduced obsolescence,” she says defiantly.

No obsolescence here at PCD either. I’ve skittered around the globe and across the country, checking in with polymer friends around the globe in a burst of post-pandemic energy. Were you beginning to worry? Nah, I’m fine and ready to settle in at the computer after one more trip west this month. 

Plenty of pretties that you need to see! Stay tuned.  CT

Fall front and center

Diane Kremer is feeling fall with new earrings on PolymerClayDaily.com

Colorado’s Diane Kremer packages up fall in a simple pair of earrings. Subtly textured shades of orange/red/gold circles stack like a pile of leaves.

The wire that ties it all together is featured front and center. Why not?

This week’s StudioMojo wraps up my last event as I head out for another one.  We’ve been cooped up too long! All that pent-up energy has to be unleashed! Come on over and see what’s new and where it’s coming from.

Cold cut flowers

Jenny Patterson slices extruded flower canes after they are fired on PolymerClayDaily

Maintaining the shape of extruded polymer clay flower canes as you reduce them is nearly impossible. At a recent gathering, Minnesota’s Jenny Patterson reminded me of a clever workaround.

She extrudes her canes and slices them after they’re cured!

Jenny sells at big shows (she’ll be at the Balloon show in Albuquerque) so her production skills are well honed.

She cuts the cured extrusions once they’re cool or slightly re-warms them to make them pliable depending on the brand of clay. Try it both ways to see what your clay prefers. She punches a hole in each thin slice with hole punch pliers.

Her flowers are made using extruded stacks of disks of clay colors (a la Bettina Welker) with her own extruder disk designs.

We’ll be talking about several newly learned lessons (and cool new tools that make them happen) in this week’s StudioMojo. A week off the grid did my heart and my brain good. Come see why.

Readers on the loose

Iryna Osinchuk-Chajka (Eteniren) helps you organize and help on PolymerClayDaily.com

Do your “readers” and other specialized spectacles scatter themselves around and end up in all the wrong places?

Polymer to the rescue via Ukraine’s Iryna Osinchuk-Chajka (Eteniren) and her clever sunglass stands and wall mounts.

A notch on the top of each big polymer nose creates a secure resting place for spare glasses. No more rummaging around the house at the last minute. Iryna is a clever artist making her way through tough times. Art for organizing and for a cause.

Dancing in the dark

Sara's glow-in-the-dark earrings light up the dance floor on PolymerClayDaily.com

Seattle’s Sara (g.oo.d.ee) works in a digital environment. “I don’t get the chance to craft and build physical objects with my hands as I used to,” she says.

Enter polymer clay. Her hands are now happily sketching, rolling, cutting in their off-duty moments.

Check out how this free-flowing pattern that includes glow-in-the-dark clay lights up the dance floor. Sara’s only been at this since December. Look out!

In the weekend StudioMojo newsletter, we love to suss out artists like Sara who are new to clay and take to it like ducks to water. This week’s edition looks at head-turning new designs that are commanding high prices and showing up in the most fashionable places. 

Klimt for ears

Chelsea Rodriguez gives Klimt a makeover for modern ears on PolymerClayDaily.com

This riff on Klimt’s patterns by Miami’s Chelsea Rodriguez (Venus De Chela) shows her love of museums and fine art masters.

Chelsea has a thing for museums and she likes to play with famous patterns and palettes, focusing on elements that strike her fancy.

Her jewelry resonates with familiar pieces and parts reconfigured to hang on ears and accent today’s fashions.

Off-kilter polymer

Who doesn’t feel a shiver of delight as a Skinner blend drops down from between the rollers of a pasta machine?

I know there are millions of ways to layer, scratch, pound, and twist clay into intricate patterns. Yes, you can add bling, paints, inks, and sparkles. But for my money, nothing compares to the thrill of color.

These circles are from a blend (teal/fuschia/zinc) that I rolled endlessly today. The jaunty disks were inspired by a friend’s thrift store find. Her necklace was made of wooden disks. “Wouldn’t that look great in polymer?” I thought.

An off-center hole sideways through each of the smaller disks keeps the flat rounds bumping against each other in the most energetic way. It was so simple and it pleases me. What could be better than that?

Join us on Saturday mornings when StudioMojo brings a week’s worth of new ideas and inspiration to your inbox. Try it! You’ll see.

Fashionable fall polymer

Amanda rakes leaves for her fall designs on PolymerClayDaily.com

If it’s August (how did that happen) you know that autumn leaves won’t be far behind. Let’s get an early start with these dangling lovelies from Montana’s Amanda (speckled_designs).

Amanda gives you a leg up with a look at last year’s favorites plus in-process shots of her earring assembly. The designs are elegant and simple in a fall palette updated for today’s fashion.

Table scraps

Virginia’s Angie Wiggins takes advantage of every scrap of silkscreened polymer at the end of the day.

Sorted into colorways and backed with a layer of solid color clay for strength, the tiniest leftovers become useful and decorative napkin rings and coasters.

You’ll be surprised at what polymer clay can become in the hands of the experts we cover in this week’s StudioMojo. Discover awesome possibilities in what you thought were your most flawsome efforts. 

Back to school

Gael Keyes can't escape schools on PolymerClayDaily.com

New Mexico teacher Gael Keyes says she can’t get away from schools, even on vacation.

Gael has developed her own method of book-matching bits of scraps. Even small remnants of canes make elaborate and unique patterns. They dive under and around a found branch, happy to be back in school.