Florida’s Sherri Kelberg was going with the flow and watching I Love Lucy reruns when she created this faux dichroic polymer pendant. “When I just lose myself in what I’m creating, it seems to come out better,” she says. The drawback of this unplanned approach to art is that the process may be hard to replicate.
Sherri remembers that this latest project “…involves layering, with translucent clay, rainbow foils, and pearl canes. After I bake the pendant and it’s hot out of the oven, I plunge it in a bowl of ice water. This seems to help with the clarity of the final product.”
Then she sands followed by a vigorous buffing with a microfiber cloth. A coating of resin completes the look. Her easy-does-it reminder is a good way to start the week. See more on Sherri’s Flickr pages, her Etsy site and on Facebook.
Hi, this is klio 1961, (Eleni is my sister’s name, we used her name to open our etsy shop). I really want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Your nice comments are very encouraging. I am Greek, and Greece is experiencing very difficult moments, we all live in a nightmaire, so I need to bring some color in my life and keep the hope alive. Thank you all once again, please do no believe all these bad things that are said about Greece and Greeks.
This comment from Greece’s Klio Tsaliki from Wednesday’s post reminds us of our difficult global times and of the power of the creative spirit (and polymer) to lift our spirits.
The sunny, cheerful artwork shown here is from France’s Celine Roumagnac who specializes in happy polymer vignettes. This one, Village in the Clouds, is captured under a glass dome.
The identity of France’s Cebeka is unclear but her style is distinctive. Her various constructions take great advantage of simple canes made of subtly graduated colors. She throws in a few stripes for variety and sometimes shapes slices into teardrops for elegant dangles. Cut, repeat, manipulate is the basis for many great designs.
Simple and effective polymer techniques are catching my eye since I’ll soon be teaching artists who need to produce appealing quality items in an efficient way. Cebeka’s approach is a good strategy. Her site is full of delightful examples.
Late at night Greece’s Klio Tsaliki (Klio1961) entertains herself by making simple polymer items using easy techniques, smart design and appealing color.You can catch the vibe on her Flickr page.
Especially on her sheets of pattern, you sense Klio’s playfulness as she repeats and repeats a pattern, then adds a surprising change to tease the eye. She uses the sheets most effectively on big bangles, coasters and containers.
Look at all the cutout/swap/repeat patterns she’s amassed in her collection of panels. Her use of dots is intense. Someone’s having fun!
Tory Hughes made this new necklace specifically to wear at last week’s RAM gala. It’s part of her new SeaCliff series using various techniques with the major elements pin-hinged together. Sea Cliff is a reference to an area of San Francisco that Tory sees as full of light, color and energy.
The necklace was on Tory one minute and then on Penina Meisels the next. (Tory decided it looked better on Penina.) Maggie Maggio’s necklace migrated to Cynthia Toops’ neck. It was as if the artists were switching nametags. The game to keep up with who was wearing whom made me realize how good it is to develop your own signature work.
You would swear that these polymer beads by the UK’s Emma Ralph were glass, wouldn’t you? The metallics look suspended in the medium and the colors are almost dichroic.
It’s not surprising that Emma is also a lampworker. Her familiarity with glass translates to polymer perfectly. You can see her Shabby Silks and Illuminare series of polymer faux glass on her site and more examples on her Facebook EJR Beads page.
Alaska’s Karen Ottenbreit gets down to brass tacks with her polymer. Actually she embedded domed brads in these polymer beads and has since moved on to leather studs and spikes as she, “…channels my inner biker chick.”
The look blends perfectly with her gothic fish and funky flowers. You gotta be tough to deal with the wildlife and weather in Alaska. You can friend her and follow along on her Facebook page. After a week of seriousness, we end the week with a lighter touch. Have a relaxing weekend.
These Embrace beads by Steven Ford and David Forlano showed up in a recent blog post about how their work touches on themes similar to those in the Art Nouveau period. They share a focus on organics and a sense of movement as illustrated in these luscious new beads.
RAM Redux
A slideshow about the Racine Art Museum gala is up for your enjoyment. In my excitement I simply pointed my phone camera (somewhat shakily) and started snapping. Please forgive omissions and silliness.
A comprehensive recording of the event, the panel discussions and events will be available in the future. Pieces from the exhibit are thoroughly documented in the companion book. And the exhibit itself will be open to you until February 5. In the meantime, enjoy my hastily assembled 3-minute snack.
A video conversation with Pier Voulkos will be part of this weekend’s StudioMojo newsletter.
This big beautiful cane by Diane Boivin appeared on Cynthia Blanton’s blog as she recorded the results of the 6-day kaleidoscope pendant intensive workshop with Carol Simmons at the Shake Rag Alley School for Arts and Crafts in Wisconsin last week. Cynthia says that the room got noisy as students began pounding these large triangular assemblages to reduce them.
Barbara Briggs won the souvenir t-shirt from the RAM exhibit via random number generator. Congrats and thanks to all who entered.
You may have noticed more changes on the PCD site this week in our attempt to freshen and keep up to date. Of course we broke a few electrons in the process. We appreciate all comments/criticisms.
