The soothing color blends in Carina Feichtinger’s rendition of autumn flowers make me forget my list of chores and head full of ideas. I look up to see the last leaves falling from the trees.
The simple design is based on one cookie cutter shape topped with slim Skinner blend petals. Take a break and chill out with a stroll through her blog and her Flickr site.
Elissa Farrow-Savos’ women sculptures in polymer and found materials resonate with me after a long weekend sharing stories with my sisters and my niece in NYC.
Elissa says of her work, “My women…show their scars and wear them proudly because after all, they make a good story, if nothing else.”
This piece is called “Chorus of Elders.” Her work will appear in this year’s Washington Craft Show (beware, the link will suck you in).
Ingrid Gans sent the tip and I later realized that Susan Lomuto also wrote a lovely post on Elissa just yesterday on DailyArtMuse.
The layered beads from Eriko Page were inspired by Japanese kimonos. Slices of delicate flower canes are onlayed over smooth base beads whose surfaces have been flecked with metal leaf and washed with translucent colors.
The result is something quite new with Ingrid’s own colors and clear echoes of her teachers. Each of the classes Ingrid has taken pushed her in a new direction. It’s great to see student work develop its own momentum. Thumb through her Flickr pictures to see.
Vermont’s Marie Davis takes viewers on a walk through her studio for a Friday treat. Many of her works are large wall pieces created from canes. She’s been working in polymer since 1987 and you can tell that she still delights in the medium.
I’ve taken the liberty of editing one of her studio tours to make it manageable for PCDaily. My edited version is show here at the top of the right column. Visit her YouTube site for the full treatment.
Bright colors, crisp patterns…a winning combination in polymer from Illinois’ Terri Stone. If you’ve ever muddied up a promising palette, you’ll admire Terri’s ability to mix and match.
Her holiday Etsy shop is bursting with more examples.
I’m packing for a rare weekend with my sisters and these colors look as cheery as I feel. Thanks to Lindly Haunani for the link.
The Ontario and Quebec guilds have pulled me back into mosaic/inchie mode. I’m intrigued by their group’s mystery project that Cynthia Blanton talks about on her blog.
“On the first day we were each given a small square of paper with a fragment of a photo on it. Our job was to duplicate the image in clay, matching colors and size,” she explains.
On the last night the squares were assembled on a larger canvas to reveal the image and produce the masterpiece. What a great project for a group (or a virtual group).
Janine Müller’s pictures from her October masterclass with Sandra McCaw in Germany show more astonishing student work. Sandra is leaving a trail of polymer flowers in a wide range of colors all over the UK and Europe. The work looks more precise in each class. (Here are earlier 2010 class pix from UK and France.) Next comes Switzerland!
Inchies, one-inch square polymer tiles, have become all the rage for swaps among artists.This set of fall leaves from Mama Tierra was part of the trading flurry at the EuroClay Carnival in Madrid. Repeat a technique 81 times and you’re bound to get good at it!
They look great in a grouping. Here are some more inchie pictures that caught my eye:
Maggie Maggio’s split ring design has been a great success. Here’s the video tutorial in case you missed it. Photos of the results have been coming in from artists around the world. The chain at the left is from Vancouver’s Barb Alexander.
What does Maggie want to see during her vacation in Italy? Red! Real Pompeian red, to be exact. It’s taken this consummate colorist a while to settle down, put polymer colors aside and just enjoy her month-long vacation with family. Check out Maggie’s site updates as she moves on to the Mediterranean blues.
Have a colorful weekend.
Loose Ends
Bids are flying in the second round of the auction to benefit Ponsawan Sila’s daughter. You have until noon Monday to get in on the action.
Nominations for IPCA board positions are due in by October 29. Read more here.