Polymer Clay Daily

Ticking polymer clay Hart heart

Kimberly Hart of MonsterKookies in Toronto gives an edgy twist to her polymer clay cookies and hearts. I’d been admiring her anatomically correct heart pendants and this realistic steampunk version (My Heart Doesn’t Beat, It Ticks) is inspired.

The piece sold as soon as it was posted on Etsy. There will be more to come. You can keep track of Kimberly on her deviant site, her web site, or on Etsy.

Attaboy/girl

Two weeks into the year and you all seem to be ticking items off your lists. Grant Diffendaffer has his Etsy shop up, Gera Scott Chandler has dusted off her blog, and Maggie and Lindly’s new color book is available for pre-order. You go, girls and boys.

Eash’s kitschy polymer

It must be the sound of my husband munching as he watches football in the living room that’s drawing me to these polymer clay earrings by Arkansas’ Wanda Eash.

Her sites (Etsy and Flickr) are a riot of jewelry that glorifies all kinds of Americana, kitschy food and vamping starlets.

Wanda’s art and articles have been published in the best craft magazines and her earrings are being sold in the Jell-O museum in New York. It doesn’t get better than that, does it? Very retro. Very hip. Have a hip weekend.

Hughes mobiles, new blog

Tory Hughes is working on polymer clay mobiles for the Sculpting Color in Your Hands show August 8 through November 22. The event will be organized by the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA and curated by Kathleen Dustin. This exhibition will include a variety of large scale forms, including sculpture, furniture, wall pieces, and installations by artists who are pushing the qualities of polymer clay.

Tory found mobile design a different and very compelling type of design challenge. “It involves things that move in space, things we see from below or across. Personally it is nice to have more reasons not to use my imitative techniques; I like the opportunity to develop a different esthetic given the design criteria,” Tory added.

Be sure to bookmark the new Log Notes section on Tory’s updated site. In her intro she explains that, “My job is to navigate the landscape of creative action and come back to discuss what I find. Check in regularly, because I’ll be telling you all the juicy and useful things I encounter.”

Jensen’s shabby chic polymer miniatures

My journey with polymer clay began when my daughter and I furnished her dollhouse nearly twenty years ago. I’d almost forgotten how enchanting making those little furnishings and food can be until I began clicking through the CDHM Miniature site. I was drawn in by their January featured artist, Cristel Jensen from Norway. (Scroll way down her page to see all the images.)

Cristel specializes in polymer clay food and small interiors. ” I prefer a ‘worn vintage’ look and like to give things a shabby feel as a finishing touch,” she said. The Ralph Lauren-inspired chair above is polymer.

Making 1/12″ size dioramas look real and inviting is no small feat.

Geoffrey’s chic pendants

Rebecca Geoffrey’s clean graphic look is hip and chic and she’s got a whole gallery of similar pieces on her IndiePublic site. She shows an incredible ability to control and exploit every mokume gane slice and cane pattern.

It looks as though Rebecca has narrowed her web choices to IndiePublic, there’s little on her other sites. Networking has become overwhelming and I imagine that we’ll all be narrowing our focus soon.

The Tucson bead show in February sounds warm, sunny and tempting at this time of year. Just look at the roster of classes at ToBeadTrueBlue and the list of vendors. Thanks to Barbara Sosna of the Tucson PC Guild for reminding us.

Polymer clay hands speak for themselves

We start the new year with a new idea. MoonlightAura has opened an Etsy shop with polymer clay sculptures that can spell your favorite color (“blue” pictured here) or word in American Sign Language. Brilliant!

The Buffalo artist works with children and finds signing helpful in teaching children, even those without hearing loss. It’s a great learning tool as well as an intriguing decoration. Susan Lomuto discovered the link and generously forwarded it for your Monday inspiration.

On TV

HGTV running the That’s Clever series again and Mags Bonham is scheduled to demonstrate her polymer clay work on January 9, episode number 404. The fast-paced craft show often makes its subjects look quite silly and Mags is quite sure that her episode won’t disappoint.

Eakes’ resolution, Filip’s hearts

North Carolina’s Julie Eakes can cross one resolution off her list. She launched her blog. Go give her a pat on the back.

Julie has become known for her elaborate polymer clay face canes like the one shown here. There are more samples on her Flickr site. Thanks to Jana Roberts Benzon for tipping us off. (Jana has some new lovelies on her site as well.)

Polymer hearts for the next holiday are already beginning to pop up on websites. My favorites are from Konstanze Filip (Madooli) from Berlin. She works in polymer, paper mache, and air drying clays, painting the surfaces with bright colors and drawing graphic patterns and icons.

Her newest pendants look like fossils or rocks from the lunar surface. The “in progress” pictures detail her unusual way of handling the clay.

Press reset, reboot your muse

Nobody does polymer clay party people better than Dinko Tilov. This one looks like the morning after to me. If you’d like to find some of the characters you partied with on New Years Eve, look here or here. Dinko has an entire gallery of “face dice” to roll.

If you’re done with partying and more interested in pressing the annual reset button for your life and rebooting your muse, today is a great day to visit polymer clay artists who enjoy helping you: Dayle Doroshow, Tory Hughes, Judy Dunn, Amy Crawley, Heather Powers. Let me know if you have names to add to the list (see the comments for some additional names). I suggest wandering over to ZenHabits for inspiration as well. I hope that 2009 brings you many happy moments and new adventures. Happy New Year.

Dembicer’s polymer reflections

Peggy Dembicer’s “Self Absorbed” polymer clay and seed bead piece is a perfect theme for today. What were the highlights of 2008 for you? What do you want to leave behind in 2008 so that you can start 2009 with a clean slate?

Change for handcrafts

The first round of voting for the Ideas for Change in America competition will end tonight (12/31/08) at midnight Pacific Time. The competition is a citizen-driven effort to identify the best ideas for how the new administration can turn the broad call for “change” into specific policies.

The idea that, “American-made souvenirs and handcrafts should be displayed and sold in our National Parks” needs more votes to qualify for the final round. The idea was proposed by arts advocate and American Style publisher, Wendy Rosen. You can help increase the chances of this proposal reaching the final round by voting here.

Niche finalists

The coming year has started off on the right foot for these 2009 NICHE Finalists in the Polymer Clay and Jewelry/Fashion categories. Happy New Year to you all!

Kuchansky’s web comic series

San Francisco’s Justina Kochansky is a polymer clay sculptor and a puppeteer. “I delight in little things and hope to provide others with delightful little things…most of which have a dark aspect for a bit of flavor,” she explains.

Justina currently produces a sculptural web comic, ArticulateMatter, which is updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Her daily diaoramas are then offered for sale on her Etsy site. “It started out with a story line, but quickly evolved into stream-of-consciousness vignettes.” Currently the cast includes polymer clay squids (including Squidmund Freud and Squid Claus), frogs, and various vacuum tube creatures. Her Christmas coral reeth tickled me too.

I needed a little delight as I ponder the end of one year and the start of another. This quirky link comes from Barbara Forbes-Lyons.