Polymer Clay Daily

Boston’s Betsy Baker

One thing led to another on Betsy Baker’s web site. Her “illustrated transfer” technique intrigued me. She transfers portions of found images (using catalogs and magazines) onto polymer, then alters them with colored pencils. But that was just the beginning. Hang onto your mouse.

Betsy is part of Handmade Boston (major fun) and one of her favorite links is Just Jewelry. Just Jewelry happened to link to Facere Gallery where Cynthia Toops and Sarah Wilbanks had some pieces I hadn’t seen.

You’ll want to visit Betsy’s site when you have time to linger and luxuriate. There’s much to see.

Preston’s Modern Manuscripts

Nancy Preston of NY sent the polymer clay piece at the left to Synergy for the auction and I finally had a chance to see her work up close.

In her art the medieval manuscript meets contemporary media and a traditional aesthetic meets modern visual vocabulary.

Her most recent work (pictured at the right) has even richer colors and more layers of meaning. It’s visually dense and delicious.

Spring Cleaning Tidbits

Feels like time for polymer clay spring cleaning. Here’s a list of all the notices, fun links and loose ends that have been building up over the past couple of weeks:

  • A Russian tutorial of running shoes from Ehidna that appeals to the kid in me
  • Step by Step Beads (look at the free Christi Friesen download) is hungry for good polymer clay projects for the magazine. Check out the writer’s guidelines and contact editor-in-chief Leslie Rogalski.
  • Ronna Weltman (new pictures on her site) is doing an article about cool tools. Send her a note about your favorites.
  • Victoria Hughes is offering a special on her DVDs and she’s including handmade polymer samples with her books. More on this and other class news on her site. And have you heard her interview on craftcast?
  • The painted polymer clay pendants pictured above look like spring. They’re from England’s Eva Soehjar (guessing at the last name). Thanks to Judy Dunn and Melanie West for the link. See how Melanie’s bangles have evolved.

Ponsawan Sila’s daughter was in a bad auto accident. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Blackford pieces quirky, intense

Leslie Blackford’s polymer clay art is quirky and powerful in its personal intensity. Most artists work hard for the kind of unselfconsciousness that flows easily from Leslie.

Currently her day job keeps her out of the studio, a difficult circumstance for someone so dependent on art to communicate.

Her “Pain of Words” sculpture in the Synergy gallery (pictured at left) was particularly poignant. She also had a silly, delightful collection of jewelry like these jellyfish and an assortment of strange creatures made from pods and twigs found around her rural Kentucky home.

Take a look at works in her Deviant gallery. Or if you’re curious, check all the posts we’ve done on her over the past three years.

Barbee’s Wearable Works

By the end of last week, you could spot Meisha Barbee’s work on the neck of many Synergy shoppers. She combines simple canes and soothing colors in graphic ways with subtle textures woven in. The modern minimalist design continues through her findings. The harmony and detail in these pieces make them very pleasing to wear.

Since Meisha has no web site (her studio and shop are in the Spanish Village Art Center in San Diego, CA), I’ve assembled a few pictures here. Her brothers are glass artists and they urged her to enter her work in the Niche competition which she and Loretta Lam won earlier this month. Have yourself a winning weekend.
Meisha Barbee

ACC polymer artists

Last week during Synergy I flew past the 700 booths in the Baltimore American Craft Council show with no time to photograph polymer clay work from more familiar artists like Louise Fischer Cozzi, Kathleen Dustin, Mary Filapek, Ford/Forlano, Karyn Kozak, Sue Fleischer, Karin Noyes.

It’s difficult to attend a conference, report and shop at the same time. I tried to stop only at artists you might not otherwise see.

Virginia’s Wiwat Kamolpornwijit and Wisconsin’s Susan Dyer allowed me to photograph a sampling of their work. You may not be familiar with them and Susan has no web site. Ponsawan Sila is a friend of Wiwat’s and assisted him in his booth.

There’s more coverage of the Synergy conference over at the fun blog, Art and Tea.

Gathering Ideas

Even though no one brought polymer clay to work on at Synergy, you could tell that participants were filling their heads with ideas.

These ping pong balls covered with polymer by Gloria Askin made me smile and shifted my brain into high gear. They’re super light.

Robert Dancik showed wire forms covered with pantyhose and made rigid with white glue. Yes, you can cover the pantyhose/wire/glue forms with polymer and bake them. His classes made your head reel with the possibilities.

The glowing neon colors and velvety texture in this necklace by California’s Cheryl Lois Walker made me reconsider using Ultralight clay as a base as she did. She packages her necklaces in a clear plastic box with a matching bead glued on the lid as a handle. Nice presentation.

The microwave clay from Eberhard Faber has me stumped and wondering. Could it be useful? Do I want to use it in my microwave?

Donna Kato has information about the reformulation of Kato Polyclay on her site plus a nice album of conference pictures.

It takes time to process ideas and figure out which ones fit with your style, your ideas, your voice.

Tribal Trends – Kuskin and Dewey

I’m digesting the ideas and information from the Synergy conference and may be rolling out new materials for weeks.

These new polymer clay earrings by Judy Kuskin were jaw-dropping (to use Ponsawan’s terms). By the time I got back to the gallery to buy some, she had sold out.

Don’t they remind you of the primitive ones by Philadelphia Perishables we looked at a few months back? There must be a tribal trend in the air.

Seeing Katherine Dewey’s work up close was stunning too. The detail and the power of this “Family Tree” piece was amazing.

The slides from my speech are available here. You may be able to glean some Synergy excitement and ideas just from following along.

Clarke’s Polka Dots

Perhaps the best view of the Synergy conference is from the newer polymer clay artists who were there. Cynthia Blanton continues to post pictures and her impressions. Ponsawan dropped her jaw repeatedly. “I am happy to be here among all other fine artists. The first time in 26 years living in this country, I felt I belong,” she says.

Lisa Clarke (aka Polka Dot Creations) gives a great glimpse of what she experienced.

Lisa’s a self-described “wife, mother and geek” who sells various products, publications and her own artwork on an assortment of sites. She has an impeccable color sense and creates buttons to embellish trendy fabrics and handmade items. Lisa seemed astonished when I told her that I’d been following her charming blog closely.

Be sure to see Lisa’s photo of the international attendees at the Synergy conference. We’ll soon put names to all those faces for you. I’m worn out from the long drive home and still riding high on the positive response that my keynote address received at the banquet. And I can’t miss the Oscars!

Camera Karma

If you have any good vibes lying around, send them my way. My camera is resting under a chair in a convention hall classroom. With any luck (and your spare karma) it will be there in the morning and you’ll get your post…just a bit late.

Word is that the male polymer clay artists have dreamed up their own event, billing themselves as the “Clay Hunks.” They’re overwhelmed by our estrogen-laden atmosphere and long for something manly with more power tools.

Found the camera. Thanks. Here are a couple of quick pictures. Susan Lomuto and I are posting hurriedly from the coffee shop. The chic pendant above is from Maggie Maggio. The pin is from Linda Loew who’s new to polymer clay. I like the way it uses rough clay to good effect (similar to the European guild post the other day).

And here’s a pile of business cards from Laura Tabakman onto which she’s glued a thin textured piece of clay stamped with her web address. On the opposite side is her normal business card. Very clever, very effective.

Cynthia Blanton gives a great update on the conference if you’d like to follow along.