A jolt of color to start your week. Ohio’s skies are very gray and I’m drawn to Gera Scott Chandler’s bright polymer clay poppy theme on her new framed compositions.
The Vancouver artist is launching into the year with some new box designs as well. The photos are on her Flickr site.
I’m a little slow getting started this week. Go check out Kim and her fun links while I get my brain in gear.
Maggie Maggio has renewed her blogging vows and started the year with a post on “white” which includes a terrific link to Minnesota architect/designer Martha McQuade’s Uniform Studio and her polymer clay experiments (here’s her Flickr link). You may want to savor that site this weekend.
The simple, minimalist designs feel so right. And speaking of simple designs, please revisit the work of Washington’s Ellen George. I have a completely visceral response to her work.
“Baby Doll” is a series of hand-formed polymer clay objects that look slightly naughty, almost edible…like lost belly buttons.
There’s a good article in the Portland Tribune about George, Maggio, Dittmar, Toops and other Washington artists who are part of the “Clay Nation.” Think of yourself as a citizen of that nation.
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| Dittmar | Young | Bonura | Simmons | MacLeod |
These five polymer clay artists and/or their techniques piqued my interest and stood out in 2007. You may agree…or not. If I missed your absolute favorite, let me know.
Carol Simmons – Simmons’ kaleidoscope system is the most logical and elegant mathematical system since the Skinner blend. Can’t wait for her to introduce it. Carol uses Kaleider software to test her color combinations.
Elizabeth Bonura – This had to take the cake, didn’t it? I love that Etsy friends chimed in to help her capture the bride’s likeness.
Camille Young – Her use of Lumina air dry polymer clay pushes us to think in other directions. Check out her new barbed wire.
Sharon MacLeod – You have to see her work to appreciate its detail. I can’t figure out how she wraps such fine patterns so perfectly on memory wire.
Meredith Dittmar – She’s prolific, she’s hot. Meredith’s art has been on cell phones, billboards, books, and in the coolest Portland galleries. This girl is talented and knows how to market. Last week my tivo found her on “Crafters Coast to Coast” – that frenetic program that I usually avoid. I wanted to yell, “Stop moving the camera,” so that I could see more of her work.
2007 was a banner year for polymer clay artists unveiling new web sites. Familiar names like Hyde, McCaw, Stokes, and Bolgar threw their hats in the digital ring while others like Haunani and Dustin became bloggers. Of course there were thousands of newbies (more on them soon) who joined the chorus as well…a fabulous trend from my point of view.
Have you looked at the posts on the new Polymer Art Archive? Historical information (like these pictures of early Pier Voulkas beads) is certainly something we have needed to document and explain to artists new to the craft.
Several trends emerge as I study last year’s posts. The first is the explosion of Etsy where you’ll find 982 pages of polymer clay works offered for sale today. Interesting pieces, like those of Pennsylvania’s LaBeana (Lauren Cole) pictured here, jump out as fresh and new from this vast reservoir of talent.
Three other 2007 events seem especially significant – the new NPCG web site which reveals a newly invigorated group, the Craft/MakerFaire movement (and Leslie Blackford’s polymer clay entré into that group), the revitalization of the American Craft Council (and the magazine).
There’s also the phenomenal growth of art blogging. That’s for later this week.
If waiting for the stroke of midnight makes you fidgety, keep yourself busy studying this clever polymer clay mokume gane trick from a new tutorial on Ponsawan Sila’s site. She says it’s a combination of techniques she’s learned from several people. Here’s the link to her Flickr pictures.
I’m combing through this year’s posts, trying to detect some patterns, trends, insights to share with you this week. The year flew by, didn’t it?
Wishing you peace and prosperity in 2008.
Here’s a wintry looking polymer clay piece from Rebecca Geoffrey in wintry Ontario. Her designs have a clean, clear, precise feel to them. Very appealing.
Rebecca runs with the Etsy/Indie crowd and I’ve been cruising through the Indiepublic site to try to figure it out. There’s so much to see, oodles to learn. What to join? Where to put my energy?
I panicked this evening when the PCD site went down. “Loading issues,” the server tech calmly told me. Yes, this is the weekend to deal with our “loading issues” as we look at the year ahead.
I hadn’t visited Arizona’s Richard and Jodi Creager’s site for a while when I bumped into their polymer clay sculptures on their EBay page.
Richard and Jodi have been designing dolls together as a team since 1979. They produce 10-15 dolls a year. You’ll immediately understand why their works are in private and museum collections across the country. The detail in their collaborative figures is breathtaking.
This was one of their special Holiday Dahlia Darkling offerings. The Creagers say of their work, “To be able to create a human form, an image, a personality…to be able to express what you have inside and put into form your mind’s and heart’s vision, and to stir emotion in someone … all from a piece of clay… this is our True Joy in Life”
I’m totally distracted by my new Apple Itouch. Who would have thought you could post to a blog from this tiny device? My husband totally surprised me with this perfect gift and I’m not sure which I love more, him or the Itouch.
I’m downloading some of the color meditations that Lindly Haunani recommends. She’s got some great stuff tucked away on her site. Check out Colorstrology…skip the intro and get to your birthday.
Lindly’s on the mend and posting away like crazy! She’ll be out of that awful contraption by Valentine’s Day with any luck.
Who first started using a pasta machine for sheeting polymer clay? What persuaded Nan Roche to write a book about Fimo? The answers are at your fingertips.
On this day of giving and sharing Elise Winters presents to you a new site, PolymerArtArchive.com, which she hopes will become an essential reference for the serious study of polymer art, a resource for curators and editors.
Years ago Elise realized the value of preserving the early history of polymer clay and she began collecting slides and other memorabilia that she thought might one day be valued by art historians.
“Many of those ‘polymer pioneers’ became dear friends, and I wanted to make sure that their names and achievements would get full recognition and respect as the artists who laid the foundation for our flourishing art form,” says Elise.
“The efforts I’ve made to set up and maintain this website are in reality a bit of payback to my wide, supportive circle of friends, colleagues, and fellow artists in the polymer clay community. If, through Polymer Art Archive, I can return to my community some of the benefits you have freely given to me, I’ll feel a highly satisfied woman.”
Enjoy this gift from Elise and your fellow artists. Use it to educate and sustain your work through the coming year. Have a happy holiday.
