Polymer clay beachwear! Made by Nova Scotia’s Mary Dowden-Marrie, (MaryMusic on Etsy) these little delights look so summery.
Mary’s adept at wire work and I’m not sure that the polymer clay butterflies were made by her but I couldn’t resist. Give yourself a pedicure and take off for the beach. Have a lovely weekend.
It’s fun to poke around in the polymer clay items offered in The Artful Home online catalog. The prices are nearly as inspiring as the work (like this spectacular box by Bonnie Bishoff and J.M. Syron).
And speaking of prices, I was captivated by Alison Lee’s interview with art business coach Bruce Baker on her CraftCast podcast.
Bruce theorizes that the very high and very low prices we see on artwork are extensions of what’s happening in our economy. "Art becomes a metaphor for what’s happening in our culture," he says. The middle is vanishing. He predicts that after this war, as after wars in the past, there will be increased appreciation for the earth and the arts.
Lindly Haunani’s purple polymer clay pods are on the cover of August’s Crafts Report magazine
Read marketing tips from Jana Roberts Benzon, Lindly Haunani, Diane Manzi (her mosaic is pictured at right), Valerie Wright, Judy Kuskin, Louise Fischer Cozzi, Consuelo Okdie, Peggy Houchin, Eileen Cressman-Reeder, Donna Kato, Luann Udell, Georgia Ferrell, Judy Summer and Loretta Lam.
Carrotbox first showed these polymer clay rings by Mary and Lou Ann which are sunnier than other recent works from this duo. That led me to StyleHive…and trouble. Don’t go there unless you’re a serious voyeur. It’s designer heaven.
I’m a bit daunted by the "communities" and "hive it" jive but I’ll go back and catch on when I need a shot of shopping. This one deserves some quality time. The Etsy folks were there way ahead of me. Being hip is so hard.
The graceful polymer clay designs of Ohio’s Grace Stokes are featured on the cover of the September issue of Art Jewelry Magazine
Along with the article, Grace has unveiled her web site which is full of her works which mix polymer clay with precious metal, pearls, seed beads and other materials. Her delicate lines have a very up-to-date design feel.
Definitive Color
After ten years of teaching polymer clay color, Maggie Maggio and Lindly Haunani are writing the book. They’re looking for your previously unpublished images to illustrate their pages. See all the details on the NPCG site. The deadline is November 1.
Primitives and meditative polymer clay art has surfaced as the theme this week so we’ll end the week with these faux ivory pieces from Luann Udell.
It was a roundabout trip to Luann. I read her comment on craft marketer Bruce Baker’s site about how his tapes had helped her. "Your tape enabled me to really think about why I make crafts and to convey that feeling to my customers. You have taken the angst out of selling and made it enjoyable," she said, and I wanted to see what Luann was up to.
Take a look (don’t miss her little movie) and have an enjoyable weekend.
I was all set to send you to some mouthwatering polymer clay photos (like this "Spondylosis" from Maryland’s Rachel Gourley) when I realized that they were from a Lark’s 400 Polymer Clay Designs volume
So instead, I found a stash of photos from the book on Google Books site which looks to be a legit use. Not only can you look at lots of pictures from this book, but you can thumb through pages and pages of information from many polymer clay books and get a very good idea of what a book’s about before you invest.
Perhaps I’m the last one to figure out this Google Books thing, but I’ve been having such fun here that I just had to share.
Sue Ossenberg recommends Fetchbook for the serious book shopper.
There’s a freshness and energy in the Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild of Etsy. They’re a "street team," a grass-roots group actively engaged in getting the word out about Etsy.com and the value of buying handmade goods directly from the maker.
Each member must have at least five polymer clay items listed in his/her Etsy shop at all times. Its membership is geographically and philosophically diverse.
Check out the current featured Etsy artist, Marcia Palmer from Georgia whose work displays a wide range of styles and techniques. She uses rubber stamps in unusual ways that reflect a strong sense of style and message. Keep your eye on these folks.
North Carolina’s Bobby Wells incorporates themes based on her own spiritual and meditative practices into her polymer clay altar pieces and jewelry.
She mixes gold leaf and semi precious stones into works that reflect the beauty of her Appalachian Mountain surroundings. The setting for her long studio career sounds idyllic and we can thank Nadja Fuenfsinn (from Switzerland) for sending us the link.
Utah’s Kim Detmers’ creepy crawly polymer clay artforms were a huge hit at the New England Pest Management Association’s winter training seminar and sold out within the first 15 minutes of the conference.
Now her creations can be found not only on on the pest control group’s web store but also on her Etsy site. Last year Detmers sold 650 bugs locally and at Utah Artists Hands Show and the Tubac, AZ Center. I’m particularly fond of the card holder above that she made for a local beekeeper.
Claudia Zafran-Rona (Kim’s fan and student) sent us to Etsy to check out Detmers’ other works like this new line of her art nouveau pins.
I hooked the computer up to the tivo/tv this weekend and spent lots of time on wiring and software and having computer fun with my son….which left me no time for the slideshow this week. Please keep signing the guestbook, the slideshow will be back.
