Verklempt polymer

The heart guy, Ron Lehocky, admitted that he was shocked and verklempt at the gift Julie Eakes presented him as we celebrated his having made 30,000 polymer heart pins to support the Kentucky Kids Center. Julie mounted heart cane slices on a 24″ x 28″ canvas to form a mosaic portrait.

Julie ran the photo of Ron through her mosaic software program to determine the basic design. She then made 9 heart canes in varying shades of pink, surrounding them with either black or white backgrounds. She baked the canes and sliced them while they were warm so as not to distort the squares. The mosaic required about 2,400 slices and Julie has the blisters to prove it.

What a fitting tribute to the guy who warms the hearts of so many. Here’s a recent video of Ron on local tv. See more of Julie’s work on her site and on Facebook.

Modern quilt polymer

My tablemate, Libby Mills put on her prototype necklace so that I’d have a Monday post. The design is inspired by the Modern Quilt movement and is part of Libby’s larger collection.

A lack of internet at last night’s hotel has slowed me down but we’ve got strong signal in Virginia so we’re back!

See more Libby on Flickr, Facebook and her site.

Butterfly class

Quebec’s Claire Maunsell will construct these butterfly beads, hollow joining elements and clasp this Saturday (May 9) live online in her Elusory Leaves class on Craftcast. (Her first international class at Galerie Friesleben was a big hit.)

A hot glass artist for decades, Claire embraced polymer because it offered color, malleability and portability. She happily left the heat and heavy equipment behind. Because of her experience with glass Claire approaches polymer with a fresh perspective, stretching, moving and coloring the medium very differently.

She has several ways of making hollow beads (one in my book) and her most simple stacked hollow bead photo tutorial is still my favorite.

If you look at Claire’s ideas on Pinterest, on Flickr and on her blog, you’ll begin to grasp her aesthetic – organic, ethereal, dark – and begin to appreciate her skill and creativity. Craftcast classes are recorded so that you can revisit the instructions whenever you need to.

Polymer flutters

There’s something appealing about a design that’s been boiled down to its essence.

Arden Bardol’s Flutter brooches rely on bold repeating triangle shapes and subtle shades. No fancy techniques or tricky tools required.

Companion cane slices peeking out of the middles and circles strew on the petals move our eyes around the form.

Can you tell that Arden was trained as an architect? Her work is very much about geometry and structures, how they work together, how they delight.

These new designs and other never before seen pieces will be unveiled at her trunk show on May 9. See more new work on her Facebook page and on Artful Home.

Baking bees

Melissa Terlizzi also interprets nature in polymer with her bee colony. She was inspired by the Victor Hugo quote, “Life is a flower for which love is the honey…” and says the piece is almost like sunshine in a box for her.

On her Facebook page and on Flickr she shares photos of her work in progress and tells how she created her swarm.

Is Mother Nature speaking to you in the language of polymer this spring?

Poly willows

A bunch of dried pussy willows in a booth at the farmers market caught my eye. What if I picked off the fuzzy blooms and replaced them with polymer ones?

This bunch of blossoms in my living room would provide a splash of color and a clever visual pun. Here’s a closer look.

I raided my old canes and piles of color scraps, recycling them to make hundreds of little ovals. I baked them and fired up the hot glue gun. The worst of the whole process was removing the fine webs of glue threads that draped themselves on the branches.

I considered saving this idea for my class on polymer and power tools at Maureen Carlson’s facility in Minnesota in late July. But by then all the pussy willows will be gone.

Besides, I have plenty of ideas for tweaking our medium with the help of simple tools and an adventurous decorating spirit.

The Poly Willows may never make it to our living room. The other artists want them to stay on display in the studio.

Polymer CPR

Ron Lehocky just hit the 30,000 heart mark in his campaign to raise money for Kentucky Kids Center. He’ll continue to make hearts as he begins teaching CPR.

Not that CPR! His first class is called Come Play with Ron, May 22-24 at Creative Journey Studios in Georgia.

Dr. Ron is easing up on his medical hours and he’s beginning to share some of the finer points that working with polymer day in and day out taught him.

He’s perfected Roney Gane, the Easy Peasy Cane and developed clever ways to recycle canes and enliven surfaces. Ron explains more on this short video. He’s donating the 30,000th heart to Creative Journey Studios’ polymer history collection.

Polymer by month

Each month I upload all the PCD photos to my Flickr gallery. April’s features were particularly photogenic. Have a look.

Polymer for tea

Who uses silver tea sets these days? Alice Stroppel does. This set immediately sent her to Wonderland and she embellished the serving pieces with polymer characters from Lewis Caroll’s tales of Alice. Examine the pots closeup on her Flickr page. Here she is on Etsy and Facebook.

Syndee Holt took the pictures as she visited Alice’s shop/studio in Florida. Continue the tour on Syndee’s Facebook page. You’ll spy a silver pitcher in the front window that’s revived with polymer. Nothing escapes Alice’s talent for recycling.

Stalking polymer

Philadelphia’s Emily Squires Levine has moved from bowls to wall art and her Celestial Spring hides six constellations (the red dots) among a grid of openwork polymer panels.

The 16″ x 21″ composition of squares and rectangles is set on pins that project out at varying distances. The shifting sense of the piece is easier to understand from the angle below.

Even better, Emily’s friend and admitted art stalker, Veruschka Stevens, gives us an absolutely fascinating look at Emily in a lovely post on her blog. You get a devoted fan’s view of Emily’s work, her studio, her process.

Be careful, you’ll easily be sucked into Veruschka’s world of color and fashion as well. She set up a serious handmade, custom-designed fashion jewelry business several years ago. Her site quickly grabs you and you’re drawn in by her vivacity.

The two artists share a love of color and a methodical approach to design and construction. Emily earned an MBA and spent 30 years in finance. Bolivian-born Veruschka worked as a software engineer and brings determination and an energetic style to all that she does.

But you’re probably already stalking these two yourself. Find Veruschka on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Flickr. Follow Emily on Facebook, Flickr and her site.

And then slip over to Craftcast to see what Loretta Lam will be teaching this evening.

Watchdog Wednesday

Cynthia Toops has added several 2015 works like this micromosaic Watchdog to her website. She lists a full lineup of spring/summer exhibits which have spurred her production.

Some of the items were created for a July/August Matter of Materials exhibit at Facere Gallery in Seattle.

From June to October she and her collaborator/husband, glass artist Dan Adams, are part of an exhibit of familial artists at the Racine Art Museum. All in the Family investigates how artists are influenced at home or in shared environments.

Cynthia’s carries her palette of prebaked thin threads of polymer in a divided plastic box. When I went to Philadelphia for a class, her teacher’s traveling studio fit in a small duffel bag while we students lugged large rolling carts of bulky supplies. Oh, to work small and with such concentration.

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Artists

Polymer by month