Split ring polymer

Maggie Maggio will be in person and online Wednesday night at Craftcast teaching her split ring technique. PCD has featured her innovative technique and you’ll find people imitating her idea all over the polymer web. Maggie has expanded on her original idea and shares lots of new tips for construction and for successful color.

Maggie’s a great teacher and if you’ve ever wanted to meet her and ask her your questions, this is your chance. No matter where you are, you can login and join the group for a 90-minute workshop (and keep a copy of the recording for future reference). Sign up here. Check the rest of the Craftcast schedule (including my class on October 10).

Polymer coastlines

Scotland’s Melanie Muir shifts coastlines and colors with her new Reggae series. Named for its color palette, this new necklace is built on hollow forms.

Melanie has also posted some new shapes and three-dimensional pieces that reflect her studio view of Ebb Tides and Rock Pools and Whirlpools from her studio on the coast.

Her flawless finishing work brings out the best features of her designs and colors. For the most complete view of her world (and her shape templates) go to her Facebook page.

Enjoy your weekend!

Fetching polymer

Dawn Schiller has just published her Faemaker book that shows you how to make standalone character figures with polymer clay. Dawn is partial to making dragons, treefolk, witches, wizards, fugitives from fairy tales, and figments of the imagination. Her tiny creatures peer out impishly from nutshells, seashell, pocket watches and other small spaces and they all share their stories.

Dawn has graciously sent me a publishing assistant, Fetch, (shown here) to help me finish the book I’m working on. “Just keep him supplied with sesame seeds,” she says. You can see more and buy an autographed copy on her Etsy site. Catch up on her latest delightful creatures on Facebook and her blog.

Going around in circles

Midweek is the perfect time to be going around in circles. Vienna’s Izabela Nowak shows us how with her bright Planemo spiral up bangle. Thin strips of layered colors are wound around and around into tall cones, each topped with a silver bead. Here the cones are applied to a plain polymer bangle base to create a spiky bangle.

Izabela has been experimenting with acorn-shaped beads, rings and clusters that you can study on her Flickr site. She’s the queen of spirals!

Skulls with style

It’s not easy to create polymer skulls with style but two chic versions caught my eye. Richelle Hawks of Shipwreckdandy definitely has a pirate’s eye for treasure.

These stamped and painted beads could be mixed with some jewels to make a darkly fashionable piece. Here she is on Etsy. “I also sell used and rare books and write articles and essays about esoteric, occult, and cultural topics at various online venues,” she explains.

Lynn Lunger usually steers clear of themed beads but she makes an exception for skulls. “I like to use a minimum of manipulation, preferring to quickly provide just enough detail to – although odd with this subject matter – bring the face to life,” she says. She also makes head pendants and admits that heads and skulls appeal year round. Here’s her Etsy site.

Woodland charms

Kindred spirits Wendy Wallin Malinow and Leslie Blackford will team up to teach a polymer class at this year’s Clay Carnival Las Vegas in October (not sure if there are any spaces left).

Wendy’s polymer antlers, bones, eggs and acorns will meet up with Leslie’s birds, snakes, sticks and stones. This “Garden of Earthly Delights” workshop will introduce students to an incomparable variety of woodland charms from two charming artists.

Wendy’s Tumblr site chronicles her own “bone a day” progress. Her mixed media Woodland Goth Choker is jaw-dropping. And Leslie’s Carneys and Freaks will melt your heart. What in your autumn environment speaks to you this Monday?

Polymer seasons ahead

Heather Powers shows us how handy the falling leaves can be. “I used translucent clay and stained the polymer with color so they glow in warm fall hues when held up to the light,” she says of her newest collection.

Check out the similar headpins she made as well as her other nature-inspired designs.

If it’s almost fall, you know that the holiday season can’t be far behind. The ladies of the Samunnat project have already created polymer creche scenes dressed in Nepali finery. Wendy Moore will temporarily abandon her post as shipper for the Samunnat Etsy site and head for Nepal soon. So start your shopping now! And have a festive weekend.

Restful polymer colors

These polymer beads from Russia’s Victoria Mkhitarian calm me down on a busy day. And they look mighty pretty with the PCD site colors, don’t they?

Sometimes when you’re tired and fresh out of brain cells, it’s good to go with your gut. Find something pretty and just say, “Ahhh.” Take a break and browse through Victoria’s interesting shapes and clever combinations.

Jelly roll mokume gane

Polymer mokume gane has been around for so long that it can become, well, boring. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Rebecca Geoffrey’s latest take on the technique. Her polymer billet is made from layers of Skinner blend jelly rolls laid side by side and flattened.

Look at this picture to get the idea. These pictures may have you heading to your studio to figure out how it’s done. More pix here.

What looks like a cookie cutter in the second picture is actually Rebecca’s handmade silver bezel (and the round tube is the bail). It adds up to a stunning mix of media.

Polymer swallows

This beautiful swallow cane from the UK’s Claire Wallis illustrates a problem she’s working to solve.

“I really struggle with translucent clays,” Claire explains adding that, “I find it very hard to slice the cane thin enough so that the translucent is clear not opaque. Plus I find layering the cane slice distorts it somewhat.”

These pendants represent one solution. She trimmed and baked thin slices of the large swallow cane. Then she pushed the baked slices into unbaked backgrounds. Voila! No distortion….but more sanding. Claire brings her painterly approach to caning with impressive results.

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