Polymer Clay Daily

Artists

Mixed media mosaics

Susan Crocenzi mixes polymer clay elements with her unglazed porcelain, tempered glass, glass and mirror mosaics as in this 8×10″ Architecture Healer (Hundtertwasser).

Artists can match polymer to the color, texture, shape, and thickness of other tesserae without the need of a kiln. Recently Susan’s been teaching mixed media classes that focus on integrating polymer into traditional mosaics.

“Mosaic art offers the sweet possibility that the random, disparate bits-and-pieces of our lives can yield peace, beauty, and meaning,” she explains. Read about Susan’s classes and study her glittering works on her site and her Facebook page.

Traditional polymer

South Carolina’s Lynda Moseley ushers in the season with some lovely vintage holiday transfers on polymer. Her collection’s theme is loosely based on historical traditions from around the world.

Lynda admits that her designs are sentimental. “When I was a teenager, my grandmother gave me a crosstitch pattern book which had different Christmas traditions in it and I recreated them all and put them on our tree. My mother still puts them on her tree and has every year for the last 35 years,” she says.

Here’s a sneak peek at her holiday collection. Do you have traditions that tug at your heartstrings and affect your designs?

Easy-does-it faux dichroic

Florida’s Sherri Kelberg was going with the flow and watching I Love Lucy reruns when she created this faux dichroic polymer pendant. “When I just lose myself in what I’m creating, it seems to come out better,” she says. The drawback of this unplanned approach to art is that the process may be hard to replicate.

Sherri remembers that this latest project “…involves layering, with translucent clay, rainbow foils, and pearl canes. After I bake the pendant and it’s hot out of the oven, I plunge it in a bowl of ice water. This seems to help with the clarity of the final product.”

Then she sands followed by a vigorous buffing with a microfiber cloth. A coating of resin completes the look. Her easy-does-it reminder is a good way to start the week. See more on Sherri’s Flickr pages, her Etsy site and on Facebook.

Bringing color into life

Hi, this is klio 1961, (Eleni is my sister’s name, we used her name to open our etsy shop). I really want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Your nice comments are very encouraging. I am Greek, and Greece is experiencing very difficult moments, we all live in a nightmaire, so I need to bring some color in my life and keep the hope alive. Thank you all once again, please do no believe all these bad things that are said about Greece and Greeks.

This comment from Greece’s Klio Tsaliki from Wednesday’s post reminds us of our difficult global times and of the power of the creative spirit (and polymer) to lift our spirits.

The sunny, cheerful artwork shown here is from France’s Celine Roumagnac who specializes in happy polymer vignettes. This one, Village in the Clouds, is captured under a glass dome.

Visit her Flickr pages for more sweetness, a slideshow of her little worlds and even a news video visit to her booth! Have a sweet weekend.

Cebeka slices

The identity of France’s Cebeka is unclear but her style is distinctive. Her various constructions take great advantage of simple canes made of subtly graduated colors. She throws in a few stripes for variety and sometimes shapes slices into teardrops for elegant dangles. Cut, repeat, manipulate is the basis for many great designs.

Simple and effective polymer techniques are catching my eye since I’ll soon be teaching artists who need to produce appealing quality items in an efficient way. Cebeka’s approach is a good strategy. Her site is full of delightful examples.

Cutout, swap, repeat

Late at night Greece’s Klio Tsaliki (Klio1961) entertains herself by making simple polymer items using easy techniques, smart design and appealing color.You can catch the vibe on her Flickr page.

Especially on her sheets of pattern, you sense Klio’s playfulness as she repeats and repeats a pattern, then adds a surprising change to tease the eye. She uses the sheets most effectively on big bangles, coasters and containers.

Look at all the cutout/swap/repeat patterns she’s amassed in her collection of panels. Her use of dots is intense. Someone’s having fun!

Switching identities

Tory Hughes made this new necklace specifically to wear at last week’s RAM gala. It’s part of her new SeaCliff series using various techniques with the major elements pin-hinged together. Sea Cliff is a reference to an area of San Francisco that Tory sees as full of light, color and energy.

The necklace was on Tory one minute and then on Penina Meisels the next. (Tory decided it looked better on Penina.) Maggie Maggio’s necklace migrated to Cynthia Toops’ neck. It was as if the artists were switching nametags. The game to keep up with who was wearing whom made me realize how good it is to develop your own signature work.

Down to brass tacks

Alaska’s Karen Ottenbreit gets down to brass tacks with her polymer. Actually she embedded domed brads in these polymer beads and has since moved on to leather studs and spikes as she, “…channels my inner biker chick.”

The look blends perfectly with her gothic fish and funky flowers. You gotta be tough to deal with the wildlife and weather in Alaska. You can friend her and follow along on her Facebook page. After a week of seriousness, we end the week with a lighter touch. Have a relaxing weekend.