This polymer sculpture from Berlin’s Angelika Arendt fits with my Arizona surroundings today.
We’ve been steeped in holiday themes and buried in beads lately. Angelika’s sculptures provide a freeform diversion that may give you a new outlook for 2011.
If you’re looking for reading material, let me direct you to recent meaty posts by Lindly Haunani, Tory Hughes and Christi Friesen while I continue in babysitting mode.
Israeli polymer artist Tania Poldoleanu has a way with chalks and acrylics. The soft washes of color paired with graphic patterns give her beads an ancient-meets-modern look. Her Flickr pages give you the most comprehensive look at her work.
Thanks to Lindly Haunani for the link. She’s posted some particularly colorful info lately.
This vacation picture shows why I’ve backed away from the computer this week. Talk amongst yourselves.
Look carefully and you’ll see molars sprinkled among the holiday candies on Wendy Malinow’s sparkly Too Much Candy polymer bracelet.
Look even more closely and you’ll note that the teeth have fillings in them. It’s Wendy’s wink and caution for this season of sweets.
Wendy adds her own brand of woodland spirit to the winter season on her Etsy site.
PCDaily doesn’t often stray off topic but Meg Hannan’s fabric jewels are too close to our way of thinking to ignore. Picture millefiori using fabric, beads and glue instead of polymer.
If you like to cane, your brain may overheat as you cruise through her beautiful photos and videos. And if you spend more time than you should on her site, you can blame Jana Roberts Benzon for sending us the link.
I’m visiting my new grandson this week…the absolute best early holiday present. Expect short, sweet, sentimental posts. I begin with this little ornament from Lisa Haldeman. Here’s the original link.
How did I miss the sizzling colors of Suzanne Anderson? I bumped into her (here’s her blog) as I was browsing through Laura Balombini’s site yesterday. She and Laura are east coast neighbors. I found this recent interview and pictures of Suzanne’s studio in the Bangor Daily News. She gravitated to polymer after years as a beader and metalworker.
These earrings are from her Fiesta line. I enjoy the way she separates her online galleries by color. Suzanne chose her studio name because the word expresses the upbeat mood of her jewelry…Yikes!
Leave a comment on yesterday’s post to enter our first holiday giveaway of our hot-off-the-press Creative Sparks! Wow, loads of lovely comments have come in already. I’ll close entries at 5:00 Friday and choose a lucky winner.
The lucky Creatives Sparks winner was Crystal Gordine of Kingston, Ontario. You were all so enthusiastic that we’ll do another book giveaway soon!
Dayle Doroshow and I created Creative Sparks, a little gem of a book, and it’s time to spread a little holiday cheer with a book giveaway.
To enter, respond to this post with your comment. We’ll choose a winner on Saturday. Did I mention that Sparks is filled with Dayle’s great tricks for keeping your spirits up in the studio?
Looking at so many of your lovely polymer creations makes it hard to hush my inner critic when I get my hands on clay. Dayle’s tips showed me ways to navigate around the obstacles that get in the way of creative joy. I include pictures and comments about my results.
If you’re trying to organize for the new year, check out Laura Balombini’s polymer teapots calendar. She posted about it on Facebook. It’s $20 plus shipping. Write her to order yours.
This polymer creche from Nepal’s Sammunat project shows us how connected we are. The characters are charmingly styled. Note that this Joseph carries a traditional khukuri knife and Mary wears a sari, bindi and beads. (This post on their blog tells another “small world” story.)
The power of the internet still astonishes me. Through it artists in the US, Australia, and Japan have developed friendships with the ladies in this project and helped their programs grow. Their fashion items become income, education for their children, food, medicine, and hope for a brighter future. I plan to visit there next November.
If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the polymer artist who has everything, a donation to the Sammunat project in his/her name would help artists a world away. Special Sammunat Christmas beads are available through Australia’s Over the Rainbow store.
Lynn Reno (aka Desert Rubble) is having an identity crisis. She’s looking for a name for her polymer style. Industrial? Steampunk? Surreal?
Her recipe calls for a hit of steampunk, a dash of industrial and a bit of cyborg. It adds up to a whole lotta fun.
Even holiday icons like this Santa and Gingerbread Man receive receive her special treatment. Check out the rest of her designs on Artfire and Flickr. Thanks to Janet Hoy for the link to Lynn.
Nicole (NiQui) takes a careful, planned approach to her polymer jewelry which looks appealing as we start a new week. Influenced by her background in interior design, this Belgian artist plots out her modern accessories.
Her Flickr site is loaded with cleanly designed and rendered pieces. The wire and polymer “Beech Nut” necklace shown here was her response to the Dutch Polymerclay Forum’s fall challenge.
I admire her calm methods especially in this frenzied season.
Gloria Askin tacked a blog onto her site and I just discovered it. Her attitude about color is infectious. “My love of color is best expressed in the Yoruba belief that the more colors you wear (or, I believe, use in art), the more positive energy you are putting into the universe,” she explains.
She forms cupped polymer disks edged with contrasting colors and gathers them into vibrant and playful accessories that are bursting with positive energy. Gloria has a most appropriate Facebook profile picture!
Have a colorful weekend!
