Bright colors, crisp patterns…a winning combination in polymer from Illinois’ Terri Stone. If you’ve ever muddied up a promising palette, you’ll admire Terri’s ability to mix and match.
Her holiday Etsy shop is bursting with more examples.
I’m packing for a rare weekend with my sisters and these colors look as cheery as I feel. Thanks to Lindly Haunani for the link.
The Ontario and Quebec guilds have pulled me back into mosaic/inchie mode. I’m intrigued by their group’s mystery project that Cynthia Blanton talks about on her blog.
“On the first day we were each given a small square of paper with a fragment of a photo on it. Our job was to duplicate the image in clay, matching colors and size,” she explains.
On the last night the squares were assembled on a larger canvas to reveal the image and produce the masterpiece. What a great project for a group (or a virtual group).
Janine Müller’s pictures from her October masterclass with Sandra McCaw in Germany show more astonishing student work. Sandra is leaving a trail of polymer flowers in a wide range of colors all over the UK and Europe. The work looks more precise in each class. (Here are earlier 2010 class pix from UK and France.) Next comes Switzerland!
Inchies, one-inch square polymer tiles, have become all the rage for swaps among artists.This set of fall leaves from Mama Tierra was part of the trading flurry at the EuroClay Carnival in Madrid. Repeat a technique 81 times and you’re bound to get good at it!
They look great in a grouping. Here are some more inchie pictures that caught my eye:
Maybe my muse wants me to start small this week.
Maggie Maggio’s split ring design has been a great success. Here’s the video tutorial in case you missed it. Photos of the results have been coming in from artists around the world. The chain at the left is from Vancouver’s Barb Alexander.
What does Maggie want to see during her vacation in Italy? Red! Real Pompeian red, to be exact. It’s taken this consummate colorist a while to settle down, put polymer colors aside and just enjoy her month-long vacation with family. Check out Maggie’s site updates as she moves on to the Mediterranean blues.
Have a colorful weekend.
Bids are flying in the second round of the auction to benefit Ponsawan Sila’s daughter. You have until noon Monday to get in on the action.
Nominations for IPCA board positions are due in by October 29. Read more here.
Philadelphia’s Veruschka Stevens proudly buys local produce. This polymer commission was for something inspired by the beauty of living food and her farmers’ market became her inspiration. Avocados (“palta” in Quechuan) are featured prominently.
See her earlier polymer gardens on PCD here and here.
Miniatures aren’t just for doll houses, you know?
The interview with UK polymer clay miniaturist Betsy Niederer on ClayLessons.com gives you a glimpse into the big passions that motivate a very small world.
Betsy got started when she thought her two sons would benefit from a Barbie house. The boys promptly lost or destroyed all the little plastic foods that came with the set and Betsy felt compelled to make more.
She discloses her four very helpful rules of thumb: use translucent, look closely, use chalk pastels, go easy on the gloss. You can get more miniature tips on the CDHM.org site.
The little video of Betsy’s work totally charmed me. Enjoy the interview and link thanks to Eni Oken.
France’s MissTyc (Nathalie) prepares for winter with a seasonal palette of companion canes in reds, black and golds and in her signature crisp clean cane patterns and textures.
The necklace at the right was the result of Nathalie’s cleaning up her work space. Fed up with too much scrap clay, she gathered up the bits and forced them into a cheery necklace. It’s nice when that works.
Are polymer ruffles too formal for a Monday? This new variation is from Ohio’s Cristelle Van Lingen who has twisted her earlier version of petals into a frilly bracelet.
Thin circles of polymer in muted and graduated colors have been folded in half and teased into wavy layers that nestle against each other. Amazing how a simple pinch or fold can turn polymer into a new organic shape. It’s a good thing to remember as we start the week.
Toronto’s Tanya Besedina speaks of vivid dreams of her loved ones, the magic of color and the spirit of joy. She pours these feelings into polymer goddess sculptures and fanciful fairy jars.
“Only with love it is possible to see the mystical light and find a key to its door. Our imagination can come to life only if we are born with soul,” she says. The earnest expressions on her faces and the quaintness of her houses tell me that she has soul and make me want to believe.
Have a blissful weekend.
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