As she gears up for the EuroClay Carnival in Madrid on October 9-12, Natalia Garcia de Leaniz has unveiled this chunky, dimensional scooped-out bracelet.
It’s a companion to the folded beads that she’ll be teaching in Madrid.
Natalia’s Flickr pages are filled with snapshots of ideas and processes that she’s developed and played with. It’s like a workshop – but without the beauty of Madrid and the warmth of friends (sigh).
Since several people have inquired about extruded string beads lately, it must be time to feature them again.
As luck would have it, the link to Vera Kleist’s “rough cut” extruded bead necklace came to me today via Lindly Haunani.
And Annerose Doering had just emailed me the address for Dominique Franceschi’s tutorial (from 2006) for the technique.
Annerose prefers a smooth finish on hers. She says, “Before I smooth the clay around the scrap base bead, I let the beads rest for a few hours so that they are not too soft. This helps to get clearer lines. I let them rest again before I pierce them.”
The basic material for these colorful, chaotic beads is dry, old clay and most of us have that readily available.
ToutEnCouleur offers us one last blast of summer with her beach-colored beads on a hot September day in Ohio.
Polymer works on ToutEnCouleur’s Flickr page and Dawanda shop show an ease with color and a willingness to experiment…good practices to remember as I head back to the studio.
This French artist is new to PCD. Thanks to Lindly Haunani for the link.
Wanda Shum is only inspired to create one or two polymer-covered teapots a year. This year’s Space Girls theme was prompted by the Jetson-like shape of the pot. The best view of the rest of her line of jewelry and accessories is found on her Facebook page (it’s public).
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If you click on these images, you’ll see the smooth, flawless finish on Wanda’s intricate collage of canes and textures.
She provides inspiration to rocket us into a new week.
The latest discovery in my hunt for polymer and texture techniques led me back to Celie Fago. She posted these carving and texture plate tips on her blog a while back and I happily stumbled upon them.
When Celie first started in polymer, she spent many hours carving warm, baked polymer and she developed many tricks, including ways to keep tools sharp.
Time-intensive carving made her think about creating texture plates which she now uses for both metal clay and polymer. You’ll see evidence of both techniques in her Etsy shop. I hope your weekend is filled with texture.
LA’s Laurel Steven calls herself a mixed media creatrix and she’s teaching her hinged polymer Heritage Locket at next month’s Portland Art and Soul retreat.
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Laurel has also formulated her own twist on faux enamel and assembled a tutorial. You can see some of her samples in her Flickr pages, very faux.
Sue Corrie works with polymer on the Ghost Shift, when her family is settled and it’s dark outside. “Of course, Dr. Who fans know that the Ghost Shift was also the period when mysterious forces were able to seep into this world across the void,” she admits.
Sue has a mysterious force with color, putting together calming combinations and soothing palettes that invite further exploration. She shifts gears from fall’s rich dark colors in this leaf pendant to a brighter palette in this Natalia bead bracelet. Take a look.
Jenn McGlon’s sculpted polymer clay Luettes have bits of vintage text added for extra charm. Her sweetly haunted houses are featured in Somerset’s Holidays & Celebrations current issue.
The little village is also part of this month’s SpookyTime Jingles offering. In keeping with spooky, new works are added on the 13th of each month.
SpookyTime is a sales site for like-minded holiday artists gearing up for the season. They say it’s “…where sweet and spooky comingle” and the site could keep you clicking through Halloween and Christmas sculptures for the rest of the day. I like getting an overview of what’s new on their Flickr pool.
Helen Breil’s recent polymer works (and some new stamps) show off more of her expertise with textures. A sneak peek at her radiating lines tutorial has convinced me to try textures this week.
I was also encouraged at a recent retreat by a chance to inspect Laura Tabakman’s stash of homemade texture plates made from Super Elasticlay.
She creates and collects graphic elements that transfer in a deceptively simple process. Of course arranging the elements is the trick and learning to use the plates is another art.
Look at the works of these two artists to get an idea of the possibilities.
Colorist Lindly Haunani has refreshed her site and refined her class offerings. (I’ll happily add the disclaimer that I assembled the site.) After writing a bestseller and overcoming other challenges, Lindly’s back up to speed.
She’s the queen of pinched beads. Her subtly blended polymer squares pinched together at two corners instantly become convincing flower petals.
Read about how her necklace of pinched rounds attracted the interest of Nepali polymer artists.
If, like Lindly, your work often takes its cue from nature, you’ll love this BBCearth online show. This month’s theme is “Life is Colourful” and it’s stunning. (via Coolhunting) Have a colorful weekend!
