Polymer Clay Daily

Artists

Geoffrey’s cuttouts

Rebecca Geoffrey’s polymer clay pendants look just right for a Friday – fall colors, tidy layered construction, judicious texturing.

After a week of electronic catching up and restoring order, I crave Rebecca’s delightful control and restraint. She shows more in her Facebook photos and her small purses on Etsy are fun too.

Vacation wreaks havoc with keeping up online (Facebook fatigue is the official term). I’ve reserved today to play in the studio with some of the ideas that have been moldering in my brain all week. Have a playful weekend.

New life to old lights

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Leslie Blackford gives new life to old lights in her polymer clay sculpture class at November’s Clay Carnival in Las Vegas.

Watching Leslie effortlessly grow a fanciful creature out of scrap clay and old lightbulbs is worth the price of admission. Here’s another new piece, Blackbird Waiting, that she sent along.

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As you’re looking ahead and making fall and winter plans, be sure to include Synergy2 in your schedule. Seth Savarick has launched the web site and registration opens September 15 for the February 25-27 event in Baltimore. Check out the list of presenters.

Polymer/stone hybrid

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This polymer clay embellished amethyst stone from Italy’s Daniela (Alkhymeia) is appealing. The “hybrid” 3D look is very trendy. Daniela is a wire expert as well and you’ll find tutorials among the galleries of work on her site, in her Flickr photos, on her Facebook page and even in her Deviant gallery.

Here are some older polymer/resin and polymer/glass combinations, similar but different, from Klew.

Thanks to Randee Ketzel for the link.

Campbell’s faux batik buzz

Heather Campbell Faux Batik Brooch

One of the techniques that built a buzz at the IPCA retreat in Chicago was the faux batik method that Heather Campbell demoed. Faux batik fits perfectly with Heather’s complex, gilded and textured style and looks in sync with the approaching fall colors. She’s uploaded some new samples to her blog.

I missed the Chicago event in July so I’ve spent the afternoon trying to research a bit more about the process. The closest I’ve come is Judy Belcher’s method in her Creative Traditions book.

Heather Campbell - Faux Batik 2

I’m not sure that’s how Heather is achieving her effects, but either way my mind is reeling with ideas. Already variations on this theme are popping up on the web. Thanks to Lindly Haunani for pointing out what I missed.

Stacking and unpacking

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I’m sending you off to France to discover that By IC is Isa Castellano. I’m liking the way she stacks graduated polymer clay disks into a focal bead. Isa combines beads and colors and media with energy and abandon.

The translation is garbled but the pictures tell a great story.

I’m unloading my suitcase, bringing my head back into the right timezone and readjusting to what passes for normal life. Enjoy IC’s site and her DaWanda gallery while I catch up.

New book and Saturday school

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Polymer Clay Color Inspirations, the new book by Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio, has hit the bookstores just in time for the back-to-school season. This is the text you’ll need to advance in your polymer education. You can explore your color instincts and develop your own palettes through a series of projects.

Starting next Saturday, September 5, Maggie will be posting “Weekend Extras” on her blog to encourage you to go through each of the exercises in the book. You can send in your questions and comments as you work along.

Lindly and Maggie have long been friends of mine and I wrote the book’s forward (which is scintillating). I may be a bit biased but everyone agrees that they’re the best.

This week has taught me many things and made me appreciate what those of you with slow and unreliable connections have to endure. Thanks for your patience and your help. Have a spectacular weekend.

Prophater’s pop cans

Shapes cut from soda cans and covered with polymer clay are the trick behind this playful necklace from Laurie Prophater. The telephone wire used to secure the beads to rubber cord complete this reuse, recycle design.

A complete how-to of Laurie’s process appears in the autumn issue of Belle Armoire jewelry magazine. Laurie’s working on more variations using this technique that you can see on her Flickr site.

Vacation update

Thanks for your help. The network has been repaired. Here’s a picture of Maureen Carlson’s early morning introduction to a magnificent moose in our backyard.

Carlson faces teaching

Storyteller Maureen Carlson is preparing these polymer clay pendant samples (see more here, here and here) for her classes at Clay Carnival in November. She’ll be also be teaching at Cabin Fever next February.

These evocative pieces, all made with white clay, wear masks that reveal their alter egos…and make them doubly interesting.

In addition to her character face molds, Maureen’s developing a new line of smaller, less dimensional face molds designed specifically for jewelry use.

Find out more about Maureen, her center, and her classes here.

Wilder’s treasure chest

Dee Wilder’s treasure chest of beads startled me and started me thinking. Dee tries lots of techniques and has a knack for quickly inserting her own voice and style into the process. You can see hints of Grant Diffendaffer, Cynthia Toops, Jeff Dever and others in this box….but only hints.

She swears that even I might be able to loop waxed linen around a big bead like hers. Of course mine would be around a faux stone. Here’s more of Dee’s work.

It’s stormy and rainy in the mountains and the network keeps dropping out. But the wine is holding steady and the ideas are flowing.

Modern medicine woman

Wendy Malinow was decked out in claws, teeth, and femurs (all polymer) when I met up with her in Denver. She looked like a modern day medicine woman with her antler armbands, skull earrings and fringed leather sandals.

It’s the sculptural quality of the bones that attracts her. She’s researched scientific sites and delved into the world of bone scavengers to come up with designs that tweak reality and reinterpret how primitive people adorned themselves.

The Nature’s Ladder neckpiece is part of her continuing exploration of bones as adornment. The long design drapes down the back as well as the front. It will appear in an upcoming book in the Lark masters series.

Thanks for your patience. Speaking of sculptural inspiration, look at Jeff Dever’s video link in the right column. Wow! Maggie Maggio pointed me to it.