Sharon MacLeod has resurfaced with some stunning new bracelet designs on Crafthaus and on her new Etsy site. It’s an innovative and inspired use of materials.
Sharon explains, “Working with an unexpected combination of materials, I create jewelry that starts with my own graphic art that I print on thin paper, which is then meticulously laminated to various sizes of small tubing, and then assembled with a variety of materials including polymer clay, glass, metal, rubber and plastic.”
Time flies…or at least it does if you’re looking at Scotland’s Tracy Blease polymer clay clocks. Her “quirkyclocks” are by commssion only and she specializes in reversible pendants. Thanks to Julie Picarello for introducing us to this artist.
Loose Ends
I overlooked Valerie Aharoni‘s Best In Show (and first place in the seed bead category) necklace made of seed beads and polymer. It was chosen by Fire Mountain Gems and is featured on the Bead Star cover. Don’t miss her Flickr site for a complete look at her work.
In the Jan/Feb issue of Step by Step Beads magazine, Ronna Weltman has written an article about polymer clay master classes you can watch at home on DVD. If you’re watching your pennies and your carbon footprint, you might want to read her article as well as Ilene Goldman’s “poly-metrics” piece in the magazine.
Making mokume gane in polymer clay is an exercise in finding the balance between control and chaos. It can easily become a jumble of patterns and a stew of colors. These mokume earrings and pendant by Barbara McGuire show what can happen when you master the technique.
Barbara is teaching her “Extreme Mokume Gane” (as well as two “faces” classes) at Bead and Button in Minneapolis Milwaukee this June.
A list of all the polymer clay classes being offered at Bead and Button is available here. Thanks to Ronna Weltman for the heads-up.
Yesterday’s characters got me thinking about other polymer clay sculptors. I revisited Maureen Carlson’s site and saw that she’s added a number of new galleries of her work like this lovely leaping figure which she made over a wire armature.
A gifted storyteller, Maureen lets stories flow from her characters which reflect many moods – thoughtful, mysterious and playful. Her newest pieces are exhibited in Minneapolis and she’s filling in the roster of classes scheduled for 2009 at her teaching/retreat facility.
Toy news and toymakers haven’t appeared on our radar very often but after a look at ToyCyte.com, it’s apparent that we need to fix that. Toycyte covers toy artists, including a number who work in polymer clay. They’re growing in number, in expertise and in popularity.
Meredith Dittmar may be familiar to you already. Her small polymer “my guys” regularly sell out (check out her holiday versions) and she’s got a large following for her wall art, animations, and illustrations as well.
ToyCyte’s blog post led me to Leslie Levings and her polymer clay beastlies (pictured here). She’s been making these charming characters since fourth grade and all that practice has made her very good at bringing the clay to life. Check out her videos and her Monday night show and be sure to read the site’s interview of Leslie here.
Lately Washington’s Pam Sanders has been creating wall art frames that shelter companion polymer clay pieces inspired by ancient cultures and nature. Beads and clay also find their way into her paintings and collages.
Her “Old Man” and “I Am the Moon” pieces shown here illustrate her integrative approach.
Pam’s work is on the new “Crafthaus” site for artists as well as on Etsy.
Note: Sharon Sahl’s polymer clay gingerbread house was featured on a weekend Apartment Therapy post!
This comfy, couch potato polymer clay Santa by Dennis Brown could make me a believer again. It comes from the “ReasonsToBelieve” site, a treasure trove of Santas.
Brown’s work has been licensed by several reproduction companies and these are the polymer originals. He makes Santas 365 days a year. Thanks to Susan Lomuto for the tip.
Kudos to Heather Powers (HumbleBeads) for her wins in the Bead Star competition from Interweave Press. She combines and collages beads and found items into evocative pieces.
Iris Mishly has jumped on the recycled band wagon too, using throwaways from her computer job as findings for her polymer clay work. Have a useful weekend.
This photo that accompanied the description of Sarah Shriver’s February class shows polymer clay “petal bracelets” that depart from Sarah’s earlier works. She’s been perfecting her intricate kaleidoscope canes and celtic knots for nearly twenty years. You can see her early works in the PolymerArtArchives and on her web site.
These new designs move in a looser, larger, more colorful direction. I’d like to show you more but these are the only photos I could find. Guess you’ll have to take one of her classes in California or catch up with her in Spain, Portugal or France this spring.
Discussions about holiday spirit wouldn’t be complete without mentioning another of my polymer clay favorites, Seattle’s Susan Hyde. She sent these two examples of her latest angels dressed in her signature colors with extruded clay slices as accents. Those colors are pure holiday eye candy.
Her fabric tutorial (a Skinner blend with shreds of contrasting color mixed in and stacked into plaids) is one of the best for polymer clay color lovers.
The designs have a definite Hieronymus Bosch bent and reflect both Pozzo’s years of professional experience and his love of motorcycles. He sculpts in polymer clay and then casts the piece in fiberglass.
Each elaborate tank takes 200-250 hours and costs $4,500 and up. Custom designs are twice that.
His polymer clay figures are quirky and funny as well and his site reveals an artist of immense and varied talent.
