Loretta Lam has updated her site with some lovely new polymer clay work for your viewing pleasure this Friday.
Loretta uses soft and sophisticated colors along with subtle textures to add interest to her simple modern shapes.
The cutout layer of clay over solid colors in her new Polka Dot Fun pins is very effective. Take a look at her clever new treatments. We owe Ronna Weltman thanks for the tip.
"Life is a Balancing Act" is the name of Liana Turnbull Bennett’s polymer clay sculpture and fitting title for her story.
When this Colorado artist entered her sculpture in a recent "clay" show, it was rejected. But while she waited for the group’s verdict, the piece was spotted by a gallery customer and promptly purchased.
Liana’s animal skull sculptures, "Battle Cry" and "Speedy" won several awards in shows this summer. Her story is a good read. Remember, "Life’s a balancing act!"
Illinois’ Zuda Gay takes a botanical and sculptural approach to polymer clay. In our haste to make the clay do new tricks, we sometimes overlook its ability to be simply and delicately shaped.
Zuda says she creates flowers from clay because she cannot grow them any other way. I like her use of buttons as flower centers and her Victorian palette. She’s on Etsy and has a blog site too.
"If you know my work, you will know me," says Laurie Mika in a great podcast on Stacey Apeitos’ site. Laurie’s in California and Stacey is in Australia if you’re tracking our global connections. Listen in on their friendly chat about Laurie’s polymer clay/mixed media mosaic process, her philosophy and her new book
West Virginia’s Kim Cavender is a natural at blogging even though she had to be cajoled and coerced into getting online. She includes links to great findings, a color quiz and pictures of her most recent creations. Kim will keep you coming back for more.
Winners of the Bead Arts Awards 2007 have been announced and not only did Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg’s polymer clay bead (pictured at right) take the top award in the "clay bead" category but it also took top honors in the competition across all the categories. A list of the winners and a nice "Go with the Flow Pendant" tutorial from Christi Friesen are downloadable from the Step by Step site and appear in the November/December issue of their magazine.
I wanted to bring you these lovely tidbits to finish the week and to tidy my desktop. I’m off to the studio, have a lovely weekend.
Vancouver Island’s Tina Holden was inspired to create this polymer clay necklace by a recent drive in the countryside.
She added copper, variegated and gold leaf into a jade translucent polymer clay. The necklace itself is crocheted and four-strand braided with recycled glass, smokey quartz and other beads.
Holden also "rocks" and has swapped with other makers of PEBLS…that’s Polymerclay Evolved Beach Like Stones.
Sharon Sahl, formerly of Ohio and now from Washington, has added her 2007 line of polymer clay ornaments to her web site enabling her Ohio collectors to get their annual fix of her charming and precise works.
Sharon’s added a couple of interesting demos. If you scroll down her demo page you’ll see an example of her process for a cathedral windows quilt and witness Sharon’s legendary attention to detail. Be sure to browse the gingerbread houses section.
A couple of mind-expanding miniatures in polymer clay may start you thinking smaller this week.
On the left, New York’s Peter Luber puts polymer clay dioramas in vacuum tubes. A painter, modeller and writer, Luber says that the vacuum tubes encapsulate moments that matter to him.
Singapore’s Garie Sim has been working in micro-size art since the early 80s. He’s also become a supplier (check out his experiments), a teacher, and a therapist, using the clay to help people with learning disabilities.
If you don’t have any big ideas for your week, perhaps these small ones sent in by Lindly Haunani and Barbara Reider will help.
The first thing you have to know about these polymer clay "Wiiremote" earrings is that they’re replicas of a very popular video game controller. They are made by Thiakosia and sold on Etsy. These clever copies are a hit, appearing on every geek and gadget site on the internet…they’re geektastic.
The second thing you need to know about this post is that it was sent to me by my artist/geek son. Now isn’t that just too sweet? Of course, I’m going to feature it.
One more oddity for your Friday amusement is Dawn Schiller’s Seidh (pronounced "seed"). According to her, Seidh take up residence in empty pods on the forest floor.
Fantasy characters usually scare me but Schiller’s make me smile. Her website is populated with all sorts of happy/creepy creatures perfect for your fall weekend viewing.
Browsing the Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild’s blog and Flickr sites is like attending a virtual meeting, this month with Donna Kato.
There’s a wealth of inspiration on the site…like these necklaces by Ellen Marshall (left) and Susan Gross (right). Jeff Dever will teach a sold out class next week.
Kudos to the guild for delivering such up-to-the-minute pictures and information and such dynamite classes.
When Texas artist Elizabeth Bonura couldn’t find a suitable sculpture for the top of her wedding cake, she created one for herself out of polymer clay and then started a business making them for others. She has been sculpting since 1994.
A recent project – life size and with a two-week deadline – had her struggling. "I was having trouble capturing a likeness of the bride so I contacted the members of the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy and the members of the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild for help," says Elizabeth. She documented her progress on her Flickr site. "I could not have finished this project without these wonderful art communities!" she says. That’s synergy.
Speaking of Synergy! The online registration for next February’s conference opens next Monday. Check your calendar. Early birds are offered some tasty worms.
