New Possibilities

These chunky diva art bangles are from Steven Ford and David Forlano at Charon Kransen Arts. A tour through their slide shows some other new works that look like a significant departure from earlier work with more reliance on metals and other materials. Susan Rose found the link.

Correction: Dan Cormier couldn’t believe his eyes at Ford/Forlano’s work. And he was right. Steven says the gallery attributed several pictures of someone else’s work to them (the enamel and metal works in the slide show). Thanks to Dan for the detective work.

Your new work? The National Guild folks remind us that you have until April 1 to submit your best new work to the guild’s "Progress & Possibilities" juried exhibit. Welcome and good luck to the new officers of the NPCG who have great plans to move the guild forward this year.

Growth Chart

This Flickr link charts the growth of Tatana (Natalia García de Leániz) from Madrid, Spain.

What strikes me about this young artist’s work is that even when she’s taking a class from Dan Cormier or Judy Kuskin or Jeff Dever and the resulting work is naturally derivative, Natalia’s own voice comes through loud and clear.

It’s wonderful that there’s no question that this is not the work of the teacher but rather an homage to the teacher with her own story shining through the design and the palette. It takes confidence to make that happen. Hats off to Natalia as she finds her voice in polymer clay.

Buna

I’ve been on a Buna Binge lately. It started with Donna Kato, then Maggie Maggio took it further. A tutorial at Polymer Clay Express shows how to paint it. Now the French are playing with it.

Buna cord can be such a simple solution to stringing and fastening. Here are a couple more examples from those wild French women (Mathilde Brun, Mariane and others). It’s gray here and they perk me right up. Have a lovely weekend.

Cavender Classes

Don’t miss the new pix of Kim Cavender’s work (at the bottom of that page) that accompany the descriptions of classes she’ll be teaching in Salem, NH in March.

Her torso pendants, bangles, and sticks and stones look intriguing if you’re in the mood to learn new techniques. Kim’s caning is some of the most refined you’ll find.

Christi Friesen teaches at the same gallery in March. Check the class listings.

Kato Site

A look at Donna Kato’s new personal site will inspire and tire you. All those pets, a whirlwind travel schedule, classes galore, online tutorials and wonderful polymer clay work. Plus the books and the business. And she’s teaching herself how to post it all to the web.

This is a lovely glimpse into how a busy successful artist works. She’s easing up a bit and with any luck, 2007 will be the year she learns to ride. This is a site you’ll want to visit again and again.

Donna’s new book is due out this summer. You can pre-order your copy now.

Fewer bells

Helen Breil has a way with textures. She combines great patterns with layers and colors that slowly reveal themselves. Check out her gallery page.

Those revealing rollover pictures I tried last week were too much of a good thing. I’m going to try using them only on the daily pictures and see how that works out. I do enjoy them on the artists’ page where they’ll stay. If you find that gets in your way, let me know. It’s good to be reminded that not everyone across the world has the bandwidth and computer power to handle fancy code.

As in our polymer clay work, just because you can use something doesn’t mean you should.

Pavelka Update

Thanks for all the comments! They're very helpful. I neglected to mention the Polymer Paradise Clay Cruise, March 18-25, which departs from Long Beach, California with polymer artists Karen Lewis, Jana Roberts Benzon, Lisa Pavelka, and others.

Tidying the class list is on my weekend list of chores so if you've got some, send them along. Can't say that it'll be comprehensive, but I'll make a stab at it.

Speaking of chores, the first of the year is a great time to add new work to your web site. Take a look at Lisa Pavelka's updated work and reorganized site. Very nice with some great work to inspire you this weekend.

Social calendar

January is the time for plotting out your social calendar if you want to "clay well with others." (The image is from the newsletter of the Philadelphia Guild who are sponsoring their own Clayathon in January.)

There's the fabulous bead show in Tucson from January 21 to February 16 and simultaneous To Bead True Blue classes (warning…the site is very frustrating but if you scroll long and hard, you'll find some great classes with polymer clay teachers like Ronna Sarvas Weltman, Christi Friesen, Janet Farris) and an extensive exhibitor list.

Or if you want something more intimate and earthy visit Klew's 8th Bi-annual Polymer Retreat on Memorial Day weekend. Want something warmer? Try the Florida guild's Florida in February.

Check with your local guild for more classes and conferences…there are many at this time of year.

If you missed this weekend's e-newsletter, be sure to sign up for it in the column at the right. I'll try to make it a monthly feature this year and you won't want to miss it.

New Year’s Eve

Who better to celebrate the New Year with than that crazy Bulgarian, Dinko Tilov? I'd lost track of his site and through a series of links (visit clay wizard), found him just in time for a polymer clay New Year's party.

His characters are wonderful exaggerations. Note the devil and angel at the right who may be whispering on your shoulder right now as you consider your last bite of 2006 overindulgence. Happy New Year!

Office Party!

You'll have to wait for my year end wisdom and inspiration.

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