Train wreck polymer
A train wreck of a day. Everyone has them, right? I’m rolling with it.
I’ll be back tomorrow.
Scrappy moths
These magnificent moths are winging their way to the Philadelphia Museum of Craft Art Show. They’re new from Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff.
Bonnie’s combinations of caned bits and scrap stripes on the wings completely tickle me. And the shapes are spot on. It makes you appreciate moths. Usually, they’re the ones making scraps of our sweaters and woolens.
Enjoy them up close on Instagram.
Fall meets winter in a brooch
Now isn’t that the essence of fall?
France’s Valérie Bodino-Nazet situates a polymer shield shape of fall’s oranges, golds, and blues next to winter’s black and whites. She bisects the brooch with a flowing wire shape.
I couldn’t tell if Valerie had finished the construction when she took this photo but my eye shouted, “Stop! That’s it.”
Here’s the brooch on Instagram.
Pattern repeats make a polymer fabric
Aren’t you tempted by these in-process photos from France’s Cécile Bos (11Prunes)?
Cecile made 17 or so small canes with distinct geometric elements, all with the same high contrast color in the background. She assembled them into a larger complex cane.
The resulting pattern repeats and gives the cane a fabric feel. The beads made using this method have a delicacy that pulls the eye in to examine.
Put this on your to-do list. We’ll be seeing more of these.
The vibrancy of fall
My vacation’s over! This necklace with wild fall colors from Ukraine’s Irina Karminova shows us how vibrant and exciting the season ahead can be if you keep your eyes open.
Irina explains that “I rarely use such shades in my work, but a recent walk in the park inspired me! I saw a bush of fall wild barberry with leaves of pink-purple colors and bright red berries! So unusual and beautiful! And I decided to make it!”
Thanks for coming back for a daily dose of polymer art that will nudge your work forward.
If you hunger for more, trot right on over to StudioMojo.org for a weekend wrap up and insider’s look.
Scrap necklace
Vancouver Island’s Janet Bouey shows us how great a collection of scraps can look when gathered into a necklace. She’s in a show on Vancouver Island this weekend.
This photo came as my mountain of scrap from vacation working/playing confronts me. Thanks to Janet, I’ll be covering some extruded tubes for future use. Bake, slice, assemble and somehow those many design decisions, mistakes and all, add up to a visually rich necklace.
I’m checking to see if I remember how to post after a month off. Whew, it all comes back. See you soon.
RBG meets RGB
This picture was just what I needed. Polymer clay shows up on the US Supreme Court in the form of Kathleen Dustin and Ruth Bader Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Art2Wear show.
Go see this tiny but monumental force (RBG) purchasing polymer art from an artistic force (RGB Dustin).
Something in this world is headed in the right direction.
I’m still on hiatus but checking in from time to time. Happy Monday to you.
You gotta have heart
…miles and miles and miles of heart…as the song goes. Ron Lehocky had a table full of his hearts at Clay Out West. Even as Ron struggles through his own bumps in the road he plods on to reach his goal of 50,000 hearts to support The Kids Project.
StudioMojo will focus on all the people I encountered this week who specialize in saying “YES”. With only a split-second hesitation, they grab at what comes their way and say an emphatic yes. How do they do that?
They follow their gut, their instinct, their heart. I’m fascinated with how diving headlong into whatever comes your way can turn out.
I’m on hiatus from daily posts and having a marvelous time learning how to say yes. Join me over at StudioMojo.
Late-onset creativity
I’ve suffered a curious case of late-onset creativity so you’ll hear from me only intermittently during October. Sometimes my fingers itch to do what I spend so much time talking about.
This 14-year online safari has taken me to all kinds of unlikely destinations and for the next month, I’ll be out West playing with friends and meeting new people.
The car is packed, we’ll get up early and head out on the open road feeling giddy.
No thank you, Monday morning. Nothing, including daily delivery, is assured. I am very grateful for your support of PCD and hope that you’ll check in here and on my Instagram from time to time.
Nurturing curiosity
This work-in-progress shot from Alaska’s Katie Way makes my heart sing.
Spot-on colors, straightforward technique. Cut and replace meets updated quilt pattern meets polymer.
It’s an updated of several old ways of working.
That’s what we’ll be talking about on StudioMojo this Saturday. As we become more expert at what we do, we tend to lose our curiosity. We start coloring within the lines of what we know.
The Bonnie Bishoff class I hosted last weekend put a bunch of us back in touch with something new and made us feel full of possibility again. Come on over and learn how to stay curious.