Polymer Clay Daily

Artists

Treasured bees

Jennifer Patterson layers a natural scene on Polymer Clay Daily.com

Minnesota’s Jennifer Patterson (QuiltedInClay) has been busy creating wares for her upcoming Duluth show.

You’ll have to look more closely to get the full effect of the layers here. You’ll discover the translucent bee wings that show the petals below. Remarkable.

Jennifer is famous for her extruded quilt patterns and disk sets. Here she veers off course for one-off pieces that are good for her heart and her mojo.

Oh yes, speaking of mojo, join us for Saturday’s StudioMojo where we’ll be dealing with what turtles teach us about anxiety and traveling. 

Fishing for something

Fiona Abel Smith inlays stripes over a blend for her tropical fish on PolymerClayDaily.com

The UK’s Fiona Abel Smith is fishing for something on Instagram. This is no ordinary polymer fish pendant. Fiona added the details over a Skinner blend-covered sculpture. The stripes are patterned cane slices inlaid into the blend.

Fiona’s fish has personality and sparkle and believable tropical colors. She’s had some practice. Look at this school of fish she made a while back. Practice makes perfect.

Beads to fondle

Doreen Gay Kassel creates a potpourri of beads to fondle on PolymerClayDaily

Since my network is taunting me with an intermittent signal, we’ll lean on New York’s Doreen Gay Kassel for a post that requires few words and a quick upload.

Just look at those beads! The colors and textures beg us to fondle them. You can look more closely on Instagram.

Wifi repairman has been called! I had to walk over to my studio to post. They have a fiber connection that has spoiled me.  

Juicy polymer

Tatyana Parshikova harvests polymer watermelons on PolymerClayDaily.com

Russia’s Tatyana Parshikova (seventh-heaven) brings us a harvest of watermelons.

Only a couple the varying sized melons have been cut to reveal their fruit. A clever treatment with occasional dots of red mixed in. This necklace catches your attention.

See Tatayana wearing it on Instagram.

Eye-catching fish

Lynn Yuhr builds her fish on beginner concepts on PolymerClayDaily.com

Florida’s Lynn Yuhr created this Gone Fishin’ as one of her class samples for 2019’s Bead and Button. In her post about deadlines and creativity, she wonders if the two concepts are compatible and concludes that the two are at odds until you jump in and start.

Lynn listened to feedback about her fish and even though the piece looks complicated, she based a new class on these basic shapes and beginner canes.

Her advice is particularly good for a Monday. Time to jump in and get started.

Offline lines

Marta Hugas' inchies draw us in for examination on PolymerClayDaily

These inchies from Marta Hugas line up in a lovely graphic way. They’ve been shared and scattered across Europe now that Polimeralia 2018 in Valencia, Spain is over.

Marta writes in her blog and faithfully documents her art. Her methods are different than you might expect. Are these dotted lines hand drawn?

The time with family restored me. Unplugging was a good thing. A long plane ride home helped me switch back into gear to organize this week’s StudioMojo. I’m surprised at how much polymer energy is in the air! Join us and see what I tracked down. 

Savoring summer

I’m taking my own advice and focusing my attention on family for a few days this week. Not to worry, PCD will be back later this week.

Me and three of my four sisters. 

Summer bouquet

Karen Pasieka gathers the flowers from her garden on PolymerClayDaily

Ontario’s Karen Pasieka has gathered the blooms in her polymer garden into a bright bouquet on a 4×4 tile. See what varieties of flowers she has in her studio garden on Instagram.

Her creation may remind you to run outside and admire summer’s bounty while you can. Karen has returned to her studio to get ready for the fall and holiday shows.

It looks like lots of you got back to the studio this week. StudioMojo is full of links to new works as we try to wring every bit of summer creativity out of this month. We’d love to have you join our Saturday newsletter where we chat about all the fun stuff we couldn’t cram into PCD. 

Balancing act


Olga Lednova's balancing act on PolymerClayDaily.com

Maybe this complex piece from Russia’s Olga Lednova appeals because it mirrors the weekend. There’s a lot going on! Houseguests, friends, family, work!

Note the textures, colors, graduations, patterns, layers and a slight shift in size. If we’re very lucky, all the things we balance in our lives come together as well as Olga’s.

See more of Olga’s balancing act on Instagram and Flickr. She’ll be teaching at this year’s Polymer Week.

That’s what the contact form is for

Linda Martin leans into her first wall art and is surprised on PolymerClayDaily

Michigan’s Linda Hoffman Martin bravely submitted her first piece of wall art to PCD via the contact form.

This lovely wire and polymer leafy shadow box reminds me of how grateful I am when artists like Linda take a risk and send a link.

She first put the piece up on the FB Hooked on Polymer group because she was proud of it. When hundreds of others agreed with her, she was surprised and emboldened to try for a wider audience.

If that little voice in your head says, “You’ve got something here!” take a chance and spread your work around. The validation can do wonders for your mojo.

Yes, that’s my cue to tell you that StudioMojo, the weekend newsletter, is another way to push yourself in new directions and shore up your enthusiasm. We’d love to have you join us.