Texas’ Deb Hart takes polymer back to its roots with these three hippie-themed tiles.
With regular retreats canceled, Deb is using her free time to indulge her inner flower child and make some class samples for next year’s events.
On her Facebook, you can see her in-process photos as she creates an outline with a string of extruded polymer and positions the main elements. She fills in later with colors and more patterns. The peace theme feels hopeful and right.
Israel’s Iris Mishly is deep into her 100-day challenge for veneers. This one didn’t go as planned so she cut it into strips that she offset and reassembled into an even better, almost digital-looking version.
You can learn a lot from watching others’ work evolve. My 100-days are languishing at the two-week mark but that’s how things go these days and I refuse to feel apologetic.
Better to ride on Iris’ coattails and learn from her. Her collection is amazing. There’s no paint, powder, ink, or stencil she won’t try. Lovely to look at. Here’s her Etsy.
Scotland’s Valerie Anderson (bedeckedbeads) has played and played with Sonya Girodon’s free tutorial. With this latest brooch, Valerie puts her own spin on the process with deep watery colors.
And if you look at the side view you’ll see how her curved strips add another departure. When you put your own “stink” on a technique and take off in new directions, you make it yours. Here’s Valerie’s shop.
I’ve run across such an astonishing array of new work that we will have to ponder what’s happening in this week’s StudioMojo newsletter. It’s as if you’ve been unleashed! Are you feeling it? Come see where polymer is headed.
Czech Republic’s Ivana Svobodová makes a game of collecting all her thin, tiny scraps and then sitting down for a game of assemblage. Nothing goes to waste as she creates a series of puzzled brooches.
The face parts mixed in with all the patterns add an element of surprise and mystery.
Two big thick circles with a narrow slab in between are all it takes to make a stunning polymer vase like this one from Baltimore’s Linda Loew.
The periwinkle and purple colors are lush, the edges are smoothed and there’s a freeform design in the circles’ centers.
Why not show off some of spring’s bounty in a vase made especially for the occasion? Here’s Linda on Instagram.
There’s no better antidote to fear and ennui than service. France’s Rozen Martel shows us another great way to make polymer art that can be helpful. Here’s her free video tutorial.
This small addition to a mask creates a useful and decorative polymer accessory that alleviates ear chafing and discomfort.
Mask holders can be simple or ornate. They can be personalized or spread your message. For those of us who don’t sew, Rozen provides an outlet for our altruism.
There are many ways to be helpful, stay creative, and contribute in these strange times. That’s what we’ll be exploring in Saturday morning’s StudioMojo. What’s helpful and exciting and perhaps hidden from view? Come explore with us.
The shape that Vancouver’s Janet Bouey uses for her pendants is a pleasing and popular one.
Janet has synthesized what can be a complicated design to its simplest form with the use of a jump ring on either side on the top edge of the pendant.
It’s simple to construct and can still be elegant to wear. That’s a win-win in my book. Of course, it helps to have compelling veneers for your pendants too!
Maryland’s Mickey Kunkle straddles the worlds of fiber and polymer in her jewelry. At Clayathon in New Jersey, Mickey was working on designing a woven polymer bracelet using a kind of loom she made by drilling holes in a round base. It’s a hybrid of fiber and polymer influences.
Mickey extruded round pegs that she cured and inserted into the holes in the base. She then extruded long strings to weave around the pegs to form a bracelet. Her prototype is strong and colorful and wearable. She’s still in the “Whatify” stage.
In her gallery video, Mickey explains her struggles as an artist and how she has learned to combine her talents to suit herself. Can’t decide between your favorite artforms? Maybe you don’t have to.
It’s not often that a piece shows up without attribution. Who could have made this necklace of folded ovals that have been textured and highlighted? She’s French (assuming a woman) who shows her work on the coast of France at Atelier Scalp Bijoux.
The mix of neutrals makes this very wearable in a seaside setting. Let us know if you have a clue who made it. Guess it’s an April fool’s challenge.
The artist is Nathalie Sgard. Thanks to Chris Bard
Russia’s Anna Oriana quickly creates a bright beautiful bird on Instagram.
Anna’s videos of miniatures are wildly popular and she shows impressive skill in her tiny artworks and her YouTube tutorials. For a quick shot of inspiration and color, try her tutorials.
