More than one way with polymer

No cane slices were combined to create Barb Fajardo’s latest experiment! For this 4″ diameter bowl she’s using her Mandala Flora technique that includes a clever mix of cut and replace plus texture and paint.

It’s a welcome departure from the usual. (Remember her last bowl experiment?) We sometimes forget that with polymer there’s always more than one way to get the results you want. Start a week full of possiblities.

While her site is undergoing a makeover, you can find Barb on Flickr, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Evolving bangles

Two flat sculpted bangles caught my eye. Similar designs with very different treatments.

The first is from Pennsylvania’s Staci Smith (stacilouiseoriginals). She’s happy to be back to polymer after nursing a sore shoulder. “This was one of those things I couldn’t stop sketching or thinking about. It’s a practice bracelet.”

She shares some in-process shots on her blog and Facebook. She’s also published articles in the latest issues of Belle Armoire and ClothPaperScissors.

The second was from Czech Republic’s Eva Haskova who wrapped extruded elements into a shape that looks like the structure of a chemical element with random holes and connected particles. You can see more of her stylish discoveries on her site, Flickr and Facebook. Here’s her quick free video too.

These concepts made me want to revisit the extruded flat heart I played with a few years back. The flat bangle evolution continues.

Telltale polymer heart

Christine Damm’s hearts are wild and spontaneous and very much her. She’d like you to throw away all your templates and cutters!

Christine explains to her students that, “Your piece will become truly unique only if you address every single aspect of its design and source or design it yourself. That means devising your own shapes and forms whenever possible.”

She recommends a quick-sketching method to discover your own heart. “The shape itself means something to us culturally and anthropologically on a subconscious level. It’s also a very universal symbol.”

Before you start cutting out polymer hearts this week, doodle a page or two of your own valentines. You may find that your heart is in a different place and has taken on a new shape in 2015. Christine wears her heart on Pinterest, her site and Flickr.

Evolving talking heads

A class with Ronna Weltman pushed Seattle’s Sue Ellen Katz to begin making polymer Talking Heads five years ago as a daily creative meditation. (Here’s a PCD post about the beginning of her work.)

The talking heads have evolved into elegant magnetic brooches embroidered with glass beads and semi-precious stones. Sue Ellen has created hundreds of polymer faces in three collections: Ancient Entities, Goddesses and Chinese Zodiac.

Alese, The Light Bearer, is an Ancient Entity painted with alcohol inks and surrounded with seed beads, vintage beads and crystals. She is a 2″ x 4″ magnetic brooch.

When not worn, Sue Ellen’s pieces are richly framed in shadow boxes that she designed. The deep, fabric-lined frames have metal backs that hold the brooches and create a dramatic presentation grouped on a wall.

The effect of these collections (photographed by Douglas S Yaple) is captured on Sue Ellen’s new site (click the Display it/Wear it headings to see the frames). See more on her blog, Facebook and Pinterest.

One tool, one day

Julie Picarello allowed herself only one imprint tool for these Lunar Flowers. She haunts hardware stores looking for metal parts that leave unusual marks and shapes. For this exercise Julie challenged herself to move out of her comfort zone and design in 3D in a more loose way than usual for one day.

” I threw all caution in the wind, and distorted and manipulated on purpose. It was a strange feeling, and I might even have whimpered a little when I forced myself to cut a hole off-center. But by the end of the day, I was hooked on these simple little components,” she says.

She admits that she’s returning to her beloved imprinting technique, “But it feels good to have dipped a toe in uncharted waters, and lived to tell the tale.”

Her new works also include crackle surfaces and patterned edges that haven’t appeared before. Have you ventured beyond your usual depth lately?

Butterfly booth bush

Wanda Shum’s butterfly brooches alight gracefully in her booth on a round potted bush. The spring scene invites shoppers in for a closer look. A Vancouver artist, Wanda is selling her wares at a Toronto wholesale show this week.

It’s easiest to understand how she sketches and builds her butterfly canes by looking at her Facebook photos. You’ll also find her collections of work on Pinterest and Flickr.

Wanda’s colors are hot and her bugs and butterflies add a welcome dash of color on a cold day full of white snow.

Facing yourself with polymer

Australia’s Wendy Moore sat herself down and had a talk. She’d been neglecting her creative self as she traveled and dealt with various worthy projects (you’ll know her name from the Nepali Samunnat project).

When Wendy finally gave her creative side some quality time, this wonderful face cane materialized.

The face cane was inspired by Argentinian artist Graciela Fuenzalida who draws wild women portraits on leather purses and bags.

Dressed up with earrings and hairstyles, Wendy’s face turned into a whole sorority of happy creative selves.

This may also remind you of Pier Voulkos’ early faces. There’s a face cane video here if you need a quick start. Let your creative self pick up some clay and face the week together.

Cellular mashup

For this pendant, Germany’s Annette Kruger (wolfschmuck) took inspiration from Eugena Topina’s polymer openwork tutorial. She also felt influenced by Melanie West’s organic cell structures.

By using layers of multiple colors (Eugena shows her samples in white) and shaping this bead as a hollow form, Annette achieves some exciting results that suggest a whole new range of possibilities.

Her first experiments show promise but miss the mark with underwhelming palettes. After several tries she scores and captures our attention. I don’t know about you, but I’m itching to try this.

See more of Annette’s efforts on Facebook and Flickr.

Hypnotic polymer

You may need coffee to steady your nerves before you start on this optically challenging polymer cane from Helene Jeanclaude (Les ethiopiques).

Her free video tutorial makes this Checkered Hypnotic (Damier hypnotique) cane pattern deceptively simple and her step-by-step photos are clear enough that you do not need to speak French to follow along. (I know because I tried it.) She gathers soft edged hollow pillow beads made from the patterns into the necklace and ring shown below.

You’ll find much more on her blog (she offers a whole library of tutorials), Facebook, Pinterest, and on Flickr. Helene offers this new instruction as a bright spot in the dark days they’re experiencing in France. Merci!

Yesterday’s lucky earrings are available for anyone who needs them. Go Bucks!

Photos to polymer

Syndee Holt took a favorite family snapshot, converted it to a sketch, printed it and transferred the image to polymer. (There are lots of sketch apps that can help those who don’t draw.) She added color with oil based pencils.

Cotton balls added behind the clay under the cheeks and the palm of the hand gave her son’s portrait soft dimension. “I wish you could see it in person, you can literally pinch those cheeks,” Syndee says. The sculpted photo was then layered onto a backing of torn-edged clay and displayed on a stand.

Is your phone full holiday photos begging to be turned into fine art?

We can all thank Donna Greenberg for masterminding the Artchain that has grown like wildfire on Facebook (#PolymerArtChallenge). Each artist posts five works and nominates five others to do the same. The exercise has started our 2015 with a big bump in the number of formerly unseen polymer works from around the globe. Like this one!

See more of Syndee on the Sculpey site, her blog, and Pinterest.

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