Polymer Clay Daily

Tips and Tricks

Faux collection

Moseley on PCDaily

Luxuriate in the colors and patterns on Lynda Moseley's newest group of faux turquoise polymer pieces. She's sampled a variety of colors and experimented with all kinds of cracks and crevices. This sampler pendant combines snippets from lots of test pieces.

"What I had originally planned as a faux turquoise tutorial has morphed into a range of faux finishes using the same technique," she reports. It looks like her Faux Master Collection will be ready for prime time at the end of the month.

Lynda has a reputation for researching and refining her techniques into deceptively simple steps that make you wonder why you didn't think of that. See more of her work on Flickr, on Facebook, and watch her Etsy site for the new info.

Integrating tutorials

Vogel on PCDaily

Lorraine Vogel's polymer pendants and earrings glow with graceful shapes and layered colors that make me envious. Look closely and you may spot tricks she's learned from tutorials by Lynda Moseley and Ginger Davis Allman but the stamps, the carving and the colors are distinctly her own. She uses tutorials in the way they were meant to be used, quickly integrating them into her signature style.

Vogel on PCDaily

A graphic artist from South Florida, Lorraine brings a keen eye for balance and harmony to polymer. She has a couple of Etsy shops and you can find her on Facebook. Her Flickr photos will give you a wider look at her eye-pleasing creations.

Need a freebie?

Don't miss Margit Bohmer's step-by-step photos of her doodle transfers for some free weekend fun.

Noodling and doodling

Otrzan on PCDaily

In her new Doodle Me Do class on CraftArtEdu Nikolina Otrzan shows you how to make a bunch of small canes. You then use that stash to doodle and play and make all kinds of artworks.

A peek at the class with all its pictures and possibilities had me itching to pump up my own supply of canes and to try out some of the ingenious ways she has of building them.

Otrzan on PCDaily

Nikolina also has a class on Zentangling on clay if that suits your doodling style better.

Need a new idea?

If you're ready to try something new, I might also suggest the hollow bead tutorial from Orly Fuchs Galchen. Look at these yummy examples.

And my newest favorite tutorial is Tina Holden's sea glass. Tina uses a whole different method for producing glass that's virtually indistinguishable from the pieces weathered on the beach. I wish I'd thought of it. Here's her site where you'll find some freebie lessons as well.

Doodle delights

Bohmer on PCDaily

Continuing our doodle theme, Germany’s Margit Bohmer doodles on paper and then transfers the drawing to raw polymer.

The fun continues as she uses inks or paints or colored pencils to color in the design. The results are formed into bangles or sliced into earrings, brooches and such. (Note that the transfer would actually be mirror-imaged but the animation looked more believable this way.)

Bohmer on PCDaily

Get the whole scoop on Margit’s Flickr page or friend her on Facebook. On a hot day, this might be a painterly way to play with sticky clay.

Polymer for dancing

This blog post from polymer newbie Kimberly Rogers about bad days and new beginnings may make you smile.

She’s an Alaskan lampwork and mixed media artist who easily transitioned to polymer when she bought Ginger Allman’s tutorial on rustic beads.

Kimberly used the red, white and blue polymer that she had on hand and diguised the color with paints following Ginger’s instructions. And then she danced!

Read more

Donna Greenberg’s homage to artist Morundi. Fabulous polymer-covered bottles.

Free tutorial from Anke Humpert by signing up for her newsletter mailing list.

Beach party polymer

Groover on PCDaily

How kind of you to do online research for me while I’m on vacation! Chris Kelsey sent in this link to Florida polymer painter Debortina, Deborah Groover.

Your eyes will flit around like these Beach Party birds, checking out the wealth of patterns and colors pieced together into larger images.

To give you a size idea, the work shown here is 22″ x 32″. The process comes closest to applique.

Deborah explains, “Once my clay is heat set, I cut apart sheets and reassemble them into a polymer collage. I then add color and washes, use sgrafitto to remove color then add more color, and on and on until I am satisfied. The backgrounds are not clay (except for the small ones). I use layers of ink pens and paints to create the texture.” Experience the whole shebang on Flickr.

Vacation is lovely! Class begins on Monday and maybe I’ll try polymer painting!

Sister site

PolymerClayGlobal.com

Let me send you off to PCDaily’s new sister site, Polymer Clay Global. It’s the companion site for the brand new book, Polymer Clay Global Perspectives, and was created to help you find out more about the artists in the book.

Enjoy a look at the 13 featured artists. Try the free tutorial from Kim Korringa and explore the links to over 100 artists featured throughout the book which arrives in bookstores in July.

We’ll be adding to Polymer Clay Global regularly. The new site will provide enhanced resources beyond what’s offered in print. Pre-ordering online will get the book to you hot off the presses. Don’t forget to meander back to PCDaily!

Fixed the link! 

Free folded tutorial

Breil folded on PCDaily

Helen Breil’s new free video tutorial is so clear and concise that it leaves you thinking, “Oh sure, I could do that!” It will start your week on positive note.

The first Folded Bead Tutorial shows you the basics. Part 2 shows you how to add a surface effect and Part 3 explores design possibilities. Simple and straightforward yet stunning.

Breil folded sample on PCDaily

A clean work surface, manicured nails, a calm voice – Helen presents a pleasant interlude and a thoughtful approach to clay even if you hadn’t considered folded beads previously. Here she is on Facebook.

Kazuri West (where Helen’s books and texture stamps are sold) is offering a free giveaway with purchase.

 

Polymer headpins

Allman on PCDaily.com

Looking for diversion? How about polymer headpins like these rustic, antiqued ones from Missouri’s Ginger Davis Allman?

Ginger even offers a tutorial for her headpins, connectors, charms and other beads if you want her insider tips. She moves between grungy and romantic looks, abusing the beads until they look just right.

Ginger gave a clear explanation and comparison of translucent clays in an earlier PCD post and you’ll want to catch up with her more recent faux glass experiments.

Be warned, she’s having so much fun and writes so well that you may end up spending more time on her pages than you anticipated. Of course you’ll want to check in on her Facebook and Etsy sites too. And best of all, her husband offers a handy photo template for that troublesome new Flickr layout.