Polymer Clay Daily

Tips and Tricks

Small World

It was like old home week except that I’d only met Todd Popp and Doug Motz online. Local gallery owner Sherrie Hawk threw a glitzy party for Motz and Popp (PoMo). Their polymer clay jewelry personalized to local and personal themes has developed quite a following.

Illustrator Jeanette Canyon was there (she’s got a new book) and we were surrounded by the works of Ford and Forlano which were on exhibit. Pretty heady, small world stuff.

Todd and Doug recently did a segment on HGTV’s That’s Clever about their bracelets that was playing in the gallery. They use hot glue to attach their photos to the glass pebbles and their process, which they generously share, is terrifically smart and easy. Be sure to take a look…and have an easy weekend.

String and Software

Ponsawan Silas’ necklace stringing slide show is worth a bit of clicking. (It first appeared as a very small image but if you click around or wait a bit it turns into a workable viewing version.)

Not only does Ponsawan string polymer clay beads in fanciful ways, but she makes very clever use of the slideshow software (and it’s free). No need for a video camera, just add your step-by-step pictures to a slideshow. Genius!

Make sure you scroll down her page and see the rest of her "wild things" necklaces.

Temptation

Oregon’s Marcella Brooks is tempting us with a new liquid polymer transfer technique. The pictures on her photo site are intriguing and you can see a sample in this week’s slide show. Marcella’s liquid polymer expertise was also recognized in one of Polymer Clay Central’s challenges.

Says Marcella, "I’m still refining techniques and finding new applications. I’m able to coax sturdy but flexible design elements out of liquid polymer clay which normally wouldn’t be interested in doing much more than spreading out into colorful puddles. I wake up wondering what else I can do with it! For PolymerCafe’s upcoming Big Bead challenge, I submitted images of a 4" hollow bead featuring panels of liquid lace suspended on tulle netting."

This looks like a lovely new twist with great possibilities. Keep Marcella on your "must watch" list.

Trendspotting Monday


Washington artist Pam Sanders signed the guestbook with an intriguing polymer clay piece so naturally I went exploring. Her loose and playful approach is very appealing with a nice sense of balance and color. I wish I could see more of her work.

And Pam gives us another example of that jewelry/sculpture pairing in her "Dream Temple" piece shown here which incorporates a wearable pin into a 5 x 7 collage meant to hang on the wall.

I’m spotting a trend.

Swimming Pool Palette


Polymer clay extrusions are so much fun the first few times you do them. Soon, however, the shapes and color combinations that seemed so magical become boring. It takes a keen and curious mind to push the technique into something fun again.

These extrusions from Germany’s Kerstin Rupprecht reignited my interest. Kerstin’s friend, Ulrike, supplied the tip and says that Kerstin fills the clay gun with varying tints of translucent blues interspersed with thin slices of white. Perhaps it’s her swimming pool colors on this hot summer day that make me ready to dive into extrusions again.

One cane wonder

One translucent polymer clay cane is all that was used to make this spacey, retro earring by Marla Frankenberg. Reduced to several sizes and overlaid on a Skinner blend base, the cane gives the bead a spacey, retro look.

Many of Marla’s beads remind me of batik and other luscious fabrics. She’ll be teaching at Bead and Button this weekend. Here are some pictures from an earlier class and she’ll be teaching her marlafiori at Arrowmont in October. We’ve got scouts out taking pictures at Bead and Button and I hope they snag some treats.

Babyish

They look like polymer clay rosebuds but on closer examination you’ll see that this is a tin covered with babies, a wish box, wanna-be-grandma’s hope chest that I created at Shrine Mont.

What it seems to be filled with these days is my babyish whining about where the time goes. I’m off schedule today. Enjoy this little treat (here’s where I bought the baby face/fairy molds) while I burp and soothe myself into a better humor.

To the Rescue

It’s late and I’m in a mad dash to bring you some mid-week polymer clay inspiration. Who can I count on? Indiana’s Ponsawan Sila!

If you want a bit of Thai culture and family history served with great quick photo tutorials, her site won’t disappoint. I’m loving the ice cream salt beads on this page. She does lovely, unusual things with texture plates and rubber stamps.

Ponsawan saves the day. Read her text and you’ll see the delightful personality that comes through in her art and her web site.

Loose Ends

It’s Wednesday and time for some tidbit tidying. The Philadelphia polymer clay guild has pictures of new works (like these by Ellen Marshall) and a tube bead extruder tool I hadn’t seen before. You might want to pop in on the new Maine guild site too.

Maggie Maggio interviewed me and her article has been posted on the NPCG web site. I’ll be speaking at Synergy (with the ACC show in Baltimore) about the future of polymer clay. Between now and then I’ll be crystal ball gazing, mulling and conjecturing. If you have thoughts on the subject, write me.

Two more events for your calendar. The next Clay Carnival will be held from November 30 – December 2, 2007, in Las Vegas. The details are on Donna Kato’s site. Or check out the ultimate polymer clay experience, Jeff Dever’s master class in France at Gwen Gibson’s La Cascade.

I won the Debby Brams earrings in the Shrine Mont silent auction and discovered her elegant earwire trick. The earwire is made of a headpin that runs through and over the clay in one easy piece. If you click on the image, you’ll get the larger version and see what I mean. Very simple, totally cool.

Debriefing

Ohio’s Laurie Prophater has developed a transfer technique that’s more foolproof and inexpensive than any I’ve seen. I watched as she refined it all week long at Shrine Mont.

Read more about it on her blog and be sure to catch her tutorial in the fall issue of Polymer Cafe magazine.

Laurie is thrifty and makes her own perfume from essential oils and vodka. What you learn at a conference can be amazing! It’s back to the office Monday. Come back tomorrow for more Shrine Mont debriefing.