Butterflies are free

Into the Forest submission on PolymerClayDaily

This butterfly bush (more pix here) is a group project from the polymer clay students at the Ohio Reformatory for Women for the Into the Forest exhibit.

The clay came from generous artists who were destashing. (The ORW students are happy to condition old polymer. Let me know if you’re cleaning out and have extra clay.)

They created 27′ of big hole beads that were slipped onto brass rods and inserted into a wooden base made by my husband. The brass rods couldn’t be taken into the facility so we had to visualize the piece and assemble it at home. I’ll take the whole shebang apart to ship it off to Pittsburgh.

Will you be part of this international exhibit? The deadline has been extended to May 1.

You have plenty of time to make your mark on the fanciful forest that Laura Tabakman, Julie Eakes, Emily Squires Levine, Libby Mills and Nancy Travers concoct from your submissions.

The event opens in Pittsburgh in November with a teaser preview on view at Synergy4 in August. Are you tempted to make some beads to cheer up your own garden?

Reminders of spring

Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg reminds us how she artfully arranges cane slices into the most interesting earrings.

With her stash of beautiful tiny canes she makes turning them into layered designs look easy. See a few more versions on Facebook and more of her signature work on Pinterest and Instagram.

Reminders of spring and Lynne. She thought we might have forgotten her. Not a chance!

Color belles

Haunani bell beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

This is version #3 of Lindly Haunani’s latest bell bead experiment. See earlier iterations of her ideas on Facebook.

Now Lindly’s working out the mechanics of assembling these beads that fit into each other as they chase the design around your neck

Those beautiful blends are explained in Lindly and Maggie’s seminal color book, Color Inspirations.

The two belles of color, Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio, will both teach at Synergy4. You have a rare opportunity to hear their theories and learn their latest color tricks.

Haunani's Sagagious Color bracelet on PolymerClayDaily.com

Creative Journeys Studio posted a yummy video of another color technique bracelet that Lindly has developed for upcoming classes. A hit of luscious color starts your week on the right foot.

Everyone is Irish today

Elena Sevva is from Ukraine and lives in Israel but everyone is Irish today. Her polymer necklaces have a dark, woodsy, organic look.

Many of Elena’s pieces on Flickr are loosely strung on twine. You can picture a barefoot sprite in a gauzy dress dancing in the woods wearing this.

Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, right?

Makes you want to pull out your favorite beads and start knotting.

Join us on StudioMojo on Saturday morning for a look behind-the-scenes and a gentle nudge toward the week ahead.

Cruising creatively

We gotta have a chat with Christi Friesen and find out what’s going so right in her life. She’s been churning out new ideas, following her bliss and coloring outside the lines for months.

Take these freeform bowls, for instance. Forget symmetrical half dome bowls. Christi stretches her polymer into shallow elongated irregular ovals. She draws her images of branches, leaves, and flowers and adds color with pastels or paints or whatever strikes her fancy.

Christi’s preparing samples for her upcoming Aloha Creative Hawaiian cruise. That would definitely improve your mood, wouldn’t it? She’s planning another one in 2019 so save your pennies.

You can see more of her brainstorms and samples on Instagram and Facebook.

Polymer on a string

What may look like a modern painting with layers of wire over watercolor is Alev Gozonar’s latest exploration into using polymer extrusions.

This Istanbul artist’s long flat strings of black polymer curl across the surface, ending as faces in silhouette. On the paper Alev has drawn circles of watercolors that overlap, creating a shadowy background.

If you look back through Alev’s Instagram shots you’ll see how she played with these forms and arrived at this latest iteration which combines polymer and watercolor and takes both in a new direction.

What crazy idea is stuck in your head that need to be played with and explored?

Polymer envy

When you can’t get into the studio, looking at what others are producing is especially inspiring. “Yes, that’s what I’d be doing if I had my taxes done,” I tell myself.

Look at how Angie Wiggins layers silkscreens over a juicy blend of colors. But Angie can’t stop there. Her inner embroiderer has to add a few bits that look stitched on. Oh, I’d much rather look over Angie’s shoulder than add up columns of numbers.

Or maybe I’d rather follow Nadia (NadVals) lead and whip up some imitative turquoise. Those strands of tiny faux beads embedded in the middle of the pendant give the stone a more arty and authentic edge.

You go look, I’m pretending I’m a bookkeeper today (sigh). Some days are like that.

On hiatus

Small farmers

We end our week of characters with a tip of the straw hat to small farmers. These guys are from Oregon’s Gesine Kratzner. She’s an artist/illustrator/animator.

On her website you can see how she moves easily between drawing and sculpting. See these guys in action here.

Her works include Squids, Grumpy Pets, Worry Warts, Astroturf Planets and more strange creatures. You’ll find them on Facebook and Etsy then smile your way through Pinterest and Instagram.

Nothing like a good chuckle to get you in a weekend mood. Join us on StudioMojo if you need more smiles.

Furry polymer

Helen Violet sculptures on PolymerClayDaily.com

Toronto polymer sculptor Helen Violet has a full schedule of commissions for 2017. In late summer/fall of this year she’ll open a shop for those pet lovers hoping to get on the 2018 list and you can read the details of her ordering and pricing here.

Previously an illustrator, Helen created her first polymer and acrylic sculpture in November 2015 as a gift. She was quickly swamped with orders for the 7″ to 8.5″ replicas of favorite pets (like Brutus here) which you can see on Instagram and Facebook.

“This is not a ‘business’ to me, but an opportunity to connect my love for animals with my love for creating and share that with wonderful people who have been touched by their fur friends as well,” Helen says.

What a treat to see polymer art that hits the sweet spot on so many levels!

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