Polymer Clay Daily

The heart of the matter

Hoffman on PCDaily

This heart from Minnesota’s Mallory Hoffman is the one I’m sending out to each of you to enjoy this Valentine’s day. You are loved. There’s no better message.

Mallory’s almost childlike construction makes the words more powerful and sincere.  She sent her heart photos to PCD and this one on her Etsy gallery jumped out at me.

In addition, here’s a gallery of other hearts that I snagged as they floated by online this month. I wish I could have caught every single one. Look at the diversity, the artistry and soak up the love. Happy Valentines Day.

Visit virtual booths

In case you can’t fly to Baltimore for next week’s American Craft Council retail and wholesale shows, here’s an impressive list of artists (the most I’ve ever seen) selling polymer works. Follow the links to their booths and then to their websites.

Let me know if you discover others as you enjoy the show virtually.

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The necklace at right is Louise Fischer Cozzi’s latest multi- layered translucent design.

Imitating shells

Holden on PCDaily

Tina Holden creates realistic Hawaiian Opihi limpet shells with a set of silicone molds and a tutorial. The starburst texture and jagged edges make interesting designs beyond shells too.

Tina’s a coastal girl from British Columbia and she excels at shells (plus molds and silkscreens). She likes to experiment with new shapes and techniques. Read about her on her blog, Facebook and shop her on Etsy and her website shop.

Carved hearts

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This won’t be an all-hearts week but how could we pass up these carved white Ultra Light pendants from Indiana’s Ponsawan Sila?

She has nicked horizontally across the surfaces by hand for an almost basket weave appearance.

Ponsawan may not be finished but the long narrow hearts seem pure and remarkable just as they are. You’ll have to visit her on Facebook or Flickr to find out what happens next.

Ponsawan doesn’t toot her own horn but you’ll see lots of her work and tutorials pinned on Pinterest. She’ll be teaching at French Lick (so will I) in June.

Tokens from scrap

Maunsell on PCDaily

Jewel-like scrap hearts from Quebec’s Claire Maunsell get us in the proper holiday mood. What mementos and love tokens will you make this week?

Claire says she’ll soon offer a tutorial about the way she uses her scrap to get the dramatic effects you see here.

Maunsell on PCDaily

In the meanwhile, you can learn about her methods of using Pan pastels, inks, paints and some unusual tools with translucent Pardo clay on her new Craftcast class.

Watch how she teases the clay into shape (she was a glass artist before polymer), and applies layers and layers of texture and color until she’s pleased with the effect.

I learned a new way to anchor the probe on the thermometer. It’s often the little tricks you learn in a class that come in most handy. See more of Claire on Flickr, her site, Facebook and in her online Zibbet and Etsy galleries.

 

Nostalgic polymer

Parshikova on PCDaily

Not only are Tatiana Parshikova’s colors luscious but this version of mokume gane takes me back to the early days when Lindly Haunani showed us how she layered metallic leaf between translucent layers.

Tatiana has updated the technique with multi layers of beautiful color sliced into large thin pieces applied onto a bangle base. You can see more beads and jewelry that Tatiana made using this method on her Instagram site. There are pieces for sale in her Russian online gallery.

Polymer bobble

Arendt on PCDaily

This 9″ tall polymer and porcelain Pompon from Berlin’s Angelika Arendt is the latest in her series of intensely composed and brightly colored sculptures.

Angelika moves with ease between exquisitely detailed drawings on paper to glass to room-sized plastic compositions. Her vision moves from medium to medium easily. In the polymer pieces there’s a sensuous quality to the color gradations of the changing shapes that tempts you to run your fingers over them. Pompon translates as “bobble.”

If you sometimes wonder how polymer is faring in the larger art world, visit Angelika’s site, her Flickr pages and Tumblr.

Secrets of the heart

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Orly Fuchs Galchen pursues hollow polymer forms and she’s come up with light, bright empty hearts. Her Facebook  and Flickr pages and her Etsy shop are filled with examples in many styles including these wrapped with lovely bands of graduated color.

Orly swears that she only uses polymer. No filling with sugar, salt, paper, cotton or foil. No making two halves and gluing. No double baking. You have to buy her tutorial to learn her secret or be resigned to a heavy heart. (I couldn’t resist the pun.)

FIMO 50 tweaks

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A few tweaks to the Fimo 50 World Project may make it easier for you to participate in an event that celebrates 50 years of playing with polymer while it also raises money for two very worthy projects.

Sending your art entry from the US was cumbersome so we got approval to use my address rather than the Canadian office of clay manufacturer, Staedtler. This avoids post office international forms. US entries can be sent to: Cynthia Tinapple, 1 Hartford Court, Worthington, OH 43085. 

But what do they look like?

Entries have been piling up in Staedtler offices in various countries and photos aren’t officially posted until the actual items arrive in Germany. The Facebook 10×10 page gives you a good idea of who’s playing along. Artists have been posting pictures on their own sites. Now this Instagram Fimo50worldproject site shows the tiles at a glance for those who want to see it all.

If I’ve left you out of the picture pages, please let me know or send your entry photo to PCDaily. This first stab at a collection probably missed a lot and we’ll add more regularly.

Some look different!

Most entries are sticking to a 4″x4″ (10x10mm) square format but if your muse insists on a different size and shape, that’s fine.

Organizers Dani and Natalia strongly suggest that you include the story behind your design on the entry form (there’s a hidden benefit to doing this).

Entry deadline is April 30. The tiles will be auctioned off this spring so choose the ones you like best and be prepared to bid. Now run off to the studio and mail in your entry.