Day off
A run-in with poison oak has me itching to get home. Taking a day off. See you tomorrow.
Batik revealed
This new polymer batik tutorial from Lorraine Vogel (wiredorchid) makes my mouth water and takes me back to Bali without the jet lag.
You may have guessed some of the tools she uses to achieve these very fluid and fiber-like effects. Now Lorraine has gathered her well-researched techniques into a stunning and comprehensive tutorial. (No surprise that she’s a professional graphic artist.)
Lorraine responded to readers (PCD last featured her in June) with 15 pages of well written and beautifully photographed step-by-step examples.
When you’re tired of winter and the holiday frenzy, breathe in the tropics and summer with some imitative batik on polymer. There’s more on Facebook and Flickr.
Big and small designs
Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff prepares for show season with new jewelry designs including these openwork Wireline pendants. if you look at her Pinterest page you’ll see that the polymer tubing is wire-filled and catch a glimpse of her inspirations.
You’ll have to go to her Facebook page and website to see more.
Bonnie shifts her designs from jewelry to furniture to wall art (like Sprung below) with ease and expertise. What a feat to move from big to small and back again with confidence and success.
Dever moves mid-century
Jeff Dever revealed some of his newest works at the SOFA Chicago show in November. His style has taken recent turns too as he explores new ground.
Fascinated by modern art and mid-century modern design, Jeff created these pieces in response to that curiosity. He intends to continue evolving in this direction.
At the left is his nod to Matisse called Land and Sea, the Third Day. The brooch at right leans more toward Alexander Calder and is called Alexander’s Orbit.
All of Dever’s series of brooches are meant to be arranged by the wearer. He calls them his “p’installations” and you can see them gracefully winding down lapels and peeking out of pockets.
See more of Jeff’s new designs on Facebook and his site. Be sure to read about his pieces that are currently on exhibit at the Beijing International Contemporary Metal & Jewelry Art Exhibit 2015.
Contained exhibit
Canada’s Rachel Gourley designed these polymer Doodles to be seen in an outdoor landscape where they pose the question,
“Are they real or are they not”
In her November-December exhibit sponsored by the Craft Council of BC, her creations have been brought in from the wild to be tamed and confined.
See both the wild and tamed versions of Rachel’s polymer vegetation on her website and read the Craft Council interview and exhibit information here.
Another minimalist step
Speaking of sinewy and curvy (see yesterday’s post), take a look at Ontario’s Helen Breil and her new wrapped polymer cuff.
She’ll be building this bracelet step-by-step on Craftcast in January. Pan pastels, mica powders and zippers are some of the key ingredients in this intriguing design.
Helen’s earned a reputation for manipulating simple geometric shapes into surprisingly striking and wearable jewelry. See samples on her site and on Flickr, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Minimalist inclinations
Donna Kato’s new curvy, shiny, sleek bangle bracelets express her move toward minimalist designs.
She’s been looking at her older work loaded with textures, patterns and colors and asking herself, “Is it me? Is it me today?” Just because polymer can be complex doesn’t mean it has to be. Smooth and subtle and polished to a high shine is where she is now.
Here you see the top and bottom of the bangle. See shots from other angles on Donna’s Facebook pages
Totally tubular
Back in September Ford/Forlano hinted that they were experimenting with color extremes, brights and metallic surfaces for a new group of tube necklaces. They’ve just released photos of these new works that were produced for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show this month.
You can see how these brightly lined tubes and glowing metallic surfaces combined into stunning neckwear that gradually increases in size until it joins at the clasp. Some of the new pieces include enamel with polymer and silver.
Take a look at Steve and Dave’s fall collection on their Facebook page.
Other polymer artists listed in the Philly show catalog include Emily Squires Levine and Kathleen Dustin.
Polymer brawler
Abell is a loudmouthed, forgetful brawler. He can’t remember much because there’s nothing in his head. “That’s where you come in,” says artist Jason Simpson, “Pens, pennies, pebbles or petunias–whatever you want.”
Jason creates these custom polymer sculptures in his Mongrel Labs in Vancouver, BC.. “My shop is inhabited by things that come out of my brain, through my fingers and into the Sculpey,” he says.
You get a better idea of his process from the photos on Instagram.
You may not share Jason’s love of hard-bitten characters but his skill and his passion reach out and grab you.“This is my art. I think it, make it, sell it. In between, I live it, dream it, love it, can’t wait to finish it, always hate to see it go,” Jason admits.
Vacation day
The internet connection at our rental has slowed to a trickle which I’m taking as a sign that I should keep take a vacation day. See you on Monday!