Polymer superheroes

The superheroes on Sandra Arteaga’s site will protect you today. That’s Vegetable Man, Wonder Repipi, and Superskeptical.

This Barcelona artist’s polymer and mixed media art dolls range from charming to creepy to dark and deviant. You can’t help but be impressed by Sandra’s work and her wild imagination.

Go dip into her strange world on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog. She turns her sculpts into articulated paper dolls that she sells on Etsy where she also markets a line of polymer sealing wax dolls.

Leslie Blackford can’t get enough of Sandra’s work and sent the link along for your Halloween enjoyment.

• 2 Comments
• September 16, 2015

Green with jealousy

Germany’s foremost polymer manufacturer, Staedtler, celebrated 50 years of FIMO last week with a 4-day shindig in the Czech Republic. The artists looked glamorous and exhuberant in the event photos.

Don’t you hate to miss a party like that? With wine and fireworks, perfect skies and fabulous giveaways?

When these sample beads from Nikolina Otrzan’s 3D earring class showed up on Facebook, my jealously exploded. And this picture of Natalia’s overlay sent me reeling. They learned how to do THAT? Here’s more Nikolina and Natalia.

Thank goodness that we can now immediately take part in the celebration and begin to learn the latest. Once the wave of jealousy susbides we can continue the sharing that has helped bring FIMO and other polymer clays a long way in 50 years.

• 4 Comments
• September 14, 2015

Polymer beach finds

Genevieve Williamson’s chunky gray polymer chains are weathered like the dock where the shapes originated.

Her photos on Instagram show her jewelry off better against a gray/blue seashore and let us appreciate one more look at a summer vacation on the Maine coast.

Continue your virtual vacation on her Pinterest boards which are chock full of fashion inspiration and seaside imagery. Have a relaxing weekend.

Back to work

Getting StudioMojo ready for Saturday’s edition snaps me out of my reverie. I’m organizing a folder full of tidbits about magnetic clay, homemade slicers and new tutorials along with reports about artists making news and ruffling feathers.

If you’re interested in the juicy bits and PCD backstory, join the party every Saturday at StudioMojo.

• 1 Comment
• September 11, 2015

Halloween hints in polymer

Do you think the seasons are changing? Could there be a holiday ahead?

One harbinger of Halloween is the appearance of polymer skeletons, spiders and other assorted monsters.

Seasonal favorites this year include this zombie from Anthony (Ace of Clay), creepy spoonfuls from Nicole Johnson (Mealy Monsters) and bat pendants from Doreen Gay Kassel (Uncommon Creatures).

Polymer artists can make creatures to suit your weirdest whim.

• 2 Comments
• September 10, 2015

Urban polymer on social media

The UK’s Angela Garrod has jumped into Facebook this month with the same intensity and determination that she brings to her art.

Her Strata pendant is part of her Opposites series. Suspended on a square silver wire choker Strata was created during Christine Dumont’s Genesis online course as a study in line and shape.

On Facebook Angela shares her work-in-progress shots and lets you see the how she tackled the problems she ran into. Watching her work develop is a class in itself and you’ll want to follow along.

Her neck rings like this Bricklane slip over the wearer’s head and are particularly fascinating with their strong urban designs applied onto tribal shapes. She also shares these works and ideas on her Pinterest boards.

• 5 Comments
• September 9, 2015

Vessels from the river

Melanie West’s River Rock Vessels glow with other-worldly colors and shapes. Particularly on the yellow one, the circles seem to rise out of the background with
shadows of color.

Melanie gravitates to gentle, graceful shapes that she shares along with her inspirations only on Facebook.

Her readers were stumped when she revealed the recent design at right that looks positively impossible.

Melanie will teach a 3-day class in Asheville, NC in November if you’re itching to understand how she combines Ultralight, epoxy clay, and polymer to achieve her big, strong, organic designs.

• 6 Comments
• September 8, 2015

Polymer for fall

Loretta Lam brings us fall colors in a pleasing tactile melange of bead shapes and mix of patterns. Some of her Stepping Stones 2 beads are hollow, some belted, all comforting.

The two long gently arced beads at the back vary the shapes and make the necklace easy to wear without introducing chain or cord or other media. The varied elements harmonize nicely with each other.

Loretta’s fiber-like polymer patterns catch the latest trends. Look at her Flickr page, website, and Facebook for more luscious fall offerings. She shows her vibrant dark color inspirations on her Pinterest boards.

• 3 Comments
• September 7, 2015

Roche’s new clay

Nan Roche is a name you probably know if you’ve been working in polymer very long. Nan was an early force in shaping our community and her book, The New Clay, published in 1991, is widely recognized as the book that launched thousands of artists.

Here are the recent creations that she brought to Colorado. All show a distinctive Asian influence.

Only now after retiring from her career in research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is she able to consider being a full-time artist. She’s spending more time online (though she doesn’t have much of a presence) and approaching her studio with the same trepidation and concerns that most of us feel during periods of change.

What led her to write her successful book and does she have another book in her? I sat down with her in Colorado and you can meet her and hear her answers in a video of our chat in this Saturday’s edition of StudioMojo.

• 1 Comment
• September 4, 2015