Twofer Friday

It’s a twofer Friday to tide you through the weekend.

Cecelia Leonini’s Surreal necklace stands on its own even as it contains echoes from Iris Mishly, Nikolina Otrzan and other artists working with textures and inks. (Cecelia credits Nikolina’s and Iris’ tutorials.)

Note how the three main pieces were cut from one image. This painterly approach is being played with widely and moves polymer in new directions. Cecelia’s progress is documented on Flickr and Facebook.

If you’re looking for some warmth this weekend, let Russia’s Anna Krichevskaya bundle you up in a tweedy blue bangle. The heathered colors of her extruded faux knit resemble the big bulky sweaters sure to beat the chill. There’s more on Flickr. Stay warm.

Bowled over polymer

Slovenia’s Claudia Kurent has stockpiled an impressive stash of bowls. She’s taking a few days to admire them before they disappear at the holiday artfair. You can examine these little beauties on her blog. It looks like she’s built them on glass liners.

Seems PCD always gravitates to Claudia during the holidays. Here are her snowflake ornaments from last year.

You may particularly like her Tips and Tricks album on Flickr. She’s also on Facebook.

Polymer sliced for the holidays

The snow outside had me looking for holiday designs. I got as far as these beads from Patricia Beuting. They fit the bill. Ethnic meets bohemian meets Christmas.

Patricia’s Pinterest bohemian board will show you that in her art she dreams of Africa, Morocco, and exotic places beyond the Netherlands where she teaches primary school.

For her second festive necklace, Patricia cut old canes into thick slices with a ripple blade for an entirely different effect from the patterns. (Here’s Sculpey’s explanation.)

The cross-cut slices expose layers of colors that are curled around to make big hole beads accented with a few solid rounds.

Get better acquainted with Patricia on Facebook and on Flickr.

Polymer clayhem

UK children’s book writer and illustrator Jon Burgess has been exploring patterns on the computer and following the fascination for some years. He hit upon polymer only recently and reserves one day each week for that work. He calls his disheveled Thursday studio clayhem and you can visit it here.

He says of his rustic organic beads, “I love using polymer clay for its ability to resemble or echo all kinds of natural materials. It allows unusual forms to emerge, creative trains of thought to be followed, and textures and surface treatments to be applied at will.”

Jon’s computer designs become image transfers that turn into tiles, coasters and beads. “I find it very satisfying to see something physical and tangible, like a ceramic tile with my design on it rather than it being a virtual idea on a screen. Somehow my designs make sense as tiles and coasters. It’s as if that is what they always wanted to be,” he explains.

You can see more of his work on Etsy, Flickr and Pinterest. Selena Anne Wells sent the link to Jon along.

Wakeup polymer

Emilie Bouillie provides our Monday wake up call with these Skinner blended stripes. Touches of pure white provide the contrast we need to snap us into a new week.

We tend to think of blends as muted but Emilie shows us another way with her bright lentils.

Need another jolt? Look at Parole De Pate’s teapot challenge. This hot colored entry is from Lila Reve

Finding movement in polymer

Cat Szetu’s shawl pins swoop and curve more than you might think possible. That’s what may first catch your eye on her Etsy shop.

If you look on her Flickr page you’ll see she’s starting to apply those same movements to vessels, containers, desk sets. The clay whips around as if the wind had blown it.

This former Connecticut packaging and communications artist is experimenting and having fun with her Nestled Vessels. Be sure to see her cane slicer built from Legos too!

Undercut polymer

Jan Montarsi gives us a fine example of undercutting a veneered shape technique that Ron Lehocky showed last week. Instead of a heart outline, Jan uses a shield shape for his Carnivorous lapel pin.

The edges slope gently because he’s angled the craft knife to remove excess underneath. (Watch Ron Lehocky here if you need a refresher. See step 2 at 2:40 and 3:56.)

Of course Jan’s way with metallics makes the shape even more dramatic and with this before-and-after sanding picture, he demonstrates how that extra step adds richness and depth.

Long ago Jan shared his methods of tinting metallic clays with alcohol inks to achieve clear, warm colors. You can still find his tutorial here. See more examples on Flickr, Pinterest and Facebook.

Blurry polymer

No need to wipe your screen or clean your glasses. It’s not you. Polymer has gotten blurry.

There’s Wendy Jorre de St Jorre and her Hedges cane that’s a pointellist’s rendition of Australian trees and bushes, the 45th cane in her weekly series. This one started at 4 inches square.

Read the excellent interview on Blue Bottle Tree and you’ll understand her intensity. Wendy’s cane designs have become more impressionistic as they’ve gotten more complex. Prepare to be awed by her canes on Flickr, Pinterest and Facebook.

Then the UK’s Cate van Alphen (Fulgorine) put out what she’s calling her Spectrum beads with vibrant colors that move like an oil slick. They’re made with Fimo’s True Colors. The first batch was intriguing and successive offerings are more mystifying. Look at Flickr and Facebook.

Used to be we wanted crisp edges on our polymer designs and now we’ve gone all soft and blurry. Figuring out how is going to be fun.

Polymer adelies

It’s penguin season according to Scotland’s Ines Fonseca. “This is the time when most penguin species gather with their colonies to nest and it is amazing what they can endure for survival. Adelies gather on rocky areas where they can build their nests far from ice and they spend a lot of time going back to the sea for krill.” A colorful scarf can do a lot to improve your mood in the cold.

Ines’ says that playing with polymer is like being a kid again and her bugs, birds, fish and animals have a childlike quality that you can appreciate better on Flickr, Facebook and Etsy.

Semi-precious polymer

Ana Belchi’s imitation agates sit comfortably surrounded by rough black bezels suspended from sleek brass bails.

See how this Madrid artist’s polymer semi-precious lookalikes move beyond modest beach stones.

She says she’s wanted to explore stones for years and finally hit upon designs that work. You can see them on Flickr and Facebook.

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