Upcycled triptych

Wendy Moore’s triptych is made from an discarded dart board upcycled with papier mache and polymer. It’s entitled Chautara which means resting place in Nepali. “This is a resting place for me; a place to reflect, meditate and reground,” says Wendy. See more of Wendy’s works on Flickr.

The shrine is part of her month-long show at the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery in Australia. Her works highlight the contrasts of living in the Outback and her frequent travels to Nepal where Wendy teaches women to create jewellery and objects to sell, enabling them to escape lives of poverty, trafficking and abuse.

Donations from the polymer community have helped the Samunnat project begin construction on a permanent home. Here’s their Etsy shop and their U.S. outlet on Kazuri West.

This week’s shrines show what potent places triptychs can be. Are you beginning to plan yours?

Polymer enshrined


Sing in me, muse, and through me tell a story. – The Odyssey	Mari O’Dell and Barb Harper enshrine their skills	Let yourself become living poetry.

Maryland’s Mari O’Dell, teacher, and Colorado’s Barb Harper, airplane mechanic, combined talents for this portable personal shrine. As you might expect, Barb engineered the hinges, the rod for the prayer wheel and other structural parts. Mari concentrated on the poetry and the imagery.

Neither would have accomplished such a complex and powerful polymer piece on her own and their success has prompted them to continue their collaboration. Two heads are often better than one.

Payoff polymer

Denver’s Rosemary Probst insists on calling me Cindy (no one calls me that). When I taught her my latest polymer rock technique, she insisted on putting rhinestones in her version. Rosemary loves to taunt me in the most delightful ways.

This three interlocked circle pin that Rosey created is simple, clever and fashionable. Discussions about taking your work to the next level have netted results for her. Many of Rosey’s works are sold to support cancer research and Facebook is as far as she ventures into technology.

We all know artists like this who don’t seek fame but have happy hands that bring joy to our community. Surely after this post Rosey will stop calling me Cindy. Have a happy weekend.

Lap studio

Do you use your lap as your easel? At the retreat, Heather Campbell’s work space was crowded with the ephemera she used in her mixed media work plus tools and glue and wire and such. So she worked on her lap. She wisely wore an apron.

You had to wonder how the iron trivet, table knives, rhinestones, dolls and other repurposed items would fit on this 12″ x 12″ canvas. The trivet made an interesting design element but on my next visit, it was buried beneath polymer, paint and ornate trim.

Old table knives took on a new life wrapped in polymer and treated to a coat of paint with metallic highlights. More is much better in Heather’s vocabulary. This piece is entitled Peace Making.

Heather’s sumptuous style belies the unvarnished messages buried beneath her avalanche of ornamentation. See her sales page on Artful Home and her blog here.

Polymer mashups

The mashups that occur when artists meet are fascinating. Can you guess who came up with this collaborative polymer piece?

A sinuous, sexy frame surrounds a bumpy colorful geometric center that invites inspection. The result is a very natural, organic and flower-like pendant.

In this case, Jana Roberts Benzon flipped one of Helen Breil’s Big Twist shapes to accommodate a pod covered in Jana’s Fakir dimensional bits.

More mashups as the week continues. Check Judy Belcher’s recent book for more meetings of art minds. Got a pal who might collaborate with you? It expands your vision.

This mountain network is quite slow so delivery may be quirky. The good news is that there will be lots to share with you when I get home.

Revealing color

Jenna Wright’s Tarot necklace combines neatly carved polymer beads interspersed with companion disks and dotted barrels.Her Flickr site reveals how she has perfected her style using Celie Fago’s carving tools, preferring to carve the beads after baking.

On this Flickr picture she explains the tools she uses for each effect. Controlled nicks in the bead surfaces reveal surprising colors that delight the eye. Jenna is from Nova Scotia and sells on Etsy as Boxes for Groxes.

Oops, PCD is a little late today. I set the clock to the wrong time zone. The mountain air has this flatlander light-headed.

Martha meets polymer

Gourd season is just around the corner. It’s rare to see a decorated gourd that incorporates polymer. Laurie Prophater featured gorgeous painted ones last week. Then this lovely polymer example from Oklahoma’s Penni Jo Couch popped up, part of her display at the Michigan Festival of Gourds where she’ll be teaching classes.

Penni Jo started making polymer miniatures in 1981 and after years in the giftware industry, started her own Best Flexible Molds business as she continues to travel and play with clay.

Voting Day

Voting begins today in Martha Stewart’s American Made competition. Let’s stuff the ballot box for polymer’s own Steven Ford and David Forlano who have entered in the craft category.

You have to jump through a few hoops (give your email) to participate but think of the fun of watching them win and take our craft to new places. Their entry page is a treat, complete with a video look into their studio. Go vote!

ALERT Two more nominees!

Thanks to Lynda Moseley who slogged through all the nominees to find two more polymer artists for your consideration in the Martha Stewart competition. Please check out contestants Loretta Lam and Corliss and John Rose too!

Refined polymer

Betsy Baker knows how to deliver sophistication and elegance with her polymer. Her designs are refined, consistent and understated with a hint of rebellion in her textures and surprise in her shapes.

Betsy sells at shows around Boston almost every weekend. Her refined delivery extends to other areas of her business as well.

She moves her booth and her inventory by taxi since she doesn’t drive. And because the meter is running, she packs and loads her display and wares with efficiency and speed. Flip through her Facebook photos to catch of glimpse her setup and her system.

How I envy Betsy’s skills as I pack and sort for a trip out west. Enjoy your weekend!

Polymer salad

About this time of year, we’re wishing the courgettes/zucchini piling up in our kitchens were the size of Vicky Guile’s polymer miniature versions. This UK artist’s veggies are only an inch long.

Vicky’s bowl of artichoke, aubergines, cauliflower and red onions looks fresh from the garden.

Those of us who started out making miniatures with our kids have a special fondness and admiration for those who can fool our eyes at 1:12 scale. See more on Facebook (NJD Miniatures).

Listening to polymer

On Facebook Ronna Sarvas Weltman recently let us look over her shoulder as she shaped, sorted and tweaked this polymer bead soup into gloriously funky wearable art. Finding all the steps on Facebook is challenging so here’s my compiled page of the basic pictures.

Ronna added washes of color on beads to highlight some colors and mute others. She gave the necklace a good shake at the end to make sure the focal beads would settle where she predicted they would.

All along she changed the arrangement until she felt the love. She made sure the piece spoke to her. It’s a good lesson in listening and in playing around.

French snapshots

If you’re in the mood for more snapshots, take a look at Dawn-Marie DeLara’s reporting on our summer trip to France. Dawn-Marie is a muralist (she says decorative artist), mixed media and polymer artist from Minnesota.

She posts about Blair and Cynthia, Judy Belcher and Julie Eakes, Ruth Krug and Nona Flores, Anne Beach and Beverlee Stafford and our fearless leader Dayle Doroshow.

Trying new ways of working is easier when you’re in a beautiful setting among friends who cheer your successes and laugh off your missteps. Dawn-Marie chronicled our time together with a light-hearted approach. She brings the same great style to her publication, 365 Being. There’s a free sample online full of great craft, food and project tips.

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