Picnic polymer

Kate Lee Foley starts a fresh, graphic picnic collection with this cane on PolymerClayDaily.com

Let’s see what happens with this work-in-progress cane from Australia’s Kate Lee Foley.

It’s the beginning of her “Picnic” series which sent me fantasizing about spring and outdoor dining and life as usual.

“What is life as usual?” we wonder in this week’s StudioMojo We may be returning to simple delights and projects made only to give pleasure. Mobiles, magnets, book nooks. Join us as we explore in our Saturday edition.

Powerful polymer

If you’re searching for powerful polymer, look no further than Lisa Mathews.

Her sculptures stand firmly, proud and unafraid. They square their shoulders and lean into the moment as in this 13″ caricature of singer Macy Gray.

Lisa renders each stance and every toe and fingernail, every wrinkle in dramatic detail.

She’s an Ohio girl influenced by Marie Segal and Maureen Carlson. At 45, she threw caution to the wind and plunged into polymer. Lucky us!

 

Hearts in tatters

Anita Kennerly's hearts are in charming tatters on PolymerClayDaily.com

Georgia’s Anita Kennerly creates tattered heart earrings for the season. The frayed dark polymer edges frame her earthy cutouts and make a bold outline. The cutouts hang from a baked-in wire loop.

Anita’s hearts have a childlike charm that overrides the tatters and makes us see love and beauty.

As seen on tv

Stacie Binford brings back the 80's on PolymerClayDaily

Alabama’s Stacie Binford (StayandMarie) loved her grandmother’s big, colorful earrings. Stacie found polymer in 2011. She’s marketing her new line energetically and the  collection and story were picked up by three TV stations in her area.

Her Memphis collection is a throwback to the 80’s with high voltage colors mixed with big black and white elements.  Her earrings are bold and inspire confidence in those who wear them – completing an outfit or inspiring one. Here she is on Etsy, Instagram, YouTube. She’s busy!

Hearts and history

Kathleen Anderson brings African patterns to her HeartBoxes on PolymerClayDaily.com

February will be a mash-up of Valentines and Black History Month. These HeartBoxes from Massachusetts’ Kathleen Anderson hit all the right notes.

Kathleen designs her boxes to be filled with heartfelt messages on business-card-sized notes for all kinds of celebrations –  weddings, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, retirements, and memorials.

Her lidded containers have been widely exhibited and collected. West African patterns influence her polymer designs. She will be teaching at Snow Farm this spring.

PCD will be trolling for loving hearts and remarkable works from Black artists all month long.

 

Goldilocks polymer


Phyllis Cahill designs not too big, not too small echoes of the a gentler world on PolymerClayDaily

“Not too big, not too small,” says Colorado’s Phyllis Cahill of her newest collection of layered circle earrings.

Script from a French poem, a leaf pattern, vintage flowers, copper discs, echoes of William Morris patterns – all combined into restful, layered combinations with subtle references to other times.

This is no Lady Gaga dove splashed across her chest. This is about comfort and calm and a throwback to nature and history. Ahhh.

And “just right” is what we’ll be looking for on StudioMojo this weekend. Heidi Helyard joins us for a video conversation about the Australian scene. Heidi is a force there and we’ll hear how she built her business, balanced her life, and how she follows US politics. Join us.

2021 party peeps

Lisa Renner's Party Peeps celebrate on PolymerClayDaily.com

I smile as I look at these polymer Party Peeps from Texas’ Lisa Renner. The colors, balloons, and hats scream PARTY as they smile and close their eyes. Maybe they’re making a wish.

If you’re wishing to snag some on Lisa’s Etsy site, too late. That party is over. Maybe she’s making more.

Lisa’s fanciful creatures often have a melancholy air about them. Maybe 2021 is pushing her in a new direction. Keep an eye out for Lisa’s online classes.

Embracing imperfection

Rozz Hopkins limited her tools and let herself play as a personal challenge on PolymerClayDaily.com

For these organic canes, New Jersey’s Rosalyn Hopkins (RozzHopp) set aside her pasta machine, rollers, and tools. She used only a Bic pen to make indentations. It was a personal challenge.

“I struggled for so many years to show my work in public. I’ve come to understand it doesn’t have to be perfection. It needs to be freeing. Something that pushes me,” said Rozz in a recent post.

Imperfection used to send Rozz off twitching in discomfort. Lately, she’s taught herself to accept flaws and even make them on purpose. “It makes life so much more interesting,” she says.  Freedom and playfulness come through loud and clear in these canes. Agree?

Meme mittens

Glass artist Terrill Waldman does a quick polymer trick for a meme on PolymerClayDaily.com

One more last minute, seat-of-my-pants, meme-themed post. Maine glass artist Terrill Waldman (TandemGlass) found the immediacy of polymer irrestistba for making a quick pair of mitten earrings.

I don’t know the whole story but I sense that Terrill has picked up a trick or two from fellow Maine artist, Bonnie Bishoff. Her quick tutorial was too cute to pass up.

Meme Monday


Chris Baird and Amy Hucks bring us Monday memes on PolymerClayDaily.com

Bright new versions of hearts, the sign of February’s celebration, from Minnesota’s Chris Baird. Her brooches are small, bursting with dots and stripes in a fireworks show of color and a dazzling quilt-like application of tiny bits.

Who knew Bernie’s mittens would spread like wildfire? This cheeky, cheery polymer version from Indiana’s Amy Hucks (SuperSculptor). “The man, the meme, the mittens,” says Amy.