New York’s Kathryn Fotorny promises a dose of whimsy with her funky polymer 3.5″ by 2.5″ focal orange sherbet piece. No ho-hum round beads here.
The 18-inch bib necklace is filled with pods, dimples, suctions and stones that are attached to a brass chain with a filigree connector. On her Delicious Hobo Etsy site Kathryn mixes flavor and funk for your Christmas Eve pleasure.
This newest faux polymer experiment from France’s Sylvie Peraud may take you back to the 80’s. Didn’t you own a sofa made of this material? With roman shades to match?
It makes me smile to think that the coarse weave is back in fashion and that Sylvie has mastered it in polymer. When you zoom in, you’ll swear it’s real.
Go to her site and her Flickr pages. I think we’ll be seeing more. Have a nostalgic weekend.
These holiday polymer earrings from Michigan’s Sandra DeYoung-Niese may calm you in a hectic week.
Sandra created her own mold from a real evergreen branch. It’s a subtle holiday image with just a touch of red and a dusting of snow.
Wander slowly through her understated Etsy items and her Flickr site where the soothing vibe continues. Breathe!
This bracelet from Anja Overdijk (based on Helen Breil’s shapes) jarred me. You can move from pendants to bracelets and beyond using Helen’s ideas! Anja’s bracelet helped me see the possibilities.
Mentioning Helen’s book is karmic payback. Helen mentioned the Nepal women’s project to the Kazuri Bead folks in California. Because of her recommendation and with Wendy Moore’s help, the Samunnat ladies in Nepal will have their polymer beads for sale at the Tucson Bead Show. Don’t you love how that works?
Helen’s e-book is also dynamite in its own right as many of you have discovered. The link to Anja comes from Karin Breukelman who’s minding karma for the members of the Dutch Polymer Art Guild.
Sinuous shapes in polymer are lovely but for those of us who weren’t paying attention in geometry class, these smooth curves look impossible. How in the world would you make those cuts?
Luckily Helen Breil’s new e-book comes to the rescue. It’s 180 pages of step-by-step instructions and clear explanations of cuts and twists you probably haven’t even considered.
The book’s gallery is full of real-life examples from artists you’ll recognize (you may have run into them here on PCDaily). This beautiful spiral version is from Ron Lehocky.
Don’t take my word for it, download the free 25-page sample. Why fight your way back through geometry class when you can simply follow what Helen has so brilliantly figured out? Here’s the free link. Buy the $20 book here.
Louise Smith’s Swanwalk cane marries Bettina Welker’s extruded retro cane with Alice Stroppel’s scrap idea. The resulting combination cane looks organic and like snakeskin.
Louise takes a chunk of scrap ho-hum cane, reduces it to a diameter that fits the extruder, and tops it off with two chunks of contrasting plain colored polymer. The resulting long extruded snakes are combined Bettina-retro-style. It’s all documented on Louise’s Flickr site. Getting your head around the concept is a good exercise to start the week.
And while you’re getting acquainted with Louise, be sure to look at her Facebook page which is filled with even more eye candy. Thanks to Perrie May for the new link.
This cluster of polymer pods from Loretta Lam hangs like a bunch of colorful bananas. The pendant cluster is suspended on a long copper chain. It’s a new design that she debuted on her Facebook page.
Is it the ripe fruit look that makes them appealing and ready to be plucked?
Loretta thinks the configuration makes them look like fetishes. The vibe is very contemporary. She’s on to something.
Have a inspired weekend!
Olena from Kiev, Ukraine has filled her entire Etsy shop with polymer bookmarks and cell phone accessories guaranteed to elicit smiles.
PCDaily first spotted the bookmarks with legs last May and the phenomenon has exploded. Look at all Olena’s legs and shoes designed to help keep you on the right page.
Too late to order for this holiday? You can make your own using cell phone jack plugs. Hang a festive bead from your cell phone. Thanks to Genevieve Williamson for the link!
Italy’s Ilenia Moreni describes her rugged Double Stud bangle as an ethnic-organic piece. The band is faux leather with faux bone and turquoise.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that Ilenia designs and produces costumes and accessories for theater, role playing and reeactment. The drama leaps out of her big bold art.
Here’s her Etsy shop and her whole collection on Flickr. Thanks to Randee Ketzel for the link.
Melanie West is on a roll too! She’s added two vessels along with three new textured necklaces in a series she’s calling Beautiful Uglies. Note the clever use of small rubber O-rings as spacer beads.
Melanie moves between heavy texturing on her new beads to a cane-slice encrusted 6″ tall vessel in her signature style. She’s calling this vase NudiFlounder.
If she tires of one style, she can move to the other. Smart! Melanie was working toward these new series when we played together in the spring. What a gift to see them emerge.
