In-flight polymer
A quick in-flight post to play with the technology as I fly home from Seattle. Enjoy these bright bangles from Oxana Volkova. It will be business as usual tomorrow.
Mixing clays
If you like your clays in both polymer and metal, take a look at the work of Ohio artist Pat Bolgar. Her complex combinations mix materials, colors and shapes in rich and appealing ways. Her mixes engage the eye as she brings color to metallics and, at the same time, adds metallics to polymer.
Pat is featured in the new Metal Clay and Color book and she’s added updated photos on her Facebook page. You can also tour her cabin-in-the-woods studio on Facebook.
Polymer with a bite
On first glance, I thought these beads by Madrid’s Silvia Ortiz de la Torres were covered with fabric that had been gathered at the ends. Each bead is entirely polymer.
The pinched ends connect comfortably and Silvia and her daughter decided they look like teeth – molars perhaps.
Twenty-one clay gun salute
Get out your polymer clay extruder (our warm weather will make extruding easier). Germany’s Bettina Welker has generously uploaded the instructions for her Pixelated Retro Blend Cane.
Bettina’s come up with an easy and clever method. I look forward to seeing your versions.
Declare your independence
A touch of red, white and blue from Barbara Handy to put you in an Independence Day mood.
Happy Fourth of July! Party on.
Polymer meets zentangle meets typography
Not only is this design from Croatia’s Nikolina Ortrzan eye-catching, it contains some secrets.
Another artist (Christine Candora-Hickey from North Carolina) showed how she had combined contour lettering and zentangle in her journal in ink and then added color using watercolor. Nikolina used the idea to create a polymer pendant that lists the names of all her pets.
“I just couldn’t resist when I saw this artjournaling post. I wrote the names of all our pets, past and present ones,” she says. Here’s Nikolina’s Etsy page. You may remember her popular cat earring designs.
Mosaic Monday
Pavla Cepelikova’s mosaic hollow beads will have you scratching your head. The colors and design combine to make them light, summery and intriguing.
This Czech polymer artist has a way with mosaics. Last time we featured her she had created her interpretation of a red, white and blue mosaic American flag on a heart brooch.
Pavla’s Facebook page shows how active she’s been in regional guild events.
Polymer shisha
Pieces of the PCDaily blog started moving themselves around unpredictably yesterday. And I started chasing them in the code (not my strong suit).
I threw up my hands in dismay and decided to focus on something positive like the brand new Etsy shop put up by the ladies in Birtamod, Nepal (with a big expert assist from Genevieve Williamson).
Look at those colors! Read Wendy Moore’s warm, wild commentary! I am so proud. Please go buy! Click a like or a favorite. It’s all good. The money goes directly to the project that you can read about here.
Miracle of miracles, the blog reshuffled itself back into place. “No, you did-dent,” I yelled at the computer and it smiled back. We seem to be on the mend! Thanks for your patience.
Polymer pansies
Eri, an artist on Etsy, brings an architectural sense to her simply sculptured polymer necklaces. In the Pansies Between Pink Corals necklace she places groups of rounded polymer disks off center between small pink beads.
Her work is filled with references to flower petals (lillies, pansies, tulips, water lilies) as in this Meadow Around Your Neck. Her other inspiration comes from sea creatures (limpets, sea anemones).
What we know about Eri is that she’s a full-time architect in Athens, Greece and that she has a way with clay.
Going clayzy
Montreal-based artist and illustrator Raku Inoue feared he had that dreaded viral clay disease. He’d gone clayzy! Nope, it was just his art manifesting itself in polymer. Read his biography to get the full scoop.
Raku was born in suburban Tokyo in 1983. He spent his early childhood watching anime, reading manga and discovering living creatures, especially insects. He immigrated to Canada when he was nine. He bounces between illustration, sculpture, photography and never strays far from polymer.
Look at these closeups of some of his lush polymer sculptures.