Polymer Clay Daily

Corrugated polymer

Olga Schmuck layers corrugated textures on PolymerClayDaily.com

Germany’s Olja Krueger (olgasmodeschmuck) gives a corrugated, industrial look to her many-layered brooches.

There’s a hint of Matisse cutouts in her latest works as well.

Olga Schmuck makes corrugated fashionable on PolymerClayDaily.com

What does all this stack up to? Something about the layers and repetition of textures feels reassuring.

And if there’s one thing I’d like today, it’s reassurance and predictability.

On StudioMojo we’ll be looking at old friends – the familiar techniques that artists return to when they’re stressed as we are this week. See how people you know conquer anxiety with a few simple, reliable, go-to exercises. You may be surprised.

Snowbird polymer

Gail Garbe shows how she takes her studio on the road on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ontario’s Gail Garbe invites us into her studio on wheels in her latest Facebook post.

She pulls out bins and drawers explaining how she makes her studio portable. For those of us looking out our same windows at the same landscape day after day, Gail’s setup sounded magical and I imagined her on a beach or the desert.

Gail Garbe shows how she takes her studio on the road on PolymerClayDaily.com

So where is Gail working right now? “Haha!” she replied, “We’re in front of the fireplace! We aren’t able to cross the U.S. border and we’re locked down in our town.”

Her latest penguins and cold-looking polymer characters should have given me a clue. Ever resourceful she and her husband have parked the trailer on the northern shore of Lake Erie where they treat it like a studio/cottage from spring to fall. Keep dreaming!

Rough and ready polymer

Myranda Escamilla roughs up her new palette on PolymerClayDaily.com

Texas’ Myranda Escamilla uses what she has onhand as she slaps together rough-hewn textures and stone color mixes for a bold fashion look.

“I’ve realized brown is usually available for purchase or at the very least, easier to find than other shades, and to save what precious clay I have, I’ve had to make-do,” she explains. The exercise pushed her out of her color comfort zone and into what turned out to be a trendy collection.

See more on her second Instagram page. The look is very 2021.

What’s shakin’ for 2021?

Lisa of MakeSmallTalk folds and layers as she moved into 2021 on PolymerClayDaily.com

As we step over the threshold of 2021, what will greet us on the other side?

I’m scanning through 2020 posts, putting my ear to the ground and my finger to the wind (an uncomfortable position but you do what you have to).

What’s popping up that will take hold in our community as we move forward?

One thing that might stick is wrinkled, folded, draped polymer like these earrings from Dallas’ Lisa (Makesmalltalk). Polymer begins to look like billowing fabric.

Messy, unpredictable, mismatched? Sounds like it could fit our attitude in the new year. Join us this weekend as I climb out on a limb and predict what’s ahead.

Punctuated polymer

Cynthia figures out why she bought these cutters on PolymerClayDaily

By the time my cutters arrived from Etsy’s Silvia Tomas in the Netherlands, I’d completely forgotten why I needed them. What was I thinking? It looked like a comma!

After a little research, I figured it out and made myself a pair of earrings. Two cutouts swirl around each other to make a cool oval. Silvia makes some clever designs.

The web was slow so making myself a holiday treat did double duty. I had to talk my husband into a quick photoshoot over dinner so that I could make a post of it. I envisioned one of those lovely long neck shots but that would take some major photoshopping.

This is all to tell you that I’m definitely on holiday and that I hope you’re playing around too.

Pull out those tools and tutorials that you just had to try and then lost track of. Whip up something fun for yourself.

Follow instructions

Toni Street pulls out of a funk with a Meg Newberg cane on PolymerClayDaily.com

Toni Street was in a polymer funk. You know the feeling, right? She decided to plow right through the doldrums by following instructions.

Meg Newberg offered a ribbon cane in this month’s Polymer Clay Workshop tutorial. Meg has a way of simplifying the most complex cane. When you’re fresh out of ideas and ready to throw in the towel, Meg’s step-by-steps are just the thing.

It wasn’t long before Toni had her ah-ha moment and was unstuck. Her tiny canes for pens are masterful. Here’s Toni on Instagram.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting your hands moving. Let your fingers get busy and walk you over the 2020 finish line.

Dog lover polymer

Retired RN Lea Gordiner focuses on mixed media creatures on PolymerClayDaily.com

Oregon’s Lea Gordiner says, “My recent fantasy is a combination of birds and animals with human features. They are meant to be silly, fun, playful, nonsensical…really. Seen any birds lately with nostrils and lips let alone shoes?”

If the holiday hoopla has you in a dither, you’ll be set straight by a wander through Lea’s website and her Instagram. She has shifted to finely finished polymer boxes as well.

Lea’s Portland guild mate Laurel Swetnam turned her in. We thought it only right that Lea has a PCD post among her presents this year. Thanks for making us smile.