Polymer Clay Daily

Rugged polymer

Rugged beauty has a double meaning in Marlene Brady’s case. This heavily textured polymer necklace owes its roughness to an indoor/outdoor rug that Marlene purchased and used for a mold before she put it on the floor. She paired the rough bead with other deeply stamped pieces and added layers of paint.

Marlene’s going through that stage when everything you see is a polymer tool. You’ve been there, right? Check out her series of stamps from the bottoms of plastic bottles.

The clincher is the bag of metal pieces she thrifted thinking that she could surely cover them or use them as polymer tools. But there was another message in the bag.

Beat-the-clock polymer

Japanese designers Yuji Kawauchi and Yuri Hamaguchi of Atelier Sango sculpted mini-portraits out of polymer clay (Bend and Bake) at the recent Dwell on Design event in Los Angeles. Twice a day they picked someone from their audience and created a portrait in 30 minutes.

The duo produce figures for claymation videos and presented their work as part of the Yakitate! (fresh baked) show of emerging artists.Watch the video in the right column to see Kawauchi in action.

Can you imagine sculpting a likeness in front of a crowd with the clock ticking? They’re used to working fast since a 30-minute movie requires approximately 21,600 stops to change the figures for the frames.

You can see their animations and more information about them on the DesignBoom site. The link came to us from DailyArtMuse/Susan Lomuto.

Layered-look quilt

This Mini Clay Quilt class with Laurie Mika already happened during the April Artfest. Even so, it’s inspiring and worth a Monday look.

Seems Laurie has taken her remarkable array of surface techniques and added a new emphasis on layering. You’ll remember Laurie’s earlier mosaics and her collaborative quilt entry in last year’s Synergy II Exhibit. Her polymer mosaic book is a “must have” and now there’s a Kindle edition.

Laurie’s off for the summer (in Egypt and Jordan) and will be gearing up for fall teaching in September.

I ran into the link on Julie Fei-Fan’s Pinterest board.

Polymer that’s none of the above

This polymer pendant from Canada’s NoneOfTheAbove speaks of summer and sunflowers and, who are we kidding, tweezers. Do you suppose she plans her geometry or does it evolve as in nature?

Notice that the small dots of color are graduated in color and size. Each dot is textured. Her Etsy shop is full of examples in a range of colors and patterns. The almost mandala-like patterns have a meditative and soothing effect. Have a soothing weekend.

Shared techniques, singular styles

When Betsy Baker, Melanie West and Melanie Muir had a confab recently, they rubbed off on each other. Though the three artists take a similar organic approach to polymer, each has a distinct signature style and their works would never be confused with each other.

This bright fuchsia mokume gane bracelet by Melanie Muir reflects her environs in Scotland while Melanie West chooses the Maine coast for her inspiration. When Betsy takes a stab at the same technique, it has a refined, urbane Bostonian air about it.

One thing the three polymer artists share is a high standard of finishing and a laser focus on detail. Enjoy browsing their sites.

Using the colors you love

“Turquoise and green are simply my favourite colors, working with them is easy and big pleasure,” says the Czech Republic’s Eva Haskova.

In this new batch of work she combines her colors so closely that the patterns vibrate in tight stripes and blends. Each bar is layered with a thick layer of turquoise running through the middle, underneath the patterned surface for added interest.

Some of the new work appears on her Flickr site and Lindly Haunani sent in the link to her Voila page which contains even more examples.

Eva credits her guild participation and event attendance for giving her the confidence to sell her wares to make her living from polymer. She also teaches and continues working in graphic design.

Polymer reinvention

A spiffy revamped site with new work from Ford and Forlano is just the ticket to start the week. These button earrings mesmerize us with their complex colors and switch our brains into gear. “Exactly how do they do that,” you might ask.

You’ll see lots of continuing design experiments with their polymer tubes that twist to reveal unexpected colors and shapes. Steve and Dave are masters at reinventing their designs and revisiting their methods.

Connecting the dots

Could you commit to a cane as big as this Guinea Fowl? Switzerland’s Teia Fetescu and Mario Hubak give us a step-by-step glimpse at their work which includes yards of black and white dot canes.

An ambitious undertaking like this creates a flock that may hang around the studio for a long time!

Since Teia and Mario don’t show their cane reduction process, here’s a 15-pound face cane that Bob Paris and Nancy Bundy reduced in 2003. It’s still fun to watch.

If you look closely, you’ll see how Nancy dressed up the faces by adding a variety of hat, fabric and flower canes. You have to admire what it takes to think big! Have a big beautiful weekend.