Polymer Clay Daily

Polymer doodling system

The symmetry of Barb Fajardo’s domed and textured beads brings calm and order to the day. The fourteen bead sets shown here measure an inch in diameter and represent two days’ work.

Her texture doodling system, flora beads and textured tessellations (not to mention several national awards) qualify Barb as one of the queens of texture on polymer. Her doodled textures are inspired by her southwest surroundings as well as ancient Henna and Mendhi tattoo art. They come alive with the addition of color.

The volume of work on Barb’s Flickr, Facebook and web sites illustrates how practice makes perfect.

Welcome distractions

These polymer sprites from Italy’s Barbara Oppizzi remind me of how charmed and distracted I am this week by a visit from my own munchkin grandson.

Barbara’s sprites’ poses match Oliver’s when he’s happily at play on the floor. Her polymer flowers could have been plucked from a sumptuous garden.

My toy strewn living room looks like it was hit by a baby bomb. My studio is closed for the week while this very small muse teaches me a few things. Luckily I can sneak off to the computer while he naps.

Summer polymer recipe

Kathrin Neumaier divulges that her new watery-looking neckpiece, Seetang, is created from liquid Fimo colored with Pinata inks. She’s experimented with a range of colors.

This cool piece comes along just in time for summer’s heat. Has Kathrin’s concept started your wheels turning?

In the right column, watch a lovely video from Minnesota’s Prairie Public Broadcasting about Jennifer Patterson and her polymer quilt jewelry. Nicely done! Thanks to Lindly Haunani for the link.

Leather, wire, cactus imposters

Track polymer and resin artist Camille Young on Flickr as she creates jewelry art every day during June. (Usually gamer icons are the subject of her art.) A Tucson resident, Camille didn’t have to look far for a model for this cactus cuff.

She makes a fabulous faux barbed wire which she used for a Western style eyeglass leash. Here’s her original faux barbed wire tutorial. The more recent version makes use of Sculpey SuperFlex clay baked over Stretch Magic cord.

Patty Barnes faux leather biker cuff was named the co-grand prize winner in the Rings & Things contest. Patty says that, “The use of polymer clay to create the cuff allowed me to explore a variety of surface textures, decorations and embellishments.” She’s moving on to punk, western, disco and other versions. Thanks to Janice Abarbanel, Susan Lomuto and others for passing this link along.

Making faux findings

Can’t find the bead caps or findings to finish a piece? Make them from polymer like Galina Grebennikova does.

Galina adds faux metal appliques onto many of her beads for a rich, old effect. Read more in blog posts here and here. You may need to use the translator widget to read about how she cleverly makes her own cord using double stick tape, thread and tubing.

If translating is too much for you (she’s Russian and lives in Ireland), go to her Flickr site to browse through her experiments like this faux dichroic bead.

Polymer on the beach

California’s Dawn Schiller cautions you to keep an eye out as you head to the beach this season.

“While walking the beach, I happened upon a sea seidh (pronounced “seed“), one of the tribe of little folk that used to live in the forest but have emigrated to the sea. These tiny fae dwell in abandoned shells of all types — much like hermit crabs — and live on dark moonlight and the breath of fishes,” she explains.

How does she do it?

Debra DeWolff has revived her blog and just set up an image page full of juicy polymer work that will capture your attention.

Debra works with felt saying that, “There’s a very pleasurable tactile quality to felt and I enjoy juxtaposing the soft fuzziness of felt with the smoothness of the clay. Her recent work also includes metalwork.

A closeup look at this mosaic bangle will have you scratching your head to figure out how she embeds seed beads in blended clay colors so precisely.

Red, white and blue polymer

In a nice turnabout, our tribute to Memorial Day comes from Pavla Cepelikova from Prague, Czech Republic. Applying foil with a USA flag image onto polymer, she cut strips and applied them to this heart pendant and added faux grout.

This new twist looks like a variation on the polymer mosaic technique first developed by Amy Helm. She cut strips, assembled and scored them to achieve the mosaic look without having to place each tile individually. (This technique was published recently. Does anybody know which book it appeared in? I need a refresher.)

Enjoy Pavla’s Flickr pages while we wave our red, white and blue.

Note: Amy Helms’ mosaic technique is explained in Polymer Clay Mixed Media Jewelry by Shirley Rufener.

About face in polymer

Inveterate polymer experimenter Dee Wilder created these new story beads using Maureen Carlson’s new small face bead molds. Here’s the back of Dee’s creations. She made not only beads but a series of rings as well.

These somber looking faces can be embellished and manipulated to make their story serious or silly or something in between.

One of Maureen’s original beads totems stares at me from the kitchen window sill. Now I can make more to poke up out of the garden. I was thinking of whipping up these plant stakes in polymer too. (I’d much rather do that than spread mulch!) Enjoy your weekend in the garden or the studio.