Polymer Clay Daily

Voila! launches

To keep everyone up to date on the growing interest in polymer clay in Europe, the UK’s Christine Dumont has launched a new site called Voila! that gathers works and news from around the EU. You’ll want to sign up to get all the information. (Those are Christine’s own butterfly beads at the left.)

Reporting on the recent Euro Clay Carnival in France, the Voila site shows this pendant from Holland’s Saskia Veltnaar (Sassy & Co.) which tweaks Bettina Welker’s etching technique by undercutting, shaping and bending the layers.

Thanks to Marjon Donker for sending the link. My Minneapolis meeting was a success and I’m processing all that I learned. More on that later this week.

Learning about color…and patience

cavender_tile

Since I’ll be getting to the hotel too late to find some polymer bauble in Judy Belcher’s luggage to show you, enjoy this soothing, sensuous polymer clay two-inch-square tile that Kim Cavender made for a Synergy2 collaborative project.

No one but Laurie Mika knows what the entire project looks like but she says it’s fabulous and you can see her clay quilt in Baltimore.

My flight to Minneapolis has turned into one of those tarmac-sitting experiences which allowed me to watch all the TED.com videos I’d brought along. Take a look at this one on color and have a very colorful weekend. I hope I get to the conference sometime today.

Schiller’s polymer in a nutshell

Dawn Schiller (OddFae) was last featured on PCDaily two years ago. I’d lost track of her site and she’s been busy with her woodland creatures tucked in nutshells, in pocket watches, in seashells and now with needlefelted bodies.

Dawn explains that, “Chrono Seidh can be very helpful in watch repair, as they can repair the tiny works without need for tools.” The other one, called Xmas Stockings, blends Christmas and Halloween as he waits patiently for the holidays.

Dawn is on Flickr and Etsy and other sites. Following links to her and her friends will keep you quite busy. Thanks to Randee Ketzel for pointing me to this artist again.

Note: I finished my walnut bowl with polymer inlay. My husband has to sand and polish it to a sheen before I feel comfortable showing it to you. Maggie Maggio was in town visiting her parents and signing books. She stopped by my house for tea and gave the bowl’s colors an approving nod. Whew!

Polymer with a light touch

I’m feeling clumsy and in a rush. Polymer clay works that exude a light touch and a delicate sensibility inspire me and calm me down.

The bracelet is from Enkhene Tserenbadam from Switzerland. Offsetting the comfortable textured shapes makes them more touchable. The oversized jump rings on her new necklaces add an element of surprise.

The glowing hollow translucent bead is from France’s Céline Charuau (GrisBleu). She has a little tutorial on her site that shows you how she assembles beauties like these.

Austria’s Eva Ehmeier (Hoedlgut) shows her refined elegant Black Meadow Necklace on her Flickr site. Ok, breathe deeply. Back to the studio.

Winter polymer canes

Some polymer artists have been able to get beyond Halloween and jump right to winter. These two snowy examples (they’re both Canadian) may get you thinking holidays too.

Carolyn Good, 2 Good Claymates, created this snowflake covered candle collar with an easy tutorial for the cane on her site. She and her husband work out of their studio in Chase, B.C.

Wanda Shum is building up her stash of holiday canes. Can’t wait to see what she does with them all.

I’ll be leaving for snow-country (Minneapolis) and the ACC Creating a New Craft Culture conference later this week and I’m in a bit of a rush to finish an inlaid bowl before I leave. With any luck I’ll show it off tomorrow.

Easing into Monday

Start your Monday with a big dose of cute from illustrator Inhae Renee Lee, a former California game industry pixel animator and artist. Her blog, My Milk Toof, follows the adventures of two polymer clay baby teeth named ickle and Lardee as they frolick around her home. If you think you’re immune to cute, you may be surprised.

“A year ago I made my first polymer clay toy as a gift for my boyfriend. It was a whale holding a Panda holding a birthday cake. After that, I began playing around with the medium for my own projects,” she says.

As long as we’re easing into the week, take a look at the simple, silly Halloween jewelry on VoilaViola’s Etsy site – Frankenstein bolts, blood necklaces and earrings, and my favorite, the reattached head necklace. Ready to play now?

Creagers’ Punkie Sprites

One last bit of Halloween and polymer clay fine art fantasy for a Friday. Jodi and Richard Creager have been full time professional doll makers for 32 years. This Punkie Sprites sculpture (available on Ebay) gives you a glimpse of their skill and their wit.

On her entertaining blog Jodi tells of her struggle to make realistic pumpkin glop, a painstaking process that had Jodi covered in glue, paint, strings and moss. Nice to know that they’re enjoying their work and sharing a chuckle after all those years in the studio.

The Creagers had a giveaway for their blog followers a few weeks back and winner Lisa (Spritebites) positively gushed at the box of happiness they sent her. It’s a very cool story of generosity and surprise. Have a happy weekend.

Stubitsch’s polymer likenesses

Dawn Stubitsch made her first polymer clay sculpture in 1983. Now customers book their figurine orders a year in advance and Dawn only commits to six a year. Her site contains a marvelous selection of her lifelike figures and very clear instructions on the kinds of photos needed to help her create good likenesses.

Dawn began her polymer career making Thumbprint Kids. She no longer makes the kids but she continues to enter polymer-covered mini cars in racing contests. Her 2009 fish entry is shown here.

Thanks to Jana Roberts Benzon for the addition to our growing list of cake topper/portrait artists.

Glowing polymer ghoulies

Even some of Christi Friesen’s glow-in-the-dark polymer clay ghoulies have gone all steampunk! Once a year, Christi is compelled to whip up these mixed media mini sculptures for Halloween. She offers a whole page of them here.

Austin guild member Joyce Cloutman (Whimsy Lane) creates endearing fantasy creatures like this sweety witch with a glowing pumpkin.

Joyce is pretty new to polymer and her fellow guild members had to prod her to put up her first Flickr page. Her imps have captivating expressions and surprising details.

Thanks to Randee Ketzel for spearheading the effort and sending the link.

Malinow eyefun online

Wendy Malinow’s new sites live up to her business name, Eyefun! She brings her illustrator’s drawing and storytelling sensibility to polymer clay.

Wendy explains that, “Combining media of varied value, lots of color, and different emotional connections into a piece that resonates with the viewer is my goal. Using old and new, expensive and cheap, silly or dark, hopefully forms complex layers of meaning and value.”

Wendy’s a three-time Saul Bell Design winner and I’m giddy with excitement at her plunge into the digital realm.  She’s filled an Etsy gallery in addition to her new personal site.

In November, you can see her work in Mobilia Gallery’s quirky show, The Teapot Redefined. Eyefun, indeed! Thanks to Judy Belcher for the link!

Lisa Clarke (PolkaDotCottage) cajoled me into talking about the story of PCDaily for her Morning Coffee series. Her interviews are a nice read with a muffin and coffee.