Polymer Clay Daily

Hewitt’s cane-inspired fabric

You may be used to making polymer clay buttons to match fabric, here’s an idea that turns the tables. The picture isn’t great but the concept is terrific.

Enterprising polymer clay artist and seamstress Jema Hewitt has begun using Spoonflower, a print-on-demand fabric company in North Carolina, to make fabric from photos of her polymer clay canes.

She explains that, “I just took a photo of my polymer clay slab, tweaked it and cropped it in photoshop and saved a 300dpi jpg. The polymer clay is on the left, the fabric on the right of the photo!” Click on the picture and look closely to get the full effect.

The UK artist is considering producing a line of corsets or waistcoats from her polymer-inspired companion material. While corsets were certainly not the first items that popped into my head, Jema has 20 years experience in the theatre, bridal and costuming business and after a browse through her sites (Kindred Spirits, Steampunk Jewellery, Etsy and her blog SparklyJem) you’ll see how it’s a natural next step for this designer.

It’s an exciting concept to consider at the start of your week.

Friday shout outs

It’s Friday so I’ll give a shout out to several artists on my desk and let you decide which path you’d like to follow today:

First there’s Sylvie Perrin, France’s QueenOfClay, who’s created a polymer clay illustration about our health care situation. If you haven’t looked at her site for a while, scroll through her blog and see her recent work (including the Bouche Chante here).

Second, there’s Camille Allen, the queen of polymer babies, and her latest newsletter. You’ll marvel at her realism and her worldwide following. Her Facebook fan page shows pictures of her at the Dubai Doll Festival in July and her most recent offerings. And no, they’re not marzipan.

Third, are you following Dee Wilder’s latest lathe-turned polymer beads? She’s trying all sorts of techniques and it’s fun to look over her shoulder via Flickr.

Last but not least, if you’re hankering for a class with a polymer clay legend, check out Sandra McCaw’s workshops in Normandy and Burgundy in late October and November. Have a lovely weekend.

Dummer and Nichols team for polymer donuts

It takes a steady hand and a keen eye to execute this micro-Natasha technique effectively. Kathy Dummer has both.

Kathy and Carissa Nichols (both local artists I’m proud to say) have written a two-part article in October’s PolymerCafe magazine on how to make a donut pendant that uses Kathy’s special transfer technique paired with Carissa’s wire skills.

You’ll find examples of the donut pendant on Kathy’s Flickr site. She’s just launched her Etsy site as well and you can catch more of Carissa’s work here.

FYI Note: I looked it up and the technique Kathy illustrates here is based on the Damascus Ladder by Jody Bishel and others. Valerie Wright reinterpreted the technique in Barbara McGuire’s Creative Canes book and Kathy has moved it another step forward.

Scarey autumn trends

Fall is Lance Perry’s (Crescent Hill Designs) season. His polymer clay sculptures are equal parts cute and scarey. Almost, but not quite, predictable with just enough spooky and strange to keep things interesting. See his work on Flickr and Etsy.

I can’t decide if Joo-Joo’s ghosts (Afsaneh Tajvidi) or Heather Powers’ gnomes suit me better. I’m a sucker for glow-in-the-dark but Heather’s gnomes have that dash of weird that I can’t resist. And her acorns and mushrooms look totally trendy for fall.

The Creagers are immersed in their element too. Jodi and Richard offer a few gothic pins (like the ghost above) and other small artworks on their Etsy site. I give up! It’s fall.

Welker’s new book

The eye candy in Bettina Welker’s new book is so engrossing that you’ll hardly notice that the text is in German. Fine jewelry including bracelets & accessories from Polymer Clay is Bettina’s first published work and she’s put her heart in it.

If you’re not familiar with her refined and appealing work, check out her Flickr pages for a sampling.

Translations

Kathi Gose is translating the project part of the book into English. A small printed leaflet of the translations will be included with the book.  The  Spanish version of the projects is ready and a French version is underway as well.

Montgrand’s seasonal bounty

I

found polymer clay acorns, pumpkins, ghosts and witches on the web this weekend. But I’m not ready for those themes.

Catch a last whiff of summer sea air and gather up some garden bounty on Delphine Roche de Montgrand’s site, La Fille du Consul. She helps us out with both French and English translations of most of her posts. There are lots of garden offerings on her online shop and her Flickr site.

I have to admit, I stopped to admire her peppermint candy holiday necklace while I was browsing. It can’t possibly be time for that, can it? She divides her work by seasons which makes it easy for you to choose how to start your week. What mood are you in this Monday?

Ohio polymer bonanza

It was a pleasure to find four Ohio polymer clay artists at our local art show last weekend. This bright piece with buds, beads and flowers is by Kimberly Arden. Here’s a picture of her fun booth from an earlier show.

And these snapshots of eye-popping purple beads and pendants are from Lori Wilkes‘ booth. I was too busy talking and buying to get good pix of Pat Bolgar and Valerie Wright (here’s an earlier page). The quality of all their works was top notch and made me proud.

Welcome Kim Cavender back to bloglandia this week with a visit and a comment. The time off must have done her good if her new work is any indication. Have a refreshing weekend.

Baldwin’s party animals

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These party animals from Virginia’s Denise Baldwin (OddImagination) were built over burned out lightbulbs.

We looked at Denise’s bugs three years ago but then I lost track of her until she was prompted by last week’s post about lightbulbs to share some of her own work built over recycled bulbs. Denise’s recent work is large and sophisticated but, true to her name, still odd.

She has a blog and an Etsy gallery as well as a rich pbase site of older work.

Kirsch’s polymer clutches

Ronnie Kirsch’s has expanded beyond the box (see this Polymer Art Archive post) into clutch purses.

For twenty-five years she drew jewelry collections for Tiffany, Cartier and other luxury brands. Retired from jewelry designing, Ronnie discovered polymer ten years ago and concentrated on creating box forms.

Now the small purse has caught her fancy as she shows on her new web site. She applies sheets of pattern over metal forms.

Thanks to Elise Winters for the heads up. And you’ll want to read today’s update on her project to place fine polymer clay works donated from several private collections into museums’ permanent collections.

Carlson’s story necklace

Maureen Carlson’s necklace tells a charming story and invites a dialogue…and isn’t that what we want our jewelry to do?

She tells of her winter trip to a family reunion in simple polymer clay beads. And she suggests several ways that you might use this technique to tell your stories.

I saw Maureen wearing this intriguing necklace and wanted to know more. Now I’m itching to make one of my own. Enjoy this little video of our conversation. Maureen’s new jewelry-sized face molds will make their debut in November.