Polymer Clay Daily

Maggio’s signature polymer

I love wearing this polymer clay gift from Maggie Maggio. All the soft sage green, slate blue/gray and soft brown shapes reverse to reveal more shades of the palette. The wearer can endlessly flip the pieces and change the look. It’s a stunning necklace and an entertaining toy!

The colors look uniform here. On closer examination you’ll see subtle patterning and Maggie’s signature black and white shadow layers. (Note: It’s the same necklace in both pictures…one in sun and one in shade. Her colors are difficult to capture.) See an earlier post here.

Maggie’s site crashed last week just as she was preparing to start posting again. I’ve begun resurrecting the blog for her. Don’t think Maggie’s lost her color sense, the web colors reverted to generic ones. They’ll be fixed and she’ll have new content soon.

Maggie and Lindly’s new book will be out in August. Pre-order now: Polymer Clay Color Inspirations: Techniques and Jewelry Projects for Creating Successful Palettes

Abrams polymer colors harmonize

Lauren Abrams likes the instant gratification and color possibilities of polymer clay to relieve the sameness of producing her great resin purse handles.

She draws on years of graphics and design experience to produce brooches, pendants and earrings in her own distinctive voice and her new blog is devoted to her polymer work.

I’ve been looking at this brooch for a week. You may be wise to my ways. Pieces that harmonize with the PCDaily color scheme jump right out at me. Much as I try to resist and be fair to the entire color wheel, sometimes I relent.

My computer/research brain is not in gear so my eyes win out today. They’re smitten with her color schemes here and here. See past posts here.

Thiebaud’s glamorous polymer

The rise of fashion photos to show off polymer clay beads is exciting. Check out the glamorous, sexy pix on Magali Thiebaud’s (croquezmoicreation) site.

I’ve long been a fan (see earlier posts here and here) of her colorful, unconstrained polymer clay work and the photos match her style nicely.

Her Flickr and Facebook sites show even more examples.

It was a lovely and fast-paced weekend! How can it be Monday?

Timmins’ perfect polymer lentils

Polymer clay artists love the science and the process of making lentil beads (here’s Desiree McCrorey’s how-to). I see plenty of examples and no one makes a finer, more consistent lentil than Wisconsin’s Laura Timmins.

Here’s her Flickr site with some new examples like her “Ocean Color” versions shown here. She generously shares her process in a visual step-by-step on her web site.

Combined with color-coordinated handmade cording and soothing designs, her pieces captivate wearers. Have a captivating weekend.

Note: Keila commented that I missed Laura’s new Etsy shop. For another twist on lentils, you might want to take a look at Barb Fajardo’s bead gallery.

Ashdown’s ham cane

South African miniaturist Karin Ashdown makes a mean little sliced ham from a polymer clay cane. And I can’t for the life of me think how she makes sliced bread look so real. Look through her sites and her Flickr page for more mini-yummies.

Perhaps Karin’s cleverest idea was to plunge items into a roll of toilet paper to hold them while they dry. This would be great for beads on needles…and so handy. Forida’s Michele Holley sent the link along.

Gaedechens glows, Udell collages

Germany’s Caroline Gaedechens (on Etsy as NuitBlanche) is an illustrator who mostly creates 2D illustrations and soft sculptures.

She has a penchant for glow-in-the-dark polymer clay, however, and her monsters and magnets (scroll sideways) are somehow a perfect blend of scarey and reassuring.

As I was exploring the web’s nooks and crannies, I also discovered that Luann Udell has an Etsy site.

Her jewelry and fiber collages are inspired by the Lascaux cave in France. This ancient cave, long considered the birthplace of human art, is filled with paintings of prehistoric animals.

Fortner’s polymer in the NYTimes

A polymer clay illustration by Toronto’s Jessica Fortner was spotted in the last week’s NYTimes. The article, I Want My Free TV, was about the delay of the long-planned switch from analog to digital television.

Jessica is a 26-year-old art school graduate who creates 3D scenes using a variety of materials. She’s looking forward to doing stop motion animation and children’s books. Read more of her story in this interview (the interface is a little challenging, hit the jump to page button).

Fernandez polymer clay workout

Monday is a good day to flex your creative muscles. You can do some warm ups by looking at the wide-ranging series of exercises that Spain’s Elena Fernandez (Nanipollito) presents on her Flickr site. They’ll stretch your perspective.

Elena labels her results archeological, ethnic, Egyptian and seems to be equally drawn to ancient and modern, mixing and matching colors and styles as she goes.

Fantasy studio

Isn’t the studio-in-a-box furniture at ScrapboxUSA a wonderful fantasy? Their products tap directly into my need for balancing creativity and organization (chaos and control).

Faber dolls make Etsy video

Canadian artist Sarah Faber (blackeyedsuzie) doesn’t necessarily consider her polymer clay dolls to be Gothic, although some are dark and contain elements of the supernatural or uncanny.

She considers them to be, “Victorian, with a certain edge. My dolls are inspired by Victoriana, Edward Gorey, Tim Burton, and many, many talented doll artists who are have forged the unusual art-doll path down which I merrily skip.”

Sarah is featured on this month’s Etsy Handmade Portrait video (or on YouTube here). You’ll see her smoothing Sculpey across a character’s face and learn about her neighborhood and her process.

Need to play a bit this weekend? Take a look at this color tool. My tiny house daughter sent it to me. Have an unusual weekend.