Austria’s Izabela Nowak recently made clusters of thin polymer clay tube beads by attaching each one to a link of chain. The resulting pendant is suspended from a larger chain as you can see by clicking the image.
The mixture of bright colors and companion patterns makes a flowing, sumptuous necklace…like ripe, modern grapes. Simple and effective construction is always a winner in my book. See an earlier post about Izabela here.
I stumbled on Lisa Pavelka’s spiffy new site as I was looking for the lowdown on the second Cabin Fever Fest (looks like it was a smash). Lisa’s site showcases her growing line of polymer clay tools and products.
I also rediscovered Kelly Russell (beadfuddled.com). Kelly’s first love is precious metal clay and I’d overlooked her dazzling polymer clay work which has been included in many books and magazines.
Start your week with their colorful inspirations and the latest tools and techniques.
These mixed-media pieces by California’s Susan Crocenzi match a bright and downright balmy day (60’s) in Ohio. She combines polymer clay tiles, tempered glass, glass and ceramics in her shimmering mixed media pieces.
See her Flickr gallery here and an earlier post here.
Susan is a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists and part of the SAMA exhibit and conference in San Diego. Another polymer clay mosaic artist, Laurie Mika, will address the SAMA conference. I’ll be in San Diego in a couple of weeks and can’t wait to see their artworks in person.
A new DVD that explores the passion and the creative process of doll making has just been released. The World of the Doll Artist
These days it’s especially good to find reuse/recycle ideas for polymer clay when covered Altoids tins and tea lights have become cliche.
Embellishing old lockets never occured to me until I saw Angeli Sobrepena’s (beadladyangeli) tutorial. She updates her locket with a trendy cupcake image but of course many designs would work.
Angeli suggests gluing the clay onto the locket after baking. A thin layer of liquid polymer applied to the locket before adding the clay might be easier and should bond securely.
I’m pulling out my bag of old jewelry with a renewed sense of the possiblities among my castoffs.
If you’re wondering how crafts and the DIY crowd are faring in this economy, check out Rob Walker’s “Happy Medium” column in the New York Times.
Registration for the July 11-14 International Polymer Clay Guild Retreat in Chicago is now open. Read all about it here and register here (you must join to register).
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
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
