Polymer Clay Daily

Friesen’s polymer and steampunk

Following up on yesterday’s trend report here’s Christi Friesen newest line based on the steampunk aesthetic. (I had to look it up on wikipedia.) I see a promising new polymer clay trend here.

Christi explains steampunk as, “viewing the future from the vantage point of the turn-of-the-century — all gears and hydraulics and brassy screws – very rich and slightly gothic, and quite in keeping with the whole altered art/assemblage movement!”

As science fiction author Bruce Sterling explains, “Steampunk’s key lessons are not about the past. They are about the instability and obsolescence of our own times. A host of objects and services that we see each day all around us are not sustainable. They will surely vanish, just as Gone With the Wind like Scarlett O’Hara’s evil slave-based economy. Once they’re gone, they’ll seem every bit as weird and archaic as top hats, crinolines, magic lanterns, clockwork automatons, absinthe, walking-sticks and paper-scrolled player pianos. We are secretly preparing ourselves for the death of our own tech.” Fascinating concept.

Christi’s book showing all her new work will be out in November and she’ll soon have a steampunk project tutorial on her site. Have a fascinating weekend.

Five trends and Gruenholz’ illustrations

I’m still sorting web code, ignoring the stock market and avoiding politics. Here’s a quiet, calming polymer clay illustration from Spain’s Irma Gruenholz to match my mood. The illustration was based on birds nesting in the artist’s shutters.

If you’re looking for further distraction, read these trend predictions. According to the David Report, there are five key design trends that have emerged and will impact the future of design.

“Folklore and artisan production will see a boost,” the report predicts. “We, the consumers, simply do not buy anymore. We want to experience the real deal. It may be the regional or local individuality and the knowledge of who has made a certain product. We want it to have a scent, a taste and a feeling.” (via design-milk)

Thanks for all the referrals to web technicians. That helps.

Benzon’s gourds, Polymer Cafe article

Jana Roberts Benzon has transformed her polymer clay sea sculptures into fall harvest creations. Her organic shapes flow from one environment to the other nicely.

Here are the links that accompany my extrusions article in the December issue of Polymer Cafe. The magazine is full of tips and tricks and things you won’t want to miss.

I waded into a swamp of alligators when I posted about monkeys yesterday. I was unaware that in these heated political times an innocent monkey icon has been appropriated for mean political use. Absolutely no political comment was insinuated. Lighten up…and vote.

I’m still coding furiously behind the scenes and looking for a WordPress expert if anyone has one they can recommend.

Clay monkey, code monkey

I thought my code monkey days were behind me! It seems not. Thank you all for your email condolences and your patience with that big ugly “Server Error” message yesterday. It’s fixed for now.

These polymer clay sock monkey ornaments by Texan Waxela Sananda caught my eye and seemed right for today. She carries an eclectic mix of artwork on her Etsy site and her blog.

Do me a favor

My sweet nomadic daughter has launched a new website. Please go visit and click around on her This Tiny House blog. She’s fascinated with small spaces and, as a web consultant, can take her office on the road and work from anywhere.

She’s lived in a small room on a commune in Virginia, a miniscule NYC apartment, a houseboat in Sausalito, and more. It’s quite the life and I’d like to help her get her latest venture started with a burst of traffic. She’s got an eye, a way with words and a fascinating view of the world. Thanks for your help.

Light earrings, new book

Look at these great organic earrings by Ellen Prophater that I saw in Kentucky last weekend. She’s still thinking about a web site which, of course, frustrates both me and you. These lightweight lovelies are formed and baked on wooden balls. Ellen dips the finished earrings into warm water combined with liver of sulfur to turn the silver wires black.

The movement toward self-published books is exciting. Here’s a wonderful offering from Cynthia Toops and her husband, glass artist Dan Adams. There’s a nice preview online though the sample pages seem to show more of Dan’s work than Cynthia’s. Thanks to Leslie Blackford for the link.

That ugly server message is finally gone and the site is back up for now. I’ve stripped out the guestbook, the Flickr pictures and loads of other little potential gremlins. Let’s hope the PCDaily site is stable. Understand that if there are problems, it’s me not you.

Detwiler’s dress patterns
Detwiler_chips

The chips for the games at polymer clay conferences have become coveted items and a good way to show off new techniques. These chips by Susan Detwiler of Shepherdsville, Kentucky are a case in point.

Susan uses translucent clay for her base and paints it with alcohol inks (center picture) followed by a layer of liquid polymer. Circles of the thin paper from old dress patterns are laid on the wet polymer and covered with another layer of wet liquid polymer and the whole concoction is baked.

Susan cautions that old patterns on thin crinkly paper with lots of printing work best. I’m sure these will be sought after treasures on game night here in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Susan swears that her gallery on the Deviant Arts site will soon be operational.

This is similar to the napkin transfers we ran into in Spain recently. Small world.

Mika’s polymer mosaic muse

Laurie Mika added a few new polymer clay mosaics to her Facebook page and this one “Waking the Muse” seemed appropriate since I’m leaving for the Tennessee/Kentucky retreat today to wake my muse. The little pockets on the skirt of this character are filled with pencils and brushes.

Her “Home Sweet Home” shrine is a comforting reminder of what we value in these chaotic times.

If you’re adept at navigating Facebook, be sure to check out the other pictures Laurie has uploaded. My Facebook page is ctinapple. Join me there (though I’m not terribly sure how the whole thing works).

Ehmeir’s mosaic style transfers

Austrian Eva Ehmeier (Hoedlgut) gives a little twist to her polymer clay transfers by connecting them with jump rings, mosaic-style. She’s discovered a nice way to salvage the good pieces and parts of transfers gone bad.

Eva’s giving her voice to the techniques she learned in workshops with masters like Louise Fischer Cozzi and Grant Diffendaffer.

A look at the pictures from the first Austrian clay meeting and the Wiesbaden Germany workshop reveals the fine work and growing popularity of polymer clay in that part of the world.

On this side of the pond, while I was searching for pictures from this year’s Sandy Camp (no luck yet), I came across this clever alphabet stamp tutorial on Marie Siegal’s blog.

Abrams’ colors brighten fall

Lauren Cole Abrams says the colors of this new polymer clay necklace have a tropical flavor which she used to brighten up a cold day in the mountains. It caught my tired computer eyes…I’ve been sitting here too long and realize that I’m ignoring similar colors right outside my window.

Lauren works in many media and today I stumbled on her purses and purse embellishment site (plus Flickr and Etsy).

Check her out. I need to head outside.