Polymer Clay Daily

Ponsawan Sila returns to clay

I’m sure you’re as happy as I am to hear that Ponsawan Sila will be back working in polymer clay and being a stay-at-home mom. Her daughter was seriously injured five months ago and will be coming home soon. Theirs is a story of survival and triumph and nobody says it better than Ponsawan herself.

Read her story and see the strength and spirit that shines through in her polymer clay work. Welcome back, Ponsawan.
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I’m in a fix-up, spice-up mood and your comments about PCDaily have been very kind and helpful. Per your suggestions, I’m going to:

  1. find some guest editors
  2. interview some outstanding artists
  3. shoot some video
  4. get a gallery going
  5. and I may even show some of my own work

Not to worry, PCDaily is my habit and my baby. I’ve got new ideas and I’m over myself. Keep those comments coming.

I picked out a paint color for my studio based entirely on gut feeling. Living large…read more here.

Dever at del Mano

My studio is under construction this week (see construction photos here). As long as I’m planning what I want it to look like, it’s a good time to think about readjusting this website as well.

Writing daily has become a comfortable habit but there are days when I fear I sound like an infomercial and I’ll bet you can predict what I’m going to say. Thousands of polymer clay blogs cover our craft. How can PolymerClayDaily continue to be of value to the community?

I’ll be rethinking content this week and I’d love your input. What are you hungry for on the web?

I can’t let your week begin with my whiny rant, however. Here’s a new piece from Jeff Dever who has an August show, Fiber Art Explored II, at LA’s del Mano gallery. These juicy new works should start your week on a high note.

Cavender’s polymer clay chips

West Virginia’s Kim Cavender was all set to debut these vibrant new polymer clay sea urchins at the Euro Clay Carnival in England. Family health matters took precedence at the last moment. Everything’s on the mend, read her blog for the whole story. Motherhood trumped art.

She played her cards right and sent the pile of sea urchin poker chips pictured here to England without her. Look at the new natural, woodsy and watery pieces she’s developed lately!

The good news is that she’s all prepared to teach her class at the Clay Carnival in Las Vegas in November. And speaking of being prepared…

You have 30 days to enter your work in the NPCG Progress and Possibilities international juried exhibition. The entry is online, no muss, no fuss, no excuses. Here are the exhibition guidelines, and here’s the entry link. This is a chance for the guild to demonstrate its vitality and for you to receive recognition for your work. Start planning now and have a great weekend.

Polymer clay on wheels

The UK’s Simon Buck and Utah’s Bill Robbins have found most unusual ways to incorporate polymer clay into their vehicles.

Simon specializes in fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark murals as well as polymer clay (glow-in-the-dark, naturally). The picture you see at the right is the sculpture on the steering wheel of his van. You’ll have to imagine it at night. And you can see one of his glowing figures here.

Bill Robbins (aka elmerpresslee) lovingly built the most twisted polymer clay baby car ever for his daughter who seems to truly delight in the madness. Of course his studio, the nerdatorium, is also a trip.

Both artists look like they’re have such fun with their art that it’s easy to look beyond the scarey parts. I scrounged the Robbins link from Kim Cavender who gravitates to the deviant side herself.

BlockPartyPress sells 1000 online

BlockPartyPress’ Tamara Shea is a prolific polymer clay artist, chalking up her 1000th online sale at the end of June. Her cloud nine design is a new one in her series of designs that combine her love of block printing and painting with polymer.

I marvel at her work and at the effort that such volume demands. Look here and here to witness the quality and consistency of her many appealing pieces.

The recent American Craft Council-sponsored conversation between artists from traditional and trendy marketing backgrounds got me thinking about the young savvy marketers in our craft. Names like Meredith Dittmar, Heather Powers, Shannon LeVart, Betsy Baker, Eva Soehjar, and Tamara Shea spring to mind (there are many others). These artists are busy with online galleries like Etsy, Kaboodle, Trunkt, DaWanda, Stylehive, Flickr…to say nothing of the blogs and social networks on which they stay active.

I’ve heard a number of artists my age disparage online galleries but it’s hard to dismiss the numbers. Both camps can learn something from each other and this talk (audio only), though it’s a bit slow in places, gets the dialogue started. Give a listen.

Allard’s life is grand

Melanie Allard is an illustrator/sculptor/animator from Quebec. I was mesmerized by her “Life is Grand” animation (even though it’s probably plasticine). She uses plenty of polymer clay in her work. (Look under “bricolage” which translated to DIY!) Much of her site is in French so I’m guessing again. Here’s her Flickr site and more of her animated work.

Summer living has cut into my research time so I’m happy when artists write in as Melanie did, admiring and linking through to another artist’s work. A bit of summer serendipity.

Darker, rougher polymer art

Monday’s child is full of angst…or at least it appears that way. Here are two young male polymer clay artists, one from Canada and one from Israel, who like our art’s darker side.

Roy Ginat (fimoman) from Israel, based his small man-eating bird at the left on a character in a Hieronymus Bosch painting. The one at the right is a more contemporary monster.

Andrew McCaffrey from Edmonton, Alberta, follows mostly music groups, capturing the intense gestures and poses of his musical heroes in polymer. The muscular stances and intense facial expressions that he builds in his rough style are remarkable.

Both artists express passionate sentiments that may make the viewer uncomfortable. A Monday reminder that polymer clay is not just for pretty.

Thanks to Italy’s Leila Bidler for the link to Andrew McCaffrey.

Winters’ ruffles and ribbons

Elise Winters is all polymer clay ruffles and ribbons! Why is she all dressed up? First, her PolymerArtArchives site got its bugs exterminated. Go visit and read the next installment of the history of our craft.

And second, her work will be represented at SOFA:Chicago. Having a dealer represent her in Chicago frees up her schedule for other shows and ventures. Celebration time!

You’ll find a few samples of Elise’s newest pieces on her site. Those flowing freeform spirals and ribbons that look so effortless are the result of heavy engineering and years of trial and error. They’re a marvel to study.

Congrats, Elise.

Kato rings true

Donna Kato has a new batch of polymer clay rings on her web site. Other sites have already featured them but I didn’t want you to miss these graceful and playful new designs. (Sometimes her pictures load slowly but you know it’s worth the wait.)

Donna’s been working with these signature canes for a while, inspired by Peter Chang’s work. There’s no mistaking Donna’s flawless control of detail in her canes. All-polymer wedding rings tweak the noses of those whose notion of fine jewelry only extends to precious stones and metal.