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Mixing polymer clay beads topped with delicate 3D petals and leaves, New York’s Jennifer Morris crafts romantic jewelry. She adds vintage findings, filigree, rhinestones and fabrics to heighten the retro effect.
Jennifer gives her pieces playful poetic descriptions that win you over to her bohemian worldview. What a romantic way to begin your week.
Stroll through her Etsy and Flickr sites.
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I was searching for red, white and blue today in honor of our July 4. What I found was beautiful white – a polymer clay mobile by Mexican artist Geninne Zlatkis that looks like it washed up on the beach.
Geninne is an illustrator and fabric artist who has just a few polymer pieces on her site. I loved her links to felted, painted and crocheted rocks (my weakness).
Geninne has lived in over 50 houses and her husband just designed and built another one that will leave you wanting more. The light and the workspaces in this newest one are breathtaking. Take a look at her old studio here. Great daydreaming and web surfing for Independence Day.
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“Make your own tools. Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.” – Bruce Mau
Cantelope, mint and grass with a bit of sky blue…these summer-colored polymer clay buttons by Lisa Clarke match the July day.
Lisa’s afternoon experiment demonstrates the value of accurate color mixing. She tried using premixed colors and couldn’t tolerate the off-key results.
You’ve got to have cool hands and patience to reduce canes in an 80 degree house. The results are pure summer.
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Gamer girls are showing their pride by wearing polymer clay miniatures of game-related paraphernalia, dispelling the idea that “girls don’t play video games.”
Playstation, XBox, IPod and Nintendo systems are all part of this geek identity art created by The Clay Collection. What better way to display one’s obsession? I like the punk feminist implications.
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These tangles of polymer clay extruded threads protruding from blank walls are simple in a complex way. “I am interested in the potential for emotion and nuance within an aesthetically minimal context,” says California artist Jessica McCambly of her spare, shadowy installations.
The titles of her works are equally cryptic and spare – “to leave, especially at the beginning of a journey” and “to change from the usual or expected way“. Seeing polymer clay outside its usual patterned, craft context is inspiring.
Life got in the way of my blogging today. Thanks to Susan Lomuto for providing this Tuesday treat at just the right moment.
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I saw not a speck of polymer clay on my road trip this weekend. But we did buy sweet corn at a roadstand just like in this award-winning polymer illustration by Paula Pindroh.
And we wore our summer sandals just like these polymer ones by Tatiana Franchi.
I was moved by a student piece in the hallway of the campus art building (we were touring my son’s digital lab). On each of four photos there was one word and together they read, "Do | What | You | Love". It was a lovely weekend.
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I’ve been making some translucent polymer clay petroglyphs canes for my rocks following the techniques developed by Kathleen Dustin, Marla Frankenberg and others. Slicing the soft image canes thin enough is an art in itself.
The nail technicians at the Beauty Tech Shoppe are way ahead of me and have opened up a new niche market for all of us. I’ll bet your nails go through too much abuse to try this but we can admire the small landscapes others create on their acrylic nails.
Iris Mishly posted about this on Thursday and Susan Lomuto sent it along.
NOTE: The nail canes are pre-baked, sliced and applied, then several coats of clear polish are added on top. Fashionista Cat Theiren sells them on her site and has more “how-to” information.
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California artist, Benji Whalen’s polymer clay works overlap art and craft and popular culture. His clay and fabric sculptures are absurd piles of human beings in fights with body parts sticking out. Optimism and pessimism, faith and dejection, humor and sadness are simultaneously present.
Whalen grew up among artists in a Vermont commune where he was exposed to an "art as sustenance" philosophy that still informs his identity as an artist. This "Hippie Totem" piece amuses me as I take off on a road trip to visit my free-spirited children.
The storm sirens are blaring, too loud for me to think. I’ll leave you to check out Whalen’s work on your own here and here. Thanks to Susan Lomuto for the link.
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I’ve been trying to push my polymer clay design ideas a bit further so I was intrigued when I saw how Julie Picarello has been taking her earlier metalworking ideas (top left image) and reworking them for polymer (bottom pair). She’s also got a cute pinwheel shape started from some playful experimentation.
Barbara Fajardo has rediscovered swag-shaped beads, a graceful shape that she wants to explore.
This makes me want to take a second look at concepts that I may have abandoned too soon.
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