Polymer Clay Daily

Balian’s polymer clay saints

Marsha Balian is an Oakland, CA mixed media artist who only recently added polymer clay to her toolbox. This sculpture, called "Objects Smaller Than They Appear, the Patron Saint of Hindsight" combines a doll’s torso, polymer clay head, arms and legs, acrylic paint and varnish, copper wire. raffia, beads, fabric scrap on a wood base.

Her series of sculptures, reminiscent of the wooden saints seen in South America, are called "Household Saints of Dubious Virtue".

Balin shifted from painting to sculpture when she needed a portable media that would allow her to be closer to her husband who was ill. The humor she found in her art helped her through difficult times that she recounts here. She describes her art as an expression of affection for the quirkiness that is part of our everyday lives.

Thanks to Susan Rose for the link to this artist who’s new to our scene.

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Regan redux

When I saw Montana’s Margaret Regan at our arts fair she had just soaked her top in water and put it back on. The Ohio heat was stifling and Margaret’s resourceful. She does six to eight shows around the country each year.

Her polymer clay colors and patterns remain the same while she shifts her jewelry designs to keep customers coming back. Margaret is widely recognized as the creator of the segmented bangle (look on her site to see the design) and the quality of her work has remained remarkably consistent.

I wondered how long artists can keep traveling around the country with the price of travel and lodging. She was busy enough that we didn’t have time to chat long but I learned that she tangoes and her husband’s coming out with a book. There’s a bit about Margaret’s history that was recently posted on PolymerArtArchives.

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Simmons’ winning pendants

Using a color palette derived from Korean embroideries, Carol Simmons created this series of kaleidoscope pendants. She assembled five graduated-sized beads from the series into a necklace which won first prize in the Bead Dreams polymer clay contest.

What you can’t appreciate from photos is the silky smooth finish of these pieces. They beg to be worn and fondled. And I can attest to the careful research, planning, testing and retesting that has gone into every step of Carol’s long development and refinement of her signature work. Click on each pendant to get a closer look. Have a winning weekend.

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Nervous bead dreams

I’ll have to finish this post later today because the contestants in the Bead Dreams contest in Milwaukee are so nervous that they’ve made me nervous. I’m checking my sources again to make sure I’ve got my facts straight before I go blabbing. Check the 2007 entries while you wait for the judges’ 2008 tally.

The entry pictured here is Barbara Fajardos’ and it wasn’t the one she thought would be accepted. Same story on Julie Picarello’s piece. The moral of the story is do your best polymer clay work then enter, enter, enter and leave the rest to the fates.

Thanks to Jenn Dorion for sending a message from the Bead and Button show floor…she wins the award for Jenn-On-The-Spot.

It’s official. Polymer clay category winners are:

The overall winners will be named later in the week. Read more here. Thanks to Beadweaver Susan for the official link.

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LoopyBoopy sculptures

It’s time to check back in with LoopyBoopy, the Louisiana artist who sculpts wonderfully creepy polymer clay kids with marbles for eyes. Each is accompanied by a poignant story.

Colleen (no last name) says of her eerie sculptures, "I think people connect to their little tragedies personally and are perhaps drawn to them for this reason."

There’s a great interview with her on Win Crafty. "Most of my kids and their little stories come directly to me from my daughter’s daily wonderment, fears, nightmares and dreams." she says.

You can see more of Colleen’s work on Etsy, Trunkt and Flickr.

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Painterly polymer from Berlin

Monday’s a good time for a fresh perspective and today’s comes from Berlin artist Conni Filip (aka Madooli).

There’s not much info on her flickr site but you can see that she’s taken a painterly approach to polymer.

No canes or stamps here! Her colors are vibrant and her shapes are fun. Holes appear in unexpected places and edges are randomly notched. Nice.

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