Maine’s Melanie West posts daily on Facebook about an astonishing array of artists that she’s discovered.
She rarely reveals what she’s working on. But in a July feature, she shows a new series brooches that she calls Fabric Rocks. Polymer is involved but she’s done a sleight of hand so that it’s difficult to tell what’s fabric, what’s textured polymer, and how the pattern is created.
She’s probably proudly smirking at having stumped us with her new tricks on a Monday. What’s your guess?
Atlanta’s Lisa Mathews demonstrates the power of polymer with her sculptures that illustrate the black experience. This Fourth of July, Americans are being forced to see the nation’s celebration for independence differently.
In this polymer diorama, Lisa looks at the controversial third stanza of our national them which is being scrutinized for its racial wording. The song wasn’t meant for all Americans when Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics in 1814.
Lisa’s clear portrayals of the black experience help us look at our patriotism in a new light.
At the age of 45, with no advance planning, Lisa threw caution to the wind and pursued a career as an artist. She happened upon an instructional book, How To Make Clay Charactersby Maureen Carlson. It was through this book that she discovered what would become her passion as an artist.
Stories of artists’ passion are part of tomorrow’s StudioMojo. We’ll look at how Carissa Nichols turned her lack of vision into a passion for light and giving back. Join us to see how current events impact us all.
What would Poland’s Anna Nell make with the Skinner blends she showed on Instagram? A few days later she gives us the answer.
She says she uses translucent clay, porcelain (I’m guessing she means pearl), and glow in the dark (she calls it “night effect”). She added pastels as well and some gold leaf for bling
Anna surrounds herself with a large collection of succulent inspirations so it’s difficult to distinguish real from polymer.
New York’s Donna Greenberg creates Hydra, a 3-spout vessel built over glass bottle forms.
Donna bonded the wine bottles together with Apoxie clay and covered them with Ultralight which she sculpted and painted. Watching the process on Facebook is fascinating.
Could you envision a prickly, sculptural multi-headed water monster emerging from your recycle bin?
At this time of year, I very much admire gardeners who can weed and prune their gardens to highlight spectacular specimens. They run to their studios to replicate them in polymer.
See how Ukraine’s Iryna Chajka suspends pansies from metal hoops.
She specializes in succulents but her pansies are outstanding.
This simple “Commits” necklace from UK’s Caroline Casswell exudes summer fun and playfulness.
Caroline admits that her inspiration comes from the famous Kapitza Studio. Their sharp geometrics influence modern design and give us wake-up colors for a Monday.
No clasps, just bright beads spaced out on a buna cord. Simple becomes sophisticated.
You probably have some questions about how France’s Cécile Bos (11prunes) creates these delicate canes.
How big are the original canes (these seem impossibly small), what’s her inspiration?
Cecile intends to mix up these canes. The white background surrounding each of them ensures that she can combine the elements into a larger botanical image.
Here’s a previous similar cane to give you an idea where she’s headed. Cecile brings a fabric designer’s sensibility to polymer. We are used to kaleidoscoping and repeating designs. These are complex canes from a different perspective.
This is the final 8″x8″ wood panel in a series of four from Italy’s Alessia Bodini.
The mixed-media grouping is called “The Genesis of Euphoria and Discouragement: Circular Work in Four Squares “.
In the final square, the extruded strips come undone, unraveled…but in a joyous, freed way. The surfaces of the extruded strips are shaved to reveal more depth of color.
It’s kinda like our lives right now….coming unraveled in what we hope are interesting ways. If you search Alessia on PCD you can track some of the unusual, quirky ways she plays with clay. Here she is on Instagram.
Marni Southam from Australia’s Oleander Avenue hosted the FriClay challenge last week. The topic was Shibori and these are the canes she came up with to illustrate the concept. They’re a fresh, Aussie, updated Shibori.
My eye keeps getting snagged by canes. I tidied my laundry room/pandemic studio. I feel a tug on my sleeve from my inner little girl artist plaintively saying, “It’s only two colors. We could try this.” She really wants to play. It’s time to let her/us have some fun.
Do you have a younger-you asking for some playtime?
