Commenting on yesterday, Louise Fischer Cozzi writes that Tory Hughes will be teaching at the fourth annual Art of Polymer workshop in Stresa, Italy on Lago Maggiore, August 20-26.
Check Louise’s site for a look at her new polymer clay work. At left you see her pearlized polymer with image transfer process based on symmetry in nature. She’ll have details on this year’s classes posted soon.
An invitation to an open house featuring Tory Hughes’ polymer clay work has played havoc with my vacation budget. But I’ll go home richly adorned in fine ancient faux jewels from one of polymer clay’s earliest and most innovative artists.
I leafed through her copy of an Ornament magazine from 1989 that featured Tory’s work on its cover. It was a dazzling way to finish our Santa Fe adventure.
Tory has renewed enthusiasm with new designs and ideas and is looking to ramp up her teaching schedule. While her web presence is scant, you can see her work in many books including her own Chameleon Clay book
It’s been fun to watch Dayle Doroshow work on several polymer clay projects this week. Here are five mask pendants that she made and embellished with rivets and metal parts.
Whatever creative spark she’s following, she makes in multiples, not just one. Five is her number but it could be any number. Creating five versions of each idea allows her to refine the technique, explore the possibilities of production and decide if the idea is worthy of further exploration.
Dayle will be teaching more about the care and feeding of the creative spark at Synergy.
“Soul-stirring works” is how Patina Gallery in Santa Fe describes the art they represent and they did not disappoint. You’ll have to look at the detail of this Cynthia Toops polymer clay work to see why it was our group’s favorite.
The gallery doesn’t show any of Cynthia’s work on their new web site but they’re working on it. In the meanwhile, look at the great selection of Ford/Forlano pieces and note this polymer and diamonds brooch.
We spent a lovely day in town, including lunch with Barb Fajardo and her husband and a visit to Lee Kellogg’s great rubber stamp store. This is livin’.
This is not a vacation picture. It’s a witty polymer clay sculpture from New Zealand’s Sonia Keogh.
"My characters are playful, provocative and have an emotional energy. Polymer clay enables me to merge realism and fantasy, to develop a sense of irony by manipulating the natural order of things," says Keogh.
Susan Lomuto uncovered the link to these quirky, satirical pieces and thought you’d enjoy them.
Three polymer clay artists who have never done a major wholesale show have been chosen by the NPCG to share a booth free of charge at the American Craft Retailers Expo in Las Vegas next April.
California’s Meisha Barbee (right), Washington’s Julia Sober, and New Hampshire’s Sandra McCaw (left) were chosen from a large slate of entrants. Thanks to Judy Dunn who headed up the process for NPCG.
Slow internet connection tonight…oh my, you folks with dialup are a patient lot. More news tomorrow.
It’s fun to see polymer clay pebbles from another perspective. Carol Simmons’ river rocks may look like the ones Kim Cavender taught me to make using embossing powders.
On closer examination (click on the image for the big view), you’ll see that Carol’s are made from miniscule versions of her organic pattern canes. They’re a visual trick that looks lovely in a bowl in our vacation hacienda in Santa Fe. Walk out the door and the ground of the nearby arroyo is littered with nature’s version….art and life together on a colorful holiday. Lucky me, I’ll be posting from New Mexico all week.
Twenty-four guests for Thanksgiving dinner at our house and the power goes out two hours before the meal!
Perhaps I picked up some gremlin vibes from these polymer clay holiday elves-gone-bad by Louisiana’s LoopyBoopy Art Dolls. They’re wonderful characters and her descriptions are great.
We fired up the generator for cooking and got power back 15 minutes before guests arrived! Whew. This year I am thankful for electricity. Angela Gerhard sent the link along.
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My mouth watered (and it’s not from the aroma of turkey in the oven) when I saw works from Marjorie Schick in the latest issue of American Craft magazine. While these pieces may not be made of polymer clay (the site loads slowly and the image link in the left column is worth the wait), we certainly share her love of colors and jewelry as sculpture.
Here’s the schedule of the traveling exhibit , the catalog and a new companion book.
The artist’s work focuses on the body’s relation to form and is simultaneously ornamental, visual and tactile. Included in the exhibition are 64 objects recounting more than 40 years of Schick’s work.
I found a great Smithsonian interview with the artist as well which is great for post holiday dinner reading (or napping).
I give thanks for you, dear readers. Happy Thanksgiving Day.
A bit of a break to ease into the Thanksgiving holiday. Pause and refresh with these lovely polymer clay mixed media pieces from Texan Diane Falkenhagen. Her compositions often combine imagery, usually transfers onto polymer clay, with fabricated metal forms and a diverse range of art media.
Diane’s work is exhibited widely and has been published in many magazines and books, including the most recent Metalsmith magazine.
As she explains, "My intent is for each piece to express a strong underlying idea and to evoke a sense of preciousness derived from its intimate scale, richness of materials, attention to detail, and heirloom-quality craftsmanship." Thanks to Elise Winters for the link.
