Watch how Australia’s Marni Southam at Oleander Avenue finishes off this vase with a drizzle of liquid polymer. She gives our medium a breath of spring air that she shares on the Poly Collective FriClay site.
You can examine the piece up close on Marni’s own site here.
Michigan’s Sherri Thompson (lunamerakistudio) takes crackle seriously.
She refers to her chunky look as “newspaper crackle.” It’s a great look for this black and white oval pendant.
I had no idea what a rabbit hole crackle techniques have become. Is it because we’re feeling fractured that we’re so attracted to this barely-glued-together look? Whether you like fine crazing or chunky crackling, you can find the effect of your choice here.
A cupcake, a garden spade, a piggy bank, an organizer, pizza, hand soap, a swiss army knife, “isolate”, micron pens, puzzle pieces, her husband’s sisters, beads, Campbell’s soup, distancing.
How cool are these charms on this Covid 19 bracelet from Seattle’s Cynthia Toops?
She’s summed up what she’s going through with just a smattering of black and white clay. Can you believe how powerfully she describes her experience with so little?
Join us over at StudioMojo where we’ll spell out the week in polymer art with a breezy but deep look at the most exciting finds that wouldn’t quite fit on PCD.
A cane like this one from Israel’s Ronit Golan mimics a fabric print. All the patterns are surrounded by the same background color so that the elements can be combined into one larger unified design.
This kind of big idea/small pattern cane is becoming popular and it’s on my shortlist of canes to try.
See it from other angles on Ronit’s Etsy shop and follow more of the steps on her Facebook.
These “Broken Hearts: Keeping a Safe Distance” brought tears to my eyes. They’re from Kansas’ Carol Beal (BeadUnsupervised).
The hearts are certainly wonky and broken but they’re also joyful and celebratory. Carol says she made them for some new neighbors.
The hearts have a crazy quilt vibe. Such a vibrant collage of scraps!
More of her art on Facebook.
California’s Laurie Mika has created a whole body of new mixed media work that she calls During the Pandemic.
Her polymer mosaic shrines are heavily textured, encrusted with found jewels, and stamped with prayers and sayings.
Laurie is a lover of crowns so coronas figure prominently in her shrines which have names like “Our Lady of the Pandemic” and inscriptions like the Latin “Momento Mori” (remember, we will all die).
“This pause in our lives has been one of reflection, self-discovery, re-evaluating what’s important, and finding new ways of coping,” says Laurie.
Read more about her newest creations in her newsletter and on her Etsy site. Has the pandemic affected your art?
The way little things add up to something big and refreshing is what draws us back to Australia’s Bonnie Gilmore (Hatching Sparrows). She intended to make studs but absent-mindedly drilled holes. No harm, no foul, make the best of it. They became dangles.
My eyes wander to places that make me feel good and Bonnie has a talent for soothing with some polymer words of inspiration tucked in among her baubles. Happy, hopeful Monday.
What looks like a comfy mod sofa is actually Nancy Nearing’s version of a recliner for her iPad.
“I got tired of balancing it on a couple of drinking glasses and a book – it looked messy and was wobbly. I spend enough time on Zoom these days to need something better. I remembered seeing Leslie Blackford make a stand at Ohio’s Bash several years ago, and I had lots of scrap clay,” says Nancy.
She figured out the pattern using Maude McCarthy’s mosaic demo, and Deb Hart’s Easter egg instructions. She also remembered that Barbara McGuire had used sculptural wire mesh for support. The black line is a groove in the clay in which the IPad rests and stays securely in place.
What a collaborative piece! Come on over to StudioMojo where we’re all about learning from each other.
These flat pieces from Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff have me questioning my vision.
Even though the “Hello Handsome” men’s jewelry show has been postponed, Bonnie can’t stop pursuing the ideas she came up with for the event.
These are 2D pieces that fool the eye into believing they’re 3D. They’ll become brooches once Bonnie finishes refining them. “You can’t imagine how many little tweaks it takes to get to this point,” Bonnie says.
See these and more of her brain-teasers on Facebook and Instagram.
UK’s Clare Lloyd doesn’t quite know why but she’s been making rainbows lately. “Somehow all the bright colors together seem to be necessary at the moment,” she says.
No fancy techniques here. Clare concentrates on color. The jolt of color is a tonic for me. Need more? Here’s her website.
