Polymer Clay Daily

Why the Aussies are leading the way

PickledGinger's Drifters earrings teach us a thing or two on PolymerClayDaily.com

Perth’s Pickled Ginger (pickledgingerjewellery) is on fire…in a good way. Owner Fe is one of the young, energetic, enthusiastic polymer artists that are currently on the cutting edge in polymer clay art.

They know how to use social media, they know how to produce products, collaborate with clothing designers and start social campaigns. They take simple designs like these Drifters earrings and inject them with color and excitement.

Over at StudioMojo, we’re spending January looking ahead to see what’s on the horizon. Australian artists seem to have a strategy that works. Come on over if you’d like to know what secrets the Aussies have unlocked and why they’re so hot right now. They’re teaching us a thing or two. 

Clusters of green

Liga Valge gathers chips of polymer for a fashion ring on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ireland’s Liga Valge (ValgStudio) resisted selling this ring of clustered green chunks. With its inclusions and patterns, it looks geological but it’s made of faceted polymer bits.

She gathers the chips together into a compelling fashion statement in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

See Liga here on Facebook.

Barbara McGuire’s shimmering mokume

Barbara Mcguire's painterly approach to mokume gane on PolymerClayDaily.com

North Carolina’s Barbara McGuire will be teaching her own special brand of Mokume Gane this weekend at Tryon’s Arts and Crafts school. These class samples have me salivating.

Barbara’s Shimmering Mokume brings influences from Gustav Klimt with a touch of Paul Klee (to my eye at least).

Wouldn’t you love to know how she arrives at such painterly pieces?

Study her on Facebook. She offers some wonderfully deep rubber stamps in her Etsy shop.

How to catch Love Bugs

Nicole Johnson's love bugs scramble away quickly on PolymerClayDaily.com

It only took seven minutes for fans of New York’s Nicole Johnson’s Mealy Monsters to empty her shop of Love Bugs, Love Grubs, and Infestation Monsters when she updated her shop last weekend.

Her loveable, horrible characters are perfect for Valentine’s Day. They’re ugly and often they hold strange, irreverent signs and sayings.

Nichole has a loyal following who appreciates all the work and whimsy she sculpts into these polymer characters. They creep out every holiday to say something sassy. You have to move quickly to catch them. Here they are on Facebook.

Monday zigzags

Greece’s Katerina Strouggari (@mepolymeraki) zigs and zags her polymer earrings, tucking in balls of clay for an imitative soutache design.

She starts with one long strip of black and white, adding alternating colors of balls between each turn.

Soutache is the narrow braid embroidery associated with military and band uniforms.

See how she creates the same effect on pendants on Facebook

Layers for 2020

Libby Mills 6x6 squares reveal layers of textures, shapes, and colors on PolymerClayDaily.com

Connecticut’s Libby Mills (Libzoid) has hit her stride with her wall tiles that are made of layered slabs of polymer. This latest is not only brighter but there’s a lot going on.

Look closely and you’ll spot veneers and canes, stitches and waffles, circles and arcs, cutouts and appliques.

That’s a lot of elements to make work together! And she does it! Libby comes into 2020 with a look that’s distinctly hers. Here she is on Facebook.

In this weekend’s StudioMojo, we will look into our crystal ball and see who’s leading us toward new ways with clay. Come on over if you want to see what’s ahead.

Jeff Dever’s winter blossom on display

Jeff Dever's blossom steals the show on PolymerClayDaily.com

Maryland’s Jeff Dever’s work gives us another mid-winter pick me up.

Jeff hand rolled over 150 petals in nine different hues and mounted them into the center blossom of his Eden’s Promise necklace. It’s surrounded by two dotted leaves and strung on a multi-strand cable.

The necklace was juried into the prestigious Wayne Art Center International Juried Exhibition of Fine Craft and will be on display in Wayne, PA until February 1.

See more of Jeff’s stunning signature works on his Facebook page.

Bright colors reflect a bright spirit

Polymer and a bright spirit helped Rachel face challenges and look forward to a bright spring on PolymerClayDaily.com

If the holidays are truly over, spring can’t be far behind, right?

Need a shot of springy colors? Here’s a super one from the UK’s Rachel (madebyracheluk)

Her colors remind you that brighter days are coming and her story will certainly lift your spirits. Rachel had her heart set on a career in medical science but health challenges made her change directions.

The bright colors reflect the bright and determined spirit of the artist. Here’s Rachel’s story on Facebook. Her can-do spirit shines through in these delightfully colored flower cane beads gathered into bouquets on a string.

Dad’s ties in polymer

Olja brings silk ties to polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

These pieces from Germany’s Olja (@olgasmodeschmuck) look like men’s silk tie patterns.

There’s something very buttoned-down and crisp about the blue gradations intersected by gold lines. The bail is made from the same clay.

The polka-dotted element loosens up the tight geometry.

I couldn’t find much info on Olja. Care to comment with some details or links?

Confounding Monday twists

Carol Blackburn twists black and white in new ways on PolymerClayDaily.com

We thought we’d seen black and white manipulated and stretched and combined in every way possible. Then UK’s Carol Blackburn took another look and came up with this Barcode necklace.

It’s made of her hollow tetra beads, dimensional shapes that remind me of small cream containers and fancy tea bags.

So not only are the striped patterns confounding, but the shapes add another layer of difficulty. The most magical thing is that her methods are actually elegantly simple. Here’s hoping she adds this to her upcoming classes.