Polymer ornithology

Marni Southam has turned a love of birds into an earring business on PolymerClayDaily.com

Australia’s Marni Southam (Oleander Avenue) has an amazing ability to turn every scrap of polymer into a bird.

Her alchemy is mesmerizing. A circle, some stripes, a triangle, more bits of color and a bird emerges. How does she do that?

Combine her knowledge of birds with a love of earrings and you’ve got a thriving business.

The story of her Blue Fairy Wrens is touching and clearly explains her obsession with ornithology. I can’t help but think of Ohio illustrator Charlie Harper whom I met when I worked for Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources.

Unstrung polymer

Florida’s Alice Stroppel follows where extruded strings of polymer lead her in the latest series of drawings.

She starts by laying the strands down to outline the shapes and features of her portraits. Soon the lines take on a life of their own and the picture becomes more complex and less predictable as the lines curl and wander.

Alice plays with wire-like drawing in an unselfconscious way to see where it will take her. Her bold curiosity shows us all the value of playing without fear.

Contrasts from the biosphere

Donna Greenberg finds her voice in the biosphere on PolymerClayDaily.com

New Jersey’s Donna Greenberg launches us into the weekend with one of the latest in her Biosphere series of small polymer vessels. Pinecone? Fungus? Her works are some combination of what appears in nature and come out of Donna’s experiences.

She says of her work, “Standing in the reeds and saw grass on the nearby Hudson River, watching a heron while viewing the Statue of Liberty is a perfect example of the kind of contrast that I look for to translate into my art.”

Donna’s polymer bio-systems flow across walls and make us more aware of our changing world.

On StudioMojo this weekend we’ll look at what appeals to us, what repulses us on the way to finding our voices. What do we have to get out of our systems? There are plenty of others on this path. You’re not alone. Come on over this Saturday.

Driven artists

Kathleen Dustin is driven, see why on PolymerClayDaily.com

This lovely picture of Kathleen Dustin’s World Traveler earrings is only half the story.

You’ll have to go to her Instagram or Facebook to see where she was working. Scan the comments to see how many others with restless hands work in their cars on their laps or with the glove box as a work surface.

That’s what I call being driven!

Stronger together earrings

See how Miss Peppy Handmade and her Aussie colleagues are stronger together on PolymerClayDaily.com

Here’s another helping of Australian goodies from Perth’s Lisa (Miss Peppy Handmade). These birdie earrings are made from Skinner blends stacked in alternating layers of light-to-dark. Carving reveals the underlying colors.

A bunch of Aussie artists gathered together for a Stronger Together giveaway. As they explain, “We don’t have to think of each other as competitors, we can also be each others’ best advocates, cheerleading squads, sounding boards. We are stronger together because empowered women empower other women.”

And the best discovery is that we have until July 21 to sign up (add your comment) for their giveaway. Uh-oh, you have to have an Australian postal address. Bummer, but an uplifting project nonetheless.

Abstract earrings

Pickled Ginger makes wearable abstract paintings on PolymerClayDaily.com

A visit to Bonnie Gilmore’s Hatching Sparrows led me to the mother lode of Australian polymer artists. We may have to mine this all week.

But I digress. These merrily collaged earrings are from Fee’s Pickled Ginger though they’re mostly sold out.

Flat thin cutouts of leaves and feathers are bunched with brightly patterned narrow slivers that hang from a dot.

It must be like wearing a moving abstract painting.

A nudge for swap items

Lynn Yuhr's leaves for a swap raise the bar on PolymerClayDaily.com

I’m smitten with these modern collaged leaves from Florida’s Lynn Yuhr. The gradations, the canes, the painted details on her slightly cupped leaves can’t be missed.

These are some of Lynn’s swap items for an upcoming retreat and they raise the bar for the rest of the participants who are still mulling over what to make.

We try to stay away from competitiveness but it creeps in whether we like it or not. A nudge like this one from Lynn makes for an exciting swap.

Light touch polymer

Iris Mishly cuts layered and collaged veneers into pendants on PolymerClayDaily.com

These pendants-in-process from Israel’s Iris Mishly are created with cutouts made from veneers layered with stenciled designs that are chalked then inked and finally coated with resin. The resin hasn’t yet been added in this photo.

Especially when the weather is warm and the clay is sticky, these light-touch techniques give you summertime options. See Iris’ stencils on Etsy.

How do you keep yourself working in good weather and bad? In tomorrow’s StudioMojo we’ll be talking to Anita Long (Nee.Nee.Ree) about what her persistence through a 100-day challenge taught her. Join us!

Sweet bell earrings

Kate Lee Foley's see-through bell earrings on PolymerClayDaily

Australia’s Kate Lee Foley gives us sweet innocence with pastel gradations on bell earrings. Flat two-sided cutouts with curved edges wrap around and overlap to form a soft cone shape.

Circular holes cut out of the polymer let light through as the earrings dangle. Simple and sweet.

Summertime polka dots

Doing the perfect polka dot on PolymerClayDaily.com

I couldn’t help myself. I spent a perfect summer day claying with friends in the neighborhood (more on that this weekend). I indulged my love of polka dots and paired them with my Matisse obsession. Soon I’ll have some to sell.

Follow Lynda Gilcher’s instructions for precise extruded dots. It requires two passes through the extruder.

Extrude each color through a circle die to get consistently sized round logs. Wrap sections of the extruded logs with your background color (I used white). Then extrude that wrapped log through a square die. Assemble the squares into a cane.

Tomorrow it’s back to looking at your work instead of mine. Sometimes you need a playful diversion.

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