What started out as a small bowl by Baltimore’s Linda Loew became a layered, moody pendant.
A photo transfer of a man stares off into the distance from the second layer topped by a multicolored oval frame on top.
Turns out that this bowl wanted to be a pendant.
Just because you’ve made a bowl doesn’t mean it can’t morph into something else. See more on Instagram.
It’s going to be a week of bowls and other beauties from here in Virginia. These free form black and whites are from New Hampshire’s Ann Dillon.
I was entranced by how they sparkled under the lights and then realized that the twinkles don’t translate very well in photos. You’ll have to imagine the silvery magic that Ann created by using glitter clay in her canes.
The bowls are swap items and there are many to choose from. This is day one of the conference so there’s no telling what else may emerge.
Spain’s Cristina García Alvarez (espiralarte) gives us a window into her journey through a 100-day project on Instagram.
On day 20 she took a turn that you may like when she paired Skinner blends with Bettina Welker-like retro canes. She added quirky textures and sped along with variations on the days that followed. Cristina gives us a window into her world as she continues to explore these designs. Click through her days and watch her progress.
We’ll be looking at how artists grow and change in the StudioMojo weekend newsletter this Saturday. Instead of sulking about how I haven’t participated in 100-day efforts like Cristina’s, I’ve decided to celebrate that StudioMojo has been perking along for 408 weeks. Yikes! It’s my own kind of long-running project that you can join at any time!
France’s Christine Pecaut (Chifonie) works in colors that speak to us on Thursday.
Shimmery teal, navy, and cobalt patterns show up in her exuberant spring line. On the hair barrette, small triangles line up jauntily with one pop of rhinestone bling. The pendant is more flowery with one connecting blue element.
Enjoy Christine’s vision of spring colors on Instagram.
Perth, Australia’s Olga Perova showed this 7″x11″ polymer vase in the Wanaroo Arts Awards exhibit.
She is drawn to vessel shapes and bargello-like patterns. Here she combines both favorites, lining up multicolored patterns in a most meticulous way.
By my count, there are twelve segments to this piece. Can you imagine applying all those strips of clay? It seems too textural to be a cane. It is baffling.
Look more closely on Facebook and Instagram.
Moscow’s Juliya Laukhina forces us to take another look at the weeds we’re battling in our yards.
Juliya reveals the beauty of simple plants in this bangle made of textured polymer tiles. Pressing fresh cuttings into clay or molding material, she creates texture plates that she bakes. Then she presses raw clay into the baked plates.
She gathers the resulting soft-edged rectangles around a bangle form and highlights the textures with a wash of dark paint.
Voila, those nuisances in the garden enjoy a new life on your arm.
Rub the sleep from your Monday eyes and look closely.
This snapshot of Bonnie Bishoff and her son Jaime holds a surprise you may have missed.
At the Nuptials exhibit at Maine Craft Portland, more than 20 artists created one-of-a-kind ceremonial adornment, accessories, and jewelry for those looking to get hitched in style.
Bonnie created a collection of delicate flowery polymer and wire pieces for the 2-month long exhibit. Her son sports a Nuptials tie in this photo. Envision a wedding party completely coordinated with polymer art.
Australia’s Bonnie Gilmore (HatchingSparrows) launches us into the weekend with a frenetic Instagram video that will kick your Friday into high gear.
She cuts, positions, layers, textures, smooths and readjusts at high speed. The resulting earrings carry that energy and brightness with them. Here she is on Etsy.
If you’re looking for energy and brightness but not so much the frenetic part, hop on over to StudioMojo. We slow the pace down and take a more leisurely Saturday morning look at the week’s developments in our polymer universe. Kind of a spa treatment for your over-stimulated creative brain. Relax with us.
This sewn polymer pendant by Sydney’s Heidi Helyard may make you smile.
The juxtaposition of thread and polymer is refreshing. Did she have matching thread on hand or did she build her palette to match the thread? The neat stitches nearly convince us that this is a new sort of textile.
Quilting meets polymer on many fronts but this one is delightfully different. The interview in FindersKeepers about Heidi reveals that her background is in textiles.
She first started incorporating polymer into her textile work. That flip-flopped into incorporating fiber into her polymer clay pieces! Here on Instagram.
These Triangle Women were created recently at Clayathon. I wish I’d learned more about this graphic artist and ancient history enthusiast Susan Downs Reed and her husband Ken.
From the fans’ comments on Facebook, you’ll see that these are based on ancient Greek figures from 800-500 BCE. Susan clarifies that ” I am inspired by artifacts from ancient Hallstatt culture. Hallstatt culture is believed by many archaeologists and prehistorians to be the oldest Celtic culture.”
I did manage to find out how Susan cuts all the patterns for her sculptures and mandalas. It’s labor-intensive and fascinating as you’ll see in this 1-minute tutorial. More on Flickr.
