Polymer Clay Daily

Playing during a party

Loretta Lam test drives a new idea at Clayathon on PolymerClayDaily

It’s not easy to be productive at a busy event like Clayathon where you are bombarded with ideas and opportunities to socialize.

Loretta Lam bravely used her time to play, trying out an idea that had been rattling around in her brain. She envisions a long chain of these 3″ tubes covered with mix and match patterns. The neutral palette keeps her focus on shape and design.

Passersby help her with a thumbs up or down. The patterns are all Loretta and the shapes allow us to see them in a new way.

Combined artforms

Mickey Kunkle weaves her art together on Polymer Clay Daily.com

Maryland’s Mickey Kunkle straddles the worlds of fiber and polymer in her jewelry. At Clayathon in New Jersey, Mickey was working on designing a woven polymer bracelet using a kind of loom she made by drilling holes in a round base. It’s a hybrid of fiber and polymer influences.

Mickey Kunkle weaves her art together on Polymer Clay Daily.com

Mickey extruded round pegs that she cured and inserted into the holes in the base. She then extruded long strings to weave around the pegs to form a bracelet. Her prototype is strong and colorful and wearable. She’s still in the “Whatify” stage.

In her gallery video, Mickey explains her struggles as an artist and how she has learned to combine her talents to suit herself. Can’t decide between your favorite artforms? Maybe you don’t have to.

Natasha bugs

Bugs crawl out of Gael Keyes' scrap pile on PolymerClayDaily

New Mexico’s Gael Keyes makes fantastical bugs and beetles with fancy wire legs dressed in polymer and beaded antennae. They’re composed of scrap clay twisted into a Natasha bead pattern to create the bookend pattern on their backs and wings.

Polymer is a family affair with Gael. She’s here at Claython in New Jersey with her mother (Carole Centrella) and sister (Linda O’Brien). Retired from a school principal job, Gael’s online exposure had to be limited. She launched onto Instagram today! Follow her.

 

It takes a village


Chris Baird's home sweet homes from scrap on PolymerClayDaily.com

Minneapolis’ Chris Baird came to the rescue when I couldn’t locate Tuesday’s artist (Nathalie Sgard).

Of course, I looked at Chris’ Etsy page and found her on Facebook and was smitten by her little houses and villages made of scrap. They’re patched and pieced together in the most nostalgic and charming ways.

I’m away from home at Clayathon this weekend. It’s a big event with lots to inspire you. Join us at StudioMojo for a look over the shoulders of some of our most amazing polymer artists at work. 

Another mystery

Anna Nel resonates with Wassily Kandinsky on PolymerClayDaily

Anna Nel layers crisp pieces of abstract patterns into a brooch. Her colors tease the eye with subtle gradations. Curves and angles cluster around a window in the center of the pin.

I’m not sure where she is in Europe but her heart resonates with the art of Wassily Kandinsky.

This is turning into a week of mysteries. Here is Anna on Facebook and Instagram.

April fooling

A wearable necklace from the French seaside on PolymerClayDaily

It’s not often that a piece shows up without attribution. Who could have made this necklace of folded ovals that have been textured and highlighted? She’s French (assuming a woman) who shows her work on the coast of France at Atelier Scalp Bijoux.

The mix of neutrals makes this very wearable in a seaside setting. Let us know if you have a clue who made it. Guess it’s an April fool’s challenge.

The artist is Nathalie Sgard. Thanks to Chris Bard

Curved and pinched beads with color and texture


Carol Beal adds surface texture and color for a comfy cohesive look on PolymerClayDaily.com

Look closely at this necklace from Kansas’ Carol Beal (BeadUnsupervised) to understand the multi-colored, bubbly, bumpy surface of her beads.

Her simple shapes turn out to have a mysterious tactile quality. Low fire enamels on polymer? Textured paint? Who knows? They put me in mind of a PCD post and tutorial about chunky heishi beads by Marina Rios.

The rounded beads and pinched spacers give Carol’s necklace an appealing cohesiveness.

Tomorrow’s StudioMojo will include an interview with Lindly Haunani about how she teaches and about what she learned from her day-long session with the inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Sign up at StudioMojo.org to join us. 

A bird in the hand

Anna Oriana offers quick tutorials to help your creativity take flight on PolymerClayDaily

Russia’s Anna Oriana quickly creates a bright beautiful bird on Instagram.

Anna’s videos of miniatures are wildly popular and she shows impressive skill in her tiny artworks and her YouTube tutorials. For a quick shot of inspiration and color, try her tutorials.

Pin up polymer

Bonnie Bishoff pins up potential pieces for her newest series on PolymerClayDaily.com

As one reader commented, Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff’s pinned up work-in-progress has a little voodoo edge to it.

But mostly it’s a wonderfully smart way to figure out how a neck piece hugs the body. In what direction does your eye travel? Where do your eyes stop? What’s balanced? What’s not?

See how Bonnie has solved these riddles with the finished necklaces on her Instagram and website.