Zoom in on this polymer dog portrait to see how Delaware illustrator, Joseph Barbaccia paints with extruded strings of polymer.
His polymer brushstrokes are layered over each other. It looks like he works from corner to corner. Joseph’s subjects are usually people. This fuzzy, furry pet provided a welcome departure from humans.
His in-progress shots are from Instagram while his finished work appears on Facebook.
These patterned feathers on Instagram from Australia’s Debbie Crothers will take you right over the mid-week hump.
Debbie loves her veneers and surface treatments so I’m betting that she’s made herself a stash of veneers for source materials.
Assembling them in perfect balance like this is no quick project but they’re worth the effort. The occasional splice on the edge and bend in the shape gives each one distinct look.
On Facebook, Debbie says she’s refining her methods and these are prototypes for her sessions at Clay Out West from September 30 to October 3 in Albuquerque. Registration opens February 1.
Debbie offers a few clever hints about her methods in her blog post today.
It seemed as though Florida’s Deb Groover (Debortina) was taunting us with this swimming pool painting that showed up on Instagram.
It turns out that she and Tina themselves are stuck in snow in Virginia.
Deb is working a little differently here with more small polymer elements in her works. The composition has a David Hockney feel to it.
Deb works on wooden panels and adds the background as the last element in her large paintings. If you need some bright sun, visit her on Instagram. See her work in person by checking her schedule for an event near you.
In my neck of the woods, it’s mighty cold. This woman-covered flask/bracelet from Alice Stroppel looks like a handy accessory for those who dare to brave the weather.
But wait a minute, Alice lives in Florida! A beach accessory for staying hydrated perhaps.
Start your week with a smile!
Australia’s Kate Lee Foley makes big freeform single tube bead necklaces as a relaxing interlude to making tight, complex canes.
On Instagram you can see how she dances between chaos and control, enjoying both impulses.
This Saturday on StudioMojo we’ll look at others who like to nourish both sides of their brains. Some artists wrestle with their vision with a singular focus.
What does it take to keep your muse happy and your mojo working? Come on over and find out.
Israel’s Angela Bahrenholz shows us another way to paint. Her Frida Kahlo painting measures 6 3/4″ by 9″ and is made entirely of chopped polymer.
No glue, no paint, just polymer. She doesn’t say if she’s using a food processor or chopping by hand to achieve her polymer pointillism.
Either way, her compositions are exciting. You will find her versions of masterpieces Flickr and Etsy.
Angela has developed a number of scrap techniques and tutorials if you’re looking for more ways to use your polymer in innovative ways.
Neighbor Nancy Nearing shared this spiral bracelet with our coffee group and it brought smiles all around.
Nancy’s bracelet is a combination of what she learned from Kim Korringa’s scrap tutorial and Maggie Maggio’s flattened split rings (see videos here and here). The piece started with Nancy’s scraps.
The mod look of this virtual collaboration takes the ideas in a different direction. Mixing and matching ideas keeps our community evolving.
UK’s Caroline Casswell rips and tears her polymer to produce a series of remarkable seascapes. She layers and textures the ragged edges and smooth skies.
Caroline’s landscape tiles make us look at our clay with fresh eyes. The cropped images here look even better after Caroline mats and frames her tiles. See her whole series on Instagram.
There’s a serenity in these beads from California’s Eriko Page on Instagram and on Facebook.
Her dark, limited palette beads on a single leather cord calm us on a Monday morning. You may want to drink in the feeling emanating from Eriko’s cane-covered black rounds before you head into your week.
Head to Atlantic City for a taste of Europe this spring.
You can learn from Germany’s Bettina Welker, France’s Sylvie Peraud and Spain’s Fabiola Perez Ajates plus our own Donna Kato and Leslie Blackford from June 12-15 at the Clay Back East event.
Here you see how Leslie turns old baubles into fantastic characters as she convinces students that they can become sculptors.
Travel the world in Atlantic City.
This weekend on StudioMojo we’ll be looking at new and free tutorials – gems hiding in plain sight. And after a few years of teaching inmates, they’re teaching me a thing or two. Join us for the rest of the story.
