Polymer Clay Daily

Mosaic moments

Cecilia Leonini's italian mosaic in polymer on PolymerClayDaily

This delightfully asymmetric pendant from Cecilia Leonini (impastarte) leads us into the weekend. The energetic mosaic reaches out in several directions, as if in celebration.

This piece appeared on the FoltBolt Facebook page. If you’re looking for color, you can count on FoltBolt to give you a jolt of inspiration and polymer art appears regularly in their features.

If your muse is befuddled or your mojo is misaligned, come on over to our group at StudioMojo, the Saturday newsletter that provides the spark, the reminder, the new perspective to set you straight again. 

Riotous color winner

Silvia de la Torres explosion of colors becomes a winner on PolymerClayDaily

The first prize winner in the Arcilla Polimérica de España is this color explosion from Silvia Ortiz de la Torre.

Silvia’s riot of colored disks and squiggles are neatly grouped into a necklace that looks ready for New Year’s Eve. For more of her hot colors and unusual constructions, check Etsy and Flickr.

But wait!  There’s more! Ten Spanish award winners are pictured on the guild’s Facebook page.

More selfies!

Ann de Bode takes a selfie on PolymerClayDaily.com

We need more polymer selfies!

This new self-portrait by Belgium’s Ann de Bode captures a sparkle and her sense of fashion. And it’s a nice break from the overworked and over-thought photos for Facebook pages that we usually see.

Ann’s an accomplished illustrator so she makes this little sclupt look deceptively easy. Still, wouldn’t it be fun to see more of these poly people popping up?

Ann’s latest book is based on old family photographs. Poke around on Ann’s Facebook page. Her ancestor’s clothes are fine and the story’s a good one.

Coming home to roost

Wendy Jorre de St Jorre assembles her flock on PolymerClayDaily.com

Bet you didn’t expect a flock of chickens on PCD this morning, did you? These little creatures roosted at the recent Perth Polymer People meet up and were created under the tutelage of Wendy Jorre de St Jorre.

Each hen’s feathers are sliced from a cane and layered over a base. The variety of canes contributes to their colorful personalities. If you need an idea for a social polymer evening, look at Wendy’s Facebook page to see the other one-night projects they’ve tackled.

Wendy sent several large groups of bugs to the Into the Forest that shouldn’t be missed!

Interest in the background

Carola Greiser's Norwegian knitted background on PolymerClayDaily.com

Caner Carola Greiser (polymerclayshed) from Texas starts our week with a black and white background cane. Carola made the cane specifically to frame her moose cane.

But who wouldn’t welcome the sketchy dashes and lines of this composition to enhance a larger design? It has the look of a Norwegian knitting pattern.

Carola uses her designs to cover crochet hooks, card cases,  pens, and other small items that you can see on Instagram and Etsy.

Mean mason jar

Pamela Carmen's big florals cover a jar in a hurry on PolymerClayDaily.com

Florida’s Pamela Carman makes a mean Mason jar. This big floral one has actually been upcycled with one of those fancy liquid soap pumps.

The background for her flowers is textured white clay. Pamela’s big blooms allow her to create a quick composition without having to cover every inch of the glass jar with pattern.

She shows a bunch of them on Instagram if you’re in a handmade gifty mood.

If your mood has gotten grinchy and fed up with the pressures of the season already, join us over at StudioMojo where we help you keep your priorities balanced and your mojo bopping along. 

Pompoms in Minneapolis

Lindsay Locatelli shakes her pompom rings on PolymerClayDaily

Lindsay Locatelli (wazodesigns) drums her polymer-draped fingers in anticipation of this Saturday’s ACC Holiday Craft Hop in NE Minneapolis.

Her Instagram spans her latest polymer and mixed media works. The carved look stems from Lindsay’s formal training in wood. Here she’s wearing her Pompom rings bunched up fashionably.

Her training translates so easily into polymer that it’s often hard to identify what media she’s using. That’s the next step forward for our craft, isn’t it?

Olive green with jealousy

Sliced stripes from Sandra Trachsel on PolymerClayDaily.com

Switzerland’s Sandra Trachsel says of her bracelet inspired by an Irish Quilt pattern, “It is actually not a cane, but striped patterns cut and burnished together.”

I was certainly fooled. You’ll have to read the descriptions on each of her photos on Flickr to be sure you’ve guessed the technique correctly.

Her olive green diamonds pendant may stump you too. She created the basic color pattern, positioned a silk screen over the color shapes and added paint in perfect register. Impressive, eh?

When my studio gets messy, you may note that PCD posts gravitate to neatniks and perfectionists who control the clay so well. The reason for my change in focus contains equal parts jealousy and admiration.

Wintry grungy polymer

Lela Todua's winter butterflies and dreadlock beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

The roughly striped big hole beads from Ukraine’s Lela Todua (LelandJewellery) are meant for dreadlocks but could be threaded on multi-strand leather (for those without adequate hair).

Her butterflies land lightly on a sweater and her palette feels toasty as the weather turns chilly here in the midwest.

Todua's dreadlock beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

On Etsy and Instagram, her works have a dark grungy edge with a unisex appeal that’s worth studying.

Applique meditation

Applique is meditation for Magdalena Pavlovic on PolymerClayDaily.com

“Making jewelry is the only thing that calms me down,” says Serbian sports coach Magdalena Pavlovic (storiesmadebyhands).Lena patiently adds minuscule pieces of indigo polymer in patterns that mimic porcelain.

Lena’s work doesn’t require much clay or many tools and there’s no waste. But it takes a very steady hand and lots of patience.

For these rectangular earrings, she prepares bits of many shades of blue and applies small pieces to the white base with a fine needle. See her results on Instagram, Etsy, and Facebook.

For most of us, this sort of intensity raises the blood pressure, but for others, it’s a calming meditation. You could try this applique technique and see how it makes you feel.