What look like ancient relic beads were cooked up by Marina Rios (fancifuldevices) using a combination of pan pastels and paste wax on polymer. Looks like some heat was applied too. Rough and ancient yet colorful.
We’ve got additional pan pastel tricks for you on StudioMojo this week. I may not have cooked much this Thanksgiving but I stumbled on some tasty studio recipes for you. No leftovers, just fresh ideas and inspiration for your weekend.
Don’t try to predict where your ideas will take you. Hop on Mari O’Dell’s magic carpet to see what I mean.
Mari’s journey started in the mummy section of the NYC Met Museum where she hung out as a teenager.
Recently she took my “Slots and Dots” online polymer class and reconnected with her Egyptian impulses. She learned to extrude narrow tube beads like those found in the layers of mummy wrappings. In Mari’s version, a scarab and beads dusted with metallics are interspersed with her imitative ancient faience tubes.
Beads are an ancient form of art and currency. Their echoes still ricochet around the globe. Please wait until the carpet comes to a complete stop before you leave your seat. Who says we can’t travel during a pandemic?
If you’d like to recharge your batteries, join us over at StudioMojo.
Switzerland’s Anouk Stettler (habetrotdesign) updates tribal designs and mixes them with modern materials and sensibilities.
This brass and polymer cuff, she says, is one she wears often. Her designs have a freshness about them and she pairs textures and shapes that you may not expect.
You can do a little detective work on Instagram, Flickr and Facebook.
The faux ivory beads, buttons and pendants from Selena Anne Wells could have been carefully unearthed from an archaelogical dig but they’re polymer and were dug out of her Berkeley, California studio.
Selena’s beads have a cyber-tribal resonance and a Mad Max appeal achieved with just a few cutters and basic shaping tools. Some are set with cabochons.
She’s posted a whole batch of faux ceramic and metal buttons with the same ancient feel on her Flickr site. Poke a bit of clay to see what treasures emerge from your studio this weekend.
