Polymer Clay Daily

Weekend sightings

Welker UFO on PCDaily
Dustin fragment purse on PCDaily

Why not start the week with the UFO bracelet hovering on Bettina Welker’s pages and a Fragment from Kathleen Dustin’s latest purses?

Bettina’s work didn’t start out as a spaceship but when she took a second look, the bangle begged for antennae (and that’s no April fool). Kathleen posted her addition in a new location, the gallery on her Pinterest page. Both works point toward freer designs and styles unfettered by old expectations. This is the look of today’s polymer art and there are many more exciting examples.

It’s spring and time to think about the new design seeds you’d like to plant in your work.

Rainbow polymer

Tatiana Begacheva of Russia admits that this Rainbow bangle made of extruded cane bits became quite heavy on her slender arm. Still, the construction is fun.

If I’m reading the translation right, she sandwiched memory wire between the layers to give the piece more strength.

She’s got some great ideas. Go browse through them while I pack for Synergy where I hope to find another rainbow of ideas to bring you.

Lazercut polymer

Benzon on PCDaily

Fakir (Bed of Nails) and Finn from Jana Roberts Benzon may tax your Monday brain. Huh? How’d she do that?

Benzon on PCDaily

Jana’s been improvising on her lazercut technique and has taken her 3D textures to a whole new level. Keep your eyes peeled for her classes on this (I couldn’t find them and let me know when you do). Here she is on Facebook.

Namaste

The Orkney Springs 2012 group sent a heartfelt “Namaste” to the ladies of Samunnat. Last spring the Virginia retreat raised a generous donation which enabled the Nepali ladies to grow the project.

Before Samunnat, the women had to stay in abusive situations because their parents couldn’t afford to allow them to return to their homes and living alone wasn’t financially possible. Recently several women offered a “day-in-the-life” glimpse of their typical day (once they were removed from harm) which generally includes early rising for farming and cleaning chores before their work at the rented Samunnat office.

You raised over $1000 on Friday and Ron Lehocky is matching each dollar. That is fabulous! CLICK NOW to connect with other artists who are helping Samunnat take the next step and build their work facility. Your donation begins a small miracle that enriches lives.

Polymer squared

Blackburn_square_bangle

This square striped bangle from Carol Blackburn was just one of dozens of ideas and designs she presented in a small Santa Fe workshop this weekend. While Carol taught clever and deceptivly simple techniques she’s developed after years as a machine knitter, those techniques were only part of what was offered.

Tory Hughes then encouraged students to improvise and make Carol’s techniques their own. She guided students as they considered, “What do I want it to be?” and “How can I make this work with my style?”

Penina Meisels, photographer for the award-winning Terra Nova polymer book, tackled the process of photographing the created objects. She showed us how to arrange and light them to their best advantage. (These are my snapshots, not Penina’s beauty shots.)

This three-pronged approach packed a punch and may represent a new twist in polymer education which combines problem solving and development of personal style along with skills building.

Facebook polymer

Greece’s Anarina Anar displays her vibrant polymer works only on Facebook. (Thanks to Conny Brockstedt who found her on Flickr as well.) Anarina’s textured and painted surfaces have very aggressive, passionate energy.

While the pieces are primitive and rough they are also distinctive and very personal. She makes each technique her own.

Facebook flood

My apologies to those of you who aren’t fans of Facebook. PCD links to where the art appears and for many people around the world, increasingly FB is the easiest gallery to set up and maintain. I’ll try to give you all the info you need here and you can choose whether to explore further.

Do you have a suggestion about how to integrate Facebook so that it’s easier for readers? I’m listening. Leave me a comment.

Dramatic polymer

Italy’s Ilenia Moreni describes her rugged Double Stud bangle as an ethnic-organic piece. The band is faux leather with faux bone and turquoise.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that Ilenia designs and produces costumes and accessories for theater, role playing and reeactment. The drama leaps out of her big bold art.

Here’s her Etsy shop and her whole collection on Flickr. Thanks to Randee Ketzel for the link.

Bangle binge

Croatia’s Nikolina Otrzan has been on a polymer bangle binge lately. Her large graphic patterns are usually outlined in black or white to accentuate the contrast between colors.

Companion patterns peek out from the bangles’ interiors and add a bonus to the designs.

See the whole collection on Nikolina’s Flickr pages and catch more of her intriguing designs on her Etsy showcase .

Her fresh, bold approach may make you rethink your work as you start the week.

Polymer pastiche

Russia’s Tanya Mayorova applies slices of extruded cane with layer overlapping colorful layer to create a bangle that is rough with color and texture. The design circles around one small stone.

As you flip through her Flickr pictures you’ll see that this denseness and a preference for jewel tones combine to make Tanya’s signature style.

Polymer is well-suited to this pastiche approach. Look at how Joan Israel has applied canes onto bottles to achieve a similar dark, rich texturing. Here’s Joan’s latest work.

Sweepstakes

Don’t feel bad about not winning this week’s lottery, you can sign up for the CraftArtEdu Sweepstakes! The odds are better (20 chances to win), the prizes are great and your ticket doesn’t cost a cent.

Retro bangles

Seth Savarick introduced these new bangles on his Facebook page along with a couple of brooches.

While everyone else is gushing in their comments, Seth remains silent and mysterious about his latest creations. Way to keep us on our toes, Seth. What gives? There’s a cool retro look to these bangles, don’t you agree?