Midweek is the perfect time to be going around in circles. Vienna’s Izabela Nowak shows us how with her bright Planemo spiral up bangle. Thin strips of layered colors are wound around and around into tall cones, each topped with a silver bead. Here the cones are applied to a plain polymer bangle base to create a spiky bangle.
Izabela has been experimenting with acorn-shaped beads, rings and clusters that you can study on her Flickr site. She’s the queen of spirals!
A quick in-flight post to play with the technology as I fly home from Seattle. Enjoy these bright bangles from Oxana Volkova. It will be business as usual tomorrow.
Pieces of the PCDaily blog started moving themselves around unpredictably yesterday. And I started chasing them in the code (not my strong suit).
I threw up my hands in dismay and decided to focus on something positive like the brand new Etsy shop put up by the ladies in Birtamod, Nepal (with a big expert assist from Genevieve Williamson).
Look at those colors! Read Wendy Moore’s warm, wild commentary! I am so proud. Please go buy! Click a like or a favorite. It’s all good. The money goes directly to the project that you can read about here.
Miracle of miracles, the blog reshuffled itself back into place. “No, you did-dent,” I yelled at the computer and it smiled back. We seem to be on the mend! Thanks for your patience.
Need a taste of summer? This is Moscow summer from Juliya Lauhina. Not only are the colors like sorbet and salads, her techniques contain twists and turns that will leave you scratching your head. How did she do that?
Plus you get to see Juliya at her booth in the market.
These bangles from Loretta Lam were heaped in a beautiful pile on a table. Loretta’s another artist who’s so busy that she doesn’t often update her web photos and this is our chance to get an update.
While she remains true to her signature patterns and muted palette, lately Loretta’s been applying the polymer pieces to sleek and dramatic bangle forms in a collage style. The finish is as smooth as the design.
When you take a close look at this new Encrusted polymer bracelet from Jana Roberts Benzon are you as mesmerized as I am? The colorful texture is sumptuous and mystifying. How could you possibly make such a multi-dimensional pixel-like construction? It’s a Monday mystery.
Jana admits, “Honestly, when I finished it, I was just like dang, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” More pix on Flickr and Facebook. Jana’s teaching in Philadelphia in April.
Can a pasta machine handle survive the heat of the oven? Lisa Pavelka tested hers and the answer was yes. The next step, of course, was to cover it with a base layer of scrap clay and start adding cane slices.
She’ll never lose her handle in a class! Lisa’s theory is that you make better art with artistic tools.
The “mocha” gallery on Maine artist Suzanne Anderson’s YIKES! gallery drew me in as I lazily cruised the web today. You may be tempted by any one of Suzanne’s color pages. These bangles look like a good way to use up bits of pattern and color as you clean out your studio for the new year.
Fretting about what lies ahead? Tory Hughes offers some words of inspiration for 2012 on her site.
Christine Damm is busy using up the orphans and odd bits in her studio. I’m partial to these Carpathia earrings and wonder if there could be anything that magical among my scraps.
If you’re ready for a master class to catapult you into the new year, look no further than the new online book and master class offered by Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes. The layout of the book is inspired, the lessons detailed and engaging, and the concept is spot-on.
Die-forming is an important trend for polymer art in 2012. Dan and Tracy are offering a package deal on the book and must-have tools for the rest of this week!
You’ll want to look closely at Bettina Welker’s newest faux raku bangles and brooches. The densely crazed surface of her faux technique was achieved after much experimentation.
Her process is a further exploration and refinement of the ideas she developed for a class last summer. This will be a fun one to watch.
Let’s hope your weekend isn’t totally crazed! Bad pun but it fits.
Artists are testing the limits of Kato clay. This bangle from Laurie Prophater is constructed of thin strings of copper colored Kato that have been wound decoratively around a pop can and embellished with pearls on wire. I was surprised at its strength…and beauty. Laurie links to design sites on her blog. If you want to see her personal work, you’ll have to go to her Flickr pix.
Rebecca Watkins built a strong faux wood prototype bangle out of intertwined extruded triangular strings of Kato. She brushed it with dark metallic powder and sanded off the excess. Her minimalist approach is very appealing.
I can’t believe I’m uploading to the blog mid-air on my flight home from Denver. Southwest offers wifi for $5! By creating an in-flight post I can avoid testing the limits of my marriage by heading straight for the computer when I get home.
Gera Scott Chandler shows her “starter sheet” of polymer that ends up covering a series of her fusion bangles.
The luminous sheet is a sandwich of polymer, foils, translucent clay and alcohol inks. Loose graphic designs are stamped and scored into the clay.
The big sheet is cut into pieces which are fitted and smoothed over bangle bases.
The black polymer bases underneath make the overlay glow like faux stained glass. Socket joints stretch and close easily over the elastic that holds them together.
A starter sheet is an efficient way to produce a series of companion pieces. It helps, of course, to begin with a signature palette and lots of experience with foils and inks. You’ll see what I mean when you study the colors in Gera’s Flickr site.
