Polymer Clay Daily

Wearable wands

Ponsawan Silapiruti says that she has so many ideas she has to offload some of them to her polymer art to keep her head from exploding.

She completed 365 rings for her Ring A Day project with concepts left to spare and she’s moved on to bracelets.

Wearable wands were a result of seeing the Harry Potter movie on an outing with her college student son last week. Ponsawan decided that the movie’s bulky magical objects should be easier to wear and more fashionable. “Have fun with your crazy idea, don’t be shy,” she advises.

She keeps an entire site devoted to her free tutorials. Ponsawan’s watermelon bangle still ranks as one of my all-time crazy favorites.

Faux birch

Wendy Malinow was decked out in polymer finery when we met up. On one arm she wore her signature antler bracelet paired with an early pebble bracelet by me (yea!) and topped off with a new birch bangle with skull, teeth and bone dangles. She has long arms! Organic with a strange, delightful twist.

The branches look separate but form one incredibly realistic stack. She admits that the piece took at least four bakings with a metal armature under the main branch to provide stability. The textures fool both the eye and the touch.

These pictures were taken late at night in the kitchen. I added a couple more here and here to give you the full effect. Check out her bracelet of thorns on her Etsy shop too.

Who else is shouting “TADA”?

I’d forgotten what a relief it is to bring an idea to life.Tada! See my “in progress” shots here.

Joining the TADA365 project has kept me in the studio and off the computer. I’m getting ahead but falling behind!

I’m happy to show you the results of my first efforts, a heart bangle covered with extruded triangle slices. It’s a design that’s been rolling around in my head ever since I saw Melanie West demonstrate the method she developed for her bio-bangles.

The twinkle of the glitter in the “special effects” Premo that’s mixed in some of the colors doesn’t show in the photographs. It gives the piece subtle glitz. I was introduced to glitter clay by a five-year-old friend and love how Dayle Doroshow mixes it sparingly in her work.

Toops and one more Niche

This hinged bangle bracelet is a collaboration between polymer artist Cynthia Toops and jeweler Chuck Domitrovich. The photo shows the bracelet open and lying flat. See more views here. Cynthia’s site features some new works that may rock your Monday world.

The closeups of Cynthia’s polymer micromosaic and Chuck’s description of the intense process makes you appreciate the work’s beauty even more. The piece will appear in an upcoming museum show.

One more Niche

This polymer clock from Ann Kruglak was omitted from our coverage of 2011 Niche awards. It’s a finalist in the Home Furnishings/Clocks category. Thanks to the eagle eye of Marcia Morton for the catch.

Volkova’s photo shoot

Oxana Volkova’s photo shoot fascinates me! Her glamour and over-the-top chunky polymer, felt and knit creations make me clap and smile. And the matching makeup makes me wonder if I have those eye shadow colors in my bathroom.

While she was waiting for the professional photographer to show up, Oxana started snapping some behind the scenes shots. They give us a peek at how this Moscow artist works.

If you’re feeling uptight or bored with your work, a few minutes with her Flickr site will freshen your perspective.

Big bangles at Arrowmont

Seth Savarick doesn’t believe in small as you can see from his latest polymer necklace at the left and the bangles he inspires in his workshops (see Friday’s post). The wearers of his creations must be prepared for conversation.

Seth will teach his method, Think Big Work Big: Large Scale Jewelry Forms in Polymer Clay, at Arrowmont the last week of September.

Cynthia Toops will teach her Bracelets, Bangles and Cuffs class at Arrowmont September 5-11.

Polymer chains by Carlton

Chains have gone through a transformation lately. The links are big and uneven. Shapes have changed. Sizes may be mixed and matched within a piece.

This Big Linx chain from London’s Debbie Carlton illustrates the point in polymer.

Debbie’s also a fan of the big bangle and you can see her work best on her Flickr gallery. The bangles were inspired by a workshop Debbie took with Seth Savarick.

If you like polymer chains, you’ll want to revisit Wendy Malinow’s version. And, come to think of it, there’s an ancient version I created in my archives. Guess I’ve been hooked on chains for a while. Escape your chains this weekend.

Bangle bender

Bangles are everywhere! Corliss Rose (2RosesJewelry) recently stitched up a fabulous polymer patchwork bracelet. She took the quiltmaking that she learned from her grandmother and brought it to polymer. The Roses experiment with all kinds of materials and it’s great when polymer pops up in their work.

The Roses studio led me to Lauren Abrams brass-based bangle covered with polymer that’s been deliciously striped with alcohol inks.

Lauren led me to the source of this bangle craze, Melanie West. I watched Melanie make one of her lovely biobangles this year and it’s been on my mind ever since.

She’s developed great new techniques and I had no idea that I could refresh my memory with an inexpensive online tutorial. (The brass bangle tutorial is not currently listed but I’m guessing Melanie will put it back up.) Off to the studio!

A blast of bangles

Sylvie Peraud’s prickly polymer bangle was one of the top vote getters in the Crazy Bracelets challenge sponored by France’s LezArtGil group. Scroll down the LezArtGil page to reveal all the wild entries. The theme was inspired by Donna Kato’s signature fluid bangle shapes and her recent workshops.

The second bumpy bangle is from Connecticut’s Helen Wyland-Malchow. She’s a winner in the Progress and Possibilities competition. Click through her noisy Web site to see the full range of her work.

Sila’s polymer rinds

Ponsawan Sila makes us grin as we end the week and begin a hot summer. Last summer her friend posed wearing a slice of real watermelon as a fashion statement from her garden.

Without missing a beat, Ponsawan created her own version in polymer. The rind is made from a mokume gane stack of shades of green. The interiors are Skinner blends of red to white.

She’ll be adding these rind rings to her Etsy store soon. Have a juicy weekend.