You’re getting warmer…

Enkhe Tserenbadam drills each of these holes in a hollow bead on PolymerClayDaily.com

This piece from Switzerland’s Enkhe Tserenbadam (@enkhethemaker) made me gasp. I try to keep track of my body when I’m looking at art. A gasp tells me that I’m close to paydirt. It’s like that “hot and cold” game we played as kids. This was warmer, warmer, HOT.

Enkhe drills each of the holes in her hollow pieces. It’s luscious to browse her site and consider how she works.

Speaking of warmer, warmer, I spent the week in an online gathering where gasps and astonishment surprised us again and again. Somehow our troubling times have moved some of us to “hot, hot, hot.” Come on over to StudioMojo to see some of the cool tools and sizzling art that we shared. Who knew a Zoom conference could be this much fun?

A scrap treat from the StudioMojo archives

Carissa Nichols' tiny tutorial on spiral scrap beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

Today’s end-of-the-year video treat comes from Ohio’s Carissa Nichols.

There’s nothing quite so soothing as her way of taking bits of scrap and creating a swirled lentil or bicone bead.

In this tiny tutorial from StudioMojo, Carissa helps you get the hang of the body movements required for a creative and meditative trick.

Underground rainbows

Gilly Scott turns a rainbow cane into budding beads on PolymerClayDaily

Australia’s Gilly Scott (clayladydownunder) makes us think spring is possible with this rainbow bud.

The winter wind is still howling but we all trust that there are fantastic forces like these pushing up to the garden surface.

I hunted for precise instructions on this cane and they are easy to find. Getting the colors clean and clear is trickier. Perhaps Gilly will share pictures of her method.

If you need a spring boost, try one of these rainbows to lift your spirits.

Polymer with a teasing twist

Italy’s Alessia Bodini makes spiral beads with a sideways mokume gane twist. She nicks off bits of the sides of the beads to reveal the layers underneath.

Alessia Bodini extrudes, twists and carves her extrusions on PolymerClayDaily

Could be a triangle extruded shape. Are you itching to figure it out too? Alissa likes to tease us on her Instagram and Flickr and Facebook.

Polymer in relief

Annie Laura's garden in relief on PolymerClayDaily.com

Though she often uses polymer as a form for her electroformed copper work, Annie Laura (AnnieLauraHandmade) sometimes features the clay itself, as in this relief of a flower from her garden.

She created a deep mold of the flower. Its depth gives the bead startling dimension. The painted colors are scrumptious and she finished by highlighting each bud with a dab of clear coating.

Have a look at Annie Laura’s lovely electroformed pieces. When she needs a break from metal and glass work, she creates another batch of her polymer ammonites and sea urchins that integrate well with other media. What a pleasure to work with a material that offers such versatility.

Annie Laura’s full name and location weren’t easy to find. Can you help fill in the blanks?

Have a great weekend and join us at Studio Mojo for a look at other wild and wonderful ways to use polymer.

Mystery polymer mosaic

Does it bug you when you can’t quite figure out how a piece was constructed? I am stumped by this pendant/bar/bead from Jana Honnerova and the Czech translation doesn’t help.

Blended and stamped veneer? Extruded interlocking patterns? Faux mosaic? Silkscreen?

What you can clearly understand is that Jana put a lot of time and skill into developing this brain-teaser pattern. She has a masters in biology/genetics and was a skateboard champion too.

Here’s her work on FB, Flickr and Etsy. Oh look, Jana will teach in Dallas in March!

In the meanwhile, let her design tease your polymer brain.

Lingering Euro vibes

This jewel-encrusted polymer bead from Monica Rotta keeps my European vibe going even after I’m back in the USA.

Rich textures are topped with metal caps and faceted red beads like a sundae with juicy cherries.

Monica’s booth setup in Italy makes me sigh at her easy euro-elegance. She uses picture frames, hangers, and even astro-turf to show off her wares.

Visit her Facebook photos and breathe in the Tuscan air. There’s more on Pinterest and Instagram for your Italian interlude.

Inchie beads

Germany’s Margit Bohmer decorates a small square of polymer then bends back two corners so that they touch to form a bead. The resulting beads fit together snuggly and join visually into a single shape.

Maybe we should try this with the inchies we trade and collect at events!

Snowbound/Beachbound

For those of you who are snowbound, I invite you to warm yourselves by following the polymer-bikini clad models on Italian runways and streets.

Chiara Duecentogrammi cooks up bright polymer pieces that have high fashion appeal. Here’s one show. You’ll want to check in with Chiara to see where she goes next.

Notes for a new year

Heather Millican packs a punch with the simplest polymer designs. “I feel that my duty as an artist and mother are one in the same, to ignite the heart with love, compassion, and hope,” she explains.

Each of her beads is handstamped, textured, patinaed, sanded and buffed. The words and phrases she’s carefully chosen make you stop and think and smile.

You can shop Swoondimples on Etsy and follow her on Facebook. Heather’s beads make great tokens for you readers today. You really rock! Thanks for a great year and happy 2015.

Rough treatment for polymer

Olga Sypkova from Kemerovo, Russia plays rough with her African Ethnic beads.

What starts out as cane slices simply applied to clay bases becomes much more interesting once she draws a few lines with circles, scrapes some lines and scratches the surface with sandpaper.

A coat of light acrylic paint accentuates the marks. The rough treatmentt gives an ordinary polymer bead a tribal look with a mysterious past. The beads must have been worn and treasured.

Olga offers you a step-by-step free tutorial. See more of her work on this Russian site (use your translator).