Polymer Clay Daily

Southwest mysteries

The southwest influence is clear in these mixed media art dolls from Albuquerque artists Mary and Doug. I wish I could tell you more. We’ll have to wait for information to seep in through the back channels. Susan Lomuto pinned the link on her board first.

The doll bodies are made of various fabrics with stylized and painted polymer heads. They stand 15″ tall. There’s a whole Etsy gallery of interesting designs!

More mystery

If your first efforts in polymer are discouraging, you may want to click on the photo below to see who started out making basic beginner beads just like everyone else. His beads have improved considerably. See what happens when you keep trying?

Polymer dollmakers

These hands by polymer doll artist Diane Keeler require a scale and level of detail unfamiliar to most polymer jewelry folks. (The hands are from a class Diane teaches.)

There’s no cane work pattern or rough texture to camouflage flaws. Many polymer doll makers have been elected into NIADA and their sculptures are highly prized.

For an education in polymer dolls, look at the work of Diane Keeler, Jodi and Richard Creager, Kate Church, Annie Wahl, and others in this very specialized branch of 3D polymer.

Beach bicones, spirals and stars

Laura Timmins’new polymer Ocean Yoko necklace sends us back to the beach with its wavy bicone beads, spiraled shells and starfish strung on cord that she hand twists from embroidery thread.

It’s as if she cast a net and strung up everything she caught.

Yoko is a new addition to Laura’s Swirl Stone line for galleries which, as you might guess, are mostly located on the seashores.

Check out the matching earrings.  What inspires you this season?

How to build a design

One of the satisfactions of attending a workshop for polymer artists is watching how others work.

The black marks that Loretta Lam sketched across these beads gave me a clue as to where she was headed with her design. The baked gray base beads are made from blended scrap clay (ultralight and polymer) which she covered with veneers, adding a few sculptural elements and textures.

This week Loretta posted a picture of the final necklace with the juxtaposed lines, patterns and shapes all in place. The mixture of elements forces your eye around the piece and offers something interesting no matter where your focus lands.

You can read more about Loretta’s art and business in this recent interview and on her Facebook fan page. Does this make you rethink your process?

 

Polymer and Prismacolors

Clarks Prismacolors

Colorado’s Maria Clark shows us how a limited toolbox can force you to dig deep into your creative resources and try something new.

Maria had some time on her hands because she was traveling. She purchased a package of white clay, a small set of colored pencils and a bit of burnt umber and gold metallic paints. Her only other tools were pens, pencils and a crochet hook she’d brought along.

Who knew you could get such deep colors with Prismacolors on polymer? (See Tuesday’s post on Libby Mills to see another example.) Thanks to Marian Hertzog who sent Maria’s link along.

Scribbled polymer

Hollow beads are all the rage this year. At last week’s conference my tablemate Libby Mills applied her own distinct style by carving and doodling on the hollow forms with Prismacolor pencils followed by a wash of black acrylic.

She paired the beads with wire wraps that echoed the scribbled look. You may notice that scribbling has been a theme of Libby’s for years. This new design may push her back into the studio to play again.

Polymer quest

Utah’s Cody Craynor has been on a mission. “I’ve basically been on a quest to create the perfect chevron bead. Why settle for sloppy beads?” he asks.

PCD last looked at his faux trade beads three years ago. His methods are mighty close to perfection and I’d like to know what he’s taught himself.

Let’s let Cody know that we’re watching and we’d love to learn from him. He says he’s never shared his methods (or met another polymer artist) but he’s open to the idea.

Painterly polymer

The “painterly” adjective is an easy one to attach to some works. But lately, “painterly” polymer has been pushed to a whole new level as in these Rustica Erosion beads.

Alison Sachs of BeadsByEarthTones paints, textures, scuffs, and swipes her beads into something more than you may have thought possible. “Down to earth and full of imperfect texture…like me,” she says.

Polymer is attracting more fiber artists, glass artists, ceramicists and, well, painters who bring very different expectations and sensibilities to our craft.

Thanks for piling on your comments to Dave and Steve yesterday. Speaking of painterly, I’ve looked and looked at this new collage from them and my head can’t quite take it in.

Bowl of bold beads

There are no wimpy colors or shy designs in Barbara Bechtel’s bowl of beads. (It was a grab bag and it’s gone.) While she specializes in beads inspired by tribal fetishes and netsukes, Barbara gives her polymer versions strong contrast and updated colors with fashionable flourishes.

It may take you a while to make the rounds of all the web addresses this prolific artist uses on Etsy, Facebook, and for her blog.

Read the artist interview with her on ArtBeadScene where she says, “I like that my work has remained true…I think it has always been a reflection of myself….a documentary, if you will. I can look back at both the good work and the bad work, and I can see what was going on in my life at the time.”

Platypus polymer

Platypus beads

These platypus beads from Lena Fadeeva in Belarus take their shape from the small Australian animal with a distinctive bill.

Such an intriguing shape! Inspiration for new bead shapes can come from unlikely sources.

Lena’s blog is in Russian so you may want to try your own translation (and correct me if I’ve blundered). She’s been sharing her work on Flickr and in her sales gallery for a couple of months and this new direction looks very promising.