Moscow’s Juliya Laukhina refines her carving with this newest batch of beads on Instagram. Long nicks of clay dramatically reveal contrasting layers underneath in an almost net-like pattern.
On Etsy, you can see her trying other shapes and sizes as well.
Cuticle cutters are great for carving raw polymer. Could that be what she’s using? I’m adding one more must-try to my studio list. Yours too?
Each year our red, white and blue canes are provided by another country! Aren’t you proud of that?
Thanks to Israel and Shuli Raanan for these stars and stripes canes. Her Etsy site is full of flags and tidy swirl beads topped with stars in unusual ways.
If you’ve ever made a bicone bead that swirls as hers do, you’ll appreciate her precision. It still looks like magic when Shuli does it so well. You can find her work on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
Visiting grandchildren will be distracting me for the next few days so PCD posts will be intermittent or missing altogether this week. Have a great holiday!
Can there be anemones and tide pools near Dana Phamova’s (fruitensse) in Czech Republic? Must be! How else could she reproduce them in glowing translucent polymer colors so well? Her photo of a pile of these beads on Instagram will make you want to dive in.
Dana will teach these twisty beads during Lucy Clay Academy Polymer Week in July. “We will explore transparency and flexibility of polymer clay and I will show you how create Anemone jewelry,” she says. Here she is on Flickr and Facebook.
A group challenge pushed Wisconsin’s Erin Prais-Hintz out of her comfort zone and into these collaged beads and surface treatments.
Picasso’s Bowl of Fruit painting was the starting point. Erin decided not to stress over not being able to see any fruit and instead focused on the colors and bits of paper and writing that resonated with her.
She took the opportunity to apply some of the Debbie Crothers surface tricks to create raw and rusty veneers. Erin did it her way and yet the resulting beads have a Picasso feel. She nailed it! Read her story on Facebook.
What a great way to stretch and try something new. Do you have a favorite painting that you’d like to try in polymer?
Heather Powers (HumbleBeads) will be showing these new lentil beads in her trunk show on Facebook on Friday at noon. Black makes a dramatic background for the layers of flowers over the crackled gold leaf. The bits of white pop forward.
You can see how the layers enhance the impression of depth when they’re set in bezels here. The beads will also make their way to Heather’s Etsy shop.
Have you checked out Claysino June 2-4, the first Staedtler (fimo) event this side of the pond?
May 2 is just around the corner. That’s the deadline for shipping your works for the Into the Forest exhibit. How often do you get the chance to be part of an international exhibit? Grab it!
And join up with us on StudioMojo for the rest of this week’s story.
This butterfly bush (more pix here) is a group project from the polymer clay students at the Ohio Reformatory for Women for the Into the Forest exhibit.
The clay came from generous artists who were destashing. (The ORW students are happy to condition old polymer. Let me know if you’re cleaning out and have extra clay.)
They created 27′ of big hole beads that were slipped onto brass rods and inserted into a wooden base made by my husband. The brass rods couldn’t be taken into the facility so we had to visualize the piece and assemble it at home. I’ll take the whole shebang apart to ship it off to Pittsburgh.
Will you be part of this international exhibit? The deadline has been extended to May 1.
You have plenty of time to make your mark on the fanciful forest that Laura Tabakman, Julie Eakes, Emily Squires Levine, Libby Mills and Nancy Travers concoct from your submissions.
The event opens in Pittsburgh in November with a teaser preview on view at Synergy4 in August. Are you tempted to make some beads to cheer up your own garden?
This is version #3 of Lindly Haunani’s latest bell bead experiment. See earlier iterations of her ideas on Facebook.
Now Lindly’s working out the mechanics of assembling these beads that fit into each other as they chase the design around your neck
Those beautiful blends are explained in Lindly and Maggie’s seminal color book, Color Inspirations.
The two belles of color, Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio, will both teach at Synergy4. You have a rare opportunity to hear their theories and learn their latest color tricks.
Creative Journeys Studio posted a yummy video of another color technique bracelet that Lindly has developed for upcoming classes. A hit of luscious color starts your week on the right foot.
Have you been watching what’s being submitted for the Into the Forest exhibit later this year?
Each leaf, bug and blossom is more intriguing than the last and it’s hard to wrap your head around how Emily Squires Levine, Laura Tabakman and Julie Eakes will combine all the colorful bits they’ve collected for this international collaborative project.
This week’s submission from Eriko Page may make you wistful for spring. Her tight round polymer buds are ready to burst into bloom. But wait, a second batch of Eriko’s flowers have already opened! See more of her hyper-real caned flowers on her sales site and FB.
A preview of Into the Forest will be on view at this summer’s Synergy4 with the whole shebang on view beginning in November, 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA. There’s still time to join and add your work to the project. Pieces must be postmarked April 4, 2017.
Read the guidelines on the FB page where nearly 700 polymer artists hang out, watching every forest fantasy that arrives from around the world.
Your eyes may have to wander around these Ford/Forlano beads for a while.
What kind of mokume gane monkey business is going on here? How is that grid happening? Why are the colors working so well? No answers, just questions worth asking.
Dave and Steve use this work-in-progress as a header on their Facebook page. They also show up on the Velvet Da Vinci Gallery’s Instagram and show some new works on their own FordForlano site.
Now’s the time of year to consider what you’d like to learn in 2017. Who’s teaching what and where? Which classes and events fit your schedule and your budget?
PCD will cover just a few as we move into the new year. Even if travel is out of the question, it pays to track what’s trending.
These Moroccan Lantern beads from Lisa Haney caught my eye. They’re from her class offerings at February’s Cabin Fever in Laurel, Maryland. Check out Lisa’s fish too! Registration has opened and the lineup looks terrific.
Prefer a warmer climate? Look at Florida’s Fandango May 4-8 with a great roster of trailblazing artists. Sign up before the end of the year and save. What’s on your calendar?
