Prokic’s birdland

Janja Prokic spends time in the woods with her chickens, geese, goats and polymer clay. Her pastoral life is played out in her line of fashionable birds. Her models’ hairstyles match their feathered friends’ in dramatic and delightful ways.

The one below is a detailed pink cockatoo and the model is wearing what Janja calls a Silly Cockerel.

Originally from Belgrade, Janja is a jewelry designer who moves between Prague, Czech Republic and St. Malo, France as she studies painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Right now she’s roosting in France.

Follow her migratory patterns on her Flickr gallery (her web site is down) or her Facebook page. Enough with the bird puns. Enjoy.

Fall polymer pastiche

This polymer brooch from Cecile isn’t new but it’s just what I needed for a fall Friday. Extrusions and a tree shape added over a Skinner blend form a seasonal abstract.

I’ll include these chrysanthemum rings from Genieve Williamson to my fall pastiche since her textured dark tones and rough surfaces are right for cooler weather. She pairs polymer with wood shanks for her wintery fashions.

Two Reminders

Get in on the bidding for some juicy polymer pieces on Ponsawan Sila’s site. Auction proceeds benefit Ponsawan’s daughter, Ada.

Elections are coming…IPCA elections, that is. The international guild for our craft is looking for enthusiastic board candidates who will help the organization thrive. October 29 is the deadline for nominations (and they encourage nominations from outside the US). Questions? Contact France’s Kylee Milner, the elections chair.

Carren’s new site

Art historian Rachel Carren is most comfortable as an art writer and contributor of critical commentary. She’s also been quietly working in her polymer studio since 1999. Rachel spent several years refining the air-filled polymer pillow construction she used on these segmented brooches. The surfaces are elegantly screened and the segments are fitted together on a clay base.

Artists friends have nudged and nagged Rachel to promote her own work and her lovely new site is worth the wait.

She’s still writing about polymer on the PolymerArtArchive, promoting polymer art to museum curators, helping out with the RAM project, and curating a Lark book on Polymer Masters that’s due out next spring. Elise Winters tipped us off to Rachel’s new site.

Boston Baked Beads

Scanning through the list of readers’ links has been a treat, a breath of fresh air that’s perfect for Monday.

Don’t you love sites with names like Boston Baked Beads? Lisa Mackin has a way with words and clay (that’s her pink brooch). She calls her kaleidoscope focal beads “indie pendants.” Cracks me up. Her wish chicks give an updated twist to Japanese Kokeshi dolls.

Netherland’s Teodora Colic switches from fiber to polymer with ease and a dramatic sense of design. Her “burdie” was a recent sunny day impulse.

You’ll find more new names by clicking through the list (there goes the morning). Eventually I’ll try to make order of the page but right now enjoy the new faces….and add your link if you haven’t yet.

Creative de-stressing

Jana Roberts Benzon says that the stunning new works on her site, “…are the fruits of those priceless de-stressing days.”

“The first three show the fun I’ve had playing with form; this type of work is zen-like and apropos to my state of mind. The last three images show my woven style of work, this time with undulating dimension,” she explains.

In Jana’s Dimensional Woven Brooch, she builds on the bargello style first popularized by Laura Liska and adds dimension within flowing shapes. Jana’s works are sold at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Thanks to Randee Ketzel for the link!

Road trip polymer

Nothing better to entertain you than a good story while I hit the road back to Ohio. And there’s nobody better at giving us a story and a chuckle than Cassy Muronaka (that’s her brooch at the left) on her Sometimes Daily, Always Random blog.

She shares her craft store closing sale adventures in hilarious detail. Her suburban haikus are a hoot. Often her photos speak for themselves. Cassy is that lovely combination of wry humorist and crazy neighbor whose writing makes her a dear friend. Look at all the publications she’s been in!

On top of all that, she makes a mean cane. She’s a perfect road trip companion. Enjoy.

Note: The “Readers’ Links” page has duplicates and weird stuff going on. I’ll just keep slamming your sites up until I get home to tidy things. Bear with me.

Synergy inspires Baker

After the Synergy conference Betsy Baker decided to spend more time outside her comfort zone and these great new brooches are the result.

“Brooches are new for me and I know they don’t sell well at my shows but what the heck. I now understand why so many art jewelers make them – they’re an awesome canvas,” she discovered. Take a look at the layers of lush colors and textures that Betsy created.

This roadtrip has put me a bit behind on emails and research. Thanks for your patience while I play. Arizona tomorrow.

Polymer fish lips

Alaskans Karen Ottenbreit and Katie Way brought a northern exposure to Synergy. While I can’t find a proper link to Katie online, I did catch a few of Karen’s sea creatures in the gallery.

Her series of portal pins and pendants tickled me. Karen’s story of how a sassy girl from the south side of Chicago makes good in Eagle River, AK will make you understand why her fish laugh.

Synergized

If you’re following along, check out: Iris Mishly, Amy Crawley, Janice Barbanel and comments on the clay/no clay discussion from Chris Dembinski. “Not Your Child’s Fimo” was the title of the shout out from Lisa Bayne of Artful Home.

Falkenhagen snags polymer

Falkenhagen's man in red turban polymer/gold brooch

Pictures, often transfers on polymer clay, form the central visual elements of Diane Falkenhagen’s fabricated fine jewelry. She invents images or borrows them from historial sources.

This Man in a Red Turban and her IO brooch looked elegant and mysterious and caught my attention on her Crafthaus page luring me to examine the rest of her portfolio.

“The artistic freedom associated with less-expensive, non-conventional materials leads to an uninhibited spirit of exploration, a broader expressive vocabulary and greater artistic risk-taking,” says Falkenhagen.

She is co-chairing the 2010 SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) conference in March whose theme is Going to eXtremes. Nice to know that polymer is part of that.

Wild West work

Melanie West promised new work and true to her word, she’s featuring a new line of brooches that expands her sea creature-inspired repertoire. She’s bravely posted her plans for the year.

New beginnings are good for us. Lots of polymer clay artists are rolling out fresh work, reorganizing, posting and updating. There’s a definite out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new vibe in the air.

My young tech-saavy neice is coming over today to discuss my social networking strategy. Losing weight used to be my social networking strategy but I don’t think that’s what she has in mind.

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