Meandering mosaics

The clay is leading Jana Lehmann in new meandering directions on PolymerClayDaily.com

Something cheery has moved Germany’s Jana Lehmann in a new meandering direction.

Jana extrudes strands of marvelous color and builds modern designs by carefully laying them next to each other.

She adds extremely small dots of color as accents and surrounds the piece with a black and white frame.

The heart is made similarly with flat, graduated ribbons of polymer. These require dexterity and a love of small detail but they exude a joyousness that’s infectious and ready for spring. More on Facebook and Flickr.

Playful experiments

Alessia Bodini weaves strips of her favorite scraps into a brooch on PolymerClayDaily

A browse through the photos of Italy’s Alessia Bodini is like skipping through her brain.

Alessia experiments and turns the pieces that speak to her into designs that please her. She shapes and reshapes until her eye is happy.

Alessia Bodini's earrings orbit a center bead on PolymerClayDaily

The blue extrusions were just her colors so she wove them into a brooch. The earrings are pleasantly off kilter. Thumb through her Flickr and Facebook photos to remind yourself how it is to play.

Tutorial in the works

Pavla Cepelikova promises a tutorial on PolymerClayDaily.com

These colors from Prague’s Pavla Cepelikova (Saffron Addict) vibrate against each other in the most interesting way as the strips of clay wind around in her Confetti brooch.

She promises that a tutorial is in the works. I’ll let my eyes figure out why the colors in her Manhattan brooch below stop me in my tracks.

In the meantime, visit her on Flickr and Etsy.

Note that there were a couple mistakes in yesterday’s Angel post (like Ron’s address) that have been corrected.

Unbound polymer

Christine Damm binds her hearts on PolymerClayDaily.com

Yes, many of us are smitten with heart designs like this Unbind My Heart from Vermont’s Christine Damm (Stories They Tell).

Christine is on a 14-day run of love challenges. Her titles (Noir and The Complexity of Love, for instance) make you stop to think about her intent. She uses veneers and acrylic paint to illustrate her bound heart here.

Follow her daily valentine sentiments on Facebook.

Ending the year with a gem

Celine Charuau ends the year with a new start on PolymerClayDaily

Celine Charuau (grisbleu) admits that her latest brooch reminds her of Totoro, a character in a popular 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film. Her micro mosaic and silver piece has already prompted lots of enthusiastic comments on Facebook.

The tactile shape and delicate petals continue earlier design directions. The mosaic is a new feature that fits nicely with Celine’s aesthetic. The big photos on her Flickr pages allow you to get in for a close look at her metal construction and the tiny patch of mosaic. What look like delicate and mysterious designs are supported by sturdy and serious construction.

Celine’s is an end of the year gem.

Bio Bopping polymer

Bonnie Bishoff's multi-media bio bop in Boston on PolymerClayDaily.com

The Bonnie Bishoff Bio Bop brooch is quite a mouthful for mid-week. This polymer, copper, paint and steel wire mixed media pin is on its way to CraftBoston for one last holiday hurrah. While they look light and airy, Bonnie’s pieces are built on metal which makes them incredibly solid.

Betsey Baker and Kathleen Dustin will also have their wares in Boston on December 15-17. You can watch Betsey, Kathleen and Bonnie pack up and run to the show on Facebook and Instagram. These ladies work hard!

Polymer takes wing

Karina Formanova's birdy brooches take wing on PolymerClayDaily

Russia’s Karina Formanova has created flocks of small bird brooches in a huge variety of colors. You can see from her Instagram focus that Karina has studied her birds.

She distills their colors and shapes down to combinations of subtle Skinner blends and delicate canes that make her birds seem to flutter on the wearer’s collar.

Follow her works in progress on her Facebook and see the range of colors in her shop. The brooches are nicely packaged in nests of matching papers.

Festive polymer

Shelley Atwood’s brooch is a festive combination of gold pods, gilded needles, and red leaves. Alien meets suburban Texas but in a good, friendly way.

I hadn’t checked on Shelley’s work lately and it felt like going home for the holidays. Her colors are muted and slightly dark and her shapes change. The clay leads and she follows in a curious, unforced way.

Shelley created a slew of earrings for her gallery’s ArtWalk. Her UK fan, Carrie Harvey pointed out what I’d been missing. Shelley demos on Facebook and shows her work on Flickr.

Stamped and stacked polymer

Wendy Moore stamps wisdom on a brooch on PolymerClayDaily

Australia’s Wendy Moore does a bit of self-talk with this four-layer brooch. We’re all braver than we believe, stronger than we seem, and smarter than we think.

That’s a good thing to remember on a Wednesday. It’s amazing how much wisdom can come from a little polymer, some light textures, and a few stamped phrases.

Wendy’s in Nepal working with the Samunnat women and testing all three of those thoughts. Follow her visit on Instagram.

Floating into fall

Katya Karavaeva's twists a fall leaf brooch on PolymerClayDaily

This fall brooch is from Russia’s Katya Nikami (nikamiart)

Twisted strings of fall golds and browns are interspersed with graduated balls of color to create a textural feel for this long curving leaf. Or perhaps it’s a feather. No matter, it’s a languorous shape perfect for floating on a lapel.

Katya is also trying out a number of imitative stone technique with success. Look on Instagram for them.

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