PolyPetal celebration

Cheery PolyPetals for the BPCG 20th anniversary on PolymerClayDaily

Carol Blackburn’s teardrop-shaped petals are made from cheery combinations of stripes, blends, and patterns in colors that sing.

That’s because her workshop on September 23 and 24 for the British Polymer Clay Guild celebrates their 20th anniversary, an occasion for singing!

The Poly Petals’ domed dimensions and varied teardrop sizes add a carefree note.

See them again on Facebook. There are lots of tempting workshops listed for the event. Here’s hoping you have time to play with clay on this happy Labor Day.

Late summer blooms

Spain’s Cristina Garcia Alvarez (espiralarte) helps us remember to enjoy the last flowers of summer this weekend with her layered polymer bloom.

It’s a simple brooch made in watery blues that recur frequently in her work. Look at her Instagram and you’ll see samples of any number of techniques. The striking blues jump out as a recurring theme.

Look over your work and see what colors jump out or make your heart sing.

The file of tidbits for this weekend’s newsletter is bursting with juicy tips and stories we don’t have time for during the week. Join us on StudioMojo for the low down. I’m off to write!

Nurturing tangents

Lynn Yuhr let herself go off on a tangent on PolymerClayDaily

Lynn Yuhr (theFlyingSquirrelStudio) went off on a tangent and developed a new line of spontaneous jewelry.

“Tangents,” Lynn explains, “a completely different line of thought or action. When you least expect them, when you can’t afford the time for them, knowing you can’t control them, they happen anyway.”

This lovely gradient topped with succulent petals Lynn named Hazel. Read about how Lynn decided to nurture her tangents and follow wherever they led.

Do you allow yourself to go off on a tangent from time to time?

Shape-shifting brooch

Garcia de Leaniz gathers crenulated polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

This brooch is part of a new line from Spain’s Natalia Garcia de Leaniz. It’s slinky and wormy and makes you want to smile and run your fingers across the crenulated Skinner-blend surface.

Can’t you imagine bending the snakes into other shapes or making them into tube beads?

Natalia and Dani often come up with head-scratching shapes. What could she have used to make this one? We’ll have to watch (Flickr and Facebook) to learn more.

Micro mosaic stories

Though San Francisco’s Velvet da Vinci Gallery has closed after 26 years, the gallery maintains an online presence. Cynthia Toops was an early name on the gallery’s list of artists.

Toops micromosaics on PolymerClayDaily.com

Her polymer micro mosaics still pop up on Velvet da Vinci and on Seattle’s Facere Gallery. This Turtle micro mosaic pendant recently appeared on Velvet da Vinci’s Instagram.

The Divine Archer whose theme is based an an ancient Chinese myth appears on Facere’s recent post.

It’s difficult to show you how exquisitely minuscule her threads of polymer really are. Cynthia bakes the hair-thin strands of polymer before cutting and embedding them in the base layer. Click on the images to see details and remember that the brooch is only 2 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ and the pendant is similarly sized.

“My work, especially the micromosaics, is technically simple but very labor-intensive,” she admits. She succeeds at telling very big stories in exceptionally small spaces.

Unprecedented flowers

Russia’s Anna Bragina’s brooches have an unmistakeable heft, a smoothly rounded solid feel to them. These are from her Unprecedented Flowers series of brooches shown on Flickr and Facebook.

The solid shapes are created with the cutters she sells on Etsy. She combines the shapes in unusual ways topping them with glass beads and stones.

A flawlessly smooth finish completes the feeling of solid beauty.

Join us over at StudioMojo this Saturday for a newsletter full of more tools and unusual tips for your work.

Enter to win…and to stretch

Elkina's entry into the Polymer Week Awards on PolymerClayDaily.com

Another way to stretch your skills is to enter a competition or exhibit.

That’s what Poland’s Nadia Elkina does with her Crystallizing Brooch, a polymer clay, enamel and silver entry in the Polymer Week Awards.

The small brooch measures 2.3″ x 1.5″ x 1″. Another view may give you a better idea of the dimension of this stunning piece.

If deadlines inspire you, perhaps the rapidly approaching June 12 due date for the IPCA Awards is just the push you need.

Grow the forest

Laura Tabakman, Emily Squires Levine and Julie Eakes, the creative forces behind the global collaborative Into the Forest exhibit created this series of 4″ caned flower brooches as part of a fundraising effort.

Sales of these and a smaller bar brooch series will help cover the costs of the exhibit and associated opening festivities in Pittsburgh at the Spinning Plate Gallery November 10-11. The show runs through the end of November. A teaser mini-installation will be unveiled at Synergy4 in August.

The curators have accumulated thousands of elements from 250 artists in 32 states and 22 countries that will be put together as a forest installation. While they are applying for grants and corporate sponsorships, you can also show your support and help grow the forest by picking a brooch from the exhibit’s new website/shop, intotheforestinstallation.com.

This Saturday’s StudioMojo will be filled with more super tips and tidbits from the Virginia conference. There’s still time to sign up and hear all the backstory.

Collages to wear

Doroshow's fabric/jewelry wall art on PolymerClayDaily.com

Florida’s Dayle Doroshow will exhibit six mixed-media wall hangings in a popular restaurant (Le Tournesol) near her summer home in Durfort, France.

Each collaged fabric panel is 5′ x 2 1/2′ and is embellished with polymer. Each contains a brooch that can be removed to wear.

Doroshow's fabric collages with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

I can almost hear the sighs of students who have experienced the charms of a week of classes at La Cascade. Karen and Ann Mitchell, Dayle, Doreen Kassel and Loretta Lam will all have polymer workshops there this summer.

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The easy/hard parts

Today our eyes gravitate to surface designs from UK’s Veronika Sturdy who claims to have a new addiction to silkscreens and imitative wood looks. She’ll be teaching her methods May 20 in a class in Czech Republic.

Silkscreens are another easy/hard part of polymer art. While silkscreens can feature delicate lines and magnificent patterns, the trick is to fiddle with the designs to make them yours – or to make your own patterns, of course.

Here Veronika combines wood textures with distressed patterns enhanced with luscious mottled colors. Look at them large on Flickr to appreciate the details. Then hop over to Pinterest to get the full behind-the-scenes treatment.

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