Polymer Clay Daily

Fearless color

Nepalis don’t fear color. The unbaked canes and finished pieces in the Samunnat studio showed none of the muddiness that plagues many projects. Their natural color sense must be a cultural legacy from a country awash in color. (Of course it helps that these polymer artists have also studied Color Inspirations.)

On the second day of teaching, the students gravitated to a pair of Kim Korringa earrings that I had brought along and were hungry to learn about them. Via email Kim generously agreed that I could share her tricks.

This tray of earrings headed for the oven (powered by a bone-rattling, foul-smelling generator) looked like a lovely local garden and the colorful Korringa designs with their new Nepali flavor blended beautifully with the women’s brightly patterned kurta salwars. Sharmilla models her earrings here and there are more pictures here.

Traveling around the world has left me jet-lagged, pondering what I learned and happy to be home as I sip a cup of peppery Nepali tea in my Ohio kitchen.

Thanks to the guest posters for their help, to you readers for making my trip worry-free, to my daughter for handling the details, to our gracious hosts and guides, and to you generous donors who continue to brighten the lives of artists a world away.

Krispil vases

Mira (Pinki) Krispil began working with polymer in 2005 after operations on her hands. She went on to not only rehabilitate her hands but also to head up the Israeli Polymer Clay Guild. It’s not surprising that her sculptures and vases are imbued with joy, optimism, mischieviousness and humor. Here’s her Etsy gallery.

Which came first?

Which came first? The jewelry or the outfit?

This is a question I am often asked and the answer isn’t always the same. As my polymer designs have evolved over the past few years, color and shape have become more important and inspiring.

Of course, inspiration is everywhere, but for me as a costume designer, textiles have always been a huge source of inspiration. After falling in love with this beautiful silk jacket, I rushed to my studio to combine just the right colors in this fire rose pendant.

Sometimes the outfit comes after the jewelry, but either way, creating a complete ensemble is always a joy!

I am now wholesaling most of these designs in galleries across the US, you can see more colors and designs at www.wholesalecrafts.com/visitor. Artist #23846, guest password- jpclay. Or at my regular site, www.twocanclaydesigns.com.

guest post by Janet Pitcher

Scrap clay or story scraps?

Layl McDill, the creator of the Silly Milly line of polymer clay canes, has found a very clever way to use all of those mountains of leftover trimmings and scrap.

She creates Story Scraps, wall sculptures which show animals and figures celebrating all aspects of life.  The title of each piece is the doorway into the story, but a closer look at the whimsical and intricate details in each work soon draws one in until it isn’t long before the viewer’s own imagination starts to fill in the gaps.

If you’ve tried to title your work, you know how much time it takes to find just the right title, but what a difference it makes, as does taking the time to add just a bit of story.

Consider Layl’s Reader on the Stairs which tells her story of rushing up the stairs toward a goal, only to find herself being wise enough to pause along the way to read a book.  And just why are those birds there?  And the towers … and …

Layl’s site opens to a whole world of creativity, so consider settling yourself on the stairs as you take the time to read through it. You’ll be glad you did.

guest post by Maureen Carlson

Polymer shrinks the world

The ladies of the Samunnat Nepal project graciously wrote me to ask if they could make more of what they call “Petal Mala” polymer necklaces to raise money for their studio and I happily agreed.

They were very sensitive about copying my design for profit. On one of the panel discussions at the RAM weekend, Pier Voulkos reminded us that she only taught a technique when she was finished with it, had moved on, and could let it go out into the universe without resentment.

My pinched petal lei was “released” when the step-by-step instructions were published in our Color Inspirations book. How gratifying it is to have shared this pattern and watch it travel around the globe to help others.

My Hawaiian-inspired design arrived in Nepal via Australia’s Wendy Moore. Cynthia Tinapple, PCD publisher, will continue this story about our “shrinking” polymer world when she returns in December.

guest post by Lindly Haunani

All in the family

Rather that looking at classic images, this time I searched my family tree for inspiration for a polymer face cane. I never knew my maternal grandmother but I cherished a pin that captured her beauty as a young girl.  I decided to recreate that image in my latest mosaic cane.

The cane, which I built from extruded squares in six sections, measured 5″ x 7″ x  1-1/2″.  Read more about it in the post, Grand mama, what big eyes you have!, on my blog.

guest post from Julie Eakes

Cebeka slices

The identity of France’s Cebeka is unclear but her style is distinctive. Her various constructions take great advantage of simple canes made of subtly graduated colors. She throws in a few stripes for variety and sometimes shapes slices into teardrops for elegant dangles. Cut, repeat, manipulate is the basis for many great designs.

Simple and effective polymer techniques are catching my eye since I’ll soon be teaching artists who need to produce appealing quality items in an efficient way. Cebeka’s approach is a good strategy. Her site is full of delightful examples.

A polymer embrace

These Embrace beads by Steven Ford and David Forlano showed up in a recent blog post about how their work touches on themes similar to those in the Art Nouveau period. They share a focus on organics and a sense of movement as illustrated in these luscious new beads.

RAM Redux

A slideshow about the Racine Art Museum gala is up for your enjoyment. In my excitement I simply pointed my phone camera (somewhat shakily) and started snapping. Please forgive omissions and silliness.

A comprehensive recording of the event, the panel discussions and events will be available in the future. Pieces from the exhibit are thoroughly documented in the companion book. And the exhibit itself will be open to you until February 5. In the meantime, enjoy my hastily assembled 3-minute snack.

A video conversation with Pier Voulkos will be part of this weekend’s StudioMojo newsletter.

Big beauties

This big beautiful cane by Diane Boivin appeared on Cynthia Blanton’s blog as she recorded the results of the 6-day kaleidoscope pendant intensive workshop with Carol Simmons at the Shake Rag Alley School for Arts and Crafts in Wisconsin last week. Cynthia says that the room got noisy as students began pounding these large triangular assemblages to reduce them.

Look on Cynthia’s blog and on Carol’s Facebook page to see more student work.

And the winner is…

Barbara Briggs won the souvenir t-shirt from the RAM exhibit via random number generator. Congrats and thanks to all who entered.

You may have noticed more changes on the PCD site this week in our attempt to freshen and keep up to date. Of course we broke a few electrons in the process. We appreciate all comments/criticisms.

More RAM pix tomorrow.