Easy extrusions

Look to the right. In preparation for next week’s conference, I dusted off my video camera and shot a bit of footage just to get in practice. Pardon my deer-in-headlights look and messy hair. Filming was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

After years of searching for a way to extrude polymer clay I devised a system that works for me. (Here’s my old way.) Small batches, no clean up, easy on the joints – those were my criteria. Watch the video to learn my tricks.

The vise is my new favorite tool. It’s useful even when cranking by hand. Here’s the vise link. Here’s how to contact the Bullens Wullens (adapter) folks.

Wrapped and ready

The weekend was filled with mixing colors and building canes. Instead of sitting stunned and overwhelmed on the first day of my next conference, I thought I’d prepare new canes so that I can get in the groove quickly. These canes, built with extruded triangles, are ready and wrapped for traveling next week.

Some artists have a vision of the end product when they begin a design but I simply ride the wave of inspiration and see where it takes me. Here’s how a few of my previous canes were used (1, 2, 3, 4). I wonder where these will end up.

This project also served as Internet detox. I stayed away from the computer all weekend!

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.

Western Easter

Montana’s Margaret Regan is one of the pioneers of polymer. If you’ve ever made a bangle bracelet on elastic, you can thank her for the idea.

These polymer covered eggs look so like my vacation terrain that I just had to add them. Margaret’s been making them for years and the raven cane is one of her signatures.

Her web site hasn’t changed much and she doesn’t promote herself much so you may have missed these treasures. Her work continues to be impeccably precise.

Spring petals for your hair

In further pursuit of spring, France’s Delphine Roche de Montgrand brings us polymer petals that look fresh and fashionable pinned in long up-swept hair.

Her site has a whole section on bridal accents and I’m particularly keen on her chocolate tiara.

Vacation update

Our vacation group is finally sitting down to work with polymer after a week of hiking, exploring and entertaining family members on spring break.

Avoidance behavior kicked in and the first thing we felt compelled to do this morning was rearrange the studio. Oh the dances we do to get in the right groove.

Crisp and starched from France

These dots, stripes and colors from France’s MissTyc have a crisp, starched, freshness about them and we’ve never featured her before (her real name’s a mystery).

MissTyc’s newest work seems to be on her Facebook album and you can find her on Flickr too. On her website she offers a sweet little spring dotted flower cane tutorial (based on Desiree McCrorey’s Spotted Langloisi).

Crisp and starched is not my mode this week. I’m waiting for my children to meet up with us for a family spring break. Shifting into vacation mode has been a slow and pleasurable process. Stay tuned.

Fantasy flowers from Korringa

If yesterday’s post put you in a flowery mood, you’ll want to follow today’s links to Kim Korringa’s garden. She posts her signature whimsical caned designs on her web site. Kim’s fish cane tutorial is a popular one.

On her Etsy site she lists one-of-a-kind designs like this multi-color fantasy flower necklace backed with stripe-edged black disks. Pure spring.

Judy Belcher sent the link along. The sun is shining and spring is on its way. Have a springy, sunny weekend.

Forcing spring flowers

Zuda Gay’s layered polymer flowers are about as close to spring as I’m able to get. Her sculpted cane slices and juicy colors are right on target.

Dahlias and sunflowers are her specialty and you can see an entire polymer garden on her Flickr pages.

Zuda shares a quick tutorial on her site if, like me, you can’t wait for spring. We seem to have brought the Ohio snow with us to Arizona.

Kimle’s perfect pairings

I stumbled into some new works that continue our mixed media theme.

“I created these beads as an exercise in color and pattern,” says Iowa’s Patricia Kimle. “My goal was to skate along the fine line between ugly color combinations and a sophisticated palette that works.”

She used metal clay and hand drawn molds to create the silver feathers that are riveted to the polymer. The feathers create the focus and push the colors and patterns into the background. The beads are in an exhibit at her local art center. See more on her website and her Etsy page.

Kimle's polymer easter egg Iowa statehouse dome

Patricia will be teaching at the Bead and Button show in June and her second book, Perfectly Paired: Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays will be released in April.

Taking a trip down memory lane and longing for spring, Patricia shares a picture of a polymer Easter egg of the Iowa Statehouse dome that she prepared for the White House in 2000. I couldn’t resist including it.

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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