Wearable signs of hope, growth, and comfort for all! That’s the tagline that Minnesota’s Chris Baird gives her small brooches made of sweetly colored cane slices.
She likes to stick to geometrics and color these days though she’s had a long career in various media. You’ll want to explore what grows in her polymer garden on Facebook.
Make yourself a sprig of hope and fasten it to your lapel this fine spring Monday.
France’s Christine Pecaut adds the most charming villages to hair barrettes.
The array of textures, foils, crackles, and canes that she lavishes on these small wonders tells us how exciting these miniature scenes are to her. Such whimsical detail.
Maybe she wasn’t thinking of our current circumstances but she reminds us of the beauty and importance of the places that shelter us. She’s here on Instagram and Etsy.
Russia’s Tanya Mayorova suggests her labor-intensive, mosaic-style Planet pendant design as a good project for those with time on their hands.
She lines up small cane slices in sections on the outside of four-layer domed pendants. Aligning the slices looks a little compulsive, rather soothing and totally stunning.
See her designs on her Instagram. She sells a tutorial but I couldn’t locate it.
Ontario’s Karen Pasieka gears up for Spring with a bouquet of canes.
“I find it so important when presenting a grouping, that the collection is cohesive. Their appeal as a collection can be the trick to getting a second glance, and hopefully, the decision to buy,” Karen divulges.
This luscious mix made me look twice. You too? Here’s Karen on Facebook.
Over at StudioMojo this Saturday, we’ll be seeing what else is getting a second look this spring. Are our 2020 colors shifting? What’s next for our art?
Washington’s Dede Leupold makes polymer earrings that have a delicate, calming effect. Her looping wire work is baked into the polymer cane slice.
A look at Dede’s studio shows you how and where these pieces are made. There’s a serenity that could only come from someone who had a serene spot in which to work. Go have a look at it.
These robin canes from New Hampshire’s Jayne Dwyer closely mimic what I saw outside my kitchen window this morning.
Jayne has a grasp of figurative caning matched by few other artists. Her shading and depth keep getting better. Jayne generously sends her cane ends to Ron Lehocky, Ohio inmates, and others.
The caned images are even more remarkable in person and she sells them for a very affordable price in her Etsy shop.
I thought the robins were the bomb and then I saw these 3D pinecones. Google her images to see the range of her work and how her canes continue to amaze.
If the holidays are truly over, spring can’t be far behind, right?
Need a shot of springy colors? Here’s a super one from the UK’s Rachel (madebyracheluk)
Her colors remind you that brighter days are coming and her story will certainly lift your spirits. Rachel had her heart set on a career in medical science but health challenges made her change directions.
The bright colors reflect the bright and determined spirit of the artist. Here’s Rachel’s story on Facebook. Her can-do spirit shines through in these delightfully colored flower cane beads gathered into bouquets on a string.
We thought we’d seen black and white manipulated and stretched and combined in every way possible. Then UK’s Carol Blackburn took another look and came up with this Barcode necklace.
It’s made of her hollow tetra beads, dimensional shapes that remind me of small cream containers and fancy tea bags.
So not only are the striped patterns confounding, but the shapes add another layer of difficulty. The most magical thing is that her methods are actually elegantly simple. Here’s hoping she adds this to her upcoming classes.
In this video, UK’s Carol Blackburn cuts up small graduated canes and overlaps the pieces to form her kaleidoscope veneers.
Forgive the background chatter and listen closely to learn about some of her homegrown tools and tips. Carol has developed loads of these small geometric sleights of hand that she teaches in workshops.
This video from StudioMojo is an easy one to try when you’re done with the holidays.
How did Texas’ Joey Barnes happen to have a spare Lucy clay roller that she donated to the women at the Ohio Reformatory? She explains that “When these machines came out several years ago, lots of customers were having difficulty understanding the machine’s roughly translated Czech/English instructions.”
Joey offered to improve them. That led to her translating their teachers’ contracts and operators’ manuals. When she refused payment, Lucy Tools sent Joey their biggest “Elephant.”
But the Elephant was too big for Joey’s workspace so she set it aside waiting for the right use.
When she saw that the ORW students needed a second Lucy Elephant, she thought, “Beshert!” That’s the Yiddish word for “meant to be.” The funds raised on PCD will go to other needs of the prison program.
Ever the collaborator, Joey credits Carol Simmons, Ivy Niles and Corrie Beth Hogg for giving her inspiration for her flower box (shown here) and garden series.
