Embracing imperfection

Rozz Hopkins limited her tools and let herself play as a personal challenge on PolymerClayDaily.com

For these organic canes, New Jersey’s Rosalyn Hopkins (RozzHopp) set aside her pasta machine, rollers, and tools. She used only a Bic pen to make indentations. It was a personal challenge.

“I struggled for so many years to show my work in public. I’ve come to understand it doesn’t have to be perfection. It needs to be freeing. Something that pushes me,” said Rozz in a recent post.

Imperfection used to send Rozz off twitching in discomfort. Lately, she’s taught herself to accept flaws and even make them on purpose. “It makes life so much more interesting,” she says. Freedom and playfulness come through loud and clear in these canes. Agree?

Snagged by canes

Marni Southam from Australia’s Oleander Avenue hosted the FriClay challenge last week. The topic was Shibori and these are the canes she came up with to illustrate the concept. They’re a fresh, Aussie, updated Shibori.

My eye keeps getting snagged by canes. I tidied my laundry room/pandemic studio. I feel a tug on my sleeve from my inner little girl artist plaintively saying, “It’s only two colors. We could try this.” She really wants to play. It’s time to let her/us have some fun.

Do you have a younger-you asking for some playtime?

True grit

Ginger Allman Davis (thebluebottletree) calls this her True Grit vessel made with leftover baked polymer shavings and other studio debris rolled into the thick raw clay.

It’s part of Ginger’s 100-day challenge. There’s more to the story. Her grandfather was a bit player in the original movie!

It feels like we’re in need of some true grit. We’re all trying to make sense of our circumstances right now. I’ll take this as our sign of strength for Thursday.

100 days of surfaces

Iris Mishly doggedly and delightfully pursues her 100-day challenge on PolymerClayDaily.com

Israel’s Iris Mishly is deep into her 100-day challenge for veneers. This one didn’t go as planned so she cut it into strips that she offset and reassembled into an even better, almost digital-looking version.

You can learn a lot from watching others’ work evolve. My 100-days are languishing at the two-week mark but that’s how things go these days and I refuse to feel apologetic.

Better to ride on Iris’ coattails and learn from her. Her collection is amazing. There’s no paint, powder, ink, or stencil she won’t try. Lovely to look at. Here’s her Etsy.

Sideways stripes

Meike Lucia Friemel lines up bright stripes into a horizontal pendant on PolymerClayDaily

Germany’s Meike Lucia Friemel (Lucia Lucia) was trained as a metalsmith who delights in “…the difference between “slow” metalwork and “fast” clay work and also the contrast when the piece of jewelry is finished.”

These yellow and orange stripes were created for a challenge among friends. The horizontal stripes curl around the cord while the center beads have surprising open backs. It’s as if Lucia was showing her friends a couple of metalsmith tricks in polymer.

Here she is on Flickr and Facebook

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.

Challenging exhibit

Margaret Polcawich's 30-day challenge exhibit on PolymerClayDaily

Maryland’s Margaret Polcawich took on a 30-day challenge to create a wall of 6″x6″ pieces to be displayed at the Spitzer Art Center in Harrisonburg, VA.

The squares feature a metal flower or leaf cutout layered on a patterned polymer background mounted on a painted wood frame.

Now that she looks over the first 15 works shown here, Margaret says that she prefers the ones that weren’t finished at 2:00 a.m. (You can sympathize, right?) Examine them all on Facebook.

Impressive and almost makes you want to take on a challenge now that it’s a new month!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday. I’m Facebook-challenged and the list of well-wishers that popped up surprised and delighted!

Picasso to polymer

Prais-Hintz collaged beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

A group challenge pushed Wisconsin’s Erin Prais-Hintz out of her comfort zone and into these collaged beads and surface treatments.

Picasso’s Bowl of Fruit painting was the starting point. Erin decided not to stress over not being able to see any fruit and instead focused on the colors and bits of paper and writing that resonated with her.

She took the opportunity to apply some of the Debbie Crothers surface tricks to create raw and rusty veneers. Erin did it her way and yet the resulting beads have a Picasso feel. She nailed it! Read her story on Facebook.

What a great way to stretch and try something new. Do you have a favorite painting that you’d like to try in polymer?

Polymer breakers

Splash through the 22 entries in the wave-inspired challenge of France’s ParoledePate group. The challenge was the idea of Florence Minne-Khou and included very few restrictions and lots of possibilities. You’ll see waves interpreted in jewelry, paintings, vessels, books and sculpture.

This 3-ring stackable set of watery translucent shapes is by Veesuel and you can see it from several angles here.

Creativity flows when group members get pulled into a challenge! Congrats to all.