The glee that California’s Diane Greenseid takes in her small sculptures comes through loud and clear. I know nothing about what her small characters (the kids, she says) mean or how she constructs them.
It really doesn’t matter, does it? She’s obviously having a good time and really, isn’t that the point? You can sense some good stories here.
Virginia’s Derek Brown (strangeclaycreations) toils away fixing motorcycles when he’d rather be sculpting in polymer. You gotta hand it to those artists caught in that disconnect.
You can see Derek’s heart in his characters like this Santa on Instagram and Etsy.
Watching him airbrush one of his pieces will calm you right down. Never seen that before. It’s obviously his happy place. Thanks!
Barbara Nalepa (Barmisal) pretty much captures how we feel here in the US on the day before Thanksgiving.
How to shove working, shopping, and cooking into one short day?
A few scraps of black and white canes express our potato-mashing, turkey-basting, table-setting exasperation.
Eventually, we’ll take a breath, sit down and remember how thankful we are for this wild and crazy life. Happy Thanksgiving!
These characters from Oregon’s Brooke Duckart jumped right out at me. Recognize those screwy grins and bulging googly eyes?
Yep, it’s Friday and somebody’s had too much screen time. We know just how Brooke’s finger puppets are feeling.
Brooke uses thimbles as the form for her thimble terrors.
StudioMojo now comes to members in a slick online format. And the best thing is that every Saturday we can bring you even more insider tips and breaking news that will help you take your work/fun to new places.
Sign up for a month and see for yourself.
Ohio’s Katie Oskins (Katersacres) asks if anyone’s been feeling off-kilter. Who hasn’t?
You may identify with the haggle-toothed, bug-eyed face vase Katie made to illustrate her point on Instagram.
Katie has characters like these dancing in her head and flying off her fingers. If you (like me) don’t have a brain inhabited by such creatures, you can still follow along on her tutorials and join her club of sculptors.
This guy would look good with tools and pencils sticking out, creating frazzled hair.
Atlanta’s Lisa Mathews demonstrates the power of polymer with her sculptures that illustrate the black experience. This Fourth of July, Americans are being forced to see the nation’s celebration for independence differently.
In this polymer diorama, Lisa looks at the controversial third stanza of our national them which is being scrutinized for its racial wording. The song wasn’t meant for all Americans when Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics in 1814.
Lisa’s clear portrayals of the black experience help us look at our patriotism in a new light.
At the age of 45, with no advance planning, Lisa threw caution to the wind and pursued a career as an artist. She happened upon an instructional book, How To Make Clay Characters by Maureen Carlson. It was through this book that she discovered what would become her passion as an artist.
Stories of artists’ passion are part of tomorrow’s StudioMojo. We’ll look at how Carissa Nichols turned her lack of vision into a passion for light and giving back. Join us to see how current events impact us all.
Sweden’s Barbara Nalepa was nominated by EvaMarie Törnström to take part in an ad hoc challenge for 10 days.
Barbara’s creatures have a wild and funny demeanor with an unexpected sprinkling of shimmering glitter from what may be low-fire enamel powder on polymer.
Since the challenge specifies that the artists don’t have to explain a thing, it’s hard to determine all that’s going on. Perhaps Barbara will elaborate on her quirky characters later.
More characters roam through her Facebook.
Kentucky’s Leslie Blackford (MoodyWoods) wanted to make clear that she wasn’t planning for the good witch in her new Oz series to look like me. It just happened…and I’m honored.
Leslie’s been offering online classes and everyone who joined in has been delighted at the creatures that fly off their fingers. There’s still time to jump into the Oz group by messaging Leslie.
Don’t we all wish we had a wand right now? Leslie shows you how to find yours. She has a special gift for putting you in touch with your inner Oz character.
UK’s Pete Simpson’s Imps and Things can make you a believer in all kinds of fantastical spirits.
Each imp relaxes in a 10cm diameter frosted bauble that’s ready to hang. “He’s completely guaranteed not to misbehave or cause chaos on your tree when you are not looking!” says Pete.
Watch Pete build his faerie folk on Instagram.
PCD viewers have made me a believer in helpful elves. We quickly met our goal of raising funds to purchase an industrial rolling machine for the polymer students at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
Even better, the exact machine we were looking for appeared on my porch this weekend from a special secret sprite. Get the whole story tomorrow on PCD.
UK’s Karen Walker (ClaygroundUK) knows how to snuggle her characters for winter.
Whether it’s snowmen, bears, rabbits, or people, she wraps them in sweaters, hats, and scarves with fun buttons and patch pockets.
Karen makes it look like fun to go out in winter’s cold. They’re made of polymer, of course. Look on Facebook here and here.
