Collaborative clock

It may take you a while to see the clock in this picture. The red dots on the heap of black and white patterns provide the clues.

Carol Blackburn made some of the polymer designs and then taught Tory Hughes. Tory combined her own black and white layers with Carol’s to build this sculpture/clock. “Movement feeds my spirit and nourishes my psyche,” Tory admits.

“It’s a great challenge with Carol’s patterned skins because I respond like everyone else: they are so gorgeous as a sheet of stunningly precise pattern and color that I don’t want to cut them up either! But part of why Carol and I work so well together is that the creative threshold is different for the maker versus the viewer,” Tory explains.

The two collaborators will teach their unique magic tricks on June 26-28 in Santa Fe, NM, as the next step in their Take Two series. This one’s called Take Two, Moving Along. Learn to build stunning patterns (Carol) and turn them into sculptural fabrications (Tory)!

Read more about Tory’s recent experiments with sculpture and motion here. See some of Carol’s precise patterns here and here and on Pinterest.

Time for polymer hearts

Time flies and it’s nearly time to gather up all the hearts in your studio and deliver them.

These lovelies from Israel’s Eti Raz and Massachusetts’ Amy Crawley may inspire you to make a few last-minute valentines.

Eti’s heart is covered with cane slices, layered with a clock face and given patterned wings. Amy’s is inked, textured and stamped. Both of their sites are full of more examples. Love, any way you want to say it.

Toops and one more Niche

This hinged bangle bracelet is a collaboration between polymer artist Cynthia Toops and jeweler Chuck Domitrovich. The photo shows the bracelet open and lying flat. See more views here. Cynthia’s site features some new works that may rock your Monday world.

The closeups of Cynthia’s polymer micromosaic and Chuck’s description of the intense process makes you appreciate the work’s beauty even more. The piece will appear in an upcoming museum show.

One more Niche

This polymer clock from Ann Kruglak was omitted from our coverage of 2011 Niche awards. It’s a finalist in the Home Furnishings/Clocks category. Thanks to the eagle eye of Marcia Morton for the catch.

Blease makes polymer clay time fly

Time flies…or at least it does if you’re looking at Scotland’s Tracy Blease polymer clay clocks. Her “quirkyclocks” are by commssion only and she specializes in reversible pendants. Thanks to Julie Picarello for introducing us to this artist.

Loose Ends

I overlooked Valerie Aharoni‘s Best In Show (and first place in the seed bead category) necklace made of seed beads and polymer. It was chosen by Fire Mountain Gems and is featured on the Bead Star cover. Don’t miss her Flickr site for a complete look at her work.

In the Jan/Feb issue of Step by Step Beads magazine, Ronna Weltman has written an article about polymer clay master classes you can watch at home on DVD. If you’re watching your pennies and your carbon footprint, you might want to read her article as well as Ilene Goldman’s “poly-metrics” piece in the magazine.

I’m in a holidaze. Have a dazzling weekend.