Polymer Clay Daily

Tap into your glow

Terri Wlaschin brings passion to her energetic collages on PolymerClayDaily.com

These small tribal mask brooches from Key West, Florida’s Terri Wlaschin (Shanty Chic Beads) are sculpted, collaged, painted and textured with great energy and spirit.  “I am continually inspired by what I see riding my bike around town, walking the beaches, and observing the colorful characters that inhabit this island,” says Terri.

“I did not even know I had a creative side until my late 30’s when I started dabbling in creative writing and photography. When I began working with beads, I couldn’t stop. I never really knew what having a passion for something was until then. It’s like a religious experience to me, bringing joy and a glow to my spirit.”

Thanks to Sharene Screws for the link to an article about Terri in Jewelry Making Journal. Go with your glow!

Mix and match tree decorations

Erika Bregani decorates her trees on PolymerClayDaily.com

These bright, cheery trees are from Italy’s Erika Bregani (Centodiecigrad).

Their sharp-edged shapes are covered with happily collaged patterns. Because Erika consistently uses bright colors and strong contrasts in her canes, even the smallest bits play nicely with each other and make sense.

She mixes and matches her earring pairs, putting a tree on one and an ornament on the other.

Tomorrow’s StudioMojo takes a look at some of polymer’s current cutting edge artists who are reflecting current cultural thoughts in their work. Join us for a look at what our work says about us.

Whipped into shape

Nancy Nearing brings veneers to life with dimension on PolymerClayDaily.com

What a difference dimension makes! Ohio’s Nancy Nearing has been on a roll since taking Lindly Haunani’s class.

The flat veneers below are very much Lindly-inspired but they are infused with Nancy’s aesthetic.

When Nancy ruffles and bends

Nancy Nearing brings veneers to life with dimension on PolymerClayDaily.com

and sculpts the flat collages, she takes them to a whole different place.

Nancy’s a neighbor so I caught this project mid-process. They’re not even on her Instagram yet! We will revisit them when she adds more flowery details and mounts them in shadow boxes.

A nudge for swap items

Lynn Yuhr's leaves for a swap raise the bar on PolymerClayDaily.com

I’m smitten with these modern collaged leaves from Florida’s Lynn Yuhr. The gradations, the canes, the painted details on her slightly cupped leaves can’t be missed.

These are some of Lynn’s swap items for an upcoming retreat and they raise the bar for the rest of the participants who are still mulling over what to make.

We try to stay away from competitiveness but it creeps in whether we like it or not. A nudge like this one from Lynn makes for an exciting swap.

Light touch polymer

Iris Mishly cuts layered and collaged veneers into pendants on PolymerClayDaily.com

These pendants-in-process from Israel’s Iris Mishly are created with cutouts made from veneers layered with stenciled designs that are chalked then inked and finally coated with resin. The resin hasn’t yet been added in this photo.

Especially when the weather is warm and the clay is sticky, these light-touch techniques give you summertime options. See Iris’ stencils on Etsy.

How do you keep yourself working in good weather and bad? In tomorrow’s StudioMojo we’ll be talking to Anita Long (Nee.Nee.Ree) about what her persistence through a 100-day challenge taught her. Join us!

Pin up polymer

Bonnie Bishoff pins up potential pieces for her newest series on PolymerClayDaily.com

As one reader commented, Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff’s pinned up work-in-progress has a little voodoo edge to it.

But mostly it’s a wonderfully smart way to figure out how a neck piece hugs the body. In what direction does your eye travel? Where do your eyes stop? What’s balanced? What’s not?

See how Bonnie has solved these riddles with the finished necklaces on her Instagram and website.

Pins with pizzazz

Marion Le Coq arranges graphic squares into brooches with pizzazz on PolymerClayDaily.com

France’s Marion  Le Coq (FancyPuppet) enlivens our week with these graphic collages on Instagram.

She’s been reviving her YouTube channel and taking her work in new directions like this.

Instagram is the best place to get an overview of her work and to get a sense of where she’s headed. Are these textured and painted or silk screened? I’m not sure. We’ll have to follow along and find out.

This week’s snowstorms lengthened my visit with family. I was out of action longer than I anticipated. Not to worry, I’m back and raring to go. 

Clipped wings, new outlets

Jana Roberts Benzon moves to online sales with new designs on PolymerClayDaily.com

Utah’s Jana Roberts Benzon’s latest new pins/pendants show off her wing-like dimensional, veneer-covered collages.

She’s about to offer her work on Etsy in a few weeks after years of resisting online sales. She’also promises to beef up her Instagram. It may be the grandbabies who are compelling her to stick closer to home.

While we wait for Etsy to launch her, enjoy Jana’s works on Facebook and her website.

Time to restock your cane stash?

Soft, restful blue and white canes from Silvana Bates on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ireland’s Silvana Bates (silvabeads) may give you cane envy. Her blue and whites are softly patterned. Not too precise but created echoes of old tiles and well-worn fabrics.

The only cure for cane envy is fresh clay and a few blissful hours bringing your own cane designs to life.

See how Silvana puts her cane slices to good use in collages and veneers on Instagram and Facebook.

Collages to wear

Doroshow's fabric/jewelry wall art on PolymerClayDaily.com

Florida’s Dayle Doroshow will exhibit six mixed-media wall hangings in a popular restaurant (Le Tournesol) near her summer home in Durfort, France.

Each collaged fabric panel is 5′ x 2 1/2′ and is embellished with polymer. Each contains a brooch that can be removed to wear.

Doroshow's fabric collages with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

I can almost hear the sighs of students who have experienced the charms of a week of classes at La Cascade. Karen and Ann Mitchell, Dayle, Doreen Kassel and Loretta Lam will all have polymer workshops there this summer.

[envira-gallery id=”19991″]