Joyful color mixing

Lindly Haunani finds joy in color mixing as she recuperates on PolymerClayDaily

Looking forward and not backward can be daunting in 2020. Even more so after an accident, a pandemic, and three flights of stairs. But nothing keeps Lindly Haunani down.

After she took over her own physical therapy, Lindly set goals. For her hands, it was knitting and then drawing. Fine motor skills are returning. For her legs, it’s to walk to the food co-op, a mere 12 blocks away. Stuffed grape leaves and real cheese beckon. For the mind, it’s meditation. For the soul, it’s the pursuit of color, texture, and design. Or maybe it’s vice versa. Or maybe they all meld together.

In her own words, “The first time I was able to go outside and walk around I was almost overwhelmed with awe. The feel of the wind on my skin, the fresh green scents in the air, the billowing white clouds above, and the bark of the tree in front of me – everything was exquisitely present and magical.

“I anticipated that since it has taken this long to get back to polymer it might be an emotional and frustrating experience. Apparently I waited until the perfect moment as just hearing the sound of my pasta machine motor running brought joy. I am working to complete a color mixing project I had started in January.”

As Lindly says, “That was then, this is now.” It’s her new mantra. The teacher is still teaching. You can help here.

Second glances

Karen Pasieka mixes colors that get a second glance on PolymerClayDaily.com

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?

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

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 bird in the hand

Anna Oriana offers quick tutorials to help your creativity take flight on PolymerClayDaily

Russia’s Anna Oriana quickly creates a bright beautiful bird on Instagram.

Anna’s videos of miniatures are wildly popular and she shows impressive skill in her tiny artworks and her YouTube tutorials. For a quick shot of inspiration and color, try her tutorials.

Mixing spring in your hands

Clare Lloyd celebrates spring with soft seasonal colors on PolymerClayDaily.com

UK’s Clare Lloyd mixes up spring colors that make us breathe in lilacs and peonies, closing our eyes to exhale.

One of the true pleasures of polymer is the ability to create spring right in your hands. Color mixing is a particularly satisfying studio chore this weekend.

Speaking of studio chores, our class will be mixing colors galore with Lindly Haunani. What a week it was for StudioMojo research. I can’t believe how many spring goodies I found. Come on over and celebrate spring with us.

Tumbling blocks of polymer

Three shades of each color make up this faux dimensional cuff from Petra Nemravova of the Czech Republic. Such happy colors! Petra shows her step-by-step color-mixing and assembly process free on her website.

Of course you’ll want to spend some time in her tutorials and tools departments! There are a couple tutorials in her Etsy shop too.

Polymer color confidence

Tracy Holmes’ BreakThrough Colour (BTC) Kickstarter campaign has blown past its original goal and proved that polymer artists are hungry for better color control.

Backers quickly pledged over $32,000 to get first crack at the printed version of this useful and practical system that’s aimed to appeal to both sides of your brain. A full spectrum 216-card color deck helps you choose your palette and then coded numbers assure accurate color mixing.

The BTC Colour Basics cube shown above is the simpler 3x3x3 color model that Tracy used for her article in The Polymer Arts magazine. The BTC Mini Cube below shows 152 hues, tints, and shades on the outside plus 64 tones on the inside.

Tracy says that the first print run will fulfill the pre-orders that come from the Kickstarter campaign which wraps up at noon (Mountain Time) on Saturday, July 18. “Beyond that, I haven’t made firm plans about when and where BTC will be available,” says Tracy.

For those wanting either the Colour Basics Deck or the 216 BreakThroughColour Deck, the first and fastest place to obtain them is via Kickstarter.

Tracy will teach at Maryland’s Master Class Camp 2015 July 8 and 9. “We will make a polymer cube like this one. Then we’ll explore the colors and combos in the bigger model including color mixing experiments. We’ll investigate what we like and why we like it. And we’ll work with the newest clays and colors coming from generous sponsors.”

BTC looks like a great way to improve your color confidence. Read more about Tracy and other Cutting Edge products on Facebook.

Polymer palette planning

Pittsburgh’s Rebecca Watkins was inspired by a friend’s Spring in the Smokies photograph. Armed with new color skills from a Carol Simmons’ class, Rebecca mixed matching hues in polymer.

She carved and colored the beads in her signature style and accented them by brushing liquid black polymer into the lines and hollows. Her work-in-progress shots show how well Rebecca learned her color lessons.

She plans to wear her creation on an eggplant colored t-shirt with a black skirt. See more of Rebecca’s beads on Etsy.

If you’re itching to mix and match your own colors, browse through Carol Simmons’ Pinterest color boards (she has 12 of them). It’s overflowing with mouthwatering palettes that she’s unearthed and sorted.

Colorful beginning

Beginning today and for the next 10 days, Carolyn Good (2 Good Claymates) will start off the new year by sharing her polymer recipes for the 2014 Pantone Spring 2014 colors.

Carolyn admits that at first she wasn’t thrilled with the colors. Then she remembered that computer screens often aren’t accurate. ” When I compared the color numbers with my Pantone color charts and began to mix up these new shades, I started to feel more inspired,” she says.

Here’s the introduction video from Pantone to show you what’s trending. Check Carolyn and Dave’s site each day and pull out your copy of Polymer Clay Color Inspirations and splash color all over 2014.

Testing polymer colors

Lindly Haunani is working on a new tropical bracelet that uses her signature juicy colors with new shapes and ingredients. The edges of the petals pop with slightly lighter shades and texture variations.

Even as I watch her work, her way of creating seamless gradations baffles me. She checks and rechecks her colors before putting them into the long multi-color canes that she needs for production (see her test strips). It’s hard to keep my eyes on my own work surface when these colors are exploding at the next table.

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