October scream
In the mood for a scream? Italy’s Domenico Scalisi (nobuhappyspooky) is right with you.
How is it that Domenico’s monsters don’t send shivers up my spine? His bats and worms and skeletons are charming.
Don’t miss his asparagus.
Build-a-bug
Sometimes watching an artist’s hands is so instructive and calming.
That’s what Canada’s (BC) Wanda Shum does in this 3-minute bug-building video. She’s in control, she knows what she’s doing. Sigh! Relax and watch.
Wow, that bug’s got a lot of wings! Who knew?
Wanda uses the littlest bits of canes to build an extravagant creature. Lots of wild variations crawl around on her site.
2021 party peeps
I smile as I look at these polymer Party Peeps from Texas’ Lisa Renner. The colors, balloons, and hats scream PARTY as they smile and close their eyes. Maybe they’re making a wish.
If you’re wishing to snag some on Lisa’s Etsy site, too late. That party is over. Maybe she’s making more.
Lisa’s fanciful creatures often have a melancholy air about them. Maybe 2021 is pushing her in a new direction. Keep an eye out for Lisa’s online classes.
Off-kilter polymer
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.
Captivated by moths
Russia’s Daria Telegina (Balambeshka on IG) is smitten with moths.
Her Facebook and Instagram are filled with these exotic creatures which she refers to as cute things.
Each one is more complex than the last with exquisite details on their polymer wings, cane-slice antennae, and minutely textured bodies.
Don’t you wonder how she became fixated on moths? What do you feel compelled to make and why?
Friday piranhas
This school of piranhas by France’s Estelle Marchal (lesPtitsmobiles) may not look very dangerous but they have a mouthful of scalpels.
It’s easy to understand mouthfuls of vitriol today (even though Estelle makes her fish look rather benign). See how she turns them into mobiles, schools of sea characters that float through the air with eyes that glow in the dark. Watch Estelle bring these characters to life.
Need to bring your creative side back to life? Head on over to StudioMojo for a look at the ideas that our wild times have hatched.
Give a hug
Yesterday it was a punch. Today it’s a hug. It’s hard to wrap your arms around all the emotions we’re feeling. Clay can help.
Portland’s Gesine Krastner shows us her Hugs by Mail on her Etsy shop and Instagram.
Gesine has a charming way of making difficult emotions and tender feelings easier to deal with in her clay creatures and illustrations. See a whole bunch of them on her website.
Animal natures in clay
Friends came back from a weekend class with Kentucky’s Leslie Blackford gushing about how much they’d learned about clay…and themselves.
There’s something touching, innocent, and vulnerable in Leslie’s unending series of loveable animal sculptures. How does she do that?
For the next few weeks, she will show how she imbues simple sculpted animals with irresistible qualities.
Class details are on Facebook. The tutorials are accessible, inexpensive and just the kind of play your inner child may be yearning for in rough times.
How to catch Love Bugs
It only took seven minutes for fans of New York’s Nicole Johnson’s Mealy Monsters to empty her shop of Love Bugs, Love Grubs, and Infestation Monsters when she updated her shop last weekend.
Her loveable, horrible characters are perfect for Valentine’s Day. They’re ugly and often they hold strange, irreverent signs and sayings.
Nichole has a loyal following who appreciates all the work and whimsy she sculpts into these polymer characters. They creep out every holiday to say something sassy. You have to move quickly to catch them. Here they are on Facebook.
Crawling into view
Albuquerque’s Gael Keyes envisions fantastical bugs in polymer. Since her retirement from teaching last year, Gael has branched out into dolls and sculpture. It’s her bugs that keep crawling onto her Instagram and grabbing attention.
Gael collects her scraps and twists the colorful bits into Natasha canes. Sliced in half, matched, and shaped, these canes become wonderful wings, legs, and heads. She adds a few beads and wires for legs and antennae.
Insects come naturally to Gael and her bugs are quite beautiful. Scroll down her Instagram to see her fall and winter creatures.