River polymer

Wednesday is the last day of Gesine Kratzner’s epic exhibit, River Without End, at Albina Press coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. Gesine and artist Sarah Hall installed a 300-foot paper river around the shop’s eight walls. They mounted boats, animals, bridges, sea creatures, mermaids and dragonflies on the river.

The polymer, paperclay and epoxy characters tell a story that flows around the room. Each of the mounted characters was for sale…and sold briskly. Great idea! See all the photos of this imaginative show here.

Gesine is an illustrator, sculptor and animator (featured here on PCD). She also sells from her Etsy shop, Blobhouse.

Maggie Maggio and Laurel Swetnam told me about the show where they each bought pieces like this Father and Son.

Polymer Halloween

You can rely on Nicole Johnson for some almost-cute, not-so-scary polymer monsters. Flip through her site for your virtual haunted house experience.

Nicole describes her MealyMonsters issues when she puts them up for sale on Etsy. Her characters have been mistreated and misunderstood and now they’re a bit cranky or mischevious. Now they’re ready to party. Happy Halloween.

Polymer time management

Luann Udell explains her pre-show jitters and invites visitors to her booth at the NH Craftsman's Annual Fair at Mt. Sunapee later this week.

"It’s where I’ll struggle to put up my booth on a ski slope, stand for nine days in 95 degree weather, and wonder if I’ll make enough money to get me through to next year’s show," she says cheerily.

She'll show you her newest polymer artifacts from lost cultures and imagined prehistories and let you see the awesome scar on her knee which explains her absence last year.

Luann's blog post about her display research is a good read and you can find out even more on FaceBook.

Ann Dillon, Sandra McCaw, Marcia Herson, Kathleen Dustin (did I miss anyone?) are also regulars at this terrific show now in its 80th year.

It's in the mail!

You may have been wondering when my book would appear (me too). Pre-ordered copies of Polymer Clay Global Perspectives have shipped and I'm sending virtual hugs with each one. Now you can order it online and snap it up in bookstores. See what all the buzz is about.

The Deerclayer

When Arlene Groch‘s son asked her to cover a resin deer’s head to hang on the wall of his San Diego office, he was serious and it was a request she couldn’t refuse. The black and white pattern was his choice.

In a post on the Philadelphia guild site Arlene explains how she covered and baked the beast. Arlene doesn’t divulge what kind of business her son is in. Aren’t you curious to see how the mounted head looks in place?

For more of Arlene’s work, visit the Xanadu Gallery site. She was a finalist in this year’s Niche Awards (and not in the taxidermy category).

Guild web writer Sarah Sorlien sent the link along.

Polymer damselfly

Lestes, the Damselfly is a 12-inch tall polymer and fabric creature created by the Filigree, a Nashville-based husband and wife team. Martin Øbakke, native of Denmark home to the little Mermaid, met Celena Cavala, ballerina and Nashville native, in Italy where they started making fairy tales.

Martin does the illustrating and polymer sculptures while Celena sews and writes about the fantasy they live in, the Filigree. In their world the filigree are thin gossamer strands that connect everything.

The couple offered their latest creations this week and already they’ve all flown away. Each Damselfly comes with immigration paperwork. You can see the entire collection including their dragons and unicorns on Flickr.

Buggy polymer…and a giveaway

The problem is not your monitor, there really are bugs in the system and they’re polymer from Jana Lehmann. You can watch these beetle brooches escaping from their cute little boxes.

Jana’s work is consistently the most graphic and the tidiest I’ve encountered. There’s considerable sanding involved and lots of attention to detail.

Her polymer-covered pens always appeal to me with their shapely Skinner-blended bodies and their whimsical tops. Just for fun, I’m offering five of the wooden pen bases that Jana uses as a giveaway today. I ordered a bunch from the German supplier (Bettina Welker delivered them) and they’re fun to try.

Make a comment and you’re automatically entered. I’ll announce a winner tomorrow.

Bottled polymer

It may not dawn on you that Joyce Cloutman has formed these polymer art dolls over bottles. They’re not the kind of bottles we’re used to seeing covered with polymer patterns. These blissful sisters cradle simple treasures in their hands.

Joyce is teaching this 2-day Bella Dona class at All Dolls Are Art (ADAA) in July in Austin, Texas.

In an interview Joyce talks about how important it has been to her to get together with friends and guild mates. Prompted by a magazine article she stumbled into sculpting and she hasn’t looked back.

Polymer spirits

Fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales fuel Starla Friend’s imagination. She renders her creatures using both traditional and digital media.

Egon, the spirit monster to the left, is 5 inches tall and his antlers span 6 inches. Regulus (below) is somewhat smaller.

Peek into Starla’s studio here and read about this Texas artist’s process as she sculpts polymer and mixed media monsters, dragons, cats and other creatures. Ronna Weltman stumbled on Starla’s Etsy shop and sent PCD the link.

Painted polymer

Danielle Pedersen makes itty-bitty hand-painted animal jewelry and decor out of polymer clay in a little studio in San Diego, California. Her pocket totem creatures are sold through her HandyMaiden Etsy shop.

“My process generally begins by looking at a lot of photographs of the animal I wish to make. I ponder the expression of a smug seal or the daily schedule of a lemur; I learn their general structure, their coloring, and maybe guess at a few of their hobbies,” Danielle says in a recent feature on Etsy blog.

“I think my style is what sets me apart; my pieces are recognizable. Most successful Etsy sellers can say the same thing,” she added, “I like the notion that my work is being picked up, worn, and examined closely.” Danielle’s medals like the Badger of Honor shown here are particularly quirky and fun. Thanks to Genevieve Williamson for the link.

Thinking inside the box

Sometimes it’s good think inside the box as in Dawn Schiller’s latest polymer OddFae tucked in a 1″ locket. Guru in a box? Consultant in a box?

Dawn cautions, “For the record — If anyone EVER hears me say, Gosh, I’m bored! I think I’ll sculpt a little, tiny, less-than-an-inch-tall oddfae into a copper box! Feel free to whop me upside the head ’til I drop the sculpting tool.”

Check out more of her work in the June issue of PolymerCafe magazine. Her Faemaker book is due out this August. Read about her latest exploits on FaceBook and Etsy.

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