Putting your own stink on a technique

Valerie Anderson's abstract brooch plays with colors and shapes on PolymerClayDaily.com

Scotland’s Valerie Anderson (bedeckedbeads) has played and played with Sonya Girodon’s free tutorial. With this latest brooch, Valerie puts her own spin on the process with deep watery colors.

And if you look at the side view you’ll see how her curved strips add another departure. When you put your own “stink” on a technique and take off in new directions, you make it yours. Here’s Valerie’s shop.

I’ve run across such an astonishing array of new work that we will have to ponder what’s happening in this week’s StudioMojo newsletter. It’s as if you’ve been unleashed! Are you feeling it? Come see where polymer is headed.

What will 2020 look like?

Nadia Elkina points us toward the future of polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Will 2020 polymer look more like Poland’s Nadia Elkina’s mosaic brooch? Dimensional, mixed, polychromatic?

It’s hard to tell which elements are which medium. And who really cares? It’s the overall snap, crackle, and pop that makes this piece compelling. Look even further ahead on IG here.

Join us this weekend over at StudioMojo where we’ll have our eye on new and interesting directions we can expect in polymer 2020. Who can predict? We’re gonna try. Come on over and add your two cents.

Rebounding polymer

Nancy Nearing's small works show big progress on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ohio neighbor Nancy Nearing displays these four small artworks in a local gallery’s “Small Works” show for the holidays. We covered the start of this project as a work-in-progress in August.

What is remarkable is that Nancy’s new spurt of creativity comes after a tough year of grief and change.

“Nine months, ten trips, three clay retreats, and one class later, I’m starting to rediscover the joy of creating new pieces and series,” Nancy says in her blog post.

Going through a slow period, dreading the holidays, facing a crisis? Nancy shows us how creativity can disappear or remain dormant and then come back full throttle.