NYC artist Olga Ayala wants her art to be interactive. “I am a polymer clay artist who doesn’t believe that art should be something you just look at. That’s why many of my pieces of art are also functional, ” she says.
She’s preparing for Fiesta Navidena which celebrates Puerto Rican heritage month in NYC this weekend with her Bomba Dancer finger puppets, dolls and cutouts.
For the holiday season she’s created sets of Los Reyes Mago in several sizes including these finger puppets. See more of her drummers and dancers on Facebook and on her Etsy site.
Camille Allen’s polymer babies are not made of soap or marzipan or chocolate! They’ve been the subject of many internet myths and viral hoaxes. Camille uses her polymer originals to create a less expensive line of resin molded babies. The originals are rare and very pricey and most everything on her site is soldout.
It is extremely difficult to create a lifelike baby in polymer at micro size and Camille does it very well. Here’s an early PCD post about her. We’re expecting another grandchild in July and I gravitate to babies in preparation for our own tiny miracle.
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.
Jodi Creager says that she’s already got her spook on for the fall season. Have you?
She and Richard created a 16″x10″ shadow box filled with ghosts that will make you shiver. The Mandragora Manor hanging box is miniature scale with six polymer ghosts and witches peering out the windows. Here are more views and the haunting story from Ebay.
Sue Ossenberg sent the link along. Note: The Ebay photos seem to be gone and the links aren’t working. Let’s wait and see if they reappear. Perhaps the ghosts were unhappy.
These hands by polymer doll artist Diane Keeler require a scale and level of detail unfamiliar to most polymer jewelry folks. (The hands are from a class Diane teaches.)
There’s no cane work pattern or rough texture to camouflage flaws. Many polymer doll makers have been elected into NIADA and their sculptures are highly prized.
It’s October! We’ll try to ease you gently into this season’s creepy, scarey polymer art with a look at Suzicq’s voodoo doll with her basket of charms. Suzicq specializes in small art dolls (check out Fred, Ethel Mae and Lola) and fairie houses. She’s new to PCD and was sent to us by Claire Maunsell.
Lance Perry (CrescentHillDesigns) offers another light look at Halloween with a candy corn cottage which is part of his Cornucopia Village.
Look for Lance’s Alfred Hitchcock Moon Man Sculpture in the current issue of Somerset Studio!
What’s Easter without peeps and bunnies? Here are polymer versions of both for your holiday weekend.
Denver’s Molly Cassell earned headlines in the Denver newspaper for her polymer Peppatar 3D diorama in the city’s third annual peeps competition. Molly used polymer for everything in the piece – the peeps, the drink cups and even the popcorn – and came in first in the contest.
Ohio’s Cody Goodin finished his polymer Bunny Buddha just in time. The bunny sits on lettuce leaves in the lettuce position, sharing his wisdom with the world. You can see the sculpture emerge (he didn’t start out as a bunny but his ears grew) on Cody’s blog.
However you celebrate, have a joyous and happy Easter weekend.
Much of the country is in a snowy mood and I drifted to the snow-inspired polymer works of two artists.
Kim Owens (folkartfromtheheart) antiques her folk art/primitive characters (the one at right is Frosty Frightcicle) to give them her signature funky folk look. She’s from California and must have to imagine her snowy scenes.
Janell Berryman (pumpkins-seeds) lives on the Oregon coast where I doubt she’s seeing snowmen like those in her newest collection (pictured at left) either.
Janell has been sculpting and selling her pieces since 1997 and she’s part of a group of like-minded “sweet and spooky” sculptors on the spookytimejingles site. The rich polymer and paperclay links on that site provide a perfect diversion when you need a break from your studio.
More wings! This time they’re on “Angel”ina, the polymer clay fantasy sculpture of Nevada artist Nicole West (wingdthing).
Nicole has an uncanny ability to imbue her creations, from pin ups to pixies, with hyper real features and emotions. It’s easy to see why she was selected this year’s Most Promising Sculptor by her peers on the Deviant Art site.
I’m in the Hollywood vicinity and couldn’t resist the pull of Nicole West’s sexy creatures. Thanks to Andrea Polite for the link.
All this talk of galleries, and museums and awards makes me hungry for something down-to-earth. Take a look at AColourfulJourney.com
The ladies of Nepal’s Sammunat Project tug at my heartstrings and remind me of other meaningful lessons that polymer clay can offer. Their fashion items become income, education for their children, food, medicine, and hope for a brighter future.
Australia’s Wendy Moore (these are her polymer dolls) has been spearheading this remarkable project with a group of Nepalese friends. The project assists abused women by teaching them beading and business skills. On the blog, they eloquently recount their own stories. (Disclaimer: I put the website together for them. The content’s all theirs.)
“We hope that each woman will understand that she is not merely a victim of violence but a talented, capable and valuable woman with strong inner resources and access to external resources,” says Wendy.
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