Earrings with a twist

Susan Sju twists patterns into lightweight dangles on PolymerClayDaily.com

These featherweight dangles from Macedonia’s Susan Sju stopped me in my tracks.

Don’t you love to reverse-engineer pieces? I’m not sure I understand how Susan got to this point and she has even more confounding and delightful patterns on her Facebook. Extruded blended strings laid next to each other and flattened perhaps?

Look at the displays in her Ohrid retail store and you’ll see that she’s got lots of tricks up her sleeve.

I’m trying to order a pair of these imaginative swirls from her recently-launched online store. Thanks to Sabine Spiesser for alerting me to Susan.

Flowers and flutters

Bonnie Bishoff suspends translucent curls from wire cable on PolymerClayDaily.com

I admit to having an art crush on Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff. Take a closer look at her imaginative use of stainless steel wire. She has mastered using Apoxie Sculpt as a strong base form. Her color sense is impeccable and makes my heart sing.

And now she’s laid up with a broken foot but still, she posts sumptuous earrings to her webshop. She and her husband have crafted a great life.

Here two thin translucent slivers of clay curl toward each other as they dangle from wire cable. Light as a feather.

If you need a mid-week pick-me-up, go admire the flowery and fluttery earrings in her shop.

No shrinking violets

Maryanne Loveless finds hundreds of flowers in her garden on PolymerClayDaily.com

Utah’s Maryanne Loveless has been creating a garden of earrings for her 100-day challenge. No shy, shrinking violets here.

She arranges flower petal and leaf cane slices a backing shape and then adds texture, pods, and dotted details. They hang head up or down. She arranges a garden of delight from a handful of small canes.

Maryanne and her mother started long ago making salt dough creations and she carries on the tradition. Here she is on Etsy.

Her birds take wing

Joan Tayler's birds take flight on PolymerClayDaily.com

Vancouver’s Joan Tayler has a way with birds like this little one she’s calling “Dicky Bird” that’s now a zipper pull. She also makes them into whistles, earrings, necklaces, and more.

Joan is creating a flock of various species for her 100-day challenge. Her drawings and in-process shots on Instagram are captivating. Joan knows her birds.

Hopeful Monday

Bonnie Gilmore appliques beautiful bits onto polymer bases on PolymerClayDaily.com

The way little things add up to something big and refreshing is what draws us back to Australia’s Bonnie Gilmore (Hatching Sparrows). She intended to make studs but absent-mindedly drilled holes. No harm, no foul, make the best of it. They became dangles.

My eyes wander to places that make me feel good and Bonnie has a talent for soothing with some polymer words of inspiration tucked in among her baubles. Happy, hopeful Monday.

Forced blooms

Bonnie Gilmore breathes spring into polymer earrings on PolymerClayDaily.com

Perth, Australia’s Bonnie Gilmore (Hatching Sparrows) loved making these commissioned statement earrings. They are a vibrant mix of colors, cultures, and styles. They combine ancient culture with a modern twist.

The earrings combine stories of family, history, weddings, Peranakan (Chinese) outfits, and favorite flowers. “I loved using elements of traditional culture alongside the client’s modern-day self,” she says.

Bonnie adds small sculpted polymer elements onto a slab base. Here she photographs the finished earrings laid on a magazine page to stunning effect. She gives us a breath of Spring. See more of Bonnie’s gorgeous polymer appliques on Instagram.

Need more beautiful reminders of spring? Come on over to StudioMojo for a look at what beauty these difficult times have forced into bloom. You’ll be pleased with the stories we uncovered this week.

Signs of spring

Shannon Tabor's spring Nests predict a vibrant spring on PolymerClayDaily.com

We look at polymer for signs of spring and if South Carolina’s Shannon Tabor (Charleston Clay Jewelry) is any indication, the season will be bright and energetic.

Her Nest earrings are uninhibited and unafraid coils of polymer decorated with splashes of color. On her Instagram, you’ll see polka dots as well.

She makes them into studs or, for the bolder customer, studs with big dangles. They are selling briskly, according to Shannon. Are you ready for a big, bold spring?

Polymer panache

Zazu does a simple cane with style on PolymerClayDaily.com

Spain’s ZaZu shares her basic cane in a 15-second tutorial that’s hard to resist.

Her design looks like stitching and she turns it into all sorts of trendy geometrically shaped earrings and pendants in a wide variety of colors.

While the designs aren’t complex, they’re rich with panache and style. Here’s ZaZu on Facebook.

Beachy boho Monday

Lorraine Vogel creates a bit of beach on her earrings on PolymerClayDaily.com

The Zen of these earrings from Florida’s Lorraine Vogel (wiredorchid) offers us a smooth transition to Monday.

She embeds rings into the tops of satisfying painted shapes. They feel balanced and swingy. A vacation vibe on your ears.

The painted surfaces are some combination of her batik and pretty grunge techniques. (Correction: Lorraine says: I created this surface with stencils and acrylic paint, not by using my batik technique.) Lorraine offers tutorials on her boho beachy styles. She’s here on Instagram.

Baked-in serenity

Dede Leupold makes delicate earrings in a divine studio space on PolymerClayDaily.com

Washington’s Dede Leupold makes polymer earrings that have a delicate, calming effect. Her looping wire work is baked into the polymer cane slice.

A look at Dede’s studio shows you how and where these pieces are made. There’s a serenity that could only come from someone who had a serene spot in which to work. Go have a look at it.

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