Breezy polymer batiks

Lorraine Vogel (WiredOrchid) brings us more breezy summer batiks. You can feel her home’s Florida influence in the leaves and flowers in her designs.

Lorraine’s been perfecting her own methods using inks and stamps in ways that go beyond shabby chic beads which rely on paints. She’s tried other rustic glazes and effects. She’s dabbled with carving polymer and coloring with washes.

After all that Lorraine has come up with a dyed fabric look that combines the techniques in a new way. She hints that she’ll develop a tutorial that will divulge how she uses inks to mimic the wax batik process so convincingly on polymer.

In the meanwhile, you can admire how she’s refined and evolved her methods on Flickr, Facebook and on her Etsy site.

Remarkable bits

It’s not easy to salvage that sweet bit of polymer veneer and turn it into something wearable and delightfully designed. That’s why these earrings from Minnesota’s Jan Geisen caught my eye.

She has a way of putting geometric shapes together in a way that makes them both simple and remarkable. She leans toward muted imitative stone patterns or watercolor-like washes of color. These earrings measure 1/4″ x 1 3/4″. The black rectangle attaches to the earwire and surrounds the patterned slab.

On Jan’s Flickr pages you’ll see more examples of her mix-and-match stacking style. She’s compiled a great stash of inspirations on Pinterest.

Ready-to-go earrings

Natalia Garcia de Leaniz is one clever and efficient artist. Look closely here and you’ll see that she built these polymer earrings right onto the findings. Her method is perfect for those of us who have trouble assembling and finishing earrings.

She filled the earwire’s bezel with clay and textured it then wrapped slim strips over the background clay and the bezel. She tops her construction with a small bowl shape with a bright shiny interior. Bake and wear!

Donna Kato shows these earwires on her favorite findings page and other vendors offer them as well.

Natalia will teach her tricks at the July 30 – August 2 Clay Carnival in Las Vegas.You can find more about this Spanish artist on Facebook, CraftArtEdu and Pinterest. Her free tool tutorial explains how she builds texture tools.

Nothing like a trick to start the week right!

Polymer germs

Madrid’s Silvia Ortiz de la Torre has Germs. That’s what’s she’s calling this series of post earrings (or at least that’s how Google translates it).

They’re pillow shaped and covered with striped veneers. The corduroy texture comes from the fine threads on a bolt rolled across the unbaked surface. That’s an easy addition to pop into your toolbox.

Look closely and you’ll see subtle blends in Silvia’s bright stripes. As a wearer of post earrings, I appreciate her attention to small interesting shapes. See more of Silvia on Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest and Etsy.

Polymer tropical breezes

Jeff Dever is premiering new pieces that blow in on tropic breezes. These gems are for the BIJOUX! 2015 in West Palm Beach, Florida. It’s the fourth annual exhibition and sale of The Norton Museum of Art. The earrings and bangle shown here are part of Jeff’s offerings.

Forty-four international contemporary jewelry artists were invited to the event which runs from February 25 to March 1.

See the rest of Jeff’s new work on his Facebook page and catch his We Are SNAG: Identity entries on the Society of North American Goldsmiths’ site.

Go bucks polymer

Never in ten years has your editor whipped up earrings for a PCD post but I live in Ohio. That means that I must post something in support of OSU’s big national championship football game tonight. My apologies to Oregon polymer fans.

The Ohio State University is relentless in quashing all copyright and design violations. They can’t own stripes, can they? While these are not great art, let’s hope this scarlet and gray interpretation contains some luck. (Quick and easy gifts are one of the reasons you got started in polymer too, right?)

My lunch companions will appreciate the free game day jewelry and I have fulfilled my obligation as a citizen of Ohio. Go Bucks!

Polymer graduate degree

On her profile Marie Segal lists her educational institution as Hellenback University. Her latest line of work reflects a graduate degree with honors! And she’s got new tricks up her sleeve.

Mokume gane, textures, cane slices and luscious colors are stacked onto lentil shapes. She repeats the shape again and again with each iteration more enticing than the last.

You should know that Marie is credited with being the first person to use the pasta machine to flatten polymer. She’s been at this a while and she’s teaching in the UK in November.

See what Marie’s been creating on her Etsy shops here and here, on her blog, and of course at the Clay Factory. Her most recent works are on Facebook.

Exhibit catalog lucky winners

Linda Prais
Carolyn A.
Kathy Koontz
Christina Nevin
Ann Schroeder

From painting to polymer

When I first saw the lovely paintings of Indian women by Rachana Saurabh, I thought, “This artist needs to try polymer, she’d be a natural.” It was easy to imagine her graphic style and her skill with color transitioned to clay.

Two years later, Rachana wrote from Baltimore where she now lives and indeed, she had found polymer.

Rachana quickly learned the craft and tried any number of techniques. She gravitated to appliquing bright bits of clay onto beads. Her designs take on a distinctly Indian textile flavor to which she adds bunches of dangling sparkles. These earrings are from her Festive collection.

On her latest bangle, Krishna and Peacock Feathers, Rachana introduced the ladies from her paintings to her jewelry. She says she tried face canes but couldn’t get the hang of reducing. These faces are sculpted and painted on the wide blue bangle. The Indian dieties’ favorite peacocks, cows, trees and lotus circle the piece.

Rachana’s story is full of exotic imagery and happy coincidences. Watch her on Facebook, Flickr and Etsy as well as her blog to see what she develops next.

Winged polymer

Arden Bardol takes two flat pieces of polymer, adds surprises on both sides and dots one side with color. She backs the two curved pieces against each other separating them with polymer stoppers.

Voila! Earrings that will have everyone studying them as they twist and sway. Even the space between is filled with interesting shapes.

Her Wings Multi 1 earrings are part of the Artful Home fall collection. See all the items that Arden offers.

On Facebook you can see a similarly designed necklace that she created for the Rehoboth Art League Fine Craft Show this weekend.

Red, white and floral

This red, white and blue is from Katarina Mravcova (Ketlin) from the Slovak Republic but we’ll snitch it for the US July Fourth because these earrings feel festive on our festive day. You can see them on some lovely models here.

Gathering bunches of delicately blended and layered petal cutouts, Ketlin creates bouquets of pastel polymer.. She suspends her mini-florals from ear wires or pendant bails.

In her day job, Ketlin is a Geographic Information Systems research scientist who relaxes with polymer art which she sells online. Her soft, serene color sense sets her work apart and you can see it best on Facebook.

Happy Independence Day!

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