Blurring the lines with enamels

Nikolina Otrzan replicates enamel's blurry lines on PolymerClayDaily.com

Polymer artists have long tried to replicate the soft blurry edges that are the hallmark of copper enameled pieces.

Low fire (cold) enamel powders were rumored to be the answer but my vials of powders went to the back of a bottom drawer several years ago after some messy attempts.

Croatia’s Nikolina Otrzan makes me want to dig out my powders and give it another go. Her tutorial shows me where I went wrong. She uses liquid polymer, layers and other tricks to keep the powders under control.

Nikolina has lots more patience than I do. She loads up her instructions with photos and steps. I pare them down for my experiments to see how they fit my style.

Imitative enamels may be the next big thing. If this rings your chimes, now’s the time to explore.

Quirky challenge

Barbara Nalepa's quirky characters enliven a 10-day challenge on PolymerClayDaily.com

Sweden’s Barbara Nalepa was nominated by EvaMarie Törnström to take part in an ad hoc challenge for 10 days.

Barbara’s creatures have a wild and funny demeanor with an unexpected sprinkling of shimmering glitter from what may be low-fire enamel powder on polymer.

Since the challenge specifies that the artists don’t have to explain a thing, it’s hard to determine all that’s going on. Perhaps Barbara will elaborate on her quirky characters later.

More characters roam through her Facebook.

Curved and pinched beads with color and texture

Carol Beal adds surface texture and color for a comfy cohesive look on PolymerClayDaily.com

Look closely at this necklace from Kansas’ Carol Beal (BeadUnsupervised) to understand the multi-colored, bubbly, bumpy surface of her beads.

Her simple shapes turn out to have a mysterious tactile quality. Low fire enamels on polymer? Textured paint? Who knows? They put me in mind of a PCD post and tutorial about chunky heishi beads by Marina Rios.

The rounded beads and pinched spacers give Carol’s necklace an appealing cohesiveness.

Tomorrow’s StudioMojo will include an interview with Lindly Haunani about how she teaches and about what she learned from her day-long session with the inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Sign up at StudioMojo.org to join us.