Race: through clay and conversation

Kathleen Dustin and Donna Greenberg install New Hampshire polymer exhibit

Artists Kathleen Dustin and Donna Greenberg relax after installing an exhibit of seven black and seven white women who used artistic expression to confront the issue of race. The exhibit at the 2 Villages Art Society in Contoocook, NH opens this Saturday. Read the story and see the art here in the Concord Monitor.

Using polymer to reckon with race through art on PolymerClayDaily.com

The women have met online every other week since early 2020. Repair, despair, awaken, rise – these are some of the words that came up as we grappled with the thorny issues of racial justice in the United States. We each chose one word to illustrate in polymer.

My word was feeling and I show our members working through strong emotions. Each square is a silk photo transfer on polymer.

The exhibit begins on Saturday, runs through November 13, and will travel to other venues in 2022. More about the group on Instagram

Fashion and polymer attract crowds

Dayle Doroshow's panels and polymer take flight in Florida on PolymerClayDaily.com

Florida’s Dayle Doroshow was surprised at the success of her solo show at the end of 2020.

The show was held at the library, during a pandemic, after a year of disappointments and too much Netflix.

Dayle doubted herself, felt uninspired, and grieved the loss of a summer in France.

But by December over twenty fabric panels up to 5′ long filled the library atrium. A wearable polymer element was integrated into each design. The birds on her Take Flight were big sellers in the jewelry cases.

In a chatty 10-minute StudioMojo video this Saturday, Dayle shares her motivators and the self-care she had to employ to get her works finished and sold. Ready for a good story with a happy ending? Subscribe and join us.

Constraints bring creativity

Squint and bite your lip, ogle and admire…that’s what I’m doing with these seed necklaces from Ford and Forlano that are part of the Smithsonian show. Stripes and dots? Bring it on!

Can you spot the exciting twists in the latest creations from Steven Ford and David Forlano? They’ve upped their game with new seeds, tubes, and shells.

Everything has shifted as the Smithsonian show has gone virtual. That seems to have broken loose some creativity as well. The bidding process is confusing but it’s forced the artists to lean into coming up with new must-have designs.

Check out Ford/Forlano, Bishoff/Syron, Wiwat, and more.

Polymer mosaic entry

Bobbi Fraser Davis enters a local exhibit with her tiger lilies on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Bobbi Fraser Davis finished this lovely entry for the Louisville Artisan Guild Annual Exhibit. She shows a grouping of tiger lilies in pinks and rose colors mosaicked on a 5.5″ square shallow polymer dish in rusts and tans.

It’s time for guild shows and fair exhibits. Go ahead, jump in with your work.

Challenging exhibit

Margaret Polcawich's 30-day challenge exhibit on PolymerClayDaily

Maryland’s Margaret Polcawich took on a 30-day challenge to create a wall of 6″x6″ pieces to be displayed at the Spitzer Art Center in Harrisonburg, VA.

The squares feature a metal flower or leaf cutout layered on a patterned polymer background mounted on a painted wood frame.

Now that she looks over the first 15 works shown here, Margaret says that she prefers the ones that weren’t finished at 2:00 a.m. (You can sympathize, right?) Examine them all on Facebook.

Impressive and almost makes you want to take on a challenge now that it’s a new month!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday. I’m Facebook-challenged and the list of well-wishers that popped up surprised and delighted!

Wakeup call

Aric Verrastro moves beyond the forest. Care to follow? on polymerclaydaily.com

Is Aric Verrastro’s necklace too Energetic for you on a Monday?

Our Into the Forest weekend keynote speaker, Brigitte Martin from Crafthaus, asked, “What comes after technique?”

The answers have to do with expression and a bigger vision of what your craft can do.

Aric’s steel, spray paint, tool dip and polymer necklace (actually it’s sculpture with a hole for your head) points one way to art. What happens when you walk out of the forest into the larger world?

Facebook is awash in photos from the grand weekend in Pittsburgh and some of the lovely gallery goers are pictured on Instagram.

Woodland wonders from 22 countries

Vigil flowers for Into The Forest on PolymerClayDaily.com

For your weekend enjoyment, take some time wander online to see the splendor that’s been submitted to the international Into the Forest exhibit. Now try to imagine how the curators will assemble it all for the November month-long exhibit in Pittsburgh!

These glorious flowers from San Diego SandyCamper Marni Vigil look like the day lilies blooming in my yard. There are hints of Marni online on Facebook but she keeps a low profile…like many of the other quiet contributors to the exhibit.

Look at all the pods, blooms, berries, bones and more on the exhibit’s Facebook page and Instagram. It’s a stunning array of polymer from hundreds of artists in 32 states and 22 countries.

Put the event on your calendar, contribute to help cover their costs, and be proud of what you and the community are accomplishing!

And join us over at StudioMojo for juicy weekend updates.

Enter to win…and to stretch

Elkina's entry into the Polymer Week Awards on PolymerClayDaily.com

Another way to stretch your skills is to enter a competition or exhibit.

That’s what Poland’s Nadia Elkina does with her Crystallizing Brooch, a polymer clay, enamel and silver entry in the Polymer Week Awards.

The small brooch measures 2.3″ x 1.5″ x 1″. Another view may give you a better idea of the dimension of this stunning piece.

If deadlines inspire you, perhaps the rapidly approaching June 12 due date for the IPCA Awards is just the push you need.

Grow the forest

Laura Tabakman, Emily Squires Levine and Julie Eakes, the creative forces behind the global collaborative Into the Forest exhibit created this series of 4″ caned flower brooches as part of a fundraising effort.

Sales of these and a smaller bar brooch series will help cover the costs of the exhibit and associated opening festivities in Pittsburgh at the Spinning Plate Gallery November 10-11. The show runs through the end of November. A teaser mini-installation will be unveiled at Synergy4 in August.

The curators have accumulated thousands of elements from 250 artists in 32 states and 22 countries that will be put together as a forest installation. While they are applying for grants and corporate sponsorships, you can also show your support and help grow the forest by picking a brooch from the exhibit’s new website/shop, intotheforestinstallation.com.

This Saturday’s StudioMojo will be filled with more super tips and tidbits from the Virginia conference. There’s still time to sign up and hear all the backstory.

Butterflies are free

Into the Forest submission on PolymerClayDaily

This butterfly bush (more pix here) is a group project from the polymer clay students at the Ohio Reformatory for Women for the Into the Forest exhibit.

The clay came from generous artists who were destashing. (The ORW students are happy to condition old polymer. Let me know if you’re cleaning out and have extra clay.)

They created 27′ of big hole beads that were slipped onto brass rods and inserted into a wooden base made by my husband. The brass rods couldn’t be taken into the facility so we had to visualize the piece and assemble it at home. I’ll take the whole shebang apart to ship it off to Pittsburgh.

Will you be part of this international exhibit? The deadline has been extended to May 1.

You have plenty of time to make your mark on the fanciful forest that Laura Tabakman, Julie Eakes, Emily Squires Levine, Libby Mills and Nancy Travers concoct from your submissions.

The event opens in Pittsburgh in November with a teaser preview on view at Synergy4 in August. Are you tempted to make some beads to cheer up your own garden?

1 2 3 ›