It’s difficult to pinpoint what makes these polymer brooches from KatchaT so appealing. Smooth rounded edges make them touchable. The scattered dots of extruded color slices look like confetti and add a party atmosphere.
Their yin/yang colors and shapes bounce your attention back and forth.
The Voila site chose them as winners in their competition this month.
KatchaT is an au pair from Czech Repulic who’s living in Aberdeen, Scotland. See more of her work in her Voila gallery.
Artists are testing the limits of Kato clay. This bangle from Laurie Prophater is constructed of thin strings of copper colored Kato that have been wound decoratively around a pop can and embellished with pearls on wire. I was surprised at its strength…and beauty. Laurie links to design sites on her blog. If you want to see her personal work, you’ll have to go to her Flickr pix.
Rebecca Watkins built a strong faux wood prototype bangle out of intertwined extruded triangular strings of Kato. She brushed it with dark metallic powder and sanded off the excess. Her minimalist approach is very appealing.
I can’t believe I’m uploading to the blog mid-air on my flight home from Denver. Southwest offers wifi for $5! By creating an in-flight post I can avoid testing the limits of my marriage by heading straight for the computer when I get home.
A brand new site from Maryland’s Mari O’Dell fills in nicely while the Colorado network taunts us with an intermittent signal.
Mari extrudes polymer with an Asian influence to create a great selection of jewelry, treasure boxes and beloved bowls. After 30 years as a public school teacher and travels around the world, she’s settled into teaching and creating with polymer in her treehouse studio.
The quote that guides her is, “To the wise, life is a festival.”
Do a happy dance for this terrific polymer artist who joins the online community.
Nothing gets us jazzed for a class more than a heap of polymer samples.
Look at the pile that Fabi (ConTusManos) has layed out on this Flickr page and her site for students in Madrid.
Our eyes immediately search for clues about how she’s managed her texture and resin tricks. The extruded bails on her pendants kick your brain into gear and you’re hooked.
Fall is back to school time. I don’t know about you but I’m primed to learn something new this week.
The lineup at this November’s Clay Carnival in Las Vegas includes several teachers from Europe including two whose works are shown here – Daniel Torres from Spain and Sylvie Peraud from France.
It’s hard to comprehend that Dani’s Radiolarian super hollow bangles are made from polymer and not by some whiz-bang laser cutting process. It would be a rare treat to take his class and find out how these wonders are made.
Sylvie Peraud will reveal how she combines extrusion and cutters to assemble this striking pendant and other rings and earrings in her new line.
There are a few spots left at the event. Catch up with their latest news on Facebook.
Rossella Puoti (clayartitalia) gives tried and true polymer techniques an Italian twist and tops them off with a glamorous presentation.
This bold treatment of extruded strings of polymer looks dramatic on the runway. See more fashionable photos on Rossella’s Facebook page.
If seeing polymer in the spotlight thrills you, you won’t want to miss the first ever museum exhibit and symposium at the Racine Art Museum. Registration for the October 21 gala weekend is open and online here.
Have a glamorous weekend.
When you consider that Julie Eakes created a 2,000-color-combination palette in Photoshop before embarking on her extruded polymer DaVinci portrait cane, you can appreciate why it took her a year and a 16-day cruise before she hit upon the right inspiration for the proper frame for her mosaic’s slices.
And what better inspiration than an Italian cathedral?
The new elaborate frames require more caning, repeated sanding and multiple bakings. By this point, we’ve given up calculating the hours. You do what you have to do.
The pieces come with a terrific story. Julie thinks that no one ever looks at her blog so be sure to leave a comment to show her that we care. Have an inspired weekend!
France’s Helene Klym brings us a light, cool polymer necklace to end a hot week. Long thin tube beads interspersed with simple spacers might be fun to wear (and to make) in this heat.
I’m guessing that the tubes are extruded, an easy process when the clay is warm and pliable.
Helene offers this design in a range of colors. The ivory color looks best for our safari-like climate. Take it easy this weekend.
A spiffy revamped site with new work from Ford and Forlano is just the ticket to start the week. These button earrings mesmerize us with their complex colors and switch our brains into gear. “Exactly how do they do that,” you might ask.
You’ll see lots of continuing design experiments with their polymer tubes that twist to reveal unexpected colors and shapes. Steve and Dave are masters at reinventing their designs and revisiting their methods.
This “Inca Scribbles” pendant from Jan Montarsi is one of the latest in his mica shift series of polymer pendants and covered eggs based on extruded strings.
Jan’s colors are soothing and he’s an experimenter. Be sure to read his profile and check out the Flickr group he recently created.
Jan’s pendant resembles my scrambled brain. I’m finally at home and slowly settling back in with a head filled new ideas and great memories. Sorry if you missed PCD with your coffee this morning. Thanks to Carol Simmons for the link that saved me today.
