Polymer Clay Daily

Matchy matchy

A new necklace from Laurel Swetnam updates an old favorite on PolymerClayDaily.com

Oregon’s Laurel Swetnam was bummed that her schedule forces her to miss her friends’ Clayathon class about using what’s in your closet to come up with new palettes and patterns.

Laurel grabbed a much-loved top that gives her a sunny glow every time she puts it on and headed to her studio to try out the concept.

She scored! Her riff on the pattern includes dotted and striped tubes that enhance but don’t compete with the flowery batik pattern.

If you’d like some pointers about how you can mix and match accurately without going overboard, grab a seat in the online class with Shelley Atwood and Joan Tayler.

Give your old favorites new life.

StudioMojo lets you in on all sorts of behind-the-scenes happenings every Saturday. Sign up here!

 

 

FRIDAYFOLLOW: Bre at Hosmer Co

Bree at Hosmer Co gives us a holiday on a hoop on PolymerClayDaily.com

Bre of North Carolina’s (shophosmerco) Hosmer Co. brings us her version of holiday earrings in these minimalist Christmas trees on hoops. Very sleek and trendy.

She’s most known for her more extravagantly spotted and complex moth designs but a girl’s gotta go with the seasonal vibe and stay fashion-forward.

Follow her to get up to speed on one important direction polymer is headed.

On StudioMojo we’ll be tracking everything from pop-up shops to galleries and shows to see artists who are trying new ways to build a following, a business, a life. 

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.

Runway polymer

Chiara Curreli hits the runway with updated designs on PolymerClayDaily.com

Whenever you’re feeling apologetic about our plastic art form and its hippie roots, take in the trendy vibes from Sardinia’s Duecentogrammi’s fashion runway photos.

This is not your grandma’s polymer…or it doesn’t have to be. Check Chiara Curreli out on Instagram.

Tribute to illustration

Veru Stevens makes a fashion statement in polymer

Hang onto summer with these Tribute Earrings from a new collection by Philadelphia’s Vee Stevens (Veru Designs).

Each of the designs in her series is inspired by illustrators. In this case, the designs at Deny Designs provided the push to pinks and peaches which Vee reinterpreted in layers of graphic cutouts.

“Don’t let the earrings’ simplicity deceive you! They were more time consuming to make than I thought,” Vee admits. And yes, they’re big. These are 2.75 inches long and 1.7 inches wide.

See more of what Vee is up to and what inspires her on Facebook and Pinterest.

Runway polymer

We move from yesterday’s minimalist approach to Italy’s Chiara Curreli (Duecentogrammi) who lives on the other end of the scale.

Chiara debuted her exhuberant and colorful polymer line in 2012 and continues to promote it in fashion shows (this model is from the London show) and high profile media.

Much as museum shows help our craft get exposure, the glitz and glamor of the runway offers another big audience. Get caught up in the excitement on Chiara’s Facebook page and on her blog.

Sound and fashion designs collide

Santa Fe’s David Forlano is the western half of the Ford/Forlano design duo. (Steven Ford lives in Philadelphia.) The art magazine, Riveting Riffs, features David and his work as both a polymer jeweler and as a sound designer. He co-produces the suspenseful web series Cyphers.

David recounts how he and Steve ricocheted from art school to roofing jobs to polymer clay. He tells the story of how they sold their work at first in surf shops and later in museums. They continue to change.

David traces the thread of collaboration, innovation, and fearlessness throughout their careers which has taken turns not unlike the curving paths in their Ribbon Brooch at left. It’s a good read and he discusses the relationship Ford/Forlano have with the Texas design studio, Allie-Coosh. Prepare for a rich read and an inspiring story with lots of eye candy.

Fashion/fantasy from Cat and Cleo

It’s time to revisit the fashion/fantasy work of Florida sisters Cleo and Cat Pieschacon. Their current collection, Drama, Fusion, and Nocturnal, pairs semi-precious stones, silver, gold, and leather with polymer clay in dramatic, oversize jewelry. The cuffs in the collection are based on jewel-encrusted polymer layered on large silver or leather bases.

Cleo and Cat’s website is glamorous. Their press clippings (read here and here) and this news video reveal marketing savvy as well as fashion sense. Both artists are design school graduates. Cat was a home furnishing designer for Polo Ralph Lauren.

Last spring the duo presented at Henri Bendel’s spring trunk show and their line was recently picked up by Nordstrom. The sisters plan to open their own Miami boutique in 2010.