Alien agate

Sherstin Schwartz sees something alien in her layers of polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Minnesota’s Sherstin Schwartz (lifeofapaintbrush) notes that some viewers may recognize her latest creation as very Fordite-like. That’s what they named the paint slag chipped from the paint booth walls of various automotive plants in the 40’s.

Sherstin prefers to think of her undulating and swirling polymer layers as alien agate.

She’ll probably turn them into flowers (that’s what she does) but you may see undulating layers of stone or picture the residue from a paint booth in Detroit. Enjoy them in their natural state.

Polymer FrootLoops

Liat Weiss serves up a spoonful of earrings for breakfast on PolymerClayDaily.com

Is this a crazy world or what?

You won’t have any trouble convincing Toronto’s Liat Weiss (Dewdrop.Inc) of that notion.

“Truly from the bottom of my heart thank you for allowing me to make froot loops out of clay as part of my living.” she marvels to her followers

Liat makes very realistic breakfast cereal earrings out of polymer and you can watch her here.

FRIDAY FOLLOW: indigo.sands

Krymsyn (indigo.sands) reveals the glow of her imitative amber on PolymerClayDaily.com

North Carolina’s Krymsyn (Indigo.Sands) uses the hashtag “claytocope” because she picked up polymer to help her through the pandemic.

It’s worked! She has more followers than I thought possible and her business is thriving.

Yes, she’s trendy and savvy but better than that, she’s curious and has an itch for imitative techniques like her latest faux amber. Here her hoop’s rich color is revealed by her phone flashlight. Worth following along, right?

The holy grail of faux

Do you have a thing for opals? Me too. The flash of color, the mystery. In college, as I gestured enthusiastically my hand brushed against a stucco wall and my opal Christmas ring shattered. That got me started.

Melbourne’s Leanne Fergeus (leannefergeusart) has explored the alchemy of polymer opals. She’s still experimenting and she’s mighty close.

Marled polymer

Liga Valge makes polymer marled wool on PolymerClayDaily.com

We were almost fooled into thinking the November chill wouldn’t come but, Hello!

These imitation-knit earrings by Ireland’s Liga Valge look warm and fuzzy propped up against a handmade sweater.

Twist together scraps of polymer grays, browns, and whites into barber pole spaghetti strands of what looks like marled wool and you’re ready to knit.

Here’s a Pinterest page of patterns.

Write it down

Marcia Palmer brings style to the office on PolymerClayDaily.com

Atlanta’s Marcia Palmer makes pen sets that fly out of her Etsy shop. Having a matching base for each pen means that they stand a better chance of staying put on the desk.

Marcia textures and carves the imitative bone polymer and highlights it with paint.

Be aware that not all pen bodies covered with polymer can withstand the heat of the oven. Some melt into puddles of plastic (first-hand experience). Best to test an uncovered one first. Oh, and don’t put the ink cartridge in the oven. Big mess.

Marcia’s got a knack for bringing big style to the office.

Screaming cookies

Anakay's biscuits scream on PolymerClayDaily.com

In the hands of France’s Anakay (anakay_fimo) during this spooky season, popular BN cookies take on a more sinister tone. Her polymer versions turn into earrings on her Instagram.

It’s Friday so we’ll slip into the weekend with some spooky sweets. Even the cookies are screaming these days.

In this Saturday’s StudioMojo we’ll bring the screaming down a notch. No hustles, no pushing. You probably have your own little inkling of something new you want to try. Come see the bright ideas you may have missed.

Flower diversion

Chicago’s Ann Duncan Hlavach brings us an end-of-the-summer flower. She tucks them in her outrageous garden among their more perishable, less flamboyant cousins.

If you need a pleasant diversion (and who doesn’t), take a stroll along Ann’s garden path.

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.

Drizzled polymer

Marni Southam drizzles liquid polymer over her imitative ceramic vase on PolymerClayDaily.com

Watch how Australia’s Marni Southam at Oleander Avenue finishes off this vase with a drizzle of liquid polymer. She gives our medium a breath of spring air that she shares on the Poly Collective FriClay site.

You can examine the piece up close on Marni’s own site here.

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