Polymer Clay Daily

Faux bike chain

Yep, LaLa Ortiz used polymer to create this faux bicycle chain bracelet. Lighter and less oily than the real version, don’t you think? There are better pictures here.

It’s a clever chain design which LaLa promises to upload to her Web site. She’d been thinking about the bracelet for a couple of years and it came to fruition at this year’s Polypalooza at Lake Tahoe. Clever biker girl.

Cable woes

Our wires got crossed or the squirrels chewed them or some such disaster has upset our household. Worse than not having internet is listening to my husband mourn the loss of his tv. If I’m slow to respond to email or a bit sloppy with my coding, you’ll know why. Waitin’ for the cable guy.

Sila’s polymer rinds

Ponsawan Sila makes us grin as we end the week and begin a hot summer. Last summer her friend posed wearing a slice of real watermelon as a fashion statement from her garden.

Without missing a beat, Ponsawan created her own version in polymer. The rind is made from a mokume gane stack of shades of green. The interiors are Skinner blends of red to white.

She’ll be adding these rind rings to her Etsy store soon. Have a juicy weekend.

Prophater polymer cover girl

Laurie Prophater generously demoed her flat faux ivory bangles at a recent conference and I can tell you that they’re fun to make and wear. Zentangle aficionados loved the drawing and carving involved.

Read all about how to make these bracelets in the summer issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine. In fact, Laurie’s the cover girl! You can find more examples on her Flickr pages.

Laurie’s in the decorating biz and her blog is full of links that will lead you to wonderful (and outrageously expensive) designers, fabrics and furniture. She’s on top of the latest trends and enjoys translating them into polymer.

Christi Friesen’s featured in the issue as well! I must get to the bookstore to see if I missed anyone else.

Polymer that remembers

Luann Udell's Lascaux horses in polymer clay
Williamson's distressed beads
Elvira Lopez del Prado's polymer bangles

Polymer clay simulates nothing better than ivory and bone. Here are three recent examples that caught my eye.

Luann Udell (those are her Lascaux horse sculptures) updates ancient stories with modern artifacts. “I use these modern artifacts to retell ancient stories, stories I feel have much to teach us today,” she says. Her post about telling stories through art is a good Monday read.

Genevieve Williamson’s distressed, faceted, and textured beads seem to have been unearthed from another time as well.

Elvira Lopez del Prado uses fragments of handwritten messages to hint at old stories and past lives on her newest line of bangles.

In the US, it’s Memorial Day…a good day for remembering and retelling stories.

Brandon’s faux Mexican pottery

Brandon's Cinco de Mayo polymer necklace

Our flower power week ends with fiesta polymer clay beads from Arizona’s Anita Brandon. They’re what she calls “faux Mexican pottery” and made of polymer over an ultralight base to keep them lightweight. Cane slice appliques give the beads extra dimension.

Anita wanted to capture the excitement of the Cinco de Mayo fiestas she remembered as a child. Have an exciting weekend.

Her monarch and morning glory necklace is not to be missed either.

Thomas thinks outside the box

Thomas' polymer button flowers

These polymer flowers with antique button centers were made by California’s Maureen Thomas for an “Outside the Box” show at PlacerArts center. She chronicles the progress of her project on her blog.

The flowers look so much like metal that I could hardly believe my eyes. Maureen gives a big hint about the technique she used in her blog post here. Clever girl.

Thanks to Randee Ketzel for bringing us the link.

Oops….I timed the post for the wrong time zone. I’m an April fool.

Sedona stones

Tinapple Sedona stones bracelet

My Sedona stones polymer bracelet is part of a continuing fascination with rocks, this time with flat shapes and western red rock colors. My petroglyphs, based on the ones we saw at nearby ruins, aren’t quite ready for display.

You’ll understand my obsession better when you look at the pictures from our hikes through the local canyons and along the rivers. Sedona is a rock lover’s paradise. Allowing your surroundings to influence your art is an immersive experience.

I was pleased to see the works of Barb Fajardo, Tish Collins and Gwen Pena in one gallery in town. Three in one gallery! Excellent!

Dubious Denim

Peraud's polymer denim

Several of us examined the photos of Sylvie Peraud’s new denim line, skeptical that the fabric could be made from polymer clay. We were forced to run the text through the translation from French which says, “Contrary to what your eyes tell you, there is no fabric here.”

Sylvie promises that she will reveal all her denim secrets on Donna Kato’s upcoming CraftEdu.com site. Meanwhile, marvel at her sleight of hand. We can’t figure it out.

The link first came to us from Randee Ketzel. Have an incredible weekend.

Muir’s highland style mokume gane

Muir's mokume polymer cuff
Muir's mokume bracelet

Scotland’s Melanie Muir says, “I am constantly inspired by the colours and patterns that surround me in the Highland landscape and by the patterns in semi precious stones such as agate and jasper.”

Melanie’s studio overlooks the ever changing waters of the Moray Firth whose turbulence and colors are often reflected in the distinctive look of her polymer mokume gane.

An article on Melanie’s work appears in the current issue of the UK’s Craft & Design magazine. She even squeezed in a sidebar tip-of-the-hat to her fellow polymer clay and metal clay artists. I’m kicking myself for not having sat down with her at Synergy to get the full story.

Melanie has been entered for the magazine’s Selected Awards 2010 so be sure to scroll to the bottom of her page, fill out the required boxes and vote for her. The public votes until April 30.