Polymer beach finds

Sandra Deyoung Niese’s (DandyBeads) imitative beach finds look appealing on her Etsy site at this time of year. She lives in Michigan but her heart and her polymer designs live in a warmer climate.

This 2″ wire-wrapped pendant is painted with sea blue and sand acrylics and delicately distressed with sea urchin patterns.

If you need some sun and sand to brighten your day, look at Sandra’s beautifully wave-washed polymer pieces on Facebook and Pinterest. This one’s sold. I’m wearing a pretty piece of beach on a cord to ward off snow. It’s not working but I don’t care.

Twofer Friday

It’s a twofer Friday to tide you through the weekend.

Cecelia Leonini’s Surreal necklace stands on its own even as it contains echoes from Iris Mishly, Nikolina Otrzan and other artists working with textures and inks. (Cecelia credits Nikolina’s and Iris’ tutorials.)

Note how the three main pieces were cut from one image. This painterly approach is being played with widely and moves polymer in new directions. Cecelia’s progress is documented on Flickr and Facebook.

If you’re looking for some warmth this weekend, let Russia’s Anna Krichevskaya bundle you up in a tweedy blue bangle. The heathered colors of her extruded faux knit resemble the big bulky sweaters sure to beat the chill. There’s more on Flickr. Stay warm.

Semi-precious polymer

Ana Belchi’s imitation agates sit comfortably surrounded by rough black bezels suspended from sleek brass bails.

See how this Madrid artist’s polymer semi-precious lookalikes move beyond modest beach stones.

She says she’s wanted to explore stones for years and finally hit upon designs that work. You can see them on Flickr and Facebook.

Going bigger

Arizona’s Marlene Brady likes big beads. In this case they’re chunky ceramic-looking polymer beads with loads of texture.

This is as large as she’s let herself go since the textures and layers of colors add visual weight. Does she dare go bigger? When you’re having fun, it’s hard to pull back on the reins!

See where she’s headed on her blog, Pinterest, and Flickr.

Polymer prospecting

Like a rock hunter with pick and shovel in hand, the viewer discovers the glowing opal in Liz Hall’s newest Boulder Opal Bracelet. What looks like rough stone gives off flashes of surprising color and touches of crystal druzy on a 1″ wide brass cuff.

Liz has moved from small mosaic imitative opal to this larger, more dramatic treatment captured between borders of sterling ball chain buried in polymer.

Here’s another example of her boulder opal technique and her Facebook page. What are you prospecting for this week?

Mysterious methods

Kathrin Neumaier has uploaded a new batch of translucent polymer earrings to Flickr. You may find it difficult to choose a favorite from these watery colored wonders.

She uses Pardo translucent clay and performs her own brand of magic to spin and swirl inks into patterns of color. Kathrin has only revealed her ingredients, the rest of the recipe remains a secret. Enjoy the mystery.

Stockpiling polymer gems

Texas’ Randee Ketzel provides us with this weekend’s pile of bling.

She’s stockpiling her imitation opal cabs for sale at the upcoming IPCA retreat in Ohio. She’ll be working with these babies and demoing how to set them in bronze bezels (plus teaching a pre-retreat class).

Can’t come? Take a look at Randee’s recent book, Polymer Clay Gemstones: The Art of Deception, that provides 20 projects on how to make your own ancient artefacts.

Learn more about Randee on Etsy and Facebook.

Cosmogony polymer

Russia’s Ekaterina Zazybo makes polymer imitate ceramics, stone, enamels and other materials in new ways. Her pieces play with both roughness and precision.

The roughness comes from powders and texturing while the pigments and gilding on the tight designs are neatly rendered. The resulting effect is both ancient and other-worldly as her Cosmogony shop name suggests.

Her methods are mysterious and the Russian translation doesn’t help much. Thumb through her collection and tell me what you think.

Lennochka found her on Flickr here.

Horselovers polymer

Horse lover Donna Kato sent us the work of fellow horse lover Wendy Jorre de St Jorre from Australia. Wendy created this Faux Turquoise Horse using Lynda Moseley’s methods to great effect. Talk about synergy!

Donna says that Wendy started out as a ceramicist and considers herself a newbie at polymer (she took a class from Donna). Lots more interesting works on her Flickr site.

You’ll find quick snapshots of Eurosynergy on Facebook. Wish you were here.

Rocky Tuesday

You may stop to admire the jewelry on Jan Geisen’s site. She mixes muted, organic surfaced polymer with geometric shapes to make her her signature work.

What stops me are Jan’s rocks. The surfaces and colors are almost superreal. They make me want to know what beach in Minnesota she’s been walking.

This series is all black and white and their rounded edges and muted colors have a soothing effect. Jan is able to achieve the same trick in many color ways as well as on her jewelry.

There’s more to see on Etsy, on Flickr and on her blog. Perhaps it’s Jan’s early jobs in photography and printmaking that gave her a sharp eye for detail.

Don’t be shy

Show us what you’ve extruded lately. Our Spring Push winners will be announced on Friday. You still have time to snap a photo of your work and send it in.

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