Polymer Clay Daily

Deviant demo

When Judy Belcher and I mentioned deviant art in our Synergy presentation, a surprising number of artists in the audience didn’t recognize the term. While Wendy Malinow’s work might fit in any number of categories, deviant is certainly one of them. Anyone who sets up her own bone-a-day challenge certainly qualifies as deviant.

Her latest polymer faux antler is inlaid with garnet, sunstone, raw sunstone, abalone, pua. Air plants sprout from its openings. She’s offering this piece as a free giveaway to people who follow her Tumblr Inkhead site. The drawing will be on April 1.

If you’re an antler fan, you’ll love her 32-inch long polymer antler lariats. Her Etsy shop shows a wider range of wonderfully strange and deviant art.

Wild horses and polymer

Michaud horse on PCDaily

Equine artist Stephanie Michaud bought Eugena Topina’s faux cloisonné tutorial online. Eugena was surprised when Stephanie sent her first results which sold the first day they were offered on Etsy. This plaque is 7″ tall made of polymer, mica powders, artistic wire and resin.

It’s marvelous when good teaching and a student’s passion for a subject collide.Wild horses can’t stop the magic. Proud teacher Eugena sent in the link.

Multi-national building

Samunnat’s building fund has received nearly $6,000 in donations from ten countries! Isn’t that remarkable? Yes, they are still accepting donations. Plant your flag on the list: US, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Cyprus and the UK.

Fauxpal bowl

Opal has tickled the “faux rock” area of my brain since Donna Kato offered her free online tutorial. Camille Young, Randee Ketzel, Liz Hall and others devised their recipes.

My husband’s turned walnut bowl and a looming show deadline gave me the perfect opportunity to try out my own color combinations and mixtures.

Though I learned along the way and would do some things differently, these ideas are finally out of my head and strewn about my studio. It’s been a long time since I’ve shared with you and I want to start the year right.

Party tonight over at Craftcast where the group from the Polymer Clay Master Class book will gab and guffaw. Lots of prizes and fun. Join the gang!

Big faux

More faux batik beads from Pavla Cepelikova in Prague. These are hollow big beauties that will have you wondering which layer came first.

If you simply must know the answer, you may have to navigate to her Etsy site where she sells the tutorial for her solution to the problem.

Sweet wet kisses

Those vacation kisses from my grandson proved problemmatic and I’m recovering from his cold. All in all, the cold is worth it.

Aged polymer

Polymer artists like Kansas’ Christina Butler (Polygolems) are using the new faux aged metal finishes so well that my job has gotten harder. Is it metal? Is it polymer…or something else?

You’ll have to look closely to figure it out. Christina makes it even harder by mixing real metals with her faux. The small pieces are copper – I think.

There’s more to oggle on her Facebook pages and in her Etsy shop.

 

Coarse weave polymer

This newest faux polymer experiment from France’s Sylvie Peraud may take you back to the 80’s. Didn’t you own a sofa made of this material? With roman shades to match?

It makes me smile to think that the coarse weave is back in fashion and that Sylvie has mastered it in polymer. When you zoom in, you’ll swear it’s real.

Go to her site and her Flickr pages. I think we’ll be seeing more. Have a nostalgic weekend.

Dramatic polymer

Italy’s Ilenia Moreni describes her rugged Double Stud bangle as an ethnic-organic piece. The band is faux leather with faux bone and turquoise.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that Ilenia designs and produces costumes and accessories for theater, role playing and reeactment. The drama leaps out of her big bold art.

Here’s her Etsy shop and her whole collection on Flickr. Thanks to Randee Ketzel for the link.

Polymer power

Michigan’s Adriana Allen created what she calls her Flower Doodle earrings using her stamp pressed deeply into polymer. Several colors of paint are washed into the crevices and hollows to create what you’d swear was aged copper.

Adriana has had arthritis since childhood and says, “I never gave into it. I decided to ignore it, which has not been easy since it had paralyzed me at one point in my life and now it is close to claiming my hands. Every piece I create reminds me of this fact, but the disease cannot stop me from doing what I love.”

She doesn’t like to talk about herself but will in this case because, “…I consider it a proof of the strength of mind over body, and the power of creation over everything else.” Adriana tells more of her story in this month’s Polymer Arts Magazine. She sells on Etsy. She’s also on Facebook.

Stacked polymer shards

These faux sea glass earrings are part of my live online Wednesday night Craftcast class. The soft and colorful alure of polymer shards pair nicely with the muted tones of my faux rocks. The pebbles and glass could have been scooped up off the beach.

Claire Maunsell’s glass butterflies from yesterday veer in another direction and show us that lots of artists are experimenting in this relatively new area. Of course, Kathrin Neumaier’s and others’ excellent works are spurring us on too.

Enthusiastic answers

Wow, your Synergy3 survey response has been terrific. We are so grateful for your help and will leave the forms up for the entire week in case you missed it. There’s still time.

Faux sea urchins

Lynda Moseley’s Faux Sea Urchin Spines were inspired by a necklace in Heather Powers‘ new book, Jewelry Designs from Nature during a weekend of experimentation as Lynda cleaned out her inspiration box.

She found a sticky note on page 82 in her copy of the book. “Find some of these,” it said. “I had never seen the spines in olive, and Heather’s are also a lot bigger than the ones I have,” Lynda explains. She made a new batch in polymer.

Lynda’s experimenting is often fruitful as you can see from her Etsy shop. On her blog she explains other designs she’s dug out of her inspiration box.