Sending happy out

Pamela Carman sends happy out for your Monday on PolymerClayDaily.com

“It’s the joy of riotous color and pattern that drives me to create my work. It is my way of sending happy out into the world,” says Florida’s Pamela Carmen.

Nothing better than a bird of happiness to fly into your Monday. Can you picture the supply of canes Pamela must have on hand to feather her large menagerie? See her creations on Flickr. 

Her entry in a recent show called Woof, Meow, Chirp, and Slither: Artists interpret the world of pets earned a top award from Florida CraftArt. When you send happy out, some of it returns to you.

Let go and see what happens

Libby Mills lets nature inspire her world of geometry on PolymerClayDaily

Swap anxiety hits everyone! Connecticut’s Libby Mills felt threatened by the requirement that swap items must be “nature-inspired.”

Look at how she invites nature into her geometrically-inspired comfort zone! She stacks irregularly shaped layers into lovely natural forms.

As we pack our supplies for a week of claying, we laugh at ourselves for worrying. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.

In my rush to get everything done before I leave, I popped a fresh video into this week’s StudioMojo which is all set for Saturday delivery. I’ll be traveling so next week’s PCD posts may be sporadic. And StudioMojo will be full of mountain air polymer (whatever that means). Come find out!

Whipped into shape

Nancy Nearing brings veneers to life with dimension on PolymerClayDaily.com

What a difference dimension makes! Ohio’s Nancy Nearing has been on a roll since taking Lindly Haunani’s class.

The flat veneers below are very much Lindly-inspired but they are infused with Nancy’s aesthetic.

When Nancy ruffles and bends

Nancy Nearing brings veneers to life with dimension on PolymerClayDaily.com

and sculpts the flat collages, she takes them to a whole different place.

Nancy’s a neighbor so I caught this project mid-process. They’re not even on her Instagram yet! We will revisit them when she adds more flowery details and mounts them in shadow boxes.

Polymer mosaic entry

Bobbi Fraser Davis enters a local exhibit with her tiger lilies on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Bobbi Fraser Davis finished this lovely entry for the Louisville Artisan Guild Annual Exhibit. She shows a grouping of tiger lilies in pinks and rose colors mosaicked on a 5.5″ square shallow polymer dish in rusts and tans.

It’s time for guild shows and fair exhibits. Go ahead, jump in with your work.

Summer blooms

Karen Pasieka hangs nosegays of flowers everywhere on PolymerClayDaily

I pulled aside this tile of a field of flowers from Ontario’s Karen Pasieka (SubtleDetails). Later I discovered that she wasn’t finished and was soliciting advice about stems and leaves.

Karen Pasieka hangs nosegays of flowers everywhere on PolymerClayDaily

The dreamy colors on the cloud-like background were enough for me.

Her display of polymer flower necklaces “on” vases rather than “in” vases made a visual pun that I admired too. Go to her Instagram to see lots more summer blooms and display ideas.

Showing off studs

Iryna Chajka's girls show off her earrings on PolymerClayDaily.com

We rarely look at packaging and branding and such on PCD but Ukraine’s Iryna Chajka (eteniren) has gathered a gaggle of girls on cards to show off her stud earrings.

Iryna specializes in pale and delicate polymer succulents and flowers that show up particularly well against her girls’ hairstyles. The cards make the earrings much more dramatic. Smart marketing. Do you have a favorite?

Winter garden on the trail

Jen and Kristi leave art along the trail on PolymerClayDaily.com

Washington’s Jen and Kristi (GoInsideAndClay) couldn’t wait to leap into spring so they gave themselves a headstart with this polymer garden.

They are inspired by their time playing in nature among the trees and mountains and by the beauty of kindness. They call themselves “trail fairies” because they like to leave little pieces of art out in the world as a way to bring smiles and joy to others.

You smiled, right? It works.

Summer bouquet

Karen Pasieka gathers the flowers from her garden on PolymerClayDaily

Ontario’s Karen Pasieka has gathered the blooms in her polymer garden into a bright bouquet on a 4×4 tile. See what varieties of flowers she has in her studio garden on Instagram.

Her creation may remind you to run outside and admire summer’s bounty while you can. Karen has returned to her studio to get ready for the fall and holiday shows.

It looks like lots of you got back to the studio this week. StudioMojo is full of links to new works as we try to wring every bit of summer creativity out of this month. We’d love to have you join our Saturday newsletter where we chat about all the fun stuff we couldn’t cram into PCD. 

Garden party polymer

Debby Wakely wears her high contrast garden on PolymerClayDaily.com

The UK’s Debby Wakely’s graduated round summer beads have a crisp summery feel. Look closely and you’ll see polka dotted petals and a dab of red at the center of each dark blue flower on the clean white background.

Debby has only this one post on her Instagram (and the BritishPCGuild’s page) so she’s off to a good start! Earlier works show up on Facebook.

Are you ready for tea and scones in the garden?

 

Spring palette, stacked flowers

California’s Meisha Barbee took Carol Simmons flower class when Carol came to San Diego in early April. You can spot Carol’s refined kaleidoscopic methods in a heartbeat.

Meisha carried out the project in her own distinctive palette and with a quirky stripe here and a peppy dot there.

Her palette of colors mixed with Carol’s instructions look perfect on PCD on a colorful spring day.

See Meisha’s interesting history on PCDaily.