Polymer paintbrush guy

Alice Stroppel’s Brush Man is part of a new series of Found Object Character classes at her Studio 215 in Florida. Repurposing objects is not new to Alice. Who can forget her Alice tea service?

Alice has been hosting more and more events in her facility. She credits finishing ideas learned in Doreen Kassel’s Pods and Flowers class at Studio 215 for enlivening her characters.

Looks like this might be Character Week on PCD. Don’t you have weeks when your eye gravitates to a style? See one and then see them everywhere? Why fight it? Is there a brush in your basement waiting to be rediscovered?

Velmachos sets crockery bits in polymer

New York’s Callie Velmachos shows how to set broken bits of crockery in polymer clay and create a great looking necklace in an article in the spring issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine. You can enjoy some supplemental pictures of the necklace on her web site.

I’m drawn to the vintage, romantic pieces in Belle Armoire which is French for “beautiful wardrobe.” I can’t decide which broken glass, special stone or found object of mine would benefit from Callie’s alluring technique. She makes it look so easy and so “belle.”

Here’s an earlier post on Callie’s ancients.

Wilkes found objects found

Lori Wilkes (Millori) has a knack for integrating found objects with polymer clay. This bracelet includes antique china embedded in polymer. Her transfers are an intriguing mix of old images on backgrounds of bright modern colors and she’s working on an “industrial meets organic” concept.

What amazes me is that I’ve overlook Lori’s work and she lives just a few miles away from me here in Ohio! It was only by thumbing through bead magazines at the library that I ran into her work. It’s great to start the week with a new name and a new website (plus blog, Etsy, Flickr) on our list.

Polymer clay thrift

Estonia’s Katrin Joonas shows some thrifty polymer clay ideas that we may want to adopt. Her broken cup becomes a festive work of art with a bit of ingenuity. (And her beebi is so cute.)

Linda Roberts sent the link in to keep us thinking positively.

King’s inventive portraits

“Endlessly inventive” is what some call Arkansas’ Jay King who makes polymer clay heads that are remixes of other faces and molds of found objects. The hybrid personalities and the accompanying descriptions act like a fun house mirror. You may find yourself peering intently, trying to figure out the strange reflections.

I was particularly tickled by this one, called “Multitasker”.

But Jay doesn’t stop at visual jokes and stories, he also has a rollicking audio podcast. For the full treatment, visit his Flickr page and his blog. I lost myself in his artwork and I’ve completely forgotten how I got here. If you sent me the link, remind me so that I can credit you.

Have a rollicking weekend.