2014 Top Five

PCD’s 2014 annual report shows that readers were very curious about hollow polymer forms. Here are your five favorites:

The top attention-getting post for the year was Kim Arden’s lush summer design. She layered translucent circles and leaf shaped slices over a scrap clay striped base.

There is no denying that Kim is an attention-grabber in everything she does. On Facebook she chronicles one outrageous antic after another alongside eye-catching polymer designs. Look at her latest cat cane.

My thanks to every one of the million and a half visitors who stopped by for a look at the latest development in polymer this year. Please visit often in 2015. Happy New Year!

Spun polymer

See what Kathrin Neumaier has been up to using liquid Fimo and chalks or inks. For this December batch she uses the polymer like spun sugar to achieve a blown glass translucency.

At least that’s what I’m guessing from her cryptic captions. One of these days we’ll find out what Kathrin’s learned but for now, admire her latest experiments.

The “like” numbers and social logos that have littered the PCD pages recently are the results of my own experiments.

Fingers crossed, I think I’ve about got it sorted out. Thank you for your patience with my mess. Experiments are like that.

Hollow echoes

This week big, rough, natural-looking beads kept popping up all over the world. We’ve got Anna Krichevskaya (left) from Russia, Kseniya Iokhna from Belarus, and Danièle Moucadel in Italy all catching the same vibe. All different, of course, but with an emphasis on light and hollow (or with big holes which is similar).

Anna calls her necklace Jeans Forever and she sells her big, earthy, informal jewelry here.

Danièle (right) refers to her heavy cord as jump rope (or that’s how it translated). The heavy cord works well with this jumble of big rings. If you can get to her Facebook page you’ll see even more in this vein.

Kseniya (Xenia) Iokhna goes under the name of SolarBird and she lives in Minsk. She calls these hollowed out round beads Druid Stones.

Xenia pinpoints her influences – the architect Zaha Hadid and paper artist Jeremy May. It’s easy to see the echoes in her work. Whew, there’s so much to look at these days. Have an inspired weekend.

Polymer goals

These six polymer pendants are part of Angela Garrod’s personal challenge to herself to make entirely hollow forms with unusual polymer bails.

She tints mica polymer with alcohol inks for the patterned pendants. On the black ones Angela uses matte and hi-gloss surfaces to provide more subtle tone-on-tone patterns. Rivets embedded in the clay add metallic accents. You can see more views of the pendants on Flickr.

Angela’s study reminds us that we don’t have to join a group or commit to a year-long experiment. We can simply set ourselves a goal and work toward it.

The power of black

Small dots of color pop against the black spirals on this hollow bead from Janine Muller. We forget about the power of black until we see an eye-catching treatment like Janine’s

There’s no indication as to how she made it hollow. Wouldn’t you like to know? Maybe she’ll tell us. Or wander through her site and watch her experiment.

Have a splendid weekend.

Polymer coastlines

Scotland’s Melanie Muir shifts coastlines and colors with her new Reggae series. Named for its color palette, this new necklace is built on hollow forms.

Melanie has also posted some new shapes and three-dimensional pieces that reflect her studio view of Ebb Tides and Rock Pools and Whirlpools from her studio on the coast.

Her flawless finishing work brings out the best features of her designs and colors. For the most complete view of her world (and her shape templates) go to her Facebook page.

Enjoy your weekend!

Urban urchins

Montreal’s Vickie Turner makes Urban Urchins that are hollow and graffiti-covered whereas Lynda Moseley’s from last week were the green sea variety. What is it with urchins?

Vickie’s polymer sea creatures have migrated to the city. Her blog tracks her plans and sketches and you can follow her journey from the beach to the city. She’s still playing with the shape.

It’s instructive to look over her shoulder as an artist mulls over work in progress. Watch as she labors on Labor Day.

I’m off to an art fair.

Mosaic Monday

Pavla Cepelikova’s mosaic hollow beads will have you scratching your head. The colors and design combine to make them light, summery and intriguing.

This Czech polymer artist has a way with mosaics. Last time we featured her she had created her interpretation of a red, white and blue mosaic American flag on a heart brooch.

Pavla’s Facebook page shows how active she’s been in regional guild events.

Polymer carnival

The lineup at this November’s Clay Carnival in Las Vegas includes several teachers from Europe including two whose works are shown here – Daniel Torres from Spain and Sylvie Peraud from France.

It’s hard to comprehend that Dani’s Radiolarian super hollow bangles are made from polymer and not by some whiz-bang laser cutting process. It would be a rare treat to take his class and find out how these wonders are made.

Sylvie Peraud will reveal how she combines extrusion and cutters to assemble this striking pendant and other rings and earrings in her new line.

There are a few spots left at the event. Catch up with their latest news on Facebook.

Hollow polymer beads

These polymer pillow beads from Austria’s Martina Mahdavi form a delicate collar and the dramatic photo of her young neck shows the piece off to great advantage. It looks like the last of the summer sky is reflected in this cloud-like choker. Martina has a continuing fascination with making lightweight beads that you can track on her Flickr page.

When you see the photos of the Austrian and Bulgarian clay groups, it’s easy to understand the energy and fresh polymer ideas coming out of this part of the world.

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