Polymer language

Alaska’s Katie Way made this 12″x12″ polymer and reclaimed wood piece for the silent auction at her son’s Spanish immersion school.

Katie’s been in high gear with circles and reclaimed wood lately and if you’re a circle lover, you’ll need some time to flip through Flickr to see how she works. Katie’s messy work table looks downright tidy to most of us. That woman knows how to use cutters to full advantage as texture tools! Here she is on Facebook.

Her torn edges, judiciously placed color and big energetic doodles highlighted with a wash of dark paint speak a language all their own.

Polymer plein air

Kate van Aphen submitted this polymer painting for a recent virtual paintout (VPO). “What’s that,” you ask?

It’s a virtual painting trip. The theme and location are chosen and the artists travel via Google Street View to find a scene they like and screencapture it. Kentucky’s Bill Guffey started the clever exercise when he wanted to paint outdoors but could only paint at home at night.

Kate is from South Africa and now lives in England. She has a background in computer arts and was drawn to polymer by its tactile nature and vivid colors. Her Sisters Beach, Tasmania polymer painting is 10cm x 10cm and is drawn from a Google view.

Pittsburgh’s Rebecca Watkins participates in VPOs when she can and she sent Kate’s link along.

Appliqued stories

When PCD first featured Eva Soehjar back in 2008, she mostly painted on polymer. Now she applies minuscule pieces of polymer to create illustrations on the surface of her pendants.

She tells stories, like this Red Riding Hood, by applying small clay shapes with a sharp needle onto solid colored clay bases.

“I want to make people happy when they see my jewelry,” she says. It’s hard not to smile when you look at her delicate appliqued illustrations and her softly colored florals. Visit her work on Etsy and Flickr and have a happy weekend.

Polymer visions of the future

Stroll through entries into a european polymer design contest, Visions of the Future. (No translation problems – it’s offered in several languages though the names of the artists aren’t revealed.)

After all that’s happened in our world recently, it’s refreshing and restorative to see such optimism.

The contest was organized by the French supplier, Perles & Co, in partnership with groups and guilds from France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Holland, and Italy.

Be sure to vote for your favorite before the end of March when winners will be announced.

Painting by the slice

Each brush stroke on these 12×16 canvases by Joan Israel is a slice of a polymer cane. You must see the larger photos to get the full 3-D impact (left, center and right).

The vision, the patience, the number of canes…all mind-boggling! Some have a Henri Rousseau tropical feel. I marvel at their composition and energy. See more of Joan’s lush polymer paintings on the New York Guild’s site.

My husband’s cold is trying to catch me so I’m off to bed to dodge it. Not to worry, I’m good at avoiding bugs and I had a perfectly lovely birthday thanks to all of you. (I’d been saving Jen Dott’s polymer tissue box cover from the Pikes Peak Guild site to share with you on just such an occasion.)

Are you a scaredy cat?

Portland’s Gesine Kratzner been sculpting squiggly polymer creatures for as long as she can remember.

If you’re feeling scared and tentative about your own work, take a look at the bio of this talented illustrator and see how she’s turned silly squiggles into an impressive career.

Gesine’s been an an animation professional for 18 years, lending her design sense to ad campaigns, short films, sculptures and paintings and exhibiting her work in galleries in Oregon and California. She has an Etsy shop, Blobhouse, as well.

Thanks for Randee Ketzel for introducing us to this polymer artist.

Guitton’s collections

I’m still finding bugs in the code as well as gems like this series of polymer insects from Franscoise Guitton.

Her creatures are wonderfully complex and dressed in colorful French finery. Two other framed collections of fashions and chocolates/cocktails give cohesion to her work and her vision.

Every evening I upload a revised version of the featured artists links page. Thanks for your help with the corrections.

Riotous polymer

Harue Fujikawa’s polymer vegetables are corny. And since it’s Friday and tomorrow we shop at our farmers market, his laughing bi-color corn looks just right.

Harue has pages of lively vegetables, dolls and Japanese characters.The translator isn’t much help but his site is a visual riot.

And while we’re on the subject of riotous, check out les p’titsmobiles, strange polymer sea creatures made by a French girl in Denmark. I found her on the readers’ link page (put yours there).

If you have any phobias about vegetables or sea urchins, you may want to sit this one out. The rest of you have a riotous weekend.

Realtime polymer sculpture from Camille Young

Camille Young made this fan art pin out of polymer so enthusiastically that I had to figure out just what a Flapjack SkyMaid was.

SkyMaid is pretty sweet, a super heroine who travels from under the sea to up in the sky with a bit of an edge and an attitude. Go take a look!

Camille offers a straightforward step-by-step of another of her polymer video game-inspired creatures on her Flickr page. Follow along here.

She creates characters in real time in response to viewers suggestions on Fangamers Camilleart Fridays. (You have to skip ahead about 45 minutes in the video to watch Camille sculpt on demand.) Here’s the result.

Zlatkis’ illustrates on polymer

Geninne Zlatkis’ painted polymer bird mobile was immediately claimed by her son to hang above his desk in their new home in Mexico. Pictures on her beautiful blog show how the 3.5″ birds were sculpted in fimo, baked and then painted with acrylics and given a coat of matte varnish. It’s Geninne’s remarkable detailing that makes these birds sing.

I’ve long been a fan of her illustrations and designs which have been widely published and picked up by retailers like Urban Outfitters. She occasionally works in white polymer (see an earlier mobile here) which provides a canvas for her signature drawings.

Her studio and her homes designed by her architect husband have gotten increasingly dramatic and serene. The views from the house they’re building now (their fifth) are breath-taking.

You can find her illustrations on Etsy and read her featured seller interview there.

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