Navigation and travel are often themes in Tory Hughes work. I was particularly taken with the bright colors and faux pine embellishment on this recent Festive Angel Brooch in her postage stamp series.
And since I’m navigating my way south today Tory’s work seems particularly appropos. Have a festive holiday weekend!
Need one more present? Leave a comment on the StudioMojo site and be among the five lucky winners of a year’s free subscription.
If you’re short on gifts for yourself and you’re in the vicinity of Racine, Wisconsin, consider the one-day class with Debra DeWolff scheduled for February 18. (It’s in the RAM brochure but couldn’t find classes listed on the website yet. You can call to beat the rush.)
Her Charmed with Polymer class looks terribly tempting. Even if you can’t make it to Racine, you can browse through her shop to experience mouthwatering colors and a hint of spring beneath the winter snow.
Keep those comments coming on the StudioMojo site. Five commenters will win a year’s free subscription to the premium weekend newsletter.
Christine Damm helps the Create Mixed Media blog countdown to the holidays with this week’s dates in polymer that she’s stamped, molded, textured and painted. Great info on that blog!
A postage stamp triggers the theme of Tory Hughes’ Greetings Brooch. She constructs a tiny village around the stamp complete with skating pond and a VW bug stuck in a snow bank. She’s running a 20.12 discount special on her works through the end of the year. Check out her new SeaCliff series of brooches while you’re there.
In case you need a little more holiday-themed polymer to get your Monday buzz going, check out this easy “How to turn a heel“ tutorial from Joan Tayler.
Three years ago I moved to a smaller community with no polymer clay guild. I decided the next best thing was to join the local bead society. I knew nothing about peyote stitch or making wrapped loops but hoped I would learn some new techniques that would enhance my polymer pieces.
Conversely the beaders were unfamiliar with polymer and I felt like I was an ambassador for the medium.
In the past two years I’ve conducted several beginner workshops to the growing number of beaders and metal clayers interested in trying it out. I love how the exchange has worked both ways.
While those that know my work are aware I’ve had an interest in buttons and incorporate them in my work but now my stash of beads has grown exponentially. These two pieces from my Flickr site show the influence of my beading friends.
guest post by Helen Breil
Every day for the next three weeks, you’ll be treated to topics chosen by guest posters who volunteered to pinch-hit on PCDaily. Their work allows me to travel worry-free. Shower them with comments!
Here are some ways you can get involved in my Nepalese adventure:
In this exotic bracelet Wisconsin’s Erin Prais-Hintz took a few beads I created for my trip and worked some magic. I asked for asymmetric and jangly and sent her to my Pinterest board to get a sense of my vision. I’ve been tossing ideas and inspirations onto Pinterest for months.
My eyes filled with tears when I saw Erin’s results on this and several other pieces which are better than what I had in mind and way better than what I could have done. Here’s Erin’s work on Flickr and she’s written about this project on her blog. Erin’s creations are carefully packed in my suitcase as I head out for a few weeks.
I can hear you all shouting, “Bon Voyage!” See you in December.
Susan Crocenzi mixes polymer clay elements with her unglazed porcelain, tempered glass, glass and mirror mosaics as in this 8×10″ Architecture Healer (Hundtertwasser).
Artists can match polymer to the color, texture, shape, and thickness of other tesserae without the need of a kiln. Recently Susan’s been teaching mixed media classes that focus on integrating polymer into traditional mosaics.
“Mosaic art offers the sweet possibility that the random, disparate bits-and-pieces of our lives can yield peace, beauty, and meaning,” she explains. Read about Susan’s classes and study her glittering works on her site and her Facebook page.
Alaska’s Karen Ottenbreit gets down to brass tacks with her polymer. Actually she embedded domed brads in these polymer beads and has since moved on to leather studs and spikes as she, “…channels my inner biker chick.”
The look blends perfectly with her gothic fish and funky flowers. You gotta be tough to deal with the wildlife and weather in Alaska. You can friend her and follow along on her Facebook page. After a week of seriousness, we end the week with a lighter touch. Have a relaxing weekend.
The color on these Pyramidal Penelope necklaces comes from thread sewn through arcs of white polymer triangles. The geometry creates subtle shadows which are accentuated with silk thread. Ancient Egypt meets the digital age.
These necklaces are the work of Larken Design from Cincinnati. They produce objects with strong graphic and spatial qualities focusing on geometry, repetition, pattern and a play of color and shadow.
You’ll want to explore their concepts as well as the vintage mugshot prints in their Etsy shop. Thank Claire Maunsell for leading us to this link.
Start your week with this polymer micromosaic dancing shoes necklace from Cynthia Toops. Her updated new works gallery shows these little slippers which you can also find on the Facere Gallery site.
Each shoe is listed as 1″ x 0.3″ x 0.2″ which seems impossibly small and totally Toopsian.
Cynthia continues her Metamorphis rolodex bracelet series. Her very small black and white illustrations on polymer are also recent additions.
Her Sleepless in Seattle necklace is part of the Dual Nature show at the Wing Luke Museum through January of next year. This Green Eyes necklace is made from polymer and glass.
If you haven’t explored Cynthia’s work for a while and could use some Monday inspiration, take a few minutes to click through her newest polymer treasures.
Debra DeWolff decided that it’s cool enough to start claying and she got busy building her stash of the polymer components that accompany her felted beads.
She explains that, “I like to work on components and get lots of them made before I start assembling the actual pieces of jewelry. I’ll work in a particular colorway for several days, making lots of different types of beads and component parts. Then when I’ve amassed a fair amount, sometimes hundreds of components in several different colorways, I’ll start designing things like necklaces, bracelets and earrings using what I have.”
Her palette is filled with juicy melon colors. And check out her polka dots!
