Holland’s north coast has inspired Linda Ezerman to translate her beachcombing with polymer and felt. Smooth links, faceted chunks and flat pebbles are joined with felted wool into a wild wearable beach.
The carving and felting and lost wax techniques
that Linda shows on her exciting Flickr pages promise to take us polymer rock hounds in new directions.
Helen Breil’s recent polymer works (and some new stamps) show off more of her expertise with textures. A sneak peek at her radiating lines tutorial has convinced me to try textures this week.
I was also encouraged at a recent retreat by a chance to inspect Laura Tabakman’s stash of homemade texture plates made from Super Elasticlay.
She creates and collects graphic elements that transfer in a deceptively simple process. Of course arranging the elements is the trick and learning to use the plates is another art.
Look at the works of these two artists to get an idea of the possibilities.
Polymer beads that could be dismissed as hippie beads become ethnic treasures when they’re masterfully strung by Thailand’s Aow Dusdee.
Aow’s world travels have given her a keen eye for ethnic traditions. She combines fiber and polymer with metal and stone beads to create modern tribal pieces.
Photos of her living spaces show how she incorporates polymer in her distinctive decor. It’s all so Eat, Pray, Love, isn’t it?
“
Every day presents new ideas. Shall I work with metals, polymer clay, resin or felt and fiber, or do I want to stitch beads? Does my mood reflect cutting edge modern, vintage, or something in between? My creative world can change on a whim,” says jewelry artist Barbara Briggs.
She reflects the sentiment of a growing number of artists who move easily between other media and polymer as their vehicle of choice. This cross-pollenization is widening our circle of friends.
Barbara’s site is a treasure trove, including these polymer-handled makeup brushes and this Asian Influence pendant.
The deadline for entries for the prestigious 2011 NICHE Awards competition has been extended to September 17. They’d like to encourage participation from our community.
There are new categories this year including: basketry, outdoor art, wedding jewelry, paper, and religious/inspirational art. If you meant to apply but forgot the date, jump on this second chance.
Where do the bits of crochet end and the polymer begin? Moscow’s Oxana Volkova mixes her talents so cleverly that I can’t tell where one stops and the other begins. She performs her sleight of hand with felt and fabric…and even shoes!
The possibilities are endless. Oxana’s imagination and enthusiasm are contagious and may put a spring in your step as you head to your studio.
The goal of Heather Powers’s Art Bead Scene daily blog is to unite bead artists and jewelry designers who use art beads in their work. (Here’s Heather’s personal blog.)
The collaborations of the Art Bead Scene’s wire, metal, glass and polymer artists result in trendy, nostalgic assemblages of friends’ work and scavenged beads from the past.
Heather’s Humblebeads gallery on Flickr tracks how Heather’s polymer beads have been used by 23 of her fellow designers over the last couple of years (like this necklace from Lorelei Eurto that uses Heather’s work as a focal bead).
Most of the members of her group concentrate on one medium and when it’s time to create a wearable piece, they happily pick and choose the components from a wide array of baubles.
Other artists who work with polymer on the Art Bead Scene roster of editors include Cindy Gimbrone and Lynn Davis (hope I didn’t miss anyone). Warning: the links lead you to lovely sites that may suck up your afternoon.
Céline Charuau’s new polymer “Beetles” cabochons with oxidized silver settings have a cross-century Mad Max look inspired by the work of jeweler Joanna Gollberg.
It’s refreshing when artists name their sources and even better when one medium affects another and moves it in a new direction.
Celine combines organic forms with metal in unusual ways. This year she seems to have moved from wire wrapping and stitching to prongs and bezels. Her polymer gems look like objects from another galaxy. Have a stellar weekend!
It’s your last chance to fill out the PCD survey. I’ve been overwhelmed by the response and your feedback is terrific. Thanks so much. The giveaway drawing winner (of Sherri Haab’s new metal clay book/DVD) will be announced on Monday.
Christine Damm’s article on wire and polymer in the summer issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry tempts me to try her loose, eclectic style. I’m on a tribal, primitive jag this week that you can see in her copper and faux jade cuff. The polymer pieces on her Stories They Tell site and Flickr page hint at tales from other times.
Her husband formed the cuff from repurposed copper flashing. The texture is from a Cool Tools plate. (Cool Tools carries mostly metal clay tools and many of them can be used on polymer as well.)
Norway’s Mila Heggland won second place in the recent Bead Dreams contest for her exotic polymer sea slugs.
Mila’s flair for organic shapes is repeated in many of her pieces inspired by flora and fauna. See the references in the tropical flowers necklace shown here and this berries pendant. She likes lush plants that almost drip with color.
Here’s her Flickr gallery and her blog (in Russian).
Anna Fideka of Warsaw, Poland turned up as I was rooting around in the metal clay artists’ sites (check out metalclaymagic and this Flickr pool).
She studied Polish literature and journalism. For many years she worked as a journalist and released two books of poetry. In 2004 she discovered polymer clay and began her adventure in jewelry.
Seeing how our medium is mixing with our metal clay partners is exciting. Her Polish gallery sales site was impressive. Here are her Fickr pix.
Libby Mills posted the Bead Dreams 2010 winners on her site. First Place Lynne Schwarzenberg; Second Place Lludmya Heggland; Third Place Janice Abarbanel. Check ’em out here.
