Roll the dice

“I cross my fingers for your and my country,” Istanbul’s Alev Gozonar wrote to me this week as we all brace for change.

Alev’s response to the serious tension in Turkey has been to create art for the Contemporary Istanbul 2016 show last weekend. One hundred large pieces covered in polymer are required for a game Alev calls Q-Bo. Click on the photos for the scale of Alev’s 100 installation pieces.

Alev Gozonar - polymer game installation

The tongue-in-cheek game reduces tension and boredom. It’s perfect for the US election day. Roll the dice and hope for the best. There’s more on Facebook and Alev’s site.

Remember that there are others all over the world in turmoil. An art project is often an effective outlet for stress.

On the fence

Meredith Dittmar adds art to her fence with polymer. She’s mostly creating with paper these days – wonderful, intricate sculptures.

Every so often she integrates a sculpture or uses polymer for structure on one of her airy assemblages. See if you can find them on her Instagram or her site.

On the fence? No excuses. Go vote!

Then decorate your fence.

Studio goblins

Who better than illustrator/artist Wendy Wallin Malinow to remind us of the approaching spooky season with her mixed media Goblins?

She resurrects a cigar box and fills it with her distinctive painting and polymer. Go in close for a look at the details.

Wendy entered this piece in the seriously spooky #mabsdrawlloweenclub on Instagram. See more of Wendy’s works on Instagram, Etsy and Tumblr.

Are there monsters and ghosts lurking in your studio?

Inspired wire and polymer

Indiana’s Ponsawan Sila is a whiz with wire. Moved by Sonya Girodon’s recent polymer bowls, Ponsawan wanted to try her own version.

“I always get inspired by Sonya’s works and the way she pushes us to think, dig deep into our souls and elevate our creativity to the next level,” says Ponsawan.

Ponsawan passes on the inspiration with these wire-edged fall flowers formed into a bowl that is both delicate and strong.

Polymer nesting instinct

Seems everyone is trying out vessels and wall art in autumn colors lately. This 2 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ wire and polymer piece is from Arkansas’ Betty Jo Hendershott. Can’t you imagine an empty space in your home that could use a dash of polymer color?

Are we nesting in anticipation of winter?

Yesterday it was acorns we were gathering for winter. Be sure to see the Melissa Terlizzi version of acorn decor on her Facebook page.

“We’re all a bunch of nuts sharing the same small bowl. It’d be a lot easier if we were all kind to one another,” Melissa says.

Mixing polymer digitally

The UK’s Jon Burgess brings his computer drawings to polymer in the ways that don’t have the usual hard-edge digital transfer look.

He’s working on ways to camouflage the seams on round and tube beads and hints that he’s working on a tutorial.

If you’re not in love with your phone’s camera and editing software and printing, you may not share Jon’s enthusiasm (and mine). To us the mash-up of polymer and computers looks like a big unexplored territory with lots of possibility.

See Jon’s very personal way of mixing media on Etsy, Facebook and his blog.

Kelp and polymer

Gera Scott Chandler (aMusedStudio) pairs her polymer with materials that are readily available. Not only is kelp plentiful along the BC coast in Canada, but it also appeals to Gera’s penchant for making baskets.

Look closely and you’ll see that she pierces holes along the edges of the polymer bowls. She uses the holes to weave in the strands of kelp that trim her vessels.

Kelp adorns the edge of her popular Halibut Platters as well. The rock and shells and Vancouver Island beach finds make their way into Gera’s work that you can see on Facebook.

Read about how she incorporates the landscape into her work in this recent profile. What calls to you from your landscape?

Turning colors

Joan Israel gives us a reminder to look around for surprise color in the leaves at this time of year. She mounts her own variety of polymer leaves onto a black canvas background for a dramatic effect.

When we slow down and take the time to look, we discover Joan’s vision of jewel-tone foliage all around us. See more on Instagram, Flickr and her site.

Beach creatures in polymer

Haven’t you been inspired by those big sculptural shells on the beach and wondered what they could illustrate?

Christine Harris says of her work, “Horseshoe crabs have copper based blue blood that is used by the medical industry for its antibacterial qualities and is still being studied. Basically they milk the blood from the horseshoe crab and try to release it but many of them do not survive.”

She usually does “lots of nerdy research” on the creatures while she works and often explains their meaning on her blog when they’re finished. Be mesmerized by the work-in-progress shots from this Virginia art therapist and sculptor.

Next week’s posts may be sporadic as I celebrate FIMO50 in Germany. Cut the cake and sing with us virtually as we look at what it means to turn 50.

Mixed media curls

Sweet gum tree pods litter the sidewalks at this time of year. Polymer illustrator Helena Bogosian found a creative use for her stash of dried seed pods. They make amazingly fetching curls and more.

Prowl through Helena’s Facebook and Instagram sites to see how she’s turned polymer and the bounty from her sweet gum tree into moody, haunting portraits.

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