Friday piranhas

Estelle Marchal brings her inner pirhanas to life on PolymerClayDaily.com

This school of piranhas by France’s Estelle Marchal (lesPtitsmobiles) may not look very dangerous but they have a mouthful of scalpels.

It’s easy to understand mouthfuls of vitriol today (even though Estelle makes her fish look rather benign). See how she turns them into mobiles, schools of sea characters that float through the air with eyes that glow in the dark. Watch Estelle bring these characters to life.

Need to bring your creative side back to life? Head on over to StudioMojo for a look at the ideas that our wild times have hatched.

Atelier Hughes

Tory Hughes requests your prayers (but no calls) on PolymerClayDaily.com

One of the most significant leaders in our craft is not well. It’s quiet at Atelier Hughes in downtown Santa Fe, home to polymer pioneer Tory Hughes.

Tory has always been attuned to the power of friends’ energy and she let me know that she can use the best thoughts, prayers, and memories that we can wing her way.

While Tory very much values your support, to lessen her distress about missed calls she asks that no one text or call her. Notes mailed to her address (1437 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501) would be wonderful.

Two lovely friends, Annie Houten and Cynde Tagg from Albuquerque, are looking after Tory’s day-to-day affairs and can be contacted.

In case you’re not acquainted with Tory’s legacy, enjoy this virtual tour from October 2017 when the studio was strung with her latest mobiles and full of pieces from decades of work. The mobiles balanced and swayed brightly in the New Mexico breezes. I like to think of them catching the energies you send her now.

Polymer that protects

Marchal's sharks on PolymerClayDaily.com

It’s summer and you know what that means. Sharks and other sea creatures will be in the news. Like this strange polymer species from Estelle Marchal’s Les Ptitsmobiles.

Estelle moved to Grenoble, France where she’s unpacked and back in the creature business. A scroll through her Facebook collection of stylized octopuses, carnivorous plants, stingrays and other oddities is sure to make you smile. They will soon populate her shop and her Instagram page.

She often turns her creations into mobiles that protect children while they sleep. Estelle is a molecular biologist when she’s not making sharks. The polymer community attracts lots of scientist/artists who enjoy reinterpreting the lifeforms they work with.

Polymer in delicate balance

The delicate balance of this 16″ polymer mobile entitled Nara from Santa Fe’s Tory Hughes makes its mid-air dance look easy.

But the suspension of the varying colorful shapes and the distribution of their weight is tricky and precise. It’s part of Tory’s newest series and she finds the challenge exciting. “We all love to look up, enchanted by the light and air above us,” she says.

The mobile comes in several colors and you can see more examples and designs on Facebook and her website.

Cutting up

If you’re interested in what may be a next big thing in polymer clay art, join me on Craftcast this Saturday and we’ll explore the possibilities of cutting raw clay precisely with a Silhouette cutting machine.

The online class begins at noon on Saturday and will be available for download.