Facebook polymer

Greece’s Anarina Anar displays her vibrant polymer works only on Facebook. (Thanks to Conny Brockstedt who found her on Flickr as well.) Anarina’s textured and painted surfaces have very aggressive, passionate energy.

While the pieces are primitive and rough they are also distinctive and very personal. She makes each technique her own.

Facebook flood

My apologies to those of you who aren’t fans of Facebook. PCD links to where the art appears and for many people around the world, increasingly FB is the easiest gallery to set up and maintain. I’ll try to give you all the info you need here and you can choose whether to explore further.

Do you have a suggestion about how to integrate Facebook so that it’s easier for readers? I’m listening. Leave me a comment.

Putting the pieces together

Each of these 25 polymer squares was made by different artists following a pattern handed to them. Julie Eakes prepared the Picasso drawing puzzle and the Pingree group created the pieces in 2011.

The rules were to reproduce the image you were given and to use a limited palette. No one knew what the whole project would look like. Assembling the tiles into an image was a struggle and a good group project.

Synergy puzzle

Judy Belcher and I are trying to assemble a picture of the polymer world for the Synergy conference. When you fill out the first of our surveys on Monday, you’ll be adding your anonymous data to our puzzle. Be ready, pop quiz on Monday. With your help, we’ll begin to see a picture emerging.

Wednesday class

I’m also assembling the last bits for my Rolling Stones class on Wednesday which will include some faux sea glass tips. Join me online at Craftcast for a fun session.

Mixed media Monday

Minnesota’s Amy Christie popped up in a news clipping about her current gallery show. She’s a mixed media artist who uses heavy texture, deep color and sculptural elements in mostly large scale works. Her materials include polymer clay, paint, paper, inks and wire.

Amy’s layered mosaics have a distinctive look and you will be itching to see more. For an idea of the size of her art, try this link. Here’s a bit on Facebook and her blog.

Life is like a bowl of polymer

From this angle you can hardly tell what Julie Eakes is up to with her extruded polymer mosaics. If you tip the bowl a delightful secret is revealed.

Read about how cane ends from one face project propelled Julie in a more sculptural direction. Of course she encountered problems she hadn’t planned on and found there was no turning back once she started.

This one-of-a-kind bowl is 9″ in diameter by 3.25″ deep. She plans to go bigger next time.

Mosaic Monday

Pavla Cepelikova’s mosaic hollow beads will have you scratching your head. The colors and design combine to make them light, summery and intriguing.

This Czech polymer artist has a way with mosaics. Last time we featured her she had created her interpretation of a red, white and blue mosaic American flag on a heart brooch.

Pavla’s Facebook page shows how active she’s been in regional guild events.

Polymer paydirt

Tucked in among the oxidized silver, bronze and copper chains, pendants and earrings in Greg and BJ Jordan’s booth at the local art fair, a blast of color jumped out at me. Paydirt! New polymer!

BJ and Greg are from Fort Wayne, Indiana and have been metalworkers for 30 years. BJ creates the polymer sheets and inlays the fired patterns into the bezels.

Her bold colors and graphic patterns compliment their strong primitive metal designs.

I had to have a pair for my collection (business expense, right?) and you can find them online at Etsy here. For their most current activity, check their Facebook page.

Chalks and inks

Virginia dentist, Page McNall rolled out a sheet of ecru polymer and added a few scrap clay pieces made using Maggie Maggio’s watercolor technique.

Then she colored the flat surface with alcohol inks and liquid chalks, textured it and embedded Mykonos ceramic beads for accent. She calls the resulting polymer assemblage Currents.

From this flat sheet, Page cut out pleasing shapes that became brooches and pendants. These two she calls Faux Stone Dentates (tooth-like, of course).

Her soft painterly chalks and inks are deftly applied. Page’s beautiful results may have you heading back to your inks to try again.

Wisdom of the heart

Estera from Croatia speaks the international language of love…in polymer.

In fact you’ll find her two Etsy sites here and here filled with paint-spattered, mosaic and textured hearts in fresh, inviting colors.

There’s no imitation or struggle to prove herself here, just an exhuberance and innovation that’s pleasant for a Thursday browse.

Tribal mosaics

Liz Hall keeps refining her polymer mosaics and I can’t stop watching her progress. This brass cuff is part of her new tribal series.

Chips of iridescent polymer opal and faux wood pair up with black and white cane slices. Silver beads embedded in the black polymer grout add a dimensional touch.

Liz is teaching some of her tricks in a “Fillable Forms” class at the Cabin Fever Clay Festival next weekend (February 18) in Maryland. Registration’s still open.

Rifle through the sold items on her Etsy site to see what she’s been up to. These beautiful graduated polymer and pearl earrings slipped into the sold category before I could show them to you. Find more on Facebook too.

Cinderella story

Once upon a time France’s Aneliz (Liz and frog) created polymer-covered leopard shoes as a gift for her sister.

Not content with her success, she created a second pair based on the work of Japanese artist, Utagawa Hiroshige.

Several soul sisters have plotted to disappear with the special slippers. But there’s no prince at the end of this story and it’s probably best to make your own. You’re picturing what you’d wear them with, aren’t you? The colors are perfect for spring.

Belcher fairytale

Let’s give interior design student Maria Belcher a festive send off today as she heads to the Czech Republic for a semester abroad. Mother Judy is accompanying Maria and teaching polymer classes along the way. We wish Maria well and hope she’ll still check on PCD every day.

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