Stories on a string

Maggio on PCdaily

There’s no time to browse for a post so I grabbed this favorite from the suitcase I was packing. Maggie Maggio’s circle necklace from several years ago is my must-have for the trip to France.

The thick blue/grays/green disks and slivers, all in her signature watercolor washes, are easy to wear. I love its sleek graphic quality. Each side is a different color and the effect is very architectural. Maggie was trained as an architect and it shows. She’s about to launch a whole new way of exploring color that you can sample on her site.

Maggie lives in Portland, Oregon but her parents live only a few miles from me so she comes to my town often and we’ve become close as we crossed paths over the years. She’s my roommate in Bordeaux.

Pondering my polymer jewels slowed my packing significantly as I picked favorites from the collection I’ve amassed. After a few years meeting online and traveling you’ll be surprised at the wonderful stories, characters and memories you’ll collect. That’s a big part of what polymer art is about.

Polymer infinity

Otrzan on PCDaily

We end the week with one more polymer experimenter. The ideas floating around at the French Lick Atelier must have shifted my brain into gear. I came home hungry to push polymer farther.

Nikolina Otrzan’s new Infinity necklace  jumped out at me. Nik has been turning geometry on its head with her recent exploration of forms. Here she alternates closed and open rectangular links to create a sleek, chic necklace.

I’m sure you’re asking, “Are the links cut out or extruded? What kind of clay and construction tricks could she be using to give this design flexibility and strength?” I have no answers. All I know is that others’ innovations get our creative juices flowing. Thanks, Nik.

Here she is on Pinterest and CraftArtEdu.

Not knitted polymer

Roewekamp on PCDaily

This necklace in nubby neutrals from Portugal’s Susanne Roewekamp (Artesannus) fools the eye. It’s not the crocheted or knitted choker that you may have assumed (it fooled me). It’s textured polymer, extruded I think but now I question my judgment.

See more of Susanne’s eye candy for yourself on Facebook and Pinterest.

Summer on a string

Garcia de Leaniz on PCDaily

Thin bands of summer colors swirl around bright beads. No doubt that Spain’s Natalia Garcia de Leaniz has come up with some clever way to build these beauties.

The necklace is a sample for one of Natalia’s classes at August’s Gredos Clay Festival in Spain. She’s also devised a flat, flexible polymer bracelet that’s very wearable and mysteriously constructed.

See more of Natalia’s cheery designs on Flickr and Facebook. And have a cheery weekend.

Pods, pots and periods

Moore on PCDaily

On her blog you can see how Wendy Moore’s polymer pod series developed methodically and colorfully. Her collection of pod shapes offered a great place to test the understanding of color that she picked up working through Tracy Holmes’ Colour Deck.

Wendy limited her experiments to flat, textured, cutout and stacked graphic shapes and then simply linked them together.

The proof of the pudding for the project, however, was seeing Wendy (in glasses), her mother and her sister wearing the series on her Instagram site.

Wendy also reports on the latest activities of the Samunnat ladies in Nepal who traveled by bus to Kathmandu thanks to support from the polymer community. Read about their adventure here.

Rough and ready

Tserembadam on PCDaily

This recent rough and colorful necklace from Enkhe Tserenbadam blends bright blue beads with rich gold nuggets. The irregular shapes are so pitted that they appear smooth and soft. The effect is both organic and other-worldly.

Enkhe has been playing with a number of designs infused with energy and ready to move in new directions. Born in Mongolia and now living in Switzerland, she has already come a long way. Browse through her small vessels and jewelry to see where she’s headed. She’s on FacebookInstagram and her own site.

Gelato polymer

Haunani on PCDaily

Lindly Haunani opened a box of her new “Spring Gelato” tinted translucent beads ready for stringing and our mouths watered at their lusciousness. The edges of the canes were accented with embossing powders. The petals are gently pinched, and shaped. They’re drilled after baking. More on Facebook.

haunani_gelato_neck

Lindly works mise en place, creating all the components for her limited editions before she begins the assembly process.

PCD will unveil a bit more from Virginia tomorrow and reveal a more comprehensive wrap-up on this weekend’s StudioMojo.

 

Say it with polymer

Honey on PCDaily

France’s Nadege Honey telegraphs messages through her Dots and Dashes jewelry. This necklace says “Life is beautiful.”

“I wanted to create jewelry with meaning, where the piece itself is not the main focus, but rather the message is,” says Nadege. Decipher the Morse code of Happy Birthday, Thank You and other phrases in her Etsy shop.

You don’t need to know Morse code to enjoy the clear colors and graphic combinations in Nadege’s pieces which are best seen on Instagram, PinterestFacebook and her site

Honey on PCDaily

Here’s a springy page of brooches from her design journal.

Multi-talented

Abel-Smith on PCDaily

The UK’s Fiona Abel-Smith moves between painting, mosaic and caning with ease. The dancing fish necklace is a recent creation. The curves and colors splash around the wearer’s neck.

Fiona started her large Tiger cane last October and worries that the fall-to-spring hiatus may have stiffened the clay and cause problems with reduction.

Abel-Smith on PCDaily

One of the drawbacks of being multi-talented may be the distraction of ideas and projects but that hasn’t slowed Fiona down.

See the range of her works on her site, Facebook and Flickr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unbalanced teaching

Peraud on PCdaily

France’s Sylvie Peraud will be crossing the pond in June to teach her Unbalanced Necklace (shown here) and her Denim tricks at the Creative Arts Fest: Master Class Camp in Laurel, MD June 17-20.

I couldn’t resist that headline. Thought it might get your attention.

Sylvie likes dramatically balanced/unbalanced and cleverly constructed pieces. She’s already worked on rounds and squares and her almost triangular necklace was the next logical step. It’s completely made of polymer and the clasp is cleverly camouflaged.

Here are the registration details and the list of classes (an impressive line-up). Find out more about Sylvie on Facebook, Flickr and CraftArtEdu.