Polymer Clay Daily

Black cameos honor the past

Dianne Quarles' cameos celebrate Black women on PolymerClayDaily.com

“I saw many elegant, beautiful cameos but only one with the face of a black woman so I started making my own,” says Atlanta-based Dianne Quarles.

The name, Maruva comes from the initials of four generations of creative Black women in Dianne’s family. Her Maruvian Women series honors her great grandmother, a runaway slave who became a successful, independent “modes”.

Each face is customized to give it an original personality. “Black Panther,” was the inspiration for her warrior women. The symbols are from the Ashante tribe of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

The works are featured in the Roswell Roots Arts Festival, in Roswell, GA for the month of February.

Handy polymer and a global exhibit

Kathryn Corbin solves a problem and sets up an exhibit on PolymerClayDaily

This quirky, abstract pendant from Massachusetts’ Kathryn Corbin is both decorative and efficient when you have no pockets and a house littered with reading glasses always out of reach.

Kathryn solved her problem in an arty way. Bits of pattern, some rough texture, and colors that go with everything ending in a loop for hanging readers. Why be boring? We’re artists!

Kathryn loves to experiment in the studio and she sent this and pix of other juicy projects along to prove it.

We were chatting about the IPCA global interactive exhibit in February. The deadline for submission is January 15 which gives you plenty of time. Lots of categories and awards!  Not an IPCA member? Join here.

The joy of voting

Cynthia Tinapple refreshes stars and stripes at the polls on PolymerClayDaily.com

High fives to the dance parties and parades and celebrations at the polls. In the midst of terrible news, it felt good to be standing in line being proactive with lots of fellow voters.

I took apart a very old necklace to bring you today’s graphic. Isn’t it amazing how stars and stripes can be combined and recombined? Even the tail ends can be made into what looks like fireworks. There’s joy at the polls. Join the party.

Constraints bring creativity

Squint and bite your lip, ogle and admire…that’s what I’m doing with these seed necklaces from Ford and Forlano that are part of the Smithsonian show. Stripes and dots? Bring it on!

Can you spot the exciting twists in the latest creations from Steven Ford and David Forlano? They’ve upped their game with new seeds, tubes, and shells.

Everything has shifted as the Smithsonian show has gone virtual. That seems to have broken loose some creativity as well. The bidding process is confusing but it’s forced the artists to lean into coming up with new must-have designs.

Check out Ford/Forlano, Bishoff/Syron, Wiwat, and more.

Ancient polymer faience

Mari O'Dell's Egyptian mummy beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

Don’t try to predict where your ideas will take you. Hop on Mari O’Dell’s magic carpet to see what I mean.

Mari’s journey started in the mummy section of the NYC Met Museum where she hung out as a teenager.

Recently she took my “Slots and Dots” online polymer class and reconnected with her Egyptian impulses. She learned to extrude narrow tube beads like those found in the layers of mummy wrappings. In Mari’s version, a scarab and beads dusted with metallics are interspersed with her imitative ancient faience tubes.

Beads are an ancient form of art and currency. Their echoes still ricochet around the globe. Please wait until the carpet comes to a complete stop before you leave your seat. Who says we can’t travel during a pandemic?

If you’d like to recharge your batteries, join us over at StudioMojo.

The right touch

Ann Dillon's textures from surprising sources on PolymerClayDaily.com

New Hampshire’s Ann Dillon creates textures and shimmer that beg you to touch them.

Ann Dillon's textures from surprising sources on PolymerClayDaily.com

I asked her how she created the impossibly fine lines on one pair of lovely earrings and she replied, “Corn husks.”

She has an eye for natural textures and slight bends combined with a fall palette that gives her leaf shapes a “just fallen” look.

As you wander through her new website and Instagram, notice the textures.

Challenge with a twist

Janet Bouey gives her challenge a twist on PolymerClayDaily.com

Vancouver Island’s Janet Bouey finishes her 100-day challenge with this hollow twisted tube.

Looking at her recap on Instagram you get a sense of how muscles loosen and fear is diminished by the commitment to a daily studio exercise.

There’s no wrong or right, there’s just moving forward. I’m guessing that Janet will want to explore this new tangent from Day 95.

We’ll look at the challenges (polymer and otherwise) of the last 100 days on StudioMojo this Saturday. What have we learned? What’s next? Join us for an inside look. 

Challenge home run

Dayle Jones finishes her 100-day challenge with a winner on PolymerClayDaily.com

UK’s Dayl Jones (Planet Isis) slides into the end of her 100-day challenge with this collaged veneer two-sided home run.

The soft watery colors of the oval pendant are impressive but she tops it off by repeating the colors in the polymer tubes and thin-sliced beads on the cord. Now it all hangs together with panache.

It’s those little touches that bump Dayle’s pendant up a notch.

Dots with a twist

Gail Garbe takes dotted tube steps forward on PolymerClayDaily.com

I flinched when this necklace from Ontario’s Gail Garbe popped up on my screen. “That looks remarkably familiar,” I thought.

Then I had to laugh at myself when I realized that Gail took my Saturday Craftcast class and stayed up late coming up with her own twist on the concept. I must have done something right! Gail extruded the tubes and added the dots perfectly.

Then she added her own off-kilter gaily colored spacer beads. It all works!

This is what teachers hope to see – students who take their concepts to the next level. Gail has taught me a thing or two!