Polymer Clay Daily

Blease makes polymer clay time fly

Time flies…or at least it does if you’re looking at Scotland’s Tracy Blease polymer clay clocks. Her “quirkyclocks” are by commssion only and she specializes in reversible pendants. Thanks to Julie Picarello for introducing us to this artist.

Loose Ends

I overlooked Valerie Aharoni‘s Best In Show (and first place in the seed bead category) necklace made of seed beads and polymer. It was chosen by Fire Mountain Gems and is featured on the Bead Star cover. Don’t miss her Flickr site for a complete look at her work.

In the Jan/Feb issue of Step by Step Beads magazine, Ronna Weltman has written an article about polymer clay master classes you can watch at home on DVD. If you’re watching your pennies and your carbon footprint, you might want to read her article as well as Ilene Goldman’s “poly-metrics” piece in the magazine.

I’m in a holidaze. Have a dazzling weekend.

Polymer clay reasons to believe and recycle

This comfy, couch potato polymer clay Santa by Dennis Brown could make me a believer again. It comes from the “ReasonsToBelieve” site, a treasure trove of Santas.

Brown’s work has been licensed by several reproduction companies and these are the polymer originals. He makes Santas 365 days a year. Thanks to Susan Lomuto for the tip.

Kudos to Heather Powers (HumbleBeads) for her wins in the Bead Star competition from Interweave Press. She combines and collages beads and found items into evocative pieces.

Iris Mishly has jumped on the recycled band wagon too, using throwaways from her computer job as findings for her polymer clay work. Have a useful weekend.

French polymer clay connections

Poking through the polymer clay on the French PerleRouge site launched me into an afternoon at the computer. (I’ve streamlined the trip for you.)

I surfed from there to Crea’Sofimo (pendant at the left) who credits Mathilde Colas (the green necklace to the right) as her teacher and inspiration. Somehow I landed on the site of Cecilia Mabcrea, a French artist working in Xiamen, China.

This whirlwind web surfing made me marvel at how fast concepts travel and at the polymer clay community with its connections that span the globe.

Tatana’s colors

Spain’s Natalia García de Leániz (Tatana) adds a colorful end to our week with these polymer clay slices sewn onto a braided leather necklace and, below, faux heishi strands.

I’ve banked lots of ideas this week and am anxious to get back into my studio right after I spend the weekend gabbing with my visiting siblings and children.

The Thanksgiving dishes are done, the turkey leftovers are ready for leisurely grazing. Have a great weekend.

Cozzi and Dustin on winning and perservering

Louise Fischer Cozzi’s polymer clay “Wholely Necklace Belt” was awarded first place in the clay category of the Bead Society competition and is on display at The Bead Museum in Washington DC.

The piece can be worn as a double necklace (shown here), as a very long single necklace, or as a belt. The clasp is fun and almost impossible to find.

In addition, two “think” pieces appeared today to ponder as the turkey brines. The first from Kathleen Dustin on persevering in lean times and via Libby Mills, a link to an Alicia Tormey post on motivation.

Abrams’ colors brighten fall

Lauren Cole Abrams says the colors of this new polymer clay necklace have a tropical flavor which she used to brighten up a cold day in the mountains. It caught my tired computer eyes…I’ve been sitting here too long and realize that I’m ignoring similar colors right outside my window.

Lauren works in many media and today I stumbled on her purses and purse embellishment site (plus Flickr and Etsy).

Check her out. I need to head outside.

Odell’s gift; Winters’ golden information

This polymer clay hostess gift from Maryland’s Mari Odell to Taz Chaudry has a lovely story. Mari pressed transluscent faux jade into antique Japanese sweet mold fragments to create the centerpiece of the necklace. The side beads are a combination of extruded polymer, serpentine jade and antique brass.

Mari taught high school art in Maryland and Taz was her student. Twenty-five years later Taz contacted Mari to thank her for that high school inspiration and Taz, now in Colorado, hosted Mari on her visit. And once again Mari had an opportunity to teach Taz art, this time polymer clay.

Golden Information

Elise Winters passes along this interesting link about gold that gives us more support as we polymer clay artists struggle to defend our medium. The article reports that:

The ecologic, economic, social, and political price of gold is far costlier than we imagine. We are in the midst of a new gold rush, one that is consuming wilderness areas, contaminating watersheds, destroying ecosystems, and imperiling the economics of poor nations and the well being of indigenous people throughout the world. Some cumulative, irreparable consequences of mining will be with us, in this country and around the world, forever.

This new gold rush is the result of a converging complexity of circumstances on a global scale, including:

  1. The development of highly effective and extremely toxic methods of gold extraction,
  2. A continual rise in worldwide demand for gold,
  3. The demise of gold as global monetary standard,
  4. The continued withholding of enormous stockpiles of gold in the vaults of national banks, and
  5. Huge, multinational corporations very eager to cash in.

Bead Dreams online

The Bead Dreams competition polymer clay entries are online for your Monday inspiration. This entry from California’s Kaaren Poole is perfect for harvest time with the bunny tucked in among the verdant veggies.

While there’s no polymer mentioned in Kaaren’s website, it’s obvious that she’s transferred her love of tole and decorative painting into polymer work quite effectively.

Congrats to all the Bead Dreams participants. And remember there are only a few days left (September 1) to enter your work in the NPCG Progress and Possibilities exhibition. Apply online here.