Bright colors reflect a bright spirit

Polymer and a bright spirit helped Rachel face challenges and look forward to a bright spring on PolymerClayDaily.com

If the holidays are truly over, spring can’t be far behind, right?

Need a shot of springy colors? Here’s a super one from the UK’s Rachel (madebyracheluk)

Her colors remind you that brighter days are coming and her story will certainly lift your spirits. Rachel had her heart set on a career in medical science but health challenges made her change directions.

The bright colors reflect the bright and determined spirit of the artist. Here’s Rachel’s story on Facebook. Her can-do spirit shines through in these delightfully colored flower cane beads gathered into bouquets on a string.

Dad’s ties in polymer

Olja brings silk ties to polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

These pieces from Germany’s Olja (@olgasmodeschmuck) look like men’s silk tie patterns.

There’s something very buttoned-down and crisp about the blue gradations intersected by gold lines. The bail is made from the same clay.

The polka-dotted element loosens up the tight geometry.

I couldn’t find much info on Olja. Care to comment with some details or links?

Confounding Monday twists

Carol Blackburn twists black and white in new ways on PolymerClayDaily.com

We thought we’d seen black and white manipulated and stretched and combined in every way possible. Then UK’s Carol Blackburn took another look and came up with this Barcode necklace.

It’s made of her hollow tetra beads, dimensional shapes that remind me of small cream containers and fancy tea bags.

So not only are the striped patterns confounding, but the shapes add another layer of difficulty. The most magical thing is that her methods are actually elegantly simple. Here’s hoping she adds this to her upcoming classes.

Hippie hollow pods

Hippie hollow pod class samples from Donna Kato on PolymerClayDaily.com

Janis, Jimi, Jim, Prince, the Hotel California, the Grateful Dead on hollow pods!

Perhaps Donna Kato’s beads are a strange choice for Christmas Eve but a it’s a tip of the hat and a nudge for my hippie husband.

These are compelling class samples from Donna’s half-day class at the Atlantic Clay Escape next October 6-10. Plan ahead! Put this class under your tree!

Twisted ribbons of polymer

Wiwat Kamolpornwijit interlocks twisted ribbons of clay on PolymerClayDaily.com

Virginia’s Wiwat Kamolpornwiji t gives us some new twisted garlands for the holidays.

He was an environmental researcher in his former career. Repeating shapes with interlocking connections still dominate Wiwat’s work.

These new links are based on two-sided flat ribbons of polymer that twist themselves in opposite directions. His interconnected and wired designs are pleasant puzzles for the viewer’s eye.

Polymer schnitzels

Kim Arden cooks up some polymer schnitzel on PolymerClayDaily.com

“I love making these veneer sheets out of the tiny schnitzels that I get after cutting out pendants and earrings,” says Ohio’s Kim Arden.

“I gather up all the bits and piece them together like a puzzle. Once assembled, I’ll put a backing behind it for strength. It’s painstaking but an enjoyable task that I came up with just by fooling around with scraps.” she says. This petal necklace is one of the results.

Since I’m working to finish a new book on scraps this felt like a big gift dropped into my lap.

Kim proves my theory that all the bits of design decisions in “schnitzel” can add up to something richer, bigger, bolder than we ever expected.

Read more and see Kim’s in-process shots here on Facebook. Thanks to Kim (and to Sue Screws for pointing it out).

The vibrancy of fall

My vacation’s over! This necklace with wild fall colors from Ukraine’s Irina Karminova shows us how vibrant and exciting the season ahead can be if you keep your eyes open.

Welcome back! Vibrant fall colors from Irina Karminova on PolymerClayDaily.com

Irina explains that “I rarely use such shades in my work, but a recent walk in the park inspired me! I saw a bush of fall wild barberry with leaves of pink-purple colors and bright red berries! So unusual and beautiful! And I decided to make it!”

Thanks for coming back for a daily dose of polymer art that will nudge your work forward.

If you hunger for more, trot right on over to StudioMojo.org for a weekend wrap up and insider’s look.

Scrap necklace

Janet Bouey strings many design decisions into a visually rich necklace on PolymerClayDaily.com

Vancouver Island’s Janet Bouey shows us how great a collection of scraps can look when gathered into a necklace. She’s in a show on Vancouver Island this weekend.

This photo came as my mountain of scrap from vacation working/playing confronts me. Thanks to Janet, I’ll be covering some extruded tubes for future use. Bake, slice, assemble and somehow those many design decisions, mistakes and all, add up to a visually rich necklace.

I’m checking to see if I remember how to post after a month off. Whew, it all comes back. See you soon.

RBG meets RGB

RGB meets RBG Dustin on PolymerClayDaily.com

This picture was just what I needed. Polymer clay shows up on the US Supreme Court in the form of Kathleen Dustin and Ruth Bader Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Art2Wear show.

Go see this tiny but monumental force (RBG) purchasing polymer art from an artistic force (RGB Dustin).

Something in this world is headed in the right direction.

I’m still on hiatus but checking in from time to time. Happy Monday to you.

The fashion of Fall

Christine Pecaut's necklace mimics falling leaves on PolymerClayDaily

This necklace from France’s Christine Pecaut (Chifonie) reminds us that falling leaves will quickly be back in fashion.

Christine’s leaves are a combination of shapes, textures, and stripes bisected by thin spines of twisted clay rolls or sharply cut slivers.

The angles mimic the way leaves fall from the trees and a few random dark beads break up the symmetry. Is it fall in your studio?

‹ 1 … 3 4 5 … 27 ›