Second looks, second versions

Why a dot necklace deserved a second look on PolymerClayDaily

The first version of this necklace was suspended from a hook in my studio for years. I liked it but I just wasn’t sure. “Too simple? Too spare?” I asked myself (it’s here on my Instagram)

This year I thought, “I really like that necklace.” I pulled if off the hook and every time I wore it someone commented. What held me back?

I’m betting that you have pieces in your studio that call to you and deserve a second look. What holds you back?

The tubes are extruded polymer and the dots are added in a “tab and slot” step. This is my 2019 Colorado version modeled here by Katie Way’s daughter, Taylor. My mind is buzzing with upgrades.

Chasing the rainbow

Caroline Casswell chases the rainbow with her big links on PolymerClayDaily

Patterned links chase each other around in this necklace by the UK’s Caroline Casswell. Rainbow colors blend into each other.

This necklace is part of Caroline’s display at Wave 7 Gallery in Wadebridge Cornwall.

The links are sturdy and there’s something fun about this play of color and pattern. But of course, it takes planning and skill to make the blends flow so smoothly. See more in this series on her website.

Summertime catch-up

Diana Crialesi spruces up her shop for summer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Rome’s Diana Crialesi (Archidee) has uploaded photos of her latest summer polymer jewelry.

She was so engrossed with making work, shooting tutorials and teaching that she fell behind in stocking her online store. Now she’s caught up and has added photos of the backlog to her shop and Instagram.

One look at her YouTube channel and you’ll understand what distracted her.

In the video, Diana assembles this bright piece (skip ahead to 11:00) with its t-bar closure and square opening on a turquoise silk cord. Simple and summery.

Finding new friends

Two sisters tickle our fancy with their quirky colors and designs on PolymerClayDaily.com

I went out looking for new friends. Not that you’re all not just lovely but who couldn’t use a few more friends?

What I found was a mystery. Two sisters, one from Texas and one from Nebraska, teamed up 12 years ago to exercise some creative muscle under the Crone Art label. They make and market buttons and pendants and earrings and whatever suits their fancy in polymer.

The sisters keep their identities on the down-low but someone out there probably knows this duo.

What words would you use to describe their Instagram? Oddball? Seriously mischevious? Minimalists? Modern?

In this pendant, they stack their round buttons in oval cups to form a pendant on a thick cord. Wearable and whimsical.

Simple or complex

Paula Kennedy decides how simple or serious she wants to be on PolymerClayDaily.com

It’s Memorial Day in the US. These red, white, and blue polymer flipflop earrings from Texas’ Paula Kennedy are the perfect accessory for the local parade.

Paula usually creates much more intense and complex projects (like this silver and polymer micromosaic feather necklace) but on a day like today, it’s hard to resist cute.

You decide how serious or silly, how simple or complex you want your work to be.

Around the curve

Elizabeth Hamilton curves her design with tube beads on PolymerClayDaily.com

North Carolina’s Elizabeth Hamilton has restrung this necklace three times already in her attempt to find just the right look for her newest collection. “Brass beads, black cord, chunky brass chain?” she asks.

“I may still tear it apart and try again,” Elizabeth admits.

Here she combines vintage round painted cork beads with tube beads that she made after a surface treatment class with Claire Maunsell. She calls it her Nothing New collection even though her treatment gives the piece a very new and trendy look.

Curved tube beads are easy to create in polymer and this 3-strand approach is a new one to my eye.

Curved and pinched beads with color and texture

Carol Beal adds surface texture and color for a comfy cohesive look on PolymerClayDaily.com

Look closely at this necklace from Kansas’ Carol Beal (BeadUnsupervised) to understand the multi-colored, bubbly, bumpy surface of her beads.

Her simple shapes turn out to have a mysterious tactile quality. Low fire enamels on polymer? Textured paint? Who knows? They put me in mind of a PCD post and tutorial about chunky heishi beads by Marina Rios.

The rounded beads and pinched spacers give Carol’s necklace an appealing cohesiveness.

Tomorrow’s StudioMojo will include an interview with Lindly Haunani about how she teaches and about what she learned from her day-long session with the inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Sign up at StudioMojo.org to join us.

Pin up polymer

Bonnie Bishoff pins up potential pieces for her newest series on PolymerClayDaily.com

As one reader commented, Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff’s pinned up work-in-progress has a little voodoo edge to it.

But mostly it’s a wonderfully smart way to figure out how a neck piece hugs the body. In what direction does your eye travel? Where do your eyes stop? What’s balanced? What’s not?

See how Bonnie has solved these riddles with the finished necklaces on her Instagram and website.

Sky blue links

Greece’s Anarina Anar wakes us up this Monday with a 60″ necklace in bright blues.

The long thin polymer rectangles are covered with a variety of complementary patterns. Anarina’s tools of choice are colored pencils on raw clay.

Every strip is delightfully different so that your eyes want to search them all for similarities.

This item is in her Etsy shop and on Instagram.

After the show, new ideas

Genevieve Williamson's tubes pop with color and other surprises on PolymerClayDaily.com

The pop of spring colors against the black background gives an element of surprise to Genevieve Williamson’s extruded tube necklace. (I’d extrude but maybe she rolled them by hand.)

Genevieve says she’s home from the ACC Baltimore show and ready to jump back in and refine this design. The tangle of loops on one side adds to the surprise. Let’s watch and see how her idea develops.

Join us tonight for the 15th I LOVE TOOLS on Craftcast

Speaking of new developments, you’ll want to be sure to attend tonight’s free I Love Tools podcast on Craftcast at 7:30 ET. I’ll be there covering some of the hot tools for polymer artists. Mags Bonham will cover the latest developments from the Silhouette side of things.

It’s free and fun and available later if you’re too many time zones away. Bring a beverage and party with us tonight!

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