Polymer Clay Daily

A polymer embrace

These Embrace beads by Steven Ford and David Forlano showed up in a recent blog post about how their work touches on themes similar to those in the Art Nouveau period. They share a focus on organics and a sense of movement as illustrated in these luscious new beads.

RAM Redux

A slideshow about the Racine Art Museum gala is up for your enjoyment. In my excitement I simply pointed my phone camera (somewhat shakily) and started snapping. Please forgive omissions and silliness.

A comprehensive recording of the event, the panel discussions and events will be available in the future. Pieces from the exhibit are thoroughly documented in the companion book. And the exhibit itself will be open to you until February 5. In the meantime, enjoy my hastily assembled 3-minute snack.

A video conversation with Pier Voulkos will be part of this weekend’s StudioMojo newsletter.

RAM treasure chests

Polymer finery was on display all weekend. Some of these were new works, some old favorites. Top left is Kathleen Dustin, Julie Eakes’ framed extravagence on the right with Jeff Dever’s new work in the center (on Hollie Mion). The lavish seascape on the bottom is Laura Timmins’. Bottom right is elegance from Sandra McCaw.

You can enter to win the event t-shirt (printed with a shimmering version of Elise Winters’ art) until midnight (ET) Tuesday! Thanks for all the comments.

Wednesday night’s online class at Craftcast features Patrik Kusek combining metal clay and polymer using “warm” connections.

Polymer jellyfish

We finish the week with Bettina Welker’s jellyfish earrings that look like they were made to go with Wendy Malinow’s beach glass necklace from Tuesday’s post. Have we spotted a translucent trend? Are sea creatures in floating to the top (bad pun) in the polymer world?

Bettina’s graceful hollow forms covered by delicately colored cane slices gracefully mimic the sea creatures. Find more jellyfish here.

Next week we move from the sea to the mountains. There won’t be many words from me and I’m hoping for great pictures. I’m hoping your weekend goes swimmingly!

Fauopal

Liz Hall and Randee Ketzel are leading a resurgence of polymer artists taking another run at making a believable opal. Their techniques are coming mighty close to fooling the eye and driving the rest of us crazy figuring out how they do it.

Liz (left) is partial to boulder and Yowah Opals. She says, “I make the initial shape with iridescent mediums embedded into many different layers and types of polymers to get these results. I finish these faux opals by coating them with resin then sanding and buffing them on the wheel.”

Randee prefers hers embedded in fossilized limestone with traces of primeval seas. They’re both obsessed with simulating opal perfectly in polymer.

Kato’s new mission

Donna Kato posted these New Mission pieces yesterday to great acclaim on her Facebook page. One comment called them “…stunning and vaguely mystical.”

Donna admits that these designs were based on 10-year-old prototypes that she’d forgotten about until someone saw them in the background of a photo and inquired. Now she’s wondering what else she forgot about that she can resurrect! It’s always fun to see what Donna’s up to here and here.

Well-balanced polymer

Pam Sanders was inspired by the Borgias for some of her latest polymer creations. (Remember, the Borgias inspired Marie Segal as well.)

This precarious balancing act sculpture makes me smile as it reminds me of the sometimes silly demands of our busy lives.

Pam’s lighted humorous characters are a departure from her moody, mysterious face art in both polymer and in other media. She describes her urban artifacts as “modern with an ancient spirit.”

Pam started out as a knitter/embroiderer and has evolved to mixed media wearable art sculptures. She calls herself an eclectic artist and her most recent mixed bag of faces shows the range of her art. Have a well-balanced weekend.

How does she do it?

Debra DeWolff has revived her blog and just set up an image page full of juicy polymer work that will capture your attention.

Debra works with felt saying that, “There’s a very pleasurable tactile quality to felt and I enjoy juxtaposing the soft fuzziness of felt with the smoothness of the clay. Her recent work also includes metalwork.

A closeup look at this mosaic bangle will have you scratching your head to figure out how she embeds seed beads in blended clay colors so precisely.

Polymer slinky

What started out as another split ring variation by Maggie Maggio became a “Slinky” polymer bracelet as we worked side by side on vacation.

It began as a snake covered with a Skinner blend and was rolled out to four feet in length before it was pinched flat.

Cornstarch between the coils kept the layers from sticking to each other. Slinky is lightweight and as much fun to play with as it is to wear. (Here’s the original video about split rings.)

The other cool variations that Maggie came up with aren’t ready for prime time yet but you can check her site to follow her progress. She’s teaching a polymer watercolor landscapes class in June if you’re in the Northwest.

Have a grand weekend. I’m off to Virginia…another polymer-rich environment that will surely contain interesting material for next week’s posts.

A new twist on polymer strips

France’s Florence Minne-KHou (CreationMyWay) has been playing with polymer strips and this lovely Wave necklace is her latest version.

Her starting point was the lantern beads we made as children from paper. As I remember, you take a rectangle of paper and cut strips between the two long uncut edges. Then you glue the rectangle into a tube shape and twist to make your lantern. If you see her post here, you’ll get the gist.

The Wave is a more elaborate version and the pearls provide a bubbly, finishing touch. Other artists, like England’s Carol Blackburn, have toyed with polymer strips. This is a delightful new twist.

Faux felines from Ukraine

Is it enamel? Polymer is such a fabulous faux medium that this necklace from Polina and Sergey Muha could fool you.

The Kiev couple assures me that they use polymer for the base shapes, friends’ illustrations for images, and resin for the glassy effect. “We love to work in collaboration with different artists, illustrators, photographers,” says Polina. In this necklace 15 cat illustrations, the work of Russian artist Rimma Coffeee, hang together happily on a cord.

While the concept isn’t altogether new, the look of the thin shaped illustration beads is young and fashionable.

One of the benefits of polymer’s popularity spreading around the world is that new artists look at the medium with fresh eyes. Genevieve Williamson sent in this link saying, “I find it interesting when people use polymer clay to suit their own purposes instead of feeling obligated to use it in any traditional manner.”

Turns out, the couple have been regular visitors to PCDaily. Do you know artists out there using polymer in unusual ways?