Polymer Clay Daily

George’s solo polymer exhibit

Ellen George’s Nose Touches Twig solo exhibit of polymer clay sculptures inspired by nature will be at PDX Contemporary Art in Portland, Oregon through May 30.

A former dental technician Ellen pushes the clay in new directions with her abstract forms that vary in density, color and translucence.

The imagined forms are evocative of undersea life, water, clouds, and geological formations. The relationship to the wall is explored in pieces like this 14.5″ by 14.5″ Scatter where holes are carved out of coral-like pieces of large flat pieces of polymer clay.

Here’s a post about an earlier exhibit. I love the vibrancy and size of this new series.

Toops bead video

Seattle’s Cynthia Toops takes you through the process of making polymer clay beads in this quick and wonderful video. It’s sure to give you breathtaking inspiration and overwhelming studio envy to start your week.

Toops’ jewelry is featured in the installation, A Bead Quiz, on view now at the Seattle Art Museum. Her husband, Dan Adams, has a companion video here.

You might want to look at Cynthia and Dan’s self-published book and her Facere Gallery listings too.

I’m scouting out polymer clay in Chapel Hill, NC today and send my thanks to Carol Simmons for sending me today’s link.

Schwarzenberg’s one cane, many leaves

These polymer clay leaves from Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg’s class descriptions look a lot like the wild things popping up in my garden. Do you suppose the creator, like Lynne Ann, only uses one cane?

You can see her mind at work as she takes a simple cane and grows it into a multitude of petal, leaf and foliage shapes. Click on the her pictures, you’ll get an even closer look.

Lynne Ann is teaching California and Milwaukee in May if you want to catch up with her. Here’s an earlier post about her. She’s the only artist I know who has Skinner-blended her hair color!

Phillips’ faux flora and fauna

Lori “Tab” Phillips majored in ceramics and she brings a potter’s sensibility to her polymer clay faux ceramic beads and pods. Her palette is bright…perfect for spring…as in this chic and charming magic bean necklace.

If you take a look at her photo site, you’ll see how her eye gravitates to the same palette in nature.

Lori uses a strip of unbaked polymer as a bead board when she’s assembling a necklace. Pretty clever, eh?

This Kentucky artist is new to PCDaily (thanks to Darleen Bellan). You’ll want to keep tabs on her blog, her Flickr and her Etsy sites.

Dittmar’s polymer Earth Day

The polymer clay artist whose art most resonates with today’s Earth Day is Portland’s Meredith Dittmar. Many of her pieces express deep levels of union across biology, technology and consciousness.

It’s what Meredith has called “psychepolymereganics” where the interconnectedness of all things is revealed. She sees the act of spontaneous artistic creation as part of a larger practice of being present, and a way to better understand herself and reality.

One of the Same, the 24″ x 12″ piece shown here, was mounted in an acrylic case, lit and shown in a dark immersive environment in the 2008 Biome Show in Brooklyn.

Perhaps today is a good day for all of us to consider our psychepolymereganics.

Pinchuk, Portscheller start the polymer week

Anya Pinchuk is exhibiting polymer clay pieces in a show at Jewelers’ Werk Gallerie in Washington, DC through April 18.

In this series she embeds crystals in domes of polymer, a departure from her earlier soldered silver circle brooches. While still reflecting organic geometry, the polymer series is more playful and kitschy.

Visitors to the exhibit of Anya and Natalya (click and scroll way down) look like they’re totally engrossed in the sisters’ innovative combinations of materials, designs and ideas.

Busy week

Regina Portscheller’s polymer clay mosaic ATC card may help you start your week with a smile. “She may contain traces of nuts,” her card cautions. Indeed! Thanks to Elizabeth for the link.

Fashionable, industrial polymer clay

Melanie West is waking up from her long winter’s nap with a new polymer clay BioBangle and a line of polymer filled brass bangles for her Etsy shop.

In Fashion

In Elizabeth Yarborough’s “Collection Two,” platters of polymer clay miniature sweets and savories are perched on silver rings.

She finds unexpected beauty in traditionally unwearable objects. Her collections are handcrafted in NYC and carried by Bergdorf Goodman and other fine stores around the world. The link is from Susan Lomuto.

Industrial strength

Have you been watching Wes Warren gear up to make 4,000 beads from his soccer ball cane? His methods, which include the use of an industrial clay sheeter, bungie cords for reduction, and very precise mathematics, make for flawless canes.

Clawson brings organics to polymer clay

In the depths of winter Kate Clawson‘s green polymer clay tiles look especially appealing. Kate attaches one of these small gems to each of her business cards.

Her “Organic Odysseys” galleries include corn pens, cherry tomato earrings and nasturtium bracelets. Here’s her Etsy site.

Kate says that her local organic Quiet Creek Farm in Pennsylvania, “…sparked a greater interest for me to explore each plant and all its components on a level that is deeper than can be had by supermarket fare or produce stands.”

Pressing vegetation into polymer clay, Kate captures the minute details in each leaf and seed, allowing her to explore the layers of beauty in the simplest edibles. The finished work is like a modern day fossil that recalls memories of farm days and great meals.