Changing obsessions

Juliya Laukhina moves to new obsessions on PolymerClayDaily.com

What are we looking at here from Moscow’s Juliya Laukhina? The translation isn’t helping much so let’s go with what our eyes tell us.

Juliya has loved repetition and detail in her round beads for years. But these pods take her obsessions in new and organic directions. She adds a variety of curvy forms, spikey balls, and lacey layers. What prompted this great change?

Go to her Instagram to examine each of these pods up close.

Feeling loopy

After years of white, Angela Schwer adds color to her wall sculptures on PolymerClayDaily.com

Oregon’s Angela Schwer swerved off her usual path and ventured into color for this loopy wall sculpture.

Don’t you wonder why after years of making wall art in white only, she was compelled to add pale pinks and yellows with a splash of black?

And she usually sticks to very natural and organic shapes, not mod loops. She says she doesn’t know what came over her.

We’ll have to follow along.

Preparing for Fall

Donna Greenberg prepares for Fall in polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

New Jersey’s Donna Greenberg prepares us for fall with her 18″ Carnival, an explosion of colors and shapes.

“After months of working in controlled somber tones, it’s just what the doctor ordered to lift my spirits going into Fall,” Donna says.

Polymer, paper, pencil, and paints.

Zoom in to experience the lush layers. What does Fall look like in your work?

Contrasts from the biosphere

Donna Greenberg finds her voice in the biosphere on PolymerClayDaily.com

New Jersey’s Donna Greenberg launches us into the weekend with one of the latest in her Biosphere series of small polymer vessels. Pinecone? Fungus? Her works are some combination of what appears in nature and come out of Donna’s experiences.

She says of her work, “Standing in the reeds and saw grass on the nearby Hudson River, watching a heron while viewing the Statue of Liberty is a perfect example of the kind of contrast that I look for to translate into my art.”

Donna’s polymer bio-systems flow across walls and make us more aware of our changing world.

On StudioMojo this weekend we’ll look at what appeals to us, what repulses us on the way to finding our voices. What do we have to get out of our systems? There are plenty of others on this path. You’re not alone. Come on over this Saturday.

How does your garden grow?

Juliya Laukhina shows us the beauty of weeds on PolymerClayDaily.com

Moscow’s Juliya Laukhina forces us to take another look at the weeds we’re battling in our yards.

Juliya reveals the beauty of simple plants in this bangle made of textured polymer tiles. Pressing fresh cuttings into clay or molding material, she creates texture plates that she bakes. Then she presses raw clay into the baked plates.

She gathers the resulting soft-edged rectangles around a bangle form and highlights the textures with a wash of dark paint.

Voila, those nuisances in the garden enjoy a new life on your arm.

Watch Juliya on Instagram and Facebook.

Natasha bugs

Bugs crawl out of Gael Keyes' scrap pile on PolymerClayDaily

New Mexico’s Gael Keyes makes fantastical bugs and beetles with fancy wire legs dressed in polymer and beaded antennae. They’re composed of scrap clay twisted into a Natasha bead pattern to create the bookend pattern on their backs and wings.

Polymer is a family affair with Gael. She’s here at Claython in New Jersey with her mother (Carole Centrella) and sister (Linda O’Brien). Retired from a school principal job, Gael’s online exposure had to be limited. She launched onto Instagram today! Follow her.

 

Blooming spring

Tracy Feldwick's bloom opens on PolymerClayDaily.com

How do I know spring has sprung? There are delicious colors all over including this pod from Australia’s Tracy Feldwick (Mimosa Muse on IG and Twitter)

But wait, March isn’t Spring in Australia! Ah, this was posted several months ago. That explains.

She mixes patterns inside and out. Her stamen are gaining color as they grow. Spectacular.

One-off rings

Melanie West sticks with one-off rings on PolymerClayDaily.com

About these recent rings from Maine’s Melanie West she says.”I’ve been encouraged to go back to rings, but refuse to leave my “one-off” approach to my work. So, it’s various colorways, in set sizes, every single ring full of its own personality.” You can find the rings at Markings Gallery, in Bath, Maine. From Facebook.

Do you take a one-off approach? It would be hard to be as disciplined and diligent as Melanie. These are the bomb.

Monday bouquet

Floren Jewelry sends you a mini Monday bouquet on PolymerClayDaily.com

Nothing like a dozen red roses for your Monday. This small pendant was created by Belarus’ Floren (JewelryFloren).

The pendant measures 1.6″ x 1.4″ and is made from an air-dry polymer. You can imagine how lovingly this delicate bouquet was assembled on its metal backing.

While Floren doesn’t reveal much about herself online, she’s surely a romantic.