Talking hydrangeas

Pasieka small art tile on PolymerClayDaily.com

Karen Pasieka (subtledetails) seems surprised that her little art tiles sell quickly. “Nothing overly unique about this design in terms of my own collection, but they have been very popular so it can’t hurt to have another one available to purchase!” she says.

This Hydrangeas is a work in progress. Its delicate petals jump over the edges of the softly gradated tile, bursting with delicacy and energy. No surprise to us that they’re popular. Here are more of them.

Are you sometimes surprised by what’s popular in your work? It pays to listen to your customers.

Lam’s leaves

Loretta Lam keeps me coasting on photos taken at last week’s conference. These lightweight sculpted leaves are not-quite-finished samples for an upcoming European class.

Even unsanded the shapes were silky smooth. Loretta lays thin fabric-like veneers over FIMOairlight bases.

Thank you for your comments on yesterday’s post that taught me another meaning of the word goolies. While the creatures in the Christi Friesen post are cute, some goolies are certainly better kept not so free!

Grow the forest

Laura Tabakman, Emily Squires Levine and Julie Eakes, the creative forces behind the global collaborative Into the Forest exhibit created this series of 4″ caned flower brooches as part of a fundraising effort.

Sales of these and a smaller bar brooch series will help cover the costs of the exhibit and associated opening festivities in Pittsburgh at the Spinning Plate Gallery November 10-11. The show runs through the end of November. A teaser mini-installation will be unveiled at Synergy4 in August.

The curators have accumulated thousands of elements from 250 artists in 32 states and 22 countries that will be put together as a forest installation. While they are applying for grants and corporate sponsorships, you can also show your support and help grow the forest by picking a brooch from the exhibit’s new website/shop, intotheforestinstallation.com.

This Saturday’s StudioMojo will be filled with more super tips and tidbits from the Virginia conference. There’s still time to sign up and hear all the backstory.

Hacking polymer

Benzon's shaved organics on PolymerClayDaily.com

If there’s a theme to the Virginia conference, it’s Hacking Polymer. In every corner of the workroom someone is slicing, gouging, carving raw polymer in new, more aggressive ways with tools borrowed from woodcarvers and manicurists.

Jana Roberts Benzon credits ceramicist Zemer Peled with inspiring her to try a small similar organic piece. This 3″ X 2″ experiment combines some of Jana’s Encrusted techniques with new shaved and carved threads of polymer.

Libby Mills rippled-bladed through clay in ways that turned a single block into a whole catalog of patterns. Stacy Shaffer zipped through the surface of her stripes to uncover fabric-like patterns perfect for trendy earrings. More on the new mayhem in this weekend’s StudioMojo.

If you’re ready for some hacking of your own, consider Claycino in Las Vegas beginning June 2 and sponsored by FIMO manufacturer, Staedtler. All course materials are supplied along with daily lunch and snacks, party fare and closing Bavarian banquet. Only few spots left in this exciting new event!

Taking it easy

Kassel's limp and lovely leaves on PolymerClayDaily.com

Sure, you may have been impressed by the cheeky, funny characters that Doreen Gay Kassel has been creating for her Synergy4 presentation with Donna Greenberg (Translating Your Environment into Your Inspiration). Doreen’s characters are funny and engaging and quite complex.

Then she wows us with casual, offhand leaves that look as if they floated to the ground, ready to be raked. Their torn edges and folds show off lovely layers of colors with dots hidden in the recesses.

If you’ve worked with polymer for long you know what a trick it is to make our medium look easy, unforced and really organic. How does she do that? Will she and Donna reveal all at Synergy? You may enjoy some of her inspirations on Pinterest.

Everyone is Irish today

Elena Sevva is from Ukraine and lives in Israel but everyone is Irish today. Her polymer necklaces have a dark, woodsy, organic look.

Many of Elena’s pieces on Flickr are loosely strung on twine. You can picture a barefoot sprite in a gauzy dress dancing in the woods wearing this.

Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, right?

Makes you want to pull out your favorite beads and start knotting.

Join us on StudioMojo on Saturday morning for a look behind-the-scenes and a gentle nudge toward the week ahead.

Sunny Monday

New York’s Donna Greenberg calls her newest wall art an Olive Eater Urchin but I call it sunshine. An 11″ diameter prickly sculpted, textured and painted sunshine is a perfect way to begin our week.

“The weirdos do add up,” Donna says of her other-worldly constructions, “Some have new homes to fly to, others will be in shows or going to workshops with me. Table room is at a premium in the studio these days.” She has created these decorative gems at a prodigious rate.

You can see lots more of them on her website and Pinterest. Donna will be sharing her techniques in a Tidal Pool pre-conference class at this year’s Synergy.

Loose and tight polymer

The painterly backgrounds on these flower canes from Maine’s Jayne Dwyer accentuate the realistic flower images.

The backgrounds are not just Skinner blends, they are chunky blends of companion colors that blend into brush strokes and set off the main images.

You may be wowed by Jane’s realistic scenes in polymer on her sales site here and on Facebook. If want to see what inspires her, visit her Pinterest boards.

Be sure to look at her latest teapot to see how Jayne gives salvaged items new life by applying her slices to them.

Polymer off the beaten path

France’s Sonya Girodon enjoyed departing from her usual path and traveling into the woods.

The result is these polymer thistles, burrs or alien pods created especially for the upcoming Into the Forest exhibit in Valley Forge during Synergy4 and in Pittsburgh next November.

How are you coming with your contribution to this big show? The deadline is April 4.

Sonya’s having a banner year. Just look at all the breakthroughs and game-changers that she’s come up with on her Facebook and Flickr.

As long as we’re looking at our to-do lists, have you registered for Synergy4? Can’t attend? No worries. Even if you can’t go, enter your artwork in the IPCA Awards competition and you’ll be there in spirit. The awards online entry isn’t showing up on the new IPCA site but I’m sure it will be activated soon.

Sonya shows us how to stretch our creative muscles and try out new ideas in 2017.

Stretching polymer

Australia’s Sabine Speisser (papagodesign) is pleased with how her online class with Christine Dumont and Donna Greenberg propelled her polymer work forward.

This 7″x 9″ vessel, a Microcosm of Micro-organisms, was created in Voila’s Creative Design Series. Sabine’s dense patterns quiver with energy and life force.

“Guided outside influence and critique opens us up to many more possibilities beyond one’s comfort zone,” says Sabine. Read more of her comments on Facebook and follow her on Flickr.

Ready to stretch your boundaries?

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