Folkart polymer

Maryland’s Rachana Saurabh brings her heritage to all her artwork. She paints elegant, colorful Indian women. Her delicately embellished polymer earrings show an unmistakable folk art influence as well.

Rachana Saurabh's folkart in jewelry and painting on PolymerClayDaily.com

Now she merges painting and polymer this new Lotus Pond panel. Watch her add these blossoms on a background of swirled and spiraling extruded strings of blue.

This month all Rachana’s sales are being donated to the COVID 19 crisis in India.

Polymer painting with feeling


Deborah Stanley paints feelings with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Deborah Stanley exhibits this 14.5″ x 17.5” polymer portrait of Breonna Taylor entitled Remember in KORE Gallery in Louisville.

Like many of us, Deborah began a project with her young son. She was soon hooked on polymer. “For my first several years as an artist, I exclusively created abstract designs, always determined to let go/let flow with the clay.”

A portrait commission challenged her to express herself and to create a likeness. This pivotal moment taught her that she could put both a likeness and feeling in every piece of art.


This week was packed with online classes and conferences. Ideas and tools and tips zoomed around and we’ve snatched some up for StudioMojo. We’ll be chock full of luscious links. Subscribe now and gear up for Spring.

Buzzing with color

Angela Barenholtz grows her collections of masterpieces on PolymerClayDaily.com

Israel’s Angela Barenholtz shows a large and growing collection of interpretations of famous paintings rendered in polymer on Flickr.

She’s refined and changed and expanded her painting techniques. Angela chops her clay into a terrazzo-like mix that buzzes with energy and color.

This latest is her rendition of a Paul Klee work and it popped up on her sparse Instagram site. You may want to follow along. Let’s hope she keeps moving in this direction. It’s the bomb!

Pointillist polymer

Arieta Stavrodou's powerful polymer pointilism on PolymerClayDaily.com

I know very little about Cyprus’ Arieta Stavrodou except that she’s a strong, in-your-face, badass kinda woman.

And I want to paint like she does with polymer. Her 5″ x 6″ portrait is aggressive, driven, forceful with a soft underbelly and a discerning eye.

We’ve covered her wild teapots and other quirky works but her latest polymer paintings reveal something more.

See the power in her recent Instagram and follow her earlier works on Facebook.

Coloring outside the polymer lines

Deb Groover arranges bakes stripes into a vibrant polymer painting on PolymerClayDaily.com

Florida’s Deb Groover (@debortinastudio) has loosened her approach to painting with polymer on wood. She cures these quickly formed bright stripes, arranges them on a wood substructure, and finally paints the background.

I didn’t think she could create her large paintings in a more loose, vibrant way but she’s managed to do just that in recent works. They’re more abstract, more geometric.

Whether it’s beaches or birds or just stripes, there’s a lively attitude that permeates her paintings.

Here’s my old video interview with fuzzy audio (the microphone slid down her blouse). Persist through it for an explanation of this former ceramic artist’s unfettered style in polymer.

Deb Groover’s poolside polymer

Deb Groover adds some warm sun to her polymer paintings on PolymerClayDaily

It seemed as though Florida’s Deb Groover (Debortina) was taunting us with this swimming pool painting that showed up on Instagram.

It turns out that she and Tina themselves are stuck in snow in Virginia.

Deb is working a little differently here with more small polymer elements in her works. The composition has a David Hockney feel to it.

Deb works on wooden panels and adds the background as the last element in her large paintings. If you need some bright sun, visit her on Instagram. See her work in person by checking her schedule for an event near you.

Blue Yonder in polymer

Lyn Tremblay explores the Blue Yonder in polymer for a group art show on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ontario’s Lyn Tremblay takes painting with polymer in a different direction with her Blue Yonder, a 12″x12″ square abstract for a group show, Art with Panache. Colors collide, textures bump into each other, layers reveal and hide each other. Lots of energy here!

Lyn’s painting fits in nicely with this week’s StudioMojo discussion about what it means to bring joy to your workspace. We’ll consider what we like to look at and live with and why. Come on over and join us for a little bit of Saturday morning joy.  

Muse in polymer

Angela Barenholtz recreates Matisse portrait in polymer veneers on PolymerClayDaily.com

Israel’s Angela Barenholtz recreates Matisse’s Green Stripe painting in polymer using an assortment of veneers. Angela’s version measures  6 1/2″ x 7 1/2″.

You can find her methods for creating these marvelous scrap quilt veneers in her Etsy shop.

The simple geometric structure of the portrait of Matisse’s wife translates perfectly into our medium. It’s a good day to feature a portrait of a woman.

If you need a break from the news and political hubbub, come on over to StudioMojo for a deep dive into the polymer world where everything is colorful and full of creative promise. It’s your Saturday morning dose of enthusiasm and sanity. 

Polymer brainstorm

Shannon Tabor paints through the storm on PolymerClayDaily.com

Shannon Tabor’s (CharlestonClay) series of squares shows her abstract paintings combined with polymer to great effect!

Were her swirling images inspired by the storm? She’s from South Carolina and I’m hoping she’s dry.

The polymer mokume gane pieces are mounted with lifts that make them appear to float above the canvases. The triptych will be sold as a set. See them on Instagram.

Shannon’s brainstorm enlivens her paintings and shows us a tantalizing twist.

Katie does Klimt

Lizzie Campbell brings Klimt to polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

UK’s Lizzie Campbell (Clay Disarray) created what most of us have thought about, a clay version of a Gustav Klimpt painting.

His glittering patterns and his geometrics are perfect for our medium. Lizzie brings off her complex painting in style. 

Lizzie Campbell brings Klimt to polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Enjoy a closer look on Instagram (lots of in-process shots) and see her other polymer illustrations on her site. She’ll put this one on her Etsy site soon.

Join us on StudioMojo this weekend where we’ll find out where else polymer has crept into the culture. It’s everywhere!