Polymer Clay Daily

Geodes from SusanaLand

Susana Martinez created her own land during the pandemic on PolymerClayDaily.com

New York’s Susana Martinez popped up in the feed today wearing a big bold necklace she made for a Santiago event.

I went on the prowl to get to know her. She had been in the fashion industry for over 20 years when the pandemic forced her to create a land of her own, SusanaLand.

It houses her jewelry collections, her fashion line, and even showcases her mother’s hand-woven wares.

Her mokume gane meets geodes meets resin in a wonky, cheery jumble of styles perfect for today.

Waste not polymer

Linda Loew turns dabs of leftover pan pastels into wearables on PolymerClayDaily.com
Linda Loew turns dabs of leftover pan pastels into wearables on PolymerClayDaily.com

Maryland’s Linda Loew cleaned the pan pastel residue from her sponges directly onto a slab of light clay.

Here’s the result of her abstract clean-up paired with other extraneous bits and turned into painterly earrings and pendant.

Sometimes our scraps scream to be saved.

Peekaboo polymer

Heidi Helyard's charmingly simple pendant bubbles up on PolymerClayDaily.com

Australia’s Heidi Helyard’s smooth droplets of bright colors poke up through perfect holes in a heavily textured white circle of clay.

A fantastic volcanic eruption? The mischievous imaginings of a happy child bubbling up? A clever girl fooling around?

Heidi’s simple pendant doesn’t rely on her clay skills. It leans on whimsy and spirit and fun.

 

Noisy butterflies

Joan Tayler's butterflies make noise on PolymerClayDaily.com

Vancouver’s Joan Tayler makes butterflies that will bring help when you need it. Her slim black polymer whistles are given wings and used as pendants or zipper pulls.

Blow on the bottom and help will arrive, predators will run away or people will just wonder why you’re making such a fuss.

In any event, they’re fun and great to hang on book bags.

Joan teaches you how to make your own in this tutorial or you can buy a plain whistle and decorate it yourself.

Pouring your heart into polymer

Sally Kirk keeps her father's heart beating in polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Houston’s Sally Kirk (BlossomandClay) pours her heart into jewelry for herself that honors her late father.

Her father’s EKG from 1989 provides the graphic for transfer to the earrings and pendant she wore to receive her master’s degree in August…a year to the day after her father’s death.

She memorialized the day with jewelry that she’ll always treasure and wear knowing that he’s proud of her.

Wearable gremlins

This is William Wallace’s (HighlandCreative) version of the gremlin that terrorized Bart Simpson. It’s complete with a swinging tongue and a menacing grin. Very wearable if you’re in that kind of mood.

Wallace is on a quest to create the ultimate Tiki necklace. Check his Instagram and you’ll see that he’s well on his way.

Putting your own spin on swirls

Angie Wiggins rides the swirl and makes it hers on PolymerClayDaily.com

Virginia’s Angie Wiggins gets lost in the swirl of a bead. She puts blends and cane scraps on a base bead and does a bit of rock and roll to make a swirled bicone bead. It’s hard to explain but fun to master. (See a video here.)

Angie enjoys putting her own spin on this pendant. Tiny dots in companion colors track the swirls. She has a background in embroidery and loves to add her signature surface embellishments. Now it’s definitely her swirl.

Tassels with a light touch

The tassel on Bonnie Bishoff's Birch pendant flutters on steel wire on PolymerClayDaily.com

Maine’s Bonnie Bishoff adds a flutter to her Birch Tassel pendants. But her method doesn’t rely on cumbersome links or laborious wireworking.

The steel cable she bakes into polymer is lightweight and the dangles move like leaves in the breeze.

The polymer pattern here is Bonnie’s modern interpretation of birch. The tassel ends in circles of translucent clay mixed with metallic leaf.

Shop Bonnie’s page and see all the ways she incorporates cable into her jewelry.