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.
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.
Florida’s Sherri Kellberg (BedazzleMe) performs her own brand of alchemy with polymer and resin and specks of metallic leaf.
It’s easy to sink down into the layers. How does she do it? Got me. If her multi-layers and glassy resin toppings ring your chimes, study her dreamy pendants and try her tutorials or take a guess and do it your way.
This quirky, abstract pendant from Massachusetts’ Kathryn Corbin is both decorative and efficient when you have no pockets and a house littered with reading glasses always out of reach.
Kathryn solved her problem in an arty way. Bits of pattern, some rough texture, and colors that go with everything ending in a loop for hanging readers. Why be boring? We’re artists!
Kathryn loves to experiment in the studio and she sent this and pix of other juicy projects along to prove it.
We were chatting about the IPCA global interactive exhibit in February. The deadline for submission is January 15 which gives you plenty of time. Lots of categories and awards! Not an IPCA member? Join here.
Must clean the closet!
Tweedy stripes from Spain’s silovia heartmade look like the favorite thick sweaters and turtlenecks we stowed away. We’ve slogged through 2020 to cold weather. Time to pull out the woolies.
She pairs her rough textured and bifurcated shield shape with a fat leather cord and a bronze jump ring that keep the rustic, wintery vibe going. Here she is on FB.
The speckled clays have been popular recently and now we understand why.
Yes, I’ve really got the blues, not because I’m sad, but for the love of the rich blues of African Indigo-dyed textiles produced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria.
The hinged vessel pendant above is titled, Gathering of the Masaai, an ethnic group from Kenya and Tanzania. I love how they adorn themselves in layers of beaded neckpieces.
This mixed media piece includes African Indigo Textile, seed beads, and cane work. To see more of how I’ve had the blues over the summer, click this link…
UK’s Dayl Jones (Planet Isis) slides into the end of her 100-day challenge with this collaged veneer two-sided home run.
The soft watery colors of the oval pendant are impressive but she tops it off by repeating the colors in the polymer tubes and thin-sliced beads on the cord. Now it all hangs together with panache.
It’s those little touches that bump Dayle’s pendant up a notch.
Ohio’s
Debbie Jackson and I had a conversation today about recent events. We decided to lean into the discomfort of the issues that have been swirling around us to get some clarification and to be able to move ahead.
I knew I’d make some blunders (I did) and Debbie knew she wouldn’t have all the answers (she didn’t). But it was a start.
Debbie is exhausted and emotionally drained by recent events but she’s also hopeful that society can be repaired.
Come see how a black artist who has worked hard to make her living in polymer has plowed through a difficult landscape and succeeded. Debbie’s works are sold at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and she has taught and written, collaborated, and organized in amazing ways.
Her Miami University summer workshop (now postponed) is entitled “Culture on a String” and that says a lot about how Debbie envisions her polymer art.
Our StudioMojo interview was a start in my education and a necessary first step to better understanding and healing.
France’s Sophie Pollion (s0fi_insta) favors strong shapes and graphic simplicity on her polymer jewelry. The oversize oval holes on this pendant look casual and confident on the multi-strand leather cord.
Her Instagram is full of clever designs and quirky closures that she tosses off with seeming ease. Of course they are more considered and thought through than it might appear. Here she is on Facebook.
Enter your studio with an attitude of nonchalance and ease and see what happens. Kind of a “fake it til you make it” trick. See what happens.
UK’s Angela Garrod builds her long pendant with square tubes that end in birch-like round beads.
Childish Games We Played ends in a pendant that’s textured and worn with a surprising top to its shape.
Just when you think she’s finished, Angela adds a length of handmade chain. It all adds up to a refined and elegant yet playful piece. Her works are consistently well-considered and thoroughly designed in a way that makes it look effortless.
You have to visit her website to get a full view of her impeccable taste.
We translated the Virginia retreat into a Zoom meeting this week. For an hour and a half every day, we simulated the annual gathering. It was nostalgic and fun and reminded us of what we were missing. We left feeling hungry for next year. Come on over to StudioMojo to see our takeaways.
