Desert visions in progress

John and Corliss Rose are grateful for their quarantine creating on PolymerClayDaily.com

John and Corliss Rose are grateful to be creating in their quarantine corral, otherwise called their California studio.

This Mojave Bouquet was a product of an “In Progress” box of odds and sods that they’re giving new life.

The brooch is 3″ x 2.25″ with a fabricated sterling silver back and mechanism which you can see in these front and back photos.

Do you have odds and sods waiting to be turned into something remarkable? What better time than now to use what you have?

Puzzling polymer

Ivana Svobodova puzzles her scraps together on PolymerClayDaily

Czech Republic’s Ivana Svobodová makes a game of collecting all her thin, tiny scraps and then sitting down for a game of assemblage. Nothing goes to waste as she creates a series of puzzled brooches.

The face parts mixed in with all the patterns add an element of surprise and mystery.

Broken hearts

Carol Beal makes crazy quilt hearts for new neighbors on PolymerClayDaily.com

These “Broken Hearts: Keeping a Safe Distance” brought tears to my eyes. They’re from Kansas’ Carol Beal (BeadUnsupervised).

The hearts are certainly wonky and broken but they’re also joyful and celebratory. Carol says she made them for some new neighbors.

The hearts have a crazy quilt vibe. Such a vibrant collage of scraps!

More of her art on Facebook.

More zen blends

What can you do when you’re drawn to one more look at the news? Instead, try this link to Arizona’s Meg Newberg (Polymer Clay Workshop). You’ll be hypnotized by her simple, scrappy blends.

A solid background color unifies the crazy, devil-may-care dots of companion colors.

Whatever she throws into the blend oozes into its neighbor to make a lovely ombre.

The idea that a hot mess turns into something lovely is a hopeful analogy for today. Go watch and feel hopeful. Several more on her Instagram.

Polymer patchwork creatures

Lisa Gauthier makes a warm and comfy elephant ornament on PolymerClayDaily.com

Connecticut’s Lisa Gauthier will hang this patchwork elephant on the tree in a competition that will benefit the Ronald McDonald House in New Haven.

I’m guessing that the patches are veneers made from scrap canes which Lisa makes look real and comfy.

The SCPCG has pulled out all the stops for this competition and we’ve featured several entries. Their Creatures Great and Small are winners in our book. Congrats to the guild for their outstanding efforts.

Join us over at StudioMojo this Saturday and be inspired by the latest shows and competitions. It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays!

Polymer roots

Shelley Atwood puts her own spin on scrap mokume gane earrings on PolymerClayDaily.com

Think of polymer techniques as having a lineage when you look at these earrings from Texas’ Shelley Atwood.

Kathy Amt taught Dayle Doroshow who shared it with me who showed a whole bunch of folks this scrap technique on video. Who knows where it came from even earlier or where it will go next?

It’s circled back around to Shelley who’s put her own spin on it on Instagram. Shelley layered thin bits of scrap and then carved her design, which revealed colors underneath.

It’s invigorating when we see new life in our roots.

Mix and match scrap

Seattle’s Susan Hyde’s Madonnas (7″ x 3″) aren’t technically from scrap but her textiles are stunningly vibrant and she reconfigures her canes in a variety of ways to extend their usefulness. She mixes and matches endlessly and drapes slices of her fabrics so that they become ethnic dress on this compelling symbol of motherhood.

Her method is a variation on a theme that Kathy Amt taught us years ago and in Susan’s hands, it still looks fresh and contemporary.

Susan’s online presence is on Facebook and her site. She was scheduled to demo her skills at Collective Visions Gallery next weekend but was sidelined with a broken arm this week. Get well fast wishes to Susan.

Bohemian scraps

Pilar Rodriguez Dominguez masters her scraps on PolymerClayDaily.com

The Canary Islands’ Pilar Rodriguez Dominguez has mastered building canes and all the polymer basics. Now her work has taken a leap forward and what’s the reason? Scraps, of course!

Playing with scraps is often a freeing experience. There’s no wrong way and often you stumble into some very right accidents, especially when you have a strong color sense like Pilar does.

These bohemian beauties appear on her Instagram. You’ll see similar methods on her Etsy, Facebook, and Flickr pages and videos here and here.

Feeling stuck or restless? Go explore your scraps!

It’s Synergy time! We’ll be digging through the pre-conference scuttlebutt for this weekend’s StudioMojo. I’ll be reporting from the front lines so PCD posts will be juicy and fun and probably not on the regular schedule next week.

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