Women’s stories in polymer

Elissa Farrow-Savos tells women's stories on PolymerClayDaily.com

This grouping of Village Women from Virginia’s Elissa Farrow Savos was destined for Gallery C in Raleigh, N.C. Elissa captured them on her new Instagram page before they left for the art gallery.

Their pensive expressions pull us in for a deeper look as we approach Mothers Day in the midst of #metoo. She hints at their stories here.

Ellisa says, “As I sculpt, I push the polymer clay past its intended size and boundaries, then incorporate found objects, and finally paint the baked clay with layers of oils.”

The overview of her women and all their stories on Artsy.com is fascinating. Learn more from this PolymerArtArchive post and see her in the Polymer Art: Recent Acquisitions show at the Racine Art Museum until June 24.

Polymer that changes

Christine Harris' Transmutation looks at change on PolymerClayDaily.com

Virginia’s Christine Harris has built a growing body of work about change, including this Transmutation which is one of her works on exhibit at Lemon Tree Gallery.

Being both a sculptor and an art therapist, Christine welcomes change and has a strong interest in art as a vehicle that makes growth possible. As a child, she was deeply affected by her trips to the cemetery every week with her great-grandmother.

That helps explain why she is drawn to mythology, nature, the animal world, and scary movies. Learn more in this YouTube video, on Facebook and her blog.

As you approach spring, are ideas of growth and the changes it brings appearing in your work?

Portraits with layers of interest

Melissa Terlizzi takes you on safari on PolymerClayDaily.com

Virginia’s Melissa Terlizzi takes us to the jungle with her polymer Safari Portraits. On the finished piece, Melissa included two more portraits – a giraffe, and an elephant – onto the finished canvas.

She sculpts mostly wildlife and mostly for home decor, with a real fondness for her subjects and an understanding of their habitats. Note how she pulls the viewer into her scenes with layers of interest and loads of surprising details. What could have been a good animal portrait makes you part of a story.

AiryBeasts

Brooke Duckart merges a love of characters and airplants on PolymerClayDaily.com

This lot of AiryBEASTS from Oregon’s Brooke Duckart has already sold out and there will be a new batch on Etsy on February 4.

Brooke works at a stop-motion animation studio in Portland and has a head full of characters which sometimes emerge as AiryBEASTS, small containers for air plants. You can see what she’s up to on Instagram.

I just discovered that Claire Maunsell will be teaching her Artisanal Polymer Bangles on Craftcast today (Wednesday, January 31). Claire approaches clay from a background in glass so her methods feel very different and she’s forever finding some stunning new surface techniques. Catch her if you can or add the recorded class to your library.

Party animal

Anna Nel’s pooch is ready to party! You can’t mix colors much hotter than his. His eyes look wildly faceted. Are they made from a cane?

Could he be a polymer relative of those wonderful Oaxacan wood carvings from Mexico? He might be scary if he weren’t so obviously ready to bark in the new year.

Enjoy Anna’s knock-out colors on Instagram and Facebook.

One more holiday weekend filled with food and football and then we can get back to business as usual. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get back to work.

Join StudioMojo on Saturday morning for a quieter, calmer, chattier entrance to 2018.

Polymer ready for snow

Karen Walker's wrapped snowmen gather for the holidays on PolymerClayDaily

The UK’s Karen Walker wraps her snowmen in mufflers with fashionably oversized buttons on their coats. They gather in a group with their pets, ready for winter.

Karen deepens the textures and highlights them with a dark wash then adds a few polka dots.

The simplicity of her shapes gives the scene added charm and you can see more examples on Instagram, her site, and on Facebook.

Polymer under the bed

Feel the love and understanding in this small sculpture from Wisconsin’s Gina Griffith. Gina shows a deep understanding of children’s fears in her Dark Corners of the Nursery.

The strewn blocks, the bunny slippers, and the superhero cape capture the scene with a little girl clutching the covers as she imagines monsters under her bed.

Enjoy every step in Gina’s detailed process on Instagram and Facebook. And you’ll see the children who are her obvious inspirations.

The little kid in me wants the birthday cake Gina made recently. What lucky kids they are to have such a talented and loving mother. They’ll want to treasure this piece of her heart.

Thanks to Lindly Haunani for introducing PCD to Gina.

Wakeup call

Aric Verrastro moves beyond the forest. Care to follow? on polymerclaydaily.com

Is Aric Verrastro’s necklace too Energetic for you on a Monday?

Our Into the Forest weekend keynote speaker, Brigitte Martin from Crafthaus, asked, “What comes after technique?”

The answers have to do with expression and a bigger vision of what your craft can do.

Aric’s steel, spray paint, tool dip and polymer necklace (actually it’s sculpture with a hole for your head) points one way to art. What happens when you walk out of the forest into the larger world?

Facebook is awash in photos from the grand weekend in Pittsburgh and some of the lovely gallery goers are pictured on Instagram.

Oddfae step into the light

Dawn Schiller's characters go all chromatic on PolymerClayDaily

Usually, Dawn (Dee) Schiller’s goblins hide in seashells, peer out of watch cases and dribble down candlesticks.

Her newest Chromatic Goblins step out into the California light and proudly reveal their colors.

Does this signal a change in attitude for Dee and her OddFae? They’re so proud of themselves. Follow her on Facebook and see more on Etsy.

Sometimes when you’ve had a change of heart, you can’t stop it from coming out in the clay.

Shish kebabs are hot

Ashley Hicks glamorous shish kebabs sell out on PolymerClayDaily.com

These Table Totems from the UK designer Ashley Hicks look as refreshed and silly as I feel. One fan calls them glamorous shish kebabs. His variety of polymer shapes are stacked on rods and perched on painted wooden bases.

Here’s an in-process shot. He seems to relish the love/hate responses from his commenters.

Ashley makes much larger, resin sculptures with the same vibe. Carried by trendy London decorating stores, his works are often sold out. Follow him on Instagram and his site.

I missed you PCD readers in October but our separation was a good thing and I’m happy to be back home.

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