Polymer Clay Daily

No angry birds

Leslie Blackford’s polymer woodland birds perch just the way they should but there’s something definitely wacky and endearing about them. Pictures of the flock she created at a Philadelphia Guild workshop demonstrate the point.

One wears a crown, another a cowboy hat. One smokes a cigar, several have outlandish plummage and cheeky grins. It’s easy to identify the birds but hard to put your finger on why they’re so appealing. While Leslie’s style can appear deceptively simple and childlike, students soon realize how difficult it is to accurately capture an essence and then veer into fantasy with polymer.

Leslie grew up in the woods of Tennessee and Kentucky with a botanist father helping her identify, study and appreciate the wildlife. The shapes and characteristics of each species were clearly imprinted in Leslie’s head. Maybe it’s her understanding and kinship with animals that startles us and makes us stop in our tracks.

A certain mentalitea

PCDaily hasn’t visited Nova Scotia’s Kate Church for two years and when she appeared on the DailyArtMuse, it was time to look again. Kate’s mixed media jewelry, like this polymer-faced Red Queen, resides in theatre boxes when they’re not being worn.

Her droll dolls and puppets may frown but they dance joyously. They have, as one show was entitled, A Certain Mentalitea that you can experience here.

If your art could use better online exposure, check out DailyArtMuse’s Artist Online classes.

Polymer joy

France’s Dorothy Vantorre photographed her step-by-step work on this polymer bearded collie sculpture making the story both funny and educational.

The piece was commissioned by her best friend as a gift for another person. The dog’s thick coat meshes perfectly with Dorothy’s preferred way of working in layers. You can understand Dorothy’s frustration when you look at her big pile of extruded dog hair pieces.

She captures both the look and the spirit of Joy, the dog. She even made a special show box for the gift. Dorothy has sworn off all future dog commissions saying, “I’ve been very pleased to learn that the person who received this gift was very moved! But I want to clarify that the next person who asks me to make a miniature dog will be immediately banned from my contacts.”

Check out Dorothy’s illustrations, cake toppers and sculptures. Her in-progress shots reveal a distinctive style that gravitates to friendly monsters, pink rabbits and hangman earrings. Her biggest trick may be making it all look so easy! Have an easy weekend.

Hot polymer, cool mom

How cool a mom is Jill Palumbo? Her sons each got electronic tablets for Christmas for which she had made polymer-embellished protective covers. (More pix here.)

The themed cases sported logos and icons from the boys’ favorite musical group and online game. (I had to look up Minecraft and Hot Water Music.)

Her design includes game pieces that turn the case into a stand for reading books or watching movies more comfortably.

Jill’s polymer ingenuity and thoughtful giftgiving need to be celebrated. Kudos!

Polymer Poupettes

Portland’s Sofie Skein describes her Poupettes as, “…spirited renditions of animals and mythical creatures in pure polymer.” She’s also a painter and grew up involved in the family vet clinic.

Her animals have realistic heads perched on simply stylized bodies that will make you laugh. See them all on Flickr including this picture that shows how she works from detailed sketches.

She sells her animal portraits (like this custom Egyptian Mau cat) on Etsy in her Menagerie of Inscrutable Magic.

Sofie is a new artist on PCDaily thanks to a link sent by Eva Menager.

Polymer that emerges with hope

“I’m loving this new project,” Heather Campbell said in October, “It’s so physical and messy. I guess a darker side of me needs to erupt and show itself before I can move on.”

The December result is Holding It Together, a large polymer and mixed media sculpture with a hopeful, healthy message for the end of our year.

Heather explains that, “Our strength is our ability to sew and hammer and bind, to glue and nail each piece of ourselves together, until the strength of our parts makes us whole again. Holding it together is our challenge, emerging with hope is our goal. We are survivors.”

The scale and power of this piece is remarkable. Watch Heather rip into a mannequin form that serves as the base. Scroll down to watch this big girl take shape.

Heather will teach others how to make a powerful personal portrait of their own at Maureen Carlson’s Center in May.

As a fitting start for the new year, she received word that her rustic, layered polymer necklace has been chosen as a finalist for a Niche Award! Visit the Niche site to see more finalists. Happy 2012 to all of you!

Promotional polymer

Nena Sabo made her first appearance on PCD last week and here she is again with another great idea already.

Don’t you wish you’d seen her mugs and matching polymer handled spoons before the holidays? What a super gift idea or workshop/studio promotion.

This Serbian artist photographs her favorite polymer patterns and has mugs made from the digital file. (I’ve had good luck using Zazzle and you can google many similar and cheaper services.)

She fashions a companion spoon handle from the same pattern. Are your wheels turning?

Sweet dreams in polymer

Washington’s Sue Ellen records the essence of her nightly dreams in polymer and lets those sleeping faces speak their truth. Her Dreaming Muse Series involves creating one sleeping face a day that reflect the images, feelings and words of her dreams.

“How will the dreaming hours effect the waking ones? How will the observation of the nightly, subconscious stories, help to create the conscious ones I live in every day?” she asks herself.

My vivid jet-lagged dreams reminded me of this project that Ronna Weltman mentioned a while back. Sue Ellen’s been an actor, speech writer, career coach, corporate sales executive and more. Her introspective art fits comfortably with her interests.

My dream images deal with the clash of cultures as I try to integrate what I’ve learned in my travels into my life.

Sue Ellen’s been running her experiment since October. Her faces, tinted with alcohol inks and tucked among the rocks and plants in her garden, are intriguing. Take a look and have a restful weekend. I’m nearly back in the swing.

Super size polymer

Hi all! This is Christi Friesen checking in while Cynthia is off having adventures! I’ve always appreciated that PCD showcases such a diversity of polymer creations. I’m especially delighted to see what others are doing. Like this guy, Adam Rees, whose work I came across in a gallery in Washington.

I was part of a group and we were all astounded at the size of his work! His octopus was about two feet tall and at least three feet across. It’s hard to tell from his site exactly how he creates and bakes such large pieces (the gallery owner thought he had a custom-made oven). However he does it, it’s pretty impressive.

His canework reminds me of exuberant folk art, and adds a wonderful voice to his sculptures. I especially like his massive polar bear piece. Hmmmm, that would look pretty good in my living room….

Editor’s Note: Congratulations to Carol Dotin, winner of last week’s giveaway, an autographed copy of Terra Nova – Polymer Art at the Crossroads. Thanks to all who took the survey.

Guest post by Christi Friesen