New life to old lights

Leslie Blackford gives new life to old lights in her polymer clay sculpture class at November’s Clay Carnival in Las Vegas.

Watching Leslie effortlessly grow a fanciful creature out of scrap clay and old lightbulbs is worth the price of admission. Here’s another new piece, Blackbird Waiting, that she sent along.

As you’re looking ahead and making fall and winter plans, be sure to include Synergy2 in your schedule. Seth Savarick has launched the web site and registration opens September 15 for the February 25-27 event in Baltimore. Check out the list of presenters.

Sculpting Color exhibit opens

Kathleen Dustin reports that this weekend’s opening reception for Sculpting Color: Works in Polymer Clay at the Fuller Craft Museum drew the second-largest crowd the museum has ever had. “I am thrilled at how nice the show looks, and how well it is being received. This is a large step forward for the medium of polymer clay as an expression of fine art,” she says.

Kathleen curated the show and added a few tantalizing snapshots to her Facebook page. I’m sure we’ll soon be seeing more. A few of them are posted below for those of you who haven’t taken the Facebook plunge. The teapots above are by Rebecca Zimmerman.

The opening festivities included a panel discussion with Kathleen, Bonnie Bishoff, Jeff Dever, Elise Winter, and Grant Diffendaffer. A synopsis of the discussion will be published on PolymerArtArchive.

The exhibit continues until November 22 at the Brockton, MA museum.




Kathleen Dustin and her 4’x3′ Nature Fix, Jeff Dever’s flowing forms, Grant Diffendaffer and his rayguns, Bonnie Bishoff’s Meander Credenza.

Daniels’ canes sculpt time

At five years of age, David Daniels had a coffee can full of clay that he and his siblings started playing with on the kitchen table. They never put it away and he’s never stopped playing with clay. At thirteen he won his first contest. MTV, Sesame Street, movies and more came later.

Clay sculpting and caning led to animation and the development of his own stratacut process which he describes as motion sculpture or sculpting time. He explains, “That’s my gift, I see time from the outside and I see motion sculpture and see how the pieces all flow together and we’re a part of all that.”

I had to watch his video sampler several times with my mouth open before my brain began to catch up. If you like to cane, this brilliant guy is a must see. He adds that, “I intentionally leave crudeness in the mix, I could control it more, and I choose not to because it is less interesting to look at.” The interview with David Daniels is here. His tutorials at the bottom of the interview give you a sense of his process.

Susan Hyde sent us this mindblowing link.

Farris and Haab – Cuties

This bug from Janet Farris is just too cute. If you look closely there’s a steampunk surprise that takes this design over the top. There are more in her new Etsy shop.

Janet’s added new jewelry to her Flickr site too. Her woven pieces are thick with beads. Janet’s a master at finger weaving.

More Cute

Fifteen years ago, Lisa Clark (and lots of others) were introduced to polymer clay with a few bars of clay and the Klutz Press children’s book by Sherri Haab.

Sherri’s written a new book, Clay So Cute, full of trendy bangles, simple charms, easy rings, and clever ponytail holders. These projects are certain to lure another generation of young artists to the medium. She tells a bit more of the backstory on her blog.

Kruglak’s polymer meditation

Here’s a pleasant approach to consider as I putter and play this week. “As I work, I meditate consciously, imbuing each piece with energy and blessings to benefit the person who will eventually own it,” says Boulder, Colorado artist Ann Kruglak.

Ann first started making masks from natural materials, a service project that raised $9,000 for rainforest charities. Now she’s using polymer clay, natural materials and glass to create masks, wall hangings and sculpture, donating all her proceeds to the World Land Trust – US, a land conservancy charity. “It is my joy to create, and be of service, so I donate all of my time in creating and marketing the art, as well as the cost of materials to benefit the Earth,” she says.

Ann’s Anemone Teapot received first place sculpture honors in the international guild’s 2008 Progress and Possibilities competition. Her work is sold online here.

Thanks to Maureen Carlson for pointing me to Ann’s site. Maureen met Ann at the recent IPCA conference in Chicago and was charmed by Ann’s story (and nobody knows a good story better than Maureen).

Ronna resonance and guerrilla crafts

The eye-popping color of this polymer clay necklace by Austria’s Carina Feichtinger startled me as I plowed through the web this morning.

Carina credits Ronna’s book for inspiration (see yesterday’s post) though it’s certainly Carina’s own colors and design.

I was also touched by this guerrilla craft, polymer piece from LA’s Lauren Steven which was created for submission to Stampington as a part of Monica Magness’ “AdDRESSing the Situation” campaign to bring awareness of the murders of women in Juarez, Mexico.

The front and back of her piece is shown here. See more of Lauren’s thoughtful works in her Etsy shop.

Chandler’s painterly techniques

Victoria, BC’s Gera Scott Chandler ends our week in a sea of polymer clay flowers. “She Could Only Choose One” is Gera’s largest piece to date. Composed on fibreboard, it’s 16″x19″(46x40cm) and weighs 11lbs. (5kg)!

Most recently, Gera’s been working with polymer on 5″x7″ stretched canvases, developing her own distinctive look and refining her painterly polymer techniques.

Weekend thought

If you’re in the mood for a bit of creativity talk, you’ll enjoy this TED.com talk by “Eat, Pray, Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert. She reframes our thinking about creativity and suggests that instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

Mora’s polymer birds & Bead Dreams winners

Elsa Mora is a Cuban born California artist most recently known for her intricate evocative papercuts. Lucky for us, she’s picked up polymer clay again, sculpting and carving it and mixing it with recycled findings. Her bird brooches look very old…and completely new.

She explains that, “There is something about pins that make me really happy. They are like a little miracles. I often plan my outfits around them. In my collection the most important themes are flowers, birds, bugs, cameos, fruits but I also have elephants, cats, dogs, snakes.” She promises to share pictures of her pin collection soon.

Elsa’s clean quiet website is not only a treasure trove of resources, it’s an oasis of calm. Once you read her story, you begin to understand the calm and the intensity that radiates through all that Elsa does.

Bead Dreams Winners

And speaking of treasure, Bead and Button attendee Libby Mills has posted snapshots of the 2009 Bead Dreams polymer clay winners on her website. First place winner is this “Chinese Cinnabar Big Bead” from Diane Villano.

Official photos will soon be posted but in the meanwhile enjoy the scoop and pictures from Libby.

Grueso’s treasures and another technique

Barcelona’s Cristina Grueso (CristinasTreasures) is a bit of a mystery and if you look at her artwork, you can see that mystery appeals to her. Cristina’s polymer clay sculptures are wistful, pensive characters.

Her descriptions of her work are as restrained and elusive as the quiet expressions on her characters faces. Cristina’s work is at Etsy and Flickr.

More technique buzz

The “Sutton Slice” is another technique that’s been enjoying some buzz lately. Polymer clay is shoved into a rubber stamp to fill the depressions and then trimmed to expose the stamp. A contrasting sheet is pressed onto the remaining clay to grab the design. Here’s Lisa Pavelka’s version of it on HGTV. Julie Eakes’ example is shown here. Pete Sutton developed the technique.

Usually I don’t talk about techniques here but I love to try new techniques when I’m avoiding other work. Procrastinated for two days this week.

Banyas’ mermaid

Debra Banyas‘ fabric and polymer clay mermaid looks just like me! I’m home from the beach with my fish and shells and renewed self.

If you’re in need of a vacation, Debra’s happy flying creatures may help. Just looking at the accommodations Debra and her husband are building on their Riverdog property relaxes me.

Laundry’s started and the desktop computer is fired up. The best thing is that I have the weekend to play in the studio, catch up on email and troll the web. Have a grand weekend.

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