This polymer clay turtle magnet that Camille Young made for her Grandpa is perfect for Friday. Camille’s work is innovative and wide ranging and I’m grasping at this latest piece in the hope that she’ll show us more.
Next week we’ll tap into my stash of Halloween art. Polymer clay artists love Halloween. How did that happen?
It’s been a stressful week for all Americans and I could use a slow and easy "turtle" weekend. Have a good one.
Today I felt like Priscilla, one of the polymer clay mealy monsters. Faced with packing and organizing for a trip out West I was overcome with inertia and ended up sitting, sneezing (allergy season), gazing into space.
These endearing creatures speak to me even though I’m rushing the Halloween season. They’re the creation of Buffalo, NY artist, Nicole Johnson, who describes them as, "whimsical, creepy, fun, strange, cute, weird, one-of-a-kind, decorative, art dolls." You can see a little of her behind-the-scenes work on Flickr and on her blog.
If you share my mood, you’ll enjoy kindred spirits at MonsterEtsy. Now I must go pack, really. Thanks to Susan Lomuto for the link.
I keep finding things that help me prolong summer. Here are Ella Becker’s polymer clay fantasy fish full of color and glitter and motion.
This Israeli animator admits that, "Animation for me is not only a profession but also a way of experiencing the world in a visual way, full of color, texture and motion, working together to create emotional impact." There is raw energy in her jewelry and sculpture with color and flash that increase its impact. She gives a dynamite haircut too! Something wild for the end of summer.
By golly, it is the dog days of summer! And Paula Pindroh has the polymer clay dogs to prove it.
I think of Paula as an illustrator and was surprised and delighted to see her “PolymerPaws” site on Etsy.
Her simple shapes create a likeness and a liveliness that looks effortless. Years of illustrating with polymer helped, I’m sure.
Look at the newest commissions that Alev Gozonar has created for a Turkish hotel using polymer clay cane slices. Her 20″ square sculptural pieces create patterns from fields of slices and remind us that those pretty little designs can be used to make bigger, bolder statements.
Gail Froula McIntyre is displaying her cane work on a new website. I’m loving the innovative use of those fancy circular paperclips as a finding (at least that’s what I’m guessing they are). The link to the new site is from Barbara Fajardo who knows her way around canes too.
My studio is under construction this week (see construction photos here). As long as I’m planning what I want it to look like, it’s a good time to think about readjusting this website as well.
Writing daily has become a comfortable habit but there are days when I fear I sound like an infomercial and I’ll bet you can predict what I’m going to say. Thousands of polymer clay blogs cover our craft. How can PolymerClayDaily continue to be of value to the community?
I’ll be rethinking content this week and I’d love your input. What are you hungry for on the web?
I can’t let your week begin with my whiny rant, however. Here’s a new piece from Jeff Dever who has an August show, Fiber Art Explored II, at LA’s del Mano gallery. These juicy new works should start your week on a high note.
Melanie Allard is an illustrator/sculptor/animator from Quebec. I was mesmerized by her “Life is Grand” animation (even though it’s probably plasticine). She uses plenty of polymer clay in her work. (Look under “bricolage” which translated to DIY!) Much of her site is in French so I’m guessing again. Here’s her Flickr site and more of her animated work.
Summer living has cut into my research time so I’m happy when artists write in as Melanie did, admiring and linking through to another artist’s work. A bit of summer serendipity.
Monday’s child is full of angst…or at least it appears that way. Here are two young male polymer clay artists, one from Canada and one from Israel, who like our art’s darker side.
Roy Ginat (fimoman) from Israel, based his small man-eating bird at the left on a character in a Hieronymus Bosch painting. The one at the right is a more contemporary monster.
Andrew McCaffrey from Edmonton, Alberta, follows mostly music groups, capturing the intense gestures and poses of his musical heroes in polymer. The muscular stances and intense facial expressions that he builds in his rough style are remarkable.
Both artists express passionate sentiments that may make the viewer uncomfortable. A Monday reminder that polymer clay is not just for pretty.
Thanks to Italy’s Leila Bidler for the link to Andrew McCaffrey.
New York’s Pat Kramer says that working with polymer clay art lets her preserve fleeting feelings, "how it feels to see the first flower bloom after a very long winter" and remembering "how warm the sun feels on a crisp cold fall day."
Most of her work is sculptural or in relief as in this pin and tile (right). She began her career as a watercolorist and started selling her polymer clay art eight years ago. Her style is an enjoyable departure from many of the usual techniques. You can see more of her works on her Etsy gallery.
Thanks for the tip goes to super web surfer, Susan Lomuto.
“Endlessly inventive” is what some call Arkansas’ Jay King who makes polymer clay heads that are remixes of other faces and molds of found objects. The hybrid personalities and the accompanying descriptions act like a fun house mirror. You may find yourself peering intently, trying to figure out the strange reflections.
I was particularly tickled by this one, called “Multitasker”.
But Jay doesn’t stop at visual jokes and stories, he also has a rollicking audio podcast. For the full treatment, visit his Flickr page and his blog. I lost myself in his artwork and I’ve completely forgotten how I got here. If you sent me the link, remind me so that I can credit you.
Have a rollicking weekend.
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