Polymer Clay Daily

Cosmic cats

Colorado’s Jane Priser has a thing for cats, Cosmic Cats in polymer. Swirling colors flow and vibrate around painted glass cabochon eyes on these 12″ tall sculptures. Jane calls her works visionary and fantasy art produced by letting her imagination take her wherever it wants.

“I like to work at night when everyone and everything is sleeping and dreaming, except for the nocturnal, like me. I love creating something that can enjoyed and hopefully touch a healing spark within,” she explains. See more of Jane’s aliens and spirits on her Etsy page and on Flickr.

Puns in polymer

Minnesota’s Jody Travous Nee has an affinity for puns in polymer. Her “ducks in a row” sculpture perfectly describes this Wednesday when most of us are making our lists for the rest of the week. Look for the pun in each of Jody’s small sculptures – from turnip trucks to brainwashing.

When Jody had a hard time making her works appear in the search engines, she decided to create a Kardashian sculpture. “That ought to do it,” she theorized. There’s lots of laughter in her work.

Now let’s line up our ducks:

  • Lori Wilkes has published a new Absolute Beginners Guide. Though they’re beginner projects, Lori shows you how to get started with style as she quickly moves you to more advanced concepts.
  • For those who are beyond beginner, check out Bettina Welker’s new bracelet book. Written in both English and German, Bettina leads you through four basic bracelet designs with ten exciting variations.
  • The Polymer Clay Master Class book can be pre-ordered (it’s due in December) and while you wait authors Judy Belcher and Tammy Honoman let you in on the backstory with the book’s new web site that introduces the artists and their works.
  • Did I mention that I’m teaching online tonight at Craftcast?
  • Yes, you can still fill out the first of our Synergy3 surveys to help us paint an accurate picture of our community.
  • Here’s hoping your ducks behave as well as ours.

 

Polymer housing

Housing starts are on the rise, at least in the polymer world. Two new ones – Inessa (smfactory) from Kiev with her Halloween houses and Slovenia’s Marjana Cajhen collections of buildings got me house hunting. You may remember a few others featured on PCD:

These nostalgic and stylized designs make popular wearable and decorative reminders of simpler times and places.

Fetching polymer

Dawn Schiller has just published her Faemaker book that shows you how to make standalone character figures with polymer clay. Dawn is partial to making dragons, treefolk, witches, wizards, fugitives from fairy tales, and figments of the imagination. Her tiny creatures peer out impishly from nutshells, seashell, pocket watches and other small spaces and they all share their stories.

Dawn has graciously sent me a publishing assistant, Fetch, (shown here) to help me finish the book I’m working on. “Just keep him supplied with sesame seeds,” she says. You can see more and buy an autographed copy on her Etsy site. Catch up on her latest delightful creatures on Facebook and her blog.

Polymer whistles

Vancouver’s Joan Tayler has made polymer whistles for years. This leaf shape is a new design. Look at all the others on her Etsy shop.

Don’t you think it’s time for Joan to write a whistle tutorial? I sure would like a lesson…and I’d pay good money to avoid the problems that she’s already worked through. If you feel the same, leave a comment and maybe Joan will take the hint.

Get your spook on

Jodi Creager says that she’s already got her spook on for the fall season. Have you?

She and Richard created a 16″x10″ shadow box filled with ghosts that will make you shiver. The Mandragora Manor hanging box is miniature scale with six polymer ghosts and witches peering out the windows. Here are more views and the haunting story from Ebay.

Sue Ossenberg sent the link along. Note: The Ebay photos seem to be gone and the links aren’t working. Let’s wait and see if they reappear. Perhaps the ghosts were unhappy.

Polymer twins

Cortney Rector and Kirsten Arundt are twin sisters who have always enjoyed creating art together. Their folk art polymer cake toppers, sculptures and ornaments are sold through their IndigoTwin Etsy shop and their trendy work has appeared in magazines like Prims, Parenting and Brides. The twins have always enjoyed creating art together and continue to give each other inspiration.

This mermaid, Ondine, appeared in the summer issue of Prims. The sisters love the ocean and as children daydreamed about being mermaids. Read their stories and check out their Facebook page. It’ll make you wish you had a twin.

Painted polymer

Pederson animals

Danielle Pedersen makes itty-bitty hand-painted animal jewelry and decor out of polymer clay in a little studio in San Diego, California. Her pocket totem creatures are sold through her HandyMaiden Etsy shop.

Badger of Honor

“My process generally begins by looking at a lot of photographs of the animal I wish to make. I ponder the expression of a smug seal or the daily schedule of a lemur; I learn their general structure, their coloring, and maybe guess at a few of their hobbies,” Danielle says in a recent feature on Etsy blog.

“I think my style is what sets me apart; my pieces are recognizable. Most successful Etsy sellers can say the same thing,” she added, “I like the notion that my work is being picked up, worn, and examined closely.” Danielle’s medals like the Badger of Honor shown here are particularly quirky and fun. Thanks to Genevieve Williamson for the link.