These hands by polymer doll artist Diane Keeler require a scale and level of detail unfamiliar to most polymer jewelry folks. (The hands are from a class Diane teaches.)
There’s no cane work pattern or rough texture to camouflage flaws. Many polymer doll makers have been elected into NIADA and their sculptures are highly prized.
You may have seen Heather Campbell’sThe Eyes Have It on the cover of the recent PolymerArts magazine. What you might not understand is the size of Heather’s pieces. The photo below shows the same piece as it was hung at a gallery opening.
We get so used to the scale of earrings and pendants that we forget that some artists work in a much larger format.
Heather calls the style of her lush mixed media assemblages Bohemian Nouveau. The piece at the left, Enlightenment, will be at Utah’s Springville Art Museum through July.
Meredith Dittmar includes 32 sculpts and 7 wall pieces in this latest set of MindMancers for a June exhibit. The other set shown below is part of her Agents of the Mystery for the same show.
This Portland, Oregon, artist studied computer science and moved into a successful career in digital design leaving all that behind to focus on creating what she once called her psychepolymereganic tableaux and installations. She’s made thousands of her “guys” which are rapidly snatched up by collectors.
You might think that with her young twin boys she’d be slowing down. But her Facebook page shows the opposite. The pictures of her studio are a total treat. Last year she had a major show in Mexico City.
“I discovered polymer clay in ’93 when I worked at a bead store. Not too much was being done with the material at that time as it was pretty new to the market. I wouldn’t say the clay is difficult to work with, it’s just very deep and can be very technical to get certain effects. You can get pretty crazy with it if you want. Really I think I’m not even using one tenth of the knowledge base out there,” she says.
With her slingshot, black eye and peace sign, Dinka is a charmer. The translator tells us that these polymer creatures are from Olesya, a young artist in St. Petersburg. Olesya brings Dinka to life, dresses her in quirky fashions and makes her into a completely believable scamp.
The eyes of her baby seal beg for protection. If you’ve ever tried sculpting with polymer, you’ll appreciate how hard it is to build these small endearments into the clay.
Follow links to more of her characters and to her sales site. The terms of her sales site with its cash-only payments and convoluted delivery terms will make you realize how spoiled we are with our slick systems.
Some of you have been asking what happened to PCDaily coverage of sculpture, dolls, miniatures and other non-jewelry art. It’s time you had a turn! Let’s start with Laurie Mika for the first entry in an entire week of 3D.
Laurie continues to raise the bar on color with her latest works. Her inks, foils, paints, and powders layered over stamped and textured polymer achieve amazingly luminous results. Look at some closeups here and here.
Laurie mixes her media, integrating recycled bling and found icons into her assemblages. A few choice words make each piece a jewel-like shrine.
The faux ivory beads, buttons and pendants from Selena Anne Wells could have been carefully unearthed from an archaelogical dig but they’re polymer and were dug out of her Berkeley, California studio.
Selena’s beads have a cyber-tribal resonance and a Mad Max appeal achieved with just a few cutters and basic shaping tools. Some are set with cabochons.
She’s posted a whole batch of faux ceramic and metal buttons with the same ancient feel on her Flickr site. Poke a bit of clay to see what treasures emerge from your studio this weekend.
Watch the water glide over Leila Bidler’s polymer creation as you consider the possibilities for your own garden. In Leila’s home in Italy the 4″ x 11″ fountain recirculates water that flows out through holes in the flower on the top and trickles down over the sides. Click the video to see it in action.
The housing is made of bronze, copper, brass and black Premo which Leila has textured and sculpted. The aged look comes from a wash of Swellegant copper brass and black patinas topped with Tiffany green and darkening dyes.
A small submersible fountain pump housed inside keeps the water circulating.
Leila introduced this piece on her Facebook page and the conversation continues there. Thanks to Anke Humpert who brought the link to our attention.
Rosica Mohamed from Sofia, Bulgaria brings us a branch of spring buds realistically sculpted from polymer. I’m guessing that this was part of her May Day attire. Can’t you just picture a maypole dancer wearing these blossoms as she weaves a streamer over and under?
Rosica’s updated blogs and Facebook page make it easy to watch her progress to increasingly refined work and experiment with putting a Bulgarian spin on standard techniques.
Sometimes it’s good think inside the box as in Dawn Schiller’s latest polymer OddFae tucked in a 1″ locket. Guru in a box? Consultant in a box?
Dawn cautions, “For the record — If anyone EVER hears me say, Gosh, I’m bored! I think I’ll sculpt a little, tiny, less-than-an-inch-tall oddfae into a copper box! Feel free to whop me upside the head ’til I drop the sculpting tool.”
Check out more of her work in the June issue of PolymerCafe magazine. Her Faemaker book is due out this August. Read about her latest exploits on FaceBook and Etsy.
Sweden’s Lena Wennberg adds a few angry polymer birds in with her Easter eggs this year.
“My hens are in menopause, probably got PMS as well,” she says, “And they are sick of giving and giving. They are keeping their eggs this easter. They won´t be beautiful, they won´t be nice.”
If you can appreciate an alternate view of the holiday from a few outspoken chicks visit Lena’s Etsy site.
