These party animals from Virginia’s Denise Baldwin (OddImagination) were built over burned out lightbulbs.
We looked at Denise’s bugs three years ago but then I lost track of her until she was prompted by last week’s post about lightbulbs to share some of her own work built over recycled bulbs. Denise’s recent work is large and sophisticated but, true to her name, still odd.
She has a blog and an Etsy gallery as well as a rich pbase site of older work.
Sabine Spiesser from Melbourne calls herself a digital artist and she has only two pictures of polymer clay work on her Flickr site. But even from this small sampling you can tell that she’s unleashed her inner polymer artist.
Created for an Australian guild competition, the caterpillar was composed of cane ends. She credits Vancouver’s Wanda Shum as her inspiration. I’m hoping that Sabine’s cheery bugs will bring a smile to your face this Labor Day Monday.
I’m off to shop an art show and enjoy the bonus day of summer’s last long weekend. Thanks to Lorrene Davis for the link.
The UK’s Simon Buck and Utah’s Bill Robbins have found most unusual ways to incorporate polymer clay into their vehicles.
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Simon specializes in fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark murals as well as polymer clay (glow-in-the-dark, naturally). The picture you see at the right is the sculpture on the steering wheel of his van. You’ll have to imagine it at night. And you can see one of his glowing figures here.
Bill Robbins (aka elmerpresslee) lovingly built the most twisted polymer clay baby car ever for his daughter who seems to truly delight in the madness. Of course his studio, the nerdatorium, is also a trip.
Both artists look like they’re have such fun with their art that it’s easy to look beyond the scarey parts. I scrounged the Robbins link from Kim Cavender who gravitates to the deviant side herself.
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.
Gamer girls are showing their pride by wearing polymer clay miniatures of game-related paraphernalia, dispelling the idea that “girls don’t play video games.”
Playstation, XBox, IPod and Nintendo systems are all part of this geek identity art created by The Clay Collection. What better way to display one’s obsession? I like the punk feminist implications.
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Vancouver’s Andrew Scott captured this trilobite in a jar (the last real one disappeared 250 million years ago). It took me a while to verify that his critters are polymer clay. He describes them as being made of PVC gel. He’s obviously passionate about bugs and his armatures are works of art in themselves.
It’s fun to look at the products of his fertile mind on his site and his Flickr pages.
Scott has just finished a bugs-versus-octopods chess set for a collector, a meter-long dragonfly larva for Vancouver’s Nature House and tentacled alien creatures for a science-fiction horror film.
Hope the bugs don’t bite this weekend.
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Marsha Balian is an Oakland, CA mixed media artist who only recently added polymer clay to her toolbox. This sculpture, called "Objects Smaller Than They Appear, the Patron Saint of Hindsight" combines a doll’s torso, polymer clay head, arms and legs, acrylic paint and varnish, copper wire. raffia, beads, fabric scrap on a wood base.
Her series of sculptures, reminiscent of the wooden saints seen in South America, are called "Household Saints of Dubious Virtue".
Balin shifted from painting to sculpture when she needed a portable media that would allow her to be closer to her husband who was ill. The humor she found in her art helped her through difficult times that she recounts here. She describes her art as an expression of affection for the quirkiness that is part of our everyday lives.
Thanks to Susan Rose for the link to this artist who’s new to our scene.
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For those of you who have been uncomfortable on the darker side of polymer clay art, I return you to sweetness and fairies in France.
Stephanie Ponsard creates tiny, creatures that rest on cups, lounge on cakes or ride in your pocket. Stephanie definitely delights in her fanciful, fantastic view of life. You can see her works on Dawanda, Flickr, her blog or her site.
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It’s time to check back in with LoopyBoopy, the Louisiana artist who sculpts wonderfully creepy polymer clay kids with marbles for eyes. Each is accompanied by a poignant story.
Colleen (no last name) says of her eerie sculptures, "I think people connect to their little tragedies personally and are perhaps drawn to them for this reason."
There’s a great interview with her on Win Crafty. "Most of my kids and their little stories come directly to me from my daughter’s daily wonderment, fears, nightmares and dreams." she says.
You can see more of Colleen’s work on Etsy, Trunkt and Flickr.
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I’m allowing myself an existential moment. And Leslie Blackford’s polymer clay figure says it all (the mask flips up to reveal a much less benign character).
I’m doing a little self-talk about how to be a studio artist. Who knew the prospect would panic me? Here’s a great little video piece by Ira Glass. It’s not my usual Friday fare but this is special.
I love the idea of closing the gap between your good taste and the quality of the work you produce. Have a special weekend.
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