Polymer Clay Daily

Trendy French polymer

Vantorre on PCDaily

Dorothee Vantorre’s day-in-the-studio pictures (on Flickr and on Facebook) show off her trendy polymer designs and let us oggle her workspace. Her funny French sensibilty veers from pleasant monsters to delicate geometrics. The designs mirror her training in illustration and architecture.

Vantorre on PCDaily

Note that there aren’t many tools or tricks on her work surfaces. Dorothee relies on color and patient manipulation to build her fresh creations. Her understated raindrop earrings end in a pop of delicious color. And there’s plenty more in her Etsy shop. A little French fun to begin your week.

Monday mashup in polymer

Hyde on PCDaily

What would happen if last week’s elephant met up with a kangaroo? In Susan Hyde’s mind we’d have a Kangarat/Eleroo like this 10″ one she’s constructed from polymer.

Susan has joined a gallery in Bremerton, Washington. For poetry month, she and her fellow artists illustrated poems by local poets. The one Susan chose, The Bainbridge Zoo, chronicles an elephant and kangaroo affair.

Another poem called Gypsy inspired this 12″ piece filled with the great polymer fabrics that Susan is known for. Here’s her old fabric tutorial that I have to drag out again because it’s my favorite.

Tiny mandalas

Inga Rosenberg (Kni.Kni) from Latvia has a thing for elephants. She set herself a challenge to create one polymer mandala elephant each month this year. While they are lovely, what’s even more astounding is their size. They’re each 1 1/2 inch by 1 inch (3×4 cm) and here’s the picture to prove it. This was her mini-mandala for March.

Imagine the patience it takes to create at this scale. “I got my peace back,” she says of her effort, “The peace I get while making each of them is indescribable.” Last month’s Chocolate Cake with Cherries elephant is mouthwateringly lacy and beautiful. You’ll have to see the whole herd to appreciate Inga’s skill.

More Elephants

Inga’s tiny elephants transport me right back to Nepal (here’s a photo from our trip) and the latest posts from the Samunnat ladies who are busy buying cement and building supplies for their new home which is becoming a reality because of your generosity. Your contributions of cash and karma mean that they will have a safe place to call their own.

Your heart will melt when you read what this means to them. Samunnat beads are for sale on KazuriWest and their jewelry is sold through their Etsy shop.

Egg hunt

Friesleben on PCDaily
Hickey on PCDaily
Ariane Friesleben Angela Hickey Jan Montarsi

Go on a little egg hunt with me today. First I bumped into Angela Hickey’s flower-covered eggs (one chicken, one quail). Hers is a traditional approach straight from her garden of flower canes.

Ariane Friesleben camoflaged her eggs with Swelligant patinas to make them look like precious metallic treasures. She offers a carved faux ivory version as well.

This Jan Montarsi egg was hiding in his Flickr gallery. His palette includes pearl clays and pinata inks (here’s the tutorial) in the mix which makes the extruded strings glow.

All of this led me back to the PolymerArtArchives and one of my all-time favorite eggs from a 1991 series by Ford and Forlano (then City Zen Cane). You can still find echoes of David and Steven’s bright graphic roots in their current work.

Even Martha Stewart was in on the hunt this year. Yep, here’s the video that shows Martha trying her hand at polymer.

Polymer miniatures are big

Kilgast on PCDaily

That’s what Stephanie Kilgast discovered. She was mobbed by miniaturists in Hong Kong at her press conference there a few months back. Her sushi platter brooches and earrings sell quickly. Catch the pictures and the news video.

Stephanie was born in Germany, lives in France and travels the globe showing her miniatures. She studied architecture but shortly before graduation she discovered polymer miniatures. After graduation she became a full-time miniaturist. That was in 2009.

Her mini-Easter eggs and chocolate bunny fit our week perfectly. You’ll find a bunch of Stephanie’s free tutorials on her site. She’s also on CraftArtEdu, CDHM.org, Flickr and in all the usual places. It’s best to look when you’re not hungry! Thanks to Donna Kato for the link.

Deviant demo

When Judy Belcher and I mentioned deviant art in our Synergy presentation, a surprising number of artists in the audience didn’t recognize the term. While Wendy Malinow’s work might fit in any number of categories, deviant is certainly one of them. Anyone who sets up her own bone-a-day challenge certainly qualifies as deviant.

Her latest polymer faux antler is inlaid with garnet, sunstone, raw sunstone, abalone, pua. Air plants sprout from its openings. She’s offering this piece as a free giveaway to people who follow her Tumblr Inkhead site. The drawing will be on April 1.

If you’re an antler fan, you’ll love her 32-inch long polymer antler lariats. Her Etsy shop shows a wider range of wonderfully strange and deviant art.

The Deerclayer

When Arlene Groch‘s son asked her to cover a resin deer’s head to hang on the wall of his San Diego office, he was serious and it was a request she couldn’t refuse. The black and white pattern was his choice.

In a post on the Philadelphia guild site Arlene explains how she covered and baked the beast. Arlene doesn’t divulge what kind of business her son is in. Aren’t you curious to see how the mounted head looks in place?

For more of Arlene’s work, visit the Xanadu Gallery site. She was a finalist in this year’s Niche Awards (and not in the taxidermy category).

Guild web writer Sarah Sorlien sent the link along.

Polymer damselfly

Obakke on PCDaily

Lestes, the Damselfly is a 12-inch tall polymer and fabric creature created by the Filigree, a Nashville-based husband and wife team. Martin Øbakke, native of Denmark home to the little Mermaid, met Celena Cavala, ballerina and Nashville native, in Italy where they started making fairy tales.

Martin does the illustrating and polymer sculptures while Celena sews and writes about the fantasy they live in, the Filigree. In their world the filigree are thin gossamer strands that connect everything.

The couple offered their latest creations this week and already they’ve all flown away. Each Damselfly comes with immigration paperwork. You can see the entire collection including their dragons and unicorns on Flickr.