Look over the shoulder of the Finnish polymer clay artist, Raija Korpela who writes the blog, Turha Luulo. Using mostly simple shapes and clay cutters, she combines blends and cutout designs in unusual ways. A strong color sense brings sophistication to her design exercises.
You can tell that she’s exhuberant about polymer’s possibilities and her enthusiasm is contagious. Here’s her Flickr page.
If you can find her name, send it along. My Finnish is rusty. Eva Menager sent the link along.
This new page of bangles and necklaces from London’s Carol Blackburn shows lively and colorful designs that are finished to satiny perfection. The closeups of her mobius/color blended strips are inspiring.
Carol’s techniques are thoroughly explained in her Making Polymer Clay Beads book which has been translated into English, French, German and Italian. Her work serves as a gentle Monday reminder about the importance of finishing.
Silvia Ortiz de la Torre, another Madrid artist, has a Flickr site bulging with juicy experiments and designs like this polymer Samba collar. I’m a real fan of simple designs done in dynamite color palettes.
The Flickr pages allow us to follow the progress of her development and watch her work out new designs. Fascinating. Silvia is new to us via a link from France’s Eva Menager.
Germany’s Kathrin Neumaier has me delighted and confused. I think that the complex geometric patterns and delicately drawn designs she brings to her work are image transfers onto polymer but I’m not absolutely sure.
Either way, I’m impressed with her colors and her attention to detail. Perhaps you can find something in the translation that I missed.
Kathrin is one of four German artists featured on the Euro Voila site this week. You’ll want to click through them all for a Monday shot of inspiration.
Skinner blend experts Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes have expanded their website and added several new tools specifically designed to achieve precise blends. Among the site updates, Dan and Tracy present their Cutting Edge polymer clay tools and the new great white ShARK in a 9-minute video.
The free bonus is seeing some of Dan’s recent work and learning about a number of Skinner blend variations. I marvel at the techniques they’ve come up with and the tools they’ve perfected. You’ll want to see their Cutting Edge minute as well.
Elise Winters has an updated site complete with a luscious shopping page! Elise has pursued the maintenance of her digital presence with a laser focus that she brings to all her projects. (You can spot the Skinner effect in her pieces, can’t you?)
Don’t miss Elise’s explanation of her Polymer Collection Project, her personal quest to elevate the image of polymer in the art community and to bring polymer art into major museums. That exciting project is taking shape and may soon reach its goals! Stay tuned.
The Skinner blend has been one of the most effective weapons in every polymer clay artist’s arsenal since 1996 when Judith Skinner developed and refined the concept.
In this interview with Judith, she tells a bit about the history of the Skinner blend and about her own history in the software industry. Did you know that in the 1970s she and a partner created the weather graphics systems that we see on TV?
There’s more…including plans for a book illustrating the many variations on her original concept. I needed a break from web surfing so I sat myself down for an afternoon of video editing. Hope you like.
Carol Blackburn’s “Möebius Strips” polymer clay necklace fools the eye. You’ll have to look closely to see how Carol cleverly combines strips of Skinner-blended clay to look like undulating, interconnected beads. My science guy husband was impressed with the engineering of the piece.
I first came upon the Möebius necklace on the British guild’s site. The necklace made its debut at last year’s EuroClay Carnival. This year’s event sold out quickly as polymer clay expertise and enthusiasm grow in Europe.
As I sat on the deck having coffee (retirement is grand), it was obvious that Juli McCarthy’s work was just right for today. Juli’s Skinner-blended swirl pendant perfectly mirrored the colors in the spring treetops above me. Simple and so right for the season.
