Do you have a thing for opals? Me too. The flash of color, the mystery. In college, as I gestured enthusiastically my hand brushed against a stucco wall and my opal Christmas ring shattered. That got me started.
Melbourne’s Leanne Fergeus (leannefergeusart) has explored the alchemy of polymer opals. She’s still experimenting and she’s mighty close.
An appealing pile of what looks like polymer rocks from Russia’s Anna Bragina (Braga) becomes even more captivating when arranged into a necklace.
The stones could have been sculpted from the same block of granite.
Some of her smooth shapes are available as cutters from the GF Art Store on Etsy. See what other pieces she makes with these graceful shapes on her Instagram and Facebook.
We might as well stretch this holiday weekend for one more day with Leila Bidler’s Kokopelli, the Native American trickster god. Leila’s carved imitative stone gives New Year’s a touch of tribal. The how-to pictures on her Instagram show her methods.
Party’s over. It’s time to get busy again but no reason you can’t slip a memento like this in your pocket to remind you of what good times you intend for the year.
Italy’s Ilenia Moreni fools us with her imitative labradorite. Labradorite’s gleaming layered colors are bisected with tricky lines. I’m glad I fell for her faux and bought the tutorial. She makes me want to explore stone imitations again.
Ilenia plays tricks with clothing as well and is able to replicate any era and follow any fancy. Follow her on Flickr and Facebook.
Be an April fool and enjoy all the secrets and tricks in her Etsy shop.
The UK’s Claire Wallis used translucent and metallic clays plus paint as she experimented with her imitative rock crystal ring. She plans to tweak and explore what she’s discovered and we’ll plan to watch!
This new work is a departure from the large and intricate complex canes that she demos on Facebook. She shows more on her site and on Flickr.
Ana Belchi’s imitation agates sit comfortably surrounded by rough black bezels suspended from sleek brass bails.
See how this Madrid artist’s polymer semi-precious lookalikes move beyond modest beach stones.
She says she’s wanted to explore stones for years and finally hit upon designs that work. You can see them on Flickr and Facebook.
Texas’ Nora Pero likes to bead around her polymer creations, using them as focal pieces. She hit the motherlode of imitation stone beads when she tried Lynda Moseley’s new tutorial. Nora says she’s obsessed. See more of her beaded results on Etsy.
Nora can make her cabochons any shape and color she wants, imitating natural stone or creating her own reality. Just look at the supply she made for herself as soon as she read the instructions.
Here are Lynda’s samples. She often turns her versions into turquoise-like mosaics.
If you’re a rock hound like me this tutorial could save you time. Let’s enjoy some experimenting this weekend.
Remember this awards competition you thought about entering? You have a few days left to fill out the online application, submit your photos and feel good about checking off another goal on your 2014 list.
“I make all kinds of artifacts,” says New Hampshire’s Luann Udell, “I imagine myself an ancient artist working in ivory and soapstone. I dream of giving these to people I love, people who wear them daily until they are worn smooth by the touch of human hands.”
These polymer faux stone masks kept calling me back to study them along with Luann’s ancient horses, bears, fish, birds and talisman. Resonances of both primitive and digital cultures come through as Luann retells ancient stories in our very modern medium – a cyber tribal effect.
“I tell stories with my art, stories to honor and encourage others who are making their own place in the world,” she explains. Check her links and see for yourself.
Liz Hall’s mosaic brass bangles jangle against each other and sing with shimmering color. Small iridescent pieces of polymer butt against each other with a devil-may-care attitude that’s punctuated by black and white stripes.
Liz has been working to create opalescence in polymer and it looks to me like she’s cracked the code. Wander through her Etsy shop and you’ll see her very believable results.
My Sedona stones polymer bracelet is part of a continuing fascination with rocks, this time with flat shapes and western red rock colors. My petroglyphs, based on the ones we saw at nearby ruins, aren’t quite ready for display.
You’ll understand my obsession better when you look at the pictures from our hikes through the local canyons and along the rivers. Sedona is a rock lover’s paradise. Allowing your surroundings to influence your art is an immersive experience.
I was pleased to see the works of Barb Fajardo, Tish Collins and Gwen Pena in one gallery in town. Three in one gallery! Excellent!
