2021 punctuated with dots

Kathleen Dustin adds dots (big ones) to her purses on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kathleen Dustin ends the year with some playful dots on upcoming purses in her New Hampshire studio. What fun!

Dots were sprinkled throughout 2021! From Sun_sprinkles to Lindly Haunani getting her dot groove back to PacPens that keep your hand from cramping. Dot’s have punctuated 2021.

Is the trend meditative, silly, happy…oh who cares? We did lots of stuff just to get by. We’re all getting our groove back. Happy 2022!

Drop on over to StudioMojo for the weekend wrap-up. Lots of sculptures and young artists floated to the top of our list. See who’s hot and what’s on the horizon. It’s just an educated guess of course, but take a look and consider where you’re headed.

Picnic polymer

Kate Lee Foley starts a fresh, graphic picnic collection with this cane on PolymerClayDaily.com

Let’s see what happens with this work-in-progress cane from Australia’s Kate Lee Foley.

It’s the beginning of her “Picnic” series which sent me fantasizing about spring and outdoor dining and life as usual.

“What is life as usual?” we wonder in this week’s StudioMojo We may be returning to simple delights and projects made only to give pleasure. Mobiles, magnets, book nooks. Join us as we explore in our Saturday edition.

Dove of peace signals big things

Lady Gaga signals the end of small brooches on PolymerClayDaily

My son tells me that America needs a nap. Scared, excited, relieved by Inauguration Day? Now it’s time for a nap.

But before you toddle off, let’s just take a look at Lady Gaga’s Dove of Peace brooch and agree that her fab outfit spells the end of small brooches. I’m pretty sure it’s fabric and integral to the dress. Dig deeper and see the up-close pix on Daniel Roseberry’s IG. He’s the design director for Schiaparelli,

Yes, we’re moving bigger. Today I was struck by the larger earrings at Australia’s Studio 1405. Do you need to enlarge your vision? Time to go big in 2021.

Now have a good nap.

Polymer terrazzo

Kathy Koontz shows how to make faux terrazzo polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

All the trends point to a resurgence of terrazzo (the chips of colors you see embedded in commercial flooring and old linoleum).

South Carolina’s Kathy Koontz (flowertown_originals ) shows her way of bringing the trend to polymer. She grinds and grates baked scraps then rolls the small grated pieces into a solid color of unbaked clay. Voila! Terrazzo polymer style.

She shows her process on Instagram. Who says polymer can’t be trendy?

Inky polymer

Israel’s Iris Mishly has updated her look and combined all that she’s learned about polymer and inks into a new INKredible II class (live classes or online tutorials).

The news out of the New York design shows indicates that Iris is on track. “Our first trend pick of the season is the inky, hand-drawn graffiti markings threaded throughout many shows this season,” says the popular DesignSponge blog.

Get out your gloves, it’s going to be a messy, inky summer. See more of Iris’ graffiti on her blog, on Pinterest, Flickr and Etsy.

Friesen’s polymer and steampunk

Following up on yesterday’s trend report here’s Christi Friesen newest line based on the steampunk aesthetic. (I had to look it up on wikipedia.) I see a promising new polymer clay trend here.

Christi explains steampunk as, “viewing the future from the vantage point of the turn-of-the-century — all gears and hydraulics and brassy screws – very rich and slightly gothic, and quite in keeping with the whole altered art/assemblage movement!”

As science fiction author Bruce Sterling explains, “Steampunk’s key lessons are not about the past. They are about the instability and obsolescence of our own times. A host of objects and services that we see each day all around us are not sustainable. They will surely vanish, just as Gone With the Wind like Scarlett O’Hara’s evil slave-based economy. Once they’re gone, they’ll seem every bit as weird and archaic as top hats, crinolines, magic lanterns, clockwork automatons, absinthe, walking-sticks and paper-scrolled player pianos. We are secretly preparing ourselves for the death of our own tech.” Fascinating concept.

Christi’s book showing all her new work will be out in November and she’ll soon have a steampunk project tutorial on her site. Have a fascinating weekend.

Five trends and Gruenholz’ illustrations

I’m still sorting web code, ignoring the stock market and avoiding politics. Here’s a quiet, calming polymer clay illustration from Spain’s Irma Gruenholz to match my mood. The illustration was based on birds nesting in the artist’s shutters.

If you’re looking for further distraction, read these trend predictions. According to the David Report, there are five key design trends that have emerged and will impact the future of design.

“Folklore and artisan production will see a boost,” the report predicts. “We, the consumers, simply do not buy anymore. We want to experience the real deal. It may be the regional or local individuality and the knowledge of who has made a certain product. We want it to have a scent, a taste and a feeling.” (via design-milk)

Thanks for all the referrals to web technicians. That helps.