Polymer Clay Daily

Nailing it with small talk

Makesmalltalk's Lisa makes wrinkles that radiate on PolymerClayDaily.com

Dallas’ Lisa (makesmalltalk) has been draping, wrinkling, and wrapping polymer for some time. As the Olympics have us saying this week, “She nailed it,” with this translucent striped vessel. Lisa had been creating big earrings but now she’s gone even bigger.

Can’t you see it filled with brushes or tools? Or hanging with a light inside? The container has a tactile, fabric quality that’s exuberant and fun.

Lisa sells her new collections every Friday evening.

If you want more examples of polymer artists who are veering off course into new territory, join us at StudioMojo each Saturday morning where we suss out fresh ideas, emerging trends, and other artists who are nailing it!. 

FRIDAY FOLLOW- Athena Barda

Athena Barda follows her bliss with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Greece’s Athena Barda (manusinmano_jewelry) is all over the map…and I’m liking that. Follow her and hang on. She’s philosophical and hangs out with the Euro set. If you want to feel like you’re traveling somewhere exotic, scan her latest to catch the colors and the vibe.

Athena Barda follows her bliss with polymer on PolymerClayDaily.com

Check out her vessels here or her sizzling colors. She’s worked at polymer for years and she never seems to tire of trying new things. She’s obviously having fun.

If fun is your pursuit and you want to up your game, try the Saturday StudioMojo where we suss out the passionate polymer explorers and innovators. “I’ll have what she’s having,” we tell ourselves.

Off-kilter polymer

Katie Oskins' off-kilter face vase on PolymerClayDaily.com

Ohio’s Katie Oskins (Katersacres) asks if anyone’s been feeling off-kilter. Who hasn’t?

You may identify with the haggle-toothed, bug-eyed face vase Katie made to illustrate her point on Instagram.

Katie has characters like these dancing in her head and flying off her fingers. If you (like me) don’t have a brain inhabited by such creatures, you can still follow along on her tutorials and join her club of sculptors.

This guy would look good with tools and pencils sticking out, creating frazzled hair.

A nip in the woods

Chris Owens creates a flask for the woods on PolymerClayDaily.com

Kentucky’s Chris Owens (chris325o) uses layers of Cernit metallic clays with a touch of Sculpey Souffle white to achieve this tree bark look. She’s made a big mokume gane veneer that wraps all around the Blue Bark Flask.

Chris makes luscious mid-century modern patterns collide with woodsy colors. Usually, you hide a flask but I’d want to set this right on the table for all to admire.

Aren’t you curious to know what she used for those patterns? She’s Retrovenue on Facebook.

Polymer therapy

Mira Pinki Krispil used polymer to heal her hands on PolymerClayDaily.com

Mira Pinki Krispil surrounds her pieces with women and that feels comfortable for a Monday. The faces seem concerned and connected.

The polymer portraits have been cured on a 6 1/2″ marble vase. The other side of the vessel is covered with Mira’s bright millefiore flowers.

Some years ago she came to polymer after enduring eight surgeries on her hands. Working with clay was part of her occupational therapy and she used it to document her recovery. “Since then I can’t stop creating with this amazing material,” Mira admits.

True grit

Ginger Allman Davis remembers the true grit of her youth on PolymerClayDaily

Ginger Allman Davis (thebluebottletree) calls this her True Grit vessel made with leftover baked polymer shavings and other studio debris rolled into the thick raw clay.

It’s part of Ginger’s 100-day challenge. There’s more to the story. Her grandfather was a bit player in the original movie!

It feels like we’re in need of some true grit. We’re all trying to make sense of our circumstances right now. I’ll take this as our sign of strength for Thursday.

Polymer shows off spring’s bounty

Linda Loew assembles a stunning vase from polymer circles on PolymerClayDaily.com

Two big thick circles with a narrow slab in between are all it takes to make a stunning polymer vase like this one from Baltimore’s Linda Loew.

The periwinkle and purple colors are lush, the edges are smoothed and there’s a freeform design in the circles’ centers.

Why not show off some of spring’s bounty in a vase made especially for the occasion? Here’s Linda on Instagram.

Contrasts from the biosphere

Donna Greenberg finds her voice in the biosphere on PolymerClayDaily.com

New Jersey’s Donna Greenberg launches us into the weekend with one of the latest in her Biosphere series of small polymer vessels. Pinecone? Fungus? Her works are some combination of what appears in nature and come out of Donna’s experiences.

She says of her work, “Standing in the reeds and saw grass on the nearby Hudson River, watching a heron while viewing the Statue of Liberty is a perfect example of the kind of contrast that I look for to translate into my art.”

Donna’s polymer bio-systems flow across walls and make us more aware of our changing world.

On StudioMojo this weekend we’ll look at what appeals to us, what repulses us on the way to finding our voices. What do we have to get out of our systems? There are plenty of others on this path. You’re not alone. Come on over this Saturday.

A colorful Monday mystery

Monday is delivered on colorful dishes from fimo.passion.vb on PolymerClayDaily.com

This shallow polymer bowl and plate bring together hot colors, soothing shapes, and perfect patterns. The white edge on the bowl shows itself delicately.

Though it’s hard to tell from the photo, it seems as if the pine needles on the plate are raised…perhaps a Sutton slice.

What I can’t tell you is who the artist is other than Fimo.passion.vb who writes in French. Another Mystery Monday post.