Expanding within limits

Angela Schwer expands within limits on PolymerClayDaily.com

California’s Angela Schwer (DillyPad) has become known for her white-on-white flower and succulent polymer wall art. She sells her polymer wall tiles in sets or individually in a range of sizes.

Just think about it. All those decisions about color? Gone! You can see that Angela’s energy is redirected into dense, deep design as she layers as many hand-formed shapes as artfully possible into whatever space is allowed. See more of what happens within limits on Facebook and Instagram.

The idea of limiting your options as a way of diving deeper into your art is the kind of concept we explore every weekend on StudioMojo. It’s our weekly sandbox where we ask, “What if?” and marvel at the treasures we’ve dug up during the week. Join us!

Pieced polymer

South Carolina’s Kathy Koontz (flowertown_originals) found that polymer was a great way to translate her affinity for embroidery into another art form.

It’s very soothing to zoom in and examine the complex canes and textures that she assembles into quilt squares. The outline of extruded blue thread makes a perfect border and contains the designs.

“I love it when people say, “Just looking at your work makes me happy,” Kathy admits. “I couldn’t think of a better compliment.” She’s on Instagram here. And the biggest stash of her current work is on Facebook.

Bringing scrap to life

Angela Bahrenholtz combines her scrap techniques on PolymerClayDaily

Israel’s Angela Bahrenholz has all her ways of simulating fabrics and combined them into three polymer wall quilts, each a 3″ square. Scrap polymer becomes scrap quilts.

Her methods are quite addictive, cutting and stacking repeatedly. You use up your scrap and precision isn’t much of an issue. A win-win in my estimation. The results bring the clay back to life. Examine all her pieced polymer quilts and other art on Flickr. See her tutorials and finished works on Etsy.

Eliciting a response

Susan Crocenzi's 30" mixed media Radiate brought her client to tears on PolymerClayDaily.com

This sumptuous and resplendent mixed media mosaic piece by California’s Susan Crocenzi brought tears to her client’s eyes! “I don’t know how she created such a perfect replica of what my head dreamed up without me being able to describe it, but she sure did,” said the new owner.

The 30″ wall art entitled Radiate is made of polymer clay tiles (border and inner circle), salvaged glass, minerals, beads, crystals, druzy, geodes, crystals, and smalti. Follow Susan’s progress on the polymer components on her Instagram video and visit close up on Facebook

If you browse through Susan’s sites, you can see how polymer grabbed her and wouldn’t let go. More and more pops of polymer began showing up in her work. She currently exhibits 20 6″x6″ mixed media tiles in a show at Blue Line Arts. She will teach new methods she’s developed for mixing polymer and glass in Mexico in February.

What a thrill to have your artwork elicit that response!

Experimenting with construction plus an embossing tip

Watkins reinterprets Benzon on PolymerClayDaily.com

This Jana Benzon-inspired wall art from Rebecca Watkins starts your week with a bright flash of color!

Rebecca was one of the students in this weekend’s class sponsored by the Pittsburgh clay guild. That’s clearly Jana’s Encrusted method of construction reinterpreted in Rebecca’s eye-popping palette and dotted with spirals.

Benzon's newest cutwork earrings on PolymerClayDaily.com

Jana’s early polymer bargello evolved into what she calls her 3D Cutwork. Her new earrings here are an example of Jana’s current thinking in 3D compositions.

Rebecca’s an adventurous polymer artist too. Take a look at what she’s been trying with embossing powders on polymer to enhance ho-hum beads.

Beyond the brooch

At 14″ x 14″ x 3.5″, this multi-media piece from Santa Fe’s Tory Hughes is no brooch.

Skipping Over Winter Except the Solstice is a new work for the wall and it’s a small scale sample of a new and even larger series.

Tory’s works are always filled with echoes of travel and sprinkled with shimmer and hints of the East.

Her summer teaching schedule is filling up and she’ll take off for Australia to teach in September and October. You can travel along with her on Instagram, Facebook and her site.

Sunny Monday

New York’s Donna Greenberg calls her newest wall art an Olive Eater Urchin but I call it sunshine. An 11″ diameter prickly sculpted, textured and painted sunshine is a perfect way to begin our week.

“The weirdos do add up,” Donna says of her other-worldly constructions, “Some have new homes to fly to, others will be in shows or going to workshops with me. Table room is at a premium in the studio these days.” She has created these decorative gems at a prodigious rate.

You can see lots more of them on her website and Pinterest. Donna will be sharing her techniques in a Tidal Pool pre-conference class at this year’s Synergy.

Polymer mixed media redux

Kim Korringa purchased two great-looking ceramic birds from Etsy artist Natalya Sots. She loved them.

But the space on Kim’s kitchen wall begged for something more. So Kim designed this polymer pot of leaves and flowers for the birds to fly over. Kim posted the entire (now 3-piece) art on Facebook.

Kim started assembling this collection last fall. She had brought real-sized photos of the birds and her design to a retreat. But the mountain winds were blowing when Kim put her first try in the oven. The outside ovens spiked turning Kim’s bright dimensional blossoms a charred brown.

Try, try again! Kim’s kitchen is complete.

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Polymer nesting instinct

Seems everyone is trying out vessels and wall art in autumn colors lately. This 2 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ wire and polymer piece is from Arkansas’ Betty Jo Hendershott. Can’t you imagine an empty space in your home that could use a dash of polymer color?

Are we nesting in anticipation of winter?

Yesterday it was acorns we were gathering for winter. Be sure to see the Melissa Terlizzi version of acorn decor on her Facebook page.

“We’re all a bunch of nuts sharing the same small bowl. It’d be a lot easier if we were all kind to one another,” Melissa says.

Scratchy polymer sea star

This use of Angela Schwer’s (DillyPad) polymer Sea Star wall tile isn’t really fair because it has great movement and texture in its monochrome simplicity.

What’s not fair is that today it feels like something similar is scratching the back of my throat. I guess international travel was more stressful than I thought.

So go look at the cool organic shapes Angela comes up with while I recuperate.

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