Georgia’s Cynthia Gougian-Fisher can’t resist new technology. That doesn’t mean she’s leaving polymer behind.
She cut these wooden earring frames on a laser cutter and then gave them pattern, color, and shine by inlaying polymer. Lots more on Instagram.
In this week’s StudioMojo you’ll watch Texas’ Paula Kennedy hand sand her bowls to a smooth, satiny finish. And you’ll learn how shoe paste wax and face cream are part of her brilliant process.
New Mexico’s Gael Keyes finds wood scraps, adds polymer sculpted hands and faces, and dresses the emerging angels with bits of Southwest patterns that turn salvaged elements into art.
She tucks a test tube into each construction and gives it new life as a wall bud vase.
Gael has encountered fantastical bugs, birds, mushrooms, angels, and more along her polymer path. Each uses scrap in increasingly inventive ways. This one, ” Suficiente”, reminds us that we have enough.
Oregon’s Lea Gordiner says, “My recent fantasy is a combination of birds and animals with human features. They are meant to be silly, fun, playful, nonsensical…really. Seen any birds lately with nostrils and lips let alone shoes?”
If the holiday hoopla has you in a dither, you’ll be set straight by a wander through Lea’s website and her Instagram. She has shifted to finely finished polymer boxes as well.
Lea’s Portland guild mate Laurel Swetnam turned her in. We thought it only right that Lea has a PCD post among her presents this year. Thanks for making us smile.
It seemed as though Florida’s Deb Groover (Debortina) was taunting us with this swimming pool painting that showed up on Instagram.
It turns out that she and Tina themselves are stuck in snow in Virginia.
Deb is working a little differently here with more small polymer elements in her works. The composition has a David Hockney feel to it.
Deb works on wooden panels and adds the background as the last element in her large paintings. If you need some bright sun, visit her on Instagram. See her work in person by checking her schedule for an event near you.
What a treat to discover (thanks to Syndee Holt) that Liquid Sculpey Clear can be used for photo transfers! Here is my brother doing his 1950s cowboy imitation.
For me, this opens up a whole new avenue for bringing computers, photos, and wood together somehow and my head is abuzz with ideas.
That’s what happens at a polymer gathering! Fires are lit and then you return home to work out the details. I’m both exhausted and rejuvenated. Want to improve your work? Take yourself back to school and experimenting this fall!
I hesitate to feature my own work but when I run out of research time, it’s the best option. Here’s the 11″ diameter bowl I inlaid last week.
I was happy to get back to my easy stripes at the Virginia conference. Rather than fight against doing the “same old, same old” I welcomed the ease of the familiar. And I had Lindly Haunani nearby to give me color guidance.
I laid narrow strips of veneer into a shallow groove in the spalted maple bowl turned by my husband, Blair Davis. There’s something comforting in knowing that the bowl is made from the tree across the street. “Spalted” is a fancy word for rotted and the tree had to go. You can see a few in-process shots on my Instagram.
Now I can get to composing this week’s Saturday newsletter and gathering up the last tidbits that surfaced at the end of Shrine Mont. Just as we were packing up, people were sharing their “one-last-thing.” And there was a sudden spring crop of tutorials online this week. Join us over at StudioMojo for the scoop.
An interesting sculpture? A grouping of succulents? Nope! This is a Mother’s Day bonanza of wooden utensils with polymer-covered handles. You know how moms love it when you gift something that’s both handmade and utilitarian.
Venezuela’s NinaStudioCaracas specializes in wooden cooking utensils and tableware embellished with polymer. Here they are on Instagram.
We’ve stirred up a delicious bunch of tips, tools, and trends for Saturday’s StudioMojo. And this week you’ll consider what your art has done for you lately. Fun stuff! Join us.
Florida’s Deb Groover (debortinastudio) is the featured artist for the 2018 Brookside Art Annual in Kansas City, MO next weekend.
Her bright and energetic polymer paintings are created from cutouts of fired flat designs which are adhered to wood panels. The backgrounds on her large and busy paintings are added last. Deb (and her partner Tina) come to polymer from ceramics.
In this video of Deb from a couple of years ago, she details her process which is like no other and has become very sought after. Enjoy an overview on Instagram.
Laurie Mika’s home/studio class turned antique wooden shoe lasts into vintage jewelry and polymer-encrusted shrines topped with regal crowns.
What a treasure to tuck on a bookshelf or feature on a coffee table. Important dates and words are stamped into the clay and mysterious photos become focal points. Laurie makes us want to haunt the flea markets and antique stores. Read about them on Instagram and look for a class near you on Laurie’s site.
It takes quite a stash of small colorful petal canes to create a bouquet like this polymer-on-wood painting by Forida’s Pamela Carman.
She’s textured the background on a 12″ x 12″ panel. The wallpaper and the red tablecloth plus the retro vase give the composition a feeling of depth and cohesion. See more of her petal power on Flickr, Facebook and Instagram.
Does Pamela’s piece make you want to create your own polymer painting? Sometimes jealousy is a good motivator.
