All Entries in the "Polymer Clay" Category
ana belchi’s polymer clay jewelry
can’t find much about her on the web and my spanish is sorely lacking, but ana belchi’s polymer clay jewelry is lovely and well executed. it is easy to see which polymer clay artists have influenced her work, but the application is all belchi.
another great find from toby.
creepy stuff
it is 80 degrees here in ny and we are headed towards record breaking heat this week. that won’t stop october from coming – it is almost here and with it comes the creepy stuff. you know what i mean. halloween.
take a peek at loopy boopy’s creepy art dolls. LB is another polymer clay artist selling on etsy. halloween, sheesh…i haven’t even put away my flip-flops yet.
cormier workshop update
this just in: due to a last minute cancellation, there is room for one more person in dan cormier’s ‘building better beads’ workshop on october 6-7 in connecticut. contact libby mills at libzoid@gmail.com
polymer clay trollbear
germany doll artist silke schloesser sculpts trollbears from polymer clay, dressing them in fur and leather. now who wouldn’t want to cuddle up with that face on a cold winter’s day? to see more trollbears and their snotgurgle neighbors, click here. that should keep you giggling for a little while this fine friday.
dan cormier: new work
i was in the room when dan cormier unveiled this necklace for the first time. there was a hush. a stunned silence. you see, all the while dan challenges us to ‘make it the best it can be’, he challenges himself too.
white clay. no complex veneers. no intricate cane work. no fancy mica shift. just white clay. the ultimate challenge. nothing to hide behind. just white clay.
simple shapes become sophisticated and elegant under cormier’s care. his design skills and artistry are magnificently showcased with this combination of silky smooth and richly textured beads…all finished to perfection.
practice really does make perfect. cormier’s ‘white necklace’ is museum quality work. breathtaking. bravo dan, bravo.
yes, dan cormier challenges all of us to reach a new threshold of excellence. a call to arms of sorts. let’s heed the call.
more? click here for another ‘never before seen’ complex bead by dan.
cormier master class
ready to meet the challenge of refining your craft? dan cormier has packed his bag of tips and techniques and he’s heading east! this is the last time in 2007 that cormier will teach in the united states – you don’t want to miss it! he won’t be back until the synergy conference (february 2008).
october 13-14, 2007: the artway, damascus, maryland
join wilma and rob yost when they host cormier and his bag of tricks at the artway – the brick and mortar shop that we know and love online as polymer clay express.
cormier’s description of the artway says it all:
“When you come to a workshop at The ArtWay, you come to a polymer clay mecca! The ArtWay is a small but jam-packed retail venue, PolymerClayExpress.com come to life, stocking everything you’d ever want or need (and probably even some stuff you don’t!) for polymer clay and its auxiliary media. There are even guilds who’ve chartered buses and gone there just for shopping trips. Wilma and Rob Yost are great hosts, and their classrooms and demo room are great. I really love teaching there… and all the students we’ve met there seem to love it just as much as I do.”
more information here. sign up for the class. just do it.
- september 29-30 2007: lexington arts & crafts society, lexington, ma. – this workshop is sold out but there is a wait list! contact paula lewis at fobidough@aol.com
- october 6-7 2007: southern ct. polymer clay guild, wallingford, ct. – this workshop is also sold out but there is a wait list! contact libby mills at libzoid@gmail.com
raising the bar
(NOTE: this is the first of three posts today about dan cormier. make sure you check back later for pictures of dan’s new work – you won’t be disappointed!)
for years i’ve heard people working with polymer clay talk about the stigma attached to it, but i maintain it isn’t the material you use that makes your work art or fine craft, it’s what you do with the material. the pages of pcnotes are filled with artists who prove this working with paper, recycled plastic, thread and even discarded phone books.
i’m not a bead artist, and my work is more organic than precise in style and form. workshops with victoria hughes and dayle doroshow were crucial turning points for me on my creative journey. they helped me think outside the box…and helped me loosen up my work.
then i spent two days watching dan cormier work and i quickly understood why both sides are important. in addition to the beautiful artistry of his designs (seen in the photos here), the man is a master of precision. his workshop is not really about building better beads – it is about making better art.
learn the rules. practice, practice, practice. learn the rules…then bend them or break them…but learn them first. trusting that concept under the guidance of a master has catapulted my work to another level.
i do exhaustive research regarding polymer clay. very often i see work that is good – great sense of color, style, design – but something stops it from being over-the-top terrific. usually it is that the piece is not finished well. cormier is determined to change that. and you can change it too.
come back later to see where dan will be this fall…and to see new pictures of cormier’s work.
wiwat’s polymer clay
i met wiwat kamolpornwijit at the lyndhurst crafts fair on sunday. originally from thailand, the polymer clay artist is now based in virginia and he has a keen eye for design and composition. his work reminds me of tiny shadow boxes – each with a story to tell.
depth and movement. repeating forms. pockets that hide shapes and colors.
wiwat doesn’t have much of a web presence yet, only a few pictures – but i’m hoping he will post pictures of his gill-like geometric constructions soon. they are truly impressive. his work is evolving rapidly and i think he’s one to watch.
polymer clay illustrations
i admire canadian polymer clay artist margi laurin’s work (check out the magnetized pieces in her gallery), but i’ve never seen her polymer clay illustrations before. laurin uses metallic clays to create a marbleized background. after baking, she carves line images, backfills with more clay, rebakes, sands, buffs…wow…and it looks like she teaches this technique.
polymer clay blog
another polymer clay artist’s blog to watch: gera scott chandler’s amused creations . check out this fish. looks like raku to me. and i think the lovely lavendar wall hanging muse below is chatting with my muse. how aMusing.
