Daily Art Muse - Contemporary fine craft curated by Susan Lomuto » PMC

hattie sanderson’s metal clay rings

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:32:41 +0000

These wild rings by Hattie Sanderson are part sculpture, part jewelry – and the combination works. Sanderson lives on a farm in Illinois that is home to corn, soybeans, cattle, hogs and a metal clay studio where the certified metal clay instructor creates one-of- a-kind jewelry.

Somehow this busy artist finds the time to travel around the world teaching workshops (the Magnetic Pendant Focal Clasp workshop caught my eye). Look at the sketch above to see how she takes the seed of an idea and fleshes it out.

Thanks to Lorrene Baum Davis for the link.

gordon uyehara: changing direction

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Gordon Uyehara’s career path is a pleasant reminder that it is never too late to change direction. Graduating college with a Bachelor of Science degree, the Hawaii native spent more than a decade working in the information technology field before he decided that he wanted to pursue a path that allowed him to fully realize his artistic expression. A 2002 class in Silver Clay helped him find his medium and today you can see the full time jewelry artist’s work on the cover of this month’s Art Jewelry magazine.

Ancient Life, Silver Clay

Sun Garden Sanctuary 2

Now a well respected metal clay artist and teacher, Uyehara is also one of the artists experimenting with the new clays – take a look at the BronzClay finger helmet and mask pendant below.

BronzClay Mask Pendant 1.75″ tall

BronzClay Finger Helmet, front and back view

He packs a lot of detail and movement into all of his diminutive metal clay jewelry. Want to know how he does it? Gordon Uyehara will be teaching at the Metal Clay World Conference in July. Maybe it’s time for a road trip.

barbara becker simon’s bronzclay

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:21:55 +0000

I’m not sure how to categorize Barbara Becker Simon. She’s been a jeweler for more than 35 years - a lampwork and bead artist since 1996. She holds a Master in Fine Arts degree in metalwork. Known for both her lampworked beads and her metal hollow core vessels, she began teaching PMC in 2004 and recently added BronzClay to her artist’s toolbox. Well rounded? Indeed.

Barbara sent along this picture (not on her website yet!) of a BronzClay bangle she made recently. I’m thoroughly enjoying a front row seat as artists reveal their creations with the newest clays on the market. Copper clay next?

Barbara Becker Simon, BronzClay Bangle

Within the first week of jewelry class in college, I knew that this was where I wanted to be: designing and creating art to wear. And when introduced to the world of lampworking, I was gleefully consumed with the drive to create small, intimate objects in glass.

Manipulating hot glass is, for me, an exciting, joyful process. When I can combine my glass with my metalwork, I feel that the best of both worlds has been achieved.

Barbara Becker Simon, glass, silver beads

katharina vones’ silicone sea creatures

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:18:26 +0000

I’m attending Robert Dancik’s online masterclass, Amulets & Talismans. Last night Dancik spoke about marrying the components of a piece of jewelry (or sculpture) with the appropriate connections and the possibility of using those connections to draw attention to the piece. Robert Dancik, please meet Kathy Vones.

Black Pearl Sea Urchin Necklace

Inspired by botanical and marine life, Kathy Vones uses precious metal, freshwater pearls and silicone to capture the textures and patterns of deep sea creatures. In the Sea Urchin collection pictured here, tiny metal prongs reach around to gently hold the silicone shapes in place and the effect is magical. The necklace above sports prongs that are bent at varying angles and the sea creatures appear to be dancing, swaying, moving…study the shadows. For a very different effect, the prongs in the necklace below are slightly curved but ‘at attention’ and the sea urchins appear to be pushing up, bursting through, reaching out.

Sea Urchin, detail

In this body of work Vones explores a rich and varied color palette, the contrast of soft rubber and hard metal and the impact of different sizes, ranging from tiny clusters to large sculptures – the metal prongs make an important appearance in all but a few of these vibrant pieces.

Sea Urchin Cluster

Sea Urchin Cluster Drop Earrings

Detail of Floral Light

Read more about Katharina Vones here.
Keep your eye on the Craftcast blog for more online classes.

weltman adds bronzclay to the mix

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:00:25 +0000

Ronna Sarvas Weltman is making good use of her time in the studio while she waits for her new book Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay + Wire Jewelry to hit the bookstores (in May, afer the snow melts, and the ice thaws…something to look forward to).

This new work combines polymer clay, Bronzclay and wire. Want to know more? Weltman has updated her teaching schedule to include classes at BeadFest in Philadelphia and Polymer Clay Express in Maryland.

Ronna I can’t wait for the book and these rings are divine!

cindy silas on the web

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:00:35 +0000

I met polymer clay/pmc artist Cindy Silas at Synergy – she was told that there was someone else ‘pushing polymer’ through metal and that we should meet. Of course my metal was a store-bought bracelet blank. Silas’ metal was fine silver. Fine silver that she fabricated. Different league. Maybe even a league of its own.

Promenade, Cindy Silas 2008, fine silver, polymer clay

Her work is elegant, refined, warm, welcoming. Back in February her website was just a page – a placeholder for the real thing. I’m delighted that the site is now live – you can have a front row seat and watch as her gallery grows. Congratulations on the new website Cindy!

Circles, Cindy Silas 2008, fine silver, polymer clay

Cindy Silas - website

celie fago masters clay: bronze, polymer, pmc

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:14:47 +0000

Celie Fago has taken a new material and already elevated it to the professional level. One of the first to experiment with Bronzclay, Fago’s distinctive style is present and accounted for with the oh-so-interesting material. I heard from a reliable source that she will be coming to the New York area soon to teach a Bronzclay workshop. I’ll let you know as soon as the date is set. Guess who will be the first in line for this workshop?

Three Rings, Celie Fago 2008, BronzClay, polymer clay

Fence Bracelet, Celie Fago 2008, BronzClay

Fago’s work is cutting edge while maintaining the look of ancient artifacts. The artist seamlessly incorporates polymer clay inlays into her PMC work and I hope we see the same trend with the Bronzclay. The ring below is a good example of her mixed media work. Here’s the back view of the ring.

Polymer Flip Ring, Celie Fago 2008, PMC, polymer clay

via All Things Metal Clay, where Elaine has been keeping us up to date with BronzClay news.

Looking for more information about Bronzclay? Tonya Davidson gets us started with this 9 minute Bronzclay video tutorial.

kathryn wardill branches out

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:00:05 +0000

Branches, a series of recent jewellery objects, explores branch structures in silver and glass. Branching in a new direction, this collection invents new plantlike structures, to be worn on the body.

Branches Brooches

Blue Branches

Kathryn Wardill’s PMC + Glass. Possibly the most interesting use of Precious Metal Clay that I’ve seen yet. On the website click the ‘jewelry’ tab and then click both the ‘greenery’ and ‘branches’ tabs to see all of her work with PMC and Glass. Hot stuff.

Another beautiful branch

bronzclay blog carnival

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:59:57 +0000

Elaine over at All Things Metal Clay has been following the buzz about the newest clay to hit the market – BronzClay. After months of talk and eager anticipation, the clay is now available. I can see why there is such a commotion – this stuff is hot, hot, hot! Rio Grande, exclusive distributor of the clay, has a gallery of images and a free booklet (PDF download) on their website.

BRONZclay™! Created by chemist Bill Struve of Metal Adventures, BRONZclay will add a whole new element to jewelry makers, artists and sculptors.

I will be watching to see how people use this new medium. In the meantime, I’ve gathered lots of links to blog posts with more information about the clay and I will update them as I find more. Links after the pics.

Bracelet by Celie Fago

More of Celie’s BronzClay work

Gail Lannum’s Pieces Fresh From the Kiln

More From Gail Lannum

All Things Metal Clay – BronzClay and PMC Conference Pictures!

Gail’s Tales – One More Bronze Pic

Gail’s Tales – PMC Conference

Celie Fago – My Introduction To The Brand New BronzClay

Tonya Davidson’s Musings and Mullings- Bronze Clay

Craftcast – Interview with Jill Erickson

Art Jewelry Magazine Blog – Playing With the New Bronze Clay – The Story of BC the Snail

Jennifer Kahn – Pre- PMC Conference BronzClay Class in Indiana

kelly russell’s new work

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:00:12 +0000

Kelly Russell’s PMC keyhole and fragment beads are still a favorite of mine. I wrote about the artist’s one-of-a-kind beads last year and was delighted when she recently left a comment on the post letting us know about her latest work combining PMC, polymer clay, Tiffany glass, resin, antique buttons, pearls, opals, topaz…even diamonds. This new body of work adds a jolt of color to Russell’s portfolio. Hot stuff!

Polymer with natural opals and porcelain bust

PMC, Raw Diamonds set in resin and polymer clay

Hand-colored polymer, PMC, white topaz set in gold bezel

weekend wrapup

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 13:17:53 +0000

i’m back from philadelphia, my head swimming with ideas, new information and new connections. i have a lot to say about dan cormier and tracy holmes’ engaging workshop, but it will be a few days before i have pictures to show so i’ll stay mum until then.

i didn’t turn the laptop on for two days – no research, no posts, no checking emails. i was completely ‘in the moment’, an indication of how well ‘building better beads’ draws you in and keeps you mesmerized. watch this space for exciting news about what’s coming up next for the dynamic duo, why i believe this round of workshops is critical to the well being of the medium and how griffin steals the show.

one of the benefits of attending a workshop is meeting new people, enjoying lively conversation and learning about what makes another artist’s heart sing. talented pmc artist gwen bernecker was my delightful table-mate for the workshop.

bernecker’s background in architecture and affinity for building is evident in the well executed hollow form pendants that dominate her current work. the pendants offer several layers of interest: intricate texture, subtle color, wavy, undulating lines and curves and kinetic movement.

her website is under construction, though there are a few pictures to whet your appetite until the update is complete. you can see more of her work here, and for the east coast crowd, this summer she will be teaching at beadfest atlanta and beadfest philadelphia.

gwen bernecker made a mid-career change, following a new path driven by a passion for her art and she is now enjoying a success as multi-layered as the hollow form pendants that grace this page. brava!

aha!

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:34:40 +0000

kelly russell’s website is aptly named ‘beadfuddled’ and that is just how i felt as i scrolled through the pictures of her fine silver beads, looking for a picture to accompany this post. too many beautiful beads. not enough space for me to show them all. oh my.

during a pmc class with celie fago in 2003, russell experienced one of those ‘aha!’ moments that often mark a new direction for an artist and this time resulted in a body of work that catapulted russell to the top of the pmc beadmaker’s heap. with beads in four books out this year, it just keeps getting better for this talented artist.

combining the pmc with semi precious stones, 24k gold, porcelain, buttons, and polymer clay, her one-of-a-kind, reversible beads sell out in record time. the bead archives quickly illustrate that the rich variety of patterns, textures, patinas and shapes make russell’s beads a collector’s dream. my favorites? the fragment and keyhole beads shown here. they resemble time-worn chunks of history and suggest hushed experiences, unfinished stories and secret promises.