The First Polymer Pioneer?

November 27, 2015 ,

Sigrid-Smolka-coverOn the last page of the Winter 2015 issue, we have a very, very special Muse’s Corner article. It was brought to us by Anke Humpert, who had the good fortune to connect with a polymer artist who may very well be the first published polymer pioneer, unknown to most all of us. The reason we may not recognize the cover of this book, or the author, is probably that it was written in German. Which makes sense since that is where polymer clay was invented and first produced commercially. But how have so few of us even known of dear Sigrid Smolka?

Here is the thing that so shocked Anke (and, later, myself) when she first found out. This book was published years before Nan Roche’s seminal book The New Clay. Now, we aren’t talking 3 years, or 5, or even 10. This book was published 17 years before, not too long after the clay actually hit the market. Isn’t that amazing?

All on her own, Sigrid developed techniques and processes that we will all find familiar and common today. I guess that really shouldn’t be a surprise. The clay can leads us to obvious conclusions even now. But it was just so early on and she did this all on her own and so hidden from the rest of us. But not anymore.

You can read Anke’s whole story about Sigrid Solka in the Winter issue. Get your copy ordered, if you haven’t already, so you can read this and all the other wonderful contributions your fellow polymer artists shared with you in this issue.

_________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Translucent Tests

November 18, 2015

Francoise HecquetHere I found an artist testing the possibilities of translucents in what looks like some fairly classic applications, but with the added complexity of coloring for depth.

Françoise Hecquet, aka Bounette, creates a wide variety of beads, but I think her translucent pieces really stand out in her collections.  I’m not sure what she was attempting here, although I think they were successful unto themselves. All she has in the text that accompanies this post is “Je sais pas si les couleurs…” which translates as something like “not knowing about the colors”. But that’s all she says. So, we are left to wonder what she was trying but at least we can admire the crystalline-like effect of the way the translucent was mixed and colored.

If you feel a little let down that she hasn’t hinted at the mysteries behind these pretty test pieces, she does share a pretty cool technique with opaque dots and translucent clay, which has a really beautiful effect. You can find that tutorial post on her blog here.  

 

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Dreaming of Spring

November 4, 2015

NevenkaSabo Fairy Garden EarringsToday’s beautifully layered pendants come from my dear friend Nevenka Sabo, who is quite the exploratory soul. She is always trying something new, so it can be hard to pin down her signature style, but her work is always fashionably detailed and beautifully finished.

These unseasonably fresh Spring earrings (it is Spring down under, isn’t it?)  are a nice departure from the Fall-moving-into-Winter look that we’re seeing everywhere  here in the states. It’s another, but very different, example of layering for this week. There may not actually be a lot of layering here; it’s hard to say. But between the alcohol inks and what might be stamps or image-transfers laid one over the other, the details look to be buried in the translucent clay.

One way to find out would be to jump over to her Etsy page and buy the tutorial. Personally, I am refraining from doing just that at the moment because I have too much to do to get the Winter issue ready to get out to the printers, but why don’t you give it a try?

Nevenka shows off her fashionable goodies on her Flickr pagesher Facebook page and in her Etsy shop, where you can find other tutorials to pique your interest and keep you busy as we slide into Winter still dreaming of Spring.

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  PowerPoint Presentation

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

 

Layers of Interest

November 2, 2015

eriko page crackle and canesThis past week, during my usual hunting excursions for fabulously interesting pieces to bring to you, I noticed I was seeing a lot of beautiful applications created in clean, simple pendant and earring forms, primarily in the area of layering.

This pendant popped up on my Facebook timeline just last night. It’s by Eriko Page who has been toiling away trying to perfect her crackle technique with, what I believe is, Kroma crackle. She mentions Jeanette Kandray’s Kroma Crackle tutorial on the Polyform website in a comment attached to another similar piece on her Facebook page and it does look just like it. I like how she uses the gradient colors and texture as a background for a simple caned tableau for this pendant. There is actually a lot going on that would catch and hold the eye on this simple, organically formed rectangular pendant.

Eriko hails from California and, according to her Facebook page, from Tehachapi of all places. Tehachapi is also home to Christi Friesen and Karen Lewis (Klew). That’s a lot of polymer talent in a town that is all of ten square miles and sits out there on the edge of the vast Mojave desert. What about that breeds such immense talent, I’m starting to wonder?

Well, while I am pondering that mystery, you can search out more of about Eriko and her work scattered throughout the web but most notably on Fire Mountain Gem’s website, Sonoran Beads where you can find her beads for sale and on her Facebook page.

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  PowerPoint Presentation

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

The First Polymer Pioneer?

November 27, 2015
Posted in ,

Sigrid-Smolka-coverOn the last page of the Winter 2015 issue, we have a very, very special Muse’s Corner article. It was brought to us by Anke Humpert, who had the good fortune to connect with a polymer artist who may very well be the first published polymer pioneer, unknown to most all of us. The reason we may not recognize the cover of this book, or the author, is probably that it was written in German. Which makes sense since that is where polymer clay was invented and first produced commercially. But how have so few of us even known of dear Sigrid Smolka?

Here is the thing that so shocked Anke (and, later, myself) when she first found out. This book was published years before Nan Roche’s seminal book The New Clay. Now, we aren’t talking 3 years, or 5, or even 10. This book was published 17 years before, not too long after the clay actually hit the market. Isn’t that amazing?

All on her own, Sigrid developed techniques and processes that we will all find familiar and common today. I guess that really shouldn’t be a surprise. The clay can leads us to obvious conclusions even now. But it was just so early on and she did this all on her own and so hidden from the rest of us. But not anymore.

You can read Anke’s whole story about Sigrid Solka in the Winter issue. Get your copy ordered, if you haven’t already, so you can read this and all the other wonderful contributions your fellow polymer artists shared with you in this issue.

_________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Read More

Translucent Tests

November 18, 2015
Posted in

Francoise HecquetHere I found an artist testing the possibilities of translucents in what looks like some fairly classic applications, but with the added complexity of coloring for depth.

Françoise Hecquet, aka Bounette, creates a wide variety of beads, but I think her translucent pieces really stand out in her collections.  I’m not sure what she was attempting here, although I think they were successful unto themselves. All she has in the text that accompanies this post is “Je sais pas si les couleurs…” which translates as something like “not knowing about the colors”. But that’s all she says. So, we are left to wonder what she was trying but at least we can admire the crystalline-like effect of the way the translucent was mixed and colored.

If you feel a little let down that she hasn’t hinted at the mysteries behind these pretty test pieces, she does share a pretty cool technique with opaque dots and translucent clay, which has a really beautiful effect. You can find that tutorial post on her blog here.  

 

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Read More

Dreaming of Spring

November 4, 2015
Posted in

NevenkaSabo Fairy Garden EarringsToday’s beautifully layered pendants come from my dear friend Nevenka Sabo, who is quite the exploratory soul. She is always trying something new, so it can be hard to pin down her signature style, but her work is always fashionably detailed and beautifully finished.

These unseasonably fresh Spring earrings (it is Spring down under, isn’t it?)  are a nice departure from the Fall-moving-into-Winter look that we’re seeing everywhere  here in the states. It’s another, but very different, example of layering for this week. There may not actually be a lot of layering here; it’s hard to say. But between the alcohol inks and what might be stamps or image-transfers laid one over the other, the details look to be buried in the translucent clay.

One way to find out would be to jump over to her Etsy page and buy the tutorial. Personally, I am refraining from doing just that at the moment because I have too much to do to get the Winter issue ready to get out to the printers, but why don’t you give it a try?

Nevenka shows off her fashionable goodies on her Flickr pagesher Facebook page and in her Etsy shop, where you can find other tutorials to pique your interest and keep you busy as we slide into Winter still dreaming of Spring.

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  PowerPoint Presentation

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

 

Read More

Layers of Interest

November 2, 2015
Posted in

eriko page crackle and canesThis past week, during my usual hunting excursions for fabulously interesting pieces to bring to you, I noticed I was seeing a lot of beautiful applications created in clean, simple pendant and earring forms, primarily in the area of layering.

This pendant popped up on my Facebook timeline just last night. It’s by Eriko Page who has been toiling away trying to perfect her crackle technique with, what I believe is, Kroma crackle. She mentions Jeanette Kandray’s Kroma Crackle tutorial on the Polyform website in a comment attached to another similar piece on her Facebook page and it does look just like it. I like how she uses the gradient colors and texture as a background for a simple caned tableau for this pendant. There is actually a lot going on that would catch and hold the eye on this simple, organically formed rectangular pendant.

Eriko hails from California and, according to her Facebook page, from Tehachapi of all places. Tehachapi is also home to Christi Friesen and Karen Lewis (Klew). That’s a lot of polymer talent in a town that is all of ten square miles and sits out there on the edge of the vast Mojave desert. What about that breeds such immense talent, I’m starting to wonder?

Well, while I am pondering that mystery, you can search out more of about Eriko and her work scattered throughout the web but most notably on Fire Mountain Gem’s website, Sonoran Beads where you can find her beads for sale and on her Facebook page.

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  PowerPoint Presentation

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Read More

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