A Bevy of Bezels

February 10, 2019

First, a quick announcement … the new Polymer Journeys 2019 book is now available for pre-orders!

As usual, we offer a HUGE discount for pre-ordering: $7 off the print edition cover price and $4 off the digital edition. So jump to our website to pre-order this great tome of beautiful polymer art with artist’s insights into their work as well as a historical retrospective that we hope will help continue to elevate how people see polymer in the art world and beyond.

Now onto a Bevy of Bezels …

What is your favorite kind of polymer bezel setting? Would you say you even have one? Let’s be honest, when it comes to bezels do most of us really give them a lot of thought? Some people really do but I think for many of us, when we do create one, it is probably not much more than a functional element we need in order to hold and maybe frame a stone or focal element. So, I thought this week we would take a look at what else you could do and where you can take the functional, and often essential, bezel.

Like any other element on your jewelry that can be seen, a bezel is a part of the piece’s design and so their form and finish should be quite consciously decided, which means, with polymer clay there’s a tremendous range of things that can be done with it. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the bezel been simple and primarily functional, as long as it makes sense for the design.

That said, let’s get to the interesting point … there is so much you can do with bezels and bezel style settings in polymer clay! I could yammer on and on about all the things you can do but I think it’s better to just show you. Make notes and start considering what you do with the clay that holds in the focal pieces on your creations and how you can expand on it.

A World of Bezels

One of my favorite bezel-ers, Chris Kapono, has the most wide-ranging ways to hold down a stone with polymer. Her tile and home decor pieces are also a great examples of how bezels can be used for pieces other than jewelry. She has many more tricks up her sleeve in this regards as seen on her Flickr photostream and in her Etsy shop.

Susan Waddington has always been one of my favorite polymer bezel makers. Her bezels are almost always black but are formed into pretty much anything but a basic square or circle and they are textured and inset with additional embellishments to work with the focal piece. This one may be a decade old but it is still inspiring as is her entire collection shown on her Flickr page. I don’t think she does much polymer any more so you have to scroll down past her paintings although looking through them is no hardship either.

A bezel can also be made from individual bits, all lined up. As seen in this pendant by Elsie Smith. The setting around this bezel continues the radiating lines that those lined up little squares start around the gem.

A bezel does not have to be symmetrical, continuous, sit with the stone or focal point straightforward or even completely surround what it’s holding. These pendants by Switzerland’s Chandani of ChaNoJa Jewerly on Etsy give you a few examples of non-traditional bezel settings with polymer.

And don’t be afraid to consider creating, or having a metalsmith create, metal bezels to put your polymer clay creations into. Making her own custom precious metal bezel settings is standard for Grace Stokes’ beautiful jewelry as seen here.

The How-Tos of Polymer Bezeling

Now, if you’ve not created polymer bezels before, or you would like a refresher or some jump-start, hands-on ideas, there quite a number of tutorials and such that you can reference.

Here’s a super quick way to make a bezel that works especially well for small round stones and crystals.

  1. Roll up a ball of clay about the width of the stone you want to set
  2. Press the ball flat but not too thin then press the stone or crystal into it.
  3. Gently push the sides of the clay in towards the stone so that the clay sits up around its edges and holds it in. At this point it can be further embellished with powders.
  4. Then just scoop it off your work surface using a blade and place it on your piece, maybe with just a tiny touch of liquid polymer to guarantee its adhesion.
  5. You can embellish it further here too. Just impress dots or lines into it with a needle tool, being careful not to move the clay away from the stone’s edge and lose its grip on it.

That’s it! It’s a super quick and easy bezel. It can be used on other shapes besides round too. You just have to shape the clay to the same size and shape as the stone before you press it into the clay.

By the way, you can see this quick set bezel and how I often use them in Issue #1 of The Polymer Studio in my tutorial, “Shimmering Scenery Pendants”. That same tutorial also shows you how to make an easy polymer clay frame which can readily be used as a bezel setting in addition to the techniques use for frame setting surface treated polymer sheets. Get your issue or a subscription if you don’t have it already. Single issues are only $7.95 in print, $5.95 digital, and that’s for eight detailed tutorials plus other fantastic articles. Can’t even buy one tutorial for that!

For a polymer bezel similar to traditional metalsmithing bezels, take a look at Tina Holden’s tutorial on her blog here. She shares her basic bezel and then some ways to embellish that are very easy to do but give the bezels a very rich look.

For a dainty frame bezel frame with filigree, there is this classic filigree tutorial here. If you stop after the first rim is placed on and cured, you have a bezel frame for cabochons or cut polymer sheets. But the filigree stuff is fun if you have the patience for it. The text’s English may sound a little wonky because it will be translated but it’s worth trying nonetheless.

If you want, or need, to create bezels quickly, you might want to look into purchasing Cabezel molds from Shades of Clay. These molds allow you to create a frame and a perfectly fitting cabochon for it in seconds. Once you have the basic frame molded you can expand on the setting in the area beyond the bezel frame or embellish the bezel itself so although it’s a mold, it has a lot of room for customization. Shades of Clay is a great resource for all kinds of unique polymer related supplies as well. (Keep in mind, this is a Canadian retailer, so the pricing is in Canadian dollars although Wendy does ship via USPS. To estimate what it will be in US dollars, deduct about 25%.)

Got Bezels?

Do you have any great bezels of your own? Or are you aware of any other great tutorials for polymer bezels? Leave links and comments in the comment section below. If you get the this by email click here to leave a comment. Myself and many a reader here would love to see more.

A Well Adorned Man

July 22, 2016

Randy KMitchellI’ve never really understood why the majority of guys don’t like to wear jewelry. There are definitely masculine versions and, maybe I am partial, but I think jewelry is more expressive than a t-shirt or sports jersey to say something about you. I guess just wearing jewelry for a guy says something about that guy. So what does this huge piece say about this guy? It says he’s not shy to start with!

This is Randy, Karen Mitchell’s husband, and he seems to really like wearing the big and bold stuff she makes for him, so it wasn’t too shocking to see him show up on our Gala night in this piece. Karen is one half of AnKara Designs, which she has run with her sister Ann for 25 years now. For Eurosynergy, Ann and Karen had a slew of complex pieces to show off a variety of construction options for their “Polymer Jewelry Construction” presentation (which I didn’t get to see due to other obligations), and I can only assume this was one.

The movement of the swaying chains made for quite a dynamic piece to match Randy’s already dynamic personality. It also occurred to me that swaying chains on a guy says something quite different than it would on a woman. Here, it felt very strong and dominant, like it’s something a warrior would wear, but on a woman it would probably be more reminiscent of dancing and graceful movement. The wearer does make the piece, which is why some work seems to ‘belong’ on some people while it just falls flat on someone else. If I had not seen this on Randy, I never would have thought a guy could pull this off, but Randy sure did!

They posted a lot of their new work used in their presentation on their Facebook page, but you can also follow them and see where they are selling by going to their website.

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Anke’s Eyes

July 18, 2016

AHumpert eyesI’m on my way home today after nearly 3 weeks in Europe. I really look forward to getting back to a regular schedule, and I will catch up will all of you who have been waiting for something from me. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of the crazy pieces and wonderful people I snapped pictures of on the last night of EuroSynergy when we got dressed up for the closing dinner.

Here is the witty piece that Anke Humpert created just for this event. If you’ve been to any polymer-centric events, you know how much time we spend checking out each other’s jewelry, so Anke thought it would be fun to have a piece that stares back. It was very entertaining, as well as surprising, and caused much laughter as she made the rounds.

Anke’s work often draws from social and environmental inspiration. You can take a look at her wide range of pieces and techniques on her website.

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Charming Collection

July 15, 2016

DKassell creatures BLOGA little view of the charming world of Doreen Kassel who delighted us with her little characters while in the south of France. She set them up on this great wall on the back porch of the place we stayed at. Her child-like joy in creating her critters and other objects is so evident in the expressions of these pieces. She adorns them with such cheerful colors and fun details.

I wish I could write more, but I am packing to catch a train so I must be brief. I will go through my images from EuroSynergy on the train and choose some to share with you in the blog next week and in the newsletter that we’ll get out to you this weekend. For now, au reviour!

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

 

The Dumont Collection

July 13, 2016

CDumont work

I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to not only see, live and in person, the latest work by the meticulous Christine Dumont but to see so much of it in one place. You can tell she spends hours getting every element just right, and I can only imagine how many hours she puts into developing her process in which she can achieve such perfection. The pieces here are examples for classes or are show pieces for the Fimo exhibition at Eurosynergy and not for sale, but I did get to try on and model a few for the gang and I was just in love with how they both looked and felt on. They are some truly masterful pieces of art.

Christine has not only been diligently working away on her own pieces but has continued helping others increase their creativity and exploration of design through the classes offered on Viola.eu. Take a look at the new set of courses she and Donna Greenberg are working on as well as dropping by Christine’s artist website for an eye full of her beautiful collection of work.

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

A Greenberg Arrangement

July 11, 2016

I am getting into the week of Eurosynergy and I have a completely full schedule, so while I am collecting photos of the event and the wonderful art around us, I will fill this week with images from the art shared in the week before. But I will share a ton with you next week!
DGreenberg sets

Since so many of you just loved seeing Melanie West’s table of amazing work, I took more photos of the collected works that were shared in Durfort. This lovely little arrangement, by Donna Greenberg, was taken on an old fallen wooden door which became a favorite spot for shooting images of the work we had. Donna’s organic and expressive pieces seem quite at home on the weathered background. Donna was actually telling us how she has been experimenting with photographing her work with more objects and context. That can be a tricky thing as busy backgrounds and additional objects can be distracting as the rusted hardware here is threatening to be. But if the work can hold up to it or the objects used match the piece in a subtle and supportive way, including a bit more in the images of your work can create some really eye-catching photos that will make your work stand out.

Speaking of stand out work, jump over to Donna’s website to take in the wonderful range and luscious texture of her pieces.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take photos of your work in different environments and with (or on) a variety of objects. Take a look at the photos and see if the change in surroundings works visually with your work. Does it give you any new ideas about how to photograph and show your work?

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

A Table of Color

July 8, 2016

MelWest tableI finally get to start sharing some of the things I have been seeing over here in the south of France. Yes, there has been a ton of beautiful countryside and villages to see as well as amazing textures in the moss covered rocks, old cobblestone streets, aged and worn walls, and rusting and painted iron and copper hardware. I will not bore you with the trip slides but rather, let you peek in on some of what we have been doing back at the house.

I may not have explained what it is I am doing down here. I was kindly invited to join a small group of my polymer friends and colleagues to enjoy a week of beauty and creativity in the tiny village of Durfort where the lovely La Cascade art center is located. Dayle Doroshow was the driving force behind this get-together as she owns her own little slice of France down here. The rest of us rented a house down the row from her. The days are full of creative and intellectual conversation, general silliness, and French style meals.  There has also been quite a bit of work as this was a chance for many of us to more efficiently discuss collaborative projects (mostly the business related kinds) and discuss our present direction as artists and entrepreneurs.

One of the things we have been doing to support each other has been to pull out our art, one artist a day, and discuss the work as well as the artist’s thoughts and motivations. Wednesday we had the pleasure of looking at all the gorgeous colors and impeccable finishes of Melanie West, which so works with the theme this week, so I snapped a few images for you to enjoy.

No words can express how wonderful it is to see such beautifully finished work laid out all together on a single table. It’s even more impossible to describe the delightful sensation of running one’s fingers over the velvety smoothness of these surfaces. I just wanted to pet them like they were precious little cats.

Now I have to get packing here for our trek to Bordeaux tomorrow for EuroSynergy, which starts on Sunday. My plan is to share beautiful things from there with you so keep your fingers crossed that the hotel internet cooperates! Have a beautiful, colorful weekend!

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Purple Screened

July 6, 2016

veronica sturdy silk screenPurple is such a rich color. Its royal overtones command attention, but its not so overly energetic as its neighboring red or orange, yet not so calm as the other cool colors it is grouped with. It is easily one of my favorite colors because of this complexity and richness. And I know I am not alone. So it’s no wonder that these beautiful silk screened pieces popped out and grabbed my color-seeking attention.

Veronika Sturdy created these silk screened pieces with a range of purples and analogous colors on both sides of purple. You have to look close to see how she also complements the darker and lighter shades with a bit of black and white, but it all works together to create a subtlety energetic and commanding set of pieces.

Veronika plays so very well with color, gradation, shading, and texture that you are sure to find a bit of inspiration for yourself on her website or Flickr pages.

 

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Brilliant Color

July 4, 2016

Dio featehrs earrings cropInternet is rather spotty here in the south of France but other than reaching out to you wonderful people (and my sweetie, of course) I can’t say I am missing it all that much. I had previously picked out a few pieces to get you through the week, although I didn’t have a specific theme, just the thought of the potentially lovely color I might see here drew me to these pieces. And I certainly have seen beautiful colors from the doors and shutters on the homes in this little village to the wildflowers that fill out the fields on the side of the roads we’ve wandered down.

So, going with that simple theme, I have this older piece by Irina Oano Diacenco. It was posted in 2011 but the contrasting purple and yellow are timeless and is further helped by the rough texture that makes the colors jump and glow as they skip over the lines together.

Although Irina doesn’t seem to have anything recent online (mind you my searching was limited as my internet goes in and out here), you can catch more beautiful color combinations and textures on the blog she used to keep here.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Pick two highly contrasting colors and create a piece based around how those colors make you feel.

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

 

A Bevy of Bezels

February 10, 2019
Posted in

First, a quick announcement … the new Polymer Journeys 2019 book is now available for pre-orders!

As usual, we offer a HUGE discount for pre-ordering: $7 off the print edition cover price and $4 off the digital edition. So jump to our website to pre-order this great tome of beautiful polymer art with artist’s insights into their work as well as a historical retrospective that we hope will help continue to elevate how people see polymer in the art world and beyond.

Now onto a Bevy of Bezels …

What is your favorite kind of polymer bezel setting? Would you say you even have one? Let’s be honest, when it comes to bezels do most of us really give them a lot of thought? Some people really do but I think for many of us, when we do create one, it is probably not much more than a functional element we need in order to hold and maybe frame a stone or focal element. So, I thought this week we would take a look at what else you could do and where you can take the functional, and often essential, bezel.

Like any other element on your jewelry that can be seen, a bezel is a part of the piece’s design and so their form and finish should be quite consciously decided, which means, with polymer clay there’s a tremendous range of things that can be done with it. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the bezel been simple and primarily functional, as long as it makes sense for the design.

That said, let’s get to the interesting point … there is so much you can do with bezels and bezel style settings in polymer clay! I could yammer on and on about all the things you can do but I think it’s better to just show you. Make notes and start considering what you do with the clay that holds in the focal pieces on your creations and how you can expand on it.

A World of Bezels

One of my favorite bezel-ers, Chris Kapono, has the most wide-ranging ways to hold down a stone with polymer. Her tile and home decor pieces are also a great examples of how bezels can be used for pieces other than jewelry. She has many more tricks up her sleeve in this regards as seen on her Flickr photostream and in her Etsy shop.

Susan Waddington has always been one of my favorite polymer bezel makers. Her bezels are almost always black but are formed into pretty much anything but a basic square or circle and they are textured and inset with additional embellishments to work with the focal piece. This one may be a decade old but it is still inspiring as is her entire collection shown on her Flickr page. I don’t think she does much polymer any more so you have to scroll down past her paintings although looking through them is no hardship either.

A bezel can also be made from individual bits, all lined up. As seen in this pendant by Elsie Smith. The setting around this bezel continues the radiating lines that those lined up little squares start around the gem.

A bezel does not have to be symmetrical, continuous, sit with the stone or focal point straightforward or even completely surround what it’s holding. These pendants by Switzerland’s Chandani of ChaNoJa Jewerly on Etsy give you a few examples of non-traditional bezel settings with polymer.

And don’t be afraid to consider creating, or having a metalsmith create, metal bezels to put your polymer clay creations into. Making her own custom precious metal bezel settings is standard for Grace Stokes’ beautiful jewelry as seen here.

The How-Tos of Polymer Bezeling

Now, if you’ve not created polymer bezels before, or you would like a refresher or some jump-start, hands-on ideas, there quite a number of tutorials and such that you can reference.

Here’s a super quick way to make a bezel that works especially well for small round stones and crystals.

  1. Roll up a ball of clay about the width of the stone you want to set
  2. Press the ball flat but not too thin then press the stone or crystal into it.
  3. Gently push the sides of the clay in towards the stone so that the clay sits up around its edges and holds it in. At this point it can be further embellished with powders.
  4. Then just scoop it off your work surface using a blade and place it on your piece, maybe with just a tiny touch of liquid polymer to guarantee its adhesion.
  5. You can embellish it further here too. Just impress dots or lines into it with a needle tool, being careful not to move the clay away from the stone’s edge and lose its grip on it.

That’s it! It’s a super quick and easy bezel. It can be used on other shapes besides round too. You just have to shape the clay to the same size and shape as the stone before you press it into the clay.

By the way, you can see this quick set bezel and how I often use them in Issue #1 of The Polymer Studio in my tutorial, “Shimmering Scenery Pendants”. That same tutorial also shows you how to make an easy polymer clay frame which can readily be used as a bezel setting in addition to the techniques use for frame setting surface treated polymer sheets. Get your issue or a subscription if you don’t have it already. Single issues are only $7.95 in print, $5.95 digital, and that’s for eight detailed tutorials plus other fantastic articles. Can’t even buy one tutorial for that!

For a polymer bezel similar to traditional metalsmithing bezels, take a look at Tina Holden’s tutorial on her blog here. She shares her basic bezel and then some ways to embellish that are very easy to do but give the bezels a very rich look.

For a dainty frame bezel frame with filigree, there is this classic filigree tutorial here. If you stop after the first rim is placed on and cured, you have a bezel frame for cabochons or cut polymer sheets. But the filigree stuff is fun if you have the patience for it. The text’s English may sound a little wonky because it will be translated but it’s worth trying nonetheless.

If you want, or need, to create bezels quickly, you might want to look into purchasing Cabezel molds from Shades of Clay. These molds allow you to create a frame and a perfectly fitting cabochon for it in seconds. Once you have the basic frame molded you can expand on the setting in the area beyond the bezel frame or embellish the bezel itself so although it’s a mold, it has a lot of room for customization. Shades of Clay is a great resource for all kinds of unique polymer related supplies as well. (Keep in mind, this is a Canadian retailer, so the pricing is in Canadian dollars although Wendy does ship via USPS. To estimate what it will be in US dollars, deduct about 25%.)

Got Bezels?

Do you have any great bezels of your own? Or are you aware of any other great tutorials for polymer bezels? Leave links and comments in the comment section below. If you get the this by email click here to leave a comment. Myself and many a reader here would love to see more.

Read More

A Well Adorned Man

July 22, 2016
Posted in

Randy KMitchellI’ve never really understood why the majority of guys don’t like to wear jewelry. There are definitely masculine versions and, maybe I am partial, but I think jewelry is more expressive than a t-shirt or sports jersey to say something about you. I guess just wearing jewelry for a guy says something about that guy. So what does this huge piece say about this guy? It says he’s not shy to start with!

This is Randy, Karen Mitchell’s husband, and he seems to really like wearing the big and bold stuff she makes for him, so it wasn’t too shocking to see him show up on our Gala night in this piece. Karen is one half of AnKara Designs, which she has run with her sister Ann for 25 years now. For Eurosynergy, Ann and Karen had a slew of complex pieces to show off a variety of construction options for their “Polymer Jewelry Construction” presentation (which I didn’t get to see due to other obligations), and I can only assume this was one.

The movement of the swaying chains made for quite a dynamic piece to match Randy’s already dynamic personality. It also occurred to me that swaying chains on a guy says something quite different than it would on a woman. Here, it felt very strong and dominant, like it’s something a warrior would wear, but on a woman it would probably be more reminiscent of dancing and graceful movement. The wearer does make the piece, which is why some work seems to ‘belong’ on some people while it just falls flat on someone else. If I had not seen this on Randy, I never would have thought a guy could pull this off, but Randy sure did!

They posted a lot of their new work used in their presentation on their Facebook page, but you can also follow them and see where they are selling by going to their website.

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Read More

Anke’s Eyes

July 18, 2016
Posted in

AHumpert eyesI’m on my way home today after nearly 3 weeks in Europe. I really look forward to getting back to a regular schedule, and I will catch up will all of you who have been waiting for something from me. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of the crazy pieces and wonderful people I snapped pictures of on the last night of EuroSynergy when we got dressed up for the closing dinner.

Here is the witty piece that Anke Humpert created just for this event. If you’ve been to any polymer-centric events, you know how much time we spend checking out each other’s jewelry, so Anke thought it would be fun to have a piece that stares back. It was very entertaining, as well as surprising, and caused much laughter as she made the rounds.

Anke’s work often draws from social and environmental inspiration. You can take a look at her wide range of pieces and techniques on her website.

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Read More

Charming Collection

July 15, 2016
Posted in

DKassell creatures BLOGA little view of the charming world of Doreen Kassel who delighted us with her little characters while in the south of France. She set them up on this great wall on the back porch of the place we stayed at. Her child-like joy in creating her critters and other objects is so evident in the expressions of these pieces. She adorns them with such cheerful colors and fun details.

I wish I could write more, but I am packing to catch a train so I must be brief. I will go through my images from EuroSynergy on the train and choose some to share with you in the blog next week and in the newsletter that we’ll get out to you this weekend. For now, au reviour!

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

 

Read More

The Dumont Collection

July 13, 2016
Posted in

CDumont work

I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to not only see, live and in person, the latest work by the meticulous Christine Dumont but to see so much of it in one place. You can tell she spends hours getting every element just right, and I can only imagine how many hours she puts into developing her process in which she can achieve such perfection. The pieces here are examples for classes or are show pieces for the Fimo exhibition at Eurosynergy and not for sale, but I did get to try on and model a few for the gang and I was just in love with how they both looked and felt on. They are some truly masterful pieces of art.

Christine has not only been diligently working away on her own pieces but has continued helping others increase their creativity and exploration of design through the classes offered on Viola.eu. Take a look at the new set of courses she and Donna Greenberg are working on as well as dropping by Christine’s artist website for an eye full of her beautiful collection of work.

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Read More

A Greenberg Arrangement

July 11, 2016
Posted in

I am getting into the week of Eurosynergy and I have a completely full schedule, so while I am collecting photos of the event and the wonderful art around us, I will fill this week with images from the art shared in the week before. But I will share a ton with you next week!
DGreenberg sets

Since so many of you just loved seeing Melanie West’s table of amazing work, I took more photos of the collected works that were shared in Durfort. This lovely little arrangement, by Donna Greenberg, was taken on an old fallen wooden door which became a favorite spot for shooting images of the work we had. Donna’s organic and expressive pieces seem quite at home on the weathered background. Donna was actually telling us how she has been experimenting with photographing her work with more objects and context. That can be a tricky thing as busy backgrounds and additional objects can be distracting as the rusted hardware here is threatening to be. But if the work can hold up to it or the objects used match the piece in a subtle and supportive way, including a bit more in the images of your work can create some really eye-catching photos that will make your work stand out.

Speaking of stand out work, jump over to Donna’s website to take in the wonderful range and luscious texture of her pieces.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take photos of your work in different environments and with (or on) a variety of objects. Take a look at the photos and see if the change in surroundings works visually with your work. Does it give you any new ideas about how to photograph and show your work?

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Read More

A Table of Color

July 8, 2016
Posted in

MelWest tableI finally get to start sharing some of the things I have been seeing over here in the south of France. Yes, there has been a ton of beautiful countryside and villages to see as well as amazing textures in the moss covered rocks, old cobblestone streets, aged and worn walls, and rusting and painted iron and copper hardware. I will not bore you with the trip slides but rather, let you peek in on some of what we have been doing back at the house.

I may not have explained what it is I am doing down here. I was kindly invited to join a small group of my polymer friends and colleagues to enjoy a week of beauty and creativity in the tiny village of Durfort where the lovely La Cascade art center is located. Dayle Doroshow was the driving force behind this get-together as she owns her own little slice of France down here. The rest of us rented a house down the row from her. The days are full of creative and intellectual conversation, general silliness, and French style meals.  There has also been quite a bit of work as this was a chance for many of us to more efficiently discuss collaborative projects (mostly the business related kinds) and discuss our present direction as artists and entrepreneurs.

One of the things we have been doing to support each other has been to pull out our art, one artist a day, and discuss the work as well as the artist’s thoughts and motivations. Wednesday we had the pleasure of looking at all the gorgeous colors and impeccable finishes of Melanie West, which so works with the theme this week, so I snapped a few images for you to enjoy.

No words can express how wonderful it is to see such beautifully finished work laid out all together on a single table. It’s even more impossible to describe the delightful sensation of running one’s fingers over the velvety smoothness of these surfaces. I just wanted to pet them like they were precious little cats.

Now I have to get packing here for our trek to Bordeaux tomorrow for EuroSynergy, which starts on Sunday. My plan is to share beautiful things from there with you so keep your fingers crossed that the hotel internet cooperates! Have a beautiful, colorful weekend!

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Read More

Purple Screened

July 6, 2016
Posted in

veronica sturdy silk screenPurple is such a rich color. Its royal overtones command attention, but its not so overly energetic as its neighboring red or orange, yet not so calm as the other cool colors it is grouped with. It is easily one of my favorite colors because of this complexity and richness. And I know I am not alone. So it’s no wonder that these beautiful silk screened pieces popped out and grabbed my color-seeking attention.

Veronika Sturdy created these silk screened pieces with a range of purples and analogous colors on both sides of purple. You have to look close to see how she also complements the darker and lighter shades with a bit of black and white, but it all works together to create a subtlety energetic and commanding set of pieces.

Veronika plays so very well with color, gradation, shading, and texture that you are sure to find a bit of inspiration for yourself on her website or Flickr pages.

 

 

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

Read More

Brilliant Color

July 4, 2016
Posted in

Dio featehrs earrings cropInternet is rather spotty here in the south of France but other than reaching out to you wonderful people (and my sweetie, of course) I can’t say I am missing it all that much. I had previously picked out a few pieces to get you through the week, although I didn’t have a specific theme, just the thought of the potentially lovely color I might see here drew me to these pieces. And I certainly have seen beautiful colors from the doors and shutters on the homes in this little village to the wildflowers that fill out the fields on the side of the roads we’ve wandered down.

So, going with that simple theme, I have this older piece by Irina Oano Diacenco. It was posted in 2011 but the contrasting purple and yellow are timeless and is further helped by the rough texture that makes the colors jump and glow as they skip over the lines together.

Although Irina doesn’t seem to have anything recent online (mind you my searching was limited as my internet goes in and out here), you can catch more beautiful color combinations and textures on the blog she used to keep here.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Pick two highly contrasting colors and create a piece based around how those colors make you feel.

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay  Polymer Clay TV  NEVERknead.com

2Wards Polymer Clay  The Great Create  The Polymer Arts Subscription

_________________________________________

 

Read More
If you love these posts ...