Hello and Welcome to my Blog ~ I love art of all kinds. Two of my favorites are polymer clay and paper art. I have shops on Etsy that feature both of my passions. I also love writing my blog and finding artists that have a passion for their craft and feature them. I hope your day is filled with sunshine, laughter and loads of creativity.


Sunday, February 27, 2011

A TAD Every Day!

For the past three years, for the month of February, Polymer Clay Central has been creating a Thing A Day (TAD). This is my first year and I had a wonderful time with it.

Now let me tell you, with all that one has to do, sometimes it's hard to come up with a TAD, but I am proud of myself and ended up at the finish line. ** A big Yay for me**


Here are a few of the TAD's
that I created:

Meet Prince Fallon who is madly in love with Princess Farra. The prince is doomed however to marry someone he has never met. His parents had arranged for him to be married on his twenty-first birthday. As the prince stands waiting for his bride-to-be, he notices something oddly familiar as she walks toward him. Could it be...he wondered. The bride stood beside him heavily veiled and much taller than his beautiful Farra. Broken hearted he finished his vows, turned to his bride, lifted her veil and found that it was his one and only love ~ Princess Farra.

Okay, so that was a hokey story, told a million times before. I just couldn't resist telling it again. (LOL)

~*~~*~*~*~*~

I have always loved roses and try as I might, I couldn't make one worth a plug nickle. Well, I practiced and practiced and finally was able to make some that looked fairly decent . These little fairy houses were my guinea pigs. So here they are in all their glory showing off my roses.


~*~*~*~*~

I have also created some Imps. Kinda cute little creatures,
at least their mothers think so.





At the end of the evening, I was anxious to look at everyone's creations . Some were a work in progress and I had to wait a day or two to see the finished creation. That was a lot of fun.

One of the things I love about TAD is that it broadens your creativity and you must really think about different things you might like to create. All in all, this has been a wonderful experience for me.




Thursday, February 24, 2011

Polymer Clay Artistry by Erin Medcalf, Lilin (aka Christina) and Eugena


I Am Very Pleased To Feature
The Following Talented Clay Artists.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Erin Medcalf

About the Artist

My name is Erin "Eirewolf" Metcalf, and I'm an artist living in Silicon Valley, California. I dabble in several different mediums, but my specialty is polymer clay sculpture. I love to create animals, faeries, and fantasy creatures of all kinds. All sculptures are OOAK (one of a kind) unless otherwise explicitly stated; there will never be another piece exactly like it.

As for my other creations, I offer many of them in my Etsy and ArtFire shops.


Cloudgazer - Artwork by Erin 'Eirewolf' Metcalf

Cloudgazer is the first unicorn in my Scions of Legend™ series, inspired in part by Meredith Ann Pierce's Firebringer Trilogy. His eyes, horn, and cloven hooves are a deep indigo. His long, luxurious mane, tail, and beard are made from Tibetan lamb hair, in white and the palest of blues. He is 6 1/2 inches tall from horn to cloven toe, and about 7 inches long from horn to tail.

Grace - Artwork by Erin 'Eirewolf' Metcalf

"Grace"

Fantasy Film, Liquid Fimo, polymer clay, Micro Beedz and wire.

You can see more of this Artist's work at:

http://www.eirewolfcreations.com/?page=home

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



Lilin (aka Christina)

Austin, Texas, United States

This is my TABOUQ (left) and KOOPINK (right) butterfly inspired by D.Kato.

About the Artist:

I love arts & crafts. When I discovered Polymer Clay, I was totally hooked! As the possibilities of creating with Polymer Clay is endless, this FEVER will last for a long while...

You can see more of this Artist's work at:

http://artbylilin.blogspot.com/2008/12/butterfly.html

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eugena

One-of-a-kind polymer clay vase with gemstones and pearls

About the Artist

My name is Eugena. I am a polymer clay artist and instructor.

After playing with polymer clay for more than ten years, and I am still not tired of it! I am using polymer clay mostly for making jewelry and small decorative objects such as vases and wall decorations. My designs reflect my love of balance, elegance, and clean lines. I think polymer clay captured my attention more than any other material because of its endless possibilities. I can make it look like metal, stone, glass, porcelain, or make something completely different out of it.

I also love sharing my knowledge and polymer clay experience with other people. My background in chemistry, chemical education, and scientific writing really helps me in preparation of my polymer clay step-by-step tutorials and with my classes. I teach polymer clay hands-on classes through local polymer clay guilds, bead shops, and on-line.

If you would like to learn more about polymer clay and the techniques I am using, please refer to my tutorials and publications or consider taking one of my classes.

You can see more of this Artist's work at

http://www.eugenascreations.com/eugenasartist.html

Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Rejects...

Today you are going to go deep into my inner sanctum and see my throw-a-ways. I think we all must have them. I don't even know why I keep them much less have pictures of them, It's not like I'm proud of them or anything like that.

The face on the left was one of my very first. At the time, I thought it was pretty gorgeous! Well, I think I would get laughed out of town if I said that now. Although, it does seem to have an Egyptian flare. Ummm, does that make the difference? Nooo, I don't think so.

On to the face on the right. Wow, what was I thinking!!! Boy, I remember like it was yesterday when I took that picture and put it on picasa. I thought the program would shut down and stop working altogether. I wish there was a button I could push on that program that would say reject, then
I'd know for sure that I wasted all that clay.

They weren't all pretty faces? (LOL) as you can see by the picture of the crazy looking elf wizard. Although I had fun creating him, I was really annoyed looking at him. He just didn't have what it takes to be a wizard. Now he just sits there trying very hard to convince me that he is a wizard.

This dog is another story. I can say in all honesty, he is pretty tacky. That is if you look into his eyes. (LOL) He has a cape, does that make him super dog? I don't think so, he has a heart, does that make him lovable? I don't think so, but he does have tacks, and rightly so because he is pretty darn tacky.

Okay, this was my first attempt at making a more life-like face. I gave up after this one, pretty bad don't you agree? I even went through all the trouble of gluing on the hair. Now, she's just a head on a stick.

"Create and Learn" that's my motto. I have been creating with polymer clay since May of 2010 and have learned a lot.

Some of the best lessons I learned are:

1) Take a picture of your creation before you bake it. (because if it doesn't look good on picasa, you've wasted all your clay.)You can also hold your creation up to a mirror, it does pretty much the same thing.

2 ) Just because you think it's a good idea, doesn't make it a good idea.

3 ) Photography is everything. (Make sure your lighting is right and you have a great background, the wanna-be wizard and tacky dog do not have the right background or lighting for that matter) oops, neither does the body-less lady.

4 ) Make sure your creations are well attached. I use toothpicks and armatures with a lot of mine after having a few problems with an arm or a leg.

Happy Claying Everyone.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

One Of A Kind Clay Originals


I am very pleased to feature these wonderful Clay Artisans


The Fantasy Art of Nicole West



Picture
Winter Wonderland Tinkerbell


~In The Artist's Own Words ~

I have been an artist pretty much my whole life. Born with the gift or "calling" you might say. My mom told me that she saw it in me as a small child when I would bite animal shapes out of my toast. I was fortunate to have a mom that let me run free with my artistic muse, even as far as letting me draw murals on my bedroom wall.

I didn't have formal training in art. I took some classes here and there in high school and some college courses but never got a lot from them. I have drawn and painted much in my life, but my true muse has always been in the form of sculpture.

Here are more photos with the Winter Wonderland Tinkerbell
Her gallery on PBase.com > The Fantasy Art of Nicole West





Lunaro by Cindi Cannon

Cindy Cannon has been an artist all her life, with background varying from leather vests to dolls house miniatures. She began sculpting fantasy dolls in 2004 and Wee Beings is her online portfolio. The dolls are sculpted from polymer clay over wire armatures with lovely hand embellished costumes (although some of the clothes are on the skimpy side!). Many also come with stands which create a perfect scene for display.


Fine Doll Art ~ Sarah Niemela



These incredible polymer clay dolls are all made by Sarah Niemela. After they are sculpted she paints their faces, makes their wigs and sews their clothing.

You can find them in homes and galleries world-wide. They can also be found on her website: www.sarahniemela.com. There are more pictures of Sarah's work on her web site and blog.

She sells her wonderful creations at: finedollart.etsy.com







An Amazing Russian Doll Artist Anna Zueva




Anna Zueya was born in 1970 at Ural region, USSR and began working as a dollmaker in1990 Now her dolls are exhibited in the Parsuna Art Dolls gallery (Kiev), the Vachtanoy Gallery (Moscow) and the Art Dolls Gallery in Perm. Anna's works can also be found through private collections in Germany, Spain, Ukraine and Czechia.


Anna Zueva's dolls are beautiful in a thousand ways. There is a magical whimsy about the faces and eyes. The textures of the costumes and the sheen of the skin. I love her color combinations. They aren't naturalistic, they're stylized - yet you expect them to move at any moment.

Anna works in multi media - paper clay, paper mache, textiles, acrylics. Her website includes some video slide shows of her dolls, with lovely music, and an appearance on Russian television, without subtitles - but you can see her painting a face up. Plus she shows how the adorable little vignettes are re-arrangeable.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these wonderful Artisans as much as I do. I am in awe of their creations.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Cupids Got His Arrow Out For You



Happy Valentines Day




Today I would like to introduce you to Michelle's Clay Corner
Her darling cupid caught my attention with his impish
little smile.


Valentine Cupid - Polymer Clay Figurine - Personalized
zoom


You can visit Michelle's shop and see her other wonderful creations at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/65123597/valentine-cupid-polymer-clay-figurine



✻´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´✻ Michelle loves working with polymer clay! She enjoys creating her own designs just as much as working with a customer to create a one-of-a-kind piece for their special occasion. She loves what she does and believes you'll see that in her work.


She started out with a couple of instructional books on making polymer clay figurines and got hooked on it several years ago. All these creative ideas were swirling around in her mind and one by one she started sculpting them. She began with some gingerbread figurines and moved on to angels. All were made as gifts for people at first. With encouragement from family and friends, she continued on and eventually opened her Etsy Shop.
My One And Only


Roger, who was 19 years old, was buying an expensive bracelet, to surprise his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, at a very smart jeweller's shop in Hatton Garden, London.
The jeweller inquired, 'Would you like your girlfriend's name engraved on it?'
Roger thought for a moment, grinned, then answered, 'No, instead engrave "To my one and only love".'
The jeweller smiled and said, 'Yes, sir; how very romantic of you.'
Roger retorted with a glint in his eye, 'Not exactly romantic, but very practical. This way, if we break up, I can use it again.'


Candy Love
Four-year-old Sam loved candy almost as much as his mom Sally did. He and Daddy had given her a beautiful heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. A few days later Sam was eying it, wishing to have a piece of it. As he reached out to touch one of the big pieces, Sally said to him, "If you touch it, then you have to eat it. Do you understand?"
"Oh, yes," he said, nodding his head. Suddenly his little hand patted the tops of all the pieces of candy. "Now I can eat them all."


A Wonderful Gift
A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day. What do you think it means?"


"You'll know tonight," he said.


That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--only to find a book entitled "The meaning of dreams".


Making the Grade
My high-school English teacher was well known for being a fair, but hard, grader. One day I received a B minus on a theme paper. In hopes of bettering my grade and in the spirit of the valentine season, I sent her an extravagant heart-shaped box of chocolates with the pre-printed inscription: “BE MINE.” The following day, I received in return a valentine from the teacher. It read: “Thank you, but it’s still BE MINE-US.” – Contributed by Brad Wilcox
Read All About It


Every Valentine’s Day our campus newspaper has a section for student messages. Last year my roommate surprised his girlfriend with roses and dinner at a fancy restaurant. When they returned from their date, she leafed through the paper to see if he had written a note to her. Near the bottom of one page she found: “Bonnie — What are you looking here for? Aren’t dinner and flowers enough? Love, Scott.” – Contributed by Richard B. Blackwell

Brain Candy Valentine's Trivia

15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.
73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged each year. That's the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.
Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, an "Improvement in Telegraphy", on Valentine's Day, 1876.
California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the vast number sold on Valentine's Day in the United States are imported, mostly from South America. Approximately 110 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period.
Cupid, another symbol of Valentines Day, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards holding a bow and arrows because he is believed to use magical arrows to inspire feelings of love.
During the late 1800s, postage rates around the world dropped, and the obscene St. Valentine's Day card became popular, despite the Victorian era being otherwise very prudish. As the numbers of racy valentines grew, several countries banned the practice of exchanging Valentine's Days cards. During this period, Chicago's post office rejected more than 25,000 cards on the grounds that they were so indecent, they were not fit to be carried through the U.S. mail.
During the Middle Ages, the belief that birds chose their mates on St. Valentine's Day led to the idea that boys and girls would do the same. Up through the early 1900s, the Ozark hill people in the eastern United States thought that birds and rabbits started mating on February 14, a day for them which was not only Valentine's Day but Groundhog Day as well.
February 14, 270 A.D. : Roman Emperor Claudius II, dubbed "Claudius the Cruel," beheaded a priest named Valentine for performing marriage ceremonies. Claudius II had outlawed marriages when Roman men began refusing to go to war in order to stay with their wives.
Hallmark has over 1330 different cards specifically for Valentine's Day.
Humorous valentines of the 19th century were called "Vinegar Valentines" or "Penny Dreadfuls." Vinegar Valentines were introduced in 1858 by John McLaughin, a Scotsman with a New York City Publishing Business. Penny Dreadfuls with comic designs drawn in 1870 by American cartoonists Charles Howard became known as Penny Dreadfuls.
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
In the United States, 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.
In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine's Day card.
In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday.
On February 14, 1779, Captain James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, was murdered by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group.
One single perfect red rose framed with baby's breath is referred to by some florists as a "signature rose," and is the preferred choice for many for giving on Valentine's Day, anniversary, or birthday.
Only the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the U.K. celebrate Valentine's Day.
Sir Alexander Fleming was a young bacteriologist when an accidental discovery led to one of the great developments of modern medicine. Having left a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, Fleming noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria. He identified the mold as penicillium notatum, similar to the kind found on bread. On February 14, 1929, Fleming introduced his mold by-product called penicillin to cure bacterial infections.
Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts. Children ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine's cards with teachers, classmates, and family members.
The "I Love You" computer virus was detected in Hong Kong on May 1, 2000. In four days the virus had mutated into three different generations. Figures by Trend Micro Inc. showed that "I Love You" had infected 3.1 million computers worldwide.
The 17th century a hopeful maiden ate a hard-boiled egg and pinned five bay leaves to her pillow before going to sleep on Valentine's eve. It was believed this would make her dream of her future husband.
The ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses on February 14. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.
The Empire State Building in New York City played a prominent role in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. This year 15 couples will take (or renew) their vows on the 80th floor of this famous landmark.
The first American publisher of valentines was printer and artist Esther Howland. During the 1870s, her elaborate lace cards were purchased by the wealthy, as they cost a minimum of 5 dollars - some sold for as much as 35 dollars. Mass production eventually brought prices down, and the affordable "penny valentine" became popular with the lower classes.
The first photograph of a U.S. President was taken on February 14, 1849 by Matthew Brady in New York City. President James Polk was the subject of the famous picture. .
The first televised tour of the White House aired on February 14 in 1962. First Lady Jackie Kennedy hosted the tour.
The heart is the most common symbol of romantic love. Ancient cultures believed the human soul lived in the heart. Others thought it to be the source of emotion and intelligence. Some believed the heart embodied a man's truth, strength and nobility. The heart may be associated with love because the ancient Greeks believed it was the target of Eros, known as Cupid to the Romans. Anyone shot in the heart by one of Cupid's arrows would fall hopelessly in love. Because the heart is so closely linked to love, it's red colour is thought to be the most romantic.
The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day.
The Kama Sutra is believed to be the oldest sex manual in existence. Generally considered the standard work on love in Sanskrit literature, the book is thought to have been written around 300 A.D.
The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife, who died in childbirth. Work on the Taj began in 1634 and continued for almost 22 years. required the labor of 20,000 workers from all over India and Central Asia.
The oldest known Valentines were sent in 1415 A.D. by the Duke of Orleans to his French wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It is still on display in a museum in England.
The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C. It was unromantically named Istanbul #2461 by the archeologists who unearthed it.
The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red stands for strong feelings which is why a red rose is a flower of love.
Valentine's Day is big business. Consumers will spend an average of $77.43 on Valentine's Day gifts this year. E-commerce retailers expect to rack up about $650 million in sales of food, candy, flowers, and other Valentine's Day gifts. Of that amount about $350 million will be for gifts and flowers and another $45 million will be spent on food (including chocolate) and wine.
Wearing a wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand dates back to ancient Egypt, where it was believed that the vein of love ran from this finger directly to the heart.
A ring has been included in wedding ceremonies since the 12th century. Pope Innocent the Third ordained that marriages had to take place in church and that a wedding ring should be exchanged during the service.
In England, the Romans, who had taken over the country, had introduced a pagan fertility festival held every February 14. After the Romans left England, nearly a century later, the pagan ritual was abolished by Pope Gelsius who established St. Valentine's Day as a celebration of love in 496 A.D.
In America, the pilgrims sent confections, such as sugar wafers, marzipan, sweetmeats and sugar plums, to their betrothed. Great value was placed on these gifts because they included what was then a rare commodity, sugar. After the late 1800's, beet sugar became widely used and more available, and sweet gifts continued to be valued and enjoyed.
Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world's almonds and 20 percent of the world's peanuts.

February 14th Weddings of famous and historic people


February 14, 1974, The Captain and Tennille were married.
February 14, 1984, Elton John and Renate Blauel
February 14, 1991, Leeza Gibbons, talk show queen & Stephen Meadows
February 14, 1991, Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid
February 14, 1994 Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia (51) wed Deborah Koons
February 14, 1996, Prince/The Artist married Mayte Garcia.
February 14, 1998, Sharon Stone & Phil Bronstein, San Francisco Examiner Executive Editor. They had 120 guests including Melanie Griffith & James woods, who thought they were coming for a Valentine's party at Sharon's estate. Gospel Choir sang "Amazing Grace" And the groom following Jewish custom broke a glass underfoot. Sharon wore a pink bias-cut Vera Wang gown.
February 14, 1999 Actress Diane Ladd & Robert Charles Hunter (Della Reese, Touched by an Angel, performed the ceremony)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Polymer Clay Artists - Kids Style


Today I am featuring some very talented Polymer Clay Artists.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.


JoshuaClaybanner_small.jpg (35787 bytes)




Joshua Burkhardt began sculpting with polymer clay at age 9. He became an entrepreneur at the age of 10, an instructor at age 11 and an author at age 12.

His talent was discovered in 1998 at age nine. Joshua’s talents and media publicity soon gave him the opportunity of being a Life size iguana scuplted by Joshua that is mounted on a piece of drift wood.ten year old entrepreneur.

He has been commissioned to do many original sculptures such as dogs, birds, opossums, flamingos, Indians, iguanas, lion fish and more. His best selling sculpture is still the simplistic Nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and shepherd kneeling at the side of Baby Jesus.

You can read more about Joshua and see his wonderful creations at the following link: http://www.joshclay.com/about_joshua.html


GARIE SIMS POLYMER CLAY
PROJECT BOOK FOR CHILDREN


"GOT CLAY CAN PLAY"



Author And His Student

An artist, designer and teacher in Singapore, Garie is a self-taught clayman. He has been making models from Plasticine since he was a child. Since his discovery of the versatility of Polymer clay in the early 1980s, he has created lots of clay miniatures for his own children.

Garie created the world's smallest teddy bear and other smallest item in polymer clay, tested the clay in water and combined it with other materials like magnets, film spool, ping-pong balls etc. to create toys, gifts, jewelry and crafts.

Garie's years of research and experiments started the controversial technique of microwaving polymer clay and the technique of shrinking styrofoam with polymer clay to create clay containers.

With Garie's experiments and testing of liquid clays , new techniques were created. Some of the new techniques were, liquid clay paints, realistic miniature cake that are added with baking soda and many others. http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/miniature_cake.htm



Below are two more of Garie's young students pictured
with their wonderful creations.




You can see more of Garie's wonderful work at:
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/index.html

and more of his students work at:

I would like to introduce you to Isabelle Dorr who is a 10 years old and creates happy little clay critters on her card table in the corner of her parents house.

Her mom and dad supervise her activities on Etsy and have given her permission to sell some of her precious little creations. Isabelle's shop is called Glowbies & Friends and you can visit her at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Glowbies?ref=pr_shop


Monday, February 7, 2011

We wouldn't have Fimo Clay if it weren't for Fifi

If you didn't know the history of Fimo Polymer Clay,
you will be as surprised as I was at how it came about.

It all began in 1939

In her search for a new material to use for her dolls' heads, the well-known doll maker Kaethe Kruse begins experimenting with a new substance.










FIMO history - Kaethe Kruse
















As the material turns out to be unsuitable for serial production, her daughter Sophie does some experimenting of her own with it, mixing pastes and colours into it and then kneading it into whole variety of shapes and objects. She uses the material to create vases, mosaics, pictures, miniatures, figures and toys. Sophie Rehbinder-Kruse sums up her philosophy as follows: ‘‘Mankind instinctively wants to model things; it is his way of cherishing and preserving something dear to him”. As a result, she goes on to develop her first modeling clay kit in 1954.
She created the brand name FIMOIK by using the first two letters of her nickname ‘Fifi’, the Mo’ from modeling clay and the final letters of ‘mosaic’, one of her favorite techniques.
It wasn't until 1964 that Rehbinder sold the formula to Eberhard Faber. The manufacturer tweaked the formula dropped the "IK" and renamed it FIMO.

Can you imagine ~ It took a few more decades before polymer clay began to catch on as an art medium

Sculpey
In the mid 1960s, Zenith Products Company in the United States "accidentally" created its own variety of polymer clay. The company developed "Polyform" in hopes of using it as a thermal transfer compound. While it didn't work in its intended industrial capacity, a young visitors interest illustrated that the product had great potential as an arts and crafts medium. (The owner's daughter sculpted an elephant from the clay.) "Polyform" was the original version of what is now known as "Sculpey". Though the white Polyform/Sculpey was sold as early as 1967, it didn't get its present-day brilliant line of colors until 1984. Until that time, artists had to add their own pigments to colorize the clay. polyform products began manufacturing an American polymer clay (the Sculpey and ProMat line of products) and in the late 1990s, polyform introduced their Premo line . With this line came the first, strong and truly translucent polymer clay, and in 2003, renowned polymer clay artist Donna Kato introduced her own line of polymer clay.

"A Thing a Day"
For the past three years Polymer Clay Central has held a "Thing a Day" for the month of February. This is my first year to do this and I am having such a great time with it. At the end of the day, it is so much fun to see what everyone has created.
Below are a few creations that I have created for TAD


Little Imp ~ Big Heart
This little polymer clay Imp has a big heart and very tiny wings. As it is, he can't get very high off the ground and with this big heart he's carrying around it's utterly impossible. I created him with polymer clay and large glass beads for eyes.


Pearly Puffy Pendant with Fish Bail
I created this pendant with white polymer clay and embellished with a swirly stamp and gold mica powder.
I thought the fish bail was a perfect fit for this creation.


Blue Beaded Heart

To create this pendant, I made a heart out of black clay, filled it with blue/green beads, then used clear embossing powder as a fixative.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Three Of My Favorite Polymer Clay Artisans

Their creations are exquisite to say the least. I wanted to feature them because they have changed the world of polymer clay with their awesome creations.


Fimo Gecko Papa ~ by Jon Anderson



His astonishing Fimo Creations Polymer Clay animal sculptures offer a unique expression of the beauty of nature, created by hand in polymer clay to produce breathtaking multicolored pieces that blend the influence of organic forms and timeless folk-art traditions with upscale contemporary style and immaculate attention to detail.

Each elephant, frog, gecko, turtle, snake, cat, wolf, polar bear, buffalo, horse or duck polymer clay piece has its own look - no two fimo sculptures are exactly alike. Every image from the wild boasts its own array of colors and shapes, and is sure to please dedicated collectors and hobbyist nature fans alike. You can view more of his creations

at: http://www.swdecor.com/jon-stuart-anderson.htm








Alligator Shoe ~ by Katherine Dewey



Literally translated, the word leprechaun means "he who makes one left shoe". Made for the Kato Polyclay "Feet of Clay" exhibit at the 2004 Hobby Industry Association convention, this Alligator Slipper brought out the leprechaun in me. Size 6, made for the left foot, this shoe is one of a kind and is currently in a traveling exhibition.





purchased by exhibitor






Elvenwork is the name for the direct sculptures artist Katherine Dewey who has been creating for more than 30 years. Her medium is polymer clay, with which she brings to life fanciful, exquisitely detailed sculptures of elves, fairies, and gnomes of every description. Her six to eight-inch figures are so finely detailed they maintain their qualities even when viewed through jeweler's lenses. Look for her book, "Creating Life-Like Animals in Polymer Clay", published by North Light Books in March, 2000 and see her latest book, "Creating Life like Figures" available everywhere! Katherine is featured in most polymer clay forums and web sites. You can view more of her work at: http://www.elvenwork.com/elvsamp1.html




Fantasy Fairys ~ By Sue Heaser


"Tiny fairies with gossamer wings and petal dresses show that polymer clays such as Fimo and Cernit can produce extremely delicate results. These fairies are about an inch tall, and are made to sit neatly on a right-angle edge, a leaf, or even on a silk flower. Alternatively, they can be made standing up. They make irresistible gifts for anyone with a weakness for tiny things, and positioned in a secret corner of a dollhouse, they add a little sparkle of magic!"


You can see more of her work at:


http://www.sueheaser.com/

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Valentines Day is Fast Approaching

There are several versions of how Valentines day came about,
but the following two I found the most interesting.

The beginning, according to Belorussian oral tradition, states that the original Saint Valentine was spurned by the female he had chosen to court. Anguished, he cut out his own heart and sent it, still beating to her, as a testimony of his undying love.

Undying Love? (LOL) I don't think so!

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers and outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Okay, I am seeing that Death was a precursor to Valentines Day, but today we don't connect it with death, we all know it as the day of love.

With Valentines Day fast approaching, you are probably in a polymer clay frenzy whipping up some hearts. Click this link and you will see some pretty awesome hearts all made with polymer clay.





Do you Remember those Vintage Valentine Cards?



How fun they were to give to your friends in elementary school. We would decorate a big box and for days before the Valentines party we would be filling it with the cards. We couldn't wait until the big day came and all the cards were handed out. Sometimes I'd get a card that wasn't signed and I'd wonder if that cute little boy might have sent it to me. Some of the cards had candy hearts enclosed, boy were they ever special.


These beautiful candy boxes were created with polymer clay
by some very talented Etsy Artisans




Valentine Polymer Clay Cupid Candy Box Brooch
From PinLady

A Valentine Cupid Candy Box Brooch Clay BY Raquel PINLADY

Valentine Key to my Heart Box

From MandarinMoon

Valentine Key to My Heart Trinket Keepsake Box
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Valentine Key to My Heart Trinket Keepsake Box Valentine Key to My Heart Trinket Keepsake Box Valentine Key to My Heart Trinket Keepsake Box Valentine Key to My Heart Trinket Keepsake Box Valentine Key to My Heart Trinket Keepsake Box

Box of Candy Pin

From artsdaughter

Box of Candy Pin -v078