It's Hip to be Square and other things

My most recent post was about Sharon Solly and her use of Kato liquid clay as a finish for her polymer pieces. Yesterday, Sharon spent some time getting acquainted with the new colored Kato liquid and I just had to share a photo of her results. I love everything about these pieces - the colors, the shape, the dots, the cut-outs, the subtle shading around the edges - fabulous eye candy to end the week!

For some reason, I couldn't find the colored liquid clay on Donna's retail site but, I know it's available in several different colors if you're interested in trying it for yourself. And, here's some exciting news! Donna's long-awaited DVD is finally finished! Tips, Tricks, & Techniques in Polymer Clay is a 2-disc set with 3 1/2 hours of claying goodness and you can order it now through Prairie Craft. Donna also has some beautiful pieces of jewelry for sale here but I'm betting they won't last long.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, talented, and gorgeous son Daniel who turns 18 years old today!

This is art!

This pin by Asheville, North Carolina's Sharon Solly is such a cool and funky piece of jewelry. Although it's not made of polymer clay, I wanted to include it in this post because it shows her versatility as an artist. She's adept at rubber stamping, mixed media, beading, polymer clay, and many other areas of artistic expression. I first met Sharon when I traveled to Asheville to teach a workshop for her guild and I was so impressed by her use of Kato liquid clay as a finish on many of her polymer clay pieces.
These cabs are made with Lumiere paints,mica powders and Kato liquid. I believe she said she followed the directions that Donna posted here when she described how she got this wonderful glass-like effect. Since I've seen Sharon's work in person, I can attest to the fact that it's just as spectacular in person as it appears in these photos.

Before I went to Asheville, I had been experimenting with using fibers in polymer clay and I was thrilled to discover that Sharon had been working with the same material. I blogged about a pendant I made here and the photo above shows the incredible results that Sharon's achieved through her own experiments with these fibers. I have it on excellent authority that the June 2008 issue of Polymer Cafe will contain an article by Sharon on exactly how she makes these beautiful pieces. So, if you've let your subscription lapse, this would be the perfect time to renew. And, just in case you need another reason, Tammy Garner, who I blogged about last week, will also have an article in that issue.

It appears that "Imagine Uncommon Things" has evolved into a weekly blog at this point. Since I don't seem to have a succinct bone in my body, it's become pretty time consuming to write these long posts more than once a week. So, I'll still be here, just maybe not as often.

A Peace of Art

What do you get when you combine a love of color and texture, fabulous artistic ability, great design sense, a big heart, and a hippie chick with a wonderful sense of humor all into one package? You get Tammy Garner, of course!

Tammy, who lives right here in my hometown, has been working with polymer clay for about 13 years. She's one of those fearless people who can jump in and immerse themselves in most any medium and master it effortlessly. In just the past few years, I've watched her add metal clay, resin, enameling, beading, and metal working to her bag of tricks and her work continues to evolve in a wonderful way.
In addition to creating such beautiful artwork, Tammy is a wonderful and inspiring teacher who offers classes in both beginning and advanced metal clay and mixed media. She's also the author of the upcoming Metal Clay in a Day, a book that combines metal clay with polymer, resin, and other mixed media. I've had a sneak peek at many of the projects and I can tell you they're all beautiful, interesting, and accessible. You won't need lots of expensive tools and equipment, just the patience to wait until June when it's available.

I'm feeling a bit guilty for being so neglectful of this blog recently. I've just had lots to do and sometimes life gets in the way. I'm looking forward to an afternoon of doing nothing but working with clay. Hope you get a chance to do the same thing soon!