September's theme is the "little black ball"
challenge. Everyone had to started with a 1-inch black ball of clay that remained recognizable in the final piece. As an added twist, members were asked to choose a technique or something discussed in The Polymer Arts magazine or blog published by fellow member Sage Bray who is the feature artist on the PCAGOE Facebook page right now.
Vote for your favorites. Three lucky voters will be chosen in a drawing to win a gift certificate from one of our sponsor shops.
1. Chopped Metallic Polymer Pen with Black Ball No. 142
by Susan of 11BOLDstreet
This
pen with stand expands upon an idea that I floated past Sage Bray and
which was included in The Polymer Arts, Spring '12 issue. Instead of
only chopped translucent polymer, this piece utilized metallics and leaf
to adorn the black ball starting point. Happy Anniversary, TPA! See more about this piece at http://www.11boldstreet.com/2014/08/pcagoe-little-black-ball-challenge.html
2.Black and White Swirls Polymer Clay Boxby Angela of polymerclaycreationsThis is a collectible box handmade from 100% polymer clay, covered with a technique I like to call faux silkscreen mokume gane. 3. Black Pearlby Line of PlaySculptLive The seashell is a mokume gane cane made of pearl green, pearl blue, purple and
black. I covered the black pearl with iridescent mica powders and sanded
a bit off of the top to show the black through. The sea foam is from a
neat trick I learned from a fellow sculptor. Read more:http://playsculptlive.blogspot.ca/2014/08/a-little-black-pearl.html 4. Fan Pullby Jill of JKollmann Fan Pull for the September Little Black Ball Challenge and inspired by TPA articles on repetition, flow, caning and contrast.
5. Black and White Impressions by Lisa of HiGirls
I chose to slice up my little
black ball, as well as add natural texture. The Polymer Arts issue I
was inspired by was Fall 2013 "Plein Air Polymer". Using impressions of
leaves on white polymer followed by a wash of black tinted liquid clay,
I achieved a ceramic look for the white disks. The little black ball
has been textured using the very spiky center of a purple cone flower. For more views: www.flickr.com/photos/39493796@N08/14983816372/
6. Filigree Swirls Decanter and Bottle Stopperby Arlene of Ashpaints The
Little Black Ball required for this challenge is actually the ball on
the bottle stopper. But it was lonely by itself, so I created a
decanter covered with filigree swirls inspired by Sage Bray's blog post
on May 21: Monochromatic Intricacy (http://www.thepolymerarts.com/blog/monochromatic-intricacy/)
7. Black Ball Challenge Mandala Ornamentby Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns A 1" black polymer ball is the
center base for this mandala ornament. The mandala is constructed of
polymer, dowel supports, and liquid polymer coated cotton thread. This
piece was inspired by two blog posts from The Polymer Arts Daily Blog,
one on mandalas and another on repetition. For better photos and to read
more about the creation of this piece, visit my blog here: http://createmyworlddesigns.blogspot.com/2014/08/11th-hour-work-sessions-and-other.html
She's been the featured artist on our PCAGOE Facebook page for the past two weeks.
Lorraine lives in Delray Beach, FL. Living in South Florida lends
inspiration to this artist's creations with the execution of playful,
colorful pendant and beads which she
then incorporates into jewelry pieces. With a graphic artist background,
Lorraine's jewelry designs are clean and bold with a tropical flair.
About her polymer journey, Lorraine says this: "6 years ago I decided I
needed to find something to do creatively that wasn't like my day job as
a graphic artist. I needed time away from the computer. So, I took a
local wire-wrapping class...and fell in love. Soon after, I was browsing
in the book store for jewelry making instructional books and picked up a
book on polymer clay. I fell in love again. I bought a few blocks
of clay and some cheap tools and got to work. I'll never forget the
first time I created a design using the mokume gane technique. I could
hardly wait to try other colors and stamps."
Lorraine opened a
two other etsy shops in recent years, one called
MySchoolJewels…dedicated to fun jewelry for the avid college or school
fan. And the second called LOVOBeads dedicated to handcrafted beads and jewelry components.
Muy buenos trabajos, difícil decisión elegir solo 3. Suerte a las participantes. Saludos cordiales
Such beautiful work to all but I can only choose three,:)
All the work you do is amazing wow!!
I
like the idea of this challenge and the really useful items caught my
eye. Decorative is nice, but not really what I think of as "for the
home", which I took to mean something you would USE. They are all
beautiful.
Very creative and beautiful entries.
Great work done by all
Beautiful, beautiful and y'all are very talented!
Love the colors on the teapot !
Love the creative artwork.
This time it was a real challenge to choose my favorites... They're all so wonderful.
This one was especially hard to choose, I love them all!
Great.
All these creations are wonderful! Well done everyone!
Great work ladies.
The Revolving Bottle Stopper Art Display is a perfect gift for a collector.
Great work to all.
Incredible
work as always. Everyone has put an amazing amount of thought and
effort into each piece and it is obvious. Thank you for your
contributions during the summer months. I enjoy voting during this time
as well as during the winter.
This
challenge brought a nice verity of projects !! I loved that #5 was
artistic, useful, and recycled items into the design. Great Job.
These were beautiful, creative and stimulating. Makes me want to get into the studio for about 10 hours.
It was very hard to pick just three items. All entries are winners.
I look forward to the monthly challenges and how each participating member interprets the theme selected for the month.
Very beautiful works.
Very diverse selection!
I'm
in love with those songbirds, they're so delicate. If only I think of
using eggshells I would be afraid I'd break them. The colors of this
soap dish are magnificent, thanks for showing! and last, but not least, I
do love precious teapots. This Balinese one would suit my collection
;-)
Sometimes I am just left speechless by all the beautiful claying. Thanx.
I could just see my co-worker's daughter's picture in the frame #7.
All
of the items are so beautiful. As usual, it is difficult to choose.
Each of you has a unique style. I do love the bright colors!!!
Such talent! Love seeing all the creative ways of using clay!
This was a hard choice to make - you all do such beautiful work.
There are some very fine entries here, it's hard to choose.
So many great ideas this month!
As usual, very hard to choose just three!
Incredible creativity and design!
I am amazed to see all the different items that can be made from polymer clay! All the entries are such wonderful pieces of art!
Love the variety! Tough choices once again, everything is so well done!
PCAGOE featured artist for the weeks of August 4th
through August 17th.
(View her work featured on our Facebook page throughout this time period.)
Linda has lived in New York all of her life,
calling Smithtown (on the North shore of Long Island) home. She is
proud of both her state and the big city
of Manhattan. Linda has been working with polymer for many years,
since retiring from work at Stony Brook Hospital. Linda is well known
for her impeccable image transfers, gorgeous floral cane work and
flawless finishing. Linda says this about her polymer clay pursuits:
"About ten years ago a friend invited me to a craft session. She was
using polymer clay. I was so intrigued, I went and purchased some that
very day. Since that time, I have been claying, teaching and loving
every minute of my new found passion."
Find more of Linda's work at these online locations:
