April 2016 Challenge winners "Flowers"

Top entries selected by the public

1. White floral covered candy dish by Lisa of HiGirls 

2. 3-way tie

Flowers Ring Bowl by Arlene of HarrisonHollow

A rose by any other name... by Brandee of Brandee Blank Art

Printemps Bowl by Berit of ClayImages

3. 2-way tie 

Tulip Flower Challenge pcagoe by Line of PlaySculptLive

Poppy Love Necklace by Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns

Top entries selected by members

1. Tulip Flower Challenge pcagoe by Line of PlaySculptLive 

2. Poppy Love Necklace by Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns

3. A rose by any other name... by Brandee of Brandee Blank Art

View all of the entries:

http://polymerclayartists.blogspot.com/2016/03/april-2016-challenge-flowers.html

Congratulations to the drawing winner:  Amber Bowman

You get to pick a prize from one of our lovely participating sponsor shop owners.

Comments from the voters:

• Hard to choose because they are all wonderfully done! Well done Ladies!!
• Such awesome entries, really great work all the way.
• There are so many great designs I wish I could vote for more. I changed my mind a few time along the way. I have found that if I take the time to visit the web sites and get a personal account of the design that helps a lot.
• Beautiful artwork! I had a hard time deciding on just three :)
• Hard to pick ...they are all wonderful!
• It was a difficult choice as they were all great quality.
• You guys never stop amazing me. It is very difficult to choose one over another. They are all beautiful. I appreciate all you hard work.
• It was hard to choose a favorite among these beautiful pieces!
• Why is there not an option where everyone comes first?!! This is the first time I've never been able to easily decide who to choose for the first three and even then I wanted them all to be first.
• Absolutely gorgeous work by everyone!!
• This was a really, really, REALLY difficult choice...
• All are beautiful.
• I like the organic feel of my choices.
• I think this one is the hardest to choose from ever! All the entries blew me away.
• Beautiful work!
• Beautiful work!
• So hard to choose. Everyone did so well!
• Loved the entries this month. Such variety in wearable, vessels, stained glass. I'm sorry only three choices ladies. I appreciated very much all of the thought and hard work that went into each creation. Beautiful entries this month!
• Loved the simplicity of #7
• There were so many beautiful items here this time, it was really hard to pick just three.
• Wish I could have picked all of them, they're all so lovely! Superb showing, ladies!
• Great April theme and so many beautiful entries--I like them all!
• This is the best challenge in a long time, so many fabulous entries and everyone keeps getting better and better. Tough choices to be made, again.

April 2016 Challenge - Flowers

For April we are featuring Flowers. Vote for your top 3 favorites. One lucky voter will be chosen in a drawing to win a gift certificate from one of our sponsor shops.

To see larger images visit:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1089891@N25/

1. White floral covered candy dish by Lisa of HiGirls 

PCAGOE April Challenge: Flowers
Small glass bowl covered with lots of floral texture and hand sculpted flowers in white with a touch of buttery yellow. HiGirls on Etsy

2. Printemps Bowl by Berit of ClayImages

This little bowl (4 inches in diameter) is a combination of three of my favorite things: bright colors, millefiori caning and vessels. The flower petal cane slices are in keeping with this months theme for the PCAGOE challenge.

3. Flowers Ring Bowl by Arlene of HarrisonHollow.

This ring bowl started as a stack of canes and a small glass bowl. The bowl is only used as a form to build the ring bowl on. The canes are sliced thin then pressed onto the glass bowl to create the pattern. The design is actually worked in reverse.

Three different canes were used in different sizes. The dramatic central flower starts with a spiral cane which is circled with thin slices from a petal cane. The next round is leaves and more of the spiral cane filling in between the leaves. The last row is the same petal cane, just reduced to fit filling in between the leaf canes. Once all the canes are in place, an acrylic rod is used to smooth to a level surface.

After curing, a layer of textured clay is added to the "outside" of the bowl and three "bun" feet were created out of the same clay as was used for the outside. A log of color coordinated clay is wrapped around the top edge of the bowl and texture is added. After curing, an acrylic antiquing glaze is used to bring out the texture in the rim and the outside surface. And wa-lah! Your ring bowl is ready to use.

4. Faux Stained Glass Votive Holder by Angela of PolymerClayCreations 
This was made by "drawing" the solder lines with silver clay and then filling in with tinted liquid clay. It took forever to make because each panel had to be made and baked before I could do the next one.

5. Polymer Pansy by Marie of MarieYoungCreative

I created this flower by shaping the petals by hand from purple and white clay with a dot of yellow. Black paint was used to shade the edges. It is about 3 inches long.

6. Whimsical Flowers and Vase by Betsy of StrebeDesigns

In the past year I have come to know and be inspired by the work of several polymer clay mixed media artists. So when the time came to create an entry for the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE) April challenge "Flowers", I knew right away I would sculpt and paint flowers, leaves and a vase.  The arrangement is about 12" tall. For the mixed media artists who inspire me and more views visit my blog  http://strebedesigns.blogspot.com/2016/03/whimsical-flowers-and-vase.html

7. Carly's Rose  by Freda of FredaK

My granddaughter admired this so it's hers now.

8. Flower Bottle in Orange with Pink Stopper  by Jackie of ThePleasantPheasant

Created for the April PCAGOE Flowers challenge, this bright orange and pink bottle with bright flower really pops!

9. A rose by any other name... by Brandee of Brandee Blank Art
BrandeeBlank.com:: Rose necklace submitted for the PCAGOE monthly challenge

10.  Tulip Flower Challenge pcagoe by Line of PlaySculptLive
http://playsculptlive.blogspot.ca/2016/03/its-flower-power.html

11. Pink Silver Abstract Petal earrings No. 187  by Susan of 11BOLDstreet

The Flowers Challenge is a personal challenge, as I love flowers but seldom interpret them in polymer. From two Skinner blends, I created petal shapes, reinforcing the top element with impressions and antiquing. The petals, plus Swarovski crystals, sterling and hematite beads dangle from a hefty sterling cap. 4" overall drop.

12. Pressed Flowers in Polymer by Jill of JKollmann
Cane slices applied in layers applied to the focal and smoothed, then left dimensional on the bail and accent beads.

13. Poppy Love Necklace by Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns

Polymer clay & wire, wrap style necklace. To read the history and process behind this piece, please visit my blog post: createmyworlddesigns.blogspot.com/2016/03/poppy-love.html

Read the expanded rules here.

Full Name (required for voter prize notification):
Email Address (Required for voter prize notification, you will not be sent other e-mails unless you sign up for our e-mail list):
For current Dues-Paying PCAGOE Members: What is Your Etsy Shop Name?
Please select your 1st choice: (2nd & 3rd choice must be different from your 1st.)	1. White floral covered candy dish by Lisa of HiGirls 2. Printemps Bowl by Berit of ClayImages 3. Flowers Ring Bowl by Arlene of HarrisonHollow 4. Faux Stained Glass Votive Holder by Angela of PolymerClayCreations 5. Polymer Pansy by Marie of MarieYoungCreative 6. Whimsical Flowers and Vase by Betsy of StrebeDesigns 7. Carly's Rose by Freda of FredaK 8. Flower Bottle in Orange with Pink Stopper by Jackie of ThePleasantPheasant 9. A rose by any other name... by Brandee of Brandee Blank Art 10. Tulip Flower Challenge pcagoe by Line of PlaySculptLive 11. Pink Silver Abstract Petal earrings No. 187 by Susan of 11BOLDstreet 12. Pressed Flowers in Polymer by Jill of JKollmann 13. Poppy Love Necklace by Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns
Please select your 2nd choice: (2nd choice must be different from your 1st and 3rd.)	1. White floral covered candy dish by Lisa of HiGirls 2. Printemps Bowl by Berit of ClayImages 3. Flowers Ring Bowl by Arlene of HarrisonHollow 4. Faux Stained Glass Votive Holder by Angela of PolymerClayCreations 5. Polymer Pansy by Marie of MarieYoungCreative 6. Whimsical Flowers and Vase by Betsy of StrebeDesigns 7. Carly's Rose by Freda of FredaK 8. Flower Bottle in Orange with Pink Stopper by Jackie of ThePleasantPheasant 9. A rose by any other name... by Brandee of Brandee Blank Art 10. Tulip Flower Challenge pcagoe by Line of PlaySculptLive 11. Pink Silver Abstract Petal earrings No. 187 by Susan of 11BOLDstreet 12. Pressed Flowers in Polymer by Jill of JKollmann 13. Poppy Love Necklace by Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns
Please select your 3rd choice: (3rd choice must be different from your 1st and 2nd.)	1. White floral covered candy dish by Lisa of HiGirls 2. Printemps Bowl by Berit of ClayImages 3. Flowers Ring Bowl by Arlene of HarrisonHollow 4. Faux Stained Glass Votive Holder by Angela of PolymerClayCreations 5. Polymer Pansy by Marie of MarieYoungCreative 6. Whimsical Flowers and Vase by Betsy of StrebeDesigns 7. Carly's Rose by Freda of FredaK 8. Flower Bottle in Orange with Pink Stopper by Jackie of ThePleasantPheasant 9. A rose by any other name... by Brandee of Brandee Blank Art 10. Tulip Flower Challenge pcagoe by Line of PlaySculptLive 11. Pink Silver Abstract Petal earrings No. 187 by Susan of 11BOLDstreet 12. Pressed Flowers in Polymer by Jill of JKollmann 13. Poppy Love Necklace by Beth of CreateMyWorldDesigns
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