Elise Winters on Mar 02 2010 | Filed under: Adams, Mobilia, Toops
Dan Adams and Cynthia Toops, Sleepless in Seattle Necklace detail, 2010
glass, polymer, silver
Dan Adams and Cynthia Toops have new work in the upcoming exhibit called Glass Quake Again 2010. The show opens on March 12th and runs thru April 24th at Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge MA.
Elise Winters on Jan 14 2010 | Filed under: Facere, Toops
Cynthia Toops, Beetlerama, 2009, neckpiece, polymer, upholstery cord
While I’m hibernating for the rest of January and February… here’s some new images to keep you amused. These two works by Cynthia Toops are
Elise Winters on Dec 18 2009 | Filed under: Carren, Toops
Before this tax year ends, please don’t forget to make your contribution to the RAM Polymer Collection.
Cynthia Toops, Dust If You Must, 2008
Lark Books is adding to its Masters series with a new title called Masters: Polymer Clay due out in late 2010. Currently in production, this volume will celebrate masterful artistic innovation and imagination [...]
Elise Winters on Sep 04 2009 | Filed under: Fuller Craft Museum, Sculpting Color, Toops
Cynthia Toops, Helmet, 2009, detail
During the panel discussion at the opening of the Sculpting Color Exhibition, Kathleen Dustin raised the question of polymer as a “green” material. Cynthia Toops was not present that day, but her Helmet was, in a way, one more response to this current concern.
Cynthia writes about this piece saying:
Elise Winters on Jun 19 2009 | Filed under: 1989, 1990's, City Zen Cane, Ford, Forlano, Hughes, Museum of Arts and Design, Toops, Voulkos, Winters
City Zen Cane (aka Ford/Forlano), Flat Necklace, detail, 1991
Ursula Newman, jewelry curator at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, selected five pieces of jewelry from The Collection for the museum’s permanent collection. Two steps were necessary to formalize her decision, and the first occurred yesterday when the curatorial staff put their stamp [...]
Rachel Carren on Feb 13 2009 | Filed under: Critical Commentary, DeWolff, Dever, Haunani, Malinow, McCaw, Savarick, Shriver, Toops, Voulkos, West, Winters
Debra DeWolff, Bracelet, 2007
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” *
Expressions of love are numerous and vary from culture to culture. In many cultures, not only is holding hands a tangible connection between two people, it generally is an outward sign of affection. Wearing a bracelet that encircles the wrist in [...]
Martha on Dec 12 2008 | Filed under: 2001, Adams, Balombini, Bernstein, Bishel, Cormier, Crossen, Dever, Dewey, Dustin, Fago, Ford, Forlano, Gibson, Haunani, Hughes, Hyde, Illuminating a Medium: Polymer Retrospective, Laurin, Maggio, McMillan, Mitchell, Muse NPCG 2001 Conference, NPCG, Regan, Roche, Scott, Shriver, Toops, Voulkos, Winters
Courting the Muse: Enhancing Creativity and Artistry in Polymer Clay
In 2001, the National Polymer Clay Guild sponsored it’s second conference in Bryn Mawr, PA. Courting The Muse was a week long conference filled with classes taught by polymer clay masters, thought-provoking and inspiring evening lectures, creativity seminars, and a retrospective exhibit entitled Illuminating a Medium, [...]
Elise Winters on Nov 21 2008 | Filed under: 2007, Micromosaic, Toops
Cynthia Toops, Bird Watching, 2007
polymer micromosaic, 3.5″ x 3.25″
On Broadway in New York, one or two outstanding shows every year gets tabbed as a “Must-See” performance. This year the polymer community has its own “Must-See,” a book self-published by Cynthia Toops and her husband Dan Adams, beads & more, which has drawn rave reviews. [...]
Elise Winters on Sep 05 2008 | Filed under: 1995, 1997, 1998, Amt, Ford, NPCG Strategic Planning Meeting, Sheets, Toops, Winters
An important focus of this archive has been to make connections, to illuminate significant threads of development in polymer art. We’ve heard first-hand on this subject from many authoritative voices in the medium’s history – Victoria Hughes, Stephen Ford, Kathleen Dustin and the rest of our “founders.” In archiving these artistic lines, I’ve attempted [...]
Elise Winters on May 30 2008 | Filed under: 1997, MIPCES Exhibition, Toops
ANEMONE HAT
polymer clay, brass, velvet, aluminum screen
7” diameter, 3 1/2”h
In the MIPCES catalog, Cynthia Toops wrote: “Dan and I create beads for elaborate jewelry pieces. For this project I wanted to make a full-size hat and imposed one restriction- no beads. We partially encased wire elements in polymer clay in a different way [...]