Elise 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 on Oct 10 2008 | Filed under: 1990's, Micromosaic, Mitchell, Sheets
Leaf Book, Liz Mitchell, 3.25″ x 1.75″
polymer, polymer mosaic, leaf, paper, plastic, screen, metal
After MIPCES, Liz Mitchell continued to experiment with a variety of book forms. Leaf Book is a transitional piece in her evolution as an artist. In the making of this book she incorporated three different polymer clay techniques; photo transfer, [...]
Elise on Sep 12 2008 | Filed under: 1997, MIPCES Exhibition, Sheets, Winters
If you are a new visitor to Polymer Art Archive, you can find background about this event in the 2 posts, Past, Present Future and All About MIPCES.
This fan brooch was one of a series I made for the exhibition. Each was inspired by or made as a tribute to one of my colleagues [...]
Elise 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 [...]
Kathleen on Mar 25 2008 | Filed under: Allen, Carlson, Dewey, Flower Valley Press, Ford, Forlano, Haunani, Hughes, Millefiore, NPCG, Ornament, Roche, Segal, Shriver, The New Clay, Toops, Torpedo Factory, Voulkos
In 1987, at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in the Washington, D.C. area, I taught my first workshop on polymer bead-making based on the simple techniques I had developed. On the advice of an artist colleague, I submitted a short article to Ornament magazine. Published in 1988, my article was entitled “The Use of Polyform [...]
Kathleen on Mar 18 2008 | Filed under: Blends, Breen, City Zen Cane, Dustin, Ford, Forlano, Micromosaic, Millefiore, Shriver, Toops
This is Part Four of the speech delivered at Synergy: the 2008 National Polymer Clay Guild Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland in February 2008. The entire speech will be publish in serial form in five parts on Polymer Art Archive .
In the Washington, D.C., area also in 1986, where I was working as a ceramic artist, I [...]
Elise on Mar 14 2008 | Filed under: 1980's, 1990's, Allen, Breen, Caning, Grove, Millefiore
Are you hooked on Kathleen Dustin’s presentation about the work done by the early polymer bead makers? Then, you’ll want to see even more images by those pioneers. After each of Kathleen’s next few installments, I will provide you with an expanded view of those artists’ early work.
In the gallery that follows you can put [...]
Kathleen on Mar 04 2008 | Filed under: 1970's, Caning, Hughes, Imitative, Julie: Artisans Gallery, Millefiore, Synergy NPCG 2008 Conference, Voulkos
This is Part Two of the speech delivered at Synergy: the 2008 National Polymer Clay Guild Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland in February 2008. The entire speech will be publish in serial form in five parts on Polymer Art Archive .
The Earliest Polymer Bead-makers
Many of these American artists first became aware of the polymer brand Fimo in [...]
Elise on Feb 26 2008 | Filed under: Design, Hughes, Imitative
What do you do when you have an assortment of special beads that you finally have decided to use? Stringing up a necklace of disparate beads to achieve an attractive result is no easy feat. Yet, Victoria Hughes makes it look simple in this short, recently assembled sampler necklace that combines polymer with bits and [...]
Elise on Feb 22 2008 | Filed under: 1995, Backfill, Micromosaic, Ravensdale 1996, Toops
Here’s another treat for your viewing pleasure to tide you over until I return from the ACC Baltimore Craft Show.
When I began to think seriously about building a substantial collection of polymer art, I wanted my first purchase to be literally the cornerstone: the most significant piece I could afford by the finest artist I [...]