Amy Vangsgard - Clay Illustrations

Amy Vangsgard - Finger Puppets, Advertisment for Focus Car Magazine, Ford Motor Company, 2002

Amy Vangsgard works in "painted clay relief" using polymer clay and acrylic paints, often mounting her pieces on painted masonite, then photographing her works for clients.  She has done work for a variety of companies with her images being used in books, greeting cards, educational materials, magazines and more.  I'm in awe.  This artist has some extreme sculptural talent and a quirky, fun sense of humor.  You've just gotta smile. :-)

Enjoy her website:  http://www.amyvangsgard.com/
Amy's Zazzle Clay Shop:  http://www.zazzle.com/amyvangsgard

Amy Vangsgard - Cake Woman, Certificate of Merit: Society of Illustrators Dimensional Salon, 2004

Amy Vangsgard, "Family Vacation"

January guild meeting postponed

Hey Everyone!

Our meeting today has been cancelled due to weather issues.  We will have our faux demos in February.

Thanks!

Faux inspiration!

3 Bears made of faux ivory, by Luann Udell

Here are some links and inspiration to help get you revved up for our upcoming faux demos in 2011!

We'll be seeing demonstrations for making faux ivory/bone and jade.  Here is a short supply list for you to start working on and gathering up before our meetings:

-- your usual polymer clay tools
-- at least 2 - 2oz. blocks of translucent polymer clay
-- at least 1 - 2oz. block of white polymer clay
-- at least 1 - 2oz. block of ecru OR beige clay
-- some small amounts of blue, green, and yellow polymer clays

Polymer Clay Daily has some posts on faux ivory and bone.  Check out this post, from May 31st, on artists Luann Udell, Genevieve Williamson, and Elvira Lopez del Prado.  And this one, from June 4th featuring Laurie Prophater.  Sarajane Helm's site also has some examples of her Victorian Hand Beads made of faux ivory which I must say are quite exquisite!

Mixed-media necklace with faux bone pendant, by DesertWindDesigns

 If you do a search on Polymer Clay Daily for faux jade, there are a number of posts as well.  One of those mentioned Lynda Moseley's research which resulted in her discovering that there are six different colors of natural jade.  Did you know that?  I sure didn't!

Faux jade earring, by ojamaa9design

Asian necklace by Margit Böhmer

There are also different resources for you to learn about faux techniques.  There are many books which include faux tutorials, with at least a couple of them having that as their focus:

Victoria (Tory) Hughes' book: Polymer - The Chameleon Clay
Irene Semanchuk Dean's book: Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay

And of course, you can find lots of tutorials and tips online if you Google "faux ivory bone polymer clay" or "faux jade polymer clay."

These appear to be faux bone/ivory over pill bottles, by Michelle Ross

 Are you excited??  People will be asking if your pieces are "faux" real!  Haha.  Okay, I couldn't resist!

December 2010 - Ornament swap, silent auction, and potluck!

Suzanne K.'s mice ornaments -- all tucked in for a long winter's nap!

We had a wonderful time with the ornament swap, silent auction, and potluck this month.  There were 10 members participating in the ornament swap with quite a diverse selection of ornaments!  Our silent auction brought in money for the guild, and hopefully we can have even more offerings in the future (you know you don't need ALL those polymer clay books and videos you have!).  Members had a great afternoon conversing with one another, sharing their polymer creations, and enjoying each other's culinary treats.

Upcoming demos for January and February:  Faux

(Sorry that I still don't know all the guild members' names! When I get the names, I will credit them in the photos!)

The following pictures, as well as the one at the top of this post, are from the ornament swap.

An assortment of colorful filigree and caned trees, cactus, and more!

Mother and child ornaments

Cute polymer clay santas, angels and "gingerbread"!

Polymer "lights" by Jerry Hunt (I think that's who made them!)

Polymer xmas trees and other ornaments by Bev Pressey

 

Truly 3-dimensional snowflake ornaments by Barbara Watson!  Made out of thin stamped cut-outs and assembled together.  These lay flat, but open up when hanging.  

Cookie ornaments -- good enough to eat!

Textured and cutout ornaments by Betty Wilkinson

Angels, ready to watch over you!  Made by Barb Harper.

 

 

Slipper ornaments with plumeria flowers, by Jainnie Jenkins

Guild member with her polymer clay necklace.  She had some pieces in our silent auction!

Guild members looking over the silent auction

Guild member's piece, inspired by Laurie Mika

Fabulous textured blues! Polymer clay necklace by a guild member.

A memorial piece made in honor of a guild member's husband.  This is made up of tiles made by guild members.

Close-up of memorial frame

Close-up of memorial frame

Close-up of memorial frame

Close-up of memorial frame

Guild members eyeing the goodies of the potluck!

Suzanne K.'s sleigh with rein-bugs!  Undeniably cute!

Close-up of Suzanne's sleigh

Suzanne's rein-bugs (not sure what she calls them, but that's what I call them!) -- such cute expressions!!

Happy Holidays everyone!  See you in January!!

Artist Doreen Kassel

Ornament made by Doreen Kassel

This evening I came across the artist, Doreen Kassel.  I'm in love!  This New Jersey artist is a former illustrator of children's books and products, and now makes the most delightfully quirky creatures. 

Christmas ornament by Doreen Kassel

She forms and sculpts polymer clay over glass ornaments, then rubs layers of oil paint over them post-firing.  There is something quite satisfying about being able to see the layers of clay and paint in her pieces, and her fine attention to detail with facial features and expressions. 

Christmas Ornament by Doreen Kassel

I had to look up some of her inspirations -- E.H. Shepard and William Holbrook Beard -- and instantly recognized their works.  Shepard is the Winnie-the-Pooh author, and Beard is known for his paintings of animals (most notably bears) engaged in human activity.  I can only imagine the wondrousness of her dreams, and how charming and amusing to be surrounded by all of these creatures in her studio. 

I'm going to bed tonight and dream of dancing bears.

Website:  http://www.doreenkassel.com
Etsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/uncommoncreatures
Be sure to also check out her tiles, jewelery, music boxes and adopt a piglet pages!

Polyform Products decides to keep zinc yellow and cobalt blue

After much disappointment and uproar amongst the polymer clay community, Polyform Products has issued a statement on their Facebook page (on page 5 of comments):

Polyform has reviewed all of your heartfelt comments in reference to Premo Cobalt Blue and Premo Zinc Yellow. In response to your needs we are going to find a way to keep these colors available for you. We will work with distributors and will post the information as soon as we finalize the details.

To answer some of your other concerns:
Frost has been renamed White Translucent in order to clarify it’s color to new users. The color has not changed.

Copper has changed, there will be a color recipe to create the older version of this color. The new Copper color is closer to the color of a new copper penny.

The fluorescent colors have been discontinued. Two new colors, Wasabi and Candy Pink, are quite bright and sure to make a “color pop” in your creations.

The recipes for discontinued colors, with the exception of the fluorescent colors, will be available. Many of the recipes use new colors so releasing the formulas now will not help you. We’ll release the formulas on January 3rd when the new colors are going to be available to ship.

We are really excited about our new line of Premo Accents, Premo and Sculpey III, as we’re sure you will be. Designers who have already used these colors are singing their praises. They’re on trend, as well as colors designers have requested.

Your comments were heard, your loyalty appreciated. 

Hooray for everyone who took a part in this issue.  It's great to know that collectively, we can make a difference!  A big thank you to Polyform for listening to the clayers!!

New and Discontinued Colors from Polyform

(Note: This blog post is meant to be informative on the issue at hand, and reflects the opinions of the blog mistress, not of the PPPCG)

Carol Simmons' pendants made with colors mixed with Zinc Yellow and Cobalt Blue. Thanks to Lindly Haunani for posting this on her site.

 

There has been a LOT of buzz on the internet regarding Polyform's decision to discontinue the primary colors of Zinc Yellow and Cobalt Blue.  According to Polyform, they will have recipes for many of the discontinued colors...but I think we will have to wait and see about that.  For those who have done color scales/mixing using books such as "Polymer Clay Color Inspirations," and incorporated these colors in their palette, this is a serious blow.


Here are some links with information and comments on the issue:

Carol Simmons Designs: Say It Isn't So

Polyform Products (Facebook Page): New Colors! (and note: discontinued ones!)

Lindly Haunani: Not So Colorful Changes

Crafty Goat's Notes: New (and Discontinued!) Premo Colors Announced

Tonja's Treasures: Polyform Follow Up: The Upset Continues

Polymer Clay Central Forums: Post Our Opinions on Premo Color Changes
Polymer Clay Central Forums: Premo Rant - Colors Discontinued in 2011

Polyform has descriptions of their new colors (and lists of discontinued ones) on the Facebook link above (the 2nd link).  Here is what they posted:

We are bursting with excitement – new colors with endless possibilities are just around the corner. It’s an unbelievable line-up with colors you requested. Have you ever imagined . . .
• Peacock Pearl –eye-catching in lustrous, confident extravagance
• Magenta Pearl – Glowing romance translated into art
• Sunshine – innocence as sweet as a day running through the sprinkler
• Navy – shades of royalty, commanding an audience
• Pomegranate – juicy, rich and irresistible on the tip of the tongue
• Denim – your favorite pair still fit, go ahead, try them on
• Bronze – statuesque brilliance glimmering in view
• Antique Gold – The classics are hard to ignore
• Bright Green Pearl – dew kissed spring grass glistening in the morning sun
These are only a few of the fabulous line-up of new premo! colors.

Watch for our 2011 New Line of premo! Accents
• Magenta Pearl • Purple Pearl
• Bright Green Pearl • Peacock Pearl
• Translucent Blue • Translucent Red
• Translucent Yellow • Translucent Yellow
• Translucent Green • Blue Glitter
• Red glitter • Frost White Glitter
• 18K Gold • Copper – updated color
• Antique Gold • Bronze
• Blue Granite • White Granite
• Gray Granite • White Translucent – replaces Frost

New 2011 premo! Colors
• Denim • Spanish Olive
• Navy Blue • Blush
• Wasabi • Pomegranate
• Candy Pink • Sunshine
• Rhino Gray

The following [Premo] colors are discontinued: Red Pearl, Green Pearl, Cobalt Blue, Sea Green, Copper, Zinc Yellow, Frost, Fluorescent Green, Fluorescent Yellow, Fluorescent Red and Glow-In-The-Dark – We’ll have recipes for most on our website.

Here’s the buzz about new Sculpey colors – fresh and trendy, always a crowd pleaser –

New for 2011 Sculpey III colors
• Pewter • Jewelry Gold
• Copper • Suede Brown
• Fuchsia Pearl • Glow-In-The-Dark
• Plum • Deep Red Pearl
• Candy Pink • Sky Blue
• Lemonade

The following [Sculpey] colors are discontinued: Lt. Pink Pearl, Vanilla Crème, Pale Pistachio, Sunshine, Pottery, Stonewash, Tomato Red, Sunset, Ivory, Atomic Orange and Lemon. We’ll have recipes for most on our website. 

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It will be interesting to see just how many recipes they actually have for those discontinued colors, and how close they are to those colors.  But as many have stated in forums and blog posts and comments, you cannot mix a primary, such as zinc yellow or cobalt blue, so don't get your hopes up on seeing recipes for those.  

I'm sure many are curious about the new colors coming out, and time will tell if those will be lasting or just another trend.   I can't imagine going into a craft store looking for that new color that looks like "innocence as sweet as a day running through the sprinkler."  Seriously?