Philadelphia Area Polymer Clay Guild Reporter

Doreen Kassel Workshop and Guest Artist

ornamento — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:48:33 +0000

Vintage Style Small Sculpture & Ornament Workshop
with Doreen Kassel
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Doreen will be a guest artist on Sunday, March 18

This workshop will focus on creating fun, offbeat ornaments & small sculpture. Your imagination will run wild creating creatures & beasts from reference & expanding from there, or pull ideas from your own imagination! We’ll work sculpturally with lots of texture, scoring & low relief, achieving high & low recesses. An initial coat of dark brown oil paint collects in these recesses & is gently rubbed off. After that first coat of is rubbed off, different colors of oil paints are applied, using the same technique of painting & rubbing. When rubbed, the colors reveal themselves to be subtle & beautiful. Every crack & fold adds to the charm, giving the piece a lovely vintage feel. Happy accidents occur, no great sculptural skills are necessary. Students are consistently surprised by the work they produce using this fun & forgiving technique.
You’ll spend the workshop creating beautiful vintage style works of art!

If you can’t take the class, Doreen will be the guest artist at the March 18 meeting. Members only.

For more information, go to our web site

Martha Aleo, Deputy Blogger

More Clayathon Pictures

ornamento — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:24:26 +0000

Earlier this week, I posted about Clayathon and this year’s guest artist Leslie Blackford. Aside from Leslie’s example bird, all of the pictures in that post show birds Clayathon attendees made under Leslie’s expert tutelage. I forgot to mention that Leslie also demonstrated how to sculpt realistic looking twigs for the birds to perch on.

While everyone watched and enjoyed the demos, some people worked on other projects

More Clayathon highlights to follow!

Martha Aleo, Deputy Blogger

Polymer Clay Class at Potomac Bead Company January 28

ornamento — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:52:40 +0000

Guild member Mary Askew is teaching a class on polymer clay bead making at the Potomac Bead Company in Phoenixville, PA on January 28, 2012! They offer other great classes too. Check the Web site for details.

email: phoenixville@potomacbeads.com

phone: 610-415-9991

Make Your Own Beads

Learn basic techniques to make your own beads out of polymer clay. This clay is easy to work with and comes in a variety of colors.Colors can also be mixed to make new ones. Best of all, no special equipment is needed to “fire” the clay — all it takes is a regular oven!January 28th. 10:30 am – 1:30 pm. $35 + materials

The Potomac Bead Company
167 Bridge Street | Phoenixville, PA 19460Potomac Bead Company

Martha Aleo, Deputy Blogger

South Jersey Clayathon and Leslie Blackford’s Birds

ornamento — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:39:57 +0000

Thanks again to Arlene Groch for coordinating Clayathon and Guild co-president Patty Pickup for convincing guest artist Leslie Blackford that Clayathon was an event she could not afford to miss. Leslie’s first workshop was on how to sculpt distinctive, wacky birds.

Here are the wacky birds

Martha Aleo, Deputy Blogger

Water Tower Crafts Show

ornamento — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:20:29 +0000

Member Emily Squires Levine will offer her polymer clay work for sale.

Marth a Aleo

Deputy Blogger

Diane Villano November Guest Artist

ornamento — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:20:51 +0000

Diane Villano taught a class in Contemporary Jewelry Inspired by Ethnic Art on November 19 and was Guest Artist at our monthly meeting on November 20.

Why, is that Donna Kato posing with Diane? No, it’s Patty Pickup wearing her Halloween costume.

Here are some pictures of the meeting including show and tell pieces by the members, including Patty’s pieces from Clay Carnival Las Vegas.

Click to view slideshow.

Martha Aleo

Deputy Blogger

Take the Handmade Pledge!

ornamento — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:15:56 +0000

Martha Aleo

Deputy Blogger

PMA Craft Show

artsy.sciencey — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:42:27 +0000

The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (Nov. 10-13) is one of the most prestigious in the nation. All manner of fine craft is represented, from fiber to furniture to ceramics to jewelry. For polymer clay, Kathleen Dustin, Bonnie Bishoff, and Steven Ford & David Forlano are all showing. There are also demos throughout the show, including one by Ford & Forlano on Sunday. For more information, check the website at http://pmacraftshow.org/. (Click “about” to find the demo schedule.)

terri, deputy to the deputy blogger

You Say Patina

ornamento — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:59:03 +0000

Here are some pictures from the Ancient Patina class. We made a mess, experimented with mixed media (Arlene even used her bone folder for a cheese spreader) and we had fun while raising money for the guild. My one regret is that I do not have a good picture of the totally awesome piece that Susan Gross produced. Alas, the camera gods were not with me that day.

Martha Aleo, Deputy Blogger

Congratulations Emily!!

ornamento — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:59:05 +0000

Please join me on Sunday, September 25, from 3 pm to 5 pm, for the reception celebrating the opening of my show at Show of Hands, 10th and Pine Streets, Philadelphia. The show runs through November 7. Hope to see you.

1006 Pine St.(Historic Antique Row), Philadelphia, PA 19107
tel/fax 215.592.4010, e-mail: showofhandsphila@aol.com
Hrs: Monday (closed Tuesday) thru Saturday Noon-6 pm, Sunday Noon-5 pm
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Patterns in Polymer Clay

Attention to Detail

By

EMILY SQUIRES LEVINE

Show/Sale

September 24 to November 7

MEET THE ARTIST RECEPTION

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2011, 3 PM – 5 PM

WHO IS THE ARTIST?

Inheriting the right brain skills of her mother and grandmother, Emily Squires Levine has always worked with her hands. Even while pursuing her MBA, colorfully folded fabrics or a new chocolate cake recipe would be her diversion from studies. Although introduced to the versatility of polymer clay years ago, her serious pursuit began in 2004. Emily’s objects compel your attention, reflecting the interplay of color and pattern. Her distinctive bowls, lacy eggs and resin-enhanced tiles compel your attention.

Emily has exhibited in many juried events including the Germantown Friends School Craft Show, InLiquid’s “Art for the Cash Poor” and the Haddonfield Craft Show. Her pieces have been selected to promote these events including publication in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, Emily lives in Center City, Philadelphia with her husband, although she remains tied to her New England roots. She has recently retired from almost 30 years in the financial services industry.

WHAT IS POLYMER CLAY?

Polymer Clay is a synthetic modeling clay composed of PVC resin combined with a plasticizer and color pigments. Pliable in its uncured state, polymer clay can be blended for endless permutations of color, tone and shade. Once cured, the polymer clay piece becomes hard, durable.

Originally developed in the 1930s in Germany as a replacement for difficult to obtain plastics, the first formulation was sold to Eberhardt Faber and named FIMO. Its uses are circumscribed solely by one’s imagination.

WHAT IS A POLYMER CLAY CANE?

Based on the Italian Millefiori glasswork technique, a cane is a polymer clay log whose design runs inside its entire length. Pieces of the cane can be cut, reduced and combined with other canes to form a cane more complex than the original.

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Martha Aleo, Deputy Blogger