Seashore Polymer Pictures

It's summer and people are heading to the seashore here in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Thinking of some of the lovely seashells along the coast, I decided to make some small framed pictures out of polymer. Here are my first pieces. The Nautilus shell to the left is lying on a polymer background I made to look like it was lying on the sand at the edge of the waves receding. The sand is textured and the speckled effect was done with embossing powders. The water is translucent clay light tinted with embossing powder and a touch of blue/gray clay. Though I like this piece a lot, I still need to work on the white edge of the water.... The piece below is also mounted on a polymer background, this one made from transluscent and colored clay with some gold leaf mixed in. All the shells are polymer, and the seastar was highlighted with gold acrylic paint. I will have to play around with other approaches to a seastar. This one is fun, but it's not as realistic as the other shells.

Larger Polymer Lidded Containers

While I've been caught up decorting all these lovely little ceramic vases, I haven't forgotten how much fun it is to create lidded vessels completely from polymer. Here are some containers I made that are much larger than any I've tried before. They are strong and will hold more items than my first pieces. I used Skinner blends, and decorated them with acrylic paints and silk screens. I played around with different "knobs" on the tops of the lids. I particularly like the dandelion vessel. Perfect container for storing wishes.

Bargello & Vase

Just one more...If you look back a few posts, you'll see some bargello among other techniques from the Cutwork workshop with Jana Roberts Benzon. As I was working on these small vases, thinking of more ideas about how to decorate them, my gaze landed on some bargello from that class, and it got me thinking....Here is the result! Who knew?

More Small Vases

As you can tell, I'm having lots of fun decorating small ceramic vases. I've a few more to share with you. I have been making flowers to go on these vessels, making sure the designs went all the way around the vases to help ensure the polymer remains as a whole piece and in place. Then I decided to try something that did not go all the way around. The all cream floral design on the vase to the left goes about 3/4th of the way around. I baked the polymer in place, then carefully pried the design off, and reattached it with 2-part epoxy. After drying, I tried to take the design off again, and there was no way it was budging. Below are the other vases I've been working on:

Little Vases

While I enjoy making jewelry, it's nice to veer off in a different direction once in a while. The gallery in Centerbrook, Spectrum, asked if I'd make some things for their home decor section. I found some sweet little ceramic vases, and have been decorating them with polymer. Here are some photos of a few. I'll post more photos after the others are baked. I'm having fun with these. They make perfect little vases for dried or silk flowers or weeds, and will hold water and serve as bud vases. I tested them over night, and they do hold water. However, since they are not glazed, I'd want to put them on a coaster or other holder just in case the bottom should get damp.

Variations Using Dimensional Bargello

I've been playing around with some of the dimensional bargello that Jana Roberts-Benzon calls "puffy flamestitch." It's really pretty, fun to do, and presents all sorts of interesting possibilities. Jana presented it as a solid, connected sheet. I found it even more fun to make strips and then shape them in different ways. The photos below show some of the various ways I manipulated the strips I made. I particularly like the pieces that are really open and have a light, airy appearance.