|
 | Whimsical Imp
by Kathy Davis |
|
|
| |
___________
A Message from the US Guild Liaison
| |
by Kathi Briefer-Gose
Greetings fellow clayers!
There's been a lot going on behind the scenes at the IPCA lately. We're getting ready to add some fun things for you.
I'm happy to announce that the first sister guild connection has been made between the Milwaukee guild and the San Diego Guild. I'm hoping that soon we'll be hearing and seeing about the fun things they're doing!
If your guild is interested in joining in the fun, please send an email to: kathig@dragonsglass.com and I'll add your guild to the list and get you a sister guild to connect with.
Another item that Frances Bauer (the International Guild Liaison) and I have been working on is getting the Liaison Yahoo group up and running. This is the place to ask questions of us, to connect with other clayers, and to bounce ideas around. The pace there is a lot slower than on Facebook and a lot faster then email, so swing on by and ask to join.
Don't forget to visit the IPCA website and check out the new things happening there. Membership cards are available. Some craft stores give discounts to members of artisan guilds and this will be a perfect fit for us!
Coming soon to the "Members only" area on the IPCA site will be tutorials shared by other members. These won't have been published in magazines, other websites or on YouTube. They'll be there only for our members to enjoy. If you're interested in sharing a tutorial with the IPCA members send me an email.
I think that's all I have for now. Happy claying!
Kathi
|
|
__________
Members-Only Resources
Events Calendar
Posting your events on the IPCA events calendar is one of the benefits of membership in our organization! Alaina Ackley, our Web Content Editor, has compiled a great tutorial on how to use this resource to promote your classes, workshops, and events.
She writes: "If you're like me, you go to the back-end of a website and go "Huh? I have no idea what I'm doing!" Well, here's a short "How-to" on how to add to our calendar."
Read more
| 
|
|
|
_________
Online Resources
| |
|
|
_____________
Calls for Entry Note: Many calls in the US are open to non-US residents! |
-
Baltimore - School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD, US, deadline Oct. 21
- Square Foot Art Basel Miami, Miami, FL, US,
deadline Oct. 22. Guaranteed acceptance of one piece of work - Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, SC, US, deadline Oct. 24
- Punch Gallery Juried Exhibition, Seattle, WA, US, deadline Oct. 28
- Featured Artists Art Book Vol III, offers artists a way to introduce their work to international art professionals, deadline Oct. 31.
- Art Inter/National Exhibition,
Pittsburgh, PA, US, deadline Nov. 1 - Art City Austin, Austin, TX, US, deadline Nov. 7
- Call 2 Artists, Pre-holiday show & sale Calgary, Alberta, Canada, deadline Nov. 12
- Progress & Possibilities 2011, online, deadline Nov. 15
- CreativiTea, open to US artists in CA, OR, WA, deadline Nov. 15
- Momentum--National WCA call for art, open to US women artists, Los Angeles, CA, deadline Nov. 18
- Creative Divergents Winter 2011, online, deadline Dec. 15
- Mulvane Art Museum, Topeka, KS, deadline Jan. 6, 2012
- Open Call for Art, My Art Contest, online, deadline July 15, 2012
- 1001001 - artproject, The Art of Human Freedom, Stockholm, Sweden, deadline ongoing
- Latin Pop Shop, online US, selling opportunity for All Latino/Latina Artists, online, deadline ongoing
|
_____________
Upcoming Events |
Lindly Haunani, Indianapolis, Nov. 12-13, repeat event every 2 days until Nov. 15 | Carol Blackburn, Extrusions Galore, London, UK, Nov. 20
Sue Heaser, London, UK, Dec. 4
Cabin Fever Clay Fest, Laurel Maryland, Feb. 17-22, 2012. Offering 8 pre-conference workshops and 12 workshops.
|
|
|
|
Volume 4, Issue 10
October 2011
|
Happy Halloween from the IPCA |
 | Beads by Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg
Photo courtesy of Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg
|
| |
Free Online Projects for the Spooky Season
- Kim Kennedy of The Beady Eyed Brat has a great resource list of Halloween-related polymer tutorials.
- Iris Mishly, at PolyPedia Online, demonstrates the creation of a severed witch finger and a horrifying eyeball.
- Speaking of eyeballs, Angela Mabray of Crafty Goat offers a free "Eyeballs in a Jar" video
- Becky Meverden, at The Constant Crafter, serves up several Halloween projects.
- Leigh Ross on Polymer Clay Central, provides a detailed step-by-step tutorial for making a pumpkin cane.
- AkameruKawaii demonstrates miniature Halloween cupcakes with amazingly tiny glow-in-the-dark skulls and ghosts.
- The Devil's Workshop offers a two-part video on how to make glow-in-the-dark teeth and lots more!
- Nora Jean Gatine demonstrates a Day of the Dead skull cane.
Shopping Opportunities around Halloween | Here's a tip for those you who sell your work at shows and are thinking of sprucing up your booth.
 | | Angela Mabray, Jar of Eyeballs |
Just before and just after Halloween, local and online fabric retailers sometimes offer great bargains on "Halloween fabric." Much of this consists of prints with little ghosts, pumpkins, etc. But it also includes a variety of solid black yardgoods, sometimes extra wide, that make wonderful table covers for craft shows and which can be used year-round.
And don't forget to pick up those fall-leaf sprays, which are on sale now, and can be used at harvest-time shows for the next couple of months.
|
|
|
Progress & Possibilities 2011:
Introducing the Judges
|
The clock is ticking on submissions for Progress & Possibilities, our own annual online juried exhibition!
The purpose of Progress & Possibilities is to encourage and acknowledge promise, innovation, and individuality in the work of individual polymer clay artists, at all stages of professional development, and to advance public awareness of and appreciation for the fine craft of polymer clay. This official online exhibition of the International Polymer Clay Association will showcase the finest work completed this year by our members throughout the world.
A member may submit one or two photos each of up to three pieces of their finest work (that means you will submit between 1 and 6 photos). The deadline to enter is November 15, just one month from today. For fairness to all entrants, the submission deadline will be strictly enforced, and no entries will be accepted after midnight on that date. All the submission guidelines are spelled out on Café: Call for Entry, including the digital specifications for photos.
It's very important that all photos be of the highest possible quality. This will allow the judges and our members, in the Member's Choice judging, to view your pieces to their very best advantage!
We're very proud that four prominent artists and art professionals have agreed to judge our competition this year. They are: Jana Roberts Benzon, Christine Dumont, Laurie Mika, and Kathy ____.
Jana Roberts Benzon has a diverse artistic background in various media, but polymer clay has captured her creative spirit like nothing else. She has devloped her own brand of intricate millefiori canework and innovative techniques for building and reducing canes. While she'll never leave the geometric symmetry of caning, currently she's also exploring the world of organic forms. Jana has always been a teacher and now enjoys teaching polymer clay workshops internationally.
Christine Dumont draws her inspiration from the many cultural landscapes of her life-path. Born in Belgium, she has lived in the Middle-East, Morocco, Canada and the UK . Christine is the founder of Voila!, a Europe-based community website for the world's polymeristas, which helps members take their work to new artistic heights. Christine is a judge for the monthy competitions she organizes on Voila! and also offers learning forums to help artists critique and judge artwork. Christine's own polymer jewelry is sold internationally, in Canada, Belgium and the UK. Her clients include the Artshop at the Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique.
Laurie Mika is a mixed-media artist with a passion for combining and overlapping a variety of materials and techniques, creating an original style of mosaics using handmade polymer clay tile. Laurie's background in painting is evident in her mixed-media works influenced by medieval and Renaissance art. The gilded devotional panels of the past become secular icons imbued with personal narratives. Art and folk traditions referenced in her work derive from her trave ls and experiences of living in East Africa. Laurie's work has been published in numerous magazines, and she is the author of the popular book Mixed Media Mosaics. Laurie is often on the move, teaching at venues in the US and abroad. She also participates in juried shows, teaches workshops, and exhibits her work in galleries.
Kathleen Mand Beck is the owner of Dovetail Gallery & Studio in Egg Harbor, on Wisconsin's scenic Door County Peninsula. The gallery, which Kathy and her husband opened in 1994, is in a charming and historic log cabin, surrounded by gardens. An artist in her own right, Kathleen is recognized internationally for her intricately carved and etched egg art, created in her treehouse studios. "My hope for the Dovetail." Kathy explains, "is to be a gallery of wonderful artwork and also a comfortable place for our visitors to learn about the artists, their mediums and their techniques. I enjoy displaying unusual fine art and fine craft along with the decorated eggs." Among the treasures Kathy displays in her gallery is the polymer art of the legendary Jon Anderson.
|
|
|
Membership Appreciation Award | |
Each quarter, the IPCA randomly selects one member who joined our organization or renewed his/her membership during the past three months. The prize for the third quarter of 2011 goes to David Vanover of Washington, DC. He will receive a pendant donated by Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg. Congratulations to David, and our thanks to Lynne!
|
American Craft Recognizes Elise Winters:
RAM Exhibit Opens This Month
| |
The Oct.-Nov. 2011 issue of American Craft, the prestigious publication of the American Craft Council, includes an eight-page feature about Elise Winters's jewelry and her efforts to promote the status of polymer as an artist's medium.
"In the 1990s," American Craft's editor-in-chief, Monica Moses,
 | | Bracelet, Elise Winters |
writes, "Elise Winters became convinced polymer artists weren't getting the money or respect they deserved. 'The whole field needed to be elevated,' [Elise] says. A natural strategist and organizer, Winters set out to make that happen."
Highlighted in the article is the premier of the first permanent museum collection of polymer art, Terra Nova, Polymer Art at the Crossroads, which opens this month at the Racine Art Museum (RAM) in Wisconsin and will run through February 5, 2012. This exhibition, along with its full-color book, represents the culmination of Elise's efforts over the past 15 years. "A museum collection means prestige for a medium. Potential benefits: Artists can command higher prices, and their work won't end up at garage sales," observes Moses.
In addition to Elise Winters, the RAM exhibit spotlights seven other "Boundary Breakers," artists who have been recognized within the polymer field and/or by other contemporary craft disciplines. Those artists or artist/duos are: Bonnie Bishoff (collaborating with J.M. Syron), Jeff Dever, Kathleen Dustin, Steven Ford and David Forlano, Tory Hughes, Cynthia Toops, and
Pier Voulkos.
Elise's jewelry has been added to the permanent collections of the nation's most prominent museums
over the past year. Her work is also included in a new book, Artful Adornments: Jewelry from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, by Yvonne Markowitz, the museum's Curator of Jewelry.
|
Featured Artist:
Maria Alexandrou of Cyprus
| |
 I grew up in Cyprus and went to a Biochemists school in Greece. I also studied at an Art School. For the past 12 years, I have taught at the Adults Education Centres of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Nicosia.
I was introduced to polymer clay 23 years ago. Since then my passion grew and in 1999 I started teaching it in small groups. I also teach Stained glass, mosaics, glass engraving, and lots of crafts and jewelry. I teach wire jewelry and am a member of the International wire Juried Artists. I became an instructor of silver art clay in Cyprus. Usually, I have around 200 students per week.
In 2008 I founded Cyprus Polymer Clay Association (CYPCA) with more than 200 members.
|
Polymer in Print: What's New? | |
New Books
- Editors of Art Jewelry and Bead & Button magazines, Polymer Pizzazz 2, April 1, 2011.
- Hewitt, Jema, Steampunk Emporium: Creating Fantastical Jewelry, Devices and Oddments from Assorted Cogs, Gears and Curios, June 22, 2011
- O'Brien, Linda, and Opie O'Brien, Mixed-Media Doll Making: Redefining the Doll with Upcycled Materials, Oct. 1, 2011
- Picarello, Julie. Patterns in Polymer: Imprint and Accent Bead Techniques, June 7, 2011.
- Riley, Lesley, Create with Transfer Artist Paper: Use TAP to Transfer Any Image onto Fabric, Paper, Wood, Glass, Metal, Clay & More, July 16, 2011
- Stein, Jeannine, Adventures in Bookbinding: Handcrafting Mixed-Media Books, June 1, 2011
Books Coming Soon
Magazines
- Polymer Cafe, December 2011: "Lisa Pavelka: Entrepreneur with an Enormous E," Trina Williams; "Crystal Blossom Necklace," Lisa Pavelka; "Topaz Cathedral Jewelry Set," Shirley Rufener; "Angel Art Doll," Linda Hess; "Basic Principles of Design," Jan Geisen; "Home Decor Challenge Winners"; "Elf Place Card Push Puppet," Kellie Mowat.
- The Polymer Arts, November 2011: Readers' Round Robin with Your stories about the great teachers in your life; Christi Friesen talks about Creativity; Barbara McGuire on the role of Learning and Teaching in our growth as artists; How to Create and Teach a Polymer Clay Workshop; Share your Passion for Fun and Profit; Technique Tutorials, "Making finely detailed textures and stampings with wax," and "Elabordorite: a many layered faux semi-precious stone"
- Art Doll Quarterly, Winter 2011, "Little Blessings," Gloria Rone
- From Polymer to Art, The next issue will be Purple, available now for preorder.
- Belle Armoire Jewelry, Winter 2011, "Polymer Clay Basics," featured artist Sherilyn Miller.
- Bead & Button, Oct. 2011, Claymaker: "Daisy Beads," Fiona Abel Smith
|
|
|
|
|
