IPCA Events
Denise Fitzsimmons
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
Brookfield, Connecticut
United States
About the Artist: Denise Fitzsimmons
My name is Denise Fitzsimmons and I have been making jewelry of some kind for over ten years. I started with beading, moved to metal and wire, on to enamelling, and now my passion is polymer clay. I just love the way the clay feels in my hands and how I can mold and create something unique with every block of clay. I am inspired by texture, color, and shape and I try to bring all of those things into my items and pieces. I will often combine mediums and gemstones to create unique and fun designs. I am a member of the CreateAlong design team and have been published many times in Passion for Polymer. I am an instructor for Polymer Clay Adventure 2021 and Polymer Clay Symposium 2021. In my "real life" I am a high school Spanish teacher.
Exhibition Images
Egypt
This wall hanging entitled Egypt was created during the Clay ConneCTion challenge. I challenged myself to create a series of four wall hangings incorporating the lotus flower and different cultured where the lotus is a predominant symbol. For this piece, I created canes of faux lapis with blue clay and pepper. I used a variety of techniques on this piece in addition to the faux lapis cane. This piece is about 1' wide.
Related Gallery
Two Dimensional Work Gladys
Related Gallery
Two Dimensional Work
Lazy River 1
Mokume Gane pendant and earrings set made with Sculpey Souffle, Cernit Metallic, texture sponge, and Inka Gold. Pendant is 4" tall.
This was my second attempt at Mokume Gane and I love the set.
Related Gallery
Three Dimensional WorkDeborah Goodrow
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
Sun City Center, Florida
United States
About the Artist: Deborah Goodrow
Now living in Florida, Deborah Goodrow has been creating with polymer clay since 1995. Previously owning and teaching ceramics, polymer clay has allowed her to be more creative, more unique, and more colorful. She most enjoys teaching classes, particularly beginners, helping people that think they have no artistic ability to see otherwise. Former President of Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild, she has been part of the Guild's planning Clay ConneCTion retreats over the years, exhibits to showcase members art, and arranging art retreats.
Websites
Exhibition Images
Ode to Spring
Untitled
Yellow Bracelet
Darren Aiken
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
Pretoria
South Africa
About the Artist
Born 24 February 1966 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Emigrated to Durban, South Africa, in 1968. Emigrated to Durban, South Africa, in 1968. I have no Art schooling and no formal training, so entirely self-taught. I paint people in line and wash and acrylics, and acrylic jungle scenes, but my true passion lies in sculpture in polymer clay (for 27 years). In 1997 I started my art career at the age of 31 after completing 5 years of Audit articles, a career in business and 7 years in Game Reserves. I came up with a Chess set of The Old vs New Parliament of SA at 1994 elections. I make chess sets of the greatest Musicians, Soccer players, Golfers at the Ryder cup, Actors and actresses, the State Capture Chess set and The World Leaders Chess set – Money vs religion. Currently I specialize in sculpting (only Polymer clay) bespoke chess sets, wedding couples and your favorite band, or musician on stage, and colorful people in the townships (Max size 17cm). I also make large unique polymer clay portrait earrings and teach sculpture classes.
Website
2021 Exhibition Images
The Original Gag
16 x 16 x 9 cm
Sculptionary, Das and Montmart polymer clay
Related Gallery
Click the thumbnail below to view a larger image
WTF - The Princess and the Pea
17 x 8 x 10 cm
Sculptionary, Das and Mont Mart polymer clays
The discovery after a terrible night's sleep.
Related Gallery
Click the thumbnail below to view a larger image
Star Wars Chess Set
2020
Pieces vary:16 cm to12 cm; Board: 50 cm x 50 cm
Sculptionary, Das and Mont Mart polymer clays
A gift to myself
Related Gallery
Click the thumbnail below to view a larger image
Back to the Map
2020 Exhibition Images
Leonard Cohen
140mm, Clayology Polymer Clay,
An example of a musician I Sculpt. I do sculpt your favorite band on stage complete with drums, amps etc
Related Gallery
Three Dimensional Work
Kirsty and Mike Wedding Portrait
40mm x 50mm, Clayology Polymer Clay
Kirsty and Mike got married in London during Covid in May and their parents in South Africa couldnt attend. Instead they zoomed. This was her parents' Christmas present to the couple.
Related Gallery
Three Dimensional Work
Fashionable Earrings
35mm diameter, Das and Clayology and Fimo Polymer Clay
Funky Fashionable earings and pendants with fresh, cool 3D faces, with silver hooks and ringlets
Related Gallery
Jewelry and Wearable ArtClaire Maunsell
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
Gatineau, Quebec
Canada
About the Artist: Claire Maunsell
After working for 20 years as a professional glass blower, I found myself drawn to polymer in retirement because I could touch it directly. I've continued to evolve ideas I explored in glass while rejoicing in the approachability of this generous material. Surface design and the investigation of treatments to achieve them on polymer are my love, followed closely by the creation of forms best suited to wear them.
Websites
http://stillpointworks.zibbet.com/
Exhibition Images
Not my dog collar
Dimensions 9 inch diameter (goes over the head)
Related Gallery
Jewelry and Wearable Art
Not my dog collar
Dimensions 9 inch diameter (goes over the head)
Related Gallery
Jewelry and Wearable Art
Not my dog collar
Dimensions 9 inch diameter (goes over the head)
Related Gallery
Jewelry and Wearable ArtBack to the Map
Christine Dumont
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
France
About the Artist: Christine Dumont
I am a contemporary jewellery artist and international instructor in the art of polymer clay. My degree in Cognitive Science has been instrumental in my personal approach to tapping into creativity in my own work as well as my students. In 2010 I created Voila!, an influential polymer design website that brought professionals and beginners together in a unique online format. Voila! is the first platform to focus on the importance of good design practice within the polymer community. By offering a thoughtful balance of practical, technical information with more in depth discussion concerning emotional and aesthetic choice, Voila! became a 'go to' site for artists wishing to improve their work. I created a critique system that focuses primarily on the strengths of participant's works while tactfully guiding them to reach higher for the best possible outcome. Art is a way of connecting with the world and I share the joy I find in it through teaching.
Websites
Exhibition Images
Mending Time: new flowers in an old pot
Brooch, Size: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.75 cm, Materials: Polymer clay, stainless steel, silver, bamboo
2020 has been tough, chaotic and almost surreal for everyone. There was certainty in the sculptural forms I had explored earlier in my artistic career. Reconnecting with them anchored me. As I was finishing my piece, placing flowers in a pot felt like an affirmation of the continuity of existence and a counterweight to the madness outside my window.
Related Gallery
kaBeth Schwartz
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
Maryland
United States
About the Artist: Beth Schwartz
I am Baltimore-based mixed media artist as well as a rogue pathologist, art history nerd and literary geek. These eclectic interests unite into a unique visual voice. My art incorporates polymer clay, hand cut collage, altered photographs, acrylic paint, and ink. What comes out the other end is an assortment of boxes, journals, mixed media wall pieces and assemblages. My sketch pad was a fairly constant companion from late college into my early 30s, when "real" life grew too hectic (career, children, house, etc.). In 2004, I began creating jewelry with polymer clay. Although I mastered many skills, my artistic voice remained mute. Even worse, the perfectionist tendencies of a good pathologist crept in, displacing the joy. To change the paradigm, I began adding paints, papers and found objects to my repertoire. I was home. The ideas flooded in and my voice sang out. And polymer clay has retained a valued place in my toolbox. Since my semi-retirement in 2015, my artwork has been in galleries and craft shows in the Baltimore/DC area, and I have been selling from my website. A percentage of my sales are donated to Healthcare for the Homeless.
Websites
Exhibition Images
Handala
Media used: Polymer clay canes & freestyle in background, beads, metallic acrylic paint, homemade mold of a tin hand, on a framed wooden board. Dimensions: 12.5 x 12.5"
Caning was my first love in polymer clay and here I return to my roots. Creating art enables me to enter "the zone" where time blurs and the mind clears. To celebrate this meditative state invoked by hand work, I placed a clay hand in the center. Furthermore, I have made the atrocious pun of naming this piece "Handala", a reference to the mandalas of Asian art which are instruments of meditation.
Related Gallery
Two Dimensional Work
Opiate of the People
Media used: Polymer clay (mokume gane and stamping), acrylic paint, inks, transferred text, found objects including a computer part, stencils, on a wooden plaque. Dimensions: 12 x 9.75".
This piece addresses my ambivalence about the role technology plays in our lives. The text throughout reads "opiate of the people of the opiate of the people...." etc. Marx called religion the opiate of the people. The shrine-like structure of this piece alludes to this. "Soma" (the centrally framed clay word inside the computer chip) is the fictional hallucinogenic drug in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World"; this is the drug which kept society sedated and happy. Huxley no doubt borrowed the word "soma" from the Sanskrit word for a ritual drink in ancient Indian texts. Is technology a stupefying drug? Is it on par with a holy power? Have we abdicated our will to it? Here the claywork takes a backseat to the message.
Related Gallery
Two Dimensional Work
Leonardo's Advice
Media used: Polymer clay, acrylic paint, ink, collage with transfers on a wooden cradled panel. Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 2".
Da Vinci recorded his careful observations about the human figure in his notebooks and in his "Treatise on Painting". Here I combine his advice to artists regarding anatomy with classic anatomic images from other sources. I built this piece out three dimensionally with polymer clay. I invite the viewer to contemplate how our miraculous brains are always translating between 2 and 3 dimensions when we look at and create images, such as those in an anatomy book.
Related Gallery
Two Dimensional WorkAoife Murphy
- Details
- Category: Artist Galleries Artist Galleries
Location
Ireland
About the Artist: Aoife Murphy
My name is Aoife Smyth Murphy and I am a co-founder of the Irish Polymer Clay Guild. I very much enjoy my role within the Guild coordinating and hosting Workshops for our Members. I fell in love with Polymer Clay four years ago after making a Fairy Door for one of my daughters. She, like her Mom, is fascinated with the "Wee Folk" or "The Fae", as we call them in Ireland. We often create a batch of Fairy Doors and hide them in our local woods for children to find. This brings me so much joy and allows me to teach my three children about the importance of kindness and sharing! I have been lucky enough to be a Cover Artist and regular contributor to the US magazine "Passion for Polymer". I have also taken part in a virtual teaching retreat (Polymer Clay Adventure) for the past two years. I absolutely love to teach but I also consider myself very much a student. I hope I will always feel that way about Polymer Clay – that there will always be something new to try!
Websites
Exhibition Images
Fairy Teapot Cottage
6 inches x 10 inches, Ceramic and Polymer Clay
This cosy little cottage is a home to a very special fairy. It was designed with the notion of blending into a forest landscape. The Star Gazer Lily petals offer a waterproof roof and of course add a touch of femininity to the overall look. The walls are covered in faux bark and the spout, handle, door and window frames have been created with a faux wood cane. The magical fungi that have sprouted on the paved doorstep allow us to interpret the miniature stature of this piece and the Quartz Crystals embedded in the mossy foreground offer protection to the occupant. The stonework on the chimney draws the eye and allows us to imagine a brightly burning fire inside on cold days!
Related Gallery
Containers
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
10 inch x 10 inch, Ceramic and Polymer Clay,
This piece manifested as an exercise in "letting go" and not planning every last detail! I'm very inclined toward perfectionistic tendencies and I agonize over colours and design of every creation I make. This results in me working at a very slow speed and so I decided to just stop over thinking things! I grabbed my box of canes and just started sticking 'em on! I absolutely loved the result and this is definitely one of my favourite pieces. I hope it will inspire others to let go and just allow some of your work to manifest itself without worrying about what people think or if it will sell!
Related Gallery
Containers
Fantasy Wine Goblets
9 inches x 4 inches, Wine Glasses and Polymer Clay
I created these goblets just as Summer turned to Autumn. I wanted the colours to reflect a season of preparing for rest or indeed hibernation for some creatures! The warm Terracotta and Yellow Ochre leaf canes convey a Fall Feel while the Navy/Blue leaf canes makes one think of starry nights. What else can one do other than curl up in front of the fire and enjoy a glass of wine when the weather is wet and windy or dark and frosty!
