PolyPediaOnline Students Gallery - When Cosmic Ceramic meets YOU!

There is a say - "It is important to do the right research as well as to do the research right."

When we begin working on a new idea – when ink meets paper, brush meets canvas, hands meet (polymer) clay – It sometimes takes days, weeks or months of simmering and doodling until these tiny fragments slowly fuse together, letting us know it is time to show up and give them a physical form.

Featured on Polymer Clay Daily and "The Polymer Arts" blog, the "Cosmic Ceramic" was that moment. An idea coming to life in the right form at the right time with the right possibilities.
With "a little" work, our research was done.

When Hilla and myself got your wonderful photos, we knew you guys enjoyed it as much as we did.

Feedback such as -
"Thank You so much for helping me get back into my art. For the last 6 months I have been out of the mood, but your Tutorial brought me out of that." 

"The technique is genius! I can't wait to try it!"


"Thank you for your hard work in producing these excellent quality classes! Everyone who loves polymer clay should see this work!"

This post is for you, my dear worldwide students and friends, who make me feel like their proud mentor and keep me smiling each and every day.
Thank you all for sending along your wonderful photos and letting us know how much you are enjoying your time with this tutorial. This is the reason we do what we do, with lot's of love.

Here is the Cosmic selection of worldwide artists -

Italian Ornella AMATUCCI, with a diploma in arts, she gives expression to her fantasy and creativity in different forms: painting, artistic handwriting, creating jewelry in polymer clay and using different materials. This is her inspiration to the Himalayan Totem Pendants
http://www.dipintodiblu.eu/index.php

Ornella AMATUCCI

Ornella AMATUCCI

Ornella AMATUCCI

Wolfschmuck -Annette Krüger's moon rocks and Olympic design!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfschmuck/9152389403/ 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=282531875224758&set=a.116414055169875.27244.100004038439756&type=1&theater 

Annette Krüger's moon rocks and Olympic design!

Lynn Pearson Shiner's Aponi bracelets - What a colorful combination!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3281194044948&set=a.2524082437631.69663.1720474743&type=1

Lynn Pearson Shiner's Aponi bracelets

UK artist Carrie Harvey with her wonderful leaf beads from the "New Hampshire Foliage" project
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29443904@N06/9239706203/
and more beads http://www.flickr.com/photos/29443904@N06/8951899250/

Carrie Harvey's leaves

Carrie Harvey's beads

Kate Golding's beautiful colorful beads! Art and Craftsmanship have always been a part of her life. Thanks to her mother, who introduced Kate to a world of crafts and skills, her youth was filled with, drawing, painting, basket weaving, beading, macrame, sculpting ( including '70s version of polymer clay!)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SkippingRockStudio1

Kate Golding's beautiful colorful beads!

Italian artist Cecilia Leonini created a dazzling necklace using the ceramic technique and used her own shapes and colours!

Cecilia necklace (based on Himalayan pendants tutorial)

French l'atelier de lilaroz says she is an Amateur polymer clay artist since Christmas 2004, here is her version of the GreenLand bracelet -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atelierlilaroz/8925189292/

l'atelier de lilaroz Bracelet

Germany artist Simone Wagner's - schmuckunst's flickr photos are another tribute to the Olympic rings necklace as well as a selection of other colorful beads.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37898646@N05/9017619213/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37898646@N05/8987780890/

Simone's Necklace (Moon Rocks interpretation)

Simone's Necklace

Simone's Beads

Kathy's Projects

outoftimedesigns - Kathy Richardson is having a good time with the ceramic technique. She started with pendants then moved to the mini houses, tea boxes and finalized with the incense holders. She is a self-taught artist, likes to play with any and all kinds of crafts/arts. Jewelry is her latest love. She says she has a web site but tend to sell her things while she is wearing them... ;)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/outoftimedesigns/8981966434/ 

Kathy's Time for Tea Project

Kathy's Mini Houses

Kathy's Pendants

Barbara Lessen shared with me her beautiful creations using the tutorial - beads, pendants and necklaces, all in fine touch and elegantly made.

and more of her work - here

http://www.barblessensunnydesignsjewelry.com/gallery.html

Barbara Lessen faux ceramic

Theresa -Yari RB thinks that the cosmic ceramic beads are mostly.... Addictive! I agree! http://www.flickr.com/photos/38919237@N00/9018690299/

Theresa's Beads

chicco47 which was featured several times in my blog is a polymer clay addict. As she says in her flickr page - "... Since 2007 infected by Polymer clay, cure is hopeless!"...
This is her version of the FireWorks beads and the Olympic Rings Necklace.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66313746@N03/9175736127/  

chicco47's Beads

chicco47's Beads

Susanne Roewekamp (artesannus) took the ceramic beads one step forward that even I am asking myself "what did she do here?"...In her piece she used natural shells like molds.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artesannus/8883037504/ 

Susanne Roewekamp's Shell beads

Priscilla Lane's herbs signs are so cute!
This is another polymer clay possibility I have never considered before!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200521802386071&set=a.1052227704445.2010107.1188358667&type=1&relevant_count=1 

Priscilla's herb signs

Lizzi Bizzi Zizzi Bucklow-Holt's super cute Mini Houses button beads!
You can transform any project to any idea!
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/157462983/cute-handmade-polymer-clay-house-button

Lizzi Bizzi Zizzi Bucklow-Holt Mini Houses button beads

Italian artist Ariane Freisleben is working very hard on her cosmic ceramic work, almost each week a new jewel is joining her collection.
https://www.facebook.com/ariane.freisleben?fref=ts

Ariane Freisleben's cosmic ceramic work

Ariane Freisleben's cosmic ceramic work

Ariane Freisleben's cosmic ceramic work

Ariane Freisleben's cosmic ceramic work

Ariane Freisleben's cosmic ceramic work

Ariane Freisleben's cosmic ceramic - mosaic work

Iris Gaye has her original beads shape to mimic the ceramic appearance. Faces, birds and figurines. How cute!

Iris Gaye-Vuille designs

Katja Benevol Gabrijelcic from Slovenia also posted her flower and leaves jewelry, mix media design
https://www.facebook.com/katja.benevolgabrijelcic

katja's mix media polymer clay jewelry

and another one -

katja's mix media polymer clay jewelry

and last is Veronique Hoffmann with her moon rocks & necklaces!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fimomaus/8737235083/

Veronique Hoffmann

Veronique Hoffmann

Veronique Hoffmann

Waiting for your photo!
I'd be happy to share them in my next "students gallery" post!

Join the Cosmic celebration!
Thank You all!

Polymeri Online 12.7.13 | Sea Nudibranch, Painted carved polymer clay beads, Magical tiara, Summer sandals decor and Dobby the elf is free

Ines's Nudibranch

Yes, I know, I was away.

Can I use the summer excuse and say that I feel more busy then regular days? Crazy as it sound, I am supposed to be relaxed, no hurrying up in the morning to prepare sandwiches, kids are on vacation, and the opposite is true. no time.

Anyway, Promise to be good and post weekly ;)

Ines Fonseca's sea creatures - Nudibranch are both beautiful and interesting. I can see hints of translucent and opaque clay creating these.
Ines included a real gallery of these amazing creatures in her flickr. She discovered polymer clay as a teenager and through the years found out that what she enjoyed the most was the possibility to create expressive characters combining playfulness and color.

http://thelittlecreatures.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/nudibranch-nudibranquios/

and her super cute Etsy shop - 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/thelittlecreatures

Lorraine's beads

Lorraine Vogel is LOVObeads. She is a graphic artist with an itch to create handmade polymer clay jewelry. Her jewelry are painted, stamped and carved, creating a unique organic feel. Pendants, beads and earrings are a part of her Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/130778879/polymer-clay-3-piece-necklace-earring

Polymer clay tiara by Jen Parrish

ParrishRelics (Jen Parrish) work is a combination of modern and old world techniques. Jewel toned stained glass and imagery joined with detailed sculpted frames, polymer clay work, semi-precious stones, or tiny glass vessels. In her Etsy shop you can find a mix of designs in a mix of materials.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ParrishRelics

Her Blog - http://parrishrelics.com/wordpress/

Summer is here! Anarina's Decor

Anarina Amar's unique style leads her to find original decorations for her.... Sandals!
What can be more suitable for summer than sandal's polymer clay decor?

Anarina is from Greece and her technique feels like ceramics but in the same way mimic other type of materials. You can see more of her signature technique in her Flickr or Etsy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anarina-anar/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnarinaAnar

Dobby is free to go to the beach

If you are like me, 2 left hands in sculpturing, Reinhard Fritz's work is a treat to the eye. With his amazing talent he brings life to imaginary or real figures. Taken from Harry Potter's books - Dobby TheElf is one of his recent projects. Take a look at his detailed step-by-step pictures to see his process.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63875527@N07/

Have a great weekend!

Polymeri Online 28.6.13 | Jason's Customs, Mavi's cartooned polymer clay portraits, Ewa's Zoo and white feathers tutorial

Summer is officially announced, but here, in Israel it's hot for more than 2 months.

Heat has a tendency to keep me away from my studio (clay is not behaving nicely during the summer...) but I am working on new projects so the AC is working extra hours...;)

I stumbled upon Jason Simpson's work when I opened an Instagram account few days ago, searching for polymer clay hashtags, then I noticed his bold, unique sculpturing.

Jason says his shop is inhabited by things what comes out of his brain through his fingers and into Sculpey material. He is from Canada and have been sculpting and painting for over 20 years. 

His "customs" (what he calls his ooak creations) are made of polymer clay, acrylic paints, pens, pencils, sculpted, carved and painted. His artwork is remarkable. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MongrelLabs

2D polymer clay portraits

Philippines based Mavi crafts are a couple working together creating 2D cartooned style polymer clay portraits, name tags, bag charms and other cute personalized designs. 

Their recent project is magnets for Edgar & Mila's 50th wedding anniversary. So cute!

https://www.facebook.com/mai9380v

Ewa's zoo - polymer clay cow

Sculpturing small animals is pure fun to both children and adults. I remember the day I took a local book teaching adorable animals from Plasticine and tried my skills in creating some. How was I? It was ok, not more :) Even my son did better than me.

Ewa from Poland, on the other hand, is doing a wonderful job in bringing to life scenes from the animals view. Monkey on a tree, cow sitting next to her cow friend, all with her sweet talent and clay balls in all kind of shapes and sizes. How could you not like it? Check out her free videos on YouTube and Facebook -

http://www.youtube.com/user/LetsClayWithEwa?feature=watch

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lets-clay-with-Ewa/525503667502530?fref=ts

white-gold polymer clay feathers

Last link is a simple and easy project I found online. Feathers are very much in fashion lately! If you're looking for a 10 minutes project for earrings, pendant or just a nice charm hanging on a gift, grab some white polymer clay, gold leafing pen/acrylic paints and get busy. Kelli makes it all look so easy!

http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2013/06/07/diy-clay-feathers-by-kelli-murray/

You are welcome to follow me on Instagram, search for "irismishly" and I'd be happy to see you there! I am posting photos from my daily work along with some personal stuff.

B.t.w - This photo is my illustration made by a friend. The great thing is that I got the skin of a 15 yrs old again! no wrinkles or sun spots! ;)

Have a great weekend!

Short summary to a wonderful trip - Switzerland-Liechtenstein Classes, June 2013

Teaching in general (and teaching a group of polymer clay ladies and man in Switzerland in particular) is such a rewarding experience.

When teaching a class, I feel as much of a participant in the learning process as I am responsible for presenting the content effectively. A wonderful feeling.

For me, it is important to make sure the students have a good understanding of the material and technique, supplying them with both a toolkit of ideas and class projects, and also, I want my students to become thinkers, active and use the technique and idea to go to the next "what if" step, researching the possibilities beyond.

My Switzerland teaching trip was another proof that learning is mutual, fun and endless, no matter which language you speak.
It was wonderful.

On a nice sunny day, a group of dozens students gathered in the beautiful Liechtenstein, with landscape taken from fairy tales, both Melanie Muir and myself along with Sabine Backer as the ideal organizer, translator and host, spent wonderful 3 days of rock cuffs, skyscraper, INKredible and of course, perfect venue, clean fresh air and healthy appetite!

Look at those clean plates! :)

 

A visit in Zurich

Liechtenstein's view from the class

With 2 groups, each teacher was teaching two 1.5 days of classes.
I was giving my "INKredible polymer" class as a full day and the Skyscraper technique as a half day.

Students were each taking their own path in creating a design, one chose a round shape, other pointed, third created multi-beads creation - thinkers!

Working!

Some of the final pieces

There was one man in my class (only one! How come there are so few men in polymer clay?), Jean Nordmann, a very special person with a very special life mission. I will post about him and his precious humanitarian work in my next posts. Surrounded with lots of helpers he did a great job as well.

And how can we miss a Swiss tradition?

Sabine's sweetest daughter surprised us with a superb chocolate fondu!
The perfect end to a wonderful trip.

I wish to thank Sabine and to all my new and old friends for this wonderful opportunity to see the world, meet new friends I would have never met if it wasn't for polymer clay.
I cherish these moments and think of how small the world is and how happy I am that polymer clay brings us all closer together.

You are welcome to see more pictures from this event on my Facebook,

My next stop is Czech Republic at the end of August.
Only 4 last spots left! Grab your spot if you are close by -
Press here for all the details.
Till next time - Tschüss!!
:) 

Polymeri Online 15.6.13 | Spanish guitar, Miss Piggy and friends, Smiley polymer clay gnomes, Italian Harry Potter and Altoid-Mania!

Back from my Switzerland-Leichtenstein trip and it was wonderful and un-forgettable. It was my first time in Switzerland and will definitely not my last.
Perfect Tick-Tick Swiss clock organization by Sabine Backer, wonderful people, great food, clean fresh Swiss air, beautiful landscape and I can only wait for my next visit there. Such a peaceful and wonderful country. More photos and stories will be posted soon or if you cannot wait, you can see them on my FB page.


But first things first - Polymer clay inspiration from around the world -

Spanish MomentOComplementO is a multi-technique polymer clay artist - from Millefiori to stamping, beading, jewelry making, leather stringing, miniature food and the list goes on.
Her recent creations is a guitar collection made of polymer clay. This is a personal project of hers and it is a humble tribute to each and every one who loves music.
Not sure what they will become but I can see cool brooches in this electrifying shape!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/momentocomplementos/9005673644/
https://www.facebook.com/momentocomplemento
http://www.momentocomplemento.com/

And another tribute, this time to "The Muppets Show" by Sandra Zurita. I couldn't find more details about Sandra but my nostalgic love to the Muppets and especially to Miss Piggy & Kermit the frog brought such a big smile on my face, I had to share these super cute polymer clay beads.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367934356652833&set=a.367933696652899.1073741826.100003088160381&type=1&relevant_count=1

Tina from The Spotted Tree creates US handmade figurines in the classic style of vintage folk art: Clowns, gnomes, smiley Easter eggs, all with her special signature design and characteristics. Her pieces first come to life with a paper sketch or a layout, then hand sculpted (by her) out of polymer clay. Next they are oven baked, painted, sealed and signed.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSpottedTree

Nicolò (Finally a man!) is Italian, from Padova, a 22-year-old student who studies Economics and Management in Venice.
Like many of us when he was a child he used to play with polymer clay, and in 2011 he took his passion one step forward and began to create and sell his creations - miniatures of manga characters, cartoon characters and many more. Harry Potter, Freddy Mercury and the the monster from the Alien movie are only few of his wonderful miniatures.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuareNick

Ruth Karp, one of my dear students, send me a picture of her beautiful Altoid tin boxes. Her expertise is obvious, when creating so many one can do it with her eyes closed :)
I covered a tin box only once, probably need to do that again, they look like fun!
Ruth doesn't have a website at the moment but in addition to her tin boxes creations she also cover and create masks, lotion bottles, boxes & frames.
If your fingers are tickling, here is a good resource for various tin boxes shapes -
https://www.etsy.com/shop/florestanissupplies/search?search_query=tin&order=date_desc&view_type=list&ref=shop_search

Have a great day! See you soon :)

Final samples for my Liechtenstein trip | When INKredible meets Cosmic Ceramic

That's it, I am almost packed for my 6 days trip to Liechtenstein, hosted by Sabine Backer and joining with Melanie Muir.
Eager students are waiting to find out more about marvelous polymer clay techniques, tips and tricks, I am sure we will have a wonderful time, weather is on our side as well!

I've played with more samples for my classes - Skyscraper and INKredible, combining them with new designs. In these necklaces I took the Olympic Rings design from the Cosmic Ceramic tutorial and created an INKredible sample (too confusing, ha?)

It's always fun to go back to a technique you already master and play with it's variations.
This necklace design is so simple yet so impressive when worn.

INKredible Tutorial Samples

And a set matching earrings.

This necklace is a variation on the Garden Walkway only using metal findings. When using these findings the final result is very elegant.

 

Now I should be getting back to my suitcases, I hope this week finds you in good mood, will be back for updates and photos from the workshop next week.

Polymeri Online 27.5.13 | DIY Sharpie alcohol inks, Retro Flowers, Sculpted mirrors and more Faux Ceramic by students | Last 24 Hours to Promotion Sale

More from the Cosmic Ceramic Beads -
Gifts with every kit purchase!

First I wish to thank you all for your patience with my messy schedule of weekly posts, the new tutorial preparation, packing and shipping, getting organized to my Liechtenstein classes, daughters' final exams

I wish there were more than 24h a day...

I guess I'll have some rest on board...  :)

2 parts for today's post -
The first part will be our regular overview of my www polymer finds, and the 2nd will answer some of your most common questions about the Cosmic Ceramic tutorial (which by the way,special promotion sale ends today! so hurry and get yourself a copy in the discounted price).

More from the Cosmic Ceramic Beads -
Gifts with every kit purchase!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Home made alcohol inks
using Sharpie pens

There was a talk in the Israeli forum about ways to create your own alcohol inks using... Sharpies! The link was taken from "I am Rushmore" blog by Karen Isaacson - All you need is to break open a sharpie and soak the inky insert in some rubbing alcohol, then place the colored liquid in travel sized spray bottles. It's quick and easy (but she also said it's smelly and messy) ;)
Will you try and let me know how it worked?

http://iamrushmore.blogspot.co.il/2012/01/homemade-alcohol-ink-with-sharpies.html

Retro!

Silvia Ortiz De La Torre took the retro canes one step ahead and created this colorful beads necklace. Her colors are always so vibrant!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/95865282/polymer-clay-necklace-spring-rose

Athena's Mirror

I do not like the new Flickr interface but I liked Athena Alexs' little pond which I found on her Flickr gallery. Athena (or is it Minerva?) is from Greece and is a third year student and does mainly ornaments, flower sculpturing and canning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64800407@N03/8700733125/

Here is a mirror of hers - so lovely!

http://www.atheniaclaycreations.blogspot.gr/2012/07/blog-post_31.html

Kathy's Mini Houses Beads

Another Flickr find is by Kathy Richardson who was quick enough to produce 2 new creations from the Cosmic Ceramic tutorial - Hippie pendants and super cute mini-houses.

Kathy said she wanted to do some kind of "hippie" type thing so the faux ceramic seemed like such a good fit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/outoftimedesigns/8808117707/

Lot's of goodies in her Etsy store too - https://www.etsy.com/shop/OutofTimeDesigns

Veronique's Beads

Veronique Hoffmann, which is always the quickest student to produce my tutorials projects, really did it this time. Only 7 days after getting the complete set she posted one of her projects - The "Moon Rocks" beads. According to her she has work expected for the following months!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fimomaus/8737235083/

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I've been getting questions about the new tutorial and hope the following answers can clear them out -

Are the secret ingredients can be purchased again easily when we run out?

"Is the ingredient to make a new clay something easily purchased?"

Yes! The ingredients and material we are using in the tutorial are common everywhere. You can purchase it in your own country or order it from us in case you run out.

Quick & light?
or Advanced?

The variety of projects will work for those seeking quick and light projects as well as those who are looking for more complex and elaborated designs: 5 minutes beads? advanced bracelets? In the complete "Cosmic Ceramic" set you will find your personal preferred project.

Do the technique fits any product? Can I still use my signature designs with the new technique?

Yes! The ceramic technique can be adapted onto any design you create even if we did not include it in the projects - various beads, pens, glass covering etc.

Do I need special tools or materials to create the projects?

You will need the basic materials we use in our daily polymer clay work.
In addition you will need soft pastels, chalks and you may need alcohol inks if you want to try new mixes and combinations.

The special promotion sale on this new set of tutorials ends tomorrow!
LAST 24 HOURS!

Don't wait for the last minute so you won't miss out on this one time offer -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cosmic Ceramic" | Vol. 46, 47, 48, 49

=> 4 PDF files; Hundreds of step-by-step photos;

=> Beads, jewelry, home accessories & decor.

=> 20+ ideas and projects,

=> 19 super detailed videos;

=> 6(!) hours of content

==> PLUS - A pampering kit with CD, tools and materials!

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY -  When purchasing this deal you will receive one of our sample beads as a gift!

To join the Cosmic adventure, just click the link below

http://www.polypediaonline.com/cosmic-ceramic-polymer-clay-faux-ceramic-tutorial.html 

I know you'll love it!

I know I do :)