An Inspiring Rumble from the Polyclay Jungle

Photo credit: Aniko Kolesnikova

Over the past months, we've watched as our dear Aniko transforms from a polymer clay caterpillar into a lovely and talented butterfly. We've seen her spread her wings and fly off to one artistic adven-ture after another. Now, she has found a new level of magnificence in her latest journal, Indian Elephant. This is an amazing example of skill and talent in both carving and design.

You can behold the intricacies in close-up photos on Aniko's Flickr page. 

Pantone 2015 Color of the Year

It's not immediately apparent why Pantone would choose Marsala as Color-of-the-Year for 2015. It fits well with a Fall color palette, but I'm not sure I would want to wear it to a Spring soireé. Yet, when placed against the other color choices for Spring, Marsala offers a nice counterpoint to the usual pastel spectrum. 

With clay companies placing more attention on out-of-the-package colors, we are enjoying a period where creativity becomes easier because we are spending less time mixing our own clay colors. The Sculpey Soufflé palette is a good example of ready-to-use color. 

There will always be die hard artists who are known for their signature color lines. Those of us who wing it, are lucky to have color trends available to guide us in mixing fashion forward palettes. And, as manufacturers continue to develop more and better clay colors, we have it pretty good these days.

Do color trends influence your designs? Where do you get your color inspiration? If you sell your artwork, do customers ever ask for colors that are part of the Pantone seasonal palette or other fashion color trends?

Something's Fishy

A previous edition of the Daily Mail Online features the unusual food art of Tama-chan (aka illustrator Takayo Chioyta), seasoned itamae, or traditional Japanese chef. Tama-chan combines food dye, soy sauce, and green wasabi with traditional seaweed, rice and other ingredients like raw fish, ginger, and vegetables to make makizushi or rolled sushi creations.

It may seem odd that a sushi artist is featured on the pcPolyzine blog,  but when you learn the special technique Tama-chan uses it will all make sense. You see, Tama-chan arranges the sushi fixings onto a bamboo mat and visualizes what they will look like when rolled up and sliced  to show the cross-section design. Does that sound familiar? Of course, Tama-chan is creating millefiori sushi designs just like we make with polymer clay!! How inspirational is that? And she specializes in modern versions of art classics.

The article and accompanying rice art caught my eye as I scrolled through the Facebook page of Nancy Ulrich. Nancy found Tama-chan way back in March 2014, and I thought it would be a good idea to give the post a little boost.

"It's always a special moment when I make the first incision to reveal an image," says Tama-chan. Yes, Tama-chan, we know.

What do you think? Does playing with your food inspire your clay art?