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Valeria Myrusso is an Ukrainian artist living in Prague, Czech Republic. She is a founder of the "Grimoire La poule noire” brand and has been working with the polymer since 2006 using the material as an addition to her mixed media artwork. Slowly step by step she changed her interest into making jewellery and thanks to polymer clay and a variety of pastes, inks and pigments, she makes imitations of metals, porcelain, enamel, or frosted glass. Valeria also uses natural materials such as coral or mother-of-pearl, precious and semi-precious stones and metals for decoration and inner frames. As she says she draws inspiration in history and culture, art and philosophy, mythology and folklore, in the world of nature and urban aesthetics. You can find elements of such styles as Renaissance, art Nouveau, art deco, baroque, gothic, and many others in her works. There is always a touch of dark aesthetics and decadent movement, symbolism and mysticism in her jewellery. But her creative search is focused on understanding beauty in the world around us, real and illusory, material or mental, sometimes fanciful, sometimes laconic, sometimes life-asserting and sometimes frightening. Nevertheless, Valeria works not only in the genre of "historical decoration", but also she creates contemporary art that is interesting and challenging and despite all the cultural borrowings from the art-styles and genres of different eras and ethnic groups, she follows her own style.

Christine Dumont is a well known artist not only in the polymer clay community. She has been a long term polymer star and her talent of artist and dedication of tutor helped a lot of starting clayers to find their inner voice with her ongoing project Voila. Apart of these beautiful earrings, have a look at the pendant below which is a model piece for Christine’s online course Materiality on Voila. In its primary sense, “Materiality” means "the character of matter". The course provides methods for the artist to personalise the clay, give it character and allow it to express itself. The pendant is inspired by the Japanese textile tradition of boroboro meaning "tattered", a tradition which gives new life to old clothes by stitching or re-weaving patches of fabric together to create layered items of clothing. In the spirit of boroboro, Christine uses established techniques and gives them a new life by transforming the clay. Then she alters its structure, imparting new texture, and new characteristics, to go "beyond the clay". The piece conveys power, is delicate but strong. Its depth seems emergent, as if through a veil, mysterious and cool. By readily conveying a multitude of emotions, the enriched clay becomes a rich vocabulary for the telling of stories.

Elena Chalykh lives in Russian Saint-Petersburg. Everything in this city inspires creativity - parks, theatres, museums, architecture, ancient palaces and buildings, painting and contemporary art. You can just walk the streets and admire the surrounding beauty to get the inspiration. Elena is mainly interested in the creation of necklaces, bracelets and brooches. As she said, she has loved jewellery since her childhood and fell in love with polymer clay because she can freely create any jewellery in different techniques. Thanks to her origins she is easily inspired by the works of old Russian masters of coloured enamel which you can find in museums. Her favourite polymer clay techniques are Caning, Mokume Gane and Mica Shift. For the finish she uses mostly sanding and polishing to reveal clay’s beauty, to enhance the mirror shine of the clay. Apart from mentioned three techniques Elena likes to combine polymer clay with other materials like natural stones, beads and rhinestones. The best thing about the polymer clay is not only the creativity, but also the opportunity to meet and make friends with wonderful people from all over the world and Elena loves that as well.

Valérie Ronvel-Blaya, aka Vee, aka Veesuel, is a polymer clay artist from France. Everybody loves her for her humbleness, loveliness; she has a great sense of humour and talks a lot but in a funny and pleasant way! She is a very busy lady as well, good businesswoman and plus all of this she is a very talented and creative person. These pieces were made about three years ago but Valérie had to stop working on them for a lack of time. The inspiration was a feeling, a thought “Take a shelter” – the English expression she has always loved. It means to go to safety, to take care of yourself. So she created a sacred cave, a warm and intimate space for beings who would decide to inhabit that space, a nest, refuge, isolation... The creation of these pieces had required an important work on both the structure and the surface. Wire reinforces the narrowest part of the suspension, but everything else is a polymer which has been covered with several more layers. Valérie used an incredible amount of different colours and shades to create blends and canes to make the caves look so good. Total of 48 actually! Then they were sanded to the satin look. Now was a time to populate them. Valérie opted for very simple figures, a little bit mysterious with their matt black coats and their metallic faces. In the last sphere lie eggs. The inside of the spheres is dressed in a very soft acrylic “wool” that she sewn in a spiral. Each item is approximately 50 cm high and 15 cm wide. These spheres from the mysterious world including their present and future residents are beautiful examples that polymer clay is offering so many ways to express our feelings and thoughts and to show what is in our hearts, how fragile we are and how art is helping us to show it to the world.

The US elections are finally behind us together with its chaos, frustration, joy, hope and all sorts of feelings people in the whole world but especially in the US experienced in the last few weeks. Some artists got inspired by the results of the elections and wanted to show the support their own way. One of them is Joseph Barbaccia. Joseph is a Delaware, USA based artist - a clay sculptor illustrator. He studied fine art, design and illustration at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia before beginning his professional career. To express his support, he decided to create this clay illustration of Kamala Harris who is the United States' first female vice president, the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the first African American and first Asian American vice president. Let’s see what the process looks like. This piece titled “Kamala” is made with Premo clay and is 32 cm wide and 38 cm high. His method begins with creating a photo-based drawing on a computer by using a WACOM pen display and Photoshop to accomplish this. While drawing he is thinking about keeping the image simple and adding elements that give additional information about the subject. Because the whole piece is going to be made in clay anyway, there is no need to go into adding small details. When the drawing is finished and Joseph is satisfied with it, the picture is printed on a colour laser printer. The picture is then placed under the glass tile, which is the surface Joseph is going to work on, as a reference. Now it is time to mix the colours. As he says, he usually mixes 20 to 30 colours to start. Then by using a machine and extruder there have to be made long snakes of various colours. To create so many long snakes Joseph employs the help to do so. Laying down the clay on the glass involves many hours of backbreaking work. The snakes have to be kept tightly packed and free of cut marks. Also, during this time, he usually needs to mix and extrude supplemental colours. An artwork the size of “Kamala” can take up to 3 weeks, including the original drawing. It looks like the illustration of Kamala Harris is going to be the last one for some time as Joseph is planning to take a break from portraiture and would like to try a bit smaller and 3D artwork. We are definitely looking forward to seeing what he will come up with!

Creative challenges are a great way to nurture our creativity and take our artwork to another level. The Russian artist Alexandra Vaigi is the organizer of one such challenge, ClayVember, that we would like to introduce to you today. Alexandra was inspired by several international polymer clay events that she attended in the past, such as Polymer Week or Fimo Forum, and – above all – the famous Inktober challenge. She really liked the format, the idea, the simplicity and complexity of the rules at the same time. Alexandra especially appreciated the fact that artists of various styles and trends could take part in this creative marathon. She decided to arrange such a challenge for polymer clay artists and enthusiasts, an event that would be accessible for everyone, no matter their location or financial possibilities. So three years ago she started ClayVember (a combination of ‘clay’ and ‘November’). The rules are simple – choose a theme, create a piece of art on this theme every day in November, post a picture of each creation on your Instagram daily, and post a photo of the whole collection on the last day of the month. Alexandra says that she is immediately grateful to all everyone who took part and finished the challenge in the past three years. In her words, they all contributed to the special atmosphere that is almost physically felt during all ClayVember challenges. And the creativity of the participants is not the only great thing about this virtual event. It has become a tradition that the event is sponsored – anyone can become a sponsor, support their favourite runner and reward them with a prize. Alexandra says that last year they had 19 sponsors. Another positive feature of ClayVember is that it’s not competitive – there’s no winner, or, better yet, anyone who completes the challenge is a winner. This means that there were amazing 113 winners from all over the world last year. The event keeps growing, so its organization is more and more time-consuming. That’s why Alexandra put together a small team that takes care of many different tasks. Alexandra says that it would be impossible to run the challenge without them. She really hopes that the ClayVember marathon will grow and develop. And how about you? Are you going to take part this year?

Sometimes it takes ages to find the right medium, sometimes it happens in an instant and we start walking our path. Maisha Samiha stumbled upon polymer clay by accident only last year, but when that happened, her artistic career took off quite quickly. Maisha is the artist behind her brand Ms.Claze. She says that when she first saw a video with polymer clay art, she was hooked immediately. It felt as if she had known this medium for a long time, even though she had never heard of it before. She first touched the medium in August 2020 and as soon as she started working with it, it was almost like her fingers had some kind of muscle memory. Her art is inspired by two major sources – her ethnicity and her surroundings, nature, landscape as well as her travels. Maisha is Bengali, but she lives in Canada, and these two factors combine in her artwork to create a truly unique aesthetic. She says she mixes her culture with what she sees around in order to tell little stories through her clay art. The artist launched her Etsy store in October last year and she makes small collections every month. She loves taking commissions from her customers, so she does a lot of custom work. Her approach to art and her stories seems to have resonated with a lot of people who follow her and have become her customers. Check out Maisha‘s social media, where you can admire her amazing 3D decorated slabs, jewellery, ornaments and framed art.

It’s not quite easy to characterize the style of Ekaterina Semenenko’s artwork, because she employs many different techniques and creates many different objects. There are, however, some uniting features, whether we’re looking at her jewellery or her amazing moth sculptures. Inspiration by nature, emphasis on detail and perfect craftsmanship are just some of them. Ekaterina started working with polymer clay since 2014 and she says that it has become her lifestyle. In the very beginning she created simple jewellery. She really enjoyed working with different textures and spent a considerable amount of time studying various techniques. The artist reveals that she is a perfectionist by nature, so it has always been quite critical of what she does. She constantly strives to improve her skills and this attitude reflects in the perfect execution of all her pieces. In 2018 she suddenly switched from jewelry to sculptures. She took it as a kind of experiment, a test of her skills. As soon as she made the first moth, she was completely addicted and she still can't stop making them. Ekaterina says that the process of making her moth sculptures is quite complex and involves a lot of exciting tasks. It involves many experiments, trials and failures and it is greatly satisfying for her when she achieves the desired result. Her interest in making jewellery has almost vanished by now and the artist is currently focusing only on sculpting. She is looking forward to new interesting projects and challenges ahead. Check out Ekaterina’s Instagram account and take a look at her moths, they’re really cute, aren’t they?

One of the best things about polymer clay is that it readily lends itself to almost any technique. It can also perfectly mimic many different materials, as is nicely shown in the artwork by Liliya Fadeeva. She chose to imitate soutache embroidery and creates beautiful filigree pieces that are hard to tell from real soutache pieces. There was a time in Liliya‘s life when she wanted to do something interesting in her free time. She started looking for options on the Internet and, among other things, there were some interesting polymer clay products. She was intrigued but not enough to try the medium out herself. Years later, she came across polymer creations again. This time she bought a few blocks of clay, tried working with it and I liked it so much that she immediately ordered the necessary materials and tools. In the beginning, she sculpted dolls and decorated mugs and spoons. Then she decided to choose a niche - brooches. She loves complex work, in which you need to pay a lot of attention to the tiniest details, so she went for imitation soutache. She started off by recreating the work of soutache masters, because she found it difficult to come up with something original right away, but now she creates her original designs and constantly thinks about new possibilities. We also appreciate the colour schemes she applies in her work. Liliya says she always tries to choose more difficult colour combinations, rather than going for something obvious. Liliya started offering her artwork online and she‘s been very successful. She wants to grow her business slowly since she doesn‘t have much free time to allocate to her artwork and her technique is very time consuming. On average, one brooch takes about 25 hours, sometimes a little less or more, depending on the complexity and size. In the near future she would like to further refine her own style and she is dreaming about becoming a full-time artist.

It’s always pleasant to see newly emerging and very promising artists, who bring fresh ideas and impulses into the field, and follow their journey of discovery. And so it was a nice surprise to come across the work of Leonie Uken. Leonie, who lives on Spiekeroog, a magical little Island in the north of German, discovered polymer clay only two months ago and so every new creature is a new adventure for her. She couldn’t have discovered the medium at a better time – she is not allowed to work due to the pandemic restrictions, so she can dedicate a lot of her time and energy to her artwork. She started with making jewellery, but soon moved on to making her original creatures. The aspiring artist is undoubtedly inspired by both Leonie’s passion for cats and all things dark as well as the eerie landscape that is her home. The island provides ample inspiration with the beautiful shores and slightly haunted forests. Who could stay immune to its beauty? We’re really curious to see how Leonie’s work is going to develop and we can’t wait to see some new pieces from her studio. If you want to show her your support, don’t forget to check out Leonie’s social media.

Today we would like to share with you the playful work of the artist simply known as Sergio, who defines himself as a big Disney fan and a toy collector with a backrgound in architecture. Just sit back and enjoy Sergio’s special characters and skillfully crafted miniatures and dioramas. The artist says that he started creating things when he was just a small kid. He made things from plasticine, cold porcelain clay, and even beeswax. He had seen polymer clay around in stores and YouTube videos and he felt really tempted to start working with it. When he first tried modelling with the material in 2019, it felt like it was the medium he had been looking for all his life. Sergio does an excellent sculpting job with all his pieces and we wanted to know more about his creative process. He says that it’s different for each creation. Some flow easily, others present him with challenges along the way. His work is also quite time consuming; individual clay pieces can take anywhere from a couple of days to over a week, and a full diorama can take up to several months. We also inquired about his interesting colour palettes. To him, colour is all about feeling. As an architect, he learnt a bit about colour theory in school, but he only really started understanding colour by trial and error, in the process of creating his works. His inspiration comes not only from animation, but also from other artists who work with colour in new, inspiring ways. Social media are an important part of Sergio’s artistic career. They help him not only promote his work, but also connect with other artists in the community, share his knowledge and skills with his fans. He recently started his own creative business and hopes that he will be able to keep it running. We’re definitely keeping our fingers crossed for him.

Amy Gebhardt has been working with polymer clay since 1988 and she became seriously involved with the medium 20 years ago. Since that moment she spends most of her free time making beads and vessels in order to help herself escape the stress of her daily job. Amy works as a fresh flower wholesaler by day and making polymer art gives her the opportunity to enjoy something that lasts longer than a few days. It took Amy quite some time to perfect her containers and vessels, and she keeps playing with dimensions, colours and different ways of decorating her pieces. She says that caning is her passion and it is quite obvious she has a lot of experience with building complex canes. Whether it’s kaleidoscopes, mica shift, bargello-inspired patterns or something else, we love Amy’s work with colours, her colour palettes and always harmonious and pleasant, as well as the superbly crafted finish of her creations. The American artist pays a lot of attention to the surface treatment of her vessels because the sensory experience of touching the silky smooth surface of her artworks is very important to her. That’s why she carefully sands and buffs each of her bowls or boxes. Amy admits she has no idea what she will do with all the beads she has made so far, but you can surely find some inspiration in her beautiful veneers and tasteful colour combinations. You can enjoy them on Amy’s Instagram account.

We live in the world of rules and conventions that make our lives somewhat easier. On the other hand, it gets boring after a while and you might long for a place with no rules and boundaries. The Swiss award-winning artist Mardi Malt created such a world for her unusual characters. In her parallel universe everything is possible. Mardi’s Comical Creatures express feelings and thoughts in a truly powerful way. You can see quite quickly what is going on – is there happiness, suffering or ignorance? You don’t have to ask, just observe. Apart from rather volatile emotions, the appearance of her sculptures often reflects the characters’ story. If you take a closer look, you may realize that in Mardi’s galaxy each character has their purpose and they might be heroes of their own kind whereas in our world, they would probably become outsiders. But the alternative world and our physical world are not separate in Mardi’s artwork. She often uses for example pieces of her garment or regular everyday objects and incorporates them into her sculptures. The artist utilizes various media, such as polymer clay, acrylics, felt pens, epoxy clay, wire or fabric, in order to give her characters their specific look. Her sculptural style actually bears a strong resemblance of her excellent illustrations. You can explore both Mardi’s sculptures and illustrations on her website and other social media. Just take a deep breath and dive into her parallel universe – it is a truly inspiring place. And who knows, you may find your own slightly weird superhero there.

It is not easy to classify the style of Ellen Rococo’s jewellery. At first sight, you can notice a strong resemblance to Art Nouveau. If you take a closer look, however, it becomes clear to you that there‘s more than that to her artwork. Ellen’s pieces are like Art Nouveau meets witchcraft and fantasy. There are powerful animal symbols, such as ravens, snakes, rams or dragons, hybrid creatures, like human figures with animal heads, as well as magical signs. The atmosphere is dark but not scary. You may not know what is going on, but you can feel it’s white magic. The Ukrainian artist gave her heart to polymer clay in 2009. Since then her hobby has become a business and the main source of income. Ellen combines polymer clay with crystals, precious and semi-precious stones. She has recently mastered some new techniques in jewellery making, which greatly expanded the range of herpossibilities. For example, now she combines polymer clay with silver. Apart from being a productive artist, Ellen is also socially active. Together with her friend, she organizes meetings and contests with gifts from sponsors, and she teaches workshops in Kiev in order to develop the Ukrainian polymer clay community. Visit Ellen’s social media and let her artwork charm you. - Je poněkud nelehké zařadit styl šperků Ellen Rococo. Na první pohled si můžete všimnout nápadné podobnosti se secesí. Pokud se však podíváte pozorněji, bude vám jasné, že v její tvorbě je toho mnohem víc. Elleniny šperky jsou spíše kombinací secese s magií a fantazií. Jsou zde přítomny silné zvířecí symboly, jako například havran, had, beran, či drak, různé hybridní bytosti, jako lidé se zvířecí hlavou, stejně jako magické znaky. Atmosféra je temná, ne však děsivá. Možná nerozumíte tomu, co konkrétně šperky vyjadřují, ale jste si jistí, že je to magie dobra. Ukrajinská umělkyně odevzdala své srdce polymeru v roce 2009. Od té doby se koníček vyvinul v seriózní podnikání a hlavní zdroj příjmů. Ellen ve svých špercích kombinuje polymer s krystaly, drahokamy a polodrahokamy. Nedávno si osvojila další šperkařské techniky, což velice rozšířilo její možnosti. Nově například kombinuje polymer se stříbrem. Kromě toho, že je velmi produktivní šperkařkou, je Ellen aktivní také společensky. Spolu s kamarádkou pořádá srazy, sponzorované soutěže a učí polymerové workshopy v Kijevě, aby pomohla rozvoji ukrajinské polymerové komunity. Navštivte Ellenina sociální média a nechte se očarovat její tvorbou.

The little dragons we would like to show you today are no doubt very realistic. It’s easy to imagine you catch sight of them, wallowing in the sun, during a walk in the countryside. Some of them are just as big as a digit of your finger, other’s are just the right size to comfortably nest in the palm of your hand. All of them are really cute and their eyes shine with curiosity. Their maker, the Russian artist Victoria Kosse, started working with polymer clay six years ago. There was no period of searching for her – the very fist creation she sculpted with the material was a cute scaly dragon. She says that the idea to make dragons was always in her head, she was only looking for the right means of expression. Polymer clay turned out to be the right material. After all the years, she still hasn’t changed the subject. Although Victoria gets occasionally distracted by making other creatures, she still sculpts mostly dragons, the only thing that slightly varies is the style. There are variations in colours, facial expression or posture. Sometimes her dragons are winged, sometimes they have horns or look more like lizards. Victoria’s approach is a good example of how we can use and enhance our creativity by repeatedly exploring a single topic. Check out her Instagram account to find out how many species of dragons she has already created. - Malí dráčci, které vám chceme dnes ukázat, vypadají bezpochyby velmi realisticky. Je snadné si představit, že je při procházce přírodou zahlédnete, jak se vyhřívají na sluníčku. Někteří jsou velcí jen jako článek prstu, jiní mají tu správnou velikost, aby vám pohodlně zahnízdili v dlani. Všichni jsou však roztomilí a jejich očka září zvědavostí. Jejich autorka, ruská umělkyně Victoria Kosse, začala s polymerovou hmotou pracovat před šesti lety. A neprošla si žádným obdobím hledání – úplně první věc, kterou z polymeru vymodelovala, byl roztomilý šupinatý drak. Říká, že nápad tvořit draky měla v hlavě odjakživa, pouze hledala ten správný výrazový prostředek. Ukázalo se, že polymer je pro její účely dokonalým materiálem. Ani po všech těch letech Victoria nezměnila námět svojí tvorby. Přestože se občas nechá zlákat k tvorbě něčeho jiného, stále tvoří převážně draky – jediná věc, která se mírně mění, je její styl. Najdeme zde mnoho barevných variací, různých výrazů a poloh. Někdy jsou Victoriini dráčci okřídlení, jindy mají rohy, nebo vypadají víc jako ještěrky. Victoriin přístup je dobrým příkladem toho, jak můžeme poznávat a podporovat svou kreativitu pomocí opakovaného zpracovávání jednoho tématu. Podívejte se na její stránky a dozvíte se, kolik různých druhů draků už vytvořila.

It’s kind of difficult to say exactly what the Israeli artist Yaarit Bukanet, also known as Queen Of Colors, does best. She dedicates her time to so many activities – she draws, paints, and designs unique clothing. The thing she loves most of all, however, is creating with polymer clay. Whether we’re looking at her watercolour paintings, fabric dolls or polymer decorated plates, all of her art is beautifully colourful. Yaarit says that using many different colours is what makes her happy and she wants to spread this happiness. Her artwork definitely radiate positive vibes, it is often cute and it never fails to put a smile on your face. In her polymer portraits, Yaarit frequently chooses to depict icons of art and pop-culture, such as Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Elvis Presley or Iris Apfel. The artist uses minimal means of expression and does a great job of capturing the likeness of each celebrity by focusing on their most significant features. She creates great effect by combining those details with large areas of solid colours. Colours are truly poweful and they strongly influence our mood. These long grey days are calling for a pop of bright colour. In case you’re feeling a little down, visit Yaarit’s Instagram profile and let her artwork cheer you up. - Je obtížné přesně říci, co jde izraelské umělkyní Yaarit Bukanet, která je známá též jako Královna barev, nejlépe. Svůj čas dělí mezi mnoho aktivit – kreslí, maluje a navrhuje oblečení. Ze všeho nejraději však má tvoření z polymerové hmoty. Ať už se díváme na její akvarely, látkové panenky, nebo polymerem dekorované talíře, veškerá její tvorba je nádherně barevná. Yaarit říká, že používání barev ji činí šťastnou a toto štěstí ráda šíří dál. Její výtvory rozhodně vyzařují pozitivní energii, jsou často roztomilé a vždy vám vyčarují úsměv na tváři. Její polymerové portréty často zobrazují ikony umělecké scény a pop kultury, jakými jsou například Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, či Iris Apfel. Umělkyně využívá minimalistických výrazových prostředků a daří se jí skvěle zachytit podobu zobrazovaných osobností díky tomu, ze se zaměřuje na jejich nejvýraznější rysy. Skvělého efektu dosahuje kombinací detailů a velkých jednobarevných ploch. Barvy jsou opravdu mocné a silně ovlivňují naši náladu. Tyto dlouhé šedivé dny přímo volají po dávce zářivých barev. Pokud se cítíte trochu smutní, navštivtě Yaaritin profil na Instagramu a nechte její tvorbu, ať vás rozveselí.

Passion for art was a part of his life since an early age, just like his fascination by nature and all its creations. Therefore it’s not surprising that the sculptor and painter Kenji Yumul Salvador mainly portrays nature and wildlife in his work. However, that’s not all he does. He likes to challenge himself and experience different methods and techniques in sculpting, so he also renders subjects such as fantasy, mythical creatures, and cartoon and human figures. He always tries to keep his animal sculptures as accurate and realistic as possible. This is motivated by his effort to educate both children and adults about wildlife with the help of his artwork. Accuracy was also the reason why he started working with polymer clay. Many years ago he sculpted using air dry clay, but he was looking for a more suitable material for his work. He says he’s very happy with polymer clay, because it is the most forgiving medium, which allows him to capture even the most delicate details of his insect and arachnid sculptures. Since he’s also a painter, he can apply his painting techniques to his sculptures to achieve convincing results. Kenji taught himself to do just what he loves and what makes him happy and he advises the same strategy to all of us. His biggest dream is to have his very own art gallery, where he can put all his artwork on display. He is also enthusiastic about sharing his passion for creating with others via his great YouTube channel, so don’t forget to check it out. Kenji will be happy if you show him your support. - Vášeň pro umění byla součástí jeho života od útlého věku, stejně jako fascinace přírodou a vším živým. Není proto překvapením, že sochař a malíř Kenji Yumul Salvador ve své práci nejčastěji zobrazuje divokou přírodu a zvířata v ní žijící. To však není vše, co dělá. Rád si klade různé výzvy a zkouší rozmanité metody a techniky, proto se věnuje také tématům jako je fantasy, mýtické bytosti, postavičky z animovaných filmů či lidské figury. U svých zvířecích soch se vždycky snaží o maximální přesnost a realističnost. Motivuje ho k tomu snaha vzdělávat děti i dospělé o přírodě a zvířatech prostřednictvím vlastní tvorby. Přesnost byla také důvodem, kvůli kterému začal pracovat s polymerovou hmotou. Před mnoha lety modeloval ze samotvrdnoucí hmoty, ale zároveň stále hledal vhodnější materiál pro svou práci. Říká, že je s polymerovou hmotou velmi spokojený, protože je to velmi shovívavé médium, které mu umožňuje zachytit i ty nejjemnější detaily jeho hmyzích a pavoučích soch. Protože také maluje, může malířské techniky uplatnit ve své sochařské práci tak, aby dosáhl přesvědčivých výsledků. Kenji se naučil dělat jen to, co miluje a co ho činí šťastným, a tuto strategii by poradil také nám ostatním. Jeho největším snem je mít svou vlastní galerii, ve které by mohl svoje díla vystavovat. Kromě toho nadšeně sdílí svou vášeň pro tvoření na svém úžasném YouTube kanálu, který určitě navštivte. Kenji bude rád, když se stanete fanoušky jeho tvorby.

You might remember the Korean artist Hee-ang Kim from our magazine, where we published an interview with her. When we saw Kim’s latest work, which depicts the life cycles of plants and flowers, we decided to remind you of her exquisite artwork, which can be seen as a skilful game of contrasts. Hee-ang’s organic jewellery clearly reveals artist’s main source of inspiration, nature. She is particularly drawn to the complex forms of various mushroom species. She aptly translates her fascination with fungi into her sculptural pieces, in which she often combines polymer with silver. We have to admire the way in which Kim patiently built these brooches, gill after gill, in order to achieve the desired shape and volume. The artist knows how to work with colours so that they accent the design of her jewellery. The low contrast pastel shades she employed in her latest work perfectly fit the concept. For example, she achieves great results just by making use of tints of a single colour. And she is good not only with colours – there is a wide range of materials in her portfolio. Except polymer clay Hee-ang works with metal, resin, acrylic paint or stone clay, and skilfully combines all the media in her art. In case you want to enjoy more of Hee-ang’s artwork, you can visit her website or social media. You can also get your print or pdf copy of Polymer Week magazine, where you can find our interview with the talented artist. - Korejskou umělkyni Hee-ang Kim si můžete pamatovat z našeho časopisu, kde jsme s ní publikovali rozhovor. Když jsme viděli její nejnovější kolekci, která znázorňuje životní cyklus rostlin a květin, rozhodli jsme se připomenout vám její mimořádnou tvorbu, kterou je možné vnímat jako dovednou hru kontrastů. Její organické šperky jasně odhalují hlavní inspirační zdroj, tedy přírodu. Hee-ang obzvláště přitahují komplexní formy různých druhů hub. Svou fascinaci houbami výstižně převádí do svých skulpturálních šperků, ve kterých často kombinuje polymer se stříbrem. Obdivujeme trpělivost, se kterou Hee-ang lupínek po lupínku poskládala tyto brože tak, aby dosáhla kýžených tvarů a objemu. Tato tvůrkyně rozhodně ví, jak pracovat s barvami způsobem, který podtrhuje design jejích šperků. Nepříliš kontrastní pastelové odstíny, které použila na svých nejnovějších kouscích, se dokonale hodí k celému konceptu. Dosahuje skvělých výsledků například tím, že používá různé odstíny jediné barvy. A umí to nejen s barvami – její portfolio obsahuje širokou škálu různých materiálů. Kromě polymeru pracuje také s kovem, pryskyřicí, akrylovými barvami nebo speciální hmotou, která imituje kámen, a všechny tyto materiály ve své tvorbě umně kombinuje. Pokud si chcete užít víc z tvorby Hee-ang Kim, navštivte její webové stránky nebo sociální sítě. Můžete si také objednat časopis Polymer Week v tištěné nebo elektronické formě, kde najdete rozhovor s touto talentovanou umělkyní.

The jewellery made by Julia Verulashvili stands out at first sight due to its design and interesting organic textures that the Russian artist applies to her earrings. Julia’s pieces combine relatively simple elements – polymer shapes with metal accents – in order to achieve great results. Julia has always been crazy about accessories, especially jewellery. Since childhood, she has been trying to make some adornments by herself, using different materials like wood, fabric, felt, and stones. In 2010 she discovered polymer clay and started working with it. She has tried various techniques with the medium and she truly mastered some of them – for example, her complex kaleidoscope canes are a must see – before arriving at her current style. If you’re wondering what inspired it, look for the answer in Julia’s education. She’s a biologist, so nature is her second passion, right after making jewellery. It’s no wonder she mostly draws inspiration from it. The look of this series actually originated in this November’s polymer clay marathon. She wanted to try something new, so she combined polymer clay and metal. The collection embodies Julia’s love for plants, especially mosses. If you want to see the complete botany-inspired collection in monochromatic colour scheme or other beautiful pieces from Julia’s studio, go explore her Instagram account. We promise you won’t be disappointed. - Šperky Julie Verulashvili na první pohled vynikají díky svému designu a zajímavým texturám, které ruská umělkyně na svých náušnicích použila. Juliiny kousky kombinují relativně jednoduché prvky – polymerové tvary s kovovými akcenty – a výsledný efekt je skvělý. Julia byla vždycky posedlá doplňky, obzvlášť šperky. Odmalička se pro sebe snažila vyrábět šperky z různých materiálů, například ze dřeva, látky, plsti a kamenů. V roce 2010 objevila polymerovou hmotu a začala s ní pracovat. Vyzkoušela si různé techniky a některé se jí podařilo zvládnout opravdu mistrně – například její složité cany prostě musíte vidět – než objevila svůj současný styl. Pokud vás zajímá čím se inspirovala, hledejte odpověď v Juliině vzdělání. Pracuje jako bioložka, takže příroda je její druhou největší vášní hned po výrobě šperků. Není divu, že inspiraci většinou čerpá právě odtamtud. Vzhled její nejnovější kolekce vznikl v rámci letošního listopadového polymerového maratonu. Chtěla vyzkoušet něco nového, proto zkombinovala polymer s kovem. Kolekce ztělesňuje Juliinu lásku k rostlinám, zejména k mechům. Pokud chcete vidět celou tuto botanikou inspirovanou kolekci v monochromatické barevnosti nebo další šperky z Juliiny dílny, zamiřte na její instagramový účet. Slibujeme, že nebudete litovat.

It’s quite well known that creative souls are often burdened almost unbearable sensitivity and mental hardships which make creating difficult or impossible sometimes. The German multimedia artist Simone Lengewitz also experienced a period of time when she was unable to pursue her creative journey due to mental illness. Luckily, therapy and hard work helped her to find her strength again and start creating, so now we have a chance to admire her diverse artwork. Simone utilizes a wide range of mediums and techniques in her work, including both digital and analog. There’s one interesting thing about the materials she incorporates into her pieces – she only uses natural materials, such as shells and feathers, that she collects herself during walks with her son. The artist also consciously works with the natural “flaws” of the found material and makes them part of the design. In her art, she often mixes a portion of humor and some kind of deeper meaning. One of her obsessions is making snails and we wanted to know why. Simone explains that for her snails are the perfect embodiment of diversity, uniqueness and also cuteness. Snails take their time, they don't rush through life. They just live in the moment, being content with who they are. They are colorful and come in all sizes and shapes. They are an icon for non-judgemental gender fluidity, body positivity and independence. She uses polymer clays of all kinds and always puts some kind of armature inside the snails to make them more stable. Some of her snails have poseable eyes, which makes them even more fun. For painting she uses heat set paints and pastels. All in all, her sculptures are truly unique, humorous and also quite topical – have you ever seen a snail with a selfie stick? If not, check out Simone’s social media and have fun! - Ví se, že kreativní duše jsou často zatíženy téměř nesnesitelnou citlivostí a mentálními problémy, které někdy tvorbu ztěžují, nebo úplně znemožňují. Německá umělkyně Simone Lengewitz také zažila období, kdy se nemohla věnovat tvoření kvůli duševnímu onemocnění. Terapie a tvrdá práce jí naštěstí pomohly znovu najít sílu tvořit, takže nyní máme příležitost obdivovat její různorodou tvorbu. Simone používá ve své tvorbě široké spektrum médií a technik, digitálních i analogových. Na přírodních materiálech, které zakomponovává do svých děl, je zajímavé to, že je všechny sama sbírá na procházkách se svým synem. Umělkyně také vědomě pracuje s určitými přirozenými „nedokonalostmi“ přírodnin a proměňuje je v součást designu. Ve své tvorbě často míchá porci humoru a určité hlubší významy. Jednou z jejích posedlostí je tvorba šneků a my jsme samozřejmě chtěli vědět proč. Simone nám vysvětlila, že šneci jsou pro ni dokonalým ztělesněním rozmanitosti, jedinečnosti a také roztomilosti. Šneci nikam nespěchají, neženou se životem. Žijí v přítomném okamžiku a jsou spokojeni s tím, kým jsou. Vyskytují se ve všech možných barvách, velikostech a tvarech. Nehodnotí, neodsuzují, jsou ikonou proměnlivé genderové identity, pozitivního přístupu k tělu a nezávislosti. Při tvoření používá polymerové hmoty všech značek a všechny její sošky mají zabudovanou nějakou armaturu kvůli větší stabilitě. Někteří z jejích šneků mají polohovatelné oči, proto jsou ještě zábavnější. K povrchové úpravě používá teplem fixované barvy a pastely. Sečteno a podtrženo, její tvorba je opravdu jedinečná, vtipná a také velmi aktuální – no řekněte, už jste někdy viděli šneka se selfie tyčí? Pokud ne, nakoukněte na Simoniny sociální sítě a bavte se!