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Updated Color Chart…

After our book was published in 2009 there have been several significant changes to the colors that are available to the polymer artist- Polyform products discontinued their  Sculpey Studio line and two essential primaries – Zinc Yellow and Cobalt blue in their Premo line are only available on a limited basis (see my last post). Several pre-mixed “designer” colors are now available: including Pomegranate Red, Denim Blue and Wasabi Green. The recipes for mixing Zinc Yellow and Cobalt blue, as promised, have yet to appear on their web site.

In the meantime many artists, myself included, have been experimenting with the new Polyform colors and exploring the currently available primaries offered by FIMO, Pardo, Kato Clay and Cernit- will keep you posted.

Maggie Maggio has updated her color triangle chart to reflect the changes in Polyform’s product line.

“I’ve started testing the new Premo clays and added the possible primary colors to the chart above. I’ve also added a new category – package colors that have white – because I choose to use colors that are at full saturation and add white if I need it.”

This spring I was designing a project where I normally would have used fluorescent pink to pump up the red in the Skinner blend and since I usually would have added white to the mixture Candy pink was an acceptable substitute.

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Color Consciousness…

For the past several months Carol Simmons has been posting a series of well thought out and detailed articles on her blog in response to the  discontinuation of two essential  primaries -Cobalt Blue and Zinc Yellow –  in Premo by Polyform Products. For those of us that mix our own colors and teach about color using polymer clay….Denim blue and Sunshine yellow are NOT  acceptable substitutes.

Carol has annotated Maggie Maggio’s color triangle color chart on her site to help illustrate the loss of Zinc yellow and Cobalt Blue.

Note: For the time being the remaining stock of those two colors is available from Polymer Clay Express.

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Exploring the Rainbow…

If you’ve read our book – Polymer Clay Color Inspirations and were intrigued by the color collage process as a way to determine a set of custom mixed primaries to use in your work, then you might be interested in this two day workshop November 5th and 6th, 2011 = “Exploring the Rainbow” at Woman Creative in Buford, Georgia (near Atlanta). A more complete workshop description may be found here along with the supply list. Registration details are here.

I will be having a trunk show at the gallery Friday evening November 4th. There is a fabulous retrospective exhibit of polymer spanning twenty five years with work from ninety six artists.

Hope to see you there! or here...

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Colorful Walking Sticks…

. Yes! We will all be taking colorful walks this summer….The workshop “Walking the Enlightened Rainbow” was a combination of guided meditations, collaging, group brain storming, polymer clay color mixing strategies/concepts. laughter and joy- while making colorful walking sticks

Maureen Carlson’s Center for the Creative Arts Center is a very special place for stretching our imaginations, introspection,healing, joy and creative fun!

I will be returning to Maureen’s next summer= July 11th- 15th,2012 to teach a new five day workshop -“Creating a Personal Power Shield” that combines spirituality,intention,meditation,collaging and polymer clay with fibers, beads, inks, markers and joyful collaboration.

“Our Center is grounded in the belief that creativity is a doorway into self discovery, personal and spiritual growth, and joyful living.” Is part of Maureen’s vision for the center.

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Colorful IPad App…

I really enjoy playing with several of the web based color schemers- especially those who have the ability to create blends from one color to another like the one at 3schools . So I was delighted to find this Ipad app that allows me to design “3-d” flowers and change the color blends by using a slider in the edit mode = Hello Flower .

The next time you design a  flower cane- this app may come in handy to consider variations in petal shapes and color combinations for your Skinner blends

” CREATE
Use simple tools to create any flower you can imagine. Just touch to shape the petals, choose colors and finely tune your design until you get the most fantastic blossom. And don’t forget to save your own unique creations in the gallery.

Continue reading “Colorful IPad App…”

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Rainbow Ikat Workshop…

If you are interested in taking a new  color inspired  polymer clay workshop in Damascus, Maryland at The Artway/Polymer Clay Express…it is not too late to register .

March 5 & 6, 2011
Damascus, MD at the Artway
Rainbow Ikat Inspirations
To register call 800-844-0138

$150/two day workshop

Ikat, is the method of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibers. Ikat is also a fabulous pattern that can be made as a cane using polymer clay stripe blends. Learn how to make Lindly’s version of an Ikat blend cane that uses extruded elements to intensify value contrasts that will make your cane really “pop”.

Once you have your blends made you will be slicing, dicing, twisting and recombining them to come up with several different color coordinated patterns.

Strategies for constructing three-dimensional beads, pillow beads and flat laminated pieces will be demonstrated along with some valuable finishing techniques. Continue reading “Rainbow Ikat Workshop…”

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Colorful Journal…

It is always delightful to receive emails  and photo links from artists around the world that have been inspired my Confident Color DVD and workshops. This polymer clay journal with a polymer cover from Sabine Spiesser in Australia is quite lovely. Thank you for sharing.

“The Journey is the Reward”

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Colorful Kato Clay…

Kato Polymer Clay (Van Aiken) has a new Facebook page where Tony Aquino is posting a series of metallic color recipes using their  concentrates = more to come. Also they are asking for your opinion on possible new colors. The three colors I would like to see…

  • a magenta concentrate (the current red is way too orange to make great purples)
  • fluorescent yellow and magenta to “pump” up mixes
  • a warm Cadmium yellow

What new colors would you like to see?

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Exploring the Enlightened Rainbow…

I am delighted to be returning to Maureen Carlson’s  Center for the Arts in Jordan Minnesota for a five day intensive workshop June 15th- 19th, 2011.

Exploring the Enlightened Rainbow: Embracing meditation, intuition and intention to design your color stories

Walking our artistic paths with wisdom and awareness is a sacred gift. While making a personal mediation walking stick you will explore the expressive and transformative gifts of color.

The seven colors of the chakra based energy system each reflect a different aspect of your being and life. For example, the root chakra is associated with the color red, and processes energies associated with grounding, your tribe and familial relationships.

Using guided meditations, intuitive collage exercises and intentional word association statements you will be exploring each of the seven major chakras, along with their specific gifts, as you build your power stick from the ground up. Continue reading “Exploring the Enlightened Rainbow…”