EXPERIENCE POLYMER EXCELLENCE – NO TRAVEL REQUIRED
Learn from five panelists and five presenters hailing from five countries – all from the comfort of your preferred learning location! This is the fifth and final year of the Polymer Art Summit. Early discounted registration closes in three days – May 31.
Don’t forget to check out the members of our Friday night Artists’ Panel.
2025 PRESENTERS & THEIR SESSIONS
CELÍNE CHARUAU – FRANCE
A LITTLE DOSE OF NATURE
How to enhance the organic look of your creations by adding natural materials that can be collected from nature. This live demonstration of simple and accessible techniques will be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.
- How to recognize, choose, and prepare different natural materials found in your house, in your garden or in the nature.
- How to protect them and make them stronger and more durable thanks to the properties of polymer clay.
- How to integrate and attach them to your polymer clay creations according to their shape and strength.
KIM SNOWDEN – NEW ZEALAND
BUILDING AND HANDLING LARGE COMPLEX CANES
I will cover the process I use for design, construction, and use of large complex polymer clay canes. This will include tips on getting details into canes, and I will show how I go from an idea to an image and then how I go about building it in polymer clay.
I’ll show examples of canes I made in the past, showing the progression of my work over time, and talk about the successes and challenges of different subjects.
I hope that attendees will see that complex canes are possible, and give them the knowledge to approach complex or large cane construction.
OLGA LEDNEVA – RUSSIA
WHISPERS OF THE SEA NECKLACE
In this lesson, I will share my unique, signature techniques for transforming polymer clay into wearable art, a necklace that evokes the essence of a sea. As I guide you through creating the individual elements of the necklace, I will showcase the versatility and benefits of different types of Cernit polymer clay. One of the most captivating aspects of this lesson is the process of assembling the individual elements into a harmonious, multi-layered piece of jewelry.
Throughout the lesson, students will learn to craft unique textures using a few simple, easily accessible tools. I will share my signature techniques for creating hollow forms and mimicking the fascinating textures of natural materials. Using examples from my own work, I will demonstrate how these methods apply to contemporary jewelry design.
MARGARET POLCAWICH – UNITED STATES
VESSELS WITH VOLUME
Polymer clay has unique capabilities for both surface and form that can be utilized to make distinctive double-walled vessels with volume and personality. Vessels have endless sculptural possibilities while offering an approachable possibility of function. Attendees will learn polymer clay concepts that draw on a host of techniques from traditional craft materials. Mold making and multi-step assembly will be demonstrated through encapsulated steps and demonstrations of forming techniques to create double-walled vessels with whimsical tendril-like climbing legs.
Attendees will learn options to create and alter voluminous double-walled vessels. In a multi-step method, molds are created, components are formed and assembled into sculptural vessel bases ready for endless variations of surface treatments. Some options for constructing delicate, tendril-like legs for vessels that have substantial, yet airy presence will also be discussed and demonstrated through stepped-out examples. Attendees will be presented with a variety of concepts to consider and implement to create larger, complex double-walled vessels through a series of sample steps, photos, videos, and discussion. This will convey the concepts utilized in the multitude of curings while fitting the constraints of the timeframe.
LYNE TILT – AUSTRALIA
MOTH BROOCHES (TRANSITION)
Exploring the notion of transition, these simple moth brooches were designed in response to my changing heart and spirit as my mother succumbed to Alzheimer’s Disease.
To be honest, I also just love insects and my garden and wanted to explore that as a different approach to much of what I do (which is typically design based and technique focused).
The simplicity of these pieces make them beautiful and fun to create. Making each component well and with attention to thoughtful details (the minutia) is in my view more important than fancy maneuvers that can overwhelm, serving as both a design choice and an opportunity to forget the world and escape into creating beautiful things. The techniques used in this class can be taken and explored endlessly and well beyond a moth brooch.