These bangles from Loretta Lam were heaped in a beautiful pile on a table. Loretta’s another artist who’s so busy that she doesn’t often update her web photos and this is our chance to get an update.

While she remains true to her signature patterns and muted palette, lately Loretta’s been applying the polymer pieces to sleek and dramatic bangle forms in a collage style. The finish is as smooth as the design.

Ann Dillon pulled out a selection of her latest brooches, simple and elegant design solutions in polymer. Slices of extruded cane patterns cut at different heights stand next to each other on top of layered, textured bases cut into loose shapes. What took the most time, Ann admitted, was deciding which extruded circle patterns looked happy beside each other.

Ann doesn’t often refresh the pictures on her site and Facebook so it’s a treat to rifle through her latest works here in Virginia and give you a peek.

A great class can help build your skills and sharpen your design eye. I’m traveling to join a wonderful group this week (we’re just getting set up today). If travel isn’t in the cards for you right now, there are loads of other amazing opportunities.

Two new online classes from Craftcast bring the UK’s Debbie Carlton and Melanie Muir to a computer screen near you. Check out Debbie here and Melanie here.

Can’t attend on the day they’re scheduled? No sweat, you can purchase the recordings (including mine) and listen again and again.

One nice thing about learning at home, you don’t have to haul your tools. I’d better go choose my seat and get unpacked!

This Champagne Pendant by the UK’s Nadege Honey looks appropriately festive for a Friday. The mokume gane bubbles rise to the top to celebrate the weekend.

Nadege is a French silversmith living in the UK countryside and working in polymer. You can sense her delight as she jumps from one idea to the next in the polymer project pictures on Flickr and Etsy.

I’ll be floating off to Virginia this weekend for a gathering in the hills and a week of fun. You can ride along and share in the fun from the convenience of your own computer. Join me here next week.

Thank goodness that Croatia’s Nikolina Ortzan revealed her painterly polymer methods in a free tutorial that she uploaded this week. Her process is hard to guess but easy once you see it done.

Nikolina starts with a crisp graphic style that she later softens and blends for a retro effect. Thanks for the tute!

Her Flickr site is full of other examples including this clever cat design. She likes to doodle on polymer.

Spring cleaning

Thanks to the eagle-eyed Facebook fans who let me know that the PCD posts weren’t appearing in FB. I replaced the dusty old 2007 plugin with a shiny new one. I guess we wore it out!