Grant Diffendaffer has been working with polymer clay since 1993.His introduction to the material came by way of several intricately caned beads that he stumbled across while still a philosophy student at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.Soon after, a friend brought him some of the clay and helped precipitate a shift from his left brained studies to a life in art.
Grant’s beads, jewelry, sculpture, and decorative art display a keen sense of color, composition and form, and a meticulous attention to detail.His work has been shown in numerous juried craft shows, galleries and exhibits.He has produced a DVD of his clay techniques and is the author of Polymer Clay Beads: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration (Lark Books, Jan 2008).
Grant works from his studio in at home in Canyon, CA, which he shares with his three legged cat Jalebie, and his partner, jewelry artist Kirsten Anderson.When not creating or finding inspiration for his art, he stays busy traveling the globe to teach his unique techniques to others.Grant teaches regular classes on polymer clay at The Crucible in Oakland.
Artist Statement I make art for the thrill of discovery and for the clarity of mind that it brings to me. Sitting in front of my clay, I feel centered as I do nowhere else. I feel tapped into all of creation, as if I am simply fulfilling my natural role as a conduit for creativity. As beautiful things flow from my hands, I know that they are coming not just from me, but straight out of the creative energy of the universe.
I am fascinated with the how natural things come into being. I am inspired by the fragile beauty of diatoms and the prolific repetition of seedpods, how water beads, and bubbles form and gather. I am interested in our roots as living species and the basic building blocks that all of nature is built upon.
Making beads is a way for me to engage these natural forces. Creating symmetry immediately evokes living things. Simple variations in technique are irresistible, and each minor shift reveals new forms, patterns, and colors. I explore systematically, quickly becoming bored if I repeat something. The result is that each of my pieces is a one of a kind artifact of a dynamic engagement with creativity. I hope that the sense of immediacy and discovery that I feel while making this jewelry is carried to all who encounter it.
Grant’s Work Click on picture to see larger image.
Kate Fowle Meleney began collecting and designing with beads in the late 80's and has been flameworking glass beads since 1991.In 1992, she began to teach, and by 1995 had produced her first instructional video, An Introduction to Lampworked Glass Beads. This was followed in 2002 by two intermediate videos. She is the subject of James Kervin’s 4th book devoted to prominent beadmakers. Her work has been featured in Glass Magazine, Lapidary Journal, Bead & Button, The Washington Post, Glass Art Magazine, and Ornament.Her teaching and demonstrating venues have included the Renwick Gallery in WashingtonDC; the Glasmuseum in Ebeltoft, Denmark, the Jam Factory in Adelaide, Australia, and the Glass Festa in Kobe, Japan. Click here to see Kate’s Artist Resume Kate’s Work
Click on picture to see larger image.All photos taken by Jerry Anthony.
Ricki Peltzman grew up in the jewelry business. Her father, Milton Friedman owned the largest fine jewelry and gift store in Ohio. She credits him and her mother's interest in art and antiques for her critcal eye. As a buyer for the now closed Higbee Company in Cleveland and also the Founder of Dress for Success Cleveland, she learned the real value of fashion, accessories and jewelry and how important a first impression can make!
When she moved to Washington DC five years ago, Ricki was struck by how few contemporary boutiques there were for women who have confidence in their own unique style. Thus, she elected to solve this dilemma and she opened Upstairs on 7th almost two years ago!
Upstairs on 7th carries lines exclusive to the DC area including Ivan Grundahl of Copenhagen, Kedem Sasson of Israel, Rundholz of Germany, Ray Harris of London, Skif sweaters from the hotbed of fashion: St. Louis, Missouri, and Cydwoq shoes. The jewelry Upstairs on 7th carries are truly pieces of art! Artisans include Carolyn Zapp of New York, Jesse Walker for Realm Jewelry, Manouk of Copenhagen, Jen Skirball, Lois Becker, and Pamela Bosco.
Visit Ricki's website for more information on upcoming events, the philanthropic arm of the store - Causes on 7th - and all the latest fashion news in the blog.
Upstairs on 7th
Joyce J. Scott(Photo Credit, John Dean)
Artist Statement I am simply in love with what I do. The creation of art is my testimony to life, from it my blessings flow. I have been given great gifts. I’m not stupid enough to believe they came only from me.I come from a long line of African-American Visual and Performance Artists, who alchemized their environs without thought of great fame.Cotton pickers bartering for the fabrics woven in the local mills from fibers they picked.Crocheters, quilters and weavers, potters, blacksmiths, singers and storytellers have all coalesced in me.The rewards are great.I need, I must keep making Art.
As an artist who deals with political and social issues in my work, I have spent a lot of time pushing on the walls that diminish or marginalize humanity.Having no children, my students are the agents of change as I was with the gifts my family gave to me.
I will continue, as my work also envelops beauty.The desire to luxuriate in it, show pride in the skill of it.From the making to the looking.I’m addicted.I’m not stupid enough to believe this only came from me.The “True” risk is to blend the two, Beauty and Message.Negotiating the road between both, falling into the rut, and then retrieving myself through dedication, humor and a need to believe that things can change for the better if one is challenged.
I choose beadwork because it allows for improvisation.Forces me to submit to the existing color, blending thru pointillism, not the wet of paint.Darting fast, minimal cleanup, maximum mesmorization.Matisse cutting directly into color, Zulus whispering secrets to lovers worn around the neck like an embrace.
Working with the solid circle, while I employ my family skill with needle and thread.Lulled into the innate imagery woven thru threads and glass orbs and my hunger.That hunger to see this to the end.When there is no end.Art work just another step in life.Another way to wrap around life's breathe as more than existence.
Stand stiff-backed and smiling as the gift of art defies inanity and the death of spirit.
It comes down to this for me.I have a light.A bright one.My parents gave it to me thru great distress.Their parents told them about a time when we could glow like the sun.
I am blessed, I glow.This is not bragging.This is the pride that comes from knowing my folks hid their lights, lied about their intelligence and beauty.Ate dung to give me butter.I will never stop working.My hunger for origination, my mother’s care and no money will insure that.The future holds profound things for me.I'll persevere, then knock everybody’s socks off with the products of my endeavors.
Laura is a working studio artist with an extensive international exhibition record and numerous awards.Her mixed media and fiber art work is held in public, private and corporate collections.After completing an M.F.A. in Painting (Ohio University, 1990) she began to integrate her love of fabric and thread with her approach to drawing and painting.Her images explore the textures and rhythms of details from the landscape, often interwoven with eccentric grids.
In addition to Public Art Projects, Percent For Art Commissions, and gallery exhibitions, Laura teaches nationally for conferences, guilds, shops and private groups.Nominated for Professional Quilter’s Teacher of the Year in 2004 and again in 2006, she is known as a nurturing and inspiring facilitator who offers highly personalized instruction.She is also a Creativity Coach (trained by Eric Maisel, Ph.D.) and works with private clients including writers, musicians and visual artists.In 1998-99 she was honored with a
Montana Arts Council Fellowship in Visual Arts, Mixed Media.
Artist Statement Marks left by time and the elements fascinate me.I am obsessed with the idea that time in its abstract sense is reflected in diverse and seemingly opposite ways.Manipulating cloth, paint and surface allows me to explore formal and conceptual issues and to find unexpected metaphors in the process.
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