StudioMojo #603 • April 1, 2023

Uh-oh, you're probably expecting something April Fools here. Some trick, a spoof. Nope. My muse has been messing with me. Yours too? She wants me to change course, out with the old, in with the new. "Let's mix it up," she begs me. Could this be the year we open that Gelli plate? Carve a stamp? Write a book? My eye kept landing on artists who shift and change and double back or double down on whatever catches their fancy. Artists often take flak for that. Change feels dangerous. Rick Rubin (see quote) says it's not our style or methods that resonate. Our willingness to follow our instincts is what draws a crowd. If your passion changes course, follow it! April Fool be damned. Do what your gut tells you.

Try this

  • Terri Wlaschin

    Stenciling and cutting out foils and leaf for stunning effects. She likes making components that others turn into wearables

  • Paredes/Struncova appeal to your dotty side

    Susana Paredes' mokume tutorial expands our horizons. Six steps...my kind of tutorial

  • Off-kilter for Ikat

    Loving the earthy feel of Kaori's latest cane. Isn't it amazing how slicing a cane and reconstructing the slices slightly off-register draws us in?

  • Revive beads from long ago

    There's gold (and truth) in those bags of "meh" beads stored in the bottom drawer. Liliana shows us how to reintroduce ourselves to our previous selves with panache

  • Squiggles on the wall

    Grace Oliver makes quite a statement with her extruded white squiggles. Simple and bold

Looky, looky

  • Bauhaus Bird

    Anna and Bull (Singapore) strip down parrots to their geometric roots

  • Canes to canvas

    Sarah Shriver's cane images transfer beautifully to bags, mugs and more as accessories to her Mill Valley show

  • AllSorts

    Simple, sweets from Germany's Barbara Ulsamer

  • Claire Maunsell online show

    Her Bead Life show was over in a flash. It's a cool concept (the group's on FB). Claire is the queen of surface decoration and it's fun to keep up with what she's gotten herself into

  • Happy Easter/Passover

    Ford/Forlano • some old, some new for the season

  • For lazy clayers

    Pavla Cepelikova says there's a tutorial for this "lazy clayer" technique. Sounds right up my alley. Could it be that I'm too lazy to find it?

  • B/W in any language

    What's Becky Sawyer working in this week? She speaks "art" in several media. You can easily translate these gorgeous dangles

  • New texture rollers

    Babylon Cutters is coming out with fur, slate, scales, moon rocks and hexagon rollers. Hard to choose!

YouTube/MeTube

Lucy pulled some surprising stuff out of me in this interview. She's getting good at interviewing and I'm getting loose-lipped!

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