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Polymer Clay Sculptures Showcase the Intricate Parts of Nature That Are Often Overlooked

Artist Angela Schwer crafts clay sculptures that showcase the beautiful bounty of nature. Her intricate, detailed works are ripe with texture as leaves, fungi, sea urchins, and more are clustered together in decorative tiles to hang on your wall. Constructed in a single neutral color, the beauty of these organic shapes shine.

Schwer’s work revolves around the parts of nature that are often overlooked. “I could spend all day looking over fabrics, cellular photography, and the complexity of plant structures,” she writes. This fascination is translated into tiny, individually-formed elements that seemingly burst with life.

Although Schwer’s pieces look like porcelain, she actually produces them from polymer clay—a material that hardens in conventional ovens. “I enjoy the look of surprise when witnessing a shift in another's perspective on what polymer clay can be used for,” she explains. “Previously considered a craft medium, I have found that polymer can be used in unexpected ways to create explosive pieces of art.”

These one-of-a-kind pieces are available through Schwer’s Etsy shop, DillyPad.

DillyPad: Website | Etsy

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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