Bringing the Inside Out
January 22, 2013
Inspirational Art
“Every side of a piece of art should be considered.” I can’t remember who I first heard this sentiment from, just that it was while I was working on this very large canvas. It was the first time it occurred to me that even if a side isn’t seen by all people, someone will see it … the framer, gallery owner, probably the final owner if I was lucky enough to sell it. The painting may be presented face forward in an ideal setting but how the sides of the canvas are treated on the side, what message you leave on the back will make an impression of some sort on the viewer. So why not make an intentional impression?
This is even more relevant in craft and sculptural work, things that are walked around or handled. We’ve talked about the backs of jewelry here before and we will be discussing that in more depth in the Spring Issue of The Polymer Arts but it’s just as relevant in functional artwork. For instance, what do you usually do with the insides of containers?
I like that Karooart took the time to do something special with the inside of this vase. Granted, in this case, the inside will show more than most but, hey … not doing something with any portion that can be seen by the owner of the piece is a lost opportunity to really impress them, make them smile, and be remembered.
So how about it? Next time you work on a container, how about adding little excitement, a tiny surprise, some bit of delight to surprise and impress your customers with? It’s these tiny considerations that might make the difference between making that sale or not.
Sheer Black
January 21, 2013
Inspirational Art
Translucent polymer has really been enjoying a resurgence this past year. Much of this is likely due to the excitement over the high level of transparency possible with Pardo’s translucent clay as well as Rie Nagumo’s Enlightened Polymer Clay book which focuses quite a bit on translucent clays.
My fascination has been in the area of coloring translucents which, of course, diminishes the transparency, but you can get a beautiful luminous sheerness. Hélène JeanClaude who was inspired by Rie Nagumo’s book, went for mixing in black during her experiments with translucents and then she played with layering it. Layering the discs below nicely varies the transparency in the back-lit shot. Most of this translucence is lost when the necklace is laid out on on a solid background. I was thinking though that this kind of work would do well as dangle earrings where there would be the opportunity for light to play through the layers as the wearer moves about.
Hélène actually created these with Premo rather than the increasingly popular Pardo. Coloring the clay reduces or eliminates noticeable yellowing, which is a great solution for those of you put off by the yellowing that comes from baking but haven’t been able to get your hands on Pardo yet. However, a little yellowing isn’t such a bad thing sometimes. See what you think of her uncolored versions of this necklace here on her blog.
Higher Grounds
January 20, 2013
Inspirational Art
This quote brought two thoughts to mind. First, there has been a bit of chat on several fronts lately about criticism. It is really pointless and even unkind to give criticism that is of a purely negative nature, yet it’s not that uncommon for people to blurt such things out. If you have people like that around you, don’t listen and don’t keep them around. What you need are people that support you. They don’t always have to agree and they may not like something you’ve made but if they can tell you why and give suggestions, they are the ones that will help lift you and your work.
It also reminded me of the theme of the upcoming Synergy 3–Higher Ground. I can’t wait for this show. Being around the enthusiasm and creativity of so many dedicated polymer artists … talk about lifting one up! If you can manage it, you really should try to make it. It only happens every two years, so it will be your last chance to be among so many kindred souls for another couple years. Check out the details on the IPCA website.
Inspiration Infusion for Caning
January 19, 2013
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
Looking for a new challenge in caning? Well, here are a couple ideas.
One, try some new cane patterns. I was mesmerized by the complexity of this monochromatic cane created by Israel’s Marcia Tzigelnik. You can get the tutorials for these and other beautiful canes in her Etsy shop.
Second, do something new with your cane slices. Here is what Kristie Foss created with Marcia’s canes.
Don’t you admire the way she uses the lines in the canes to give definitive direction and sense of movement to the forms? Just lovely.
Feeling inspired? What can you do differently to get your mojo going this weekend?
Outside Inspiration: Fiery Soutache
January 18, 2013
Inspirational Art
I’ve brought up soutache before. It’s easily translatable to polymer … all you need is an extruder and a steady hand. I thought an occasional return to ponder it’s possibilities wouldn’t hurt. Especially when you have such colors and form, as can be found in the work of talented soutache artist Alina of Antidotum.
Fiery! Just what we need in the midst of a chilly winter.
You can see more beautiful color combinations and forms on Alina’s Etsy page here.
Art that makes you go “Ooo!”
January 17, 2013
Inspirational Art
We all have those artists whose work stops us in our surfing tracks and makes us sigh, don’t we? Wiwat Kamolpornwijit is one of those for me. We featured him early last year in The Polymer Arts Summer 2012 gallery. Of course for that we featured some of his most elaborate and impactful pieces. But I was reminded earlier today while cruising through Pinterest that even his relatively simple pieces make me stop and go “Ooo!”
See what I mean? I’m not sure how he does it, but Wiwat works almost exclusively with this color palate–black, gold and silver (That certainly simplifies one’s clay stock!) and yet creates quite the variety of work. He’s all about form and lines, proving that careful treatment of even the simplest forms can be impressive.
A Bundle of Bails
January 16, 2013
Inspirational Art
Let’s talk bails. Some kind of contraption or addition or subtraction to a piece must be formed for pendants to do their hanging about a person’s neck. There are many approaches to this, with a good majority making the bail or connection either invisible or an accent, if even that. There is nothing inherently wrong with these approaches, but I just think its fantastic to have the bail as part of the pendant design. If it’s going to show, then let it shine.
I consider Susan Waddington of PolyDogz a kind of master bail-er. Although most of her bails are pretty simple in construction, they look like a necessary or at least a complimentary addition to the pendant’s design. Here is just one of her many interesting bail solutions. This one is directly integrated into the design–the pendant would be but half as stunning without it.
Different forms, overlaid shapes, textures, colorations, and ways of introducing the cord make her site a kind of treasury of bezel ideas. Oh … and her pendants are pretty darn fabulous, too.
I shall not waste any more of your time blathering away. Your time would be better spent exploring Susan’s website for ideas and inspiration.
Playing with Shapes and Sheets
January 15, 2013
Technique tutorials
Here is a simple idea that could quickly create a series of beads with a clean, contemporary look and lots of variation, not just between the beads themselves but between different sets you create.
This quick technique is posted on the Spanish retail craft site Manos Maravillosas (Wonderful Hands). It just requires a few sheets of clay of different colors. You punch shapes out all but one of the sheets, lay the shapes out on the uncut sheet, roll over it with a brayer or rod to smooth the surface, and now you have a sheet to punch flat beads from (punch two of the same shapes and layer them back to back) or to use portions from the sheet to cover bead forms.
You could use any combination or number of colors as well as different shapes. Go Mondrian like using square cutters and primary colors, or retro with ovals and subdued tones. You could also use strips of clay instead of cut shapes to adhere on your base sheet using your straight or crinkle tissue blades. There’s no real limitations here. Just lots of potential play time!
Coming into One’s Own
January 14, 2013
Inspirational Art, Ponderings
There comes a point in some artist’s lives when their work veers a comfortable and well traveled path and into something wholly unexpected. Last week, I posted images of Kathleen Dustin’s first translucent beads, which marked the beginning of the direction we all know her so for now. So it makes one wonder, when you see a very different and amazing piece from an artist, something you hadn’t seen from them before, something you wouldn’t have even recognized before, if this is the start of a new and amazing journey for them.
Dorothy Siemens has been working in polymer for several years making nicely finished jewelry and decor using a fairly wide range of, but common set of, techniques and forms. However, just last month she posted some stunning, and quite unique sculptural objects. The images below are of the same piece, top and side view. I would not have at all guessed they were from the same person represented in her collaborative jewelry website.
What happened here? I don’t have that story exactly, but Dorothy did admit that she just let her imagination go, which was probably a key approach that allowed her to develop something that looks nothing like any work being done by other polymer artists. But what was it that gave her that sense of freedom or need to just let her imagination go?
We each have a truly personal aesthetic which can remain quite buried when we ‘borrow’ continuously from what we see around us. There is not anything wrong in drawing inspiration from other art but our own true voice should also be allowed to come out. The number one bit of advice I got in writing school was to wake up every morning and, before even getting out of bed, stop and write … not anything specific but just freeform thought. The idea was that if you write just after waking, you are writing with your own true voice, not influenced by any tv show, conversation, news article, email or any other written or verbalized language. If you would like to work on developing your own personal visual voice, try sketching or getting into the studio first thing in the morning before you’ve looked at any other art form–this means no media of any kind. See what you come up with if you do this for a week or so.
If you don’t have the luxury of getting up and sketching or jumping into the studio right away, try napping then upon wakening, get to work. (The napping trick also works when you find yourself stuck on a piece. It’s amazing what you’ll be able to see after letting your brain rest and reset.)
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It must be the mid-winter blues that keeps drawing me to the dramatically colored this week. I know whenever I am in need of an injection of bright and colorful and I can always count on Silvia Ortiz de la Torre. She is never shy and always experimenting with color, form and texture and how they work together.
Here is her latest post on her Flickr page. It’s a piece that almost shocks you into looking closer. The colors are so vibrant and the textures used make the whole piece seem alive.
You have to stop and wonder how something so colorful, created with fun little balls of wound polymer string and puffy pillows beads still comes across as being more sophisticated than silly. There is something in the boldness that exudes that professional level intent. I could see this on runway models or rich movie stars wandering Rodeo Drive. It’s kind of crazy. So crazy you have to envy Silvia’s talent. And maybe even aspire to be that bold and confident someday yourself.
Are you looking to increase the professional impact of your work? We’ve an article in the upcoming Spring Issue of The Polymer Arts magazine on just that subject. Don’t miss out on the issue. Pre-order it or get your subscription here today: www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
Read MoreIt’s hard to find a polymer artist who doesn’t also have a love of beads. Many found their way to polymer through collecting and wanting to expand their bead options. So, it only makes sense that we combine them.
Stringing a necklace is one common way to combine our love of varied bead materials. Embedding beads into the surface of the clay is another. And below, we have yet another method outlined by Anne Poncet on her blog using seed beads to create a frame.
The process involves seed beads and wire, which is embedded in a backing of clay. She has two versions of the tutorial on her blog; one simple, quick and with lots of photos, then below there are detailed explanations for each step. Something fun to try out next time you are pondering what kind of finish you want for the edge of a piece.
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Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning “circle.” These visually engaging patterns have spiritual and ritual significance for some eastern religions and western communities and have been growing in popularity as an art form.
Susan Buhrman is one of the most prolific mandala artists that I know of in our community. She uses cane slices, cut sheets of clay, beads and other objects to create the patterns for these wall pieces.
Mandalas aren’t just a beautiful art form; the creation of them can be quite a therapeutic activity. Take a number of scrap canes, sheet clay or what not and simply start placing them in a balanced and repetitive pattern on a board or other stiff, movable surface. Don’t think too much about it. Let your inner artist just play. This should get you into a very relaxing zone, and at the end of your time creating this, you may find yourself surprised by what you end up with. Just something fun and relaxing to try when you need it.
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I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was a little rough around here. There were numerous friends, pets, and family having more than just a little bit of a hard time. My heart goes out to all of you who are dealing with so much sorrow and frustration right now.
So today, I’d like to bring a little sunshine to us all. These beautifully bright beads are just the thing. The pure, highly saturated colors, a nice glossy polish and the graphic lines call for smiles and grins. We have Sagit of Karmiel, Israel to thank for this ray of sunshine this Monday.
Sigat is not afraid of color. In fact, our bold artist pushes bright and brilliant past what our little packages of clay would seem to hold. How is this possible? Actually the spacers of white and black separate the colors so we see them each clearly, and the contrast against the non-colors make them appear as saturated as possible. If the colors where side by side, our eyes would blur and mix them, even going so far as to tone down some of the characteristics that the colors have in common.
For instance, find the points in the clover canes on the flat beads where the reds and oranges touch. Where they meet there is far less drama and the colors don’t seem to have the punch where they meetup. Imagine a bead with just those colors pushed up against each other. It just wouldn’t have the punch.
Color is actually pretty crazy stuff. If you have never done any color study exercises, you can find some on the internet and in books that will just blow your mind. Try Marilyn Fenn’s pages for online exercises or Maggie Maggio’s and Lindly Haunani’s “Polymer Clay Color Inspirations“.
Have a beautiful and brillant start to your week.
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Doing the cover for each issue has to be the most nerve-wracking part of putting the magazine together. It’s what people see first. It can determine whether someone wants to buy it or not. It is that ever important first impression. It is ineveitably the one part I am never really satisfied with. But as I said earlier this week, one must know when to stop and decide a piece is done. So, this is my moment. Let me (and the talented Layl McDill) know what you think.
If you like this or just really like The Polymer Arts magazine, I would love for you to share this with your polymer friends and cohorts. For those who need to get their next issue ordered or renew your subscription, you can do so at www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
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Earlier this week we talked about pushing your art, knowing when it’s time to stop perfecting it. But there is another side to that coin … knowing when to push it a little farther.
Being able to discern whether you’ve added to or worked out a design enough can be difficult, and it’s not something someone can readily teach you. It takes practice and mindful awareness of your process. So how do you know when to take your work a step or two further?
Well, here is an example. Fiona Abel-Smith created this image using a polymer technique first explored by Sue Heaser. It’s based off a mineral mosaic like technique called pietra dura. Fiona starts out with the first image, inlaying clay. Pretty nice as is, right? But then she adds little bits of clay in a painterly manner and the image goes from just nice to quite impressive.
The depth and dimension the bits of clay add takes it from great craft work to rich illustration. The texture gives it a liveliness it just didn’t have before.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “I kind of like the one on the left better or at least as much.” In truth, the pietra dura is not better, it’s simply a different kind of piece. That is partly why knowing if you have taken it far enough is so hard to determine. So, when working on a piece, there are a couple questions you need to ask yourself. “What do I want this piece to be?” or “What is the purpose of this piece?” and then ask yourself, “Is there anything else I might do with this to accomplish what I am after?”
If you are unsure, you can add to and reaarange your work or try ideas out on a scrap piece before answering that last question. Playing with options is part of the process and certainly part of the fun. Just don’t ‘give up’ on a piece that you sense could be taken farther for what you want it to be. Push it a little, see what you discover. You can always go back if you don’t like what happens when you take it a step further.
And speaking of Sue Heaser, she’s already well-known for her many books on polymer and other crafts … she’s just recently released her first eBook, Polymer Clay Jewellery for Beginners: Book 1 – Millefiori Canes and it’s only $5. It’s a very clear and well laid out book for those who haven’t yet explored Millefiori and for those who teach, it can be a great tool to recommend to students for preparation before they come to your class so you don’t waste precious time getting them up to speed on basics.
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Today, we bring you a great combination of both visual and tactile texture, perfectly juxtaposed in this metal brooch by Judith Kinghorn.
We have on the left treated metal with a soft, warm antiqued coloration and almost stone like texture broken by rhythmic while on the right, granulation set into nautilus like cells whose partitions precisely repeat the lines on the surface treated metal. Two completely different textures. Not the same type of texture, not the same form, not the same depth and even the golds are different tones. But it works. Well. Simply because of the continuation of those rhythmic, swirling lines.
You don’t always need much to bring cohesiveness to a design. In fact, simple, direct and obvious elements can be your strongest tool for this. Contrast in a piece is a wonderful way to give it energy and excitement, but it does have to have something to bring it all together. But as you can see, it doesn’t need to be complicated. Theme for this weekend then … don’t over think it.
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Today we’re going to sit back and admire a great combination of materials. These bracelets are mokume gane polymer bangle bases with moving add-ons in the form of pmc, sterling silver, brass, and bronze rings that transverse the bangle as the wearer moves.
Celie Fago explains her rather lengthy process on the IPCA Synergy 2 page I found these on: “These bracelets evolve, in fits and starts, over the course of years. They mix many media and processes; they are material collaborations. I work in relays: I make the polymer bracelets, then the embellishments: I put them on the bracelets, take them off, move them from one to another …”
This brings up a couple thoughts. One … no work of art is ever really complete, is it? I think we could tweak and changes pieces forever, always seeing ways to improve or change them. The real talent is knowing when to stop.
The other thing that hit me about what she said was that these are “material collaborations”. We think about people collaborating but yes, why not consider how materials can “help” each other not just how they can fit together? In these bracelets, the variety of metal seems to actually increase the flash and depth of texture in the mokume gane. The metals and polymer are working together in a synergistic manner to make the parts, which seen on their own would not be so very impressive, integral and intriguing points in the whole of the composition.
Speaking of Synergy … if you plan on going to Synergy 3 in March, be sure to come and find The Polymer Arts in the vendors room and join me for my workshops and discussions on writing for the craft arts market, centralizing polymer information, and a interview panel of publishers chatting about what we do and why we do it for you. See you there!
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Mind you, its not me calling the process Natalija Pap used to create these splendid pieces below ‘simple’. Maybe it wasn’t Natalija either but the Google translator. This is how Google translated the introduction to her Live Journal entry: I finally seduced simply sculpting technique … It’s super! Show most recent work (much). They call ‘fungi’ “
Don’t you just love these translations? They are so entertaining! But art, at least, does not need translation and we can appreciate the work and vision of these “fun-gi” pieces without translation.
There are a number of applications using small pointy tools here. It’s possible i’ts all done with the same tool–the texture on the flowers and background, the pin-points, the decorative dots, and the dashes around the edges–but the variation is delightful.
These pieces had to take a fair amount of time and patience so I wouldn’t call it simple because the effort put into these really was not. However, if you break down the steps of many techniques, they are pretty simple. The question is, what is done with those simple steps. Much beauty and intricacy can come from the simplest things.
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