Making an Impression … all over.
December 4, 2013
Inspirational Art
We have another example of scatter composition in this necklace from Aniko Kolesnikova. Since we’ve already done this for a couple days, why do you think this composition works? Or do you?
I think it does. The elements, although different colors and irregularly placed, are all the same basic form–impressed and filled with colored clay, or in some cases a little extra bit of cane. The overall surface texture of the pieces are also impressed with hand tools so the overall surface is similar.
Hand tool texturing can be widely varied and works great for the scattered look or when kept in an orderly pattern. (By the way, we have a great article in the most recent issue of The Polymer Arts by Anke Humpert. It explores a variety of marks and various pointed hand tools, and explains how to explore them and other tools on your own–don’t miss out on that!) Aniko does quite a lot with hand tools as you’ll see if you spend some time on her website.
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Strewn and Balanced
December 3, 2013
Inspirational Art
Here is another example of scatter in a composition. There is no organized pattern. The many elements are different in color and size and although most are round, there is smattering of crackle on the outside edges to counter that. So why does this pendant by Cecilia Button still work?
The approach that holds this together is repetition and relationship. All the elements are arranged in a vertical alignment so although they are not quite lined up, the items scattered across the face of the pendant follow a general up and down path. The gold is also repeated, foil on either side, gold-green clay and those gold micro beads in the center. Then the gold micro beads are primarily on the darker colored clay while blacks beads roughly mirror them, sunk into light colored clay. Both sides have large muted green or gray spots. Repetition, mirroring and carrying characteristics of the elements across draws the relationship between them all and creates a cohesive piece.
Cecilia says the technique on this was adapted from a tutorial from Leggende Segrete although I can’t figure out which one, probably because she so very much made it her own. Cecilia is highly innovative with whatever technique or form she works with. Time on her Flickr pages and her blog site are worth more than just a quick perusal. Get some coffee or tea, take a little break, and spend some time with her work!
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Scatter Composition
December 2, 2013
Inspirational Art
Composition is sometimes considered a matter of controlled placement. Which it is and isn’t. The thing is, I don’t believe control is the best word to explain what composition is about. I would say it is more specifically about choice. Where do you choose to place elements in your piece? What relationships or connections will that placement convey? Are your choices conscious or intuitive or do you leave it up to chance? I don’t recommend leaving it completely up to chance but allowing for a lack of control in pattern and placement can create wonderfully expressive results. When you choose to use this.
I want to look at compositions that choose a scatter approach this week to demonstrate when and how this choice works. We see this in nature all the time–the starry night sky, the growth of lichen on a rock or the fallen leaves strewn across the ground in Autumn. But for all the seeming randomness, there is a relationship and cohesive elements in all these. This is what you want to bring to any composition with random or scattered elements.
Natalja Ivankova, Belarussian in living in Slovakia, took the randomness of Autumn leaves and translated this type of scattered composition to create this perfectly balanced bracelet.
Her approach is more evocative of the feeling of Fall than being a literal representation. The colors and small scattered bits are what bring the season to mind as well as being the cohesive elements. Rather than relying on a discernible pattern to hold the composition together, the limited color scheme and the loose organic shapes and placement of the bits of clay anchor the look of the bracelet. This makes a composition that could appear chaotic, if she hadn’t chosen these limitations, actually feel serene.
I think this piece, by far, is one of Natalja best to date and I really look forward to seeing what other gems she brings us in years to come. She is obviously inspired by nature, especially the floral variety, as well as gathering small elements together. You can find more of her work on her Flicker page and on her blog.
CYBER WEEK SPECIAL! (Yep, let’s make it a week not just Monday) $2 off single Print Issues of The Polymer Arts magazine when you buy 2 or more. You can purchase those here: http://www.thepolymerarts.com/Single_issues.html Code: CMUSP2 Sale ends Sunday Dec. 8th
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Scars
December 1, 2013
Ponderings
I thought it would be hard to come up with a quote related to carving and cutting for this Sunday’s thought, but then I opened my folder of quotes and this one was sitting there in the first row. It has more personal relevance than artistic application, but I think we can all relate to this thought on some level.
I have a lot of scars. Some were imparted during some very hard times, others are actually reminders of blissful moments. I have always had a kind of affinity for scars. They all have stories. Scars, like discarded art projects, are simple evidence of the journey you’ve been on. They are nothing to be ashamed of and are quite often something to be proud of, especially if you are still getting out there and taking chances .
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I think most of us have a repertoire of faux techniques we use regularly but how often do you push that technique, changing up the colors used, the finished texture or even going from solid clay colors to translucents?
Christine Michel created these gorgeous river rocks using what looks like a standard approach to emulating the water smoothed stones and their variation in color and inclusions. It’s a great, realistic looking choice of colors and the use of translucent clay gives the color in the ‘rocks’ additional variation.
If you haven’t tried your hand at faux river rocks, here is a great tutorial by Maria Jam Brown that shows how to create a few different types of rocks (scroll down and click on the red link.) Go have fun with it!
You can also see more of Christine’s work on her Flickr site.
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The New Year is just about here. Many of us are thinking about what we will be doing in 2014 including new projects, new shows and maybe even a new direction in our craft work. This week I’ll throw out a few ideas about how to push your work while we enjoy some pretty polymer pieces.
Many of us cover objects with clay. Often it involves canes or sheets of clay, but what if you used the object more like a canvas and added many small elements to create intricate patterns an texture. I think this can really bring that kind of work up a notch or two. Just look at these wedding toast glasses by Inara Kirhenstein from Riga, Latvia.
Inara’s description of her glasses: “Luxury wedding flutes decorated with more than 50 polymer clay flowers, Swarovski rhinestones, seed beads and faux pearls. Small Czech Preciosa seed beads are appliqued one by one.” This kind of application would certainly take a bit of patience but the detailed work certainly pays off. It’s very eye-catching and impressive.
All of Inara’s work is similarly detailed. She does jewelry as well as these kinds of glasses. You can see more of her beautiful work in her Etsy shop.
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I suggest focusing on the studio rather than the bank accounts!
In these days between Christmas and New Years, it is a great time to go through your studio, clean it out, and get yourself organized so you can start out the New Year fresh. Go through unfinished projects and decide which you are confident you will complete, and which you need to be resigned to never finishing, tossing them out or recycling them if you can. Go through your supplies and tools and make a list of what you need to replace or stock up on. Then you know what to use those gift cards and Christmas money for! And with after Christmas sales, you can make that money go farther … a lot farther. It will feel really good to start out clean, stocked and organized in the studio for 2014!
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I have been saving a number of pieces by Arden Bardol, hoping to fit this unique work into one of our themes but hadn’t yet found the right place to introduce her work. Arden’s work is a busy mix of varied elements, sometimes graphic, other times quite organic, and many times both. I just find the combinations intriguing and the colors so eye-catching.
Check out just how fun and varied Ardel’s work is on her website.
Hopefully you are winding down from the holiday bedlam and have time to enjoy your family and friends who might have been in town or the ones you went to visit yourself. Have a beautiful weekend!
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My first love in crafts was in fiber arts. Weaving, dying, hand-stitched art-to-wear and mixed textiles wall pieces were all part of my early portfolio and exploration of craft art forms. These materials still fascinate me and polymer design ideas often include mixing fiber or drawing inspiration from the art form.
The textures and use of mixed media in today’s fiber arts often remind me of approaches to polymer. Rich, organic texture and intense color are signatures of many of today’s textile artists making the craft a fantastic source for polymer inspiration. This is a wall piece by Helen Suzanne, a texture maniac whose work I get lost in, just checking out all of the techniques and materials used in these pieces.
If you ever have a chance to see fiber art in person, in a gallery that specializes in the craft or a museum that has a collection or a curated show, make seeing it a priority. As with polymer, you get so much more out of the work when seen in person. One can’t help but be wowed by the intensity of the work you see in the details of these pieces. Yeah, the patience of a fiber artist who does work like Helen here just blows my mind. Maybe you can catch the traveling Fiber Art International exhibition, in California right now, or when it moves to South Carolina and Massachusetts in the coming year. Take a look at the FAI website and gallery sections to see just where fiber arts are today.
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I met Irene Corman at Synergy this past March. She enthusiastically suggested an article idea of hers which eventually resulted in her sharing her knowledge about teaching polymer art classes in the Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts magazine. Since then, Irene has also answered my call for help in scouting art for the blog and future articles. Her enthusiasm and love of art, not just polymer, has made working with her such a joy.
Irene brought to me this unusual and intriguing artist, Laura Balombini. What a fabulous imagination!
Irene had this to say about why she is drawn to Laura’s work:
“She has created individuality and expression in each bird-form, while controlling any random effects through the simplicity of form and the repetition of each one, holding size and the shape elements that make up each of the birds, constant. Each of the faces and wings differ, creating interest for the viewer, while the even number and placement in 2 rows around the rectangle provide “discipline” for the design. Additional interest comes from the birdlike movement created by the positioning of the heads as they peck, look, stretch their necks, birdlike, yet also, somewhat human in their features. At first glance, the piece has a feel of folk-art, but the naiveté of folk art is transformed into something else when one sees the human features in the faces. The piece seems to tell a story, and also, holds a surprise. Using polymer clay for these forms is an artistic choice that works really well, given its color range, density and malleability.”
Enjoy more of Laura’s imaginative creations on her website.
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Read More
As many of you reader’s have seen, we introduced a new section in The Polymer Arts magazine called Polymer Jeweler’s Workbench this past Summer. We created this section to focus on these very popular forms in polymer. Shortly after the first of these articles came out in the Summer issue, Julie Cleveland, owner of Blue Morning Expressions polymer supply and bead shop, as well as being a polymer artist and freelance writer, contacted me about helping with this section. She is now the on-going editor and writer for the PJW section as well as taking on article assignments. She has been amazing to work with, getting in article materials far ahead of the deadline, not just on time. It kind of throws me but in a good way!
One of Julie’s favorite polymer artists is Judy Pollard. Julie says “Her amazing attention to detail, from the tiny fingers and toes to the dash of freckles across the nose, makes her artist dolls unique pieces of art that are created to treasure for a lifetime. They are irresistible in their cuteness. Judy has such a wonderful imagination, and it shows in how she dresses and poses her creations. I can sit and look at her dolls for hours and still find all new details. A wonderful sense of color and a delightful sense of humor can be found in the sweet faces she sculpts.
You can find more of Judy’s adorable creations on her Flickr pages.
Regardless of what you celebrate or believe in, I hope you all spend time with the people you love the most today. A very Merry Christmas to you all.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Nan Josephson came to The Polymer Arts through a freelance job board where I occasionally post calls for freelance writers to help put together articles or edit completed pieces. I was surprised and so delighted to find this precious metal clay artist who recently found polymer and has been drawn in by all its possibilities the way so many of us have. She wrote the article on Contrast in the last issue and has since come aboard to assist in editing and writing the blog posts as well as taking on article assignments for the magazine. Getting her on board this past month was like an early Christmas present for busy, little ol’ me.
One of Nan’s favorite artists is Elise Winters. Nan says “I love the blown glass art of Dale Chihuly, and her work reminds me of his. Chihuly’s glass objects are only isolated movements in a creative continuum. Elise’s ruffles collection, like Dale’s work, has an exaggeration of form and design that creates a sense of wonder and amusement. The flow and luminescence of her work, as well as the liquid feel of the pieces, create an illusion of glass blown objects, which I find exciting.”
It’s hard to find a piece of Elise’s that hasn’t made it thorough the rounds on the Internet but here is one necklace that isn’t usually chosen to represent her work and yet it is such a breathtaking piece.
If you haven’t had a chance to explore Elise’s work before, you can find more of her work on her website and Flickr photostream.
To those of you who celebrate, I hope you have a very happy Christmas Eve tonight with your favorite people.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
We’re going to be kind of lax this week with a theme. I am soliciting help from my various staff to bring some of my and their favorite pieces that we have set aside in hopes of posting but have yet to fit into a theme. It is a week of wish lists and the hope for pretty things so it seems appropriate.
My first offering this week is a piece I saw last October by an artist only identified as Krissobe. I wasn’t even sure it was polymer. I thought it could have been dyed wood or bone. It’s the composition that really fascinated me. I can’t even really explain why I find it so alluring but I wasn’t the only one. The piece won first place in what the translator says was a poetry contest. Not sure what that means but we can appreciate why it won, regardless.
My search for more work or places to admire this artist’s work was in vain. We have the artist’s French language blog to peruse for now but if any of you dear readers have more information on this talent, please post in the comment section at the end of this post. (If you get this by email, click on the post’s heading to get to the page where you can leave a comment.) Thanks!
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