A Slightly Different Stone
December 31, 2013
Inspirational Art
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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Something Different This Year
December 30, 2013
Inspirational Art
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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Preparing for the New Year
December 29, 2013
Ponderings, Tips and Tricks
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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A Favorite Mix
December 28, 2013
Inspirational Art
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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Outside Inspiration: Texture in Textiles
December 27, 2013
Inspirational Art
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.
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.
Imagination for the Birds
December 26, 2013
Inspirational Art
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.
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.
Christmas Cute
December 25, 2013
Inspirational Art
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.
Winters Luminescence
December 24, 2013
Inspirational Art
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.
A Few of My Favorite Things …
December 23, 2013
Inspirational Art
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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Is there any material better for showing off the shimmer and shine of any surface effect than crystal clear resin? It allows for light to fall on metal foils, glitter, mica powders and and any other shiny material locked under it’s clear layers. A tasteful addition of well worked wire and crystal accents keep the glittery resin of these dainty wing earrings created by Christina Allen Page from going overboard.
If you haven’t worked with resin yet, it’s a fantastic finishing product although it takes a little practice to work out bubble-free applications and to avoid the potential mess it can create. ALWAYS wear gloves when using resin and preferably on a dedicated work surface. For one, it is a super powerful adhesive. And secondly, you can become suddenly and severely allergic to the chemical if you allow regular contact with your skin. I know this to be true because I am one of those this happened to. It is no fun, not to mention pretty darn scary and now, to work with resin, I have to don the equivalent of a haz mat suit. Quite a drag. The chemical BPA is in high concentrations in all resins before it cures–it’s what allows the hardening of the liquid. So be good to yourself and take precaution so you can continue to use it for many, many years because it is great stuff.
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Wendy Orlowski, the new proprietor of the online polymer clay supply shop Shades of Clay, has been an innovative artist in the polymer community for some time. Her CaBezel molds have been very popular with many clayers. I have quite a few myself. They’re easy quick solutions to creating a well-fitting cabachon and bezel, but that is not what we are here to talk about today. (Although if you’ve needed to add to your wish list for potential gift givers, CaBezels and the many other unique items sold at Shades of Clay might fill out your list well! They’re great stocking stuffers!)
In the necklace pictured here, Wendy created medallions with her “straight and narrow” texture stamps. She then cuts apart the different lines of texture, applies Guilder’s paste to the surface of the textured clay, and staggers the lines of texture around a centerpiece or CaBezel form. For a little more excitement, she adds a few colored highlights. The result is faux metal with the richness of texture and depth of color one sees in real antiqued metal jewelry.
There is a video tutorial illustrating how to make this faux metal technique with polymer clay on the Shades of Clay website as well if you’d like more details on this. And, of course, you have to browse the Shades of Clay offerings for new toys and supplies while you there!
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.
Our piece today is by Janice Aranbel and features electroforming–a fascinating process you can read about in detail in the present Winter 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts magazine.
Adding metal rather than just a faux metal look to polymer pieces usually takes some rather particular and practiced skills as well as specialized equipment. Specialized equipment is also needed for electroforming but it is otherwise easy to accomplish. Janice has been playing with electroforming for a few years now and uses it to highlight and enliven her polymer forms as in these earrings.
An electroforming station is actually on my wish list this year. After working on the article in the present issue and really understanding just what was involved and how easy it would be to get started, I’ve been dreaming up all kinds of designs to try with it.
You can find other examples of how electroforming can be applied on Janice’s Flickr pages.
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.
Turkey’s Nihal Erpeden brings us some seasonal shine with her Ottoman series of necklaces. Although when Ottoman is mentioned, I usually think of something to put my feet up on, there is a whole rich history and culture that came out of the Ottoman Empire that we see the influence of but may not commonly associate with the Turkish conquerors or their long standing rule–from 1299-1923, well into the 20th century. That’s not so very long ago!
The interesting thing for art that comes out of the expanded rule of a single culture is the integration of other cultures into the aesthetics of the conquering society and vice versa, of course. Decorative arts from the Ottoman Empire bear the flourish and filigree common in the Turkish culture’s history but also integrated motifs from Persian, Greek, and Byzantine art over the years they ruled in those areas. That makes for a very rich and diverse source of imagery, color and design to draw inspiration from as Nihal has done here.
Both past and present cultures, espeically those we aren’t very familiar with can be a tremendous source of ideas and imagery to integrate into your own artwork. Dayle Doroshow wrote a wonderful article in the present Winter 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts on the influences of past culture with ideas on how to draw from them to give new direction and complexity to your work.
As you know, if you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, I strongly encourage all artists to look outside their discipline for inspiration as it will keep your work and the community’s work fresh and ever expanding. The same goes for looking outside your own culture. When you’re feeling uninspired or think our work is getting stagnant, look outside of what you know, of what you are familiar with. Find something new that gets you excited. Our brains crave novel experiences and information. Feed your brain and you’ll feed your creativity.
For more of Nihal’s lovely work, take a look at her Etsy shop and blog site.
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.
With the holidays upon us, things are shining and shimmering everywhere we go so I thought we’d have a week of looking at tastefully using our shiny, glitzier options.
It can be hard to make glitter look sophisticated. It is often tossed randomly onto an accessory to make it stand out, especially in commercial items, but it certainly can’t compensate for designs that are done poorly or are lacking in interest in any other way. The sparkle from glitter also has such a strong draw for the eye, so it can easily overpower and even ruin a good design. However, we do like our sparkle and, when used judiciously, it can be a great added element.
Katy Schmitt did a fantastic job on this little purse, keeping the focus on the color and swirl but mixing in just a bit of glitter to some, but not all, the colors to tastefully glam it up.
Most of Katy’s work leans towards simple and understated yet visually powerful pieces. You can find more of her work on her Flickr photostream and her own website.
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.
Scattered composition requires that you accept randomness, potential chaos, and even taking a chance that it will work. Sometimes these kinds of things scare us or at least make us feel that we are giving up control of the outcome, which we may find hard to do. But if you have full control of the outcome of everything–your art work, your day, your life in general–then you are not taking chances. Predictability breeds stagnancy. Do something that you’re not comfortable with this week. Something that scares you and exictes you at the same time. It can be surprising and even downright amazing what you find out, mostly about yourself.
And don’t forget … today is the last day to get in on the Cyber Week Special! $2 off each single Print Issues of The Polymer Arts magazine when you buy 2 or more. Catch up on anything you’ve missed or only have in digital. Or buy copies for gifts! You can purchase them here:
http://www.thepolymerarts.com/Single_issues.html
Code: CMUSP2 Sale ends midnight, Sunday Dec. 8th
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.
For our last bit of scattered art, I did want to look at the whole of a design arranged in a scattered and random looking manner. Necklaces lend themselves well to this kind of design being there is a fair amount of space in which to “scatter” the components.
Russian artist Oksana Aleksandrovna Vedernikova working under under the name silverpepper23 on Flickr, looks to have a penchant for a little chaos. This necklace is a great example of not having to engineer your pieces with symmetrical arrangements.
Chaos isn’t really the right word for most of Oksana’s work. Maybe intricate and definitely busy–but not in the overdone manner–would better describe this jewelry artist’s work. She is heavy into wire wrapping and stones as well as polymer and goes back and forth as well as mixing her materials. But regardless, it is really quite bold just how close she gets to chaos without going over the edge.
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Scattered elements are the opposite of controlled and precisely aligned elements in a piece of art or craft work. If you can put the two approaches into the same piece, you can potentially have some interesting contrast.
Today’s outside inspiration is just that–a juxtaposition of precision and scattered elements. We are quite used to precision in fine jewelry so I really enjoyed seeing this departure from symmetry and exact alignment. This is the work of jewelry designer Etienne Perret.
The form of the ring is very exact–precise lines and rounded corners keep it classic but the random placement and mix of gems make for a bit more contemporary, even edgy piece. Don’t you love how the diamonds fall down the side as well?
If you like the idea of scattered elements but are a bit leery to try it, this approach of having a precision base to contrast the randomness of elements may just be the thing.
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.
Now for something completely different. Both for our theme and for polymer in general. Jasmyne Graybill has been a huge influence and inspirations for me since I first discovered her work some 4 years ago. Her pieces are pretty but not comfortable. Her subject matter is organic but not of a type you see often if ever. She takes old, ordinary objects and turns them into works of art but if you didn’t know it was polymer, you might try to clean it, or more likely run in the other direction. That’s because she takes inspiration from that part of nature that we try to erase, destroy, hide and kill off. But its these forms that in the end, will take over what we try to create.
In this piece, polymer has been shaped and textured into the likeness of some unknown mold which has taken over a pretty floral plate, turning a stacked composition of flowers into a scattered composition of nature taking over a manmade object.
Mold, mildew and fungus do not usually grow in any kind of pattern or regular application. They grow where their spores land, chance being their primary organizer. This chance approach is a valid composition as long as there is a relationship or visual connection among the elements. In this case, they are all the same basic form created in a color palette to match their host object.
I know many of you are probably grimacing at this piece. Yeck. But these less admired inhabitants of the organic world create some wonderful textures and forms. You don’t have to create faux mold, but you might find the textures and the way groups of fungi form, interesting enough to consider recreating what you see only in a context and with an approach that reflects your idea of beauty. Here are four dishes of other fungi possibilities that Jasmyne created. Quite pretty, I think.
If you, too, find Jasmyne’s work rather fascinating, you can see more of her pieces and installations on her website. She does not work solely in polymer, which is another reason I admire her work. She uses the material best suited for what she wants to represent. It just so happens that polymer can emulate so much. Even the icky things.
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.
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