Outside Inspiration: Lots of Tiny Frames
January 31, 2014
Inspirational Art
Framing doesn’t require a frame be used just once. One can use frames as a repeated design element as done in this necklace by Susan Remnant. The forms that structure this piece represent an organic sensibility which is somewhat ironic since it’s rare to see nature frame it’s creations but in this case, I think the many little frames work to emphasize the forms and the randomness common in nature.
I found this bold, contemporary enameled pendant on the website of a fellow polymer enthusiast, Janice Abrabanel, who also prizes the inspiration we get from other mediums. Unfortunately, Susan Remnant does not seem to have a online presence but do enjoy Janice’s blog for inspiration today.
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Bold and Deep (And our 10% off Everything Sale!)
January 30, 2014
Inspirational Art
So yes, we’re having our once a year sale off everything in The Polymer Arts magazine store! See the information at the end of the post here.
But first, let’s talk art …
The type of frames we put photos or artwork in tend to be shallow affairs made to sit out of the way on a shelf or wall. But that tradition shouldn’t determine the depth of frames you make for your adornment, decor, or even wall art for that matter. Your frame can be as deep as makes sense for your piece.
For instance, Tanja of Flickr’s Fantastisch-Plastischcan created a pendant with a deeply concave form to show off layers in a stack of polymer sheets. With this kind of form, leaving it frame-less would have been okay but instead of leaving it there she created a deep silver frame for it. This makes the depression feel more like the a reveal of an underground or celestial space rather than just being a concave form. It also brings in contrast–bright silver against muted greens–and allows her more real estate to expand on the red ball motif.
It seems that all our artists this week, the ones pushing the idea of what a frame might be, are all explorers and experimenters. Tanja has played with a wide variety of forms as well as textures, both visual and tactile. She just seems to be having too much fun to settle down with a particular style or set of techniques. You can see what I’m talking about when you go through her array of work in her Flickr pages.
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Incomplete Surroundings
January 29, 2014
Inspirational Art
A frame doesn’t have to completely surround the focus of the piece or shrink back to be a barely noticed element. The framed piece we have for you today suspends the center stone between the framing elements, using negative space to enhance the design.
As the artist, Georgia Morgan explains, “Working in polymer allows unlimited space to explore the synergy of color, pattern, and texture. My main artistic influences have been Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, and the work that resonates the most with me combines organic elements in a geometric framework.”
Whether you’re creating your frame from polymer or some other mixed media, consider breaking away from the enclosed space and straight, balanced lines, unless your piece is about control, symmetry or otherwise needs the expected and calm of a standard frame. In other words, consider what your frame can be to help support the feeling or theme of the piece.
For more on Georgia’s often out of the box work, take a look at her website here.
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Wrap it Around
January 28, 2014
Inspirational Art
One of the primary reasons for using frames is to finish off the edge of a bead or element so it is functional but it doesn’t have to be purely functional. It is going to show, so why not make it a major part of the design?
Ivana Brozova has brought her frame into the design by creating a wave to the edge that comes up onto the bead’s surface. It gives the frame more surface so the analogous colors in the frame become a more substantial part of the bead and the wave in the frame plays off the aquatic theme of the necklace.
Ivana is another explorer in the ways of polymer with some wonderfully different, often edgy but always intriguing work. Take a swim through her artistic world on her Flickr photostream.
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Polymer Framed
January 27, 2014
Inspirational Art
The presentation of a bead or surface treatment is often accompanied by framing or creating some kind of window that puts focus on the focal point. This week I wanted to look at a few more unusual options for “framing” to give you some ideas on how to integrate the frame as part of the design rather than creating it as a more functional aspect used to simply finish of the edges.
First of all, framing doesn’t have to stay on the outside. Bringing the framing into the center and letting it cross the treated surface, is a way to break up the surface design as well as integrate the frame directly into design of the piece. Here Sue Corrie uses the branches and trunk of a tree to create a number of windows for the polymer beneath. The result is the frame becomes foreground for the abstracted scene in the polymer. The treatment of the polymer can be kept minimal here because the bronze frame adds line, contrast in color and depth to this brooch.
Sue is one of our more exploratory polymer artists working in quite a few different styles and approaches, making even other people’s techniques her own by pushing the process and trying new things with them. Take a look through her Flickr pages and her website for more inspiring pieces.
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Polymer or Porcelain?
January 26, 2014
Inspirational Art
I couldn’t resist a last little guessing game for this week.
When I was looking through my Pinterest boards, I found this set of beautiful, organically inspired bracelets by Armenian artist Sona Grigoryan, but I couldn’t be sure if they were ceramic or polymer. So what do think these are made of?
Sona is an Armenian living in Barcelona and she is in love with polymer clay. I think it is the antiquing color added to these bracelets that give the polymer that almost translucent porcelain look. Most of her work would not make you think of polymer straight away. Her pieces look more like to be made of bone, wood or other natural materials. Take a few minutes or more to look through her fantastical work on her Flickr pages.
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A Collection of Toggles
January 25, 2014
Inspirational Art
Have you been having fun guessing the materials this week and thinking of ways to create these beautiful pieces in polymer? Well, here is a whole array of pieces to take a guess at. We are all on our own here as the Live Journal post doesn’t list what is what or how these pieces were created. This whole post is an interesting collection of inspiration for a polymer contest that revolved around art accessories embellished with the use of texture stamps.
According to the Russian translation describing these pieces, they are made from ceramics, polymer, and/or metals. To read more about the competition and artwork submitted, take a look at the translated website. Enjoy!
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Naturally Faux
January 24, 2014
Inspirational Art
We’ve done non-polymer all week so I thought this Friday we’d switch that up with polymer work by an artist that doesn’t always work in polymer and if one didn’t know better, one would think she truly didn’t! Bettina Mertz’s faux polymer stones are amazing. She has a whole series of jewelry designs including bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and earrings using similarly realistic faux stone. This fall set is one of the best designs adding kinetic movement and a randomness that just adds to the organic feel of the piece.
Betinna is also intrigued by intricate bead embroidery. If she can’t find a particular bead that she wants, she makes it out of polymer clay, using this stone and other faux techniques. You can see more of her polymer and bead work on her blogspot, Mertz Bettina Schmuck Design and her Flickr pages.
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Beauty in Transluscence
January 23, 2014
Inspirational Art
If you read our wonderful Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts, you no doubt remember the cover piece by Kathrin Neumaier. That translucent glass look has been quite popular in the polymer community so when I saw these simple but elegant earrings, my first thought was that it was polymer. But no. And it’s not glass either. What’s your guess?
The artist here is Barbara Fernald. These are actually vintage Lucite beads, sometimes referred to as acrylic glass. Perfectly proportioned design transcends mediums. See more of Barbara’s elegant work on her website.
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I know it’s still the middle of winter but there are definitely a lot of thoughts of Spring being bandied about. I caught sight of these little flowers by Etsy’s MyCraftGarden in Bangkok and thought they would be a delightful way to start the week. Who doesn’t like flowers on a Monday?
These 2″x 4″ (5 x10 cm) flower baskets wouldn’t take up a lot of desk space but what a nice way to brighten up a work area. For more day brightening flowers, miniature blooming bonsai, and colorful baskets of mini fruits and vegetables take a look at MyCraftGarden’s Etsy’s shop.
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If you aren’t familiar with Tedx Talks, I highly recommend looking to Ted as an alternative to a TV show or searching out memes on Facebook when you need a break in your day. These talks are down-to-earth, very accessible presentations created to stimulate conversation and get you thinking. The talks can inspire you to look at your world and what you do in some very different ways.
There is a whole series of talks about creativity within the Tedx listings but I am partial to this one by Amy Tan about where creativity hides. It’s quite funny following her line of reasoning and exploring where creativity might come from as well as how to be open to serendipitous inspiration.
If you like this, here is a link to 10 of Tedx talks that deal with creativity. Enjoy an enlightened day!
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Polymer artist, Kim Otterbein, sees jewelry design as a meaningful way to express herself creatively. Her bracelets pictured here appear to be influenced by the tribal bangles made from bamboo and carved wood found in Africa and other Asian countries.
The warmth of the faux wood and the juxtaposition of the metal bands and charms add interest as well as a fun, kinetic element to the bracelets. In addition, words and prayers are written on many of her pieces in the hope of making the wearer feel a sense of peace, protection, and healing.
If you would like to see more of Kim’s work and step-by-step instructions, take a look at her website and check out her book, “Polymer Clay 101,” written in partnership with Angela Mabray. It comes with a high quality DVD to provide visual instructions.
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Mariana Bankova is a jewelry designers from Weliko Tarnowo whose inspiration comes from some of the most basic forms and sources, including the natural world just outside her door. She lists the material used in the pendant here as a “synthetic ceramic” but it could just as well be stone and certainly could be emulated in polymer. I was drawn to this piece by it’s simplicity and strong centered composition as well as the primitiveness of it. Even with the refined look of the bugle beads, it retains a definite tribal feel, with its rough surface and uneven shape.
Mariana partners with another young jewelry artist, Ilza Hristova. Thier stated commonality in design is in the use of basic, universal symbols like a circle representing perfection, a triangle standing for mystic inspiration, a helix which speaks to the past and the present, or a square form used to reflect the balance of forces as it does in Mariana’s pendant. These mystical, mythical and mathematical symbols have a primitive connection to us because they are so basic and have been a part of most, if not all, cultures since humans started using symbols to communicate.
Mariana and Ilza share both a Flickr photostream and a website to show and sell their work and would be fine places to browse while enjoying a hot beverage on this cold winter day.
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By adding fluorescent colors to tribal inspired designs, Debbie Jackson brings this ancient art form into the 21st century. Tribal jewelry was traditionally constructed from natural materials, like animal claws and teeth, bone, elephant hair, horns, horse hair, ivory, metal, resin, seeds, shells, stone, and wood. Polymer clay allows us the freedom to create faux natural materials, or use mixed media, to simulate these techniques that date back more than 75,000 years.
African tribal jewelry frequently tells a story. Different colors have different meanings. Blue represents the sky and belief in the gods; green represents the sacred element of grass that nourishes cattle; red represents the blood of the cattle and white represents the milk. Jewelry was also thought to protect the wearer by providing balance between the earth and nature, allowing the wearer to be in harmony with the cycles and rhythms of the natural world.
Challenge yourself to view your work and your designs from a tribal perspective. Pay close attention to the colors you have chosen and ask yourself if they tell the story you are trying to express. Play with color and design elements to energize your work and bring out the tribal influences within you. Add beads or mixed media to enhance your designs and take them to the next level. If you want some in depth help, check out Debbie’s book, “Polymer Clay Jewelry,” for step-by-step instructions.
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This tribal neck piece is made from textured colored polymer, oxidized sterling silver, horse hair, and antique coral. This collection of tribal work is based on Kathleen Dustin’s familiarity with ethnic jewelry from her nine years of living overseas and her extensive travels around the world. Hand-worked texture is the overriding technique in this piece. Take a look at Kathleen’s Pinterest board to see her abstract series that uses translucent layering techniques that resemble enamel on metal. She is creating pieces that reflect how all the fragments of our lives – prosperity, pain, crises, good times – come together to make something beautiful as a whole. Her work is influenced by the work of many abstract artists as well.
Again “there’s nothing new under the sun;” this style of jewelry dates back thousands of years. The commonality in motifs of primitive indigenous cultures is apparent. Compare Vicki Grant’s work on this Pinterest board with the African Protective Amulet Man’s Necklace made with leather, silk, and pigments. If you are in need of some serious style inspiration, take a look at these tribal designs for a fresh new look at graphic influences that have stood the test of time.
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These days, the idea of something being modern but tribal, encircles a loose set of characteristics that can be applied to all kinds of materials, forms and techniques. The more prevalent characteristics would be earthy or naturally derived color palettes, repeated motifs with a hand drawn look, and rough, uneven edges or shapes. As we’ll see this week, that may not always be true, but if you wanted to create something more tribal or primitive looking, adding these types of elements would lean your piece in that direction.
I don’t know that I would have easily come up with a way to make mokume look tribal but even this technique, drawn from ancient Japanese metal work that demanded precision and fine skill, can be converted to reflect the idea of tribal by simply adding a few of the generalized characteristics just mentioned. Julie Picarello, known around the community for her extensive work with mokume style techniques she calls imprinting, did just this a few years ago with a line of tribal pendants as seen here.
This set of tribal pendants actually hits all the basic characteristics, but Julie’s line of tribal pendants include all kinds of color, texture and motifs, repeated and not. The uneven shapes, however, keep harkening back to the modern tribal aesthetic. Go ahead and take a look at what she’s done in this area on her website and Flickr pages, and don’t forget her book, Patterns in Polymer.
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In our recent perusal of items that people are posting, commenting and otherwise bandying about online, we’ve noticed there is quite a bit of tribal influenced designs and color palettes. So this week, we thought we’d look at tribal tendencies and see how our fellow clayers are using this type source for inspiration in their work.
Liz Hall has previously put out a lot of work reminiscent of the American Southwest. (She’s from Maryland and lives in Virginia so I’m not sure how that happened.) I never really thought about it, but the southwest imagery and patterns are not so different from what we generally think of as tribal. Ancient art, whether from Africa, Australia, Europe or the Americas, tends towards natural and raw edged work, heavy with patterning in motifs particular to their area and culture. So it would not be difficult to move from the Southwestern aesthetic which draws from the Native American Indian culture to colors and patterns closer to an African influence as Liz has done here in these bangles.
These bangles are one of the final entries for the polymer clay category of the Niche awards. You can see the other entries on the Niche website. Take a look at more of Liz’s work on her own website and Etsy store.
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Trying a technique, pushing your work in a new direction or starting a new business can all give you reasons to worry. The problem is, worrying doesn’t do you a bit of good. It will keep you from doing things you want to try but it will never help you accomplish a thing.
If you worry a lot, you probably have quite the imagination as worrying requires all kinds of creative forethought to imagine all the possible and dreadful outcomes you might have to face. But do yourself a big favor … as you face this new year, use that creative mind to imagine all the wonderful things you can accomplish. There is a good chance you won’t do everything you imagine while other things will simply not come out the way you planned but some things will succeed and then there is all the wonderful discoveries along the way.
Let’s jump into this New Year with exciting ideas and new directions and see what we come up with!
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