EuroSynergy: Beauty at the Reception
April 30, 2014
Inspirational Art
The reception at EuroSynergy is the time when many of the attendees run into each other for the first time or at least not in a rushed situation. So it is natural that we also put on our best pieces or our newest acquisitions from fellow artists. It is rather dazzling to see the variety of pieces and so truly thrilling to see pieces in person that one has only seen in photos at this point. I don’t think I made it a quarter way around the room stopping to look at some much wonderful art. It was like a live, moving gallery of the best and most innovative and skilled work.
I did manage to stop my gawking long enough to take a few pictures. I do have to apologize–my camera seems to be having some issues with some modes I am used to working in so I will need to work that out and adjust it so we can have better images through the week. Here are a couple pieces I got photos of that I thought would be particularly fun to share.
This piece by Katrina Marsh Sarlin is an obvious Maggie Maggio project. She worked on and completed this necklace and earring set during her Monday workshop with Maggie. She said she had decided that she needed to get these pieces done just for the reception as her efforts early on in the workshop revealed she was on her way to making the perfect set to go with her Wednesday evening outfit. That kept her focused! You can’t quite see the wonderful variations in color in the links but you can certainly see all the work that went into this very newly finished piece. I just love that we can do that–decide we need something to pair with an outfit and just sit down and make it! That is another huge advantage of our primary medium–the speed of creating.
This piece just took me by surprise. As you probably know if you’ve followed this blog for long, I look to a lot of other art forms as inspiration for polymer work. One I had never considered was graffiti art. But when I asked Anke Humpert how she came up with the idea for this bracelet below, she shrugged and put up her hands like it seemed so obvious that graffiti would inspire polymer. And I have to agree. With the range of colors and the expressive forms in the lettering, it is suddenly obvious to me too.
Well, after a day of exploring Valletta and seeing the kick-off of EuroSynergy, I need to get a little sustenance and get ready for the rest of the week. I will post photos from our little tour around Malta’s capital and will try to fit in some quick stories on both The Polymer Arts and Sage Bray Facebook pages so come join me over there a little later on to see what our polymer people are up to.
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.
Workshops in Malta
April 29, 2014
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news
Stopping to write a blog in the midst of all the fantastic conversations I’ve been having this first day in Malta has been a challenge so this will be a little short–we’ll let the photos speak for the most part.
I was lucky enough to have time to drop in on workshops being given by Kathleen Dustin and Melanie West. The energy in the rooms was amazing and the dazed look as the students left the day long workshops attested to some exhausting but exciting creativity going on. Melanie West’s class was “Make It Big And Organic!” and focused on the idea of process more than on the creation of any one thing. Kathleen was divulging her signature “Translucent Layering Techniques” in her packed classroom. Here are some shots of these masters at work demonstrating and sharing their pearls of wisdom. Then you get a close up view of Melanie’s ingenious necklace–a reversible pendant that is engineered with a magnet and a removable center piece.
Kathleen Dustin explaining technique during her workshop.
Cara Jane Hayman’s project in the middle of the process in Kathleen’s class.
Melanie West talking color choices with her workshop attendees.
Melanie West’s fabulous reversible necklace.
The other side of Melanie’s necklace showing the magnet design (isn’t that wonderful!?)
I am going to leave you to enjoy these images for now. I’ll be touring Malta in the morning and posting those images on Facebook so if you don’t already follow The Polymer Arts on Facebook, you can get more EuroSynergy peeks there as well!
Wow … day one and I’m already filled to the brim with ideas to ponder and write about and create from! What will I be like come Sunday?
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.
Dialing in From Frankfurt with French Polymer
April 28, 2014
Polymer community news
I have been traveling for 16 hours as I sit down to write this and I have another 7 hours to go before I reach the hotel in Malta. Every change of scenery, the many different people, the variation in languages is enervating–I’ve been trying to guess people’s country of origin based on jewelry and clothing but you know what … people are more or less the same everywhere. It’s still been a fun game. I just wish I was more awake to really take it all in here. Many polymer people are already in Malta. See if you can sneak a peek on Donna Greenberg’s Facebook page–she’s taken some amazing pictures of the places in Malta she and other polymer peeps got out early to see. I just can’t wait to get there.
My opportunities for photos as well as a decent Internet connection while traveling have been slim so instead of sending the overcast images of Reykjavik and Frankfurt this will be simple and brief and get in some info I couldn’t squeeze in last week about polymer in print.
If you don’t know about Polymere & Co., it’s the newest magazine on the scene and the first one of its kind not in English. The French language magazine focuses on project tutorials and jewelry and is available in both print and digital editions. Even if French isn’t your language, don’t let that stop you from getting a copy. Get the digital and plug the articles into an online translator. In this day and age there is not any reason to stay away from publications simply because they aren’t in your language. What a wonderful time we live in!
Editor Beatrice PICQ will be joining us at EuroSynergy to talk about why she started this magazine. I’m so excited to talk to her and hear about her vision. Because at this point, there is definitely still room for more quality polymer instruction and inspiration.
Okay … I’m off to get myself set for my final leg to Malta!
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.
The Polymer Dynamo
April 27, 2014
Inspirational Art
It’s really hard to talk about polymer publications and not bring up the prolific and non-stop dynamo that is Christi Friesen. She has 8 polymer specific books published and so many articles in so many different magazines, I can’t even guess how many she’s done. I can’t even remember how many times she’s written articles or contributed to articles for us at The Polymer Arts magazine. Plus she sends out regular newsletters, has almost daily Facebook posts and keeps up a Yahoo group. You know she enjoys what she does to do so much with it!
This year Christi is traveling around the world–literally. Her travel calendar makes me tired just looking at it. But to keep her fans in the loop and to create more fun approaches to working with polymer she and her little team put together a “World Tour” project. Each leg of her travels will be documented for those following along and a project based off the location or purpose will be presented as a challenge for her armchair traveling companions. For Malta, this is the project–wire and polymer!
Get on board with Christi’s fun adventures this year–get your ‘passport,’ project instructions and get lined up for prizes by signing up on her World Tour page. She also has a number of great new products in her store so if you haven’t visited lately, you really need to stop by her online shop.
Alright … now I need to finish the last of my packing and grab the first of my three flights that will get me to Malta in, oh … 26 more hours.
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.
Maria Petkova’s Polymer Clay Diaries
April 26, 2014
Inspirational Art
Some of the most active blogs in the polymer world are in English and here in the US but there some amazing blogs that are getting huge overseas as well and just because they aren’t in your primary language doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them too. We live in an amazing age–just view these foreign language blogs using Google Chrome (it will automatically try to translate pages that are not in your default language) or copy the text into the box on http://translate.google.com/ or search for a translation plugin for your browser.
My first recommended stop for non-English blog sites is Polymer Clay Diaries written by Bulgarian artist Maria Petkova. On her blog she shares polymer artwork, featured artists, galleries and tutorials about polymer clay. Maria herself is quite the talented polymer artist as well. Her work uses many different techniques to bring her art to life with a richness and, often, simple elegance.
These copper and patina earrings are examples of how straightforward contrast can work beautifully in simple designs. The blue of the faux patina against the orange copper clay uses opposing color contrast while the dense texture plays against the smooth half of the earrings’ elements.
Besides reading Maria’s Polymer Clay Diaries blog, you can find more inspiration in her own work on the Polymer Clay Diaries’ Flickr pages and her own personal Flickr pages. And here is a short list of other blogs you may not know about but are well worth a regular visit.
http://polymerionline.blogspot.com/
http://paroledepate.canalblog.com/
http://polymerclayfimo.livejournal.com/
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.
Outside Inspiration: Muses from Other Art Forms
April 25, 2014
Inspirational Art
Another blog you really should be following is the wonderful Daily Art Muse (DAM) which also has a monthly version sent as a newsletter (MAM). Susan Lomuto doesn’t actually post daily but her intermittent posts are always intriguing. I have found many of our Outside Inspiration artists thanks to her discoveries shared on this blog.
For instance, I would not likely have found the wonderful work of Phiona Richards who creates jewelry and sculpture from old books, beads and textiles. Just look at this wonderful pin. I love the play on the idea that books are filled with “pearls of wisdom” making this both a visual and metaphorical delight.
With the folded polymer trend these days, Phiona’s work is a great source of polymer inspiration and ideas for complex folds. See more of her work on her website and then be sure to get signed up for DAM and MAM. Susan does feature a lot of polymer art on her blog but more importantly she features very different craft art in general, because we cannot grow on the inspiration of polymer artists alone.
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.
Perfect Pairings
April 24, 2014
Inspirational Art
Although blogs aren’t traditionally considered a form of printed material, our move into the electronic publishing age has sometimes made blogs the only reliable and up to date source for many subject matters. Cynthia Tinapple has made her name as an author through her popular Polymer Clay Daily blog which has become a standard read for any serious polymer artist. Last year, she also broke rank with the typical polymer clay project book format by presenting the global side of our medium with a lot of background and insight alongside intriguing projects in her book Polymer Clay Global Perspectives.
Of course, Cynthia is an accomplished polymer artist as well. My favorite pieces of hers are the collaborations she creates with her wood sculpting husband, Blair Davis. Their polymer trimmed wooden bowls, although reserved in their design, are so eye-catching due to the care and finish of the work as well as the contrast of materials and colors. Most of her inlay is cane work but I found this extruded swirl inlay absolutely entrancing. The swirl of the clay mimics, in a stylized manner, the waves and whorls of woodgrain making the choice an excellent design pairing.
You can find out all about Cynthia, see her work, find her book and take a look at her adventures all on her website. And of course, if you aren’t already subscribed to Polymer Clay Daily, you really need to get on that!
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.
Prolific Polymer in Print
April 23, 2014
Inspirational Art
In our little community, we have just a few people who consistently write and publish about our medium. One of our earliest teachers through print and one of the most prolific is Barbara McGuire. She has authored or co-authored half a dozen polymer specific books and has written numerous articles along with her many other contributions to product development, teaching and archiving. Most recently she has been expanding into wonderfully detailed videos which you can get for free on her YouTube channel.
Barbara lives outside Asheville, South Carolina in a rural area where, until recently, she kept a bee colony. Unfortunately, her bees were wiped out and she is in the process of putting money together to build the colony again. That is the inspiration behind her series of bee beads, a collaboration between Barbara and with Thomas Michael Poole who made the bee wings and Klimt patterns seen in the series. Created from layers of canes, the bees on these beads look they just landed there and yet still meld into the complex flow of the colorful backgrounds.
If you want to help Barbara get back to her beekeeping as well as own a piece by one of our great pioneers, you can purchase her bee beads and necklaces in her Etsy shop. Barbara is even offering our blog readers a 30% discount off items in her Etsy store–just use the code SAVETHEBEES. You can also take a look at more of these wonderful beads and other work by Barabara on her Flicker pages. And do take a look at her many wonderful products and books she has for sale on her website as well as checking out her class schedule for upcoming opportunities to learn from this master artist.
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.
More Fun and Flair in the Netherlands
April 22, 2014
Inspirational Art
Since I featured Marjon yesterday, I certainly couldn’t leave her periodicals partner in crime, Saskia Veltenaar, out of this look at the art of our polymer publication people. I suspect that part of the reason they are such close friends is that they are both so much about fun and flair, both in their personalities and their creative endeavors. Last year, Saskia went quite floral with a series of colorful pieces with botanicals emerging from textured black backgrounds. Bright colors against black really make the colors stand out and Saskia and her bubbly personality never seems to be afraid to stand out!
Saskia shows off her many talents including beading, fiber and metal work on her beautifully composed website and on her 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.
Here is a bit of both wild and Spring to celebrate the changing landscape up here in the northern hemisphere. Isabelle Chatelain favors sparkling color associations and uncommon mountings as you can see in this wild but fun, Spring inspired ring. There is so much life and vitality in her expressive, modern jewelry designs. Her mix of colors and textures dance and flirt through the compositions. Such fun!
Take a look-see at more of Isabelle’s work on her Flickr page (called “By IC”), read some of her thoughts on her blog, check out her boutique in A Little Market (known as “Ze-cat-is-back”), or take one of her classes through CraftArtEdu.
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.
Rings can truly be made from any material but rings from metal are really the standard due to their durability. Some might say the downside is that we end up with rings primarily created in the limited palette of metallic colors. Granted the accent color of stones can add some amazing hues not to mention the sparkle that draws the eye. So when I found this artist who works in coloring metal, I was entranced.
Jose Marín works in titanium, gold and stones but he uses the heat reactive characteristics of titanium to create jewel tone colors, expanding the metals inherent palette. The colors, form and decorative accents in this ring would be a rather natural approach if this was polymer. This ring leads me into some extensive research on anodized metals–there’s so much gorgeous work out there and such a rich, potential source for polymer inspirations.
Jose’s inspiration comes from the natural world: “My goal is to make jewellery that, as you look at it, can convey intangible aspects of nature: smell, joy, nostalgia, sensuality …” Don’t miss seeing his other incredible jewelry including some of the breathtaking necklaces and jeweled rings you can find on his 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.
There is definitely something to be said for being forced to come up with a piece in a limited amount of time. You can’t spend too much time deliberating and you tend to kick your inner critique to the curb because you just don’t have time to care that much. Also, the simple rule … “Practice, practice, practice,” is one of the best adages to live by when trying to perfect a skill or even develop your own style. Challenges like “Ring-a-Day” or any ‘design on a regular schedule’ challenge will get you into constant practice as well as force you to leave that nagging and often debilitating inner critic behind.
The discipline and constant need to create something on a deadline in the “Ring-a-Day” challenges has led to some really creative designs in a variety of mediums but I think the outcome in polymer is just fascinating. Most of the people I’ve seen do the daily rings or a ring a week challenges in recent years end up going way outside the breadth of design and form commonly seen in polymer. As with most of the rings we’ve seen this week, this ring by Ponsawan Sila pushes the boundary of the space we are used to seeing rings confined in. She did a ring challenge in 2010 with a large majority being simply a compilation of more common polymer elements but if you look through what she posted on Flickr at that time, you can see where she just let go and really pushed both the idea of a ring and what polymer rings might be.
To see Ponsawan’s variety in her ring challenge go to her Flickr pages a few years back. Go take a look at her most recent work on Flickr as well. Just eat first or when you get to the food photos you’re going to get seriously distracted! She also shares her work and her thoughts on her blog and in her Etsy shop.
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.
Another design idea based on spanning the distance across the fingers along with including kinetic design in a ring can be found in one of Donna Kato’s first spinner rings. These rings have an element that will actually twirl when you spin them. In this one it’s obviously the central red bead but the striped lines and wavy edge of the larger element already gives you a sense of movement. Plus this element wraps over both fingers to either side of the finger wearing it which would stabilize the large piece as well as make it really hard to miss!
The engineering of new designs is one of Donna’s favorite aspects of jewelry making. But of course, Donna is one of those people just brimming with ideas not just for designs but for products, classes and business as well. Besides her line of Kato products, she is also the founder and one of the more prolific instructors at Craft Art Edu. Her spinner ring designs have evolved since the appearance of this one here several years ago and now you can take advantage of her experimentation and perfecting of the design in her spinner ring class. Lucky you!
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.
Here is a fun and cool concept … two different rings worn together as a set. This set is by artist Lourdes López. She uses these same components in a necklace as well. Why not? There really aren’t very many components you can’t turn into a ring. With tandem rings like this, there is a changing relationship between the two pieces as the wearer moves their fingers. Even though there is a quite a difference between the patterned half circle and the wide space of graduated color on the other side, their proximity and mirrored shapes connect them and increases the simple beauty of each half far more than than if they stood alone.
Lourdes likes to play with metals, resin and other mixed media as well as polymer clay. See more of Lourdes’ work and the way she plays with her designs on her 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.
While searching for items for this blog, I come across a lot of cool and wild pieces and just save them for later, hoping they will fit into theme. The one form that doesn’t find it’s way into themes quite as often as I gather them are rings, especially the really wild ones. So this week, let’s look at some wild rings.
When creating a ring you want to consider wearability and durability. Or wait … do you? There are a lot of artists out there that just create the form to suit a vision making for some less practical but quite wonderful pieces. The thing about rings is that these forms can be inspiration for pushing what is done with pendants, bracelets, earrings, pins and all kinds of decor items. So even if you don’t make rings, consider what you like about what you see and maybe try and incorporate those ideas into your own style and designs.
Here is actually a reverse example of that concept–taking something more commonly seen in other forms and trying it with rings. You are probably familiar with Melanie West’s flame like cane (she calls it a cephalopod eye cane–get the tutorial here) that she creates bracelets and other jewelry from. Well, Lillian de Vries tried out the cane using Melanie’s tutorial but went wild with a ring instead. It’s got a wild look but the form is actually somewhat standard for polymer rings these days. Still, the wild, organic nature of the cane contrasts well with the balanced, reserved form.
Lillian is an exploratory clayer, amassing all types of forms and techniques as she plays with and pushes what she is learning through other artists and discovering about her own style. Sometimes the work she posts is straight from a class or tutorial, some depart completely from the form or application learned while other pieces look to be completely her own vision. I find it interesting to watch the journey other artists’ take and Lillian’s is quite the wonderful wandering path as seen on her Flickr page and her blog.
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.
As we finish up our week of folded polymer inspirations, I thought this simple fold and repetition technique might inspire a few of you to jump into the studio to give folding a try. Izabela Nowak‘s uses her “folded up technique” to make rings, necklaces, and earrings. This technique was inspired by her love of Origami art, resulting in dynamic three-dimensional pieces. The three thin layers of polymer colors give it a bit of visual texture as well.
You can see more of her work on her Facebook page including unique beads that she made inspired by Origami Art – Kusudama – Fleurogami. If you check out her Flickr pages, you will see more examples of this Origami style along with her Techtonic and Spiral Up techniques.
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.
As we finish up our week on folded polymer, we’re taking a look at these folded beads by Jamey Allen, one of the early pioneers in the development of polymer clay bead making. He is best known for his millefiori work and reinventing the folded bead. The folded clay adds a richness of detail and the color choices give a comfortable warmth to these beads.
If you would like to learn more about Jamey, there is a great interview with him online and take a look at his book,”5 Artists – 5 Directions in Polymer Clay.”
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.
Eva Fulinova, a Czech designer living in the UK, calls her work Tinctory. They are brilliant jewelry designs using fabric folding and hand stitching. Her other jewelry pieces are created by folding vintage silks or new natural dyed fabrics into accordion centric shapes, something that can also be done with polymer although not quite with the delicate touch you see here.
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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