What’s in a Name?
June 30, 2014
Inspirational Art
As I mentioned briefly last Friday, the name of a piece of art can really add or change the viewer’s perception of the work. It is a peek into the artist’s mind and gives a hint of (or knocks you over the head with) what the artist was aiming to convey. Some titles make obvious sense while others are surprising and make you look more closely at the work in order to try to figure out what the artist was seeing when they named it. This piece here is of the latter types. Desiree McCrorey named this intriguing little piece Diablo’s Cell Phone. Now where did that come from?
I definitely associated this piece with fire and so can see the devil association but I would not have thought cell phone if it weren’t for her naming of it. Now I see it in the elongated form and the ‘antenna’ coming up on the one side. And Diablo now makes me thing of the wire work as horns and the target cane slices down in the fiery lower portion as maybe lost souls in some eternal fire. The name just takes the necklaces from being a great visual piece to having all this depth and possible metaphor. And it’s rather humorous. Who would the devil be calling on his cell phone? His demon minions? I don’t know but it makes me like the piece even more.
If for some reason you aren’t familiar with Desiree’s work and her very generous sharing of techniques and ideas, go on over to her website and take a look around. Besides her wonderful pieces to drool over, there are tons of tutorials, tips and tricks on this website. Desiree’s tutorials and her website were instrumental to me as I advanced in my polymer work back in my early days with this medium. We are very lucky to have someone like her in our community!
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.
Daily Polymer Arts Blog changes & A Rustic Tutorial
June 29, 2014
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news, The Polymer Arts magazine news
First thank you to every one who switched over to the new email post service a few weeks ago. The old service was scheduled to be taken down this week but things are little behind schedule. We are getting back on track and the switch will be done tomorrow. So, if you didn’t switch over and are reading this in an email post that has a long link on the top, click that link and unsubscribe and go here for the new blog emails or you won’t be receiving email notifications any longer as of Monday.
As of this week, the blog will have a few more changes as well. For one, I won’t be posting on Sundays any more. There is a lot going on over here and I need to get a little more time out of my week to get the books going and keep the magazine at the high quality you expect. We will still have a Saturday post which will encompass news, new products, links to great tutorials and anything else that I can find to give you something to look into over the weekend. We’ll continue with polymer and design posts every day during the week.
As part of the “get Sage more time for new and exciting TPA projects” initiative, I am looking for people to guest post and suggest themes. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to promote products, books, events and classes on the blog in exchange for helping create great content. If you are interested in learning details about this opportunity, write me at sbray@thepolymerarts.com
In the meantime, if this week’s rustic elegance has piqued your interest, try this neat little, free tutorial by Ginger Davis Allman (who also has a fantastic tutorial using translucent clay in the present Summer issue of The Polymer Arts magazine) to create shimmery rustic leaves in your own choice of elegant palettes. Here are a couple of examples by Ginger.
Thank you for your support of The Polymer Arts projects!
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: Simple Lines of Elegance
June 27, 2014
Inspirational Art
Another word for elegance would be grace. We see that in this ceramic vessel by Vanessa Quintana. The way the clay is shaped suggests change and movement, the edges of the pale clay dancing over the rough brown like wind blown fabric. The grace of this dance comes from the wildly undulating lines and yet it still has a sense of reservedness with it’s limited and subdued colors and minimal surface decoration.
This piece is aptly named “Molt” which usually refers to living creatures rather than plants. The name itself changes how I look at this piece which initially reminded me of trees shedding bark but now I am thinking more insects or reptiles. The name itself enlivens the piece unexpectedly. That is something to ponder … maybe next week we’ll look at pieces with really great names that help inform the work.
In the meantime, there is not a lot of information on Vanessa out on the internet. She has an Etsy store which is empty at the moment but a Facebook page with plenty of photos if you want to look further into her work.
Tomorrow we have an announcement to make about changes coming to the blog in July. They aren’t too major but you might want to be sure to give it a read so you are “in the know”.
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.
Elegant Reading
June 26, 2014
Inspirational Art
More than just jewelry can be created with an elegant and rough or rustic look. This book, created by Samantha Braud, has a gorgeous faux antiqued surface filled with texture and imagery. The elegance comes from a sense of age and the neutral palette as well as finely applied forms. I find the juxtaposition of the ocean images and the handwriting rather curious–just makes me want to open it up and see what secrets or stories are hidden inside.
We featured Samantha’s art several months ago on an Outside Inspiration post for her metal work. Her metal and wire work is just as intricate and fantastical as her polymer pieces. Check out more of her art and her fantastical style on her website and 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.
Keeping Elegance Simple
June 25, 2014
Inspirational Art
One of the common hallmarks of elegant art is understated design choices. In the case of this necklace by Elizabeth Kosterich we have a single predominant and austere blue color as well as simple long rectangular shapes accented by nothing more than a stop bead on the end and the shine of polished silver. It’s such a simple composition but the symmetry and simplicity contrast against the organic texture of the polymer creating all the interest it needs to draw the eye and dress up the wearer.
Elizabeth creates art jewelry in polymer clay, sterling silver, and other mediums as well. Her work is sometimes simple, sometimes visually complex but always contemporary and understated in some aspect. You can take a look at more of her approach 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.
Age and Austerity
June 24, 2014
Inspirational Art
Kathryn Doll gives her art jewelry a feel of age and austerity with layered visual texture and classic forms. She uses liquid polymer clay with paint, metal leaf, and glitter to achieve the depth you see here. That slight shimmer and the cool brilliance of the stones brings a quiet elegance to the pendant’s antique look.
Kathryn’s work has shown up on actors in a number of shows as well as being gifted to numerous celebrities. See who wears her work as well as seeing what else she creates on her website and on her blog.
Rough Elegance
June 23, 2014
Inspirational Art
When you think of elegance, you probably think of clean lines, understated brilliance and a certain level of delicacy. But elegance can manifest in a number of ways. It can be found in any number of graceful and dignified elements and compositions even those whose other elements are on the rough side. I’ve found this to be true in a number of pieces I’ve seen in the past few weeks. So let’s look at that this week and ask, how can elegance be juxtaposed with a rough, rustic, or less refined approach?
Here is a piece I think embodies that idea wonderfully. There is certainly a lot of the less refined here in the texture of the cracked foil and rough edges. But the centered swirl and skillful application of the overlapping layers along with the limited navy palette gives it a calm and dignified air. This could easily be worn with an evening gown or a dressy business suit or be used to add a touch of elegance to a more casual outfit. That versatility is part of the advantage for a piece that works with two seemingly disparate concepts.
Belarus’ Evgeniya Andreeva is the creator of this lovely necklace. Most of her work tends towards the rough and rustic in a tasteful and well-considered way. Look through her LiveJournal entries and Facebook page for more pretties of hers.
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 List for Creativity
June 22, 2014
Inspirational Art
Here is a short and sweet list for great creativity. This is from the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. It’s a rather unexpected list–who thought kindness was necessary for creativity? Well, if you aren’t kind to yourself when things don’t work, it would be hard to keep working at it. And stamina, because you’ll need to keep trying until you get it right. The last one on this list is my favorite though. Not only does it mean you will be taking chances and will likely discover something new and unexpected but there’s those laugh out loud funny moments when you’re just playing and letting go. And laughing at oneself is so cathartic.
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.
Adorable Surprise
June 21, 2014
Inspirational Art
I have seen fantasy snails and, of course, fantastic fairies in polymer but I think this is the first fantasy snail fairy I’ve seen. It’s make you stop and ponder the idea. The logical side of my brain says that’s just silly–poor fairy would be just dragging that shell around behind her all the time–but then you look at that sweet little face and decide it doesn’t matter.
This little sculpture is by Celia Harris. It’s an example of how the element of surprise can take a nice piece to an even more interesting level. In this case, it is combining things you don’t usually think of together. This can be tricky–the two elements do have to have some kind of connection. In this case, these are nature’s creatures, part of one that exists, part of one that may or may not exist–who’s to say for certain! I like to think anything is possible.
Enjoy a fantastical stroll through Celia’s galleries on her website today and maybe start thinking of your own wonderful surprising combinations.
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.
I just got in last night from the last leg of an unplanned road trip back to California to help with some family matters. On the way into Colorado I stopped in the beautiful Canyonlands area of Utah where the soil is red and the skies are huge and blue. I took a run and hike up a canyon to a lone arch that springs off the canyons upper level. The ground was rocky and dry but every once in a while a bold tree would reach up out of the rock and break the beautiful stark horizon. I have always found those lone trees draw me. Maybe I have a thing for the lone struggle in a landscape that fights you all the way.
So when I saw this piece today, I had to pull it for the Outside Inspiration Friday post. This both plays to the scenes I was seeing yesterday and to the idea of surprising single elements creating the focus and beauty in a piece of art.
The artist here is a very interesting woman by the name of Ione Thorkelsson. She works in glass, adding other elements such as the found metal and the lichen she uses in this glass cast microcosm of our world, created as both a miniature of the globe we live on and a metaphor of the most basic truth of our lonely existence–lonely but reaching.
Ione has a lot to say as well as show us. You can get lost in her thoughts and meanderings on her website and I do encourage you to do so. She speaks very openly and honestly about her process, her struggles both in creating art and the rigors of showing and living as an artist. I have heard some of her words uttered near exactly by a number of polymer artists. It’s definitely worth a sit with a cup of coffee or tea 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.
Our little surprise today is an ingenious method of hanging a pendant that can also be worn as a pin when removed. The device is so simple–a bead is threaded through a hole in the large domed bead, hanging securely against very much like a toggle closure. It is really no surprise that Carol Blackburn would come up with something of this kind. Interesting and inventive closures is one of her signatures as is her creative beads–she did write the book on it. (Do get yourself a copy of Making Polymer Clay Beads if you don’t have one already.)
On top of the book Carol is also an instructor for CraftArtEdu where she even has a class featuring this pin and pendant design. Get the class here to learn how to make this and take a moment to look at what else she has to offer 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.
This organic sculpture brooch by Jana Roberts Benzon has enough interesting curves and twists, not to mention intriguing textures and bright colors, to hold its own without a lot of additional elements. But it is the small floating points that emerge from its interior that make this piece work so well. They work as focal points as well as adding an element of airiness to what could have been a relatively heavy feeling piece. There was already a lot of movement in the edges of the folds but the additional points moving out and away from it really make this piece come alive.
You can see more of Jana’s work on her website and her Flickr photostream as well as checking out her classes on CraftEdu, her own DVDs, and her workshops schedule.
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.
Sometimes the surprise found in our work comes incidentally as we create with other intentions. Una-Odd Lynn was fascinated by a collection of moonglow beads and had planned some simple cut pendants in polymer for them but ended up with something just a little different.
“I cut out a hole, not reserving the removed clay, and planned to use a moonglow bead in the middle. Experimenting with a tube to punch out the hole I discovered [the extra clay] would make a nice side bead.” And these sweet little necklaces were born!
Mrs. Lynn’s pieces and ideas are kind of all over the place but that openness to working with whatever suits a mood is often exactly what is needed to allow for new discoveries. Una-Odd blogs about all the various things she does and ponders on her entertaining blog. Jump on over and explore a little yourself.
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.
This past week I had to make an unplanned trip out to Los Angeles to help my family while my father dealt with some health issues. He is doing quite well now and I am feeling good about returning home. What might have been a rather stressed filled and scary week actually turned into something quite wonderful–I had some truly touching moments with both my parents, had a surprise clay day with my niece who came out and played with polymer with me for the first time and then fate lined it up so that I reconnected with two people out here I haven’t seen in 25 years, people who were very important to me back then and look to become very important to me again. What a fantastic and uplifting surprise those reunions were!
There is such a truly joyful beauty in the small, unexpected moments like those I had this past week, just as there are in those small, unexpected elements in what could have been a simple and quiet piece of art. It can take just one small thing to take something from being ‘nice’ to being remarkable. Take this pendant by Anna Fidecka. There would have been nothing wrong with just creating a nice silver bezel for the caned cabochon but that meandering silver cutting down through it adds movement as well as a stronger focal point. It’s a simple addition but it really makes the piece.
Anna hails from Poland where she works with precious metal clay, beads and polymer, mixing them or not as the muse dictates. More of her work can be found on her Flickr pages and 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.
We have one last mystery piece for this week to ponder. I think this is a Chris Kapono piece but I couldn’t find the image under any of her sites. This is a great use of combined material and embedding little accents to add secondary focal points that keep the eye moving around the piece.
So can anyone confirm my guess?
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 an example of a piece found on Pinterest, pinned through Tumblr and without attribution. But luckily, it is also an image taken from the artist’s website so looking up the image on Google images brought up the page of Laurie MacAdam and her mixed stone and metal jewelry, which was quite a find! Although this is mostly metal work, she creates with a wide range of lovely colors both through heat and patina and carefully chosen semi-precious stones bezeled and flat soldered and/or embedded into textured and forged metal.
Most of Laurie’s work could be emulated in polymer and certainly has a lot of elements that could be jumping off points for various elements in your own work. Enjoy a little time on her website looking over her lovely pieces.
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 are a lot of techniques going on in this intriguing pendant from Celie Fago including embedded diamonds that add both accents of color and help form the image of the lizard. Pretty nice effect.
Celie is one of those artists that is not afraid to mix and match anything … techniques, materials or even influences. Just take a lot around her website for more fabulous ideas and mixing it up!
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.
Okay … we are still looking for the identities of the first two artists of this week. While we continue that search, why don’t we look at a couple of people I have been able to identify.
This beautiful pendant is by France’s Amarena Bijoux. I don’t know that these jewel like metal foil spots are embedded so much as punched in. The imperfect edges around the metal leaf application goes well with the loose, brushy swath of copper and the overall dark look of industrial decay.
I found this approach a bit unusual for this commonly color enamored artists. Its nice to see the exploration into really different color palettes though. See more of her work on her Flickr pages, on her blog and in her online 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.
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