Holey Under the Sea
November 19, 2014
Inspirational Art
First of all, thank you everyone for participating in Monday’s fun and games. You all are amazing! I was going to go through and pick some favorite comments to post today, but I’m afraid we’ve been having some serious technical issues over that have kept me from being able to read them all thoroughly yet. And apparently kept this from posting–that was user error, tired user that is. I’m sorry about that. I will get to all the comments later today, but you can read all the great observations by returning to Monday’s post and reading the comments below it.
Let’s keep this going! All participants will be tossed into the hat for the product giveaway at the end of the week.
Today we’ll ponder this set of holey bracelets by Dina Kovalkina. I found this on her Flickr page where you can look at more of her work if that helps you to learn more about what she’s doing and why. What do you think about the placement of the holes; their density? How do the elements from the holes to the ruffled edges work together or do they? How about the colors?
Let me know your thoughts! I’ll get back to fixing technical stuff and we’ll get back on track tomorrow!
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.
Inside a Lentil
November 15, 2014
Inspirational Art
I’ve been wanting to do a hollow lentil bead with a peek-a-boo hole in it all week, but it’s a rather common design these days, at least as a base form. Some people are doing beautiful things with it, but I felt it ought to be really different and objects well recessed, so they look more hidden, and that was harder to find. Then I remembered these window-like hollow lentils Wendy Orlowski created a couple years ago.
Down below the lip of the open window in the one on the right, you can see what looks like a nest with an egg inside it. I wish I could get a closer look. But, this is what I’ve been talking about all week. You know something is there, and our natural curiosity pushes us to look closer to get a better look at it. We simply like the surprise of hidden things. This is a great addition to a piece in that there is definitely more than meets the eye when there is something sitting just inside, beyond our view.
Wendy mentions that she had planned to create a tutorial of this, although I couldn’t find one. If you are interested, you might want to give Wendy a shout through her Etsy shop or with the contact information on her blog. In case you didn’t know, Wendy is the designer who created CaBezels, which I highly recommend. They are a lifesaver for quick and easy bezels to show off your great surface treatments or faux stones. You can find them on her Etsy site as well through Shades of 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.
Outside Inspiration: Hidden Aesthetic
November 14, 2014
Inspirational Art
Most of what we see in nature has a very particular purpose or is an expected result of some process or circumstance. Something a person makes, well … it can be such a mystery! When something in nature opens up to reveal its treasure, usually it is something that has to do with its survival–seeds in a pod, a pearl in a oyster shell, the brightly colored interior and/or stamens in a flower. But, when man makes something that is opened to reveal something, it can be simply a show of that artist’s aesthetic, or it can be a statement.
Which do you think we have here? Andy Rogers is heavily influenced by nature, but he will mix up the components, so you have to stop and think about what it is he’s showing us. This form with its alien-looking exterior and mysterious red seeds feels like both his aesthetic and a statement about our curiosity. This is just one in a series, and one of the few whose seeds can be seen in the photographs. But, many of the other ones have truly hidden treasures stashed away where you have to be in its presence and take a peek inside to see what Andy has to show you.
Since we can’t see what he has inside from his photos, go ahead and jump over to his page and take guesses at what forms and colors might be the most eye-catching or surprising to find inside these forms. Would that get you thinking about what could be hiding in your own work? It’s kind of fun to consider! While you’re there, take a look at the rest of Andy’s gallery. I think his forms, colors and textures are particularly inspiring for the polymer artist, especially if your aesthetic leans towards the organic.
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.
Embedded Surprises
November 13, 2014
Inspirational Art
The pull to look inside something to find out what cool thing might lie within it is quite strong. And, so is the let down when there is nothing there. I am quite the proponent for avoiding viewer disappointment. If you build a box, a lidded bowl or something with a deep cavity of any kind, I think there should be something to surprise and delight a person who opens it for the first time. Yes, this is my point of view, but that open interior seems to be wasted space that could be decorated, used to make further statements or simply to place something fun or shiny that might give a person a smile.
I think that’s why I like this ring by Klavdija Kurent so much. She calls it her Little “Garlic” Ring. And yes, it definitely looks garlicky, but it also has a few unusual aspects for any garlic-like item. The blue peeking out of its interior for one. The little sprouts of silver for another. But, the real joy is seeing a big colorful gem deeply embedded in the open, hollow end. I don’t associate crystals with garlic, but that little surprise works. It might be hard not to just stare at a ring like this on the wearer, not just because of it’s big bold shape, but the glint of the gem as the wearer’s hand moves would make me intensely curious to see it closer. And, what a fun surprise to finally see what it is inside there.
Surprises like that not only make a memorable design, they create a memorable connection for a potential buyer. They see what is inside or on the back of something that no one else can see unless they also come in for a closer look. So, it then becomes a secret they are privy to as well. I’ve seen this at shows, where an individual drags a friend over to see what they’ve found on the backside or inside of a piece of jewelry, box, vase or piece of clothing. Those little surprises can cinch a sale. And, the buyer will have a little secret they can share or not and revel in their little bit of fun.
Klavdija, herself, is always full of surprises in her work. She is fearless, exploring a whole range of techniques and approaches, most of them very uniquely hers. Checking in on her Flickr pages and her blog is always an inspiring visit.
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.
Trapping Roses
November 12, 2014
Inspirational Art
It would be particularly difficult to pass up a week dealing with the hidden and barely glimpsed without bringing up a huge influence of mine in that area, Wiwat Kamolpornwijit. Hiding little handcrafted roses and gems beneath strips or folds of clay or held by a lattice work of polymer to faux metal or black bases was the stamp of his work for a long time. It’s still his mainstay, although, he branched out into abstract forms and much more color in recent years. However, his little roses still grab me every time.
There is something in particular about a flower being trapped or hidden away that goes against our standard for flower presentation. They are usually centerpieces, standing proudly in vases or flowing from bowls or planters. They are left to present their color and grace to the open air, to enliven a room or an outdoor space. To take them and hide them or restrict them seems to be a very intentional comment, something along the lines of controlling or holding back beauty. I find it intriguing, both visually and conceptually, and I think most people, when first encountering Wiwat’s work, are also intrigued by this unusual presentation of the revered rose.
Do take a little time to peruse his website, especially if this is your first exposure to his work. He is active at shows but less so online, so his newer pieces like these earrings can be found on Pinterest boards and by searching Google images. He has a featured gallery spread in the Summer 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts as well if you would like to get a closer look and read more about this unique 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.
A Sliver of Silver
November 11, 2014
Inspirational Art
As an illustration of how powerful the draw is when we catch just a mere glimpse, a hint, the sight of just a sliver of something, I thought I’d share this pin by Margaret Regan. This is not a new piece, but it has such a classic composition. And tell me that when you look at it, you aren’t drawn to the slim bit of silver shimmer in the center and find it really hard to look at the rest of the piece. That silver is barely there, just peeking out from between a simple textured side and a collection of cane slices on the other. The bit of silver is no more complex than the other sides, but it has three things going for it–it’s the center of the piece, it’s shiny, which will always catch our eye, and it’s recessed and slightly shadowed making it a harder surface to discern, making us want to look closer and clarify what we are seeing.
This whole piece is rather quiet and uncomplicated, but it’s gorgeous for it’s simplicity and eye-catching for using the barely-there sliver of silver. The fact is, when creating a piece with barely-there or peeking elements, simple is probably the best way to go. The mystery of what is in the shadows or recess will be the draw and can give it a quiet energy that doesn’t need to be complicated by a lot of other elements. Not that a more complex piece can’t be done well; you would just want to consider whether it would give it added impact or take away from the draw of the hidden element.
Margaret was one of the pioneers of polymer. Her website is sparse, but you can find little bits about her all over the Internet. Here is a nice article done on her work with a bit of her philosophy.
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.
Crazy Cavities
November 10, 2014
Inspirational Art
I have long had a fascination with spaces that potentially hide things. Caves, crevasses, holes, wells, abandoned buildings and the like. There is something about the potential of that unknown or hidden that is so enticing. And, it doesn’t have to be dark and mysterious either. Just something that makes one curious.
Like these fantastic forms by the ever-changing Noelia Contreras. They aren’t particularly deep or shadowed crevasses, but if you came upon someone wearing one of these, I don’t think you could help but step in a little closer and try to peek in from one angle or another to get a better glimpse of those background textures and the funky balls that look like they’re ready to launch from their “cavities” as Noelia calls them.
Would you like to have this kind of reaction to your pieces? Maybe not always, but if you are interested in piquing a viewer’s curiosity, hidden, partially hidden, and things just peeking through will get many people to stop for a closer look. We’ll be checking out those options, from subtle to serious, this week. Curious? Keep peeking in to see what we find.
In the meantime, if you need a dose of color this Monday, pop over to Noelia’s Flickr pages or in her shop for a lots of brilliant, saturated color. She’s also being featured in the gallery in the Winter 2014 issue of The Polymer Arts, so be sure to check out what new items she shared with us to share with 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.
Claire’s Accident
November 8, 2014
Inspirational Art
I thought we’d end this week on depth with an in-depth mini-interview conducted by Randee Ketzel. This time she spoke to Claire Wallis who doesn’t work with illusionary depth, but does explore faux and illustrative techniques quite a bit. Here is what Randee sent to share with us:
Claire Wallis is probably best known as the creator of the faux knit tutorial in polymer clay, which she generously shared with the world, but there is so much more to her work. Caner, sculptor, illustrator, Claire is a self-taught artist from the south of England and came to polymer ‘entirely by accident’. She played with it as a child and became re-engaged with it after viewing the works of other artists on the Internet.
An avid fan of Fantasy/Sci-Fi, she has carved her favorite characters on pumpkins, sketched them on chinaware, and sculpted them in polymer. She also illustrates–this elephant cuff is smashing–and clearly has no fear of color, as evidenced by her eye-popping bangles.
The influence of her other artistic explorations like ceramics, acrylics, pastels, printmaking and pyrography is evident in her work, though she says she had very little formal training. She counts that a blessing, as it leaves her free to approach polymer with no preconceptions as to how it ought to be used. As she puts it, “I find ignorance is not only bliss, but genuinely constructive, particularly in a medium as adaptable as polymer clay.”
Her driving force is a keen desire for craftsmanship, every piece should be the best it can be, and she can’t imagine a day without some artistic endeavor to try her hand. Claire recently gave up her job as an assistant manager for St. Barnabas’ charity shop (which helps support their hospice work) to be a full-time mom and is waiting to see where motherhood leads her creative processes.
She describes herself as ‘a bit of a one-trick pony,’ with which I humbly beg to differ, given her obvious mastery of so many media and techniques. She says of herself, “I love to read and learn, and for me nothing beats the sense of achievement you get when you master a new skill.” We will eagerly await the next chapter in her new adventure. In the meantime, you can certainly glean hints from her Flickr photostream and maybe recognize a kindred soul.
Randee Ketzel, a life-long craft artist, previously worked in metals, but is now a polymer enthusiast and co-author of “Polymer Clay Gemstones, the Art of Deception” a different kind of polymer book devoted to faux techniques and the reproduction of historical jewelry. Her book can be found on Amazon while her other tutorials can be found 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.
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On Polyform’s website, there are numerous free lessons. If you have admired Melanie Muir’s clean mokume technique, you can get the basics and create your own from this great little tutorial on Polyform’s website. It’s nice to see the tutorial emphasize the importance of color contrast–light and dark, but there is also bright and dull, warm and cool and picking from opposite ends of the color spectrum. All of these will give your color palette some level of drama. However, there is nothing at all wrong with choosing analogous colors, colors with similar saturation or value or anything else. It will create a different feel, and the less contrast, the less visual pop and drama you will see. But, we’re not always after that, are we?
So, why not choose a color palette that fits your mood, an outfit or reminds you of a great time or place and try Melanie’s approach? There are some great little tips in this lesson, which makes it worth at least a quick read for anyone into polymer surface treatments. And the resulting sheets or pendants could really get you ahead on creating for your gift giving list!
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.
Alex Horst’s pieces are gorgeous, traditional mokume gane metal work, but being limited to metals doesn’t mean being limited in color. When given a limitation, use it to find new, creative additions and alternatives, like how to gain more color if that is what you want in a piece. Alex brings in color and a range of texture with variations in metal treatments and the addition of complimentary gemstones.
My one complaint… his online images are so small! This is why you are seeing a collage of his necklaces. They are actually each pretty impressive, but how wonderful in a collection like this. Still, as a curious buyer or an artist, it would be immensely helpful to see more detail here. It is an intriguing tease to get a glimpse of the beauty, but as a buyer I might wonder if it’s even worth the time to write and see if there are better images to be had, and so I might not take the time. Keep that in mind if you depend on online sales. Clear, large photos and detail shots can really make the difference between getting that sale or not!
Have you ever wondered how the metal mokume process differs from what we do in polymer? Well, you can see it on Alex’s website, in this step by step outline of his mokume approach. While you are there, take a look at his other jewelry designs. Just beautiful pieces all the way around!
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 always hesitate to post pieces with little or no color, as they just don’t get that immediate attention that really colorful work does. But, it would be hard not to talk about monochrome, which is another classic color palette that is ideal for mokume. The advantage of monochrome is it’s striking and often graphical nature. As artists, we are forced to look at value, form, line, etc. instead of leaning on color. Now, I know lots of color is one of the fun advantages to creating mokume, but monochrome is a little bit of a challenge and one that can result in amazing pieces.
This pendant by Rebecca Geoffery is just one such example. The fact that she worked with a very controlled approach to line and value works so well for a piece that can’t lean on the impact of color at all. Sure, this could have been done in a really striking set of colors, but I think it might actually have taken away from the beauty of the lines and the repetition. They take front and center in this simple piece, and I think it’s just about perfect as is.
I can’t sign off today without a virtual hug to all my American friends celebrating Thanksgiving today. This is the day we should be contemplating the truly wonderful and blessed advantages, people and opportunities in our life. I am most thankful to you, my many readers, who allow me to blather on about things I love and am so passionate about. Thank you for allowing me to have this as part of my daily life! A very Happy Thanksgiving and a big hug to all my friends and readers across the globe!
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 gorgeous brooch, created by polymer and precious metal clay artist Kelly Russell, is actually a combination of techniques, with mokume being one of the primary ones. Do you actually see the mokume as mokume when you first look at it, or do you see the sections as kind of blending together like a series of textures and melding of color?
It’s probably obvious from the length of that second question that I think the choice of components are pretty synergistic so that no one technique stands out. The jewel tones, subdued to bright pastels, run through all the components for cohesiveness. It’s also not that heavy on contrast, but rather sticks with a light to mid-range set of values, which makes it feel calm and serene.
I like that Kelly does not restrict her materials or her techniques in her pieces. She mixes it up while keeping it unified through color palette choices. Take a look a more of her lovely work on her blog and 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.
Another classic color palette that works really well with mokume is the limited color palette. Limiting the colors to just two or three (and keeping them either analogous or give one a real contrast from the rest) will force you to work with value (how light or dark a color is) and composition. Too much color can be distracting in your composition and overpower your other other design elements.
In this extruded polymer mokume, Jan Montarsi uses a pink and peach color with white. There is very little contrast in the couple of colors. The colors are analogous, and the most value contrast is with the white, which is not a color at all. This minimal color set forces Jan to work with other elements like the intriguing layering and shapes within his pendant here.
The extruded mokume technique offers a lot of opportunity for the exploratory clayer. If you haven’t worked with it, it’s great fun, it can use up scrap clay if you like and creates a more definite and more controllable pattern. For a tutorial on the extruded mokume method, take a look at Kristie Foss’ nice tutorial here. And for more great mokume and beautiful finishes, have fun roaming Jan’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.
I know we’ve looked at mokume before, but I have quite a few pieces that I’ve been storing up and want to share. Since the question of color palettes came up almost every day last week, let’s look at mokume and the chosen colors palettes as a jumping off point for this week’s discussion.
This set of mokume pieces was created by Carrie Harvey using a tutorial by Albina called “Hidden Flowers” (find it on Clay Lessons here.) I don’t usually post student renditions of other people’s techniques, but I think this was well done, and the color palette and shapes were a decent departure from that in the tutorial (as least as far as I can tell), which is as it should be. And the technique is really a take on mokume polymer, so it’s not particularly exclusive. It does, however, offer us an opportunity to talk about color choices.
This palette is pretty straight-forward, but can you recognize right off why it works? You have a sky blue, a coppery brown and a rust red. The blue and copper (basically orange for the sake of this conversation) are color opposites while the rust red is analogous to the orange (next to each other on the color wheel), which makes it a close contrast to the blue. In other words, all the colors have a relationship to each other, either contrasting or close enough to give the color palette cohesiveness. Although, this is a rather scientific look at these color choices, the instinctive connection comes from nature. The copper and rust red are fall leaf colors you might commonly see against a clear blue autumn sky. Nature knows how to use colors well herself, so if you are every stumped, take a look outside!
And drum roll please … The winner of our active critique week is Debbie Goodrow. Congrats Debbie. You should have an email in your inbox to let you know how to claim your giveaway. Thank you all so much for commenting. I think you all win in this little contest–the comments were incredibly insightful, and the varied point of you certainly demonstrates how much of art is really in the eye of the beholder. I hope you all found that it helped inform your view of the work and that you will keep it up, if not posting comments (and I would love to see more comments just any time), at least in your own viewing of the posts and art work. I give my opinion and my view, but as you saw last week, there are many, many ways to see a work of art.
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.
First of all, thank you to everyone who chimed in with their thoughts this week. It was really kind of amazing. Did you enjoy this little experiment? Should we do this semi-regularly? If so, I’ll try to do this one day every couple weeks or so in order for me to have time to arrange the giveaways and still have time to read all your comments and toss back some ideas too.
The plan for that this week kind of got thrown out the window, or I would have had more to say as the week progressed. The technical issues we were having took a couple days to resolve then there was catching up to be done. The printer was very patient as we got everything back up and files fixed, but it did delay production, so we have to reset the release date of the winter issue to December 3rd. That’s when the digital issue will be released and is the first possible day shipped issues could begin arriving. We are really sorry for the delay, and we are making appropriate adjustments and sacrifices to the techie gods in hopes this doesn’t happen again!
In the meantime, I will pull a name for the drawing and announce it on Monday. And you call feel like winners with these couple of free online tutorials that are interesting holey and lacy techniques to try this weekend.
The first one is from Ange of AB Creations. Taking punched holes and creating a domed bead from a collection of punched dots and holes. Genius! Find all the details on Ange’s blog here.
The second uses molds or texture sheets to create polymer lace with liquid polymer. Both these techniques are so full of possibilities! The author of this liquid lace tutorial is Mary Kosovo. You will need some oven-safe molds or textures for this one.
Now go out and have fun this weekend!
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.
Moving away from polymer for your opinion today, I thought we’d look at a ceramicist because, for one, it’s another type of clay, so it should be easy to translate what you think of polymer into ceramics, and, two, holey ceramics is a little unusual and really, really cool.
Simon van der Ven returns again and again to these delicate ceramic structures, many with a lot more holes than you see here. What you think of the form? How about the combination of smoother leaves breaking into a very different kind of texture? Do you think this would have benefited from more color? Why or why not?
I think we will make this the last day of entering the drawing by commenting, and I’ll get you some fun holey and/or lacy techniques to consider for tomorrow. So, get your thoughts in today. We’ll get another drawing going soon, but thank you all for participating in this one!
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.
Let’s do something a little different with our participation week today. This image does not contain finished pieces, but rather they are a technique developed by Violette Laporte. You can go here to read about what she was doing and her thoughts, but what I’d love to see is your thoughts, not on the design, but on what you would do with these to finish them. Or, how would you apply this technique to things you already do? Even if it’s not your kind of thing, try to think of a way you could incorporate it into your work.
Also, if you go ahead and actually make something from this, please send me photos! I would love to see what this post might inspire!
And, don’t forget to go back to the previous day’s posts to see how your observations compare to other peoples. There is an amazing amount of similarity in comments. I got to speed read through them all, but we still had technical problems to fix yesterday, and today, I am getting on the road for some time with family and my other half. But you know, I’ll be here every day too!
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.
Your Thoughts on Lacy & A Giveaway
So, last week I was having an email conversation with the fabulous Debbie Crothers of Australia. We’re both ideas people with minds going a million miles an hour. At one point she said, “I absolutely love reading your blog. I try and do my own little analysis of the work before I read yours, and it’s always so interesting and educational reading your view on each piece.” Which was kind of funny because I’ve been trying to think of a way to encourage people to do just that–make their own decision about what is working or not in the piece before reading my thoughts. They are only my thoughts. I don’t always hit the mark, and I sometimes miss things I should have seen. But with thousands of eyes on this every day, I thought we could get a more well-rounded view of the work sometimes.
So, Debbie and I bantered back and forth about how to do that and came upon this very simple idea–I’ll present work, give you background and ask that you comment. Then we’ll publish some of the comments the next day, and I’ll add thoughts if any are needed. This way we’ll have readers chiming in like a true discussion. Sound like fun?
It also occurred to me that this is chance to work in more giveaways! I’ve started collecting items and getting some teachers and retailers on board, so we can have these interactive moments on the blog more often, spurred on by the chance to win some cool polymer related products or publications. So … are you ready to try this out? I’ll put the participation details below.
What you think about the color choices here? Do you think the lace quality of the structure helps or distracts from the design? Or do other aspects strike you first?
Put your thoughts in the comments below the blog post. That means, if you are getting this by email or RSS, or reading it on the opening page of the blog, you’ll want to click on this post’s heading to get to its dedicated page. Comments can be inserted at the bottom of that page. Be sure your correct email is in your ID information, and we’ll pull an email address at the end of the week and announce the winner on Monday. I will offer the winner a few options from my stash, so there should be something exciting for everyone. This week I’ll be offering Sculpey texture rollers, bead rollers or a set of floral texture sheets from a couple different manufacturers … or a $10 certificate toward any subscription or back issue of The Polymer Arts will always be an option. It’ll be your choice.
Comment before midnight Eastern Standard Time to have a chance to see your words on the 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.