Fabulously Elegant
February 18, 2015
Inspirational Art
Elegance is pretty, but not loud. It may shimmer, shine and glitter, but in a calm and quiet way. That is what I found so attractive about this piece by Susan Whitehouse-Evenson of Tres Jolie Designs by Sue. There are a lot of mica powders, glass beads and ribbons in her collections. And translucent clay that allows all that shimmer to bounce about without opaque materials or dense color.
The familiar pinched petal form shows off additional texture on its surface and an edging of gold to match the complexity of beads and ribbon; none of it is overdone. The soft colors also work with the restrained elegance of the design.
If you like this piece, you’ll find many more beautiful pieces of jewelry, as well as scarves and purses on Sue’s website and in her Etsy shop.
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Fabulously Lit
February 17, 2015
Inspirational Art
Let there be light. And there was light, and we saw that it was…oh, pretty! It’s like that isn’t it? Light and glow are such visual draws and with the colors in polymer, especially with all the improved clarity of translucents, I’m surprised there are not more actual lights, lamp shades, wall sconces, night light covers and candle holders created with polymer these days. I guess we do kind of get into our jewelry, but now that you’ve seen this fabulous lamp by Wanda Shum, are you considering some interior lit item of your own?
Wanda created this beauty back in 2011, but I thought it might inspire some lighting projects today. This particular shot made me wonder if it was actually polymer, but her blog post with multiple shots confirmed it. I love the concentric circle ripple in the background clay connecting everything in such a subtle manner. Even when it’s not lit up, this is a beautiful piece. It was something Wanda created for her own pleasure and to feed her artistic soul, she said. This waterlily themed lamp with dragonflies emanates not only light, but that personal creative joy that comes from those pieces that just come together for us. Do you know what I mean?
Wanda has not updated her blog in quite a while, and her Etsy site has been on vacation since at least last summer, so I’m not sure what she is up to, but I do hope all is right in her world and that she will be back to amaze us again someday soon. Her blog and gallery pages are there to peruse on her Blogspot site. At least take a look at the many images of this lamp. They are just, well, fabulous!
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Fabulousness on the Wrist
February 16, 2015
Inspirational Art
So, I didn’t do well at thinking up a succinct theme for this week. I just grabbed a handful of great pieces that all make me think ‘fabulous’! So, we are just going to have a week of fabulousness. Is that okay? My tired brain, worn down by working on the last bits for the next issue, which is also fabulous, would love that.
So, how about this piece first. Honestly, there is little that Barbara Fajardo does that doesn’t make me think ‘fabulous’ when I see it. She freely experiments with all kinds of techniques and forms, but they all come together under great color palettes, nice balance and fine finishing. I was originally going to share a necklace of hers with you, but when searching out the source for it I landed on her Flickr page and saw these Barnacle Bracelets, and I had to change it up!
A bowl she created using the same forms was on Polymer Clay Daily last, but I hadn’t seen these. Fabulous right? Fantastic colors, did I not say? The textures are tantalizing, and the complex organic treatment of the barnacles is inspired. I think I would be playing with this all day if I had it on my wrist! And staring. Definitely, staring at them a lot.
See the rest of her barnacled collection and tons and tons of other eye candy on her Flickr page or her website.
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Parallel Lives
February 14, 2015
Inspirational Art
This last story was actually requested. By several readers. Why this handful of people knew there was this story to be told, I’m not sure. It is a lot like yesterday’s story, but with some significant differences, as well as a different kind of significance here. I think you’ll know what I’m getting at when you read it
The artwork here is not a piece by either in the story, but it’s something I’ve had saved for a while. Its not even polymer. But, really, it could be, and someone really needs to try this! It’s a glass mosaic created on a rock.
That is what artist Liz Tonkin does… she builds mosaics on rocks. Isn’t is gorgeous? Take a look at her Facebook page to find the most eye candy of this sort. Okay, enjoy that while reading the last of our ‘lovely’ stories this week.
Parallel Lives
Once upon a time, in a Los Angeles high school drama class, a charming boy with an amazingly cute smile sat down next to a very shy, self-conscious girl (who had unintentionally ended up in the class) and asked her to do a scene with him. She didn’t know why this guy, who every girl in class seemed to have a crush on, would ask her, but she said yes, so he suggested they get together that weekend and go over scenes.
That was the first of many weekends and many hours spent together. She was his first girlfriend and his first kiss. He was the first guy she actually fell in love with. Being young and uncertain though, they didn’t really know what they wanted and a rift developed. But, it wasn’t long before they worked out how to just be friends and would spent long hours at dingy coffee shops, comparing personal philosophies and talking about their art and writing. It was always so easy to just be themselves with each other.
They stayed irregular friends for nearly a decade, unintentionally following each other around, but rarely seeing each other. They went to the same community college, then the same four year college. Then he went on to a prestigious animation program north of L.A., and she moved to New Mexico. A a couple years later, they both ended up in San Francisco at the same time and returned to L.A. for a while when both were between jobs.
During that time, the girl turned to poetry, and he to painting, both looking at what filled their souls but not their pockets. Christmas day of 1993, they spent the afternoon with her family and still talked like they always did. But, it would be the last time they would talk for 20 years.
Soon after the year the girl met another guy, got married and moved to Colorado. The boy got serious about his career and soon met a woman through work and eventually got married. Neither marriage was good but, they were both the type of people who don’t give up easily, and they stayed for far too long in relationships that crushed their spirits. She had stopped writing her poetry, and he did little more than work.
After her inevitable divorce and several years of near solitude, she tried to find something meaningful with someone else, but there would always be angry words, or they would want her to give up her art or her writing that she kept trying to resurrect. So, the girl gave up on love and sunk herself into her work.
She would think back, however, and remember those few people in her past with whom she could always be herself, those bright lights on the horizon of her past, and started looking for them. Some she found, but not the boy from drama class who she wanted to see again more than anyone. She knew he’d become successful in animation as his name would roll by on the TV screen sometimes when her roommate watched cartoons, but she had no way to reach him.
Then one particularly trying day, when she looked back at the mess of a life she’d had, she thought of that boy again and decided she would search for him one more time. Suddenly, there he was, his still very cute smile staring out at her from a new blog of his. She wrote him and hoped he’d just say hi back. A few hours later he did. But he didn’t just say hi.
They talked every day from then on, in the same way they did 20 years before. A couple months later, the girl’s father became ill, and she drove out from Colorado to Los Angeles to help. The two old friends managed to meet up and then went out for a dinner that they lingered over until the place closed. It was then that the girl realized she was still in love with that boy, and, as it turned out, the boy had the very same realization about her. The girl, however, had been resigned to being alone the rest of her life, but the boy, he jumped off the deep end and just told her how he felt. She made him wait 6 weeks before she could finally say, “Yes, I feel the same. Now what?”
That all started just over a year ago. Somehow, even living a thousand miles apart and being about the two busiest people anyone could imagine, they make it work. They talk every day, try to see each other every month and are slowly breaking down all the cynicism built by the many years in between. Their lives still parallel each other, too; both working jobs that combine art and writing. Their big deadlines even land on the same weeks. They live in a similar rhythm, but, more often than not, many miles apart.
And yes, they sometimes wonder what would have happened if they had realized when they were young just how rare and precious it is to have someone you can be yourself with and who loves you just as you are. But, that boy and girl who met in a high school drama class are not the same boy and girl who met again last year. Maybe the years in between were not always happy ones, but it allowed them to become the kind of people who can appreciate and love each other the way two people really should.
The girl’s name is Sage. The boy’s name is Brett. We will spend this Valentine’s day a thousand miles apart, but still, we believe we are the two luckiest people in the whole darn universe.
Happy Valentine’s day to everyone out there. Cherish and appreciate the love in your life in all the forms and from all the souls that give it to you.
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It Was in the Numbers
February 13, 2015
Inspirational Art
Our story today comes from Colleen White, and the art work comes from her husband, David White. Being it is Friday when we do outside inspirations, it fits that we can show something non-polymer; although, the shapes of those rocks, the swirling texture in the stone and the green of that cape might bring up a polymer possibility or two.
It Was in the Numbers
My husband and I met in 1969; he was a senior, and I was a junior in high school. We dated for a few months, then “broke up”, but remained friends as he went off to college in north New Jersey, and I went to Florida to art school. Over the next four years I saw him only a few times; meeting him and his girlfriend in New York for concerts or visiting them when I went up to New Jersey to visit my folks. The last time I saw him was 1973, and they were married. I later married and stayed in Florida.
In 2001, I had just signed my divorce papers and put a contract on a house when I got a note in the mail from him saying, “Please write or call.” He was an art director in New York when the Trade Towers and Pentagon were hit. He thought it was the beginning of WW3 and decided he had to find me. He had looked for me in the late 80s when he was divorced, but with no luck, so he had hired a detective agency to find me. That’s how he got my address. The first time we talked on the phone, it was like 29 years had disappeared! Within a few months, he moved to Florida, we married and now live in paradise. He is truly my soul mate. He is an amazing artist and inspiration to me.
There are a few strange coincidences that makes it all more fun. We met in 1969, and 911 was the reason he started looking for me again. The house I had just purchased was 911 69th Ave. He also has the same first and middle name as my ex-husband, and both their last names are colors!
To see more of David’s work, go to his website here. Collen works in polymer and metal clays among other things and has work and classes posted on her website.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
In Memory of Tommy
February 12, 2015
Inspirational Art, Ponderings
We interrupt this week of happy couples to remember a different kind of love; that for our dearest friends, some of which are a bit on the furry side.
Our pets can be such an amazing and important part of our lives. I know of many stories where people pulled through very difficult times because of a loving animal or were even saved due to their diligence. But, mostly, they help us get through the day with their simple, uncomplicated love; loving us for just being ourselves; just for having them as part of the family. They can teach us a thing or two about love!
This story is a simple one, but I think it probably echos the experiences of all too many pet families. It comes to us from Gayle Thompson and, like Monday’s story, shows us how precious the ones we love are, even when they are not still around. The image here is of the very special pet Gayle tells us about, which I thought was pretty neat.
In Memory of Tommy
My story is about a dog. Yes, a dog that stole my heart!
His name was Fuzzy’s Tomahawk, and he was a retired racing greyhound. I was a foster for a greyhound group, and I was supposed to be keeping him for about a week until he was sent ‘up north’ to another group that would find him a forever home. From the moment he came into my house, he acted like he was at home. He was never nervous like other fosters, and he was the total opposite of the dog I was looking for. He was such a happy, playful boy!
The greyhound group got together to say goodbye to one of our volunteers that was going back home to the UK. She wanted to see this foster dog that I just couldn’t stop talking about, so she came by my house after the get together. When she saw him – and my interaction with him – she said, “Gayle, How can you let him go?!” I knew then, she was right. I wanted him with me.
I called the leader of our group praying that this dog had not been spoken for by an adopter. Foster parents get first choice in keeping their fosters, but I didn’t want to disappoint anyone that had picked him out. Luck was on my side! He was not spoken for! So, he stayed home with me!
I called him Tommy, and he was the light of my world. I took him everywhere with me. Then, when I had him for only about 18 months, he developed internal bleeding and could not be saved. It was very fast and devastating to me. I held him as he took his last breath; something that is hard to ever forget.
About two years later, I was inspired by a greyhound print that I found online. I contacted the artist and asked if I could use her design in my work. She agreed. So, I created the attached picture that I call “In Memory of Tommy”. It has his coloring, a halo and angel wings.
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Just Add Mint
February 11, 2015
Inspirational Art, Ponderings
Here is an example of a love story that someone thought no one else would be much interested in. But, I can’t imagine anyone not finding this touching; if for no other reason, than to remind us of the hope we all should have. Debbie Crothers shares her amazing rough and beautiful beads and her once rough and now beautiful love story. And when you’re done brushing the tears from your eyes, go see what other luscious things this polymer explorer has been up to on her Flickr photostream.
Just Add Mint
I was 30 years old and had just come out of a terrible relationship. Two and a half years of my life had been invested, and I was planning on marrying this man. It certainly wasn’t the world’s best relationship. He could be so charming when he wanted to be. I think I held onto those moments and tried to forget all the bad times. Huge mistake. Two years into the relationship, I found out he turned to heroin – what!!!; how could I not have seen that; how on earth could I not know? Believe me, I had no idea. He was the world’s best liar and manipulator, and you know what – it was apparently, all my fault!!! We tried to get help; we tried to fix things; we tried to make our relationship work, but there was no way it was going to. He left town, and I was left to deal with the financial mess, the “drug people” who came looking for him and the thought that I must be a horrible person to make someone turn to drugs. My life was shattered, and I was an emotional wreck. The nightmares started, the stress started and the depression began. Life was hard, but I had to keep going.
The story moves on to about six months later; still nightmares, still financial stress and definitely not looking for a partner. I was having drinks with my sister and some friends. Her boyfriend, Colin, had been trying to match-make me with his best mate, “Mint”, in Perth, but I sure as hell wasn’t ready to get involved with anyone – or so I thought. Anyway the phone rang. Colin answered it, spoke for a while, then handed the phone to me and said “Deb, there’s someone here who wants to talk to you.” I took the phone and said “hello.” A beautiful, calm voice came on the other end and said “Hi, just wondering if you’d like to marry me?” I was a little surprised, but stayed calm and said “sure, where shall we have our honeymoon?” To be honest, the rest of the conversation is a bit of a blur now (well, it was a long time ago), but all I remember is this beautiful voice that filled me with a sense of calm and made me feel safe. Crazy, I know, because I didn’t even know the guy – had never even seen him before.
I wanted to meet him, and he wanted to meet me, so he arranged to come to Geraldton in a few weeks time. We decided to have drinks again at Colin’s unit while waiting for Mint to arrive. I remember when he walked through the door – I can still picture it now. He said his hello’s to everyone, and then came over to me. He smiled at me and shook my hand, and it was a moment I’ll never forget. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I knew this was a good man, and I loved the way he made me feel. We all spent the night talking and laughing, and then when everyone else had gone to bed or gone home, we still sat and talked – it was like we had known each other forever. We met up again the next night, and that’s when we decided to have children together. We even chose the name of our first son – Red.
That was December; we moved in together the following July, got married in September and had our first son, Red, in February.
20 years on, we now have 3 beautiful children and a wonderful life together, and I still get excited every afternoon when he comes home to me.
He is my love story.
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The Jeweler
February 10, 2015
Inspirational Art
Today, we have a great little love story from the very talented Randee Ketzel. Her talent has been long in the making, as we can see from the story. She also sent a wonderful not-so-very-ordinary mokume “Crazy Heart” to accompany. She has this and other beautiful hearts, as well as a wide range of her lovely work in her Etsy shop.
The Jeweler
In 1981, I was working at Wilson’s Jewelers in Tampa, Florida as one of the first women jewelers in the Southeastern US. My own office. My own rules. Creative control (within a big box jeweler’s parameters, of course.) I was fiercely proud of my work to get there–a medieval apprenticeship, years of self-training with very few resources and I had finally arrived.
So one day, this incredibly attractive, well-dressed man walks up to my counter and proffers me a watch for repair. The office next door was the horologist’s. (Watchmaker–it’s a sister profession.) As Julio was out to lunch, I graciously deigned to fill out the paperwork. The man looks me over–dust mask around my neck, nerdy magnifying headset on my head, fireproof apron on–tilts his head, and says, “Oh, you must be the watchmaker’s assistant, right?” I stop writing. I lift my head and stare him right in the eye.
“I am the JEWELER,” I say. “He works for ME.” (Okay, it was the eighties.) The attractive man blushed, mumbled something and retreated with claim ticket in hand. Three days later, he returned. With another watch. A week later, another. As he came to pick them all up, he cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and asked, would I possibly be available for dinner, maybe, sometime …?
I coolly answered yes–then went around the corner of my office and exploded into an insane happy dance. That was 34 years, 2 children, 4 houses, and 5 states ago. He is still incredibly attractive and well-dressed. And occasionally says the most bone-headed things.
Don’t ever change, baby.
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A Different Kind of Happily Ever After
February 9, 2015
Inspirational Art
So this is the week I thought I’d try putting up some love stories and some art to go with those stories as a little homage to the upcoming Valentine’s holiday. I’m not a huge Valentine’s day person, more because of the commercialism and pressure it puts on couples but the general sentiment of the holiday … well, I think we should celebrate the love in our lives every day if we can.
I was talking to a friend of mine this weekend about this week’s blog project and was trying to explain the interesting mix of responses I got. I only got a few classic happy tearjerkers but then I got several sad but very loving stories. Half of the people who sent me stories did not not even want them posted. They just wanted to share it with me. My friend offered a couple suggestions as to why this was. She thought a lot of people might not share their story because either they don’t think its that special or because the best love story they had didn’t end with them staying together. So then the question arose, is it a love story if the people involved were no longer in love. “Well,” she said,”we both know a really good story that didn’t end with the couple staying together but its still a great story?” So I’m going to tell that first this week. This is a story about two people we used to know. We changed the names and a few details to protect the innocent that don’t know we are writing about them.
We chose this heart off Pinterest to go with this story. It is a wonderful little piece by Betty Jo Hndershott and matches another conversation I had this week about simplicity. Simple is actually really hard to do well but this is one such example of a great success with simple things. This very solid faux ceramic heart has inside of it a wrapped up little wire heart. It has a great contrast in color, texture, size and line. When I saw it, I thought, the wire heart is like that fragile little thing inside the big love we all have, the thing we try to protect even though we can’t always keep it from harm.
So here’s the story, as best we can remember.
A Different Kind of Happily Ever After
It was James’ birthday and he was sitting at home alone. He had just moved to town after years of basically being a hermit. He felt misunderstood and had a violent childhood that had left him angry and closed off. But he wanted to change. He got online and posted a simple message on a message board:
“Songwriter/musician, new to town, just would like to have a drink and maybe see a live band with an intelligent pretty girl today because it’s my birthday. I’m smart and funny but I’m not tall or rich. Just an ordinary guy turning 31. Would you come make my night?”
He got a lot of responses like, “Ok, where do you want to meet?” But only one stood out:
“Hey songwriter/musician, new-to-town guy. Just wanted to drop in and wish you a happy birthday in case no one else does. I’m not the one to take you out for a drink though. I’m not ordinary, I’m tall for a girl, 8 years older than you, not a live music fan and I’m not much of a drinker. But know that at least one person out there is thinking of you and wishing you the best!”
James couldn’t resist. He wrote her back. They went back and forth, he giving her a hard time about not wanting to go out with a poor, short, young, ordinary guy and she coming back with funny quips about how he’d hate to hear about her crazy busy life of running charity events and trying to be an artist again. But then she stopped responding. He felt bad. Maybe his jokes went too far. But somehow even just that brief exchange made him feel better.
Valentine’s Day was a few weeks later. He decided he’d try his luck at getting out again. He read through some posts and this caught his eye:
“Anti-valentines Date—I don’t want to go on a Valentine’s date but don’t want to stay at home either. Feeling the same? Propose some wacky night out and let’s spend the night on our own terms.”
He wasn’t against Valentine’s Day but he did hate how society made you feel like some kind of loser not having someone on that day. So he wrote back. A minute late he got this:
“Lol. I don’t think you want to go out with me. You already kicked me to the curb on your birthday.”
It was that same woman he thought had stopped writing him! Apparently their last messages on his birthday didn’t make it through and they both thought the other had decided to end the conversation. He decided he wasn’t going to wait for Valentine’s. He wrote her back and said “What are you doing right now?”
A few hours later, they meet for coffee. He thought she was beautiful and she found his humor irresistibly charming. They talked and laughed for hours. They decided to have dinner the next night but that didn’t go as well. She had asked what he wanted from life and he said he just wanted something ordinary–work 9 to 5, come home, hang out with his girl and do simple things. She looked at him intensely and said, “No, you don’t.” It made him angry although he wasn’t sure why.
When they parted that night he thought he would never see her again. He was too ordinary and she was too driven for him. But he stayed awake all night thinking about it. And when he woke the next day he called her and said “Do you want to hear the story of my life.” She said yes and he told her all about it. She cried at moments and eventually told her own story. They both had been through a lot of difficult times. He dealt with it by being angry at the world; she dealt with it by constantly helping others but could never ask for help herself. They both distrusted others but in their hearts they wanted to. Their first big step came in trusting each other enough to fall in love.
Over the next four years, James self- managed his anger until it wasn’t a part of him anymore and Lynn made a point of asking people to help her out, even when she didn’t really need it. Together they both went out and met new people and grew a great new circle of friends. James started helping out at the fundraisers Lynn worked for and found out that he really liked organizing events which made him brave enough to get into working on music and other events. He was happy with his work for the first time in his life. Somewhere during that time James realized why he’d been angry that first dinner. He really didn’t want to be ordinary but he hadn’t known how to change that.
What he wanted–what they both wanted–was someone who made them more than they were on their own. For four years they did that for each other and grew personally and in their professional lives. In the end, they did not stay together. Lynn ended up traveling more than James could be happy with and James was heavily involved in the music community which he knew wasn’t Lynn’s thing. It came down to wanting lives that didn’t work well together. But that didn’t change the fact that they loved each other or that they still believed in each other. As far as we know, they still remain friends and as Lynn once said, “It may not have worked out but what we gave each other will last the rest of our lives.”
It was that line my friend and I remembered so well. So in a way, there was a happily ever after, after all.
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Okay … I’m not really drinking here (but you go ahead!), but I did want to change gears from repetition to just show you these versions of wine colors that Syndee Holt put together for Polyform. They are just so juicy. Pantone declared the color of 2015 would be ‘Marsala’, so last month, Syndee whipped up some color recipe options to match the Pantone swatch. This is just one of them.
I guess I had my head down getting the spring issue out and missed them. They’re just gorgeous though, so I thought I’d halt with the repetition theme to bring you the recipes to try out this weekend if you haven’t already. That’s if you don’t have your head buried in the spring issue. Because it came out today!
If you have a digital subscription, you should find the access email in your inbox. If you don’t see it, check your junk mail folder or other email accounts that might have been given to us during the purchase process (if you paid by Paypal, the email Paypal has is the one that is given to us).
If you are waiting on your print issue, they started on their journey yesterday and should be with you shortly. If you haven’t ordered or subscribed yet, well you can do just that on The Polymer Arts website.
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This piece is going to be a bit more complex than what we have been looking at all week, but I wanted to share it because I could see it inspiring repeatable forms in polymer. This is a stitched paper necklace designed and constructed by Luis Acosta who lists his work on his site in English and Spanish but looks to hail from the Netherlands. Makes me curious to hear his story but more curious is his work.
A complex piece like this could take upwards of 60 hours to create. That is dedication. But, the end result is quite mesmerizing. The repetition of that curl layered in the same repeated stack makes for a controlled energy that comes across as beautiful, concise movement. I like that although the paper starts out layered in the same sequence, the curls end up a little mixed on the top. Kind of a controlled confetti party. How fun would this be to wear!
Luis’ work is all about repetition. Take a look at more of his rather extensive collection of forms on his website for more great inspiration.
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This was such a gorgeous find. Actually, everything this artist has done is just amazing. The thing is, it doesn’t seem to be polymer, but it took quite a bit of research to convince me otherwise. The work is by Raluca Bazura, a Romanian artist working in contemporary jewelry. From what I could tell from the translations on the various little snippets I found about her online, she seems to work primarily in porcelain ceramics. This must be why all the pieces are stitched together. Of course, that may allow for movement and flexibility, but it might not be necessary if it was polymer. Really, this should be polymer. OK … yes, perhaps I am a tad biased sometimes.
But, whether this is made in ceramics or polymer, it is another wonderful example of the dynamic complexity that repetition can bring to a piece. And yes, we’re looking at a gradient of color, but this time only in terms of the collective set of overlapping scales not blended. It still has a similar effect in helping aid the feel of movement as the arrangement fans out. Raluca uses this kind of color effect in a lot of his work, but she’s also done a whole series in just black with the occasional gold or silver additions.
If you find this at all intriguing, you must go take a look at more of her work on her website. You’ll see many other pieces that you’ll swear are polymer, or should be. Go see and tell me what you think.
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Gradient color, as well as repetition, seems to be the theme this week. Carol Blackburn has created lovely examples of both in her interlocked strips designs. You have likely seen at least her earrings in this style which are one dangling bead of these repeated strips wrapping around and overlapping at the ends. She calls them shell earrings. But, they become something different when repeated over and over.
Take that repetition of overlapping strips in the bead element and repeat the bead. Repetition within repetition, aided by gradient color, makes for a wave of movement smoothly running from one end to the other in these pieces. She calls these her Moebius necklaces; no longer a single static object but actually off into the often unfathomable realm of mathematics. The mobius strip (also moebius strip) is said to have one side and one edge, but because it has been twisted in the middle, so that when the ends are attached, what we would have called ‘the back side’ of the strip now meets the front side. Yeah, I know. Its a little mind-boggling even when you see an image of it. How Carol brings all her strips together to wave so smoothly like this is also a mystery. This is what is so wonderful about art. When the ideas behind it start to hurt your brain, you can always just admire the beauty. The beauty here is something we can all understand.
Much more and less mind boggling art by Carol can be found on her website. And, if it isn’t already, be sure that her classic book Making Polymer Clay Beads (printed in several editions including French, German and Italian) is on your book shelf for regular references. The wealth of techniques and ideas is amazing with beads for beginner to advanced. I think it’s one of the best polymer books out there.
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Today, we have the pleasure of looking at a similar form and similar elements as yesterday, but with a different approach and result. Yesterday’s repeated pattern was folded circles of clay arranged in a sunburst type of pattern. Well, today we have beads also created with a folded circle, the formation repeated in bead after bead, but all the beads are slightly different.
In this necklace, polymer artist Judy Dunn uses the repetition of the bead form to connect the otherwise varying elements in this design. The circles used to create the beads have different visual textures on them, as well as being different shades from pearl to deep blue. If the beads had all been slightly different, a more chaotic feeling would have emerged, but between the steady beats of the repeated pattern and the calm colors, we have a shimmery, elegant piece.
You can see other variation of these repeated forms along with a ton of other projects and materials (a Jill of all crafts she seems to be!) on Judy’s Flickr page.
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I have been wanting to talk about the use of repetition for a while, but it is just such a huge subject. So, I’m going to get started on it this week with some really obvious versions, and then maybe next week we’ll get into more complex examples.
Repetition doesn’t sound like it is that big or complex of a subject and in essence, it’s not. But, how it’s used with other elements of design is pretty monumental. First of all, aside from color, repetition can be one of the strongest visual elements in a piece. I think we respond to repeated forms and elements on a fundamental level because it is so abundant in nature, thus familiar and essential in our vision of the world. It represents a visual rhythm. Rhythm being another kind of element we readily recognize and are drawn to since it rules so much of what we do and experience from the cadence of our walk to the beat of our heart, to the beat of city sounds to, of course, all kinds of music.
In art, repetition is a way to integrate a kind of music into your work. You can use that music as a basic background beat or as the one element that carries a very simple piece. A string of pearls, for instance, is about as basic a show of repetition as you can get. In these pendants we see a very basic repeating composition, however, Enkhtsetseg Tserenbadam takes things up a notch with gradient color in the clay. The colors give the simple repetition a bit of liveliness that will keep drawing the eye back to it.
Repetition and color are truly Enkhe’s thing. If you need a good dose of color in beautifully simple, and some not quite so simple patterns, you have to jump on over to her Flickr pages or her beautifully simple and elegant website and have a good long gander.
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Okay … I am apparently beyond tired or something. I thought yesterday was Thursday, and so I didn’t do an Outside Inspiration piece as I usually do at the end of the week. But easily fixed! We’ll make today our look-at-something-outside-polymer day.
I don’t have any idea what category of art this would be under–it’s kind of in its own category. If you haven’t taken a really close look at this little dress, do so now. Do you see what it is made of? Petals, fern fronds and feathers–a bit of fashion made for faeries. I just thought this was genius. What else would a fairy truly dress in but what nature has available to them. The thing is, you don’t realize that it’s not a dress when you first look at it. It’s just a construction of natural elements arranged to illustrate a dress; delicate and pretty, but just an illustration. A fabulous little illustration.
The clever little fashion tailor is UK artist Emily Bazeley. She became obsessed with created these fantastical bits of haute couture after getting a gift of pressed flowers from her artist grandmother, and while looking for something that would honor both the gift and her grandmother, created her first bit of fairy fashion. It was a natural fit for her. As Emily explains, “I have always been captivated by the beauty, subtlety and sheer magic contained within each petal of a flower; each vein of a leaf; not to mention the miracle of seeds, nuts, acorns and fir cones.” It sounds like a perfect artist endeavor for this nature lover.
She constructs and frames her creations and then sells them as wall art. I was thinking about all the beautiful elaborate canes made in our community and wondered if this would inspire our caners to illustrate some simply magical fashions or illustrations of their own. For more inspiration, take a magical stroll through Emily’s website to see more fashions, dwellings, furniture and, my favorite surprise, fairy washing lines with all the little bits a fairy might have to put out to dry. Adorable.
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Okay … I love this piece, but I hesitated posting it at first. And I bet you can guess why. The beads are beautifully crafted and the combination of contrasts lets each bead stand apart while still feeling like a part of the grand party that this necklace is by using regular jumps to red and and the limited palette. However, there are a couple very obvious bits of ‘borrowing’. I figured that word hits the middle ground on what some people might think about what Olga Ledneva does with work created in the styles and techniques of Dan Cormier and Helen Breil. Through books and classes, these two masterful artists make these techniques available to learn and create from. You can’t just learn these techniques and then not use them, right? However, you do still need to make them your own.
Upon seeing this, I knew neither Dan nor Helen created this piece. The beads echo theirs, but are not theirs for one or two reasons in each case. I think Olga really has applied her own style to the creation of the beads and, more specifically, to the combination and design of the necklace. The question, however, is whether or not you agree. I am definitely for taking something you learn and putting your own spin on it to the point that its original influence is not readily recognized rather than just add your own flair. But at what point does that happen? How far afield do you go before you can feel it really is your own work?
These are the first of this kind of work from Olga. We featured her own very unique constructed elements style about six months ago, and I can’t say I would have thought this was by the same person. Except for the meticulous finishes. That is really what is so fabulous about this. It is just so beautifully crafted. I am very interested in seeing where she goes with this kind of work. She obviously has her own particular voice and is trying to applying what’s she’s learned to her style of work. The outcome down the road could be tremendously exciting!
So what do you think? Do you think she should have taken the look and forms a touch further, or do you like how well she has learned what was taught and how she changed it?
You can see see more of Olga’s insanely meticulous work on her Flickr page.
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This piece is unusual for two reasons–one because, well, look at the way those colors glow! It’s pure color illusion, but they look like glass at first glance. The colors are a kind of candy luscious, and I think the space between the little blocks assists in the illusion that they glow because the little blocks of gradient color are not overly competing with neighboring color sets; our perception of colors changes depending on what other colors are sitting next to them. The second reason this is unusual is that the artist is one of those rare creatures in our community… a guy!
Moïse Vanden Broeck is a dental technician with his own laboratory (you can get quite creative in a dental laboratory!), as well as having a penchant for some really unusual approaches to jewelry. This piece has caught him at just doing something beautiful and fabulous. But, he’s also a pretty funny guy. You have to go read the interview on Parole de Pate where I first found this bracelet. Although, if you are going to read it in English, it will also be humorous due to translation. But it’s both an interesting and entertaining read in any language.
That interview is a few years old, though. To see what Moise has been up to recently visit his website and blog.
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