As Simple as Can Be
September 12, 2016
Inspirational Art
The key article in the new issue of The Polymer Arts is probably the one on Simplicity in Design. As mentioned in it, simplicity is a very difficult concept to master for a variety of reasons. For one, people underestimate just how much goes into creating really good, simple design. It takes a lot of thought and intention as well as skill because with simple designs, every single decision and mark made is so obvious and visible. There is nothing to hide, distract, or camouflage the elements and condition of the work, especially in the most simplified designs.
Rachel Wightman’s work is a great example of this. When you first look at her jewelry you might think, anyone can do that. Her work is not even perfectly finished. But what you sense, if not readily realize, is that her choices are all very intentional. Colors don’t match in any standard sense but they do work together. Her spheres, tubes, and drop shapes are just slightly off but not sloppy. The surfaces are free of fingerprints but they have a nice matte finish and are strung on a perfect center or a well placed high point. The consistency in surface and stringing as well as consistent imperfections shows her intention. Her odd but interesting choice of color and balance makes it apparent that there is thought behind her choices. And as I am always saying, intentional and well-informed design choices will make a great piece, no matter the approach.
You would have seen Rachel’s work in the article but unfortunately, she doesn’t keep high-resolution images of her work. This is not a criticism since her focus in on wholesale and online retail sales so that kind of thing is not necessary for her business. But it is something to keep in mind. If you hope or foresee any reason your work might end up in print, keep high resolution files of your work, preferably the original images straight from the camera. You can simply keep them in the same folder as your adjusted and re-sized images by creating another folder marked ‘Originals’ and then you will have them to offer should any magazine or book editor come querying.
If you enjoy Rachel’s simplicity, take a look at her other simple but well supported choices on her website or in her Etsy shop.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Make the absolute simplest shapes with great intention for a piece of jewelry, sculpture or to attach to home decor. Think through and carefully determine shapes, colors, sizes, finished texture (keep it simple too … matte, shiny, or lightly and consistently textured) and arrangement, asking with every small decision if that choice is consistent with your other choices or supports your overall intention.
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Mixed Medium Mandala
September 8, 2016
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
So, business first … the Fall issue of The Polymer Arts came out yesterday, September 7th, and already there is all kinds of cheering online about it and many, many comments in my inbox, all overwhelmingly positive so far. I’m so glad people are already enjoying it so much–I absolutely loved putting this one together as the idea of simplicity in design is something I have always been fascinated with and serenity is something I am always hoping for more of! And I know I am not alone on either point.
If you ordered a print copy or subscription before the 6th, your issue is on the way. We’ll be shipping again over the weekend too. If you were due a digital copy but did not see it in your inbox, check your spam/junk mail folder, and if it’s not there, write us at connect ( at ) thepolymerarts.com. If you are wondering about the status of your subscription, you can go to our brand spanking new Subscriber’s Account page logging in with your email (if you paid with PayPal, it may be the email PayPal has on record) and your password or use the ‘Forgot password’ link to set one up. On this new service, you can check the status of your subscription, change your address, see your order history and get links to your digital issues for subscription purchases from this year on. Pretty neat stuff.
Now onto this great piece you see here. It is one more example of an atypical but wholly legitimate mandala based creation. The basic concept behind mandalas may be symmetry but what you end up with doesn’t have to be symmetrical or with obvious radiating lines or sections. The point of creating a mandala is to let go so if the process leads you to something different from what you or someone else might think of as a mandala, so be it. It’s much more about the process than the outcome. But what an outcome it can be!
This piece, Orbits, was created by Susan Crocenzi and is primarily tempered glass with a polymer clay tile centered on it and bits and bobs and images scattered here and there. I just love the colors and the playfulness in this combination of elements. For those of you with a penchant for mixing mediums, this will give you a good idea of just how far you can go with other materials, alone or combined with polymer, when creating mandalas or just any intuitive craft work.
Susan has more mandala like pieces and more polymer heavy work to be found on her colorful website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let another medium inspire your polymer. Whether you plan on doing a mandala or simply want to play, pull out some other mediums or found objects and put them on the work space with your polymer. You don’t have to use them if it doesn’t feel right but just contemplating the idea may move your clay play into areas you didn’t expect.
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Fall arrives tomorrow … The Polymer Arts that is!
September 6, 2016
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
Tomorrow, September 7th, the Fall 2016 issue of the The Polymer Arts will be arriving in Email inboxes (check spam folders if owed a digital copy and it doesn’t show up by midday US time) and should start arriving in mail boxes in some West coast US areas as well. It is also the day I get to see it in my anxious little hands! Release day is both exciting and nerve-wracking. I am always so anxious to know if we’ve done well for The Polymer Arts readers. You are more than welcome to let me know what you think if you have the chance–good or bad. I appreciate all comments.
In the meantime, we’ll get started on the Fall issue blog kick off just a day early. This is the week or two we look at work that we couldn’t quite squeeze into the upcoming issue due to how packed the issues get.
This craziness you see here is just one of them and although I not over the moon about this piece, I have to say it was a huge surprise to see it come to life on my own work table. I had sat down to create a polymer mandala as part of our article vetting process–when myself or someone on the team follows a tutorial article’s instructions to see if they make sense–and the article on Mandalas by Anke Humpert was one I was personally anxious to try. In truth, we had collectively worked through a lot of what was going into this as we went gallivanting through France. But what I had not quite realized was how focused it would be on the intuition and meditation aspects of creating these. So in trying not to judge what I might be doing on my mandala, one late night I just went at it for a couple of hours. This is what I found on my work table the next morning.
I wanted to share this because for one, I think making these takes a bit of bravery to do just want comes to mind. So whereas the mandala created in the tutorial is pretty controlled, I just let go and kind of macerated the clay sheet. The thing is, whether you want to do some orderly or want to scratch spontaneously at the clay, a polymer mandala allows you to do whatever you like and allows your personal creativity to just flow through you. Just tell yourself that no one has to see it and create absolutely whatever comes to mind.
I had to say I absolutely loved the process. I got so lost in it and it felt so odd coming out of the session, like the real world was surreal. It did feel like coming out of meditation except I had something exciting to show for it. If you want to try your hand at this, I suggest you open up the article on mandala making in the Fall issue that comes out tomorrow, give it one read through so you understand the basic process–Anke shows you how to lay out a base grid to get you started and then makes suggestions for various ways to approach it. Then get to it and let yourself go.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create a mandala, of course. If you don’t have the article, just roll a sheet of clay and start ‘doodling’ on it, making whatever tool marks you like, adding cane slices or sculpting pieces to attach. Just let yourself go.
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Simply Curves and a Free month of Christi
September 3, 2016
Inspirational Art
When it comes to simple, I think this necklace is the most breathtaking piece I found this past week, maybe ever. The lines are gentle and subtle, but the way the two elements perfectly curve in on each other like a gentle and caring embrace is just amazing. I don’t even see the unique wire design really, as the slow back and forth winding of the edges are so engrossing. Maybe it’s just me but I find this so masterful, there really isn’t too much else to say but … wow.
This is not polymer, in case you were wondering, but this is the kind of thing polymer could achieve. The piece is bamboo created by Tomomi Matsunaga who was creating jewelry in the 1990s and 2000s in Kyoto, Japan but other than that, I have no information about the artist. This is a bit odd being I can find Tomomi referenced in items on my shelf like Ornament magazine and Lark’s 500 Necklaces. I don’t know what has become of the artist but the work is well appreciated as shown by the many, many Pinterest pins (with links going nowhere unfortunately). To see more, put Tomomi Matsunaga into a Google image search along with ‘bamboo’ or ‘jewelry’ to bring up other simple but intensely graceful pieces, most also created from bamboo.
While you are online looking for more of this masterful work, do take a look at what Christi Friesen is up to. Christi is passionate about art, polymer clay, mixed media, fabulous products, and techniques. She shares her ideas as well as the things she discovers by other artists on her exclusive membership site, “Christi’s Neighborhood” which, for people like you, she is opening up for free for the month of September. You can click here and log in using the following information. It could be the very thing you need to kick off your Fall!
Login: VIP, Password: CLEARLY2016
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: It’s a holiday weekend in the US so the ‘challenge’ is to relax and enjoy friends and family, if you can. Let design ideas marinate while you take in the sunshine and surround yourself with fun and laughter. Then go into the studio next week and see what fresh ideas come out of the time off.
**Also note, you may not be able to comment for a couple days. We were spam attacked the last couple days and shut down comments while we wait for the comment sharks to swim elsewhere. But if you want to chime in now, write me by replying to this if you get it in email or write us at connect(‘at sign’)thepolymerarts.com
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Treasured Clay
September 1, 2016
Inspirational Art
We have all had those pieces of our own work, or those of others, where there is this one portion you find yourself completely in love with. Many times it is a texture or part of the treated clay, maybe in the background, sometimes the focal point, and usually surrounded by other components or distracting elements. Doesn’t it seem like a shame that you can’t just point at it and say to the rest of the world, “See how beautiful this is?”
Well, in a way you can and this is another advantage of using simple or subdued designs. You can use simple backgrounds, framing or nothing else but a well-formed shape to present those textures or effects you are in love with, letting them shine on their own, in all their obvious glory.
This is how Jagna Birecka commonly designs her art jewelry, letting the shapes or simple, clean base elements be the platform to showcase her wonderful mokume veneers. This pendant here is a perfect example. The square this little slice of mokume sits on is finished smoothly and cleanly so as to not distract from the mokume pattern. Using purple to create a strong color contrast makes the slice glow and just a little shaping to give the veneer dimension makes it feel more substantial. With this design, we don’t question that the mokume is being presented like a ‘gem’ rather than just some interesting visual texture.
If you have not seen and enjoyed Jagna’s work before, jump over to the gallery pages on her website and note the many other ways she shows off her technique, making the clay shine like the treasured material it is.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Dig out a treasured veneer, cane, or already cured element you have tossed in the “I don’t know what to do with this but it’s too cool to throw away” pile, or create a sheet in your favorite technique then design a simple background or base to show it off on. It can also be adhered to a vase, box, or book cover as a simple focal element. Where or how would your bit of treasured clay really shine?
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Keeping it Subdued; Fall Issue coming September 7th
August 30, 2016
Inspirational Art
We have finally gotten everything through and files approved for the Fall issue and it’s now in the printing presses over in Idaho. Spending so much time reading, writing and editing on a particular subject gets my mind almost obsessed with it. I had already started exploring simple design in my own work this year but now I’m really focused on it. That and mandalas since the Mandala article really got me intrigued. But more of that week after next when the issue comes out. We’ll have all issues in the mail and the digital edition in your inbox on September 7th, so not long now! Get your order or renewal in before that date to be sure you are one of the first kids on your block to get this truly amazing collection of tutorials and thought-provoking articles.
In the meantime, I have collected some nice designs where simple or subdued works particularly well. Simplicity in design is really a matter of relativity. Is it simple compared to what the artist usually does, simple for the kind of technique it is, or is it a very simple form compared to what most artists create? To illustrate this, I thought I’d pull out some of the better subdued designs I’ve found. These are simple on some level but aren’t basic or boring.
Bettina Welker’s pin here is a calm and subdued piece compared to much of what she produces although she is no stranger to simplicity. With a focus on the effect of translucency, she has added only what she needs to keep interest and focus. The white stripes give the translucence a reference for the depth of layers and something to peer in towards while those red dots give us a focal point. And that is all it needs.
Bettina’s designs are always beautifully thought out and are a definite source of reference for anyone who likes work with a graphics inspired edge. Go get inspired by her simple and involved work on her website and get her tutorials and classes on Etsy and Craft Art Edu.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take a technique you really enjoy and try to minimize what you do with it. For instance, if you make kaleidoscope canes with six sides, try three or four or reduce the number of paths or colors in your design. If you create colored surfaces with alcohol inks, use just one instead of three. Take a look at the effect and determine a design that will work with the less complex version. Add focus if you need but try to keep it simple and see what you come up with.
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Happy Bugs
August 27, 2016
Inspirational Art
Here is another pretty and much less creepy insect to admire this week, as well as being one you can create for yourself with Stephanie Kilgast‘s instructions in this great video tutorial. Part caning, part sculptural, this tutorial actually has a lot of great ideas for all kinds of claying enthusiasts whether you like creepy crawlers or not.
Stephanie actually has quite a thing for happy bugs. In fact she has a whole line of them and other bug making video tutorials as well. Here is what she says about her Happy Bugs project:
“The happy bugs projects comes from a desire to sculpt happiness and not always focus on the desperate state of the world … I need that fresh breeze of joy and you might too. Happy because laughing makes us kinder too and bugs because insects are a treasure of beauty, colors and textures.”
I completely agree with her sentiment! Find more on bugs, food, and hybrid plant-animals on her colorful and quite happy website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Just create something that makes you happy. Let this be a happiness filled weekend.
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Blingy Bugs
August 24, 2016
Inspirational Art
So I finally found out what the crazy, giant, alien looking thing was hopping down the trail after me and my big black German Shepard the other day. It’s called a Tarantula Hawk although it’s a type of wasp and not a bird. I found a few images and one absolutely horrifying video of it trying to take down a tarantula even bigger than itself (and these things are already 2 inches /50mm long or more!) I’ve not seen a horror movie quite so scary since Halloween! These giant wasps are definitely the thing of nightmares, maybe more for tarantulas, but their sting is logged as the most painful sting/bite in the world next only to that of a bullet ant. One person said it felt like they were being struck by lighting for 3 long minutes straight. Yikes!
In any case, I am still freaking out over the things so the goal today was to find a pretty version of such a creature and I totally have it here with Christi Friesen’s Jeweled Insect. The creature I saw was seriously about the same size and had a similar body type but I am much more enamored of this one. I imagine many of us would be!
This insect is part of a journey Christi is on (and not the kind where strange insects start chasing you down the trail!) She and I are in similar places with realizing how little we do art for ourselves, being entrenched in the creative businesses we have. She and I have had some long talks about this as well as with others and have made recent re-commitments to our studio time. She got a jump on this much earlier than I (I’m still working it out) and created a number of things like this blingy bug created last month. You should read her blog post about her thoughts on this studio commitment idea and how it might apply to you on her blog here.
She is also teaching this as a project in Brisbane next week although I heard it was sold out. However, she may very well teach it again so keep an eye on Christi’s class announcements on this page and through her email ‘blathers’.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create a piece that is just for you, that you have no intention of selling or maybe even showing to anyone else. Create without worry or inhibition and enjoy the process, giving yourself no limitations.
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Beautiful Bugs
August 22, 2016
Inspirational Art
Ok, so you know what is on my mind this week? Bugs! First something nipped on me several nights in a row while I slept then later this past week these brilliant green bugs keep popping up in one of the bathrooms (turned out to be stink bugs … yuck!), then I was chased down a desert trail I regularly run by the biggest and strangest hopping beetle/mosquito looking thing the other day. Now, I am not a squeamish girl and I actually really like bugs–they are amazing creatures–but I’ve nearly had enough. So to resurrect my love of bugs, let’s do beautiful bugs this week. We’ll see what I can find.
Joyce Fritz came to mind first, of course. I have been admiring her bugs since nearly day one of my polymer inspired existence. I remember reading an interview about her use of recycled telephone wire for the legs to make appendages as colorful as the clay canes most of her bugs are built from. I thought that was so clever. The antennae and other parts are made from wire and beads. She sells almost exclusively through wholesaling which means she makes a LOT of bugs, and yet they all look so fun and inspired. I love that this one has an entire landscape scene on its back, perhaps carrying an image of its ‘native’ environment. That would be a very interesting bug to find while out on a trail.
While I go looking for more beautiful bugs, enjoy a little gallery showing of Joyce’s work on her website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create a more appealing version of something you tend to find ugly in nature. Bugs, snakes, fungus, weeds … just come up with something you regular try to avoid and see if you can’t create a beautiful version of it or let it inspire form, color, texture or motifs for a new piece.
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What party is this? The latest project from little ol’ me, Sage. The Sage Arts podcast is more than up and running… I have 25 episodes up as of this posting, ready on your favorite podcast player (New to Podcasts? Click here to find out how easy it is to enjoy them!) and a new one coming out every week.
What’s This Podcast All About?
This podcast is all about feeding and exciting your muse. By enlightening or reminding you about important and maybe unconsidered aspects of creating and living as an artist, I hope to help you find more joy and satisfaction in what you do, sharing ways to create with authenticity and fearlessness, while supporting your uniquely defined version of success.
Now what the heck does that all mean? Well, let’s look at what this is and what this is not…
It IS…
… a way to consistently feed your muse
… all about you. Myself, my guests, and my guest co-hosts speak to the issues, curiousity, and hurdles that you as a creative deal with on a regular basis.
… focused on creating a more fulfilling, joyful, and meaningful artistic journey.
… a conversation that goes both ways with lots of opportunities for you to be heard.
It is NOT…
… all about polymer clay or any one medium, as it’s important stuff for all artistic folks.
… focused on “how-to” or the latest tools and materials.
… just interviewing successful artists and talking at you. Rather it is like a coffee house chat or other friendly gather and I include you, the listener, in every way I can.
I created this podcast to supercharge your creativity, motivation, and artistic style through novelty, story, conversation, and community. Everyone has how-tos and ways to increase your sales – valiant and necessary stuff, of course! But what does your muse need? What does your work and your love of your art need to thrive? That’s where I want to help.
I aim to give artists ways to further hone their unique voice, increase their joy and productivity, and create a version of artistic success that is meaningful, satisfying, and anything but ordinary.
Come Join the Conversation
If you have something to share, would like to be a guest (for a chatty interview), or be a guest co-host (you and I banter on a particular subject) drop me an email me via my contact page on the show website: https://thesagearts.com/contact/ or send a voice mail (use the red button on that same site, bottom right corner of any page.)
And join me on social media!
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesageartspodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheSageArtsPodcast
And don’t forget to click “FOLLOW” or that little arrow on your favorite Podcast player so you get notices of new episodes. New Episodes come out weekly on Friday evenings, barring natural disasters or other bits of interference, of course. I hope you’ll join me there, on The Sage Arts podcast!
There are new artists and creatives joining every day with tons of great things to say…
“Just what I needed!”
“I just binged-listened … and I can’t wait for more!”
“There is so much validity in your presentation…”
“Looking forward to all the thinking and creating that they prompt.”
Taste test on my RSS website: https://rss.com/podcasts/thesagearts/
Or on the podcast home website: https://thesagearts.com/
Or start with this episode:
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First, my apologies for being absent the last few weekends. I kept thinking I’d be able to post something, but my days have been exhausting.
The roller coaster of the last month, not to mention the last year and a half, has really brought into perspective the concept of self-care. Balancing responsibilities with care for yourself as well as for others can be a tricky thing but, it’s not unlike art—if the composition can’t achieve some sort of balance, not much else is going to work.
So, I’ve been hashing out some ideas that will allow me to keep chatting with you as well as do what I need to do for my family and with my creative projects. I am hoping that will all be settled this coming week and we can have a little chat about that next weekend.
Persistent Ideas
In the meantime, let me share a thought by a fellow polymer artist, Adam Thomas Rees. He posted this intriguing piece, seen above, on Facebook last month, saying:
This was my first hybrid sculpture mixing metal and clay. I’d had this idea floating around in my head for about 10 years before I finally went for it. If you have an idea you’ve been sitting on, it might be time to go for it!
I have to agree. The first of the two novels I’m working on was also started a decade ago, maybe more. It can take some time to get around to it but, if an idea sticks with you, I think it’s a sign that you should really try it out!
What have you always thought about doing but haven’t tried yet? It can be very invigorating to take on something brand new and challenging.
Annual Damage Sale!
Grab Imperfect Publications for as little as $3.98 or Perfects & Supplies for 30% off
So, it’s that time! I’m cleaning out the mailing room and collecting all the publications with a dinged corner or a little shelf wear and am putting all these perfectly readable publications up for purchase at 50%-60% OFF the list price.
- Print Magazines: 3.98 each
- Print books: $5-$12 each.
Half of the imperfect issues will sell out day one if tradition holds so don’t wait!
This only happens once every year or so and once they are sold, the great deals are — whoosh –outta here!
Go here to grab up these steals before they’re gone.
Need Something Else?
Get new PRINT items and design tools for 30% off! So, if you can’t round out your collection of TMA publications with an imperfect copy, you can do so with an amazing deal on a shiny new one!
PROMO CODE FOR 30% OFF : damsale21
Promo code works for any PRINT publications or Design Tools NOT already on sale on the whole of the website.
30% off sale end June 30, 2021. Not good with other discounts, coupons, or on shipping. Damage sale ends when stock is gone, which can be pretty darn quick so don’t wait!
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To all my fabulous readers: I apologize for not having a post last week and for the lack of much of one this week as well. I am overwhelmed and exhausted as the first half of this month has been a rough one.
Still struggling with the loss of our brother-in-law and childhood friend to cancer last year, we found out last week that my baby sister is now also faced with a cancer diagnosis although the doctors are fairly positive about her prognosis. On top of this, my mother’s situation is deteriorating more rapidly although she is hanging on and literally every other member of my immediate family is dealing with some trauma or fresh tragedy aside from the bad news we’ve gotten. I spent the last two weeks in Colorado and Kansas just trying to be there for everybody. I’m back in California now but then, today, my cat, who we also found out had a large tumor just a couple weeks ago, passed away today. I wasn’t ready for that. We thought she had months, not weeks.
So, today’s image is a lesson in contrast. I’ve actually posted and blogged about this image before because I love the quote so much. The quote speaks to the same concept as yin and yang, that balance is found in the interconnectedness of opposites, that all light needs dark and dark needs light in order to be understood and appreciated.
In design that’s the concept of contrast. Dark colors make light colors seem lighter and vice versa. Rough textures emphasize the evenness of smooth textures and vice versa. The more contrast you have, the more the opposite characteristics of your colors, textures, shapes, forms, etc. stand out.
As you might have surmised, this photo is of the cat I lost today, the incomparable Cleo. She was not even a week old when we rescued each other—she was to be sent to a pound to be destroyed and I was being destroyed by depression. I was just trying to do the right thing for the innocent creature, but didn’t realize how she would change my view of my own life through the act of helping her and receiving so much love in return.
Being allergic to cats, I had planned to find her a home when she was well and old enough, but she crept into my heart. She was the friendliest and most empathetic cat I’ve known, but she also didn’t put up with any crap and ruled the dogs. And, honestly, the humans too. In like fashion, she decided not to put up with this tumor crap and left us on her own terms.
So, of course, I’m sad—heartbroken to be truthful. But it was such a wonder and privilege to have that little creature in my life that I am as grateful as I am sorrowful. And, maybe, it’s not until we feel the absence of those souls that touch us that we fully understand and appreciate the importance of their presence. That’s the contrast we find in life and death and in so much of our own lives, a contrast which we can express in our own art.
I would like to say that I will be able to continue with my posts as usual as of next week but I am honestly not sure how the rest of this month is going to go. If nothing else happens and my sister’s doctors continue to bring us hopeful news, I think I should be able to continue writing posts each weekend, but if I miss one, know that I will be back and am thinking of you.
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…
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What kind of things do you do when you have had a really bad day or week or month? Sometimes we can be helped just by looking for the beauty in the world. That has been my solace this week.
It’s just been a rough week for me and my family and I’ve heard a few too many stories from friends who are having a hard time as well. It’s almost like 2020 hasn’t ended quite yet. So, when I sat down to work on this blog, all I wanted to do was find something to feed my spirit. As a result, I decided to look through images of artwork I’ve collected and find pieces that I find particularly beautiful.
The necklace here, by Kaelin Cordis, is the piece I decided to post as a representation of my idea of beauty. No, it’s not polymer but, as you know if you been with me a while, I don’t think, as a polymer artist, we should just look at polymer. There is so much inspirational artwork in all types of mediums that can spark ideas for us as well as help us understand and appreciate different types of beauty.
I don’t know that anyone’s been able to identify why some people find one thing beautiful and others find the same thing dull but I find it very interesting that each of us can be mesmerized by a beauty that only some of us see. For instance, although I think most people will be able to see beauty in this piece, I am certain that a lot of you would’ve chosen pieces to epitomize beauty that are much different than this. So, what is it in the pieces that we choose that defines our idea of beauty?
To me, the beauty in this piece is in the movement created through the use of lines and edges. I am also drawn to simplicity and although this isn’t a super simple piece, it is not complex, certainly not in terms of color. Accented only by the blue stone, the particularly white silver reins in the energy from the movement with its absence of color, conveying a calm and grace that I find entrancing.
When I think about the artwork that I have always been drawn to, the principle of movement in the form of curvilinear lines and shapes is almost always present. I think there is also a dominance of limited color palettes. Although it was not difficult for me to come up with that conclusion, I’m not sure I really recognized the root of my aesthetics before writing this just now. It’s interesting what we can learn about ourselves when asked just the right questions.
So, do you know what primarily defines beauty for you? If that’s not something you have defined for yourself, consider looking around and see if you can find the elements, principles, or compositions that you are most drawn to. Not only will it give you the opportunity to exercise your design knowledge, but you may find that spending time with beauty will refresh your mind and spirit as well.
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…
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This week, I need to beg your forgiveness as I am recycling a post from a couple years ago. There’s been a small avalanche of family emergencies — nothing life-threatening — and I need to head out to Colorado and Kansas for a couple of weeks. I’ve been unable to put something together for the blog with all the distractions, but I’ve been thinking about this idea of collections again. It seems a lot of us were doing it a bit of exploring last year, which tends to result in lots of unused bits and pieces. So, this might be a useful reminder of things you can do with those bits and bobs.
Do you have a bin or box of pieces and parts of your handiwork yet unfinished but which you are too in love with toss? If you regularly create, I can’t imagine that you don’t. But what exactly do we do with these pieces? Do we hold on to them, hoping that they will be just the thing needed someday or do we toss them?
It can be quite the dilemma, one that even Marie Kondo can’t easily help with because, hey, these do spark joy for us! We see value in them, in that they represent our creativity and what we can accomplish. But do such little jewels of our work belong in a bin where we don’t get to admire them?
I’ve been thinking about this question for a while and came up with a few solutions of my own. If you have a copy of Polymer Journeys 2019, you can see, in the very last entry, my contribution, which is a display case of small exploratory items for which I had no particular use in mind when created them. I created them without thinking, “This is going to be a pendant,” or “This is going to be a set of earrings,” or “This is going to decorate a vessel.” I just made them to see what the material would do, most of which I liked, and they all represented a little exploratory learning experience.
I had already been tying bits onto ribbons and hanging them off the edge of my studio corkboard as little festive decorations. That doesn’t work for pieces that only had one viewing angle though as they would twist around on the ribbons, so I was still in search of other options.
Then I was out talking to the butterflies in my backyard (Yeah, I talk to the creatures in my yard,) and remembering how I used to catch and collect them in shadow boxes as a kid. It just randomly struck me that my little creative bits were like butterflies. They are lovelies I caught in a moment of exploratory creativity and in that small frame of time, they became a kind of unexpected friend, going through that creative time with me. I didn’t want to toss my little friends, even though I had no end-use for them. You don’t do that to friends! You hold on to them and support each other, right?
Does that sound silly? Maybe it is, but it was revealing to me to realize that I kept certain pieces not because they were so beautiful or well done, but because I felt connected to them. So, why not collect them and put them out like a collection of butterflies or a collage of photos? What you see here is what I started making. My husband and I would find shadow boxes at garage sales and thrift stores for cheap, and I’d arrange my bits in them like compositional jigsaw puzzles. I’ve made half a dozen of these so far.
By the way, I use a hot melt glue gun to tack the pieces onto a bit of mat board cut to fit the box. The nice thing about the hot melt glue is that if you do every want to take a piece out of the collection, you warm the back of the mat board with heat gun or hair dryer for a couple seconds and pop them right off. So, your “friends” can come out and play in another piece or a new collection if you like!
As I shared in the previous version of this blog in 2019, people have also used old collectibles display boxes to show off small sculptural pieces or heavy pieces of fabric to pin or hook jewelry pieces as a means of display as well. Look around at how you are other people put together collectibles for ideas about how you might display your polymer bits.
So, do I have your little wheels turning? These should give you ideas not just for what to do with your extra bits, but many of these could be a jumping-off point for creating your own unique show displays and photo setups.
Do you have a cool and unique way to display your extra bits or jewelry? Send me links to images if you do. Put it in the comments below, or if you’re reading this by email, click the header for this post to get to it online to leave a comment.
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Libby Mills’ Mod Flowers are her latest challenges. Take a look at her Instagram page and all that she’s been doing over the last couple of years, including process and studio pics.
How adverse are you to hard work and challenges?
Recognizing your ability to face the challenges and incredible effort that goes into creating original artwork can be a necessary, if somewhat painful, bit of self-assessment. Most of us find ourselves on one or the other extremes—either we give up too soon, not doing the work or finding shortcuts that don’t help us grow, or we don’t give up even when the process becomes pointless or detrimental.
Are you one or the other, or are you somewhere in the middle? Or does it depend on the type of work or challenge?
The Easy Way
Trying to find an easy way around hard work and difficult challenges is probably a bit more common. If we’re all being honest, there’s few of us who have never used a tutorial or ideas from artwork we’ve seen to develop our own pieces. That’s okay. I’m not saying that it’s bad or wrong—taking inspiration from other people’s design is one way we learn. However, if you don’t get past that stage, you are missing out on some of the most joyful work you’ll ever experience.
Using other people’s instructions or ideas allows you to create something without putting your creative self or your ego at too much risk. However, it’s taking chances and doing the hard work that makes the successes so exceptionally sweet. By going out on a limb and creating purely from your own inspiration can result in one of the most joyful feelings I think a human being can have. Seriously. There is nothing like hard earned success in your creative work to put you on Cloud 9.
Now why do we feel that way about our own artwork? Well, for one, the work is born of our ideas, experiences, and loves. But more so, it’s because of the struggles we went through either to learn the skills that allowed us to make the art and/or the hard work and time we put into its creation. When it’s done, your talent, your spirit, and your perseverance become a concrete thing that you can revel in and share.
In one of my writer’s group, a friend of mine asked why every story has to have conflict. The answer is that story IS conflict. Can you imagine watching a movie where the hero of the story had everything happen just the way they wanted it to? If Harry Potter just flicked his wand and make Voldemort go away, or Hamlet didn’t care that his father was killed, why would we watch those shows? Do you gossip about the good things that happen to people or the difficulties people are having?
Now, think about how satisfying it is when Harry vanquishes his nemesis and Hamlet finally avenges his father. Those moments are so immensely satisfying to us because of what we went through with the characters to get there. And that is true of anything we want to attain as well. The more conflict and struggle we face, the more satisfying it is when we accomplish or gain what we are after.
There’s actually science behind this. Researchers have studied everything from job positions to winning the lottery and they have found that when people are simply given something without having to work for it, not only does any elation from the acquisition die quickly but people are far less fulfilled and, sometimes, even become depressed. However, when people struggle to get promoted or have wealth because of years of hard work, they are not only happier, but they are also more motivated to keep at it than those that were simply given those things.
So, when you’re in the studio, don’t be frustrated or shy away from challenges. When you find them, think, “This is my chance to achieve something wonderful and fulfilling.” If you presently lean on the ideas of others, challenge yourself to create from your own designs as much as possible if not completely. Take risks. Push yourself just past the point of being comfortable. Do the hard work and see if you don’t find it more than worthwhile.
The Other End of the Spectrum
Now, if you’re one of those that doesn’t give up when you should, or you don’t give yourself the time off when you should, learn to take more breaks both physically and from the work you’re struggling with. It often helps to put a difficult piece away for a little while. Pull it out a few days or a few weeks later and you can see whether it is still worth working on. If it is, you’ll probably see a solution you didn’t see before.
Just don’t be afraid to set aside a piece that is going nowhere. Don’t feel you have to try finishing something because you put a lot of time into it. None of your time spent is wasted. Everything you do helps you learn and hone your skills.
Me, I’m of this sort. A dog with a bone, as they say. I look at every challenge as a battle to be won, and I don’t know the meaning of surrender. It’s rather ridiculous sometimes. I also don’t stop working when I should either, which is why I keep hurting myself.
Scaling Back on the Blog for a Bit
For those of you that were not with me for the Great Elbow Drama of 2019, I developed an advanced form of tendinitis in my right arm and can no longer type with it for any length of time. Well, now I have an overused left arm after too much research for my novel and too much gardening. *Sigh*
So, this post, and probably the next few, will be primarily chatting rather than deep dives into design concepts as I’m limited to using my speech to text software while my arm (hopefully) heals. Searching for a selection of great art images to go with what I’m writing about requires too much mousing I’m afraid. I hope you’ll stick with me though. I’ll aim for a mix of “Life As an Artist” articles like this one and design refresh posts that need only one image for the time being.
In the meantime, for those of you who can, get to the studio, give yourselves some reasonable challenges, and enjoy the fruits of your labors.
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Big bold earrings in polymer and brass by Pavel of Handmade by Tarja on Etsy.
Does the question of how big to make a piece just flummox you? When we were doing the giveaways last month, many commentors asked about size, particularly about how to determine what size to work in, It’s a great question. So, let’s go over the decision-making process for size.
If you’ve been a reader for a while, then you know this statement is inevitable: Choosing size should be based on fulfilling your intention. Sort of. Although I usually push you to consider intention in terms of your expression or creative goals, there are other factors that also play a role in this decision.
Yes, every design decision should reflect your creative intention, but size is also a consideration of construction, wearability, feasibility, and the end user’s preferences. So, I’d like to propose two general approaches to determine size—put your creativity first or put your market first. You choose what works for you.
Putting Your Creativity First
So, are you one of those that makes jewelry for giants? That’s great. There is nothing wrong with big jewelry. In fact, if you pick up any art jewelry book, you’ll notice that much of the jewelry is so huge it would be quite uncomfortable to wear for any length of time. So why is it still considered jewelry?
Big, uncomfortable art jewelry is created with the artist’s expression and ideas being dominant not the comfort of the wearer. These pieces coexist with the human form to relay a particular message. Without a body to adorn, the work would diminish in meaning or impact. So, the artist was either not concerned with its wearability or was purposely making it uncomfortable to drive home a point. That valid. And intentional. They put their creative concepts first.
Mariyana Avramova created this huge necklace to move with the whole body, not just the neck.
What you have to say, and your process, is as important, if not more important, than the end result. I know we tend to think our studio time is about creating finished work, but is it really? Can the joy of creating be equal to, if not greater than, the value of the finished piece? If so, then your consideration for size comes down to what you need to express or create what you want.
I think if you continuously make large pieces, then that must be where your creativity wants to take you. Sure, it could be because bigger pieces can be easier to work with and you have more space to embellish and play with surface design, but what’s wrong with that? Just check that your design choices make sense with that size and your intention for the piece.
It’s true that big jewelry is not for everybody, but if that’s what you want to make, and you intend to sell it, then you need only to find the market that wants that kind of work. Look at how big those earrings are in the opening image. All her earrings are that big or bigger, and she’s sold thousands of them. She found her market and so can you.
If you make decor that is too small or too large to be functional, so what? Do you make wall pieces that are far smaller than most people would hang on a wall? I bet somebody out there would. You can also make multiples and sell them as collections to be hung together. The bottom line is, if your muse takes you there, I think you should keep exploring it.
I know we are often inclined to create work based on what the majority of people seem to prefer, but remember, you aren’t the majority of people. The majority already have a lot of choices anyway. Make what gets your heart singing.
Creating for Your Market
Now, if you create primarily to sell work and put food on the table (or to buy more materials even), you may want to consider size in terms of the wearability or usability of your pieces for the sake of your sales before, or in addition to, what your muse wants you to make.
If you make wall pieces, sculpture, or decor, your consideration of size will probably revolve around pricing since you won’t have the issue of comfort that adornment has.
For instance, if you’re inclined to make enormous pieces, you will probably need to price them higher because of material and time involved. Will your market pay those prices or can you find a market that will? If not, what can you make that still expresses your creativity but can be priced at a more acceptable level?
Whatever you do, don’t price yourself low just so you can sell it. Value yourself and your work! You can always put an expensive piece on sale if you really need to sell it. Remember, you can always discount your prices, but it is very difficult to raise them.
If you have the option, it’s often best to make smaller, reasonably priced pieces and large, impressive pieces. This way, you can draw people into your booth, online shop, or website with the large, impressive pieces while giving those with smaller budgets something of yours they can afford.
Now, I’m not saying that the size of jewelry and its pricing doesn’t have a similar consideration at times. With jewelry, it’s often as much the complexity of the work as the size that affects people’s perception of its value and how much they are willing to pay. However, a range of sizes as well as price points is a very sensible approach unless, of course, very large a very small pieces are what your signature style is about.
Overcoming Limitations
We all do it. We make our pieces based on the size dictated by our tools or materials. In some cases, it can’t be helped. There are limitations we have to work with because of physics, finances, or our studio situation. But what you do want to avoid is making size decisions based solely on what you have on hand when you could have other options.
Really, in art or any type of creativity, you should decide what you want first and then find what you need to make it happen. This is true of everything from material to tools to size.
Even if you’re not sure what you’re going to make when you sit down, you can at least determine some generalizations about whether it’s going to be a necklace or wall piece or sculpture, right?
You could also determine what you want to do with the piece when you’re done. Is it for you, a friend, family, or are you going to sell it?
Carol Simmons made these tiny bowls for a swap. They had to be a specific size, so her choice of canes and the size of the slices was dictated by the size of the bowls.
If it’s for you or friends or family, what size do you or they prefer? If you’re going to sell it, and you want to take the market approach to deciding size, what does your market want or what do you need to fill in your gaps in inventory?
If you are going to let your creativity determine size, how big do you need it in order to express what you want?
Making these decisions before you start exploring can give you some direction, right? Even though you don’t know what you’re making or maybe even what techniques you want to use, size can give you a broad jumping off point.
For instance, if you want to create a small piece with hand tooled texture, delicate pin tools would work wonderfully. But if you’re making something big, you can confidently pull out a selection of bigger ball stylus tools.
If you’re thinking you would like to go bigger than any cutters you have on hand would allow, put those cutters away and hand cut your work.
If you would like to make a wall piece bigger than your 10” X 12” toaster oven space, then figure out what it will take. Use your kitchen oven with your work securely enclosed so you contain any fumes. Or buy a bigger countertop oven or a cheap used electric stove and put it on the porch or in the garage. You can also create your piece in sections and put them together after they’re cured.
You know the old adage—If there’s a will, there’s a way.
If there’s a certain size piece you want to make but polymer doesn’t seem feasible because of the amount of polymer needed or strength issues, use another material. I know, sometimes that doesn’t seem possible because of the additional skills, tools, or material costs, but consider what is possible before simply giving into the limitations of what you have and are familiar with.
So, was that the talk on size you thought you might get? I know, we could have talked about how your choices communicate different emotions or we might have discussed standard sizes for pendants or bracelets or bathroom wall pieces. But the fact is, there aren’t really standards in art, are there? We make what we need based on our muse or market. The important thing is to stop and consider the options and make a determination based on those considerations.
So, make jewelry for giants if you want or bowls too small for anything but a mouse’s meal. As long as it makes sense for you, your muse, and your market, then it’s the right size.
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Flickr’s Dragonfly555 shows off impressions samples.
Do you feel like you have to make a finished piece or be working on a particular design when you sit down at your studio table? Sure, it feels good, and it’s very exciting to have a finished piece to show and share, but learning a craft is as much about exploration as is about creating finished work.
So, if you’re not giving yourself that exploratory time, let me give you some reasons to highly consider it. And if you do a bit of exploring already, maybe I can offer up some new ideas about ways to use and organize your exploratory bits that you might not have tried.
The Exploratory Reasoning
When you’re fairly new to a material, technique, form, or construction method, it is to your advantage to spend time just playing with it. This is especially true, I think, of texture, mark making, color mixing, new techniques, and new materials including new brands of a familiar material. Trying to make finished work before you are familiar with the technique or material can get frustrating, if not downright depressing. You can gain more success in the long run if you develop a better understanding of what it is that you’re working and hone your skills a bit before gambling your time, materials, and hopes on finished work.
It certainly can be tempting to just pick up something and see what you can make with it right out the gate. With a lot of home craft materials, polymer clay in particular, you can create a decent completed piece within a day of picking it up. However, the ease of these materials is a bit of a deception. They may be easy to get started with, but mastering them, even just a little, takes time and effort. Give yourself a gift of that time to get to know what you’re working with without the pressure of trying to finish something presentable.
Samples to Reference
Mica powders with sample chips
Probably the best way to explore new materials and techniques is to make small samples, ones you can keep and reference as you make decisions for future finished pieces. If the color of the sample is not relevant, you can just use scrap clay. If you use clay straight out of the package, you may also have an option to transform the samples into finished work. Let’s go over all these options.
(Although I’m going to talk specifically about polymer clay, if you work primarily in another material, consider an equivalent process. Consider how you can cut out or form small samples that can be saved as references. See if this clay focused process inspires you.)
For some orderly exploration, sheet your clay and then hand cut or punch cut the sheets into whatever shapes tickle your fancy. Then you can just go crazy with whatever you’re exploring. Use as many of these pieces as you like for each process you’re exploring. Keep the ones you are pleased with, etching with a needle tool or, after curing, writing on the back with permanent marker, what you made them with. Keep cured pieces in a baggie or punch holes in them before curing so you can string them on wire or chain, making them easy to flip through.
If you are playing with textures, mark making, or any kind of tooling on polymer clay, I would suggest sheeting three different thicknesses—the thickest setting, a medium setting, and the thinnest setting on your pasta machine. Then try out each of your experiments at least once on each of the three different thicknesses. Anything that impresses or otherwise moves around the clay will be affected differently by the clay thickness, sometimes subtly but sometimes quite dramatically.
Cure the samples you like, being sure to inscribe or write a note on the back indicating what thickness the clay sheet was along with what made the impression or marks.
If you’re color mixing, sheet the finished color, then punch out a decent sized shape, one that has enough room for you to write down your proportions for that color mix. For example, if you mix a deep rich purple by combining 6 parts cobalt, 3 parts magenta, and one part black, inscribe on the back:
6X blue
3X magenta
1X black
Also include a big initial for the brand of clay (P for Premo, F for Fimo, K for Kato, etc) since colors by the same name in one brand are usually nothing like those colors in another brand.
You can also note proportions visually by punching out a circle of clay, smaller than your mixed sample, from each of the colors you used in the mix. Cut out portions, like pie slices, from each color in proportion to how much was used in the mix to re-create a single circle showing how much of each color was used in the mix. Don’t forget to inscribe your initial for the brand of clay. See the image here for an approximate example of the purple mix above.
Adhere this combination pie to the mixed color shape, punch a hole in the sample, cure, and string on a chain or wire.
(If you are confused about how to figure out the parts aspect of the color mixing, just use a small cutter to punch your unmixed colors out of sheets of the same thickness. Each piece is a part. Use these punched bits of clay to make your mix, keeping track of how many pieces/parts you use to create the color you’re making.)
If you’re playing with a surface colorant, try it on both white clay and black clay or on clay colors you use quite often. It’s a rare colorant that doesn’t allow the clay base underneath to the show through, so trying it on black and white will give you an idea of how the colorant will appear on lighter versus darker colors, not just black and white.
I punch small-ish circles out of white and black sheets of clay, then I cut them in half and put a white half with a black half. I apply the colorant to these splits chips. After curing, I glue them to the colorant’s product container so my reference sample is right on the product. You can see here how well this works for those little mica powder containers, above. I keep them in a drawer with the samples facing up so I can quickly find the color I want.
The best part about all these samples is that while you’re designing a finished piece, you can pull them out and compare them side-by-side to see what works well together. You can also hold them up to a partially finished piece to see what you might want to add. Personally, I can’t imagine working without all my exploratory samples.
Turning Discovery into Works of Art
Just a few pendants and beads I made with extra texture samples by reforming and/or adding pin lace layers of clay. You can learn the pin lace technique in the February VAB here. The VAB PDFs are 40% right now too.
Now, for those of you who are anxious to produce something with your time at the studio table, you can take any samples you’re not going to save for reference and create with them. You can add additional layers, reshape, or attach embellishment to your extra samples to easily create pendants, earrings, or brooches. You can also use them for collages or mosaics.
Keep cured samples, even if you’re not going to use them for reference, for further experiments where you want to play with cured clay techniques or to test new glues or sealants. This way, not only is your time not wasted, neither are any of the materials you’re playing with.
Give Yourself Permission to Explore
Whatever your inclination, the big take-away here is that in-depth exploration can, and probably should, be a regular part of your creative process. Give yourself the permission and time to do this throughout your creative journey or career, not just when you’re starting out.
Keep in mind, not only does this kind of exploratory time hone your skills, your familiarity and confidence with the processes and techniques grow stronger and faster than they would if you tried to learn just through making finished work. This is because you are willing to take more chances with these scrap samples. They just don’t have the same stakes, right?
And, you know, taking chances with this exploratory sample work should eventually translate into taking bigger risks with your finished pieces. I think, when we take the big risks, that’s when we make the biggest leaps and create the most amazing work. Well, sometimes we make absolute disasters as well, but it’s all part of the process. You’re certainly less likely to have a disaster if you do a lot of exploration first.
Christi Friesen shares unusual and creative mark making in the March Virtual Art Box
So, if you have not let yourself just explore and play with the materials you work with, maybe, this week, you can either set some time aside or make all of your studio time exploration time. Making many of your mistakes in the exploratory phase and not always on completed pieces will make your creative time more efficient, less stressful, and more enjoyable.
Texture Hungry?
If you’re one of those who is looking for more ideas and direction on texture, don’t forget we have an entire issue of The Polymer Arts on texture, the Fall 2017 issue. Also check out the mark making focused edition of the Virtual Art Box from March of last year. All Virtual Art Box content that was previously members only is 40% off right now.
The Last of the March Giveaways
Our month of giveaways has ended, but all your wonderful comments have given me so many ideas for upcoming posts. I thank all of you who commented so very sincerely!
I have one last giveaway winner to announce. Valerie Hall is receiving the last batch of my giveaway Polyform clay. I was very excited about this. Valerie is a very active and giving soul who has been trying to teaching through the great clay shortage of 2020 in any way she can. So it’s fantastic to aid her with this clay package. Congrats Valerie!
This was so much fun. I will try to do this here and there as I receive samples or find opportunities to gather stuff for you. So stick around for more free stuff in the not-too-distant future!
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Christine Damm fits together leftovers from old veneers to create her “Distant Worlds” earring components. Just for fun, what kind of soup would make a suitable metaphor for these? I was thinking Italian Wedding soup!
How often do you use metaphors and similes when you are trying to explain something? I read somewhere that we use metaphor about five or six times a minute. I’m not sure about the accuracy of that number but we do use metaphor in small ways all day long and similes are often our go to option for things that we are having a hard time explaining. Why do we use these so much? Because metaphors and similes help us simplify complicated or hard to grasp ideas. They also help us see old things in a fresh way or make daunting things less intimidating.
Can you think of some things in your life that you would like to simplify, see in a new way, or find less intimidating? I think we all do and our creative time often has many complications and blind spots as the rest of her life. So let’s talk about metaphor and simile in terms of how can help you resolve questions in design.
To ensure the terminology doesn’t get confusing, let’s quickly define these devices.
Metaphor: assigning a word or phrase to something for which it is not literally applicable. For instance, “my studio table is a disaster area,” or “think outside the box.” Certainly, the studio table is not being cordoned off and applying for federal emergency relief, and I do hope you aren’t in a box to start with.
Simile: comparing two unlike things to make an interesting or exaggerated point, usually using the word like or as to make the connection. For example, “my studio looks like a war zone” or “I was as sick as a dog.”
Find Your Answers in Metaphors
The idea of metaphors and similes as a device for helping in design came up when I was reading the comments made last week for the giveaway in which I asked what design element people were struggling with. A lot of people are struggling with color which was expected since that is one of the harder elements to master but there was also a lot of concern about size and, most surprisingly, confusion surrounding the use of texture. Of course, this got me thinking about how I can help you better utilize or master these elements. The first things I came up with were metaphors.
So, let me give you a little design lesson on texture, since that’s the one that surprised me the most, with a metaphor.
In terms of techniques, textures are not hard to create, especially if you’re working with something as forgiving as polymer clay. The question seems to be where to use it, how much to use, and how to choose textures for your work. Thinking about this, I came up with a broad metaphor—cooking.
So, think about what you would have to do to throw together a pot of homemade soup. (Even if cooking is not your thing, it’s not so much about whether you can relate as whether you can imagine the equivalences the metaphors draw between art and cooking.) When you start a soup, you make a lot of your big choices up front, such as what kind of base—broth, tomato, or creamy—and then what’s going to go into it, particularly the protein and vegetables.
Your artwork isn’t that different. Your base choice starts with your intention—what you want to make or what you want to express—then you choose the materials you use and some key design elements such as colors marks, lines, surface design, and embellishments.
At the end of the soup recipe is where you usually find the spice. Texture, to me, is the spice. Although I tend to have an idea about what textures I might want in a piece just as I tend to know what kind of spices I think I’ll want in the soup, my process tends to bring in the texture towards the end of the decision-making. Note that I say it comes at the end of decision-making not at the end of the making of a piece since often times materials need to be textured before they are cut or attached.
Now, why would I save my decisions about texture until the end? Well, with soup, spice is what creates a lot of the discernible flavor and can really bring all the ingredients together. So, if we think of texture as spice, use it where this visual or tactile spice will heighten the “flavor” of the piece or, if you have kind of disparate sections, if they all have a similar texture then it becomes more cohesive.
The metaphor even works for the amount of spice or texture you use. Use a lot if you want the spice to be the primary experience the viewer has or keep it subtle or light so that it complements the other elements or helps them shine. Choose textures that work with the other elements just as you would choose spices that go with the proteins, vegetables, and soup base.
Kathleen Krucoff spices up her dangle earrings with a very light rough surface on the silver and a touch of gritty gold texture to bring our eye up from the focal point gems.
For instance, you’re probably not going to throw a bunch of pungent nutmeg and turmeric into a delicate chicken and wonton soup. That kind of simple soup needs some flavor from spice and herbs, but you would be better off with some bright lemon or ginger, maybe a sprinkling of cilantro or shallots. Likewise, if your artwork is pale and delicate, you might not want a deep and dense texture, but something shallow and subtle.
There is one point at which the soup metaphor kind of fails. You don’t actually have to have spice In soup but in artwork, every surface has texture even if the texture is smooth. Still, you can think of smooth textures as equivalent to a soup that doesn’t depend on spice for its flavor. That does mean that all the other ingredients/elements need to carry the design. If you go heavy on the texture, keep in mind that is it will probably overpower, visually, many of the other elements. You know, like cayenne pepper does in a pot of Texas chili!
Okay, so, This metaphor soup for texture will work for some and not for others. For some of you, the idea of texture being spice may have lit a big light bulb over your head and you just left me to run off to your studio table to try some things out. Fabulous! Of course, then there’s a bunch of you who have gotten this far but are scratching your head thinking, “I don’t get it.” That’s okay. Maybe you can find a different metaphor, or you might find similes easier to visualize. There’s Bound to be something that can give the concepts you’re struggling with the structure and simplicity you need.
I’m going to work up some ways to talk more about texture, size, and color over the next few weeks since those seem to be the primary concerns for so many of you. But in the meantime, look to other things you do for potential metaphors that might help you with your approach to various aspects of design, especially things you find easy to do or have a lot of experience with such as gardening, party planning, interior decorating, writing, or putting together the perfect ensemble for a special night out (if any of us can remember what that was like.) Ask yourself, what do I start with, what do I add next, what are the little decisions I have to make to get it to be perfect?
There is a good chance you can find a somewhat equivalent process to plan your designs if you think on it. At the very least, searching for metaphors and similes might bring up some options for a new approach to your work that you would not have seen had you not looked for a metaphor.
An Easy Search
If you need more detailed information on various aspects of design right now, go to the blog and use the search box there to find the posts in which we discuss those elements.
Also, did you know that you can search for articles and artists published in any of the Tenth Muse magazines by going to this table of contents page? There is a link at the top of all the magazine sales pages too.
The page allows you to search through the titles of every magazine article published through Tenth Muse, most of which include the subject matter in the title. The listings also include artist’s names and the author of each article. To search the page, use your “find” keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+F in Windows or Command-F for Mac) to bring up a search box that will help you find specific subjects, artists, or authors. Use the simplest version of keywords, (like mokume instead of mokume gane, or transfer instead of transfers) to have the most success in your search.
If you have a collection of The Polymer Arts or Polymer Studio magazines, bookmark the table of contents page so you can find out which issues have the technique, artists, or subject matter you’re looking for.
Last Week’s Giveaway
Last week the giveaway box went to Kathleen von Balson. She actually posted about trying to be more subtle in her use of contrast. I just love when the blogs get someone going in the studio and I get to hear about it!
Congrats Kathleen!
(You know, you are always welcome to post comments below or send me an email about what you got out of a blog post, especially if you have suggestions or questions. It helps me determine what to share with you here.)
This Week’s Giveaway
Thank you to everyone who took part in last week’s giveaway through comments on the post. I do hope it gave you a moment to think and refocus on design elements you’re struggling with. I think it was really revealing for other readers as well– there were quite a lot of replies to the various comments. So, let’s do this one more time.
The Goodies:
- This week I have a selection of Sculpey clays in 2 new Soufflé colors, 3 new Premo colors, and 2 big 8 oz. blocks of clay stash basics—Sculpey III in Pearl and Silver. That’s 26 ounces of fresh clay along with a three-piece set of Sculpey silkscreens.
- Or if outside the US, I have a $30 Tenth Muse certificate, since it would be such a gamble to ship clay outside the US.
How to Win:
- Put a note in the blog comments* (below), this time letting me know what else besides design elements you’re struggling with in your artwork or creative time. (Yes, I’m using you to give me ideas about what to write about my coming months. I think that will work well for all of us!) It can be one word or a whole explanation.
- Note: It may take some time for the comment to appear if you’ve not commented before since, due to annoying spamming, I have to approve it .
- Giveaway winners will be chosen by random—it will NOT be based on your answers. I do hope you’ll give it some thought anyway. The answers could be helpful to you as well as interesting for the rest of us.
- And let’s say you can only win once this month so we can spread the love around.
- Get your comments posted by Wednesday March 31st at midnight Pacific time to get in for the raffle.
- I’ll announce the winner here on the blog next weekend!
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…
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