Borrowed Color

Although one of polymer’s biggest draws is the wide range of color we get to play with, we still often pull our color from other materials — sometimes because we need to, but often, at least in the beginning, because we just wanted to try it out and found we could make it work!

There are quite a few areas of art from which we can pull additional color into our polymer work. Colored pencils seem to be quite popular of late, and there are very good reasons. Besides pencil’s ability to transfer from paper to clay, it can be applied directly with almost painterly results. The light additional textures and subtle changes in color are hard if not impossible to accomplish with polymer alone.

These particular features are the highlight of work like this one from Anne Pennington. The polymer provides the base and the form with a smooth texture to apply the pencil so each stroke is visible in a way that echos the felted wool in the center.

Anne pulls from several craft disciplines. She is not a silversmith or a felter or a polymer artist. She is a jewelry artist, undefined by the mediums she works with. I think when we work without the limitations of a medium we may think we or our work are defined by, we leave so many more doors of creativity open to us. It doesn’t mean one should go out and learn dozens of mediums; but rather when we have an idea of something we want to create or express, we should be willing and able to look beyond our standard material and see what else out there may help us create our visions. This week we’ll look at what we borrow from other art forms and how these borrowed colors enhance what polymer has to offer.