Clearly Accidental Composition
April 23, 2013
Inspirational Art
Translucent layering is a wonderful way to add depth to a bead or, in the case of this piece below, a little polymer painting.
Roberta Warshaw isn’t too happy with this polymer painting but I think she has accidentally ended up with a better design than she might have if she had been able to fully control the process.
Her process here includes marker ‘painting’ on the clay, layers of translucent polymer lamella (a technique using very thin translucent layers embedded with metal leaf as developed by Kathleen Dustin) and a little carving of the clay. She professes to have laid a layer of lamella the wrong direction thus losing the “golden glow”. She doesn’t say where this mistake is and I can’t see it or maybe the photograph doesn’t show it. Regardless, any misdirected layer is not affecting the end result in any negative way. And what is wrong with a glow-less layer? A little contrast between glow and no-glow could add dimension … an expanse of matte color among the glittering lamella sea. Sounds a bit dramatic but, hey, it’s true–uninterrupted shine will often have less impact than shine interrupted and contrasted with a little dull or subdued mixed in.
Her other disappointment was stated to be in her carving skills. The leaf stem on the left is wider than she intended. However, stop and imagine if the stem was as slim as the rest (see the photoshop version below). Do you see how it changes the balance and the movement in the piece? In the one above, the heavier leaf on the left pulls the balance towards the outside and the stems going from a barely there slimness on the right to a heavy, robust leaf on the left suggests growth (which is often what we sense in a graduated scale of size … from small like a sapling to large like a full grown tree.) Between the pull to the side and the sense of growth, there is a feeling of movement, something more dynamic than the pretty but comparatively static feel of what I think she was after.
I can’t disagree with her on wanting more control with her carving. Even though I like the composition better the way it ended up, you can kind of tell the larger leaf was not intended, that the carving of it may have been worked over a couple times or was done with a heavy hand unlike the other two. Often, a large part of the beauty we perceive in a piece of art is the sense that the work done was wholly intentional and under the artist’s control. You can have good composition, excellent color choices and an intriguing form but if it is created without skill, it is very difficult to enjoy the other aspects. Do you agree?
Mapping Translucents
April 22, 2013
Inspirational Art
This week I thought I’d focus on translucent clay. Why? Well, maybe because I was in my studio looking at the as yet unopened bars of Pardo translucent I ordered a while ago that I still haven’t had a chance to play with. I do love writing about polymer art but, sheesh, it’s keeping me out of the studio far too much lately!
So since it will be a couple more weeks before I can play with the translucent ideas in my own head, let’s talk about it. What is it about translucent clay that make it so special? Well, I would say it’s probably because unlike all our opaque clays, translucents are about playing with light. Whether it has been sculpted, colored or layered, translucent clay allows light to pass through it (in varying degrees) which can give forms interior shadows and dimension, make colors glow, and give a layered surface depth and added detail–all unique and beautiful effects.
Here is a pair of earrings by Agnès (aka Primatoide on Flickr) where the use of the translucent clay allows light to filter through the image transfers of a tiny map colored by oil paints. The images absolutely glow, making the earring look like small lamps.
Although the image of the earrings here is quite beautiful, there is one issue. Would these be able to catch the light when worn? If the wearer had short hair or hair pulled back it might. It’s hard to say. Light needs space to play through and around. Without the play of light what do these look like? My guess would be that there would still be a patterning of white and blue and the clever, stylish wire work the polymer hangs from make for an interesting overall form. But when working with translucents, it helps to consider whether light will be available to show off your design if its very much dependent on the viewer seeing the transparency.
We’ll touch on more ways to use translucents throughout the week as I work madly on getting the next issue of The Polymer Arts magazine together. I suppose I should warn you that I might be a little tired and my blogging might get a little silly but bear with me. I promise we’ll have lots of beautiful work to ogle so we don’t need to depend on my ramblings for entertainment.
The Art of Occam’s Razor
April 20, 2013
Inspirational Art
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Occam’s Razor is, at its essence the idea that, all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the better option. It’s a hard concept to wrap around the creation of art but I have found the idea to be a life saver … or an art saver. I have these words taped above my studio table: When you can’t decide … Occam’s Razor! It’s a reminder for those times I get really wound up over a design and can’t figure out how to fix it. The inclination is often to add more or overwork what I’ve done but it usually works out much better when I can step back, look at the basics of what I am doing and pare down the work to its simple essence.
After talking about pushing the construction of your work this week, I did wonder if some readers might think complexity would be the way to break out from any standard forms they had been adhering to, but complexity is not what it’s about. So here is a great example of pushing a standard necklace design in the most simple and yet highly impactful manner. This piece was created by Kaytie Johnson, a curator of contemporary art who professes to be obsessed with design. I can see that … this is all about the design not about the polymer at all.
She’s taken a dangling bead necklace design and pushed it by repeating the chains of beads but with a carefully measured change in color from one to the next. The beads themselves are very basic but done well, with a good eye for color so that the piece looks anything but basic. It’s simply simple design executed well.
So if you have been inspired by the construction and form ideas this week, just keep in mind you don’t have to go crazy. And only push the design when it makes sense for the effect and use of the piece you are creating. Sometimes it’s better to not deviate from the standards. They became standards for a good reason. Occam’s Razor … sometimes the simple solution–using a proven form–is the best answer. Just keep in mind, that it’s not always going to be the case.
Outside Inspiration: Getting Buggy with Artistic Construction
April 19, 2013
Inspirational Art
I have been holding onto these little gems (pun intended) for a while now. I was fascinated but I wasn’t sure what you all would think of these tiny creative creatures, or even the artist that got these little creepy crawlies to collaborate with him. But nature’s unstoppable creativity is so well high-lighted by these very unusual pieces that I couldn’t help but hope there would be an appropriate occasion to share this. But here’s a warning … if you get buggy about bugs, you may want to avert your eyes. If, on the other hand, you are as fascinated by what Mother Nature’s creatures create as I am, I think you’ll find this utterly intriguing.
These golden cocoons below were not some bizarre concept created by a mad jewelry artist and imposed upon some unsuspecting insects. These cocoons were actually created by the creatures crawling out of them. The caddis fly larvae, an insect closely related to the butterfly constructed these casings from available material. Talk about a different way of constructing art jewelry!
The caddis fly collaboration was conducted by and with an artist by the name of Hubert Duprat. My first sighting of these amazing pieces were in a back issue of Cabinet magazine, the publication of an arts and culture organization out of Brooklyn, New York. According to their website “Cabinet aims to foster curiosity about the world we have made and inhabit.” Yep, they got me curious. How did Hubert get these creatures to build their cocoons out of gold and gems?
Well, apparently these little guys spin cocoons out of silk but incorporate other materials from their environment. Since they are river dwelling bugs, sand, bits of shell, fish bones, and plant matter are common inclusions in their casings. Since gold and stones are common river material, Hubert thought he would see if the larvae would include precious natural materials in their cocoons if their more mundane alternatives were not present. And they did. But isn’t it amazing how they designed their casings? Striations of stone and aligned rods of gold wire decorating only the top and center portions of the sheaths. The casings are beautiful and well balanced. It seems almost impossible that these creatures would create something that wasn’t just a total mish-mash of materials until you stop and think … nature is the ultimate designer. Our own sense of design comes from what we have been seeing in the natural world around us for eons. These creatures may not be aware of their inherent design sense but they too would have assimilated the balance of the world around them into what they do.
Bottom line here … when looking for new ways to develop and construct your artwork, don’t forget to look to the work of the master and original architect you can find all around you.
There are videos on YouTube showing the caddis fly building these with Hubert explaining the process if you just can’t get enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jID1_GwxiE0
Building Uniquely on a Form
April 18, 2013
Inspirational Art
I considered moving on to rings today but since we covered that subject so thoroughly in The Polymer Arts Winter 2012 issue (and so many of you are subscribers), I thought we ought to move on to another kind of construction consideration … home decor! This most commonly involves covering objects–vases, bottles, boxes, switchplates, clock faces, etc. Our inclination is to cover the object, keeping within the boundaries and following the shape of the form we’re covering. But why? We work with a material that can create a myriad of visual effects and be built into almost any form we can imagine. Why would we let a pre-formed object dictate so much of what we do with it?
Ariane Freisleben doesn’t actually say she covered an object in the piece below but it certainly looks like it and it beautifully demonstrates the idea of moving beyond a standard shape.
This was created using techniques Ariane learned in a Jeffery Lloyd Dever workshop (but no pods here!) which could have been executed by layering the clay flat on a standard bottle shape. Instead she plays with the edges building them outwards and twisting them away and beyond from the expectation of straight vertical lines that would have stopped before the neck of the vase. The result is a much more dynamic object with curves in the form that reflect the playful lines decorating the surface of the clay.
If you missed the switchplate we showcased a week ago, that is also another example of breaking out of the boundaries of an object. If you cover objects, have you ever pushed beyond the boundaries of the form and shape?
If you haven’t played with covering objects or would like to learn more including some suggestions for some more unusual objects to cover, don’t miss the covered objects article in the upcoming Summer issue of The Polymer Arts due out second half of May.
Bracelet Form Blending
April 17, 2013
Inspirational Art
So today let’s talk bracelets. Bracelets have a consideration that necklaces and earrings do not in that they will regularly be knocked and rubbed against a wide variety of objects so they need to be durable and their surfaces need to be able to take some wear. That is probably why the three primary constructions used in polymer bracelets are a string of beads, the bangle and the cuff–good standards and well suited for showing off bead work and surface designs as well as being strong. But what other approaches can we take?
The more exciting construction designs I’ve seen combine common approaches. Below we have a modified cuff made of two halves that could be called beads since they are strung together with a band of elastic through their center. (There is a tutorial on how to make these in the July 2010 issue of Art Jewelry magazine and on AJM’s website.) So it’s a combination of cuff and bead really.
You may have recognized these bracelets as the work of Helen Breil, an amazing artist with an intensely creative yet practical approach to jewelry art. She is the author of one of the most unique how-to books for polymer, Shapes. Her sophisticated bracelets popped directly to mind when I started thinking about what we have to consider when constructing bracelets.
Bettina Welker was the other that came to mind. I introduced you to one of her more ingenious bracelet constructions in February. Bettina has quite a number of interesting and problem solving ways to build, hinge and close a bracelet in her book Polymer Clay Bracelets. If you have an interest in pushing beyond the usual with bracelets, you’ll really want to get your hands on this book.
By the way, both Helen and Bettina’s books were reviewed in our Spring issue of The Polymer Arts magazine with sample pages and titillating previews of some of the ideas inside. Get your copy at www.thepolymerarts.com.
The Challenge of Changing Earrings
April 16, 2013
Inspirational Art
Alright, more construction chatter. I thought I’d go for the hardest form to talk about … earrings. Mind you the construction of earrings themselves are not usually challenging but that’s the point. What else can you do with them but create a bead of some kind and attach an ear wire or a post? Finding something different to share … THAT turned out to be quite a challenge.
So let’s think about this. What about the earring form is different from all other adornment? Well, two things come to mind … for one, they are usually made in pairs and secondly, they are the only standard type of body adornment that doesn’t go ‘around’ a body part. We have two ears so we think we need two earrings because of the symmetry inherent in the pair of ears that they will adorn. So that is the first area we can push … the symmetry. I’ve seen quite a bit of this kind of thing–a pair of earrings that are related in form and color but are not alike. Have you ever tried that?
That is not so much about construction as about the type of design you choose. The second unique characteristic is the fact that earrings hang off the ear in some manner, so they have the potential for movement as well as being seen from nearly all sides. Can we push the construction to exploit these characteristics? (Because it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t ask you to consider pushing an idea!)
With earrings you have all this open space below an ear to work with and when the wearer moves, the earring can move through all this space. So why not exploit the possibility of movement? This might require a few more connections, maybe a row of beads or multiple dangles. There will need to be some consideration of how they will hang from the post or ear wire if there are multiple parts. But this could be fun.
So this is what I found for you. Talk about movement! Here we have the polymer not only able to swing in the space below the ear but this eclectic jewelry artist, Sunitha Lal, makes more space within the polymer, space from which additional pieces can swing and move as well provide areas of attachment to hang additional beads.
The chandelier style of earring here is not that unique, certainly not in metal work. But in polymer, creating space as part of the design is not utilized quite as often. I imagine much of that has to do with consideration for strength but also it may simply be out of habit, some kind of standard that we’ve established whereby we expect to make solid pieces to dangle from our ears.
If you have any unusual earring constructions, I’d love to see them. Perhaps we can share a few at the end of the week. Just write me directly at sbray@thepolymerarts.com.
And if you want to expand your repertoire of ear wires and findings, don’t miss our next issue in which we have a whole article on that very subject. Subscribe or renew at www.thepolymerarts.com to ensure you don’t miss out!
Engineering Art–A Necklace of Change
April 15, 2013
Inspirational Art
One of the more challenging aspects of jewelry art can be the engineering. Even if you are making a simple pendant, there is at least a moment or two where you should stop and consider how it is going to hang, what kind of bail or attachment it will have and how long the chain or cord should be. That is the engineering of its function as adornment. When getting into more complex necklace designs you might have to consider points at which it needs to ‘hinge’, the balance so the center stays at center, how the parts or beads will fit together, how it will sit around the neck or on the shoulders, etc., etc., etc.
There are some standard necklace designs you can always stick with, like a straight-forward string of beads or a large focal piece strung with a symmetrical arrangement of companion beads on either side. Keeping the engineering simple is often the best route. But have you tried challenging yourself with unconventional designs? Asymmetrical arrangements, unconventional hanging points and/or bails, pieces that must fit precisely together, etc.? How about a piece that can change at the whim of the wearer? Now that is a challenge.
And it’s a challenge that Cristina Almeida took up several years ago with the construction of this piece, the Infinity Necklace.
Click on the image to open a larger window so you can better see the different ways the necklace can be worn.
In Cristina’s words, ” The Infinity Necklace is all about construction … you can actually change the whole construction of it, add and reduce components, make it shorter or longer and it all connects with body piercing [jewelry]. The whole piece is made using polymer clay … Kato clay for the rigid parts, Sculpey Bake&Bend clay for the flexible parts.” Besides the unique ways the necklace can be hung, it has some very intriguing beads within those intriguing bands. Beautiful and ingenious.
This really does take engineering a necklace to a whole other level. But a necklace isn’t the only thing that takes a little engineering. I thought I might spend a little time this week on that idea. I had quite a lot of fun last week with the Swirls and Curls themed posts and thought I’d try a theme again. What do you all think about posting according to themes for the week or at least part of the week? I thought I’d try it for the next few weeks and see what comes of it. Let me know if you’re enjoying them!
By the way, did you know … subscriptions and purchases of The Polymer Arts magazine are what make this blog possible? As you might have noticed, it is not plastered with ads. We may have to expand the advertising a to help with increasing costs but I’d like to keep it to a minimum, so if you enjoy this blog and aren’t already a subscriber, do consider supporting it with a subscription or issue purchases. And you’ll get even more in-depth and inspiring information in The Polymer Arts magazine. Its a win-win-win for us all!
Circles and Dots and Things that Go Round
April 13, 2013
Inspirational Art
I know I bombarded you with swirls and curls this week but while we are on the subject, I thought we could look at another element that also really draws our attention. The circle.
Circles are a prominent element in all kinds of artwork because they are one of the most powerful basic shapes we know. It is the shape of some of the most important elements in our world such as the sun, the earth, the moon, eyes, and human faces. Circles are a signal to focus in on a particular spot; we don’t usually put a square or triangle around something we want to make note of … we draw a circle. It’s also a very pleasing shape … balanced, continuous, and soft. So if you use it in artwork, a circle, more so than probably any other element you have in a piece, will draw the eye.
So what if you use a lot of circles? And dots which are designators like pins on a map? Well, I think you can get a lot of attention. Just look at these pieces by Beatriz Rubio. Circles and dots and spots … you can’t help but check them out, can you?
So what have we learned this week, kids? Things that go round can certainly draw our attention. That’s enough for now. It’s the weekend. Time to go out and play!
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.
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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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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.
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…
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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.
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…
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This glass vase by Robert Coby is broken up into a rough but simple composition of thirds.
Composition is really an intriguing design aspect. It is how everything comes together because it is the structure of it. It’s the bones upon which all your elements and principles are placed. It’s a functional concept and an all-encompassing one.
The structure of our compositions use a number of anchoring concepts, all rooted in design principles. We could learn the principles first but since they are less concrete than the elements you have been learning, I think an overview of the possible compositional structures will allow you to immediately see how the principles of design we’ll get into later can play out in a composition. But in order to talk composition I need to at least touch upon a few of the principles.
Last week, I started your compositional knowledge with a brief discussion of focal points. As we dig into new compositional concepts this week, remember that focal points will be either an element we are strongly drawn to, will have tremendous contrast, will be a place where elements converge, a place where an element is isolated, or will simply strike us as unusual. In other words, they stand out more than anything else when taking in the whole piece.
So, that was a first introduction to that principle. Here are a couple more.
Hierarchy
In your piece there will be elements that stand out more than others and ones that are barely noticed. The one that stands out the most, as you are sure to surmise, should be your focal point or points but after those, all the other pieces will likely be vying for attention in a visual hierarchy. That order creates a perceived perception of each element’s importance.
Rebecca Thickbroom’s necklace elements almost always take up separate spaces with little or no overlapping. It makes them feel presented, like they are part of a story. She is also fond of including negative space beween parts in her designs which, with jewelry, make the body or clothes of the wearer part of the overall landscape of the piece. There is also a definite hierarchy of elements. Where does your eye goes first? Where does it go after that? And after that? Do you see how this hierarchy moves your view around the piece so it feels full and cohesive?
You can determine what elements are more important than others by giving them more space, making them bigger, having them high contrast, setting them where line or shapes converge, giving them a lot of energy through color, marks, lines, etc.
Hierarchy, knowing which items are most important, is needed for most standard compositional arrangements as their placement can be successfully arranged based on them.
Space
When we talk about space, we talk about positive and negative space. Positive space is usually the action, the focal point, or an area of primary interest. The negative space is usually a background or an area where the viewer can rest from analyzing the more active areas. It’s also all the empty space around sculptural object.
Yes, these principles can get kind of complex that’s why I’m going to take these things one at a time after you get this overview.
Easy Peasy Composition- The Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds provides an easy but very pleasing way to lay out your elements. It is also pretty dynamic while easily remaining balanced. Let me explain.
Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid laid over the primary view of your work, like it is in the opening image of this post. If you look at your work in terms of this 9 box grid, you end up with several choice positions for focal points and breaking up the space.
For instance, the points near where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect are great places to set a focal point as well as secondary focal points.
The grid can also be used to break up the space. If you want two background textures, instead of just splitting the “canvas” of your piece in half, you can put the stronger texture on just one third, covering 3 squares of your grid. The second texture would have more space but if not as visual strong as the other, that extra space would balance against the visual draw of the stronger texture. Again, that gives you balance.
Classic Composition – The Golden Ratio
Like the Rule of Thirds, the Golden Ratio is a kind of grid but this time, it is based on the ratio of the body and other natural occurrences—it’s a matter of proportions.
A Golden Ratio grid for composition is made up of Fibonacci squares which are a visual representation of a mathematical sequence of the same name. If you skip the math, you can just create the grid starting with any sized square then start adding squares that are as wide as the widest side of the shape you have at that step. The first time, it’s just the same size square but after that, it keeps doubling in width.
The Fibonacci sequence and this Golden Ratio are the basis of the natural world’s primary compositional method. The most often referenced example is the nautilus shell. The interior pattern is a Golden Spiral. Its shape will curve from corner to corner in every square in the GR grid. That’s because the widening of its spiral is based on the Fibonacci sequence. Cool, right?
My Ice plant brooch fits nicely in a Golden Ratio grid. I didn’t do this consciously but having studied the Golden Ratio quite a bit, it is very intuitive for me. It won’t take long for it to be intuitive for you either once you’ve worked with it a bit and start to recognize and feel the graceful balance of its compositions.
You can find these proportions (approximately 1.68 to 1) everywhere—in the proportion of your limbs (your upper arm to the rest of your arm, your whole arm to your body, etc.), the arrangement of flower petals, the way tree branches grow and split, even in the double helix of DNA. In other words, it’s everywhere and so we find order and comfort in it, even if we don’t recognize it consciously.
In art, focal points that land on that first tiny square turns out to be one of the most pleasing compositions to the eye. The grid can be oriented in any direction, flipped upside down or whatever. If the focal point lands there, you are pretty, well, golden!
Keep in mind that these compositional grids and standards I’m introducing are not used precisely. They are loose guides.
So, now you have two orderly, well balanced compositional arrangements you can use as go-to ideas for composition. These work best on groupings of elements like you might have on a brooch or pendant, single contained elements that will be part of something larger like the focal bead/element of a necklace, the primary view of decorative objects, and, of course, for wall art. They are also fantastic compositional arrangements for those photos you need of your art!
Try these out next time you are laying out a design, sketching, or snapping pics of your pieces. Scroll down for apps and gadgets to help you find these compositions in your designs.
Changing the Composition of Our World
I was so going to just let this post slide without any commentary on the news here in the US but I just want to add whatever unifying voice I can out there but I ended up writing a whole article about it! Since this is so not about art, I am not posting this here, but if you are at all interested in our understanding each other, perhaps my words here can be a helpful start or an additional push. Go to my Facebook page here.
In other news, I do have Grayscale Value Finders back in stock for those of you who missed out on them last time. If you pop over to the Design Tool Supplies page, you might find another gadget, a compositional tool/ViewCatcher, available if it hasn’t sold out to the Art Boxer Club members yet.
Keep in mind that Art Boxer Members get a much more in depth article, exercises, and other articles on living an artistic life in the weekly mini-mag so if you like these posts, support this blog and your artistic endeavors by joining up here.
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Corvid sculpture from the rich imagination of Ellen Jewett. I don’t know where she draws her creative energy from, but I’d take a sip or two if she bottled it!
Do you ever get artists block? I’m not talking about times of procrastination or being afraid to start something but literally not been able think of anything to do. Does your brain ever just feel empty?
Well, this weekend, mine was, which was weird. I’m not usually at a loss for words, especially when it comes to blogging or writing articles. I usually feel like I can write about art and design nonstop and never run out of ideas. But, this weekend, I hit a bit of a wall.
What is that all about? Honestly, I think it’s about burnout and not just from my usual mad pace. I think many of us are running into burnout this year.
Burnout and blocks are often related in their causes. We all have an infinite number of ideas inside our heads all growing from our countless experiences, ever-growing knowledge, and ever present desires. So, I believe that it’s not that we don’t have ideas sometimes but rather that we are missing the keys to access them.
Without Resources
Although so many of us supposedly have all this extra time and flexibility this wacky year, we don’t always have the energy needed to navigate the constant changes, the stress, the worry, and, probably more than anything, the uncertainty while still juggling our family, jobs, and creative aspirations. Some days it’s just too much. Our well of energy goes dry.
I’m hearing this from a lot of artists. Some are wondering if they are burned out on their medium or their studio space or their creative time in general. Others are lacking motivation because there aren’t shows and fairs to give them those all-important deadlines. Still others, having lost major avenues of income with both in-person teaching and live shows on hiatus, are questioning the fragility of their chosen path.
What it comes down to is that the usual motivations that push us to create are missing. We don’t even have social engagements for which to create new pieces of jewelry for ourselves to wear or guild meetings to encourage us to complete work so we have something new to share. Many of our usual energizing motivators just simply aren’t there.
Signs of the Times
It has been noted throughout history that when there are traumatic and life-threatening circumstances within a society, such as war, famine, or major natural disasters, the people first focus on survival, initially neglecting most other pursuits. However, one of the very the first things that come back into society, once people begin to feel safe and secure, are creative pursuits. Perhaps we don’t all feel quite safe and secure yet, not feeling settled enough to bury ourselves and creative work but as the world starts to right itself, the creative urge will return. Take heart from that.
The other things very particular to this pandemic that may be making it hard to create are that we aren’t having as many novel experiences and are certainly deprived of a normal level of social stimulation. Both these things provide us with inspiration and energy to be creatively productive but they are rare commodities right now.
In other words, while the world and all the bad news is slowly but surely draining us of our day-to-day energy, our sources for renewed energy are spare to nonexistent. It’s really no wonder that so many people are feeling uninspired or burned out right now.
Filling Your Well
So, the first thing I want to say, to myself as well as you, is that it’s okay. Burnout is normal. Our creative path, and life in general, is not a smooth and even highway but more of a roller coaster. This will happen sometimes, especially in times like now.
The other thing I’d say is, rather than worry about any lack of productivity or trying to force it, do what you can to recharge your creative battery. Get out and go places and do things that you don’t normally do. Obviously, stay safe and follow all recommendations in your area, but go take a hike in a nearby forest or walk through an unfamiliar part of town or go photo hunting (a kind of self-structured scavenger hunt but you are gathering photos rather than things). Just come up with things that you can do safely but that are brand-new and interesting to you.
Getting out and doing new things will create new pathways in your brain which will, in turn, energize it and keep your mind fit and flexible. As you get older, new and novel experiences become more and more important so never lose your adventurous spirit. Those same mechanisms that help keep your brain young also keep your creativity flowing, as shown by a number of recent studies. In fact, at least one study suggests that creative thinking is boosted most after weird or even traumatic experiences. If that’s true, we should all be insanely creative when this period in world history is over! There’s another reason to take heart I suppose.
Besides novel experiences, also be sure you are getting some kind of social time in. Sure, it might have to be a zoom call but, if it can be done safely, a socially distanced backyard or front yard gathering (while we still have some weather we can sit outside in) with a handful of creative friends or family can do so much to boost your spirits and energy level.
I myself am going to heed my own advice. Next weekend we are going to take out the camper van conversion I’ve been working on and do a little van camping. That’s the other thing. Sometimes burnout or creative blocks just simply need space and time. We can try to barrel through it – and I often do just that – but sometimes we really just need to kick back and relax and let the mind “marinate” on life and our present experiences. Combine some downtime with some new experiences and, if you can swing it, some socially distanced social time, and you are sure to come back with renewed energy and inspiration.
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Fanni Sandor creates exquisitely small and biologically accurate creatures in polymer clay and mixed mediums. Her choice to go small is born of a fascination with minature art and we, likewise, are fascinated by the tiny masterpieces. See more on her Instagram page.
What size art do you work in? Have you even ever thought about that? Do you work small, big, or a nice moderate middle size?
I think many of us have a limited size range that we feel comfortable working in and rarely, if ever, venture outside that range. There’s nothing wrong with that but it does beg the question, do you think about what the appropriate size is when you create something?
As you might be guessing, if you’ve been reading my blog or design articles for any length of time, I’m about to point out that making the decision about the size of your work can help to fulfill your intention.
(Do you ever think, “If she says something about intention one more time…!” Well, I do hope it’s not annoying. It’s just that important!)
Size in art simply refers to how big or small something is. It is used in a variety of ways to emphasize, organize, assist in functionality, and symbolize the intention of the artist. A lot of the size choices made have to do with relativity – something can only be called small if something else is big and vice versa.
In design, this is actually a principal known as proportion and scale. Proportion is about the relative size between two or more objects or elements when they are grouped together or juxtaposed. Scale refers to how big or small something is compared to the general understanding of how a thing usually is or should be. For instance, we expect a chair to be sized for human beings to sit in and a teapot big enough to hold several cups of tea. Anything significantly larger or smaller than these expectations would be a change in scale.
Scale represents an interesting concept in that it makes note that we do have expectations about how big or small thing should be. That may sound like we have some kind of undue constraints placed upon those of us who create, but actually, scale gives us an opportunity to step outside those expectations and make a point.
As mentioned above, size can be used emphasize things. Making something bigger than expected usually draws attention, so if you created a beaded necklace with beads as big as golf balls, those are definitely beads that are bigger than normally expected.
The same concept of emphasis works with proportions. Let’s say that you only made one of those beads as big as a golf ball in the previously mentioned beaded necklace and the rest of the beads were of a more reasonable size. In that case, you would be drawing attention to the big bead as a focal point. Size allows you to direct the viewer’s eye and their impression of the work.
It may seem that bigger items will be more impressive or have a bigger impact but, honestly, very small artistic creations can be just as fascinating, sometimes more so due to the skill needed to create beauty in such a small space. I think you can see that in the opening image of this post. Small art requires the viewer to come close to it to really see the details, creating an intimacy between the viewer and the piece.
So, have you ever thought about these considerations for size when creating your work? Don’t worry if you haven’t. It’s not that uncommon for size to be determined in some arbitrary or organic manner. And I’m not saying that doing it that way is wrong, but you could be missing out on an opportunity to better express your intention if size was a conscious decision.
A Sizable Story
One of my high corset collars with stitched copper and polymer embellishments.
When I was a working artist, I often made decisions about size based on what I thought people would want. It wasn’t a particularly conscious choice, more of an aim not to make pieces too big. I was not trying to make statement jewelry, but rather something that could be comfortably worn all day, or so that was my train of thought.
I can’t say what got me to start thinking about size, but at some point, I started to ask myself why I was afraid to go big. So, I started to push myself, making big collar pieces that would sit as high as the jawline and come down to the collarbone. Some were a little crazy, some were so uncomfortable, but I still found so much joy in making all of them.
I found something freeing in pushing myself beyond what I thought my market would like. And, as it turned out, my market liked them big too. I sold every one that I put up for sale. They never came home with me after a show. So, what I discovered was that the sizes I had been working in were completely self-imposed without any supportable basis for my choices other than my own fear of not being able to make a sale.
Once I realized why I had been working in those smaller sizes, I was able to start making decisions based on what the work needed to be instead of what I thought the market might want. For example, if I was going to make an ornate piece with the intention that the wearer feel like a queen, I would probably decide that it should be big and bold, not small and delicate or demurely moderate, to better emphasize the feeling of nobility I wanted it to embody.
Georg Dinkel works large when he is trying to make a point about our reverence for technology, like with this iPhone docking station titled IReliquary.
What’s Your Size?
So why do you work in the sizes that you do?
Is it purely functionality or rooted in the idea of what people would expect the size to be?
Is it limited by the tools or forms you have on hand, or by the capability of the materials being used?
Do you let the size come about organically or unconsciously or do you make a conscious decision about size based on the impact or response you would like the viewer to have?
I truly don’t believe that there’s really a wrong way to determine the size of your work but, like any design element, you are only truly a master of it if you are aware of its possibilities and make conscious choices.
So maybe this week, think about the size of your artwork in terms of your intention. Look at pieces that you’ve made in the past and ask yourself how the look and message, if there was one, would have changed if the piece had been smaller or larger. And in the next few things that you design, ask yourself what size piece would best serve the artwork before letting your tools or expectations of scale determine it for you.
Goodies are About Gone
Support this blog and your creative endeavors … join the club!
If you didn’t see the newsletter yesterday, I shared the stock I have left for a few special items that were first offered to Art Boxer Club Members, but a couple things are sold out or nearly so already. These are limited items that I will periodically offer publicly, without the discounts or freebies club members get, when there is extra stock, so if you can’t join us in the club, keep your eye out for my newsletters and sign up here if you aren’t on that list for my next offering.
Getting first dibs as well as discounts and freebies is one of the advantages of being part of the Art Boxer clubs, along with the weekly mini-magazine pick me up you get in your email. (The Art Boxer Success club that includes coaching is also unavailable at this time as spots are full up but I do have a waiting list going – just write to me if interested.)
These limited supplies are available on this page if you are still interested.
All Quiet on this Western Front
I have little to report on the home front. I did go in in for a small surgery Thursday only to find out I’m going have to go back in six weeks or so from now to have it completed. Nothing is straightforward and simple this year, is it? So, just trying to make myself take it easy this weekend although I am just a horrible patient in that regard.
Next weekend, assuming nothing else weird happens, my better half and I are going to slip away for the weekend to test the camper van conversion we’ve been slowly working on. I do plan to put something for you together before I go so you should still be able to visit with me next Sunday.
In the meantime, all your hopes and plans, big or small, all go off as intended this week!
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Kathleen Nowak Tucci going big with not-so-precious intertubes and other disposables.
What would you say if I suggested that you create a piece and then, after you are done, remove your favorite bit? Yes, I realize the request might be physically impossible without causing complete destruction but, alternately, what if I asked you to destroy something you just spent your valuable time and effort creating?
I know you might be wondering if this is some kind of dreadful crafty torture. Why in the world would anyone ask that of you and what would be the point?
Well, this was done to me and a couple dozen other classmates back in college… twice.
The first time was in a creative writing class. We brought in a piece we had been working on all week then were asked to highlight all of our favorite lines. We passed the highlighted sheets to the person next to us and then the professor asked that we scratch out all the highlighted lines in the story we had in hand.
Of course, all us sensitive little budding Hemingways and Dickinsons sat there stunned and appalled as our pieces were read aloud without the sparkling gems that we thought would certainly reveal our genius. Strangely enough, all but one of the pieces still made sense and sometimes, the author even admitted it sounded a bit better. The point was, the professor said, that we tend to fall in love with phrases or sentences and will leave them in even when they don’t serve the piece.
The point was that without our wittiest word choices we could, in theory, make better editing decisions. In art, is it possible that we could make better design decisions if we were willing to set aside the glitzy accents we love so much or not fall back on our favorite tried-and-true textures all the time?
The second time I had a professor crush my little angsty ego was in a ceramics class after we each had done a small series of slab vessels. The professor asked us to pick up our favorite piece, bring it to the center of the room, and hold it up. We were then asked if we would be willing to drop it from a height into the trash bin that sat there. Of course, no one did it at first and he just stood there waiting until a couple brave souls let their pieces go. Then the pressure was on for the rest of us to follow. Even though I wasn’t particularly attached to the piece I had in hand, it was still so hard to drop it but I did. I seem to recall that a handful of students did refuse.
Sounds like a real jerk of a professor to ask such a thing, right? Well, I have to say that, at first, that’s what I thought but then he started to talk about preciousness. His conversation had something to do with becoming too attached to particular pieces. He wanted us to put value on our process, our growth, and learning, not on impressing him or our classmates. I think he was also looking for a way to wake us up as he had been getting frustrated with our attention span during the lecture portion of the class. Well, he sure did that.
I remember thinking about that lesson some years later, when I was better able to take it in. It made me realize that each successful piece I made was really just a step in a journey more so than an end goal unto itself. That changed the way I looked at my work. And it somehow made me braver.
I still did, and do, have favorite pieces that I cherish and will never sell, but seeing the work as steps and creation as a process rather than an investment of time in an end goal has allowed me to work a bit more freely. I have a ton of pieces that remain unfinished, and although it’s disappointing every time to come to a point where you realize it’s not going to succeed how you wanted it to, I don’t have any qualms about setting it aside. I don’t see the work as wasted because I know I’ve gained a little bit more experience and a little better understanding of the process. I’ve let go of the preciousness I used to have about everything I made.
Preciousness arises not only in our valuing our time to such an extent that we will not give up on a piece even when it’s no longer salvageable, or ignoring possible design solutions because they would eliminate our favorite part, but it also happens with the material itself.
Liz Hall creates in polymer and (a lot of) precious metal clay.
Quite a few years ago, I was itching try precious metal clay but it really wasn’t in my budget. Then I found some at a really great price and bought it. But you know what? I never even opened the packages. I just couldn’t get myself to work with this very expensive material for fear I would ruin it. But, of course, it’s rather wasted now that I’ve had it so long that is not workable. Pretty stupid, right? But we can be like that, putting value on the material and not on the process and the joy that we get from learning and creating.
Preciousness is tied into fear and failure in a lot of ways. Our idea of what we think we can do or what we think we should be able to do may be so lofty or so dear and treasured that we are afraid to try, fearing that we will make a mistake and ruin our efforts or that it will not come out as we imagine it. So, we do nothing, which is the same as ruining it, just really early on.
We may also get to a point in a piece where we love it so much that we are afraid to take the next step, a step that might spoil it, and so we set it aside, with all the best intentions to take that next step at a future time but all we’ve done is deny, or even end, the work’s potential.
I thought we’d start out this month on the concept of preciousness because it felt like a good segue into discussing October’s design theme – size.
Preciousness is one of those factors that comes into play when we decide on the size or scope of the work we will take on. Our sense of preciousness can make us hesitate to do something large or particularly complex, as we may fear that we will invest a lot of effort, time, and materials into something we are not assured will be successful.
Julie Eake’s cane mosaic portrait of actress Sophie Turner was, like most of her cane mosaic portraits, a huge undertaking. But aren’t we glad she takes those risks?
But, again, have we not already failed by not attempting it in the first place?
If we looked at everything we create as precious, all the time and effort that we put into it as well as the finished work, we would have to play it rather safe in the studio. However, art is not about playing it safe.
Art is largely about the risks you take.
If you’re not taking risks, then are you actually creating art? There’s nothing wrong in creating just for that sense of accomplishment or the high of that Zen like flow we fall into when the work is familiar and comfortable. It is more than valid to have the process of making things with your hands be the primary purpose in what you do. However, it’s the hours of exploration, the failures, the false starts, our vulnerability, the deep digging, like miners looking for gold, that makes the work that we inevitably uncover truly art.
The risks we are willing to take is the thing that is truly precious.
So, keep the concept of preciousness in your mind as we talk about size this month. Of course, we’ll talk about variation and contrast in size since that is what is primarily being referred to when speaking of it as a design element, but there are other things about size that we can take into consideration as we create, move forward, and grow as creatives.
Speaking of considerations…this week, I am going to have to take my health into consideration, so although I do plan on preparing a blog for next weekend, if it ends up being short or skipped it’s because I’m having a little surgery towards the end of the week. It’s just my esophagus and I should recover in all of two days. I have to fit in all my usual physical therapy before then though, along with all the regular weekly business tasks so it will be a full week.
Don’t worry though – all you club members will get your Midweek Mini-Mag as usual including a goodies giveaway so you can look forward to that if you signed up for one of the clubs.
If you haven’t signed up for one of the clubs yet but really appreciate the information inspiration you find in this blog, help support this project by subscribing! Get your weekly mini-mag, exclusive discounts, giveaways, and special offers along with your support. With everything you’ll get, you can also think of the club as a unique and special way to acknowledge the preciousness that is your creative self!
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Evgeniya Aleksandrova has a rough texture over everything here but varies the depth and pattern of the texture as well as the color.
Since we talked about tactile texture last week, it would seem logical that I would talk about visual texture this week.
But I’m not! I don’t want to be too predictable!
No, that’s not why. Actually, it’s that most of what needs to be said about visual texture has to do with the usual recommendation of choosing characteristics that fulfill your intention. If you read my blog, even sporadically, you’ve heard this before.
As long as you understand that visual texture is a purely visual variation on or within a surface (such as marbling, mokume, ikat, or any application of an ink, powder, dye or paint medium), then, as described in the post from the week before last, you can choose visual textures simply by coming up with adjectives to describe your intention and do likewise with possible visual textures and match them up based on similar adjectives. That is the core of the approach for working with visual textures.
So, that being established, I’d like to, instead, talk about another thing you’re also familiar with if you have been reading the blog for the past couple months but which we have yet to specifically associate with texture.
Creating a Relationship
Last month I talked about choosing color palettes in terms of contrast and similarities. But guess what? Combining different types of textures also plays by the same basic rules of contrasts and similarities.
I love how Joy Kruze echoes the spots in the stone with the spots of metal in the texture created in the spaces between the metal lines of her unusual bezel
Most work you create or look at probably has more than one texture. It could be a combination of smooth and rough textures or a variety of different rough textures or variations of smooth ones. You may often combine tactile texture and visual texture, as well. What these combinations all achieve is variation. Variation in texture is pretty instinctual for most creatives, as is a desire for variation in color.
The variation between textures can be heavily contrasted but, like color, it helps to have at least one similar characteristic so there is some relationship between them. With texture, you can actually use other design elements to create that relationship such as using the same or related color or a similar shape for the texture’ s space. Once you have that similarity, everything else can be contrasted.
But what about using similarities between the characteristics of the textures? For instance, you could create only rough textures but vary how that roughness is created. Or all your textures could be stippled holes but you vary the shape or size of those holes.
Just as you need similarities, you’re probably going to want variation, too, not only to create contrast, but also to create shapes, layers, and compositional direction (which we will get to later this year).
The Need for Variation
Variation, as always, adds some level of interest, energy, and complexity to your work and you can adjust how much you add of these by adjusting the variation between textures (or any design elements) – from subtle to bold or somewhere in between.
Let’s say you want to make a piece with a strong graphic look. You’ve already chosen hard edged graphic shapes and bold colors. What about the texture? You might choose a slick, glossy surface as a primary texture. Now, what other textures can be used to vary the surface but have it still related to a glossy one?
Hélène Jeanclaude creates glossy surfaces on all parts of this necklace but between mica shift and mokume, and the contrast of colors, she creates variation and lots of energy.
If you want to go subtle, you could stick with variations on smooth textures such as a matte or satin finish. Alternately, you can choose to rough up the surface but in a very orderly way similar to the orderliness of your graphic shapes. This can be done with a series of dense, parallel lines, or a dense but orderly mark.
As long as the marking of the surface is the only thing that changes, then all raised portions of the comparatively rougher texture will be glossy. That will give you your similar characteristic – the gloss of the smooth surface and the occasional gloss of the rough surface.
This is not to say that you can’t have textures that are completely and utterly different. The extreme contrast could be, in and of itself, a relationship. That difference will cause tension or discordance, but that could be exactly what you want.
Here are just some of the characteristics in texture that could create similarity or contrast:
- Tactile or visual
- Smooth or rough
- The quality of the finished surface (glossy, satin, matte, or chalky)
- Type of mark, technique, or tool used to create the tactile or visual texture
- Organic versus graphic styles
- Size (how much space each texture takes up)
- Direction (if the texture visually flows or moves from one part of the piece to the other)
- Shape of the space it is applied to
A visual texture shows variation in density and repetition of the dots that make up this surface. Melanie Ferguson actaully etched the surface and then polished it with cold was so she has smooth tactile but rough visual texture on her surfaces.
As you can see, other design elements can become quite intertwined with texture. Marks, lines, size, direction, and shape all can play a role in the similarity or contrast of areas of texture in your piece. It really doesn’t take much for us to see a relationship between textures. If it’s there, we’ll see or sense it and the design will feel more cohesive for it being there.
Since that texture relationship can be, and often is, developed through other design elements we work with, this is not always something you need to be wholly conscious of. But, if something in your work is not looking right, check for the relationship between your textures as well as your colors and other elements.
And, if next time you are looking at your work and feel like it needs some contrast in its tactile or visual texture, just look at the dominant texture that you have and, using it as a starting point, choose possible other textures or design options that will create at least one similar characteristic, still provide contrast at the level that makes sense for you piece, and has characteristics that recall the theme of your work.
Last Days for Club Discounted Forever Pricing
3 days left to join the Devotee or Success clubs at the FOREVER discount price so you can get first dibs on limited stock offers, discounts, and goodie box giveaways, all while getting a mid-week mini-mag of brief articles to keep your creative energy and ideas going. And right now you can also get in on it with a 2 week free trial! .
So, if you enjoy my blog, support this while boosting your own creative endeavors by joining us in the Devotee Club or Success Club 0r buy yourself a good book or an inspiring magazine to curl up with. Just visit the website by clicking here.
Visual Contrast … Out of Doors!
Packing up to take the camper van conversion for a test drive up the coast, just one night. That’s been my little side project that I’ve been getting myself lost in for an hour or so most days. It’s not completely done but good enough for one night out for my better half and me. I need some contrast between life inside this lovely home of ours and the outside and distant world! So, I am off. I hope you all are looking for new and novel things to add a bit of excitment and contrast in your lives as well!
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Melanie West’s satiny smooth finish has a heavanly tactile texture even though many people might think of her pieces as being textured because they’re so smooth. Yet smooth is actually one of world’s most loved textures.
How often do you touch art?
No, I don’t mean being the unruly museum visitor who gets yelled at by the docent, but in your everyday life, how many things do you touch that you would also consider art?
Works in the applied arts, which encompass decorative art, adornment, and functional objects, are often things that we touch. Because of this, the tactile texture of most applied art is exceedingly important. Not only can the wrong texture put someone off from buying a piece, but the right texture can make a huge difference between people liking your work due to its visual appeal and being utterly in love with it because it feels so good to touch. It is also another means by which you can express your intention.
Choosing Tactile
The first time I touched a Melanie West polymer bead, it was like taking a bite of the most heavenly chocolate mousse. Her finishes are flawless and so soft; my fingers just couldn’t get enough. That kind of tactile reaction is golden. It also supports her soft and organic themes. As wonderful as her finishes are, that kind of texture may not be wanted in your work or may not even be possible due to techniques or materials you are using.
The point is that her textures are part of the experience of her work and, if you’re creating things that will be handled, you too should consider the experience of touching your piece as part of its aesthetic value. As always, let your intention drive your decisions, but pay attention to the physical sensation experienced when handling the work and aim to have it support your intention, alongside all your other design decisions.
For instance, if you want to share your love of the beach through your work, think about the physical sensations that stand out the most – the soft breeze on your face, the refreshingly cold water on your feet, and your toes digging into cool sand. Now, how do you translate those physical sensations into tactile texture that will help you share that experience to those who will handle your work?
You can do so by thinking in terms of those adjectives – soft, refreshing, and cool. You probably want those to be the dominant sensations so don’t go for, say, a sandy texture just because the beach has sand. Is a gritty, sandy texture going to convey soft, refreshing, and cool? Chances are, it’s just going to remind someone of getting sand in their shoes and other uncomfortable places. You can create a visually sandy texture that includes sandy colors and a speckled look, but in terms of tactile sensations, going for a soft, maybe matte surface that will feel cool and soothing to the touch will share something closer to the sensations you want to relay.
Felt may have textural limitations but the final texture is still a choice. Olga Demyanova contrast a tight, even texture with the rippling and rougher orange edging and accents in this intriquing handbag.
There are a lot of materials that have limits on the tactile textures available. Polymer clay can replicate most tactile surfaces except for fuzzy, but felted work is limited to that dense and slightly rough feel of matted wool while glass will almost always have a smooth aspect. There are also techniques that create their own texture or limit how you can further manipulate the material to create texture. Learn the range of tactile sensations available in the materials and techniques you use so you know what options you have.
Work that Begs to Be Touched
There are a couple things you can focus on in order to create work that people will love to touch. It primarily involves smoothness and variation.
Smooth Surfaces
Our sense of touch enjoys traveling along a pleasantly smooth substance such as polished metal or stone. But what we like most is softness, such as a fluffy blanket or bunny fur. Softness is a type of smoothness as it allows our skin to glide across, unimpeded.
Note that you can re-create the look of fluffy and furry textures in hard substances such as clay or wood but you can’t re-create the same associated softness because, in those materials, you lose the ability for our fingertips to effortlessly glide across it in the same way due to the unevenness in a hard surface. So, recreating the look of fur doesn’t necessarily re-create the tactile experience. The ‘look’ of fur is just a visual experience.
So, be careful to think of smooth tactile texture, not in the way it looks, but the way it feels.
Klavdija Kurent gives the wearer of her jewelry much to explore with their fingertips.
Variation
Our fingertips were made for receiving information, and lots of it, so they do very much enjoy a variation in texture. However, we don’t normally enjoy variation that is sharp, prickly, scratchy, or sticky. These textures make it hard for our fingers to glide along and take it in, not to mention that they are also often painful.
However, bumps, grooves, and fine lines excite the nerve endings. It’s just like the sense of taste – we aren’t too happy with things that are bland but a lot of flavors that go well together thrills our tongue. Our fingers, likewise, enjoy complexity.
The Best of Both – Smooth and Varied
I think you’ll find that pieces with both a smooth and varied surface attain the pinnacle of touchableness.
Take a look at the pearled bracelet here. It is not even in your presence and you probably still feel a tiny urge to reach out and touch it. That’s because each half pearl has a small, smooth surface which is further aided by the round and unimpeded nature of its shape as well as there being a varied field of them.
The combination of smoothness and variation in this bracelet makes for an engaging texture, adding energy to the piece both in its tactile and visual nature. Note that this also has a bit of rough texture around the edges to provides textural contrast. Because contrast is important in texture too!
The contrast of texture fit well into my intention of showing the classic perfection and allure of pearls in an organic setting. I wanted it to be a subtle reminder of the messy world pearls actually come from even though we now associate them with neat, tidy, and conservative dress.
The Tactile Balancing Act
The textures you choose will dictate limitations in terms of surface treatments and other parts of your design, so you have to balance out your tactile texture choices with your other design choices. For instance, if you create a deep and dense texture on a light color, it’s going to appear darker, which you might not want. Or you may want a very smooth surface but want pattern to raise the energy so you would have to figure out how to incorporate pattern visually with inks, veneers, or other smooth surface applications.It just needs to make sense for your intention and the limitations of material.
If your tactile texture decisions, weighed in light of all the other decisions you have to make about color, shape line, function, etc., are chosen in service of your intention, you are sure to have a beautiful, cohesive, and interestingly touchable design.
Should I Call Them Mini-Mags?
The first week of the Art Boxer Clubs has commenced and one of the first comments about the weekly Pick-Me-Up is that it ought to be described as a mini-mag. I guess it is. It’s hard to take the magazine attitude out of me. There were 5 little articles and a good handful of links for further exploring. So, yeah, maybe it is a mini-mag. I might have to rethink what I call it.
But regardless of what it’s called, joining the club will get you a little extra boost each week and at least once a month, you’ll get a special discount, a first dibs or limited stock offer, and/or a giveaway. And right now you can get in on it with a 2 week free trial and a FOREVER discounted rate.
So, if you enjoy my blog, support this while boosting your own creative endeavors by joining us in the Devotee Club or Success Club (there are only a few spots left in this upgrade to personal coaching option, at least as of my writing this), or buy yourself a good book or an inspiring magazine to curl up with. Just visit the website by clicking here.
No Fires Here
We are still a safe distance from all the fires and the sky has started to clear up from the smoke so nothing too exciting to report from Tenth Muse central. I’ve already gotten started on the next project but I don’t want to say too much about it. It seems like every time I say something, I get jinxed and delayed. So, you’ll just have to stop by and check in with me on the weekends, or read the newsletters, or, if you want to be the first to know, join one of the new Club options as Art Boxers will be the first to know (as well as getting extra discounts … just sayin’.)
I hope you all have a relatively unexciting week yourselves. It’s not like we need much more excitement with the craziness of the world providing plenty already. Just go make beautiful things and be kind and caring to each other.
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