Crafting with Light: Hollow Faux Glass Beads

Kathrin Neumaier of Germany has been focused on translucents for well over a year now using layered translucent clay and liquid polymer to create a glass effect. Her work has a natural feel to them, like they might be something you would find washed up on the beach. But the simple elegance of the forms also makes me think they could be something you’d pull out of long forgotten collection of odds and ends in an old relative’s attic. Regardless, they are intriguing, not only because as polymer artsits we know this effect is not easy to achieve but because the forms rely on light to create interest.

The translucent hollow forms bounces light around and through the forms giving pieces like these simple earrings an enticing liveliness. This is the kind of thing we emphasized in The Polymer Arts’ Spring 2012 article “Design Beyond Form” where we talked about using light in the composition of your piece. Using glass (or faux glass), reflective surfaces, and shimmering texture can add that extra dimension that allows your piece to play with the light in the room–an element that changes based on the viewer’s position or, in terms of jewelry and adornment, the wearer’s movement. How cool is that?