New Materials for a New Year (and VAB subscriptions are open!)
Would you say that you are primarily a polymer artist or do you work with another type of material either separate from or with polymer clay? This is a question I asked in a survey I sent out late last year. I found it interesting, although not overly surprising, that 75% of the survey respondents said they worked with another material. That would seem to indicate that the majority of us are technically mixed-media artists even if we identify as polymer artists. Not that the labeling should matter but sometimes it does. I’ve had chats with a number of artists who have felt guilty when they wander off to work with another material, as if they’re cheating on polymer clay. Of course, that’s quite silly. We are creative’s first and should be open to whatever material works for us in the moment., Besides, polymer plays so well with others that you’re unlikely to abandon your stockpile of clay. Working in another material just grows your creative circle.
Trying out a new material is also a fantastic and energizing challenge you can pose for yourself this new year. I know it can be hard to step away from something you know so well and become a newbie once again but the excitement and the humbling aspects of having to learn something new can provide a fresh injection of ideas and creative motivation that is hard to achieve any other way. When first working with a new material, it’s best to let yourself fall into a childlike state full of curiosity and a hunger to explore. And, generally, it is not that hard to do because, acknowledging you have no experience in the material, you shouldn’t have particularly high expectations of yourself. It can be wonderfully freeing.
If you are tentative to step outside the polymer focused arena but are curious about what adding another material can do for your polymer creations, look to materials that quite readily combine with polymer clay. Yeah, I know, that’s pretty much everything but let’s look at a few that plenty of mixed-media artists who work with polymer already play with.
Making New Material Friends
Some of the easiest materials to explore for a polymer focused creative are other sculpting materials. Epoxy clay, paper pulp, and air-dry clays are obvious materials to pick up. You already have most of the tools and a good base of skills to work with them. But if you want to challenge yourself a bit more, precious metal clay is tremendously exciting and can increase the actual and perceived value of your work if you sell your art. (Yes, it’s sad that people don’t always value polymer because is not a “precious” material, but that’s a discussion for another day.)
These days, precious metal clay comes in every common metal type – silver, gold, copper, brass, bronze, steel, and even iron. This means it’s doesn’t have to be nearly as expensive an investment as it used to be. Yes, ideally, you’d have a jewelry kiln (or a friend that does!) but there are also some metal clays (primarily silver, low fire varieties) that can be cured with a small, inexpensive blowtorch. And who doesn’t like to play with fire?
Dawn Stubitsch is one of the first people I think of when it comes to combining polymer and precious metal clays. She has worked with a range of metal clays although she seems to prefer copper. She creates stunning pendants that that look like the 70s got design lessons from the Art Deco era, blending some of the best attributes of both eras.
Dawn also wrote a tutorial on creating with precious metal clay and combining it with polymer in The Polymer Arts Spring 2016 issue – Convergence. Her article is one of the best overviews of the process that I’ve seen. It will give you a great idea if this is something you want to do dive into.
Working with metal is popular for many polymer art artists, although many of them go for more traditional metalsmithing processes. This is also an area where you probably have many of the tools you would already need if you’re already working in jewelry. Adding a jeweler’s hand saw and a small blowtorch (still get play with fire!) will allow you to investigate quite a range of metalsmithing techniques.
Consider the construction possibilities of metal by looking around at artists such as Celine Charuau. She combines metal and polymer so that neither material stands out, so entranced are we with the forms and her unusual juxtaposition of them.
Celine is actually working on a new workshop focusing on “metal and polymer clay and how to connect these different elements together. No need to know how to solder, no need for specific or expensive tools and materials.” That would be the perfect opportunity to try something new. Not sure when and where that workshop will be held yet. I expect she will give notice about her workshop on Instagram and Facebook.
For very inexpensive and quick to learn alternative materials, how about beads or macramé? Or maybe both beads and macramé? Here’s an example where polymer may be the focal element but most of the energy comes from the bead and macramé design. Yulia of Multi-craft Studio on Livemaster is, a Russian currently living in India. She works in a variety of materials with a definite penchant for fiber but is well skilled in polymer as well.
Micro macramé is another technique tutorial, written by Iris Mishly, that you can find in that same Convergence issue of The Polymer Arts, if you want to try that technique out right away. Honestly, if you’re looking to try a new material to combine with polymer, pull the Spring 2016 issue out of your collection or purchase it on the website. That same issue also explores cast paper, found objects, epoxy clay and a few other intriguing mixed media ideas.
Here’s another material and art form you may not have considered mixing with polymer – embroidery! I love how easy it is to get into a flow doing embroidery, but I had never considered adding polymer to it. However, as you can see by the piece this post opened up with and the work-in-progress below, it’s a wonderful combination. Justyna Wołodkiewicz is a Polish artist who likes to say that she “stitches with clay,” which is a great summation for what she does as both materials are equally important in her compositions.
I know I only really touched on metal and fiber options here but my objective is not to give you full sampling of what is possible – because that would be impossible with polymer being as mixed-media friendly as it is – but to get you to start thinking about other materials you may not be working with at this point but have been curious about. It doesn’t even have to be about combining with polymer. Just trying a new material can inject new life into your polymer work even if the two don’t go together for you.
Take a look at these gorgeous eggs that our Chris Kapono has been hand painting while still well entrenched in working with polymer. She’s not combining her eggs with polymer, but they do both influence each other. If you’re familiar with her polymer art, you can see how her polymer designs are reflected in her egg painting. Then take a look at her Etsy shop and see how often egg shapes pops up in her polymer work. These two different materials look to be informing each other quite a bit.
Whether you go out and explore a new material or not, I do highly encourage you to just try something new. Novel experiences not only help your creativity but it keeps your brain young. Being creative in general will do that but if you do the same thing over and over again it definitely diminishes its benefits. Yes, it can take courage and a lot of hard work to develop your own distinctive voice but I don’t think there is a better high than getting those ideas and feelings you have inside of you out into the world in the form of your own unique art.
Explore Your Voice with the Virtual Art Box
Exploring and developing a unique personal voice is a big part of what I will be trying to help you with through the new Virtual Art Box project which, by the way, is now available for sign-ups on the website. If you sign up for an auto renewing subscription, you can get yourself a forever loyalty discount that will get you the Art box at the lowest possible price for as long as you’re subscribed.
Note that the forever Loyalty discount will only be available through January 31st.
Go to the website to sign up now. With the auto renewing payment, you won’t be charged until the 1st of February and you can cancel at any time so if you are at all interested, jump over and get yourself set to receive the first virtual box. I’ll send it out on Sunday, February 2nd.
And remember, as of next month, this blog will be an abbreviated version because only members of the Virtual Art Box will be getting the full article. I’m not deserting you completely if you can’t afford to join my clan of VAB people. I’m still dedicated to sharing and exploring mixed-media design with as many people as possible but, you know, one has to make a living while, preferably, not working oneself into an early grave by trying to do too much. So, if you like these posts, for less than $10 a month you can get the full article every weekend plus other articles, downloadable tools, videos and much more by joining the Virtual Art Box project.
It’s All in The Genes
For those who have been so kindly keeping track and nudging me to take care of my health, I’ve got a little bit of news in that area.
I’m back working a fairly full schedule although my right arm is not super happy about the situation because I keep forgetting I shouldn’t be typing with it. (I’m working, right now, with a loose rubber band around my right-hand fingers which makes it just awkward enough to remind me not to type with it. But then, I have to remember to put the rubber band on in the first place!)
The really great news is that I think we finally figured out what’s going on with my metabolism. It looks like the root cause is a genetic condition whereby I don’t process fats efficiently and end up with too much fat in my bloodstream. Not breaking down fats is, strangely enough, related to high blood sugar as fat can block the mechanism that allows insulin to move glucose into cells, causing a vicious cycle of high blood glucose, high blood insulin, and a stressed pancreas, eventually resulting in type II diabetes. This can happen if you eat a lot of fat and processed foods or because you have a stupid, annoying gene like I seem to have.
So contrary to conventional wisdom, I am on a high carbohydrate diet but, mind you it’s all whole foods, mostly plants, and I still avoid all refined sugar. And, guess what? This week I’ve had 4 days in a row of normal blood glucose testing! I know, super exciting, right?! Okay, yeah, more exciting for me, I’m sure but my blood sugar readings were in the diabetic range when this month started and I was getting really scared, so this is an amazing turnaround. Thank the powers that be for my nutritionist! I get more usable information and better results from her than anything my MD has told me or prescribed. And not just for the metabolic issue. It’s true that we are what we eat so it makes sense that what we put in our body will have such a tremendous effect on our health and medical conditions. If you’ve never seen a nutritionist, and you have anything medical you’re dealing with, go find one. It could literally change your life.
Okay, off my soapbox now. I know this is not a health blog but, hey, as many of you well know, it’s really hard to make art when you aren’t feeling well so I just wanted to share what I’ve found in case it helps any of you. Let’s take care of ourselves as best we can so we can continue to add to the beauty and wonder of our world!
Okay, enough yammering from me today. Have a wonderful, healthy, and creative week!
