The Party is in Full Swing. Come join us!
May 31, 2023
Polymer community news, The Polymer Arts magazine news
What party is this? The latest project from little ol’ me, Sage. The Sage Arts podcast is more than up and running… I have 25 episodes up as of this posting, ready on your favorite podcast player (New to Podcasts? Click here to find out how easy it is to enjoy them!) and a new one coming out every week.
What’s This Podcast All About?
This podcast is all about feeding and exciting your muse. By enlightening or reminding you about important and maybe unconsidered aspects of creating and living as an artist, I hope to help you find more joy and satisfaction in what you do, sharing ways to create with authenticity and fearlessness, while supporting your uniquely defined version of success.
Now what the heck does that all mean? Well, let’s look at what this is and what this is not…
It IS…
… a way to consistently feed your muse
… all about you. Myself, my guests, and my guest co-hosts speak to the issues, curiousity, and hurdles that you as a creative deal with on a regular basis.
… focused on creating a more fulfilling, joyful, and meaningful artistic journey.
… a conversation that goes both ways with lots of opportunities for you to be heard.
It is NOT…
… all about polymer clay or any one medium, as it’s important stuff for all artistic folks.
… focused on “how-to” or the latest tools and materials.
… just interviewing successful artists and talking at you. Rather it is like a coffee house chat or other friendly gather and I include you, the listener, in every way I can.
I created this podcast to supercharge your creativity, motivation, and artistic style through novelty, story, conversation, and community. Everyone has how-tos and ways to increase your sales – valiant and necessary stuff, of course! But what does your muse need? What does your work and your love of your art need to thrive? That’s where I want to help.
I aim to give artists ways to further hone their unique voice, increase their joy and productivity, and create a version of artistic success that is meaningful, satisfying, and anything but ordinary.
Come Join the Conversation
If you have something to share, would like to be a guest (for a chatty interview), or be a guest co-host (you and I banter on a particular subject) drop me an email me via my contact page on the show website: https://thesagearts.com/contact/ or send a voice mail (use the red button on that same site, bottom right corner of any page.)
And join me on social media!
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesageartspodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheSageArtsPodcast
And don’t forget to click “FOLLOW” or that little arrow on your favorite Podcast player so you get notices of new episodes. New Episodes come out weekly on Friday evenings, barring natural disasters or other bits of interference, of course. I hope you’ll join me there, on The Sage Arts podcast!
There are new artists and creatives joining every day with tons of great things to say…
“Just what I needed!”
“I just binged-listened … and I can’t wait for more!”
“There is so much validity in your presentation…”
“Looking forward to all the thinking and creating that they prompt.”
Taste test on my RSS website: https://rss.com/podcasts/thesagearts/
Or on the podcast home website: https://thesagearts.com/
Or start with this episode:
Perfect Pairings
April 24, 2014
Inspirational Art
Although blogs aren’t traditionally considered a form of printed material, our move into the electronic publishing age has sometimes made blogs the only reliable and up to date source for many subject matters. Cynthia Tinapple has made her name as an author through her popular Polymer Clay Daily blog which has become a standard read for any serious polymer artist. Last year, she also broke rank with the typical polymer clay project book format by presenting the global side of our medium with a lot of background and insight alongside intriguing projects in her book Polymer Clay Global Perspectives.
Of course, Cynthia is an accomplished polymer artist as well. My favorite pieces of hers are the collaborations she creates with her wood sculpting husband, Blair Davis. Their polymer trimmed wooden bowls, although reserved in their design, are so eye-catching due to the care and finish of the work as well as the contrast of materials and colors. Most of her inlay is cane work but I found this extruded swirl inlay absolutely entrancing. The swirl of the clay mimics, in a stylized manner, the waves and whorls of woodgrain making the choice an excellent design pairing.
You can find out all about Cynthia, see her work, find her book and take a look at her adventures all on her website. And of course, if you aren’t already subscribed to Polymer Clay Daily, you really need to get on that!
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Prolific Polymer in Print
April 23, 2014
Inspirational Art
In our little community, we have just a few people who consistently write and publish about our medium. One of our earliest teachers through print and one of the most prolific is Barbara McGuire. She has authored or co-authored half a dozen polymer specific books and has written numerous articles along with her many other contributions to product development, teaching and archiving. Most recently she has been expanding into wonderfully detailed videos which you can get for free on her YouTube channel.
Barbara lives outside Asheville, South Carolina in a rural area where, until recently, she kept a bee colony. Unfortunately, her bees were wiped out and she is in the process of putting money together to build the colony again. That is the inspiration behind her series of bee beads, a collaboration between Barbara and with Thomas Michael Poole who made the bee wings and Klimt patterns seen in the series. Created from layers of canes, the bees on these beads look they just landed there and yet still meld into the complex flow of the colorful backgrounds.
If you want to help Barbara get back to her beekeeping as well as own a piece by one of our great pioneers, you can purchase her bee beads and necklaces in her Etsy shop. Barbara is even offering our blog readers a 30% discount off items in her Etsy store–just use the code SAVETHEBEES. You can also take a look at more of these wonderful beads and other work by Barabara on her Flicker pages. And do take a look at her many wonderful products and books she has for sale on her website as well as checking out her class schedule for upcoming opportunities to learn from this master artist.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
More Fun and Flair in the Netherlands
April 22, 2014
Inspirational Art
Since I featured Marjon yesterday, I certainly couldn’t leave her periodicals partner in crime, Saskia Veltenaar, out of this look at the art of our polymer publication people. I suspect that part of the reason they are such close friends is that they are both so much about fun and flair, both in their personalities and their creative endeavors. Last year, Saskia went quite floral with a series of colorful pieces with botanicals emerging from textured black backgrounds. Bright colors against black really make the colors stand out and Saskia and her bubbly personality never seems to be afraid to stand out!
Saskia shows off her many talents including beading, fiber and metal work on her beautifully composed website and on her Flickr pages.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
The Faces of Polymer in Print
April 21, 2014
Inspirational Art
As I prepare for EuroSynergy, my mind is especially keyed in on our Polymer in Print presentation. Obviously, I have quite the interest in this area and the outcome of the survey we did a few weeks ago was extremely enlightening. I am very excited to get to see many of the people who are key to what is available in print for polymer, both in the past and present, while in Malta. It made me realize how busy most of us are, that even though we are artists, our work doesn’t get seen much (or we don’t get into the studio much to start with being so busy with publications) so this week, let’s highlight some of our publishing mavens and their artistic talent.
My counterparts over at “From Polymer to Art” have been a bit more active in creating their own work than I probably have been the last couple years. I think of Marjon Donke, co-founder and co-editor of FPTA, as the queen of dots. I think she wore something with dots at least every other day at last year’s Synergy. This pendant of hers with a sampling of dots as surface design is rather typical of her fun work and her fun personality!
Marjon’s work can be found at a number of places on the Internet as well as in their magazine which she regularly contributes to. Primarily you can find her work on Flickr and her own website and the fun and entertaining From Polymer to Art magazine.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Easy Knitted Polymer
April 20, 2014
Technique tutorials, Tips and Tricks
This Canadian artist, Shireen Nadir, is passionate about arts and crafts and admits that she is just learning about polymer. Because she likes working in textiles, especially knitting and weaving, she decided to try a knitting technique with the polymer bangle bracelet shown here. She gives a complete tutorial on her blog “The Blue Brick” for making this bracelet, as well as tutorials on other projects.
Shireen works as a photographer, and if you would like to know more about her, check out her website. Hope you had a lovely Easter or Spring Holiday with your family and friends.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Chaos and Quilting
April 19, 2014
Inspirational Art
This necklace by Aussie artist Robyn Gordon has a quilted textile feel to the shell designs used in the pendant and beads. The beads are shaped like turret sea snail shells while the pendant is an assemblage of several shell shapes. The details on the shells have faux sewing patterns and the beads are similar to rolled fabric beads. This particular necklace is made from polymer clay and silk thread and is part of the Powerhouse Museum Collection in Sydney, Australia.
Even though Robyn’s background is primarily in drawing, painting, and mixed media work, she was drawn to polymer jewelry adornment because it provides a direct communication between maker and wearer. If you would like to know more about this artist, browse through her website or take a peek at her gallery page.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Outside Inspiration: Building from a Thread
April 18, 2014
Inspirational Art
From these fabulous bowls light, airy appearance, you might think they are made from feathers. But no … textile artist Anne Honeyman makes these bowls entirely from thread. The ones pictured here are from her Cottage Garden, Miniature, and Gold Edge bowl collections. I bet one could get a similar effect with polymer clay by using thin extruded coils and feathering the edges. You would just need a nice round bowl (or whatever shape appeals to you) to form it on.
Anne’s work is drawn from nature as well as man’s impact upon it through the ages. She specializes in free machine embroidery, but draws on a wide range of techniques to realize her ideas. Much of her work could be the basis for polymer inspirations as you can see on her website, in her Etsy and on her Folksy pages.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Texture in Animal Print
April 17, 2014
Inspirational Art
This animal print bracelet made by Slovenian artist Tina Mežek is another good example of what could be fabric inspired polymer clay. The rich, bold, earthtone color choices are typical of animal print fabrics and the textured surface gives this bangle the feel and look of a base covered in a rich woven cloth.
Tina is a designer who loves to work with mixed media, precious metals, wire, and Swarovski crystals, as well as polymer clay. If you would like to see more of her designs, visit her Flickr pages or her Facebook page. And if you would like to learn how to do this type of design, take one of her classes or workshops. She teaches for CraftArtEdu and there is a list of her workshops on her website.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Blended Ikat
April 16, 2014
Inspirational Art
As we look at polymer clay inspired by fabrics, this necklace by Eva Haskova, from the Czech Republic, looks much like woven ikat cloth. If you are not familiar with ikat, it is a dyeing technique that uses a resist dyeing process to pattern textiles. This style of tie-dye originated in Indonesia, and because of the difficulty involved in weaving ikat, some cultures believe the fabrics contain magical powers. Notice on the pendant how the texture resembles fabric that has been bound by threads during the dyeing process. The clarity of pattern in this piece is reminiscent of weft ikat weavings, giving it a contemporary yet ethnic design motif.
Eva developed her polymer skills with the help of Donna Kato, Carol Blackburn, and Leslie Blackford. She likes to work with natural materials, wire, and ceramic clay, as well as sewing and hand printing textiles. To see more of her work, visit her Flickr site or her website.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Print on Textured Weave
April 15, 2014
Inspirational Art
Boldly printed cotton fabrics were rather popular when I was growing up but the patterns were not very exciting. In art school I jumped at the chance to take a silk screen printing class and create my own. It was great fun but a ton of work. So much so that I never made anything with the fabrics I printed. I had a horrible aversion to cutting into the fabric that had taken so long to create! But now I’m trying my hand at creating and transferring patterns to polymer as well as exploring silk screen printing. Making your own screens is still pretty labor intensive but screen printing stencils are now available in various places as are kits and online instruction (just Google it!) so anyone can now explore the process before committing the time and expense to creating original screens.
Both silk screen printing and transfer images are decorative fabric techniques easily adapted for use with polymer. This pendant by Noelia Contreras, along with much of the rest of her work, looks to be highly inspired by fabrics–from graphical image transfer to screen printing to bargello, she explores the wide variety of fabric based inspirations in polymer. In this playful piece she transferred hand drawn designs based on the art of zentangles to create black patterns that are then transferred to white polymer textured with a woven fabric look.
If you are lucky enough to be in Spain or nearby European countries, look her up to see what classes she has coming up. You can find announcements on her classes as well as more of her artwork on her blog and in her shop as well as her Flickr photostream.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
