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:
Fiber Arts Inspiration–Rough Soutache
April 14, 2014
Inspirational Art
I have meet a lot of polymer artists who had, and usually still have, a love affair with fiber and fabrics. I think it must be the similar breadth of possibility in color and textures found in fiber arts that attract polymer artists to it as well. So, it’s no surprise that many polymer artists look to fiber arts as inspiration for their work. There seems to be quite a bit showing up online lately so this week we’ll focus on fiber and fabric based inspirations.
Driven by what she learned in a tutorial by Alenyà Vitûgovoj, Tanya Mayorova used her ragged edge technique to add more texture to a faux soutache process. At first glance, I was certain this piece was actually fiber art as the ragged edge gives the soutache the look of handspun thread. The choice to use a textured edge instead of the extruded polymer snakes in the tutorial was genius. The effect of the ragged edge along with the deep forest palette and the light sheen of Czech glass pearls makes for an enchanting pendant.
Tanya is quite the texture maven, inspired by a wide variety of other craft arts and their textural approach. Browse through her Live Journal pages and her Live Master shop which is just brimming with her lovely polymer creations.
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.
Build a Basic Ring
April 13, 2014
Technique tutorials, Tips and Tricks
Now that we’ve been looking at rings all week, are you not excited to try your hand at this form or expand on what you’ve done in the past with rings? There are a number of online sources including classes at Craft Art Edu or the expansive article on creating rings in the Winter 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts as well as a number of online tutorials. The article in our 2012 issue has easy instructions by Donna Greenberg on how to make a polymer band for a ring base but if you’d prefer a metal wire band, check out this straight forward tutorial by Elena Samsonova, a Russian born artist living in Connecticut in the US.
To get the first half of this tutorial showing you how to build the wire wrapped ring base, go to Elena’s Flickr page and then peruse other lovely work and ideas of hers while there. For more of her tutorials as well as more of her work, visit Elena’s website as well.
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.
A Ring’s Landscape
April 12, 2014
Inspirational Art
Here is a bit of both wild and Spring to celebrate the changing landscape up here in the northern hemisphere. Isabelle Chatelain favors sparkling color associations and uncommon mountings as you can see in this wild but fun, Spring inspired ring. There is so much life and vitality in her expressive, modern jewelry designs. Her mix of colors and textures dance and flirt through the compositions. Such fun!
Take a look-see at more of Isabelle’s work on her Flickr page (called “By IC”), read some of her thoughts on her blog, check out her boutique in A Little Market (known as “Ze-cat-is-back”), or take one of her classes through CraftArtEdu.
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: Wild Colorful Metal
April 11, 2014
Inspirational Art
Rings can truly be made from any material but rings from metal are really the standard due to their durability. Some might say the downside is that we end up with rings primarily created in the limited palette of metallic colors. Granted the accent color of stones can add some amazing hues not to mention the sparkle that draws the eye. So when I found this artist who works in coloring metal, I was entranced.
Jose Marín works in titanium, gold and stones but he uses the heat reactive characteristics of titanium to create jewel tone colors, expanding the metals inherent palette. The colors, form and decorative accents in this ring would be a rather natural approach if this was polymer. This ring leads me into some extensive research on anodized metals–there’s so much gorgeous work out there and such a rich, potential source for polymer inspirations.
Jose’s inspiration comes from the natural world: “My goal is to make jewellery that, as you look at it, can convey intangible aspects of nature: smell, joy, nostalgia, sensuality …” Don’t miss seeing his other incredible jewelry including some of the breathtaking necklaces and jeweled rings you can find on his 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.
A Ring-a-Day Designs
April 10, 2014
Inspirational Art
There is definitely something to be said for being forced to come up with a piece in a limited amount of time. You can’t spend too much time deliberating and you tend to kick your inner critique to the curb because you just don’t have time to care that much. Also, the simple rule … “Practice, practice, practice,” is one of the best adages to live by when trying to perfect a skill or even develop your own style. Challenges like “Ring-a-Day” or any ‘design on a regular schedule’ challenge will get you into constant practice as well as force you to leave that nagging and often debilitating inner critic behind.
The discipline and constant need to create something on a deadline in the “Ring-a-Day” challenges has led to some really creative designs in a variety of mediums but I think the outcome in polymer is just fascinating. Most of the people I’ve seen do the daily rings or a ring a week challenges in recent years end up going way outside the breadth of design and form commonly seen in polymer. As with most of the rings we’ve seen this week, this ring by Ponsawan Sila pushes the boundary of the space we are used to seeing rings confined in. She did a ring challenge in 2010 with a large majority being simply a compilation of more common polymer elements but if you look through what she posted on Flickr at that time, you can see where she just let go and really pushed both the idea of a ring and what polymer rings might be.
To see Ponsawan’s variety in her ring challenge go to her Flickr pages a few years back. Go take a look at her most recent work on Flickr as well. Just eat first or when you get to the food photos you’re going to get seriously distracted! She also shares her work and her thoughts on her blog and in her Etsy shop.
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.
Spanning Spinning Rings
April 9, 2014
Inspirational Art
Another design idea based on spanning the distance across the fingers along with including kinetic design in a ring can be found in one of Donna Kato’s first spinner rings. These rings have an element that will actually twirl when you spin them. In this one it’s obviously the central red bead but the striped lines and wavy edge of the larger element already gives you a sense of movement. Plus this element wraps over both fingers to either side of the finger wearing it which would stabilize the large piece as well as make it really hard to miss!
The engineering of new designs is one of Donna’s favorite aspects of jewelry making. But of course, Donna is one of those people just brimming with ideas not just for designs but for products, classes and business as well. Besides her line of Kato products, she is also the founder and one of the more prolific instructors at Craft Art Edu. Her spinner ring designs have evolved since the appearance of this one here several years ago and now you can take advantage of her experimentation and perfecting of the design in her spinner ring class. Lucky you!
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.
Rings Working in Pairs
April 8, 2014
Inspirational Art
Here is a fun and cool concept … two different rings worn together as a set. This set is by artist Lourdes López. She uses these same components in a necklace as well. Why not? There really aren’t very many components you can’t turn into a ring. With tandem rings like this, there is a changing relationship between the two pieces as the wearer moves their fingers. Even though there is a quite a difference between the patterned half circle and the wide space of graduated color on the other side, their proximity and mirrored shapes connect them and increases the simple beauty of each half far more than than if they stood alone.
Lourdes likes to play with metals, resin and other mixed media as well as polymer clay. See more of Lourdes’ work and the way she plays with her designs 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.
Wild Rings
April 7, 2014
Inspirational Art
While searching for items for this blog, I come across a lot of cool and wild pieces and just save them for later, hoping they will fit into theme. The one form that doesn’t find it’s way into themes quite as often as I gather them are rings, especially the really wild ones. So this week, let’s look at some wild rings.
When creating a ring you want to consider wearability and durability. Or wait … do you? There are a lot of artists out there that just create the form to suit a vision making for some less practical but quite wonderful pieces. The thing about rings is that these forms can be inspiration for pushing what is done with pendants, bracelets, earrings, pins and all kinds of decor items. So even if you don’t make rings, consider what you like about what you see and maybe try and incorporate those ideas into your own style and designs.
Here is actually a reverse example of that concept–taking something more commonly seen in other forms and trying it with rings. You are probably familiar with Melanie West’s flame like cane (she calls it a cephalopod eye cane–get the tutorial here) that she creates bracelets and other jewelry from. Well, Lillian de Vries tried out the cane using Melanie’s tutorial but went wild with a ring instead. It’s got a wild look but the form is actually somewhat standard for polymer rings these days. Still, the wild, organic nature of the cane contrasts well with the balanced, reserved form.
Lillian is an exploratory clayer, amassing all types of forms and techniques as she plays with and pushes what she is learning through other artists and discovering about her own style. Sometimes the work she posts is straight from a class or tutorial, some depart completely from the form or application learned while other pieces look to be completely her own vision. I find it interesting to watch the journey other artists’ take and Lillian’s is quite the wonderful wandering path as seen on her Flickr page and her blog.
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.
Folded Flower Rings
April 6, 2014
Inspirational Art
As we finish up our week of folded polymer inspirations, I thought this simple fold and repetition technique might inspire a few of you to jump into the studio to give folding a try. Izabela Nowak‘s uses her “folded up technique” to make rings, necklaces, and earrings. This technique was inspired by her love of Origami art, resulting in dynamic three-dimensional pieces. The three thin layers of polymer colors give it a bit of visual texture as well.
You can see more of her work on her Facebook page including unique beads that she made inspired by Origami Art – Kusudama – Fleurogami. If you check out her Flickr pages, you will see more examples of this Origami style along with her Techtonic and Spiral Up techniques.
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.
Looking Back At Folded Beads
April 5, 2014
Inspirational Art
As we finish up our week on folded polymer, we’re taking a look at these folded beads by Jamey Allen, one of the early pioneers in the development of polymer clay bead making. He is best known for his millefiori work and reinventing the folded bead. The folded clay adds a richness of detail and the color choices give a comfortable warmth to these beads.
If you would like to learn more about Jamey, there is a great interview with him online and take a look at his book,”5 Artists – 5 Directions in Polymer Clay.”
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.
