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:
Shininess is Catching
December 15, 2013
Ponderings
I don’t know that I need to add anything here. This is as simple as being enthusiastic about your creative endeavors or any other other myriad of wonderful things in your life. Smile and others will smile with you. Laugh and others will laugh along. Strive to do better in everything you do and you will inspire others to do the same.
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 partne
Sparkle on the Tree
December 14, 2013
Inspirational Art
One area glitter and sparkle can comfortably reside is on the holiday tree and in holiday home decor. Jainnie Jenkins was making these ornaments a couple years back but they certainly have a timeless quality about them.
These ornaments are polymer clay overlaid over glass bulb ornaments. Jainnie creates this almost antique effect by layering Pearl-ex powders on the clay. After curing, she scrubs off a lot of the Pearl-ex leaving enough powder to accent the textures and shapes. She has also created similar effects by layering on metallic paints. She found that metallic paints make her work feel a little more loose or organic. Now how often do you hear the words metallic and organic together?
Have a look at more of Jainnie’s work on her Flickr photostream 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.
Outside Inspiration: Glitter, Resin and Wireworks
December 13, 2013
Inspirational Art
Is there any material better for showing off the shimmer and shine of any surface effect than crystal clear resin? It allows for light to fall on metal foils, glitter, mica powders and and any other shiny material locked under it’s clear layers. A tasteful addition of well worked wire and crystal accents keep the glittery resin of these dainty wing earrings created by Christina Allen Page from going overboard.
If you haven’t worked with resin yet, it’s a fantastic finishing product although it takes a little practice to work out bubble-free applications and to avoid the potential mess it can create. ALWAYS wear gloves when using resin and preferably on a dedicated work surface. For one, it is a super powerful adhesive. And secondly, you can become suddenly and severely allergic to the chemical if you allow regular contact with your skin. I know this to be true because I am one of those this happened to. It is no fun, not to mention pretty darn scary and now, to work with resin, I have to don the equivalent of a haz mat suit. Quite a drag. The chemical BPA is in high concentrations in all resins before it cures–it’s what allows the hardening of the liquid. So be good to yourself and take precaution so you can continue to use it for many, many years because it is great stuff.
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.
Variations in Faux Metal
December 12, 2013
Inspirational Art
Wendy Orlowski, the new proprietor of the online polymer clay supply shop Shades of Clay, has been an innovative artist in the polymer community for some time. Her CaBezel molds have been very popular with many clayers. I have quite a few myself. They’re easy quick solutions to creating a well-fitting cabachon and bezel, but that is not what we are here to talk about today. (Although if you’ve needed to add to your wish list for potential gift givers, CaBezels and the many other unique items sold at Shades of Clay might fill out your list well! They’re great stocking stuffers!)
In the necklace pictured here, Wendy created medallions with her “straight and narrow” texture stamps. She then cuts apart the different lines of texture, applies Guilder’s paste to the surface of the textured clay, and staggers the lines of texture around a centerpiece or CaBezel form. For a little more excitement, she adds a few colored highlights. The result is faux metal with the richness of texture and depth of color one sees in real antiqued metal jewelry.
There is a video tutorial illustrating how to make this faux metal technique with polymer clay on the Shades of Clay website as well if you’d like more details on this. And, of course, you have to browse the Shades of Clay offerings for new toys and supplies while you there!
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.
Shiny Gifts
December 11, 2013
Inspirational Art
Our piece today is by Janice Aranbel and features electroforming–a fascinating process you can read about in detail in the present Winter 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts magazine.
Adding metal rather than just a faux metal look to polymer pieces usually takes some rather particular and practiced skills as well as specialized equipment. Specialized equipment is also needed for electroforming but it is otherwise easy to accomplish. Janice has been playing with electroforming for a few years now and uses it to highlight and enliven her polymer forms as in these earrings.
An electroforming station is actually on my wish list this year. After working on the article in the present issue and really understanding just what was involved and how easy it would be to get started, I’ve been dreaming up all kinds of designs to try with it.
You can find other examples of how electroforming can be applied on Janice’s 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.
Shimmer From a Past Culture
December 10, 2013
Inspirational Art
Turkey’s Nihal Erpeden brings us some seasonal shine with her Ottoman series of necklaces. Although when Ottoman is mentioned, I usually think of something to put my feet up on, there is a whole rich history and culture that came out of the Ottoman Empire that we see the influence of but may not commonly associate with the Turkish conquerors or their long standing rule–from 1299-1923, well into the 20th century. That’s not so very long ago!
The interesting thing for art that comes out of the expanded rule of a single culture is the integration of other cultures into the aesthetics of the conquering society and vice versa, of course. Decorative arts from the Ottoman Empire bear the flourish and filigree common in the Turkish culture’s history but also integrated motifs from Persian, Greek, and Byzantine art over the years they ruled in those areas. That makes for a very rich and diverse source of imagery, color and design to draw inspiration from as Nihal has done here.
Both past and present cultures, espeically those we aren’t very familiar with can be a tremendous source of ideas and imagery to integrate into your own artwork. Dayle Doroshow wrote a wonderful article in the present Winter 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts on the influences of past culture with ideas on how to draw from them to give new direction and complexity to your work.
As you know, if you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, I strongly encourage all artists to look outside their discipline for inspiration as it will keep your work and the community’s work fresh and ever expanding. The same goes for looking outside your own culture. When you’re feeling uninspired or think our work is getting stagnant, look outside of what you know, of what you are familiar with. Find something new that gets you excited. Our brains crave novel experiences and information. Feed your brain and you’ll feed your creativity.
For more of Nihal’s lovely work, take a look at her Etsy shop and blog site.
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.
Glitter and Shine
December 9, 2013
Inspirational Art
With the holidays upon us, things are shining and shimmering everywhere we go so I thought we’d have a week of looking at tastefully using our shiny, glitzier options.
It can be hard to make glitter look sophisticated. It is often tossed randomly onto an accessory to make it stand out, especially in commercial items, but it certainly can’t compensate for designs that are done poorly or are lacking in interest in any other way. The sparkle from glitter also has such a strong draw for the eye, so it can easily overpower and even ruin a good design. However, we do like our sparkle and, when used judiciously, it can be a great added element.
Katy Schmitt did a fantastic job on this little purse, keeping the focus on the color and swirl but mixing in just a bit of glitter to some, but not all, the colors to tastefully glam it up.
Most of Katy’s work leans towards simple and understated yet visually powerful pieces. You can find more of her work on her Flickr photostream and her own 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.
If It Scares You …
December 8, 2013
Ponderings
Scattered composition requires that you accept randomness, potential chaos, and even taking a chance that it will work. Sometimes these kinds of things scare us or at least make us feel that we are giving up control of the outcome, which we may find hard to do. But if you have full control of the outcome of everything–your art work, your day, your life in general–then you are not taking chances. Predictability breeds stagnancy. Do something that you’re not comfortable with this week. Something that scares you and exictes you at the same time. It can be surprising and even downright amazing what you find out, mostly about yourself.
And don’t forget … today is the last day to get in on the Cyber Week Special! $2 off each single Print Issues of The Polymer Arts magazine when you buy 2 or more. Catch up on anything you’ve missed or only have in digital. Or buy copies for gifts! You can purchase them here:
http://www.thepolymerarts.com/Single_issues.html
Code: CMUSP2 Sale ends midnight, Sunday Dec. 8th
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 Little Chaos
December 7, 2013
Inspirational Art
For our last bit of scattered art, I did want to look at the whole of a design arranged in a scattered and random looking manner. Necklaces lend themselves well to this kind of design being there is a fair amount of space in which to “scatter” the components.
Russian artist Oksana Aleksandrovna Vedernikova working under under the name silverpepper23 on Flickr, looks to have a penchant for a little chaos. This necklace is a great example of not having to engineer your pieces with symmetrical arrangements.
Chaos isn’t really the right word for most of Oksana’s work. Maybe intricate and definitely busy–but not in the overdone manner–would better describe this jewelry artist’s work. She is heavy into wire wrapping and stones as well as polymer and goes back and forth as well as mixing her materials. But regardless, it is really quite bold just how close she gets to chaos without going over the edge.
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: Scatter as Contrast
December 6, 2013
Inspirational Art
Scattered elements are the opposite of controlled and precisely aligned elements in a piece of art or craft work. If you can put the two approaches into the same piece, you can potentially have some interesting contrast.
Today’s outside inspiration is just that–a juxtaposition of precision and scattered elements. We are quite used to precision in fine jewelry so I really enjoyed seeing this departure from symmetry and exact alignment. This is the work of jewelry designer Etienne Perret.
The form of the ring is very exact–precise lines and rounded corners keep it classic but the random placement and mix of gems make for a bit more contemporary, even edgy piece. Don’t you love how the diamonds fall down the side as well?
If you like the idea of scattered elements but are a bit leery to try it, this approach of having a precision base to contrast the randomness of elements may just be the thing.
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.
