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:
The Challenge of Change
August 17, 2013
Inspirational Art
In the back of every issue of The Polymer Arts is a wonderful one-page article in which someone tells the story of their life as an artist, or of another artist (or artists). I hold a particularly special fondness for this section because it’s the one area in which artists get personal with us as readers. It’s not a setup to teach or preach or help expand your business or make you a better artist; it’s just stories. We can certainly learn from them (what can’t we learn from?), but they are still just artists sharing their story, or the story of other artists.
In this Fall issue, Ronna Sarvas Weltman talks about Gwen Gibson, a polymer pioneer who has moved largely from polymer to work on mixed media in collage and acrylics. Ronna writes about Gwen’s view on the creative process and the patience we must have with ourselves and our medium. It’s a beautiful little article that I would encourage you all to read at least a couple times to really let the ideas sink in.
The article in hand, Ronna and I only had to gather a few images of Gwen’s work before it would be ready to send to layout; but getting artwork of Gwen’s that was of a size we could print turned out to rather difficult. When she was creating beautiful earrings like these from 15 years ago, she had photos taken; but as the years went on and her direction in art changed, the original images got shuffled away. I guess things like that are bound to happen when you buy a 300 year old house in a tiny medieval French village desperately in need of repair and turn it into a creative retreat; I can see where you might have other priorities.
La Cascade is now a beautiful center for art workshops and time out of your normal world to learn a little bit more about yourself as an artist. The story of the La Cascade renovation adventure and charming descriptions and photos of the place can be found on the website along with information about the workshops, should you be interested in attending any one of them.
And don’t forget to get your copy of the Fall issue ordered if you haven’t done so already, as they will all be out and on their way this coming week!
Outside Inspiration: A Few Words on Personal Voice
August 16, 2013
Inspirational Art
Today I’d like to introduce you to ceramicist Carolyn Genders. Her work and her books were brought to my attention by Irene Corman (who has authored an article on putting together a great class and workshop in the upcoming Fall issue, due out this coming week) because of this great quote Irene had pulled from Carolyn’s book, Sources of Inspiration:
“It is easy to get carried away by the feel of the clay, the excitement of mastering new skills…when in fact the most vital consideration is the “idea” and making work that has individuality and a personal voice.”
She may be talking about earthen clay, but quite a few of you know exactly what she’s saying, having experienced the addictive nature of polymer and all its endless possibilities. This quote actually ended up in the article about Dan Cormier’s Broken Telephone Project, as the discussion in the article revolves around the importance of developing and creating with your own personal voice. I thought a bow to the source of the quote and the idea behind it was worth a little Friday afternoon contemplation.
Like most of the artists you’ll find in the next issue, Carolyn’s inspiration comes from nature, but particularly the Sussex landscape where she lives. She sketches her impressions of the landscape, then later takes these visual notes and abstracts them as she integrates them into her vessels and sculptures. Her “Stone Sculptural Form” you see here has some obvious influence from the lines and veins of stone; but then there is the abstraction of color which is highly representative of her personal style and manner of artistic expression. The stone of her home landscape may have been the source for design elements, but the artist has inserted herself with a bold, confident hand.
If you enjoy Carolyn’s colorful, abstracted work, you can enjoy more of it on her website here. Irene highly recommends her book Sources of Inspiration. As for me, I’m waiting for my recently ordered copy to arrive so I can form my own opinion–a “job” I very much look forward to.
Hollow Beads
August 15, 2013
Inspirational Art
When Anke Humpert asked about including an article for the Organic themed Fall issue, our first conversation revolved around an article on hollow beads; and having seen her hollow beads like the ones below, I was really excited to see what she’d have for us. What she ended up doing was quite unlike these beads, but just as beautiful.
As Anke worked out the idea for the article, what she found she was most interested in when it came to the idea of “Organic” was the process itself; so the article became a journey with Anke through the steps of creating from organic sources of inspiration in an organic creative process. The article gives you the rare opportunity to see the entire process of a talented artist struggling with design and construction decisions, as well as unexpected challenges from concept through the creation of a piece. I found it fascinating to compare how she came up with her piece to my own process.
That is one thing that really stands out about this next issue. There are several articles that take you into the studio and minds of quite a number of polymer artists. Besides spending time with Anke, we have the thoughts and notes from all the artists who participated in Dan Cormier’s Broken Telephone Project, complete with a number of photos of their sketchbook pages and worktables. How often do you get to see that kind of thing?
With the next issue scheduled to be on its way by this coming Wednesday, you won’t have to wait much longer. But in the meantime, you really should look at all the wonderful, exploratory work that Anke creates by dropping by her Flickr page.
Intriguing Llama Found
August 14, 2013
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news
One of the articles in the upcoming Fall issue of The Polymer Arts is an engaging piece about putting together a polymer-focused gallery show. This past May some folks at the Polymer Clay Guild of Minnesota took on the task of organizing and promoting a national juried exhibition, Polymer Clay–Gallery Style, at the Flow Art Space in St. Paul, Minnesota. Beth Wegener shares their experience as well as tips and ideas for putting together something similar at your own local gallery or art space. What polymer enthusiast wouldn’t jump at the chance to have great polymer art come to their town, where they can examine it up close and in detail? There is just nothing like seeing the work in person, and such shows give polymer more exposure, educating the public about just what polymer can do.
Due to space limitations in the article, we didn’t have much room to show the pieces that were at this particular exhibit, so I thought I’d share one of my favorites (and obviously one of the favorites of those attending the show, since it tied for the Viewer’s Choice Award) with you here today.
Tell me you aren’t drawn in by the this playful and fantastical llama created by Julie Johnson. From the big wide eyes to the trio of–what are they exactly? horns?–and the lusciously colorful, spiky coat, this piece is not only fun, but curiously intriguing.
Photo by Beth Wegener
You can actually still check out the art that was shown at the exhibit here on the Flow Art Space’s website, at least through the end of this week. Don’t you wish you could have been there?
Faux Organic Surprises
August 13, 2013
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
First thing I had to do today was check and see if art work by this particular artist by the name of Sage Bray was ever featured on this blog. My goodness … no, she hasn’t been. How could she have been overlooked for so long?
Answer: Easily! And on purpose.
Not that I don’t like affirmation that there are some people out there that enjoy my art work but I’ve never been a limelight kinda girl and, besides, I’m overly critical of my own work, always feeling it could have been done better which makes it hard to share sometimes. Still, every once in a blue moon, even the most self-critical artist can be excited about something they’ve done. In this next issue (that starts mailing out next week, the mailing list for the first batch of print issues is going to the shipper’s Thursday morning so get your order in!) I have on article on a series of techniques I only recently developed and am having so much fun with them!
I’d been playing with techniques to emulate weathered and worn textures on and off this year and recently had some surprising results that have opened the door to even more great textures. I have to say I was pretty amazed by the effects. This stuff look very realistic! How cool. Here is article’s header image with a little piece of wall art I created with the techniques. What do you think?
This article is ridiculously packed with 6 basic techniques/skills that can be used to show wear and weathering and 3 faux applications that combine these (rusted metal, charred wood and weathered wood–all in the piece you see here). And the thing is, what this article shows is just the tip of the iceberg for any adventurous artist who wants to push these techniques (I know I will be in the coming months!)
I’ll see about updating you on my faux organic weathered texture experiments later in the year. In the meantime, be sure to get your Fall issue so you can go play with these too. And then please share them with me if you do! You can post work on our Facebook page or write me at sbray(a)thepolymerarts.com with your artwork, thoughts, comments, criticisms or whatever you feel you need to share … I always love to hear from our readers!
Things Missed
August 12, 2013
Inspirational Art
One of the more difficult parts of editing a magazine is deciding not what will go in, but what won’t. For every article you see and every artist featured, there are many more ideas and pieces that are worthy of attention and examination. This week, I thought I’d present some art, artists, ideas, and references that were in my notes or folders but which didn’t make it into this issue (not that they won’t in a future issue!) or that I wish I could have explored further.
The Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts prints the last of the three article series on Wall Art put together by Alice Stroppel and Suzanne Ivester. I’ll miss their in-depth investigation into this form of polymer art, but hope to get back to the subject through other avenues of discussion. I have a whole page of ideas and artists that work in wall art that we haven’t gotten to yet. Here is one such polymer wall artist that works with tiles pieces and multiple treatments. Gail Woods began exploring the possibilities of polymer clay tiles after taking a class with the very talented Laurie Mika (who is the featured artist interviewed in our Color Spotlight in this upcoming issue, by the way.)
Her wall pieces go from mosaic to bargello to puzzle style compositions like the one here. Her wall art allows her to directly explore favorite subjects such as the ocean, being out in nature, and just the favorite things in her everyday life. Enjoy looking through her eyes in her gallery here.
A True Sense of Order
August 11, 2013
Ponderings
Why do we, with all our yearning for the latest technology, for the clean and controlled, for the precise and permanent, find ourselves drawn to nature? I think John Burroughs has it right. For all the time we spend trying to control our world, I think we find true order and peace only in the random, cycling, uncontrollable but dependable elements in nature. Nature is where we are all from, and where we will return; and unlike anything we humans think up, is the one thing that always makes sense.
Fun with Nature and Molds
August 10, 2013
Technique tutorials, Tips and Tricks
I’m a very busy beaver today, wrapping up some final items for the upcoming release of the Fall issue of The Polymer Arts. I really wish I was goofing off in the studio though. But since I can’t quite do that yet, maybe you can do so for me?
One of my favorite articles in the next issue includes making molds and texture sheets from natural finds. (The article, Plein Air, is all about taking your art outdoors and bringing the outdoors into your studio … such fun!) Lynn Lunger‘s “ugly molds,” as she deprecatingly calls them, are a slightly different approach to some of what Kate Clawson will show you in the upcoming issue. So while you anxiously await the Fall issue to arrive, you can play with bringing a little nature into your studio right now.
Lynn’s tutorial blog post has tips on pulling texture from natural elements as well as down and dirty mold making for a fun day in the studio. So go enjoy a (hopefully) sunny day out in the yard or on a hike gathering from nature itself; then get back and play in the studio for me!
Outside Inspiration: Paper Imitating Aquatic Nature
August 9, 2013
Inspirational Art
Paper is actually a wonderful sculptural art medium. It is inexpensive and accessible, and much of your material can be gleaned from the recycle bin. But it does have its limitations–for instance, you don’t want to get it wet!
I don’t know that Amy Eisenfeld Genser uses recycled paper in her stunning sculptural wall pieces, although it looks like it would be possible. These pieces are rolled colored paper, adhered to acrylic painted canvases. The very organic way the paper components are laid out is reflective of coral reefs with the colors of the sea behind them–an exotic ocean landscape made from, of all things, paper.
I think using a material to represent a natural scene the material itself couldn’t exist in is delightfully ironic–or maybe it’s just me. In our chosen art, polymer clayers constantly experience the irony of working in a material that is considered the antithesis of organic, yet can so accurately and beautifully recreate the organic; so maybe I just enjoy these kinds of ironic connections.
Aside from the ironic beauty of Amy’s work here, I thought the textures were something that might inspire any number of you who work in extruded canes or enjoy sculptural texture. The variety of color and size in the components as well as their application–crowded and overlapping in some areas, scattered in others–is an approach that could be emulated quite easily in polymer, giving you yet another textural option for playing and designing with little bits of clay and bringing the inspiration of nature to your work.
The Infinite Colors of Nature
August 8, 2013
Inspirational Art
I grew up in California, in a coastal desert region where natural color commonly comes in muted tones. In art school, though, I was exposed to landscapes from the southwest that were painted in all kinds of bright and what I thought were unnatural colors. It wasn’t until I actually moved to New Mexico that I saw, even though I was in another desert, that the landscape paintings I witnessed were not an exaggeration. Those deep pinks and oranges, the brilliant greens and purples … they existed even there. It was then that I realized every color we know exists in nature. So thinking that a natural color palette should be restricted to earth tones is really selling nature short.
The other association with nature which is also incorrect is thinking that the natural world is all about growth and life. It is, but life is not all about growth. There is a cycle to it and part of that cycle is the mortality of all elements, the breaking down and return of things both living and inert to the earth and to their most basic components. There is such beauty in this part of the cycle–rust, cracks, crumbling, even organic decay reveals textures and colors to be appreciated.
I have to say, this kind of natural beauty is well represented in polymer. Who doesn’t love a well-done crackled surface or faux patina? Ivana Brozova from the Czech Republic has a body of work that looks to be quite heavily inspired by this side of nature. She combines crackling with some of nature’s more brilliant colors in this pendant.
If you didn’t read yesterday’s post, you should go do so. Compare this pendant, which is very similar in basic design, to the pendant from yesterday–a domed form with a single large gem for a focal point. They are both working with organic elements, but with quite divergent styles. Ivana uses a faceted gem (which, if you recall from yesterday, I said would kill off the sense of nature in that pendant) and bright colors here, but they still evoke a sense of something more organic than man-made. Chances are, if someone is asked what is represented here, I think the most common answer would be sun or sunlight. There are few things more natural than the sun, the one thing that allows nature and life to exist.
But the same goes here as with yesterday’s piece: if the surface treatment of this pendant had been some well-defined graphical pattern with perfectly straight lines or a machined look, the idea of sunlight would not have been conveyed. Cracking is a natural, organic pattern which helps keep the ray-like lines and the sparkle in the faceted gem well within our sense of natural sunlight.
Ivana has a truly lovely collection of work both similar and quite different from the piece here. For a truly special visual treat and great color inspiration, spend some time on her Flicker photostream.
