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:
Delightfully Crowded
October 30, 2012
Inspirational Art
If you have seen crowds photographed from above, you may have noticed there tends to be a pattern in the way people group. Sometimes there is a definite direction as it will be during a concert with everyone facing the stage. Sometimes there is a pronounced flow, a line of people moving back and forth on a path through the throng. Crowded spaces, be they at an event, within an abundantly planted garden or the result of a busy day at your studio table, have some pattern and impression to impart.
This piece by Klavdija Kurent of Slovenia is the kind of crowd I can get into. Like little faces or tiny, blooming flowers, the silver ball accented folds of polymer open up to the space outside their crowded circumstance in an almost expectant and lively manner. The fact that it is black and white rather than multi-colored keeps the crowded space from becoming overwhelming. There is always a danger of over-doing it when you crowd elements in your work but if it’s well balanced with simplicity in other aspects, it can result in a delightfully subdued complexity.
Speaking of crowds … how are our Eastern US friends doing? I’m hoping you and your families are all doing well, are safe and comfortable, and if you are crowded into shelters that your stay is very short and you get to go home soon. Good energy and wishes going out to you all.
Integrating Function
October 29, 2012
Inspirational Art
Etched metal bails, thoughtfully crafted ear wires, and spiraling wire rivets are just a few ways we add the necessary findings and connectors to our art jewelry to make theme functional. But what if you used the items that you need to make your art jewelry functional as an integral and primary part of the design instead of just having it as an accent or as a way to disguise the connection to the art?
In Laura Bocchi’s “Lazy Cloud” necklace, ball chain, which is commonly used for more casual and even industrial designs, is wound through translucent polymer clay to help define and add movement to a simple cloud formation.
Is Beauty a Matter of Good Taste?
October 28, 2012
Ponderings
When I first read this, I laughed of course. Then I thought, well, it really doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist — if you find something beautiful, your view is all that matters. But then I thought, if that’s true, why do we even have the concept of “good taste?” If we judge people’s choices are we not discounting their personal view?
A Garden At the Tip of Your Fingers
October 27, 2012
Inspirational Art
In the northern hemisphere, we are all preparing for cooler weather. Many of us are saying good-bye to our gardens as they change colors and die off. Wouldn’t it be nice to keep a little garden or park right at hand … or literally on your hand?
This below is a ring. A little bit of green landscaping that will never die-off and go brown. A little pond-side view to cheer one up on a snowy day.
Kati Gumenius calls these impractical whimsy pieces. I suppose they could get caught on a few things, but I don’t think that would stop me from wearing them. What is art for but to cheer us, make us think, and put us in a place a little beyond where we are at the moment? If a piece does that, I think it’s pretty practical — at least for the purpose of transporting us for a moment.
Many thanks to Porro Salhberg for bringing this fun stuff to my attention.
Outside Inspiration: Trying Not to Be a Polymer Snob
October 26, 2012
Inspirational Art
Below is an intriguing, elegant necklace by Danielle Gori-Montanelli. Fairly simple with a calm yet random pattern and subdued colors. Nice, right? It’s felt.
Have you ever worked with felt? Dense, rich, durable and a really earthy medium. Great fun for the very tactile artist. It’s also pretty forgiving if you mess up and have to take your piece apart, rebuild, extract or expand. And still … my first thought when I saw this piece was “How cool. But it would have been so much easier to make in polymer.”
Now why did I say that to myself? It wouldn’t necessarily be easier or quicker — considering the conditioning and handling of the clay that would be needed before constructing it. But it did make me realize that I’m a tad bit biased. Okay, more than a tad. And that’s with fiber being one of my first loves.
I think it really comes down to an overriding admiration for the versatility of the medium as well as the very sharing and generous nature of the polymer community. It’s really hard to beat. It’s rather insane how many other art materials have been sitting in boxes — untouched — since I became a full-blown polymer addict some 7 years ago. I think I need some intervention.
All materials are valid. There are a very few that cannot work with polymer. So to temper my snobbery, I have been mixing fiber with polymer. It has been seriously all too fun. Has it been helping my prejudice though? Well …
Do you have a medium that you worked in before polymer? Have you tried combining the two? You should really try it if you haven’t. You will probably come up with some incredible works of art!
Of course that would further support a prejudice for polymer … what can’t polymer do? Oh, well. I guess those of us so inclined need more therapy … yep, we will have to spend more time in the studio exploring. Oh, how terrible.
Winter 2012 Cover …
October 25, 2012
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
Choosing art for the cover for the next issue of The Polymer Arts magazine was a tad bit difficult this time around. I had all this great work by lots of wonderful artists but the gremlins of chaos seemed to be everywhere and with everyone the last few months. I had initially felt obligated to get kind of crazy with the bling since it’s the Shimmer & Shine issue but there were many last minute changes and getting high quality, high resolution images at the 11th hour is tough. So we went with a personal favorite artist of mine Nicole West (and hopefully soon to be one of yours if you haven’t yet seen her work) and her gorgeous Alice in Wonderland inspired sculpture which certainly shines! Nicole is sharing her work in the Mentor Gallery for this issue. It’s not to be missed!
Spiraling Color
October 24, 2012
Inspirational Art
Movement in art is often times instilled with the use of lines just as they are in the earrings below by Carol Blackburn. But along with the lines, there is also a feeling of movement due to color changes.
The movement is not just from a cool blue to a warm brown but there is also a sense that time is working its way up the spirals from the tip, much like the browning edges of leaves to the clinging brights of a deep sky that has not given into to the change. It’s an interesting and intriguing color combination that emphasizes the active lines of the spiral polymer strips.
If you find the form of these pieces intriguing as well, Carol just released her class on these Shell Earrings on CraftArtEdu.com. Perhaps its time to try arranging your own spiraling colors.
Fimo Deco Gel … alive and well
October 23, 2012
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news
There was some chatter a month or two ago about Fimo Deco Gel no longer being manufactured. Well, after a discussion with liquid polymer queens Ann and Karen Mitchell (they literally wrote the book on it) — they went directly to the source and have been told by Staedtler, the Fimo manufacturers, that there are no plans to halt production of the wonderfully clear liquid polymer.
Erin “Eirewolf” Metcalf created this Fimo Deco Gel butterfly for her mother some years ago. The clarity of Fimo’s liquid polymer allows for inclusions to shine through like the mica powders tracked through the wings here. The only difficult thing about Fimo’s Deco Gel is finding it. There are still suppliers on Amazon and in the UK there is supplier on Ebay. (Update–Polymer Clay Express is carrying it too: http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/fimo.html) Otherwise, you can still get it at some of the local and chain craft stores. But it goes fast — so if you see it, grab it!
Sophisticated Spiderwebs
October 22, 2012
Inspirational Art
Spiderwebs are not usually considered sophisticated. They tend to be used for things related to costuming fabrics, accessories and props. Put a spiderweb on something and it’s not likely to be taken seriously. Which is odd since spiderwebs are some of the most amazing and beautiful creations constructed by any non-human creature on earth. But commercialism may have killed our true appreciation for these incredible weavings.
So when I came across this piece below, I was thrilled to see the spiderweb patterning presented in such a light and sophisticated way.
Our artist here, Kathrin Neumaier, calls it etching but since she does state that it is made with silver oil paint, I would guess it’s actually done with stamps and a light touch. In any case, it relays the gossamer feel of real spiderwebs on a contemporary tile collar design that is much appreciated by spiderweb aficionados like myself.
The Truth About When Inspiration Strikes
October 21, 2012
Ponderings
I know I quoted Picasso last week, but I really wanted to share this one other very succinct and powerful thought.
Inspiration can’t be easily conjured up but the real key to having those truly inspired moments is to be where you can act on them and where it will find you most receptive. That would be working on art. Even when you don’t feel inspired but you wish you were, get to working on something. Even if its just cleaning the studio. I can’t tell you how many projects have come out of just picking up and (trying) to put things away. Yeah … my studio rarely gets completely cleaned.
