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:
Going Half Round
January 18, 2016
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
This week, I have pieces to share with you that have unexpected additions or changes. I think it is fantastic to mix things up, not only in our own world and work, but to step outside the expectations of what we think certain types of pieces should be. For instance, does a bead really have to be round? No, of course not. But should it at least be three-dimensionally symmetrical? Not really.
Katerina Sidorova has taken the round bead and literally reshaped it for this bracelet. The beads here were created by making perfectly round balls, cutting them in half, and adding thick cane slices on top that were carefully smoothed in to blend with the cut halves. The result is an off-balance half-round shape, or you might say it’s a ball half smashed, or you might call it acorn shaped even. What it is, though, is an unusual shape for a bead, which makes the gathering of the beautiful blue details quite intriguing. And really, the idea is pretty simple, but just that change makes us look twice because it does go beyond the expected round form.
Katerina has generously shared how she created these in this tutorial. She is the shop owner at Russia’s online polymer and jewelry supply shop KalinkaPolinka, which is also a great website full of articles, free tutorials, and links to other tutorials to explore.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Consider a form you regularly create and consider how you can change it to make it more interesting or intriguing. Sketch, cut, or sculpt your ideas.
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Outside Inspiration: Elemental Variation
January 15, 2016
Inspirational Art
Sometimes the thing that binds a varied set of art or craft work is not visual elements but the concept they encompass.
The spoons here, created by Jacques Vesery, are bound by the fact that they are spoons, naturally, but every detail beyond that makes them look so different, including the fact that it appears each spoon could be made from different materials, or by different artists even. Of course, they are by the same artist and they are all the same material–carved wood.
The binding concept here is nature and its broad elemental categories, but not the traditional Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire. Rather, Jacques combines the idea of nature with a bit of myth. The spoons are titled, from left to right, “Barking at the Moon”, “Fair Tales”, and “Seaspoon”. I like that the sea is red for a change, perhaps to convey the energy of the ocean, with the idea more directly conveyed in the undulating and repeated lines.
His work originally caught my eye because I thought it could be polymer. I think many of you will find his beautiful forms and the delicacy of his carvings quite inspiring. You can find more of his work on his website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Choose a concept and use it to design and create variation between the elements in a single item or in a series. Sketch or write out your ideas if you do not have time to create.
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Variation Within
January 13, 2016
Inspirational Art
In Monday’s blog post, we looked at how changing up a few elements in a design can change the entire feel of a piece. Variation from one similar piece to the next can push your creativity, but if you want something that challenges you even more, try variation in every element of a single piece of art you create.
That is what Ford and Forlano did here, with each bead different from every other one in the set. Because every piece has a common design element–that being an elongated bulls-eye–we see them as belonging together despite the fact that there are no two slices alike in one earring and they are not even arranged the same between the pair. The wide variation in color and size of the bulls-eye center achieves cohesiveness through its constant variety as well as the common shape.
Perhaps Ford and Forlano successfully control variation so well because they themselves are a mix, being two people living in two different states but collaborating to create their art. Each has their own strengths and interests, and they combine their efforts, skills, knowledge, and interests to create beautiful and intriguing pieces. You can see their most recent projects, as well as learn more about what they do and how they do it, by visiting their website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Sketch or create a piece from new or already created components where every element is different except for one aspect. Remember that one common thing can be any design element–size, shape, color, texture, motif, etc.
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Variation by Numbers
January 11, 2016
Inspirational Art
So, how has everyone been doing on New Year’s resolutions and new challenges? I have been keeping up with my sleep and exercise (but just barely), however, I only managed to do 2 of the 3 challenges that were posted last week. I have to admit that it makes me feel like this is just too much, but just because something doesn’t go quite right does not mean you shouldn’t keep trying. So, I am going to keep trying. And I will get that Flickr page up, too. I will let you know when it’s good to go and I hope you will all post results of your personal challenge pieces, whether you are following mine here or your own.
I thought I’d throw out an easy idea today. Variation. One of the best ways to nudge your creativity is to simply change things up. These pendants by Natasa Hozjan Kutin show you how an oblong design can be switched up by changing just a couple things. In this case, she changes color, texture, the shape of the forms, how many elements are layered, and the size of the layered forms. They are small changes but they make a big difference in the feel of each piece.
Inspiration Challenge of the Day: Create a piece of an element you have already created but change 3 things about it such as form, color, line, texture, image, size, motif … just three easy changes. Keep good design in mind when you make those changes or listen to your intuition. Don’t be blindly random. Create something you like.
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Found Inspiration
January 8, 2016
Inspirational Art
Speaking of found objects and nostalgia (we did a bit of that on Wednesday if you missed it), here is a piece I’ve had in my folder to share for quite some time. It’s an older piece by Chris Kapono and, no, the fish is not made of polymer but rather is cloisonné while the other sea creatures are brass and the big shiny blue baubles are glass. But the rest is polymer.
I don’t know if the fish was something nostalgic for Chris, but this is a wonderful example of letting something you have held onto inspire a beautiful creation. Yes, we may call ourselves polymer artists, but that should never make us feel restricted to working with just polymer. Chris certainly could have made the fish and other items from polymer, but it would give it a different feeling even if the non-polymer objects were really closely replicated.
Yes, polymer can imitate just about anything, but that doesn’t mean it should. If you have another material that will do the job or will do it even better, don’t hesitate. Creating is not about medium loyalty, it’s about expressing yourself. In the best work, the medium almost always is secondary to the image and emotion you create. Be loyal to your self-expression first, I say.
Inspiration Challenge of the Day: Go to your junk drawer, that box of broken jewelry, or those tins of bits and bobs filled with things you felt you might use someday, and pull out an object you don’t need or use. Add it to something you haven’t finished yet. If the unfinished work is polymer or another craft medium, find a way to attach and integrate it. If you have an unfinished sketch or painting, you can draw it in. If you have nothing unfinished, take some artistic idea you haven’t explored yet and try to meld it with this object in any manner you please.
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Points for Posting Your Work
January 6, 2016
Inspirational Art
Since we are, so many of us, in the mode of changing habits right now, I thought I’d post a quick note on posting your art and some things you may want to weigh in terms of how you restrict or allow access to what you post.
To get your work on a blog or to have it shared on sites like Pinterest, the images need to be available to your viewers beyond simply popping up on a screen. A lot of artists are afraid to allow people to access their images for fear that the image will get stolen. The fact is, if someone wants your image and plans to do something unethical with it, blocking downloads or embedding them in Flash is not going to stop it from happening. Images can often be pulled off a site by simply downloading the page or through screen captures. The only way to keep someone from downloading images of your work is to not publicly post it.
On the other hand, restricting people from sharing and accessing your images through valid and helpful means is likely going to cost you quite a bit in missed opportunities. If you have download or share restrictions on Flickr, Instagram, or your website, few bloggers will have the time to track you down to get the image and your admiring public won’t share it. In other words, if you want all that free word-of-mouth from fans and want bloggers to get your work out in front of thousands of appreciative readers, allow sharing and even downloading of your images. You can keep your images small (a computer monitor needs less than 1/4 the pixels that a print image needs to be well rendered), so your work can’t be printed, or even watermark them. Allow people to help you show the world what you’re doing.
I had two other artists whose work I might have posted this week but didn’t because they restricted access to their images. Another thing that often takes a work off my list of sharable images is not knowing who created it. But you know me, I’ll post it and ask for your help in identifying the artist if I really feel the need. Here is one such piece.
I know it was posted on Etsy three or so years ago in a shop called Posies’n’Pearls. It seems that the shop no longer exists so I am unable to give the artist credit. A Pinterest post lists this piece as having peridot, pearls, crystal, and polymer, but we also see ribbons, found objects, and other beads. It seems a step above the common shabby-chic mix we see a lot of these days with a restrained but lovely palette of sage greens, muted warm tones, and antiqued metallics. If you know who this is, we’ll get that posted here and give this well-shared image and the artist the credit they deserve.
Inspiration Challenge of the Day: Shabby-chic aims to pull at our nostalgic heart-strings. Find something in your house that makes you nostalgic and let it be the inspiration for a sketch, color palette, texture, form, or imagery. You can also just write out the ideas it brings up and post it at your work table for later.
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Accountable Creativity
January 4, 2016
Inspirational Art
So, as is traditional for many of us at the beginning of a new year, I have set several new goals for myself. One of them–to schedule regular time in the studio–was on my list last year, but between figuring out how to live and work in two states, constant changes in my staff, and the chaos and construction that commenced at various times at both places I’ve been living, this never really happened. And in the end, those are all really just excuses, aren’t they? Well, this year, I decided my resolutions were going to be much more difficult to set aside. Because I’m going to tell you about them.
Telling someone else about goals or plans to do things makes us much more likely to get them done simply because we know someone else knows, and that accountability to someone else’s expectations is a huge motivator. It helps knowing who will motivate you best, as well. For me, it can be just about anyone. I am heavily driven by the thought that people have an expectation of me, but I am slightly more driven by people not so close to me. I know the people closest to me can see the craziness of my life and are more likely to understand why something didn’t get accomplished. But for those that can’t see it, they will only know it didn’t get done and I will feel I disappointed them.
That kind of motivation isn’t always a good thing, though. For instance, I pull a lot of all-nighters and commonly cut down my sleep to work more when I feel like we are getting behind at the magazine. That brings up another goal. I’m not going to deny myself a full 8 hours each night, not anymore. A lack of sleep isn’t really conducive to strong, productive work time to start with and I’m guessing a lot of time-consuming mistakes were because of that. Plus, I’ve been reading about the long-term effects sleep deprivation has on the brain. It seems it may contribute to Alzheimer’s and an escalation of memory loss as we age. I already have some brain damage from a prior illness to deal with, so to further jeopardize that all-too-important organ just seems silly. Same goes for exercising, which helps with the quality of sleep. I sometimes forego my runs or the gym when it gets busy but I am promising myself not to do that either. So, keep your fingers crossed that well rested and fit also means efficiency and easily kept deadlines.
But back to the creative goals … more time in the studio. How to do that? I could simply tell you I will get into the studio more, but if I’m not very specific it can too easily slip away. One needs a specific plan with specific goals and timelines. So, here is my plan, and you can join in on this if you like.
For each blog post I put up, I am going to add an inspirational challenge. I plan to create from each one of these challenges within a day of posting it. These will be small things that can be applied to existing projects, can be manifested in simple exercises that can include any medium or can be starting points for new projects. The point will be to nudge our creativity in a new direction in order to stretch our creative muscle. It can help energize your existing work or get you out of a slump, but more than anything I am hoping it will help keep up an enthusiasm for creating.
I think I will be able to pull the challenges out of the work I find to share, but I am leaving open the possibility of posting challenges that are unrelated. So bear with me as we figure this out. I am thinking of posting a 4th blog each week with my efforts of the week and/or the efforts of others if you want to send images to me. Or maybe a Flickr page? What do you think?
Here is the first challenge, inspired by Sonya Girodan, who has had quite the year of exploration and has created the most amazing work from it. Here, Sonya takes some of the stylized tribal faces she’s been working on and works them into a painting. The quality of the color and its application are used in both the painting and the polymer masks. The tribal-like masks, a stylistic contrast to the contemporary feel of the painting, adds to the potential meaning of the work, taking us beyond the purely emotive reaction we might have to the painting to questioning how the masks relate and what story there might be behind it. It’s intriguing, isn’t’ it?
Take a look at more of Sonya’s explorations on her Flickr photostream.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Mix your primary medium with another medium. Either work one type of work into another that already exists or take something you have and add to it in another medium. If that doesn’t inspire you, simply ‘doodle’ in an unfamiliar or not regularly used medium and see what your mind comes up with.
Ok … let’s see how this goes!
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Toasting in the New Year
January 1, 2016
Inspirational Art
I
know at this hour, the whole world has had the chance to greet the first day of the New Year, but I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy, creative, productive, and beautiful 2016.
I am doing so with the help of the DiAmore Design Studio, which is a team of artists rather than an individual. They hail from the Ukraine and specialize in unique decorated and custom wedding items such as guestbooks, cake toppers, table decorations, and, more than anything really, hand decorated glasses.
I think it is rather hard to make a sophisticated decorated glass that isn’t over done but this team has that down. This beautiful polymer hydrangea works with these champagne glasses, even as large as they are, because their shape simply follows the bottom edge of the glasses’ bowl. It would feel obtrusive if it was planted farther up and farther down would cover up the thin delicacy of the stem which keeps the whole look from feeling bulky.
Beyond the flower, there is this delicate hand-painted design with accented pearls. Those seem rather standard with these hand adorned glasses, but the bold flower makes for a rather unique decorated champagne glass. I think bold should be the motto this year! I have a few bold ideas of my own I’ll introduce in the coming weeks. What have you in store for the new year?
So, a toast to you and yours. I hope you are relaxing and enjoying the first day of this brand new year!
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Just A Little Glitz
December 30, 2015
Inspirational Art
A little glitz and glamour is always welcome as we ring in the new year. There is just something about starting out feeling and looking great but that doesn’t mean you need to go crazy with the sparkle and bling. Unless that is your thing, of course. But for many of us, just a touch of pizzazz is more comfortable and easier to pull off.
The key with sparkle is contrast which, as you know by now I’m sure, is key with most designs. You need to decide just how much contrast you want in order to express your vision. A little black dress with a big showy necklace works because the dress is minimal while the necklace is energetic. A shimmery dress can do with a simple chain or solid pendant which acts as a quiet accent. But how about a nicely cut, sophisticated outfit? You don’t want the adornment to compete or overshadow the rest of the outfit, but you want some sparkle. So go for a small sprinkle of glitz to show you are in the spirit while keeping that sophisticated tone. This is edging more towards less contrast which works well when understated is the goal.
And that is what we have in this pendant and earring set by Kristie Foss. The very strong lines of the cane are upstaged by just a smattering of sparkles. It is not big or showy but it is dressed up and after a long and busy holiday season, celebratory but subdued may be just the ticket.
This little collection of New Year’s glitz (as she aptly named this blog post of hers) shows a number of similar examples to the one shown here. Enjoy the light shimmer and shine and have a joyous and safe New Year’s eve tomorrow.
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Clearly Shimmering
December 28, 2015
Inspirational Art
So, this week we recover from Christmas, get gifts returned and exchanged (if we are brave enough to stand in those long customer service lines!), and prepare for the New Year. It’s quite a shift from the family-focused holidays the rest of the season. New Year’s eve is usually for our friends more than our family and the parties or dinners out or drinks at the house are what’s on our mind about now. What to wear?! I know that becomes an overriding concern for many, so I thought I’d look for some blingy-ness that could help dress up any basic outfit. With the right jewelry, you can skip buying a new dress and just have everyone transfixed by your adornment, second only to your vivacious self, of course.
I was looking for shimmery and sparkling when I came across this lovely resin dominant bracelet. Hélène JeanClaude is a polymer artists who is big on transparency, but I am unsure just how much of this is polymer, if any. Not that it matters too terribly. The colors and reflection she is getting off the fabric texture buried in the resin and the shimmer of the colors make it quite eye-catching. You can see how, even with a lot of shadow around it, the colors and resin reflect and magnify any light that hits it. The flat space and angles of the resin help with this effect as well as distorting the pattern beneath, which adds to the variation of the blended and bleeding colors.
Hélène has been experimenting with this technique for the last two years, creating pendants and earrings with a more obvious use of polymer. If you could get your hands on either or both, that with the bracelet would be all you’d need to dress up a little black dress or even a shirt-and-jeans outfit. I know there isn’t enough time to get a hold of one of Hélène’s pieces, but maybe these can inspire some new pieces of your own you can whip up in the studio this week; bury shimmering clay treated with mica powders or foil leaf under translucent clay, liquid polymer, or resin if you have that on hand. There’s still time!
For further shimmery and translucent inspiration, you can find her other pieces using this technique and her explorations with translucent clay on her Flickr photostream and here on her blog.
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