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:
Lining Up Your Own Dots
July 15, 2015
Inspirational Art
So, all this talk of lines and dots has you wanting to try out your own dot-line compositions, right? Well, being the cheerleader that I am, I’ve gone out and found a little something that might get you playing with some of those dots and lines regardless of how enthralled you are with the subject. Just try out this easy and rewarding application technique.
Svetlana Belova generously shares her process for creating these lovely pendants on LiveMaster. The types of patterns you can create this way are endless. It really lets you explore the possibilities without committing to a block of mokume or being limited by a stamp or texture sheet. This kind of work is very meditative and can be a fantastic way to relax or get yourself into a creative zone before working on something else.
Svetlana shares her techniques on her blog and sells her work through her LiveMaster shop where you can see other examples of this and other pretty compositions.
Dots and Bits and Limiting Labels
July 13, 2015
Inspirational Art
Today, let’s ponder a broad combination of themes from French artist, Ouedd. Here, lines of white dots play the part of contrast to densely gathered leaf forms with rich, graduated colors applied in a polymer embroidery-type manner. I also thought this might be called a type of mosaic, but do dense patterns of parts alone define a mosaic?
Merriam-Webster says mosaics are “a surface decoration made by inlaying small pieces of variously colored material to form pictures or patterns.” This would be a mosaic then, right? But, Google’s dictionary says, “A picture or design made from small pieces of colored tile, glass, or other material set in mortar.” Oh, well, it is not really set in a mortar. So, maybe it’s not mosaic.
I just think it is best to say it is a richly colored pendant whose erratic primary texture has been thoughtfully broken up by orderly white lines.
Of course, it really doesn’t matter what the type of work here is called. When we label something it is, in our mind and in the mind of anyone that ascribes to that application of the label, limited by that label. Take “polymer artist” as an example. If you consider yourself a polymer artist, do you forever limit your creative endeavors to polymer work only?
I do very much appreciate that we need labels in order to help us organize, in our minds, all the information that comes to us and all the people we meet, but it just seems like we could move beyond them with individuals we know, especially ourselves and, as an extension, the work we do. For instance, do you realize that, usually, when someone we just met asks “What you do?”, we usually say “I am …” tacking on the label that our work or career gives us. That is not what we ‘do’; that is what we ‘are’, or more precisely, what we label ourselves as. You could say “I’m a polymer artist”, but is that all you are? Maybe you could say, “I create polymer art … among other things.” Then you are this vast, complex, person of endless possibilities and action. Doesn’t that sound like a truer way of presenting ourselves? And without the label you are free to create whatever you like with whatever you like without worrying that you are falling outside of some boundaries.
I bring this up because I’ve had two conversations recently with people apologizing for not fitting a label they think the rest of the world may have put them under. My thoughts … it doesn’t matter. Do what you need to do and throw the labels out.
To see an example of art that shows off the endless possibilities of polymer and of artists who play with the medium, take a peek at Oeudd’s Flickr pages and her interesting array of work. Then there is Ouedd’s blog that is fun and a bit silly, especially if you don’t speak French and use the Google translator.
Dots and Lines Juxtaposed
July 10, 2015
Inspirational Art
This Friday I’d like to leave you with a little something to try out this weekend. I still have a myriad of examples showing the combination of dots and lines, and we may just pull out a few more for next week, but for now, how about we just have some fun? France’s Marie-Charlotte Chaillon shares this versatile tutorial for juxtaposing dots and lines in a piece of jewelry, although it could easily be transferred to home decor or other decorative art. I like that the ‘dots’ here aren’t your basic option. The cane that will make the stacked dots is rather nice on its own for accents or mosaic work. It looks rather like an interesting twist on the pixellated retro cane. The white seems to be key as the gradation gives it a bit of an inner glow. Any color palette that appeals to you would do, but the graphic nature does show off bright contrasts quite nicely.
Marie-Charlotte is pretty generous with the cane-centric tutorials, so if that is where your creative meanderings are on right now, head over to her blog or her Pinterest board specifically dedicated to her tutorials and have yourself a blast!
Dots, Lines and Landscapes
July 8, 2015
Inspirational Art
I had something different planned for today, but this stunning work by Claire Fairweather popped up on the IPCA Facebook group, and I just had to ensure many more of you had the pleasure of enjoying dots in literally a BIG way.
This is a mosaic collage, and unlike most polymer work, it is quite large. Claire’s description gives you the idea:
“Here it is, my first large ‘dot mosaic’ artwork. It is made up of about 6,935 tiles and took over 150 hours to complete. Each tile has been handmade, from polymer clay, and glued in place on the canvas before being grouted with coloured acrylic modelling paste.”
Ambitious? Yes. Worth it? I think so! How I’d love to see this in person to see all the detail. But yes, we have our dots here used in varying sizes to enrich the texture of the mosaic. Line is used in a very subtle way to convey the horizontal arrangement of the landscape. The lines are created by the change in color rather than the arrangement of dots. Still it fits this week’s theme, but more importantly, it’s an impressive piece. Would you dedicate the time and resources to creating such a large piece? In other mediums, that much work going into one piece is not unusual. But, it does show how sincere dedication that we can all enjoy.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Dots, Lines and Tendrils
July 6, 2015
Inspirational Art
** Sorry this went up half a day late. We had an error in our scheduled time. But back to regularly scheduled postings …***
We’ve talked about using lines as design elements for direction and energy before and about dots and their use as accents and to create rhythm, but I don’t think we’ve spent much time looking at what happens when you use the two together.
There are many, many beautiful examples of using line and dots as a combined design treatment, but I think these brooches by Ivana Brozova are some truly stunning recent examples I’ve run into. In this case, dots are used to create lines. Or maybe the lines are distorted until they look like strings of dots. Either way, the effect is the same—a strong, rhythmic and directional vibrancy radiating from a center that itself is alive with slow, winding lines in the form of tendrils. It makes for rather mesmerizing work.
Ivana is rather fond of lines and dots used together. You can see more great examples in some of her older work, as well as admire Ivana’s new and rather shiny pieces on her Flickr photostream.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
A Merging of Felt and Polymer
July 3, 2015
Inspirational Art
Today’s piece is both an outside inspiration and a polymer piece. It’s a little different take on the aged look in that it isn’t so much about that look of disintegration as it is about the way materials meld together over time that have been left out in natural surroundings.
I can’t say what Russia’s Svetlana was thinking of when she created this felted scarf, but this makes me think of the way rocks become embedded in sandstone or maybe how they are exposed by the low tide on a beach. The combined textures of fuzzy felt and smooth polymer along with the little bead accents create a rich landscape that I think must be reminiscent of some place that she has been. It seems an unusual choice for a scarf, but that just adds to the mysterious atmosphere of what she’s done here.
Felting was the one thing I never took to in my years of fiber art work, but then, I was taught mostly the classic thick felting techniques. The more textural and undulating applications and forms that are becoming popular these days feel more broadly appealing. If any of you have a penchant for felting (or are intrigued enough by this to want to try it), the page I found this on is actually a tutorial on how she created the piece. The textures you’ll see just from the in between steps are worth a gander, so hop on over to Svetlana’s Livemaster blog page and maybe drop by her shop as well.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Aged Absence and Added Color
July 1, 2015
Inspirational Art
The absence of something can be just as intriguing, or even more so, than the addition of something to a piece of jewelry. In these beautiful headpins, we actually have a little of both.
If you find yourself inexplicably drawn to these but not really knowing why, you’re not alone here. There is something unusual about this faux deterioration, but it takes a minute to understand what it is. The corrosion these polymer beads emulate speaks to a passage of time and disuse, but in this case, it is also a reveal. How often are you likely to see a rusted out piece of iron or old steel eaten away only to show brilliant color underneath? Well, it’s quite unlikely you’d see a turquoise blue like this beneath a bit of unused metal, but somehow it feels right. The corroded look shows an eating away of the form, and the unusual blue, added by jewelry artist Alison Sachs, adds to it. So we are drawn by the subtraction of form, the addition of color and the unusual juxtaposition that looks like something mother nature might have created even though it isn’t common.
And these are only headpins. But hey, headpins got a bit of attention as well in the last issue of The Polymer Arts where you could learn to make your own quick and easy headpins. Take those lessons and add interesting polymer bead-like ends as Alison does in your favorite canes, textures or other clay treatments. The old and well-worn look can be seen throughout much of Alison’s work, which you can find on her Etsy page and more or less on her blog. The images were not coming up for me on the blog last time I checked in, but maybe they will soon.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Almost Ancient
June 29, 2015
Inspirational Art
The obvious visual signs of age have been at the center of many conversations I’ve had this week. Many of us try very hard to cover up the signs of aging in ourselves because we don’t think they are considered beautiful. But I, for one, think the visual changes that come with age and being well-used can be quite beautiful. I do admit that I prefer to see these marks on inanimate objects rather than on myself, but even the soft wrinkles beneath the eyes and the laugh lines on the face have an inviting texture. They show we have lived and laughed; that we got out and lived our lives. That we have stories to tell.
I do believe that same feeling–that there are stories where we see age and change–is why we are drawn to old items and why we enjoy the aged faux looks we can achieve in polymer. This necklace here by Staci Louise is a kind of faux ceramic, but both the forms and the crackling affect make the set feel like something almost ancient. Doesn’t it make you want to hear the history of the civilization that bore these? And have a chance to ask about the significance of the beads, and where they got their color?
Luckily, the creator is not from some distant past, but is alive and well today. Staci even has a tutorial for her technique. Find it in her Etsy shop after you drop by her blog to see how she transforms white clay into these spectacular beads.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Outside Inspiration: Ruffled Organics in Felt
June 26, 2015
Inspirational Art
When talking ruffles, most likely fabric comes to mind first as a source for outside inspiration, but do you think of felt as a particularly ruffled fiber? Instead of flouncy and fluffy, felted ruffles offer substance and a more solid and open canvas for dramatic textures and colors.
This scarf shows some of the potential of using felt to create undulating edges. Felt has been making a bit of a come back in the fashion world and felt crafters are coming out big and bold with it. I thought this work by Irena Rudman would intrigue polymer artists as the composition of the work looked immediately to me like wonderful inspiration for leaf-shaped beads or the facing ends of a curious cuff bracelet.
There is something kind of Melanie West about this scarf. I can also see a thin polymer component with a center of slices taken from stacked circular extrusion canes or mokume surrounded by ruffled Skinner blends or mica dusted polymer. It got my wheels turning. Is it intriguing you?
Irena is really big on the ruffles in her work, which you can see in her Etsy shop. If you are just dying of curiosity as to how she accomplished this or simply have a budding interest in felting (which can and has often been combined with polymer pieces), Irena has a number of tutorials for scarves and collars in her shop, as well.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Richly Ruffled Bead
June 24, 2015
Inspirational Art
The undulating line of a ruffle brings to mind waves and water, and in this intriguing piece, there seems to be a bit of sea-foam, too. Even though ruffled lines can have a lot of energy, they are usually soothing due to the lulling effect of the smooth up and down repetitions. This particular bead by Shannon Tabor leans towards a more energetic feel with its rich abundance of ruffling, but the blues and greens return us to a calm and contemplative place.
The very nice thing about this bead is that Shannon shares her technique for creating this lovely texture with us on her blog. It’s pretty straight forward, but the possibilities are broad. You don’t need to limit yourself to a donut shape; try this with the edge of any kind of flat or semi-flat shape. Are you up for getting ruffled this week?
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
