Iconic Shapes
May 31, 2020
Inspirational Art
If there was a shape that could represent state of the world today, what would you say that is? Chances are, you’re thinking of something that works as an icon or symbol rather than something as simple as a circle or octagon. Abstract shapes are something I touched upon only briefly in the article about shape and form at the beginning of the month. They are most commonly created for things that we are already familiar with, many of which are considered universal. Some have been with us for ages such as stars, teardrops, and hearts, but simplified shapes will pop up whenever a quick method of communication that is not language dependent is needed or preferred.
For instance, right now, a square with half circles on the ends, often with a few horizontal lines in the square, represents a medical mask. Such an icon may have meant nothing to you at the start of this year but it’s hard not to recognize it for what it is now.
That is the power of abstract shapes. With minimal characteristics, these shapes represent an object if not an entire concept. For this reason, I suggest you to not use them too frivolously. If you pop a heart shape on something, it should be because your intention necessitates calling on the viewer’s emotions rather than just putting it on to be cute. Now, I’m not saying that using hearts to be cute is a bad thing but realize that people will see it as an emotional expression. And I say emotional, not love, because the heart represents a base positive emotion associated with love, caring, and happiness but if your heart shape has a hole in it, is cracked or torn, or is jet black, the viewer will start thinking of things like loneliness, sadness, or even animosity.
Not all abstract shapes have such a wide range of potential meaning but many can elicit a similar or even stronger reaction, such as the shape of a cross or particular types of star shapes, depending on the context in which it’s used.
If you want to use abstract shapes but do not want to be so obvious or bring up the more common associations, you might find it useful to combine abstract shapes or to use them in unexpected ways. This approach to the use of abstract shapes can make for a much more subtle or complex statement which means your viewer will probably react more viscerally even with a readily recognized shape since its associations won’t be so blunt.
Here are just a few examples of abstract shapes where the association with them has been toned down.
Here, Elsie Smith overlays the impression of leaf forms on heart shapes showing just how perfectly they fit together. Pairing these makes the heart a gentle emotional background to the focus on, and apparent love of, nature’s intricate leaf formations.
This next one is a really good synergy of recognizable abstract shapes. Speaking in terms of the silhouette of the piece below as well as the focal point of the opening image, we could see a sunburst, a starburst, or a flower shape. Since Zuda Gay Pease was primarily creating flowers at the time she created this, we can assume her intention was for it to be a flower, but the energy of all those many pointed tips makes it come across as celestial. So, we get a combined association – the femininity and beauty of the floral shape with the energy and excitement of bursting light. It’s quite an impressive mix.
It’s interesting that practically all types of celestial bodies have a recognizable abstract shape (or variations of them.) There is probably nothing quite so common in abstract celestial shapes as a crescent moon. Our association with it can be fairly wide ranging from simply symbolizing the quiet and dark of night to embodying the ebb and flow of life.
In this example, I found it very curious that the lines on these crescents appear to be sun symbols with all their brilliant energy, and the bright blue ends of the crescent, visually truncating the shape, make us less likely to think crescent moon than simply an angular and curvy shape. The moon and its mysteries therefore become a quiet background to the louder energy of the colors and lines. I really like this contrast of concepts here as the sun and the blue color brings in a liveliness while the unconscious reaction to the moon shape is a quiet but divergent undertow. (Unfortunately, the Etsy shop from which this was saved is no longer available, so I am not sure who created it. If anyone knows, I would be ever so grateful if you would send me their name so I can update it.)
Is this making sense? I don’t think it’s hard to grasp the general idea of how iconic an abstract shape can be so I’m going to keep this short today. It’s also been a busy week getting all your accounts fixed up and so I should get off this computer. I challenge you to look around at the way abstract shapes are used in art work, be it your own or other people’s pieces.
Go Forth and Be Free… to be Inspired, For Free!
If you haven’t heard yet, starting in June (this next weekend) I will be posting the upcoming Virtual Art Box content previously planned for the VAB membership project on this blog so everyone can read it for free. I wanted readers, regardless of budget right now, to have access to these discussions, lessons, and exercises so we can all work on our art and increasing our skills and enjoyment together as well as give me the opportunity to take my work load down a notch or take breaks when necessary without being unfair to paid subscribers.
So, you can look forward to some in-depth article length discussions and ideas with a bit more juice to it than the blog usually has along with ideas on how to work with and apply the concepts if you so desire. Take it like a free class or just let the ideas sink in and enjoy the art. It’ll be here for you, starting next weekend.
Supporting Free Content
I am glad to have your support, in anyway you can provide it, to help me produce this content for free. Your supportive emails are always appreciated but if you want to help me keep the lights on, making purchases on the website is one of the best ways to do so since it gets you (or a lucky giftee) something to enjoy as well giving the contributing artists further exposure all while helping to keep me in busines.
If you have everything you want from the website at the moment, I have provided a donation option here for those who have asked and can afford to toss me a little something to help me, in particular, pay my tech guy and allow me much needed doses of dark chocolate!
So … until next weekend!
A Voice Inside (Big Sale Inside too!)
March 15, 2020
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news, The Polymer Arts magazine news
How often have you heard that you need to hone your artistic voice? It’s a bit of a catch phrase in the art world, a nebulous goal that sounds like it will herald your arrival into the art world as a “real artist”. Well, although I am one of those who talks about artistic voice a lot, I thought I’d put the record straight and just say … you don’t need to develop a unique artistic voice to create meaningful work.
It’s true. The need to develop a creative voice isn’t for everyone as it rather depends on why you create. Some people simply enjoy the process of creating or have an intense passion to acquire new and better skills. If that’s you, then fabulous! Go at it and don’t worry about a unique voice. Just create what you like but don’t copy (or don’t sell or teach those pieces if you do.) Do hone your skills so the work goes more smoothly and so you can enjoy your creative time that much more.
If however, you are one of those who have something to say or something they need to pull from inside themselves and put out into the world, then having a particular voice, versus just muddling around with the styles and inspiration of artists you admire, is rather important. Your particular voice is a pathway to self-expression and sharing your vision with the world. Even so, I don’t think you should put undue pressure on yourself to find that voice. I know… I sound rather contradictory, but the fact is, if you put in the work, learn the skills, follow your true passions, and work with a particular intention always in mind, your voice will come out of its own accord.
I don’t know why people go on about the need to be unique so much. We all are unique already! There is no one else in the world quite like you so there is no reason to try to be, or create, something that will make you more unique than you already are. If anything, we need to lose those crippling preconceptions of ourselves and how we need to be or act in order to find a more authentic sense of self. (That would be a discussion for another time, though!)
So, keep in mind, a discussion of creating a unique voice has nothing to do with becoming a unique person. Rather, it is about determining what, if any, mode of expression you want to explore in order to share yourself, your passion, and your vision with the world.
Voices Calling
Who do you know of that seems to create with that kind of authentic voice? Think on that for a second. Then ask, why does their work come across as unique and personal or as a passionate mode of self-expression?
Asking myself those questions, I just have dozens and dozens of artists that come to mind and probably as many reasons why. I really believe that polymer clay draws some very unique people due to its broad range of possibilities which leaves so much room for expression as well as room to reach into the realm of other materials and approaches.
For instance, is there anyone else that you’ve seen that does the range of work that Wendy Wallin Malinow does? It’s really different, a bit macabre (or sometimes more than a bit), and utterly fascinating. What I personally really love about her work is that she creates in absolutely whatever medium fits her purpose. Polymer clay is one she returns to time and again, but really, no material is off limits to Wendy.
Here is a collection of nests of by Wendy that I got a photo of at the Racine Museum in 2017. The upper left one is cut from copper, the one on the right (if memory serves me well) is created from polymer and paint, and the third is a detailed pencil drawing. Wendy seems to explore ideas and materials simultaneously, but lets the project determine the possible material, not the other way around. That distinction can be so necessary when feeding your own voice as, ideally, you don’t want to restrict your options simply because you identify with one material more than others.
Wiwat Kamolpornwijit also comes to mind as a really authentic voice, primarily because his artwork developed out of pure exploration while learning the material for a purely charitable reason. He had not set out to be a jewelry artist but was merely looking for a way to raise money for a cause he deeply believed in. But then the need to raise money continued and so the creating never stopped. His distinctive look came out of a natural progression in his process as he picked up skills and developed ideas out of a self-imposed necessity. As I understand it, he never aimed to create a distinctive voice, it just manifested itself from all the work he put into his craft and from letting his curiosity lead his designs. The result is that his award winning work is always easily recognizable. Below is a collection of his pieces from the Smithsonian Craft show in 2018.
Meredith Dittmar is another artist that is definitely on her own path. She too moves between materials, largely polymer and paper, in order to fulfill the needs of her projects and vision. It’s interesting to see though how polymer is sometimes treated like paper in a very flat manner, while other times, paper is rolled and folded to become more dimensional. The piece opening this post is listed as mixed media although I think it is primarily polymer. You can see how some pieces of it could be (and may be) paper. And below, she had to be working with some construction materials as well as paper and polymer, for this huge installation piece at the KAABOO Del Mar 2018 festival in southern California.
These are just a few of the people that have intrigued me over the years with their unique expression and sense of authenticity. By the way, the reason I can make rather certain statements about these artists is because they were all interviewed for articles in The Polymer Arts at some point. You can read more about Wiwat’s intriguing path to art in the Spring 2017 issue, about Wendy’s color approach in the Winter 2013 issue, and get a peek at Meredith’s process and studio in the Summer 2018 issue of The Polymer Arts.
Coaxing Your Authentic Voice
Okay, so I have an idea to help you bring out your authentic voice but it’s going to sound like a sales pitch because, well, it is although that’s not my primary motive. I want to help people find a place of joy, solace, and accomplishment in their personal creative endeavors. That’s my passion! My publications and projects happen to both help you in your creative pursuits and helps me pay few bills so I can keep doing this.
But let’s talk about you now. If the subject of your artistic voice and identifying your passions or the direction of your artwork is important to you, then you really should join us for the March Virtual Art Box. The VAB is not just another publication–it’s a community and virtual classroom with group creativity coaching that focuses on design education and exploration to help you cultivate the creativity and skills that lead to joy and fulfillment in your creative endeavors. The content applies to all professional and aspiring artists who, like the artists above, want to follow an authentic and fulfilling creative path.
So, come join your kindred spirits (from novices to some really well known and accomplished artists) already enthusiastically digging into their Boxes by snapping up the March box, or both boxes for February and March, available without a subscription if you just want to get a taste. Or jump in feet first while getting significant savings on recurring subscriptions. It’s a minor investment in your art and your creative self – less than a couple cups of coffee and it’ll warm you from the inside for longer, too!
As it does look like most of us will be spending a lot of time at home these next few weeks, it seems like a perfect time to put your spare energy into your creative endeavors. If you join VAB, you will also have access to a deep store-wide discount on all publications on the Tenth Muse website (much bigger than the one below even) and on Christi Friesen PDF tutorials as well!
But if you just want good old magazines and books, well, I want to help you out too. So, here …
“Make Your Own Package” Sale: 25% off $29 or more!
The discount is good on whatever collection of single publications, print or digital, that you put together in your cart when they total $29 or more.
Use coupon code: MYOP2529
Offer good through March 31, 2020. Discount doesn’t apply to sale items, packages, or the Virtual Art Box.
Okay, my dears, I am off to clean the studio so, hopefully, I can get some creative time in this week. I hope everyone is staying safe, staying sane, and keeping in touch with loved ones, especially those that can’t get visitors or go out during this crazy period. This too will pass. We got this!
Variation on Time
December 1, 2017
Inspirational Art
I spent a lot of time looking for differently constructed clocks in polymer and couldn’t find much that really illustrated the point I was hoping to make. What I wanted was to show that a clock does not have to be on a flat surface. It can be made of many parts, attached or not, and fully dimensional. As long as you have something that can house or hide the clock mechanism while holding out the hands, the rest is wide open. You can have the hour markers designated by any form and attach them with sticks or wire or be free floating–whatever suits the piece and your inclination.
These two examples are commercial designs rather than polymer art but I think they give you the basics of this idea of moving beyond the flat clock face. Not only do these kinds of clocks make for really interesting wall pieces, they give you the freedom to use pieces you may already have such as large hollow beads, faux stones, unhung pendants, small figurines, flowers, etc.
As a gift, giving a clock that has separate pieces might be best attached to something that can be hung as one piece, like a backing of Plexiglas or painted plywood. Or include instructions for a template to mark on the wall where each piece goes. There is little to no construction to deal with but you will have to make concessions in the design for how the individual pieces will be hung. Alternately, go for a design where the elements are attached like the flowers you see here.
The sky is the limit with these kinds of designs. For more ideas, try searching “DIY clocks,” which was the keyword set that brought me to these two pieces. I hope these sparks some ideas and I look forward to seeing inventive clock designs this month!
The Complexity of Time
November 29, 2017
Inspirational Art
In my search for clock inspiration, I veered a bit off the polymer path, but then again, I kept running into pieces that I thought were polymer but were not. Of course, pieces like this splendid celestial clock by Natalya Polekh could be created in a very similar fashion with polymer. Large textured sheets and fun with alcohol inks and mica powders could produce similarly stunning results so I took a closer look.
Natalya looks to be a well-known mixed media artist in Eastern Europe and Russia and when I say mixed, I mean all kinds of things. Her primary materials look to be various types of acrylic paint, dimensional and pearling paints, 3D gel, embossing paste, and glass and metal accents of different types. She works in texture, mosaics and layered media that is applied in such a way that knowing the materials is rather superfluous. She creates a beautiful complexity of texture and motif with shine and shimmer applied in abundance but always in a tasteful and often intriguing manner.
She does much more than clocks although she has done quite few of them. Take a look at her shop for more clock and textural ideas as well as very well priced tutorials on how she creates this work. Her VK.com page has more images.
Covering Time
November 27, 2017
Inspirational Art
Well, it’s that season again. While everyone else is shopping, crafters and artisans like yourself are working madly away on the stock that your audience demands to make their gift giving season the best one to date. For some of us, that audience is a retail account but for many more of us, it’s the far more intimidating circle of friends and family that we fret over. What do we do this year for gifts and surprises that we haven’t already done? Asking myself this question, I came up with a couple of ideas and in researching, clocks really hit a note for me. Any clayer of any level and any specialized set of techniques can create a clock that is both personal and expressive and everyone of every age can appreciate a lovingly created handmade clock.
Cane-covered clock faces are an easy project for clayers of any skill level. You can buy old clocks at the thrift store, or inexpensive ones at the big box store, or just a clock kit from a craft or hobby store that you put into your cane-covered clay sheets. Here is a fun and colorful, slightly off from the norm, cane-covered clock face for some initial inspiration. Mira Pinki Krispil is quite fond of cane covered decor but she always takes it one step beyond.
I like this piece because of the slight off-centeredness and the imagery in the center. It is more than decorated. The image in its center is intriguing with energetic lines bouncing back and forth through intertwined imagery. It’s just a great visual piece to start with. The fact that it’s a functional clock is a bonus.
Mira creates her colorful piece in south Israel and sells her work on Etsy. You can also see more of her designs by checking in on her Flickr photostream.
Quality of Line
November 24, 2017
Inspirational Art
I thought I’d continue to keep it simple this week and still talk a little about line, the theme of the latest issue of The Polymer Arts that came out last weekend.
This simple pendant by Yuliya Zharova uses two elements to tell a story—line and dots. The form of the people here is nothing more thank tall lines with a variation in thick and thin. The dots on the top of this line make up the heads, and the small dots and large gold one somehow become stars and a moon. It’s quite amazing how much can be shown with so little detail. But lines, in particular, can do that. It is a nice reminder of how little we really have to put down to get our viewers to see what we have to convey.
It is also a nice reminder that line has characteristics and qualities of its own. They do not always have to be even. The way the line is formed can convey imagery, as we see here, or emotion. The articles on design and the technique tutorials on using lines and dots and soutache to create emotion and texture will help fill in more on those ideas when you get to reading our latest issue.
Yuliya’s compositions are almost all some variation online and dots and are all lovely in their understated design. See more of her work in her Etsy shop, Wild Onion Art.
Following the Lines
November 22, 2017
Inspirational Art
I know this week will be a particularly busy one for many of us, especially in the US where we are kicking off the holiday season with our family-oriented Thanksgiving festivities involving way too much food and way too much shopping to follow it up the next day.
So for today, I thought I would harken to the theme of the just-released issue of The Polymer Arts, our Winter 2017 – Line, with a simple piece that represents a quality of line that I discuss in the article in this issue, “The Language of Line.” The simple circling forms, in the signature wavering organic forms of Anarina Anar, keep the composition centered and focused with a soft energy that continuously winds around in these soft but warm colors. Although the pendant is three-dimensional, it is the line the forms follow that gives the piece its balance and verve.
For more of Anarina’s colorful and energetic compositions, take a look at her Flickr site or her Etsy store. And to learn more about line, get a hold of your copy of this wonderful issue through our website if you have not seen it already or have it on its way to you.
Walking Through the Forest
November 20, 2017
Inspirational Art
First of all, my apologies for my unsuccessful attempts to post while traveling. My original plan was to have posts all set before I left but technical issues and the need for a last-minute change of service threw that plan out the window. And getting decent internet at hotels is nothing one can depend on! But I will make it up to you this month, I promise.
Now that almost all of you have seen the myriad of photos from the Into the Forest installation that attendees to the opening and talk posted this past week, I invite you to spend some time virtually walking through it. This is a walkthrough of the gallery and installation, from stepping through the front door to wandering from tree to tree, wall to wall, and corner to corner. I apologize that I am no expert videographer and trying to fluidly skirt around the artwork and step unobtrusively through the attendees created a few moments of spinning and diving that might leave some sensitive individuals momentarily dizzy. But all in all, I am thrilled to have captured some of the feel of walking through our polymer forest that night.
In other news … the latest issue of The Polymer Arts, Winter 2017 – Line, has arrived! Digital issues were sent in the wee hours (3 am EST) on Saturday so if you are expecting a digital copy and haven’t seen it, check your spam/junk folder as that is where the errant access emails often land. If you need help, write my assistant Sydney at connect(at)thepolymerarts.com or, if you get this by email, just respond to this email.
Print editions were at the post office as of Thursday so if you are expecting one in print, depending on how far you are from northern Idaho, you will be seeing the new issue in your mailbox in 5-15 business days from then.
If you need to start or renew a subscription or buy the single issue, you can do so at www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
Bags Bedecked
November 10, 2017
Inspirational Art
So far this week, we’ve looked at clutches covered in sheets of colored and patterned polymer but that is not, by far, the only way to create a dazzling handbag with polymer. Not all of us are caners and many of us lean toward sculptural elements and tactile texture and a handbag is a great place to lay down such touchable techniques.
You may have seen this handbag in our Spring 2015 – Diversity issue of The Polymer Arts, where Lisa Pavelka shared some of her thoughts and ideas on embellishing with polymer and crystals. This very tactile bag, with a limited cool palette of greens and blues, effortlessly rides that sometimes difficult balance of being both fun and sophisticated. The crystals make it appropriate for a dressy evening but the roiling mix of paisley shapes and abstracted leaves adds that touch of whimsy that makes it work with a pair of jeans when one is just out and about in the afternoon.
This is just one more way you can create an accessory that your customer (or yourself) can use and cherish all throughout the year. If you want more idea on purses a la Lisa Pavelka, take a look at her Pinterest pages as well as shopping on her website where you can get the materials you need to create your own great handbag.
Earlier this week I received an email from one of our readers, Dara Meunier who came across an article and quote by Luann Udell that she thought we all might enjoy …
“Take what speaks TO you; tranform it into what speaks OF you.”
I had to wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. Whether we are cognizant of it or not, our art is a translation of the things we see and experience in this world, things we found that spoke to us in some way. Udell’s article is about this translation in the context of looking at other people’s art work. We see other artists doing something we really like and find ourselves inclined to want to either create the same work or do something quite similar. Of course, that pushes us towards the deep, dark realm of copying but not only that, it influences our own personal voice, the source of originality we could be instilling in our work.
I think looking at other polymer artists is important to expand our view of what is possible and as a means to inspire and motivate us. On the other hand, I do agree that we may let what we see influence us too greatly or more precisely, too directly. The art we find we would like to try our hand at should not be translated through just our skill set–that’s not really translating but more copying within the limitations of what we are presently capable of–rather we should filter inspiring work through who we are, our spirit and our particular view of the world. Let what you do “speak OF you”. Otherwise it is not art, as art by definition is personal expression; recreating someone else’s object of expression is just fabrication, nothing more, and certainly nothing that is uniquely you. And showing the unique you is where the true beauty of a piece will come from.
Jump over to Luann Udell’s very honest and down to earth article about these ideas.
Thanks, Dara, for sharing this with us.
Read More
Although many of us may be mesmerized by the jewelry possibilities of translucent clays, we should not forget just how wonderful they can be on decor, especially pieces for which light is integral such as lamps, candle holders and night lights.
Below we have a beautifully detailed example of just what translucents offer when covering lighted decor. This is a lamp by Diane Dunville … created in 1998. (Yeah … we didn’t need no Pardo back then!)
The thing about lighted decor is that it needs to be designed for two different types of existence–lit and unlit. Obviously it’s gorgeous when lit from within but since it won’t always be on (one would think) it should be a beautiful object when unlit as well. Which is done here. Diane’s bold colors and a considerable consideration for the layout of the patterning should make this nearly as impressive a piece of decor in its unlit state as it is when illuminated from inside.
This is not just a covered object either. Here is the description of Diane’s work from the Polymer Art Archive post (written by Rachel Carren) in which I found this lovely piece:
“Fascinated by glass art, Dunville created a series of lamps during the late 1990’s. After building a foundation of mesh, Dunville added layers of translucent polymer which were then textured and carved. The results are a graphic and playful blend of color and pattern which make for bold, decorative surfaces when unlit and cast a colorful glow when lit.”
Agreed!
Read More
The quote below came to mind when I got, for the third time in as many weeks, a kind note from a reader telling me how much they enjoy the blog even though they don’t always agree with what I say. I so enjoy these comments. It means people are stopping to think.
I certainly can’t claim that what I say is “right” or gospel in any manner. We are talking about art here–a subjective matter with many right answers. The fun part is actually being deemed “wrong” and having people stop to say so. It means that whatever was said, whatever was done, was interesting enough to make someone stop and consider. And at the end of the day, that is truly the purpose of art, even when (or especially when) the observer thinks it should have been done differently.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Occam’s Razor is, at its essence the idea that, all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the better option. It’s a hard concept to wrap around the creation of art but I have found the idea to be a life saver … or an art saver. I have these words taped above my studio table: When you can’t decide … Occam’s Razor! It’s a reminder for those times I get really wound up over a design and can’t figure out how to fix it. The inclination is often to add more or overwork what I’ve done but it usually works out much better when I can step back, look at the basics of what I am doing and pare down the work to its simple essence.
After talking about pushing the construction of your work this week, I did wonder if some readers might think complexity would be the way to break out from any standard forms they had been adhering to, but complexity is not what it’s about. So here is a great example of pushing a standard necklace design in the most simple and yet highly impactful manner. This piece was created by Kaytie Johnson, a curator of contemporary art who professes to be obsessed with design. I can see that … this is all about the design not about the polymer at all.
She’s taken a dangling bead necklace design and pushed it by repeating the chains of beads but with a carefully measured change in color from one to the next. The beads themselves are very basic but done well, with a good eye for color so that the piece looks anything but basic. It’s simply simple design executed well.
So if you have been inspired by the construction and form ideas this week, just keep in mind you don’t have to go crazy. And only push the design when it makes sense for the effect and use of the piece you are creating. Sometimes it’s better to not deviate from the standards. They became standards for a good reason. Occam’s Razor … sometimes the simple solution–using a proven form–is the best answer. Just keep in mind, that it’s not always going to be the case.
Read MoreI have been holding onto these little gems (pun intended) for a while now. I was fascinated but I wasn’t sure what you all would think of these tiny creative creatures, or even the artist that got these little creepy crawlies to collaborate with him. But nature’s unstoppable creativity is so well high-lighted by these very unusual pieces that I couldn’t help but hope there would be an appropriate occasion to share this. But here’s a warning … if you get buggy about bugs, you may want to avert your eyes. If, on the other hand, you are as fascinated by what Mother Nature’s creatures create as I am, I think you’ll find this utterly intriguing.
These golden cocoons below were not some bizarre concept created by a mad jewelry artist and imposed upon some unsuspecting insects. These cocoons were actually created by the creatures crawling out of them. The caddis fly larvae, an insect closely related to the butterfly constructed these casings from available material. Talk about a different way of constructing art jewelry!
The caddis fly collaboration was conducted by and with an artist by the name of Hubert Duprat. My first sighting of these amazing pieces were in a back issue of Cabinet magazine, the publication of an arts and culture organization out of Brooklyn, New York. According to their website “Cabinet aims to foster curiosity about the world we have made and inhabit.” Yep, they got me curious. How did Hubert get these creatures to build their cocoons out of gold and gems?
Well, apparently these little guys spin cocoons out of silk but incorporate other materials from their environment. Since they are river dwelling bugs, sand, bits of shell, fish bones, and plant matter are common inclusions in their casings. Since gold and stones are common river material, Hubert thought he would see if the larvae would include precious natural materials in their cocoons if their more mundane alternatives were not present. And they did. But isn’t it amazing how they designed their casings? Striations of stone and aligned rods of gold wire decorating only the top and center portions of the sheaths. The casings are beautiful and well balanced. It seems almost impossible that these creatures would create something that wasn’t just a total mish-mash of materials until you stop and think … nature is the ultimate designer. Our own sense of design comes from what we have been seeing in the natural world around us for eons. These creatures may not be aware of their inherent design sense but they too would have assimilated the balance of the world around them into what they do.
Bottom line here … when looking for new ways to develop and construct your artwork, don’t forget to look to the work of the master and original architect you can find all around you.
There are videos on YouTube showing the caddis fly building these with Hubert explaining the process if you just can’t get enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jID1_GwxiE0
Read MoreOne of the more challenging aspects of jewelry art can be the engineering. Even if you are making a simple pendant, there is at least a moment or two where you should stop and consider how it is going to hang, what kind of bail or attachment it will have and how long the chain or cord should be. That is the engineering of its function as adornment. When getting into more complex necklace designs you might have to consider points at which it needs to ‘hinge’, the balance so the center stays at center, how the parts or beads will fit together, how it will sit around the neck or on the shoulders, etc., etc., etc.
There are some standard necklace designs you can always stick with, like a straight-forward string of beads or a large focal piece strung with a symmetrical arrangement of companion beads on either side. Keeping the engineering simple is often the best route. But have you tried challenging yourself with unconventional designs? Asymmetrical arrangements, unconventional hanging points and/or bails, pieces that must fit precisely together, etc.? How about a piece that can change at the whim of the wearer? Now that is a challenge.
And it’s a challenge that Cristina Almeida took up several years ago with the construction of this piece, the Infinity Necklace.
Click on the image to open a larger window so you can better see the different ways the necklace can be worn.
In Cristina’s words, ” The Infinity Necklace is all about construction … you can actually change the whole construction of it, add and reduce components, make it shorter or longer and it all connects with body piercing [jewelry]. The whole piece is made using polymer clay … Kato clay for the rigid parts, Sculpey Bake&Bend clay for the flexible parts.” Besides the unique ways the necklace can be hung, it has some very intriguing beads within those intriguing bands. Beautiful and ingenious.
This really does take engineering a necklace to a whole other level. But a necklace isn’t the only thing that takes a little engineering. I thought I might spend a little time this week on that idea. I had quite a lot of fun last week with the Swirls and Curls themed posts and thought I’d try a theme again. What do you all think about posting according to themes for the week or at least part of the week? I thought I’d try it for the next few weeks and see what comes of it. Let me know if you’re enjoying them!
By the way, did you know … subscriptions and purchases of The Polymer Arts magazine are what make this blog possible? As you might have noticed, it is not plastered with ads. We may have to expand the advertising a to help with increasing costs but I’d like to keep it to a minimum, so if you enjoy this blog and aren’t already a subscriber, do consider supporting it with a subscription or issue purchases. And you’ll get even more in-depth and inspiring information in The Polymer Arts magazine. Its a win-win-win for us all!
Read MoreThis Sunday’s thought is rooted in a discussion I overheard while waiting in line at the store. This woman kept speaking of someone’s shortcomings, I think a co-worker. By the time I was checking out I surmised it was likely someone new at their job and this woman was wholly unforgiving of this person’s mistakes. It seemed to be the typical put down others use to elevate themselves when, in anyone else’s eyes, it doesn’t do that at all. However, helping a willing person learn and become better at whatever they need to do should raise both people in the eyes of any empathetic observer–the person helping because of their generosity and the person learning because of their openness to be taught.
We should always keep in mind that someone somewhere is probably better than you at any one thing you do. This is especially true in creative fields. But it’s not even that someone out there will do what you do better, but rather that they will do it differently. There’s no point in anyone thinking of any other artist as being above or below another. Art is a personal journey and the most productive path includes helping those that can learn from you, and you, without ego, willingly learning from those that know what you do not.
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Let us have a whimsical Friday, shall we? This curious sculpture titled “Night Jackal” is by mixed media sculptor Ellen Jewett. Her sculptures portray fantastical visions combining animals with man-made objects and constructions.
She is rather vague about her materials but nowhere can I find mention of polymer, and being that she paints the sculptures it doesn’t look as if she does work with it, even though for those of us who do work with polymer, it might seem a natural choice for the bits of adornment, if not the primary structure of the creatures. There is mention of cold porcelain and other lightweight clays over metal armature but otherwise she usually only describes her materials as mixed media. Apparently, for Ellen, it is not about the material as further attested to in this quote from her website:
“She has always worked by the principle that materials should conform to her vision, rather than confine her vision to the limits of a material. It is in this way that she produces mixed media sculptures that achieve an otherworldly quality.”
This brings up an interesting thought. Polymer artists can become rather attached to the idea of doing everything in polymer … because it seems we can! So the question then arises, do you create what you make because of the material you love to work with, or is polymer simply the right material for your vision?
I don’t know if it really matters which it is. However, I think it may be important to understand the difference and know how it is that you use the material. If you create because of the material, you may need to be cautious of having it limit your creativity in that you let it dictate what you make. On the other hand, if you have particular things you want to create and have come to polymer because it works for what you have in mind, have you explored the vast possibilities the material has and can offer in addition to what you have been doing with it?
Just something to ponder next time you sit down to create new work.
The focus in the next issue of The Polymer Arts is “Mixing it Up” which includes a lot of discussion about using polymer with other materials. Don’t forget to get your subscription or renew the one you have if the Spring issue was your last. You can also pre-order copies on our website. Go here to order and guarantee you don’t miss out on the next issue: www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
Read MoreYes, a few more swirls and curls to wind down the week. Here I want to ponder the edge that makes the visual swirl in a three dimensional form. It’s a chance to consider that there’s texture on every side of the clay.
A strip of clay has a front and back … and a side. The side, although difficult to texturize with any impact of its own, can create a texture itself. And if you do add texture to the thin side and then compound that texture by, say, rolling it up to create a texture in form, you can develop a very rich effect. Tanya Mayorova does this with a technique to develop a ragged edge texture that even with very muted colors comes across as quite dynamic.
Tanya shares her ragged edge technique in a a brief tutorial on her blog here.
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