Mosaic Flow
February 24, 2019
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
Are you familiar with something known as the flow state? This is that space you get in where you are lost in your own little world because you are so wrapped up in what you are doing. It happens quite commonly when people are working on creative projects and it’s a really good thing for you, both because it dissipates stress and because it increases your level of “feel-good” chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. It’s also defined as an “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.” Now, who wouldn’t want that?
I bring this up because I want to talk about mosaics. I think a lot of people look at all those tiny pieces and think, “That looks like a ton of work!” And, yeah, there might be a lot of steps to putting a mosaic together, but the technique is also one that really gets you deep into a flow state. It can be kind of like doodling but with little pieces.
It would not be a hard thing to start on. Most of us have access to tons of tiny pieces, either through leftover canes, unused polymer sheets, or failed projects we haven’t had the heart to toss out. Just slice up those canes, cut up those sheets, and/or start chopping up those cured elements and you have all you need to start creating mosaics. Of course, you can make pieces specifically for mosaics from fresh clay, too!
Mosaics have been on my mind these last couple weeks because, while working on the latest book, Polymer Journeys 2019, it became quite apparent that one of the bigger trends making a splash right now is polymer mosaics and so I thought we ought to take a closer look at this not so new but definitely interesting and flexible technique. (By the way, today is the last day to get the Pre-order Sale pricing on Polymer Journeys 2019! Go to the website to get it at 30% off the cover!)
Mind you, being the insanely creative and exploratory artisans and crafters that they are, polymer enthusiasts aren’t just slapping together any old standard expectation of a mosaic. They are mixing mediums, trying out every shape in the book, using three-dimensional forms, and generally just pushing the boundaries of what the mosaic technique is. Gotta love polymer crafters!
So, let’s take a look at what some people are doing as of late and we’ll end with suggestions for getting into the mosaic flow yourself.
Different Kinds of Bits & Pieces
One of the folks who, at least initially, takes a classic approach to the art form of mosaics but certainly adds her own flavor to it, is Christi Friesen. She cuts out squares of polymer, lays a base to adhere them to and then arranges the pieces in pleasing and energetic patterns. But of course, Christi can’t leave well enough alone — she has to add bling and embellishments of all kinds! She’s been mixing in glass, wire, charms, beads, and probably a bunch of other things I will never be able to identify, to create her whimsical tiles, vessels and jewelry. Can’t you just sense the depth of the flow state she must have been in creating this beautiful maelstrom?
You could say that Claire Fairweather is classically inspired too, but her work has a twist to it. That twist is a commitment to circles used to create these wonderful images of graduated color and varied texture. Using round elements instead of squares and straight-sided shapes that join neatly together, leaves more open space but it’s one that has a fairly regular rhythm that flows in and out of the carefully placed circles. This gives the imagery more orderliness and a softer look as you can see in the many sides of her mosaic globe below. (Be sure to jump over to her blog to get the rundown on what each side is showing.)
Keep in mind that a mosaic piece does not have to be all mosaic. Large swaths can be made up of other types of polymer elements such as textured, silkscreen, impressed, or hand tooled layers or forms. A lot of Susan Crocenzi’s work, especially earlier in this decade, consist of entire halves of her pieces being a kind of polymer landscape, surrounded by glass mosaics or a mix of mosaic mediums. Here is just one example below but you can find more on her website too.
For all of you mad caners out there, here is an example of how beautifully energetic a piece can be just by arranging thick cane slices on a simple form. This bib necklace is a yet-to-be-hung creation by Ivy Niles, who makes some of the most impressive canes. You can see how much more impressive they are when working together in this off-center mandala type pattern.
If you really like the idea of doing mosaics don’t relegate your sources of inspiration to the work of polymer artist’s, as unique as they may be. Take a look at what glass and tile mosaic artists are doing these days as well (just type “mosaic art” into your favorite browser or an image-centric site, like Pinterest or Instagram) if for no other reason than there is some amazing and gorgeous work out there to enjoy. Here is a gorgeous piece by Francis Green in what seems to be a rare piece of wall art. This woman will mosaic anything she can get her hands on! She kinda reminds me of some unbridled polymer artist with their canes. Just take a look at her website.
The How-Tos of Mosaics
So, are you itching to try some mosaics now? Here are a few places you could start:
- If you want to start with something classic, even, and orderly, check out this straight-forward mosaic tile tutorial by Korrina Robinson on her blog.
- Prefer a more open and visually textural approach that is flexible enough to use any type of clay sheets or even canes? Take a look at this mosaic vase by Kathy Koontz on the Sculpey website.
- If you’re ready to really dive in, might I suggest you invest in this great tutorial on micromosaics and faux glass by Pavla Čepelíková. The opening image of this post shows examples of some of the things she’ll teach you to make in this downloadable PDF.
- If you want to use mosaic as a way to diminish your pile of scrap clay and cured bits, take a look at Christi Friesen’s mosaic video tutorial here. You can also have fun creating mosaics Antoni Gaudi style on an unusually formed box with Christi in the Polymer Art Projects – Organic book (go to our website to get your copy!)
- And if that’s not enough, Christi sells mosaic kits on her website where you can also find tons of other embellishments and bobbles to assist in your mosaic flow. Just click here!
- I even have some exciting mosaics for you to look forward to too … We just found out that Staedtler/Fimo is going to sponsor Ann and Karen Mitchell, the Masters of liquid polymer clay, to create a mini mosaic tutorial for the next issue of The Polymer Studio magazine. This is a changeup to Karen’s tiny micromosaic technique published in The Polymer Arts back in the Fall of 2015.
Whew! I got into a flow a bit there myself writing excitedly about all this fun stuff. I hope you’ll give mosaics a try if you have not already, or at least give yourself some time to just get lost in your craft today. It’s good for the brain and the soul and you never know what will come of it later in your creative journey!
How to Make It Your Own
April 25, 2018
Inspirational Art
I know I just featured Katie Way in February, but this is such a great example of taking a technique and making it your own that I didn’t want to pass by this opportunity. This seemed particularly apropos after an incident came up a week or so ago that I was consulted about involving a student submitting something to a contest that they created either in a class or based on a class. The problem was not in taking something that was learned in a class and creating from that knowledge but using the design choices that the teaching artist used. So, let’s just review what that means. In a way, it’s very simple – you can replicate technique, but you cannot use the design decisions of another artist.
I think part of the issue is that there is some confusion as to what’s is technique and what is design, so let me try to define that.
Technique is how you manipulate the material including how you apply texture, the process of forming/sculpting, the mixing or application of color treatments, the creation of mechanisms or use of materials for constructing the piece, etc. In other words, it’s about the process of creating.
Design is about the specific choices you make about how something is going to look. So, your choices about the type of texture (not how you apply it), the shapes you create (but not how you create them), the colors you choose (but not the source of the color), and the arrangement of your construction (but not the mechanisms used to put pieces together), are all design choices. If the majority of your choices are based on someone else’s examples, then you’re in danger of copying their design. Changing the color or shape is simply not enough, nor is it fair to the artist that inspired you and, equally so, it’s not fair to you and your creative growth to skip the exploration of what a piece could be by not making the design decisions yourself.
In the piece we see here, Katie Way took a class with Alice Stroppel and made a piece that is uniquely her own. You can see the influence of both artists in this work. The big, bold cane work shows Alice’s influence, but the color choices and all those bulls-eye circles are absolutely Katie. I would’ve known this was Katie’s right away, but it would’ve taken me a few moments to realize where her change in technique came from if she hadn’t made note of her influencer. And that’s really how it should be.
You can absolutely copy the work of the teaching artist in class as a way to learn. Most of them do prefer that. But when you go home, don’t make that same basic piece ever again. Have enough confidence and belief in your artistic self to work out your own designs. It is far more fulfilling to create from your own sense of aesthetic and ideas than to simply be successful with someone else’s design.
Okay, getting off my soapbox now. If you’re intrigued by Alice’s cane mapping class, go to her website to check out where she will be teaching next. And if you’ve somehow missed Katie’s work, check out her Etsy shop and her Instagram page.
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.
Peeking Through Layers
November 3, 2017
Inspirational Art
A lot of the peek-a-boo designs you see peer in at just one contrasting surface although there are a few out there who add in a little charm or an additional focal point. But I really like what Czech Republic’s Jitka Petrů did with this opening in her pendant’s surface.
The many overlapping layers look like they are moving back, one depth at a time and seem like we will soon see the inner surface although it stops at just giving us the tiniest of peeks. But that effect really draws your eye in. When you pull back, it even has a bit of an optical motion effect, in part because of the angling of the layers but also because of the very slight change in color value and hue which makes for a gradual transition to the center.
Jitka plays around with this peek into layers in a number of ways as you can see in her shop here.
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A Peek at a Letter
November 1, 2017
Inspirational Art
Since we started out this week with a spooky something or other peeking out at us, I thought I’d try to make a theme of it and the idea of peeking into things is always intriguing. Spaces that allow us to look into things beyond is like the revealing of a tiny mystery, a look into a place that we might otherwise be shut off from. When this is part of a design, I think it automatically will draw the eye. Whether you can keep a viewer looking is up to the rest of your design.
The idea of a partly revealed letter that Samantha Burroughs chose for this beautifully textured pendant is certainly alluring. Who doesn’t get a little bit of thrill from the possibility of seeing the inner thoughts of another person? We are also very drawn to text in general as our brain wants to immediately read and decipher it so it was a good choice for the interior content of the holes here. It also creates a contrasting texture to the organic surface of the piece.
Samantha has honed her skills in a variety of established techniques and looks to be fully exploring quite a few of them. You can find her work on Etsy.
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A Spooky Peek
October 30, 2017
Inspirational Art
Being that tomorrow is Halloween, I could not help but get in one last spooky bit of polymer creativity. The thing that makes something truly scary is the stuff you can’t see, or so I have always felt. The bogeyman under the bed, the creature in the closet, the shape of some beast in the bushes … just the hint that something is there allows our imagination to run wild. And in the dark and the shadows, our imagination comes up with some pretty scary stuff!
So, seeing the pair of eyes staring out from the forest in this polymer illustration by Korrina Robinson, what are you thinking is in there? You know I was thinking those eyes need to be glow in the dark and then I would so want this to be a light switch plate because how freaky would that be in a shadowy room to have to reach into that to get the light on and banish the very fears it invokes? Can you hear your inner voice saying, “Don’t do it! You’ve seen this seen in the movies and someone always loses a hand!”
Okay … enough with trying to spook you all. Especially since I think I am very much spooking myself in the process. But isn’t it neat how our imaginations can add so much to what we look at? And isn’t it great that polymer clay allows us to create any such thing our imagination comes up with?
For those of you who celebrate this holiday in which we face and often embrace our fears, have a very safe and happy Halloween.
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Vessel Unexpected
October 25, 2017
Inspirational Art
I was going to start off a week of spooky ghoulishness but I have to delay that for one more post as I wanted to take the opportunity to share a beautiful piece recently created by the ever-surprising Beth Petricoin. The glass vessel you see here, accompanied by a similarly styled neckpiece was part of an entry for a decorated table contest in a local town. I choose this image so you could see the work but it is best displayed in a darker setting when the side-sitting vessel and the necklace both are lit up by hidden LED lights.
Beth did not win the contest which was a disappointment for her but if originality and hard work had been what they were primarily grading on, it would have been an easy winner I think. But as she says in her post, it is easier to have your work appreciated by fellow artisans and this, unfortunately, was not really an art contest. But I thought we all could sure show our appreciation for the beautifully applied and finished work as well as the ingenuity of the design, especially in regards to its function as an eye-catching table centerpiece.
I won’t go on too long about this as Beth has written at length about the event and the piece. I do hope it gets a few creative wheels turning with some pondering on larger polymer pieces and maybe a few of you will now want to keep an eye out for more unique shapes for polymer-covered decor. Do jump over to her blog to see the lit up images and to read about how she created these beauties.
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Exploring Points
October 18, 2017
Inspirational Art
Last week I had the very fortunate opportunity to spend a couple days chatting and exploring Los Angeles with Christi Friesen and one of my oldest polymer pals, Debbie Crothers. We definitely did more talking than anything else and one of the subjects that kept coming up was exploration. Exploration of a technique or of a design element in your work can reveal much about what you personally prefer to do in your work not just what the technique or element offers.
One great way to explore is to make a lot of elements using the same technique or the same design element. In this bold neckpiece by Hélène JeanClaude there are several variations on the dot. The dot as a colored accent, as repetition defining the structure of a visual pattern, and as negative space are joined together, linked by that same color of blue and the coppery brown. The curve of the shapes, as well as the colors and the dots themselves, create a cohesive whole of these three very different explorations of the way a dot can be used.
Hélène’s work often appears to be an exploration of a particular design element or perhaps she is simply not satisfied with an element being presented in just one way. Regardless, it presents a high level of sophistication and energy to her tribal-leaning aesthetic. You can explore the fruits of her explorations on her Flickr photostream and here on her blog.
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Since there seems to be a lot of conversation about originality lately, I thought we’d focus on that idea for a bit this week (which is a great excuse to just bring the most stunning work I can find to post for you!) Finding your own original voice versus copying or following trends has been a point of discussion since Synergy 3 with the widely shared talk, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly in the Age of the Internet given by Harriete Berman, to comments and links here, to other articles and posts making the rounds like this one regarding copying posted by Ronna Sarvas Weltman on her Facebook page over the weekend. Originality is a very hard thing to teach. But awareness of what it is may be the first step in finding your own original artistic voice.
Covering objects with cane slices is in no way an original idea. But if someone did it for the first time today and for weeks after other people started doing it, would they be copying this innovative artist? Not necessarily. It is not the process or the skill that makes a piece unoriginal but the ability for a person to make what they see or learn their own personal expression (see Sunday’s post for the more in depth philosophical discussion on this). There are techniques, concepts and approaches to making art with your material of choice. Learned well, they become a skill. This will not make one an artist. It is what you do with it, how you make it your own, let it express what you see and care about. So … how can covering with cane slices be wholly original?
This frog is a Jon Anderson piece (see the Spring 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts for a gallery of his work and bio based on the only interview he has ever given.) It is completely covered with cane slices. However, every slice has been placed with purpose and as a way to express what Jon wants to portray about this creature and the colors and patterns he has been inspired by throughout his life.
Jon chooses the patterns on his slices, the colors and the way he lays them out to emphasize the form of the frog as well to embody his sense of what is beautiful. He also embeds symbols such as the moth on the frog’s head that give you reason to pause and wonder what else this is about besides the frog. There are a few other artists that use the same patterned approach to covering forms with cane slices but I have never seen any of their pieces that could be mistaken for Jon Anderson’s. His approach is a reflection of himself, the individual, the original person that his life and experience has formed.
Who would you consider the most original artist that works in the forms, techniques and/or approaches that you do? (And it’s okay if you think it’s you. It may very well be!)
Read MoreEarlier 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.
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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 MoreFor me, swirls and curls represent, more than anything, the liveliness of Mother Nature, especially the drama of changing weather which is very much the theme here for us today in Colorado.
I grew up in Los Angeles where I think they pay Mother Nature to stay away as much as possible. Here at the foot of the Rocky Mountains we get all kinds of weather, often several wide variations in the same week if not in the same day. Yesterday it was warm enough for shorts and sunbathing but by evening we were getting blizzard warnings. It can be rather exciting and amazing to see clouds spilling over the mountain peaks in billowing curls, the swirl of leaves and dust on the sidewalks as the storm builds then the twisting fall of the snow as it comes down. Quite inspiring I have to say.
This piece of Daniela D’Uva‘s (same piece, four views) also reminds me of the power of weather. It could be seen as the icy blue of a harsh winter wind or the swirling pools on the side of a rushing river.
The repetition of the curling lines, echoed in the winding wire creates nonstop movement, the motion becoming an element of repetition unto itself. The near saving grace here, that which might keep us from being overwhelmed, are the three almost too small beads of blue. A touch larger or with more contrast and the beads would provide a solid resting point for the eye. I’m not saying it needs that, not if Daniela wants us to feel a little overwhelmed and lost here. It is certainly matching the crazy weather outside my window today.
Daniela is quite the master of polymer and wire work as well as completing some of the most interesting ‘back sides’ in polymer jewelry. If you’re stuck inside or just want a break from work, take a minute or two to look over the gorgeous work on her Flickr pages.
Read MoreEarlier this week we talked about pushing your art, knowing when it’s time to stop perfecting it. But there is another side to that coin … knowing when to push it a little farther.
Being able to discern whether you’ve added to or worked out a design enough can be difficult, and it’s not something someone can readily teach you. It takes practice and mindful awareness of your process. So how do you know when to take your work a step or two further?
Well, here is an example. Fiona Abel-Smith created this image using a polymer technique first explored by Sue Heaser. It’s based off a mineral mosaic like technique called pietra dura. Fiona starts out with the first image, inlaying clay. Pretty nice as is, right? But then she adds little bits of clay in a painterly manner and the image goes from just nice to quite impressive.
The depth and dimension the bits of clay add takes it from great craft work to rich illustration. The texture gives it a liveliness it just didn’t have before.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “I kind of like the one on the left better or at least as much.” In truth, the pietra dura is not better, it’s simply a different kind of piece. That is partly why knowing if you have taken it far enough is so hard to determine. So, when working on a piece, there are a couple questions you need to ask yourself. “What do I want this piece to be?” or “What is the purpose of this piece?” and then ask yourself, “Is there anything else I might do with this to accomplish what I am after?”
If you are unsure, you can add to and reaarange your work or try ideas out on a scrap piece before answering that last question. Playing with options is part of the process and certainly part of the fun. Just don’t ‘give up’ on a piece that you sense could be taken farther for what you want it to be. Push it a little, see what you discover. You can always go back if you don’t like what happens when you take it a step further.
And speaking of Sue Heaser, she’s already well-known for her many books on polymer and other crafts … she’s just recently released her first eBook, Polymer Clay Jewellery for Beginners: Book 1 – Millefiori Canes and it’s only $5. It’s a very clear and well laid out book for those who haven’t yet explored Millefiori and for those who teach, it can be a great tool to recommend to students for preparation before they come to your class so you don’t waste precious time getting them up to speed on basics.
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Julie Eakes is unique among polymer artists. She works with canes but with an end result far beyond what most of us even dream to attempt. She works at developing realistic images in mosaic like canes.
This piece below is even unusual for Julie. This is an image, completely created with patterned canes, all in black and white and using the eye’s natural tendency to mix tones and merge tiny details into larger imagery; very much the same as is done in pointillism. Our distance from details causes this to happen. You may have noticed this when looking at thumbnails of a piece online only to click on the image and find it is hardly like what you imagined it would be. And that is something to consider. When working on a piece, it might serve you well to step back and observe your work at the distance that it will most often be viewed to get a clear idea of the impression it gives.
The portrait here is of the artist Chuck Close, who is a very apropos subject being he creates portraiture in the very same mosaic like manner. Chuck, however, paints on a grid format, sometimes monochromatic as well as in color, each block of the grid usually being a series of rings, not unlike extruded canes. It’s no wonder Julie was inspired to create his portrait.
Julie created Chuck’s image using a photo that had been printed on the front of New York’s Village Voice, the image actually being a 3D model of Chuck Close that her brother made of the artist. You can see the close up of the canes as well as a video documenting Julie’s creation of the piece on her blog here.
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Last winter the cover of The Polymer Arts was graced with beautiful brocade polymer purses by Iris Mishly of PolyPediaOnline. Iris is quite the innovator and her library of tutorials as well as her blog is a treasure box of fantastic ideas. One of her more recent tutorials is on a technique she refers to as ‘SkyScraper” in reference to the sparkling effect of tall city buidlings in the sun.
The necklace here is an example of what the technique can create. She emphasizes that the process requires baking before creating so we can surmise that there will be some very different ideas and tricks to be gleaned from this class in particular.
Iris’ tutorials follow a growing trend of artists that combine lengthy videos and printed materials into a very in-depth and intensive class you can take at your own pace and at a significantly lower cost than traveling and attending workshops. Not that technology will ever begin to replace that hands-on, in-person experience but with the wealth of information out there from generous artists all over the world, this technology and approach is a great way to get a wonderfully broad and diverse polymer education.
See all of Iris’ tutorial classes here. She also offers quite a number of free tuts and free videos with additional tips and ideas.
Read MoreEver wish there was a way you could turn a single sale into a sale of two pieces? Wish you had a few pieces that were versatile and clever enough to draw the attention of the more skeptical buyers as they look over your booth? Well, when I saw these two beaded magnetic bracelets below, so easily turned into an interesting neck piece I couldn’t help but imagine all the configurations (and extra sales) a polymer jewelry artist could come up with.
These beaded beauties were created by Hildegund llkerl of Austria. I did wonder at what looks to be plastic ends on these very expensive pieces ($440). But they sold. On the other hand, just think of what beautiful covered connections a clayer could come up with?
The magnetic clasps are a pretty familiar finding now a days but I do wonder that more people haven’t considered how to use them to expand a piece. You could make beaded bracelets that fit together as a necklace, necklaces that can be adjusted to be different lengths by removing a magnetically attached section or make a short necklace with matching earrings that are magnetically attached to earring wires or post but could be pulled to grow the length of the necklace. Or make interchangeable sections of different colors or patterns for a necklace or bracelet. My mind is just whirling. Isn’t yours?
Read MoreThere are many amazing, detailed canes out there by some incredibly talented artists. But there are some that just amaze and stay with you. When I saw this caned butterfly by Jane Zhao it was simply hard to believe it was a cane.
The details are really quite incredible … well thought out and executed. The best part is, I found this on CraftArtEdu … as a class. So if you’re intrigued, you can check out the class which promises many a tip and trick for great canes, here on CraftArtEdu.
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