The Impact of the Past on the Present

One of the articles I personally looked forward to the most out of the articles in this next issue of The Polymer Arts is on the influence of past cultures on our work. Some of the influence and connections we have are very subtle or so ubiquitous that we don’t recognize their ancient roots, like the use of swirls, hand prints, or even hearts. But then there is the more obvious imagery we connect directly with past civilizations, like runes, hieroglyphs, Celtic knots, and cave paintings. We have a strong connection to these images and symbols, some of us more than others. I thought it’d be great to explore how such influences have appeared in polymer and how they can be used by readers to tell stories and create themes in their work. I was very lucky that Dayle Doroshow was interested in putting this article together. It’s a great piece.

In the past, I have been particularly interested in Luann Udell’s work using prehistoric images and aged textures. I haven’t yet had a theme in which I thought I could share her work with you all, but here we are! It’s not colorful work, but once you spend some time looking at what she does, you’re not likely to forget it.

Does this piece intrigue you? If so, take a little time to look at the sculptures and mixed media wall hangings that Luann has posted on her website as well. I would have liked to post a wall hanging, but the small image size used in these posts was just not going to do them justice.