Graduated Colored Cups
February 23, 2014
Technique tutorials
Here we see another limited palette using gradients of the same color for the theme. Even though flowers lend themselves to this technique, you certainly don’t have to make a hyacinth flower with it. Of course, we can’t think about gradient colors without thinking of Skinner blends. The gradient used here is made by adding varying amounts of white to the base color, but you could also go in the other direction, and add blacks, which would darken the gradient. You could also try analogous blends, using a limited color palette of colors that are near each other on the color wheel.
The artist who made these grape hyacinth pins is Kellie Mowat. She has tutorials that make use of repetition and a limited color palette, as well as tutorials for lots of other mediums. She also has some tutorials posted on YouTube for all of you visual learners out there.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Limited and Bright
February 19, 2014
Inspirational Art
I thought we’d at least go bright and fun for our mid-week limited color theme. Here we have Sophy Dumoulin working with a limited palette, as she often does, but with all the great patterns and full saturation of the colors, you don’t really think about it being a limited palette, but it is just blue and green, two analogous cool colors, with a few patches of white. The look is playful and the shapes are neatly placed. The pins all have a feeling of restraint, but the approach works. There is comfort in keeping things on the simpler side sometimes.
Sophy’s work can be found online on her blog and she also teaches classes at CraftArtEdu.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners. Click on an image below.
Wrap it Around
January 28, 2014
Inspirational Art
One of the primary reasons for using frames is to finish off the edge of a bead or element so it is functional but it doesn’t have to be purely functional. It is going to show, so why not make it a major part of the design?
Ivana Brozova has brought her frame into the design by creating a wave to the edge that comes up onto the bead’s surface. It gives the frame more surface so the analogous colors in the frame become a more substantial part of the bead and the wave in the frame plays off the aquatic theme of the necklace.
Ivana is another explorer in the ways of polymer with some wonderfully different, often edgy but always intriguing work. Take a swim through her artistic world on her Flickr photostream.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Here we see another limited palette using gradients of the same color for the theme. Even though flowers lend themselves to this technique, you certainly don’t have to make a hyacinth flower with it. Of course, we can’t think about gradient colors without thinking of Skinner blends. The gradient used here is made by adding varying amounts of white to the base color, but you could also go in the other direction, and add blacks, which would darken the gradient. You could also try analogous blends, using a limited color palette of colors that are near each other on the color wheel.
The artist who made these grape hyacinth pins is Kellie Mowat. She has tutorials that make use of repetition and a limited color palette, as well as tutorials for lots of other mediums. She also has some tutorials posted on YouTube for all of you visual learners out there.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
I thought we’d at least go bright and fun for our mid-week limited color theme. Here we have Sophy Dumoulin working with a limited palette, as she often does, but with all the great patterns and full saturation of the colors, you don’t really think about it being a limited palette, but it is just blue and green, two analogous cool colors, with a few patches of white. The look is playful and the shapes are neatly placed. The pins all have a feeling of restraint, but the approach works. There is comfort in keeping things on the simpler side sometimes.
Sophy’s work can be found online on her blog and she also teaches classes at CraftArtEdu.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners. Click on an image below.
One of the primary reasons for using frames is to finish off the edge of a bead or element so it is functional but it doesn’t have to be purely functional. It is going to show, so why not make it a major part of the design?
Ivana Brozova has brought her frame into the design by creating a wave to the edge that comes up onto the bead’s surface. It gives the frame more surface so the analogous colors in the frame become a more substantial part of the bead and the wave in the frame plays off the aquatic theme of the necklace.
Ivana is another explorer in the ways of polymer with some wonderfully different, often edgy but always intriguing work. Take a swim through her artistic world on her Flickr photostream.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
