Shifting Styles
January 1, 2015
Inspirational Art
This suggestion is not going to be for everyone but for those of you who haven’t found a personal style or feel the one they have been working with has become stale. This might be the year to try to define or change up your style. Understanding what your style is and what about it is recognizable to others can be a bit tricky, but you can help yourself to see your voice (its essence, at least) by taking a class, following a tutorial or trying something you’ve never done before and seeing if there aren’t certain elements you just can’t help working with or find yourself constantly drawn to. If you can define those elements, try working with them in various ways, and then follow what you find most interesting. If you feel the need to change up your style, don’t just try and do something completely different, but use what you find most essential in your present style, and use it with new techniques, color palettes, forms or other mediums.
Here is a polymer artist whose work I find wholly recognizable, even though much what she posts online is very different. There is a sweetness and a calm, simplistic approach to her sculptural forms and imagery that is combined in such a way as to be very unique to her. I am partial to Afsaneh Tajvidi‘s snails. I don’t have any particular affinity to snails myself, but the perky stance and cute little faces make these little guys rather irresistible. Take a look through her Flickr albums and see if you can identify what makes her work so cohesive in its style.
These cute pieces may not be in themselves inspirational if you work in edgy or organic shapes, for instance, but trying to define Tajvidi’s style can help you find yours. You can do this with your favorite artist’s work as well, whether they work in polymer or other materials. It’s discovering what is uniquely individual in a body of work that will make it easier to see it in your own.
On that note, a very, very happy New Year and all the best to you and yours as you embark on another wonderful year of creativity and discovery.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Mixing it Up
December 31, 2014
Inspirational Art
One of my more highly recommended ideas for new inspiration to try this year is to use a variety of other mediums with polymer. The versatility of polymer leaves open a vast number of compatible mediums to combine with, to accent with or to be accented with. Even if you are using other mediums with polymer now, why not try something new to you? It could open doors to entirely new ideas.
Annie Pennington, Associate Editor over at Art Jewelry magazine, mixes all kinds of mediums together. Polymer, fiber and metals have been her staple materials for a while but with them she also uses other things such as colored pencils, acrylics, and paper. None of her pieces are really well-seated within any one material category, but then why should they be restricted to that kind of categorization? This brooch does not jump out at you and say, “I am polymer!” and I think it is better for that even. We see the brooch, its form, color and textures, before we start to consider the materials. Granted, discerning the materials used in a piece is primarily done by other artists, but knowing the piece transcends such distilled defining gives us as fellow crafters a greater appreciation for the work. Don’t you think?
A little time on Annie’s website will show you many more examples of not having any one medium restrict or define the work. You might also take a look at our Summer 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts, Mix it Up, for more mixed media inspiration. You’ll also want to ensure your subscription is up to date so you’ll get our Spring 2015 issue, with the theme of Diversity, where we will offer tons of new ideas for trying different mediums and processes in polymer to get your year off to a very inspiring start.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
The Mystery of Creativity
January 12, 2014
Ponderings
If you aren’t familiar with Tedx Talks, I highly recommend looking to Ted as an alternative to a TV show or searching out memes on Facebook when you need a break in your day. These talks are down-to-earth, very accessible presentations created to stimulate conversation and get you thinking. The talks can inspire you to look at your world and what you do in some very different ways.
There is a whole series of talks about creativity within the Tedx listings but I am partial to this one by Amy Tan about where creativity hides. It’s quite funny following her line of reasoning and exploring where creativity might come from as well as how to be open to serendipitous inspiration.
If you like this, here is a link to 10 of Tedx talks that deal with creativity. Enjoy an enlightened day!
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.
This suggestion is not going to be for everyone but for those of you who haven’t found a personal style or feel the one they have been working with has become stale. This might be the year to try to define or change up your style. Understanding what your style is and what about it is recognizable to others can be a bit tricky, but you can help yourself to see your voice (its essence, at least) by taking a class, following a tutorial or trying something you’ve never done before and seeing if there aren’t certain elements you just can’t help working with or find yourself constantly drawn to. If you can define those elements, try working with them in various ways, and then follow what you find most interesting. If you feel the need to change up your style, don’t just try and do something completely different, but use what you find most essential in your present style, and use it with new techniques, color palettes, forms or other mediums.
Here is a polymer artist whose work I find wholly recognizable, even though much what she posts online is very different. There is a sweetness and a calm, simplistic approach to her sculptural forms and imagery that is combined in such a way as to be very unique to her. I am partial to Afsaneh Tajvidi‘s snails. I don’t have any particular affinity to snails myself, but the perky stance and cute little faces make these little guys rather irresistible. Take a look through her Flickr albums and see if you can identify what makes her work so cohesive in its style.
These cute pieces may not be in themselves inspirational if you work in edgy or organic shapes, for instance, but trying to define Tajvidi’s style can help you find yours. You can do this with your favorite artist’s work as well, whether they work in polymer or other materials. It’s discovering what is uniquely individual in a body of work that will make it easier to see it in your own.
On that note, a very, very happy New Year and all the best to you and yours as you embark on another wonderful year of creativity and discovery.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
One of my more highly recommended ideas for new inspiration to try this year is to use a variety of other mediums with polymer. The versatility of polymer leaves open a vast number of compatible mediums to combine with, to accent with or to be accented with. Even if you are using other mediums with polymer now, why not try something new to you? It could open doors to entirely new ideas.
Annie Pennington, Associate Editor over at Art Jewelry magazine, mixes all kinds of mediums together. Polymer, fiber and metals have been her staple materials for a while but with them she also uses other things such as colored pencils, acrylics, and paper. None of her pieces are really well-seated within any one material category, but then why should they be restricted to that kind of categorization? This brooch does not jump out at you and say, “I am polymer!” and I think it is better for that even. We see the brooch, its form, color and textures, before we start to consider the materials. Granted, discerning the materials used in a piece is primarily done by other artists, but knowing the piece transcends such distilled defining gives us as fellow crafters a greater appreciation for the work. Don’t you think?
A little time on Annie’s website will show you many more examples of not having any one medium restrict or define the work. You might also take a look at our Summer 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts, Mix it Up, for more mixed media inspiration. You’ll also want to ensure your subscription is up to date so you’ll get our Spring 2015 issue, with the theme of Diversity, where we will offer tons of new ideas for trying different mediums and processes in polymer to get your year off to a very inspiring start.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
If you aren’t familiar with Tedx Talks, I highly recommend looking to Ted as an alternative to a TV show or searching out memes on Facebook when you need a break in your day. These talks are down-to-earth, very accessible presentations created to stimulate conversation and get you thinking. The talks can inspire you to look at your world and what you do in some very different ways.
There is a whole series of talks about creativity within the Tedx listings but I am partial to this one by Amy Tan about where creativity hides. It’s quite funny following her line of reasoning and exploring where creativity might come from as well as how to be open to serendipitous inspiration.
If you like this, here is a link to 10 of Tedx talks that deal with creativity. Enjoy an enlightened day!
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.
