Material Flow
December 12, 2018
Inspirational Art
Here is another wonderful mixed-media piece that makes you really stop and ask, “Is that really polymer?”
The work is by Sue Savage who keeps a low profile in the polymer realm but is highly regarded for her jewelry. She works in metal, precious stones and polymer but although the polymer is usually the focal point, you don’t think of it as polymer clay when you look at the design. You see how well integrated her mokume polymer cabochon is here. The black dots in the polymer are inversely echoed in the reflected white of the stones placed around the keyhole frame of the piece. The handmade metal frame itself works primarily on the diagonal as do the lineup of the dots in the mokume, set around but not hugging the polymer cab. It makes for a lovely balance and flow.
The design could really have worked with any stone as the focal point but the use of polymer allows her to create a dynamic type of “stone” that might be difficult to find and probably harder and more expensive to work with. Her use of polymer in her pieces allows for a wide range of design without the limitations of what is simply available.
Take a look at the many other designs mixing metal and polymer on her website here.
Balancing Color & Contrast
November 26, 2018
Inspirational Art
We are going to be dropping in on some big names this week and next to see what they are up to and what they have to inspire us with.
First up: Bonnie Bishoff. Her focus on jewelry these last couple years has been a journey through a variety of styles as she moves from working primarily in veneers on furniture with her partner J.M. Syron to smaller and more intimate work. But regardless of the style, her quietly strong and confident sense of color and pattern mark each piece like a signature. These lovely earrings are paired almost solely by color scheme although they do work within a limited set of variations in composition, visual texture and shapes. Each variation relays a slightly different mood, adjusted through the level of contrast in value and hue. The subtlety of this communication is what really brings home how masterful her color work is.
You can see what I mean by looking at the body of her work. You can do so by jumping onto her Instagram page and the website she shares with J.M. Syron.
Circularly Supported Rectangles
November 23, 2018
Inspirational Art
I hope all my fellow US folks had a beautiful Thanksgiving with lots of family and maybe not too much food. How can you do all that shopping today if you’re still stuffed from the day before? No shopping for me today. I’m running off with the family to enjoy some downtime. I thought I’d leave you with these little beauties to contemplate.
These are by Cecilie Hveding, a metalsmith and enamel jewelry artist in Norway. She works in a number of different styles but this set really struck me as having a lot of parallels to the approaches often taken in polymer. Layering her materials, much as we often do in polymer, she has really showcased the color and luminescence of enamel on simple rectangular pendants. What works as a bail is a beautifully simple solution to keeping the clean lines and balanced shapes of the almost picture-frame-like compositions. The circles are not only functional, allowing a cord to be looped through for a simple pendant connection, but they also contrast with the dominance of straight lines, then allow an echo of that shape in the dangling bead at the end which works with the open circle as a kind of bookend set for the design.
So if you’re not out shopping or having to work today and want to discover a new artist, jump over to Cecilie’s website to look at the broad range of her work.
The Flow of Dotillism
October 12, 2018
Inspirational Art
Did you know there’s this thing called Dotillism? It is like pointillism but it’s more about pattern than imagery. I heard the term a few years back when I blogged about Elspeth McLean’s painted mandala rocks and I have since heard that she is the one that coined the phrase. It is used as a categorical label for pattern-based decorative paintings made up of dots. Unlike pointillism, dotillism does not create imagery, just pattern, and, for now, it usually refers to dimensional painted dots so it’s not just a visual pattern but a tactile texture.
The dotillism piece seen here involves the time-consuming, tedious, but Zen-like process of creating a specific pattern, one small element at a time. As dreadful as that might initially sound, such processes are actually both enjoyable and rather healthy for you. This type of work can readily put you into what is referred to as a “flow state.” It works somewhat like meditation in that a flow state creates a sense of serenity, increases mental clarity, and reduces stress but it also has the advantage of enhancing concentration and increasing one’s sense of joy and accomplishment.
This plate by Maryam Khuchbarova probably took hours to create but what enjoyable hours they must have been! We often find this type of work impressive because we know what an incredible amount of time and patience must have gone into it. I, personally, find this plate even more impressive than the more common mandala dotillism because the painting is so well-balanced and the patterns have been so consistently applied, even without the central set of radiating guidelines commonly used in mandala painting.
I guess the takeaway here is that if you are looking at doing work that seems to have a time-consuming or tedious repetitive process, don’t shy away from it or dread it. Not only is that kind of work impressive, the process of creating in that way can make you feel pretty darn good!
If you like this kind of work, take a look at Maryam’s Instagram page and check out Elspeth’s work and her new book here.
Inspiration, Aspiration, and Jon Stuart Anderson
June 25, 2018
Inspirational Art
Guest Blog Post by Teresa Pandora Salgado
Van Gogh admitted to the world, “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” Me too, Vincent.
One of the most infuriatingly fabulous things I cannot do is make cane like Jon Stuart Anderson. Jon creates canes in a cunning palette that leans in close and whispers, “Go ahead…take your time…look at me.” And I surely do. And the world does too.
I love the way Jon cruises nimbly past the pedestrian cane crossing. He jaywalks that trodden path without ever touching the ground. Obvious contrast? He doesn’t need it, no matter how much the cane is reduced. Nor does he require new colors. Jon keeps it fresh with precision, composition, and balance. Neat trick.
Jon Anderson is known for his millefiori animals: elephants, turtles, bulls, and birds. You’ll notice the creatures have a flesh and blood sense about them, a beating heart beneath their rich robes. So you look and you look and then, just when you think you know him, Jon takes you to another fork in the road. To the left, skulls, vessels, lights. And to the right, guitars. Ohhh, the guitars.
So, go ahead. Look. Be inspired. Aspire.
See Jon’s work at his website here.
Teresa Pandora Salgado is a polymer clay artist, designer & instructor from Los Angeles, California. She has made 87 YouTube tutorials which have garnered over 2 million hits from viewers in 151 countries. In addition to teaching live workshops on millefiori complex caning across the U.S., Teresa helms the online store, Tiny Pandora Crafting Boutique, which featuresMilll her specialized tools and kits.
Never Boxed In
September 23, 2016
Inspirational Art
Here is another artist that is pushing the boundaries of his usual forms. Not that Jon Stuart Anderson has ever keep strictly within a certain form although he is widely known for his intricately patterned animals. He has also put his cane work to guitars, shoes, vessels and sculptures but all have had some reflection of his flowing forms and repeated patterns.
These box lamps seems like a huge departure for Jon but one that definitely suits his love of pattern. They are copper boxes just shy of 7″ (18cm) square, with translucent patterned ‘lenses’ as he call them. One would assume the lenses are canes but I suspect there is a bit more going on. It’s just really hard to tell. Maybe a layering of canes or something related to some transferring techniques he had been working on. Not that it matters too much. They are just lovely.
But back to the main point … they are some rather simplified patterns for Jon–a matter of relativity being that they aren’t simple in and of themselves. The difference is that these forms have no lines of repeated canes working their way expertly around the form to create another pattern from their arrangement. Instead, one beautifully patterned convex circle shows off Jon’s sense of balance in both symmetry and color. Some have different patterns on the lenses of a box while other’s are the same on every side. You can sense the exploration as you examine one box after the other. See what I mean by looking through his first images of this series on his July 8th postings on Facebook.
Jon has never stopped exploring and pushing what he does, making exploration the one strong thread of consistency in his work. If you enjoy his creative meanderings, the best place to keep up with his adventures is on his Facebook page although his website is always worth a visit. He also has a great little video of his cane making which is pretty entrancing.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Break out of your usual form. But instead of just trying a form you don’t usually work with, try to expand on forms you already work with. So if you create primarily flat jewelry elements, go more dimensional with half lentil forms or free form the shapes in waves. If you create round beads much of the time, try squares or twisted oblong shapes. If you like making round bowls, what about boat shapes or cones? Where can you push your forms?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Variation Within
January 13, 2016
Inspirational Art
In Monday’s blog post, we looked at how changing up a few elements in a design can change the entire feel of a piece. Variation from one similar piece to the next can push your creativity, but if you want something that challenges you even more, try variation in every element of a single piece of art you create.
That is what Ford and Forlano did here, with each bead different from every other one in the set. Because every piece has a common design element–that being an elongated bulls-eye–we see them as belonging together despite the fact that there are no two slices alike in one earring and they are not even arranged the same between the pair. The wide variation in color and size of the bulls-eye center achieves cohesiveness through its constant variety as well as the common shape.
Perhaps Ford and Forlano successfully control variation so well because they themselves are a mix, being two people living in two different states but collaborating to create their art. Each has their own strengths and interests, and they combine their efforts, skills, knowledge, and interests to create beautiful and intriguing pieces. You can see their most recent projects, as well as learn more about what they do and how they do it, by visiting their website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Sketch or create a piece from new or already created components where every element is different except for one aspect. Remember that one common thing can be any design element–size, shape, color, texture, motif, etc.
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Literal Mirrors
October 1, 2014
Inspirational Art
I am really pushing the mirror theme here, I know. But, I have been in love with these bowls since I first saw them. It was during those first few magical months after I realized what polymer clay really was and what it could do. I was taking in everything I could find online. The images of James Lehman’s bowls were by far the most breathtaking for a newbie like me. The colors are amazing, the shine is unreal and the form and overall workmanship was unlike anything I’d seen. To this day, I think of them as being in a class by themselves that no one else has quite been able to match.
So, the imagery isn’t usually mirrored in James’ pieces, but the polish is mirror-like and because of the detail and attention he applied to both the insides and the backsides of his bowl, he had to take photos of them on a mirrored surface to show the full effect. So, humor me while I fit it into this week’s theme. Because this kind of dedication to the finish of a piece — this was nearly 15 years ago as well — is awe inspiring, if not a level any fine polymer artist would want to aspire to reach.
James still has a site with his work online here but has not done much in the community for a number of years. If you Google the guy and look at his other websites, it’s obvious that he is one easily distracted and fanatically curious fellow, and it’s no surprise he has gone on to further develop his skills in another area of interest. But, we will still have his amazing work to enjoy, appreciate and inspire us.
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.
Excitement in Symmetry
February 24, 2014
Inspirational Art
I have always been a bit of a rebel. In writing classes I was told “write what you know” then would proceed to write about a place that didn’t even exist. In my first art classes I was told “paint what you see” and I proceeded to paint only things that were in my mind. By the time I got into art school doing the opposite was almost a knee-jerk reaction so when I was advised to not create art that was symmetrical because it would be stagnant … guess what? I went on to irritate professors and classmates alike with my straight up the center compositions. Why? It really wasn’t a purely rebellious move. I believed in the beauty of symmetry. Not only that, I believed it could be dynamic and challenging and highly expressive.
I actually believe in the usefulness of all kinds of compositions but I would like to spend a week putting symmetry back on the pedestal where it belongs. We have an automatic draw to symmetry not because its easy but because its familiar. Our bodies are symmetrical, much of nature is symmetrical … well, almost anything that is alive is symmetrical. Symmetry represents balance and growth. Why would one want to avoid it in making art?
This symmetrical necklace is a creation by Lauren Abrams, a layered pendant that she describes in her blog as “over the top, but who cares?” She creates a lot of pieces that are symmetrical with a ethnic, tribal, bohemian feel to them. As she explains, “I love polymer clay because of the immediacy of it as a medium. It is endlessly challenging yet among the simplest of mediums to use. There are new techniques being developed daily and the excitement of trying new ones keeps it fresh and enticing. It’s great to be learning from other polymer clay artists (who are among the most generous of artists when it comes to sharing information) and a day does not go by when I don’t see something done in polymer clay that intrigues me….”
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 is another wonderful mixed-media piece that makes you really stop and ask, “Is that really polymer?”
The work is by Sue Savage who keeps a low profile in the polymer realm but is highly regarded for her jewelry. She works in metal, precious stones and polymer but although the polymer is usually the focal point, you don’t think of it as polymer clay when you look at the design. You see how well integrated her mokume polymer cabochon is here. The black dots in the polymer are inversely echoed in the reflected white of the stones placed around the keyhole frame of the piece. The handmade metal frame itself works primarily on the diagonal as do the lineup of the dots in the mokume, set around but not hugging the polymer cab. It makes for a lovely balance and flow.
The design could really have worked with any stone as the focal point but the use of polymer allows her to create a dynamic type of “stone” that might be difficult to find and probably harder and more expensive to work with. Her use of polymer in her pieces allows for a wide range of design without the limitations of what is simply available.
Take a look at the many other designs mixing metal and polymer on her website here.
Read MoreWe are going to be dropping in on some big names this week and next to see what they are up to and what they have to inspire us with.
First up: Bonnie Bishoff. Her focus on jewelry these last couple years has been a journey through a variety of styles as she moves from working primarily in veneers on furniture with her partner J.M. Syron to smaller and more intimate work. But regardless of the style, her quietly strong and confident sense of color and pattern mark each piece like a signature. These lovely earrings are paired almost solely by color scheme although they do work within a limited set of variations in composition, visual texture and shapes. Each variation relays a slightly different mood, adjusted through the level of contrast in value and hue. The subtlety of this communication is what really brings home how masterful her color work is.
You can see what I mean by looking at the body of her work. You can do so by jumping onto her Instagram page and the website she shares with J.M. Syron.
Read MoreI hope all my fellow US folks had a beautiful Thanksgiving with lots of family and maybe not too much food. How can you do all that shopping today if you’re still stuffed from the day before? No shopping for me today. I’m running off with the family to enjoy some downtime. I thought I’d leave you with these little beauties to contemplate.
These are by Cecilie Hveding, a metalsmith and enamel jewelry artist in Norway. She works in a number of different styles but this set really struck me as having a lot of parallels to the approaches often taken in polymer. Layering her materials, much as we often do in polymer, she has really showcased the color and luminescence of enamel on simple rectangular pendants. What works as a bail is a beautifully simple solution to keeping the clean lines and balanced shapes of the almost picture-frame-like compositions. The circles are not only functional, allowing a cord to be looped through for a simple pendant connection, but they also contrast with the dominance of straight lines, then allow an echo of that shape in the dangling bead at the end which works with the open circle as a kind of bookend set for the design.
So if you’re not out shopping or having to work today and want to discover a new artist, jump over to Cecilie’s website to look at the broad range of her work.
Read MoreDid you know there’s this thing called Dotillism? It is like pointillism but it’s more about pattern than imagery. I heard the term a few years back when I blogged about Elspeth McLean’s painted mandala rocks and I have since heard that she is the one that coined the phrase. It is used as a categorical label for pattern-based decorative paintings made up of dots. Unlike pointillism, dotillism does not create imagery, just pattern, and, for now, it usually refers to dimensional painted dots so it’s not just a visual pattern but a tactile texture.
The dotillism piece seen here involves the time-consuming, tedious, but Zen-like process of creating a specific pattern, one small element at a time. As dreadful as that might initially sound, such processes are actually both enjoyable and rather healthy for you. This type of work can readily put you into what is referred to as a “flow state.” It works somewhat like meditation in that a flow state creates a sense of serenity, increases mental clarity, and reduces stress but it also has the advantage of enhancing concentration and increasing one’s sense of joy and accomplishment.
This plate by Maryam Khuchbarova probably took hours to create but what enjoyable hours they must have been! We often find this type of work impressive because we know what an incredible amount of time and patience must have gone into it. I, personally, find this plate even more impressive than the more common mandala dotillism because the painting is so well-balanced and the patterns have been so consistently applied, even without the central set of radiating guidelines commonly used in mandala painting.
I guess the takeaway here is that if you are looking at doing work that seems to have a time-consuming or tedious repetitive process, don’t shy away from it or dread it. Not only is that kind of work impressive, the process of creating in that way can make you feel pretty darn good!
If you like this kind of work, take a look at Maryam’s Instagram page and check out Elspeth’s work and her new book here.
Read More
Guest Blog Post by Teresa Pandora Salgado
Van Gogh admitted to the world, “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” Me too, Vincent.
One of the most infuriatingly fabulous things I cannot do is make cane like Jon Stuart Anderson. Jon creates canes in a cunning palette that leans in close and whispers, “Go ahead…take your time…look at me.” And I surely do. And the world does too.
I love the way Jon cruises nimbly past the pedestrian cane crossing. He jaywalks that trodden path without ever touching the ground. Obvious contrast? He doesn’t need it, no matter how much the cane is reduced. Nor does he require new colors. Jon keeps it fresh with precision, composition, and balance. Neat trick.
Jon Anderson is known for his millefiori animals: elephants, turtles, bulls, and birds. You’ll notice the creatures have a flesh and blood sense about them, a beating heart beneath their rich robes. So you look and you look and then, just when you think you know him, Jon takes you to another fork in the road. To the left, skulls, vessels, lights. And to the right, guitars. Ohhh, the guitars.
So, go ahead. Look. Be inspired. Aspire.
See Jon’s work at his website here.
Teresa Pandora Salgado is a polymer clay artist, designer & instructor from Los Angeles, California. She has made 87 YouTube tutorials which have garnered over 2 million hits from viewers in 151 countries. In addition to teaching live workshops on millefiori complex caning across the U.S., Teresa helms the online store, Tiny Pandora Crafting Boutique, which featuresMilll her specialized tools and kits.
Read MoreHere is another artist that is pushing the boundaries of his usual forms. Not that Jon Stuart Anderson has ever keep strictly within a certain form although he is widely known for his intricately patterned animals. He has also put his cane work to guitars, shoes, vessels and sculptures but all have had some reflection of his flowing forms and repeated patterns.
These box lamps seems like a huge departure for Jon but one that definitely suits his love of pattern. They are copper boxes just shy of 7″ (18cm) square, with translucent patterned ‘lenses’ as he call them. One would assume the lenses are canes but I suspect there is a bit more going on. It’s just really hard to tell. Maybe a layering of canes or something related to some transferring techniques he had been working on. Not that it matters too much. They are just lovely.
But back to the main point … they are some rather simplified patterns for Jon–a matter of relativity being that they aren’t simple in and of themselves. The difference is that these forms have no lines of repeated canes working their way expertly around the form to create another pattern from their arrangement. Instead, one beautifully patterned convex circle shows off Jon’s sense of balance in both symmetry and color. Some have different patterns on the lenses of a box while other’s are the same on every side. You can sense the exploration as you examine one box after the other. See what I mean by looking through his first images of this series on his July 8th postings on Facebook.
Jon has never stopped exploring and pushing what he does, making exploration the one strong thread of consistency in his work. If you enjoy his creative meanderings, the best place to keep up with his adventures is on his Facebook page although his website is always worth a visit. He also has a great little video of his cane making which is pretty entrancing.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Break out of your usual form. But instead of just trying a form you don’t usually work with, try to expand on forms you already work with. So if you create primarily flat jewelry elements, go more dimensional with half lentil forms or free form the shapes in waves. If you create round beads much of the time, try squares or twisted oblong shapes. If you like making round bowls, what about boat shapes or cones? Where can you push your forms?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreIn Monday’s blog post, we looked at how changing up a few elements in a design can change the entire feel of a piece. Variation from one similar piece to the next can push your creativity, but if you want something that challenges you even more, try variation in every element of a single piece of art you create.
That is what Ford and Forlano did here, with each bead different from every other one in the set. Because every piece has a common design element–that being an elongated bulls-eye–we see them as belonging together despite the fact that there are no two slices alike in one earring and they are not even arranged the same between the pair. The wide variation in color and size of the bulls-eye center achieves cohesiveness through its constant variety as well as the common shape.
Perhaps Ford and Forlano successfully control variation so well because they themselves are a mix, being two people living in two different states but collaborating to create their art. Each has their own strengths and interests, and they combine their efforts, skills, knowledge, and interests to create beautiful and intriguing pieces. You can see their most recent projects, as well as learn more about what they do and how they do it, by visiting their website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Sketch or create a piece from new or already created components where every element is different except for one aspect. Remember that one common thing can be any design element–size, shape, color, texture, motif, etc.
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read More
I am really pushing the mirror theme here, I know. But, I have been in love with these bowls since I first saw them. It was during those first few magical months after I realized what polymer clay really was and what it could do. I was taking in everything I could find online. The images of James Lehman’s bowls were by far the most breathtaking for a newbie like me. The colors are amazing, the shine is unreal and the form and overall workmanship was unlike anything I’d seen. To this day, I think of them as being in a class by themselves that no one else has quite been able to match.
So, the imagery isn’t usually mirrored in James’ pieces, but the polish is mirror-like and because of the detail and attention he applied to both the insides and the backsides of his bowl, he had to take photos of them on a mirrored surface to show the full effect. So, humor me while I fit it into this week’s theme. Because this kind of dedication to the finish of a piece — this was nearly 15 years ago as well — is awe inspiring, if not a level any fine polymer artist would want to aspire to reach.
James still has a site with his work online here but has not done much in the community for a number of years. If you Google the guy and look at his other websites, it’s obvious that he is one easily distracted and fanatically curious fellow, and it’s no surprise he has gone on to further develop his skills in another area of interest. But, we will still have his amazing work to enjoy, appreciate and inspire us.
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 have always been a bit of a rebel. In writing classes I was told “write what you know” then would proceed to write about a place that didn’t even exist. In my first art classes I was told “paint what you see” and I proceeded to paint only things that were in my mind. By the time I got into art school doing the opposite was almost a knee-jerk reaction so when I was advised to not create art that was symmetrical because it would be stagnant … guess what? I went on to irritate professors and classmates alike with my straight up the center compositions. Why? It really wasn’t a purely rebellious move. I believed in the beauty of symmetry. Not only that, I believed it could be dynamic and challenging and highly expressive.
I actually believe in the usefulness of all kinds of compositions but I would like to spend a week putting symmetry back on the pedestal where it belongs. We have an automatic draw to symmetry not because its easy but because its familiar. Our bodies are symmetrical, much of nature is symmetrical … well, almost anything that is alive is symmetrical. Symmetry represents balance and growth. Why would one want to avoid it in making art?
This symmetrical necklace is a creation by Lauren Abrams, a layered pendant that she describes in her blog as “over the top, but who cares?” She creates a lot of pieces that are symmetrical with a ethnic, tribal, bohemian feel to them. As she explains, “I love polymer clay because of the immediacy of it as a medium. It is endlessly challenging yet among the simplest of mediums to use. There are new techniques being developed daily and the excitement of trying new ones keeps it fresh and enticing. It’s great to be learning from other polymer clay artists (who are among the most generous of artists when it comes to sharing information) and a day does not go by when I don’t see something done in polymer clay that intrigues me….”
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.
