The Idea of a Place
January 29, 2015
Inspirational Art
Conceptual art can be about anything that isn’t literal or tangible. Abstract art seeks to represent an idea or emotion or, like in this fantastical teapot here, both.
On Pinterest, somewhere along the way, someone made a note saying this is about Israel, and I feel pretty confident that is right although I can’t find a source for that comment. But Yudit Yitzhaki, the creator of this amazing bit of decorative art, lives in Israel, and this is not the first time we’ve seen such a vibrant representation of the country. Last year we had a post about wall art by Joan Israel that also depicted a fondness for this part of the world, with similarly bright colors and busy scenery. I do love that it’s on a teapot, of all things. Teapots conjure up thoughts of comfort and warmth and a quiet afternoon taking in the scenes outside our window. So it’s perfect that Yudit’s fond imagery is on something many of us associate with that kind of emotion.
Yudit’s work is full of joy and a sense of fondness for color, energy and positive imagery. She doesn’t do only conceptual art but also functional pieces of jewelry. You do see in her work a focus on capturing an atmosphere or emotion, rather than just a purely decorative drive. Take a look for yourself on her Flickr photostream.
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.
Outside Inspiration: Tactile Fun
December 26, 2014
Inspirational Art
I don’t know how long I’ve had these candy-colored goodies on my list, but every time I see them they make me smile. There is something so playful about the forms, colors and what must be an amazing tactile texture, yet they don’t exactly come across as toy-like. I think it may be the very energized color pairing on each that make them too pretty to be a child’s plaything.
These were created by Demi Chao, who was a Birmingham School of Jewellery graduate student at the time she created these. I cannot find a note of what these are made of, but a close-up shot I found looks like rubber. Do you wonder where she got her inspiration for these though? Here it is in her own words:
“Just like the organisms in the natural world, this series of brooches are colorful and textural. They are inspired by the microscopic photographs of pollen cells and sea corals which possess vibrant colours and peculiar shapes. They always make me want to touch them. Therefore, the idea of making playful and tactile jewellery came to mind.”
We do tend to play with our jewelry anyways, sometimes nervously, sometimes while daydreaming or thinking deeply. Why not create work that our sense of touch responds heavily to? I know I have a number of designs in my sketchbooks specifically focused on the pieces’ tactile nature, but I never did anything with them. When I see these, I know I need to revisit that idea.
Take a look at more of the delicious color combinations and other organic forms on Demi’s website.
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.
Outside Inspiration: Felted Color
December 19, 2014
Inspirational Art
I’m going to break a kind of rule here and show you a collage instead of just one of these colorful felted pieces by Japanese felt artist, Atsuko Sasaki. Because isn’t the collection just a beautiful composition and delightful explosion of color? I also thought you would find it more intriguing when you could see the variety of forms and color this very precise felter pulls together. And this way, I didn’t have to pick just one.
I think the possibilities of how this could inspire a polymer artist comes across much more from this grouping, too. The felt here has a saturation of color commonly seen in polymer, but in bold forms; the kind of which we don’t see so much from clayers. However, everything here could be done in a polymer version from the appliqued dots within dots to the inverted mushroom caps, to the alternately patterned material popping out through slashes in the fabric. Do they give you any ideas?
I originally found this collage and this work on a great little blog called Folt Bolt, but you can find more of Atsuko’s handbags, mufflers, vases and sculptural objects on her website. By the way, these pieces are quite big. You can see handbags and mufflers modeled in photos on her Facebook page.
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.
Our Interaction with Color
December 16, 2014
Inspirational Art
Today’s piece pays homage to one of my favorite painter’s of the last century, Wassily Kandinsky, whose birthday happens to be today. Kandinsky is considered the first artist to create purely abstract art and was one of the foremost Expressionist painters, as well as being an artistic theorist. He was especially concerned with our personal reactions to color, as in how we interact viscerally with what we see. He wrote in his book Du spirituel dans l’art (Concerning the Spiritual in Art), “Colours on the painter’s palette evoke a double effect: a purely physical effect on the eye, which is charmed by the beauty of colours, similar to the joyful impression when we eat a delicacy. This effect can be much deeper, however, causing a vibration of the soul or an “inner resonance”—a spiritual effect in which the colour touches the soul itself.”
Isn’t that just lovely?
This necklace was created by Cecilia Leonini of Italy. To honor Kandinsky’s thoughts and not influence your reaction, I’m not going to comment on this piece. How do you find yourself reacting to it, to the color, form and imagery? Do you see what Kandinsky was referring to in terms of our interaction with color?
You can find more of Cecilia’s work in her Etsy shop. I only just discovered her through the Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild of Etsy which I am a member of. If you sell on Etsy and aren’t a member of the PCAGOE, do consider joining–start by clicking here. This group was key in encouraging and inspiring me when I was still new and uncertain, and many are what we affectionately refer to as the midwives of The Polymer Arts magazine, helping to form the concept and vet ideas for its creation and content when it first started out. They are a wonderful support group and a wealth of information and inspiration!
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.
Color Indulgence
December 15, 2014
Inspirational Art
Do you ever have those days when you just want to sit down with a box of chocolates, a bag of pastries or a giant pizza with everything on it and just enjoy a little over-indulgence? Of course you do! I’m kind of feeling that way this week, but more about color than candy. Actually, I’ve had enough candy and pastries (gets rough on that account this time of year, doesn’t it?), but bright, saturated painterly color, I have not had enough of lately. So this week, let’s just indulge. We all have enough going on with holiday plans, shopping, selling, making trips to the post office and such. Let’s not get too serious and just enjoy some pretty things.
A quick jolt to the system came across my screen the other day in the form of this incredibly bright and mesmerizing bracelet by Viviane Depasse. She created this during a class with Carol Simmons this past April. Why is that not so surprising? This presentation does not have Carol’s precision kaleidoscope arrangements, but I, myself, am very much enjoying the meandering color. It is like the epitome of the phrase “eye candy”. It is bordering on overly-bright, but like really sweet candy you keep eating anyway; it’s hard not to keep looking.
Viviane posts her work both from classes and independent exploration, as well as her thoughts on her blog Mon Jardin Merveilloeufs.
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.
Conceptual art can be about anything that isn’t literal or tangible. Abstract art seeks to represent an idea or emotion or, like in this fantastical teapot here, both.
On Pinterest, somewhere along the way, someone made a note saying this is about Israel, and I feel pretty confident that is right although I can’t find a source for that comment. But Yudit Yitzhaki, the creator of this amazing bit of decorative art, lives in Israel, and this is not the first time we’ve seen such a vibrant representation of the country. Last year we had a post about wall art by Joan Israel that also depicted a fondness for this part of the world, with similarly bright colors and busy scenery. I do love that it’s on a teapot, of all things. Teapots conjure up thoughts of comfort and warmth and a quiet afternoon taking in the scenes outside our window. So it’s perfect that Yudit’s fond imagery is on something many of us associate with that kind of emotion.
Yudit’s work is full of joy and a sense of fondness for color, energy and positive imagery. She doesn’t do only conceptual art but also functional pieces of jewelry. You do see in her work a focus on capturing an atmosphere or emotion, rather than just a purely decorative drive. Take a look for yourself on her Flickr photostream.
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.
I don’t know how long I’ve had these candy-colored goodies on my list, but every time I see them they make me smile. There is something so playful about the forms, colors and what must be an amazing tactile texture, yet they don’t exactly come across as toy-like. I think it may be the very energized color pairing on each that make them too pretty to be a child’s plaything.
These were created by Demi Chao, who was a Birmingham School of Jewellery graduate student at the time she created these. I cannot find a note of what these are made of, but a close-up shot I found looks like rubber. Do you wonder where she got her inspiration for these though? Here it is in her own words:
“Just like the organisms in the natural world, this series of brooches are colorful and textural. They are inspired by the microscopic photographs of pollen cells and sea corals which possess vibrant colours and peculiar shapes. They always make me want to touch them. Therefore, the idea of making playful and tactile jewellery came to mind.”
We do tend to play with our jewelry anyways, sometimes nervously, sometimes while daydreaming or thinking deeply. Why not create work that our sense of touch responds heavily to? I know I have a number of designs in my sketchbooks specifically focused on the pieces’ tactile nature, but I never did anything with them. When I see these, I know I need to revisit that idea.
Take a look at more of the delicious color combinations and other organic forms on Demi’s website.
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.
I’m going to break a kind of rule here and show you a collage instead of just one of these colorful felted pieces by Japanese felt artist, Atsuko Sasaki. Because isn’t the collection just a beautiful composition and delightful explosion of color? I also thought you would find it more intriguing when you could see the variety of forms and color this very precise felter pulls together. And this way, I didn’t have to pick just one.
I think the possibilities of how this could inspire a polymer artist comes across much more from this grouping, too. The felt here has a saturation of color commonly seen in polymer, but in bold forms; the kind of which we don’t see so much from clayers. However, everything here could be done in a polymer version from the appliqued dots within dots to the inverted mushroom caps, to the alternately patterned material popping out through slashes in the fabric. Do they give you any ideas?
I originally found this collage and this work on a great little blog called Folt Bolt, but you can find more of Atsuko’s handbags, mufflers, vases and sculptural objects on her website. By the way, these pieces are quite big. You can see handbags and mufflers modeled in photos on her Facebook page.
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.
Today’s piece pays homage to one of my favorite painter’s of the last century, Wassily Kandinsky, whose birthday happens to be today. Kandinsky is considered the first artist to create purely abstract art and was one of the foremost Expressionist painters, as well as being an artistic theorist. He was especially concerned with our personal reactions to color, as in how we interact viscerally with what we see. He wrote in his book Du spirituel dans l’art (Concerning the Spiritual in Art), “Colours on the painter’s palette evoke a double effect: a purely physical effect on the eye, which is charmed by the beauty of colours, similar to the joyful impression when we eat a delicacy. This effect can be much deeper, however, causing a vibration of the soul or an “inner resonance”—a spiritual effect in which the colour touches the soul itself.”
Isn’t that just lovely?
This necklace was created by Cecilia Leonini of Italy. To honor Kandinsky’s thoughts and not influence your reaction, I’m not going to comment on this piece. How do you find yourself reacting to it, to the color, form and imagery? Do you see what Kandinsky was referring to in terms of our interaction with color?
You can find more of Cecilia’s work in her Etsy shop. I only just discovered her through the Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild of Etsy which I am a member of. If you sell on Etsy and aren’t a member of the PCAGOE, do consider joining–start by clicking here. This group was key in encouraging and inspiring me when I was still new and uncertain, and many are what we affectionately refer to as the midwives of The Polymer Arts magazine, helping to form the concept and vet ideas for its creation and content when it first started out. They are a wonderful support group and a wealth of information and inspiration!
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.
Do you ever have those days when you just want to sit down with a box of chocolates, a bag of pastries or a giant pizza with everything on it and just enjoy a little over-indulgence? Of course you do! I’m kind of feeling that way this week, but more about color than candy. Actually, I’ve had enough candy and pastries (gets rough on that account this time of year, doesn’t it?), but bright, saturated painterly color, I have not had enough of lately. So this week, let’s just indulge. We all have enough going on with holiday plans, shopping, selling, making trips to the post office and such. Let’s not get too serious and just enjoy some pretty things.
A quick jolt to the system came across my screen the other day in the form of this incredibly bright and mesmerizing bracelet by Viviane Depasse. She created this during a class with Carol Simmons this past April. Why is that not so surprising? This presentation does not have Carol’s precision kaleidoscope arrangements, but I, myself, am very much enjoying the meandering color. It is like the epitome of the phrase “eye candy”. It is bordering on overly-bright, but like really sweet candy you keep eating anyway; it’s hard not to keep looking.
Viviane posts her work both from classes and independent exploration, as well as her thoughts on her blog Mon Jardin Merveilloeufs.
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.
