Contrast of Self

Would you call yourself a selfish person? I doubt very many of us would think that way about ourselves. Yet, as artists, we often find ourselves “stealing” time away from others or other things to do what we love, reveling in it when we have it. Is that selfish? I mean, it is more about us than anyone else, isn’t it?

Yes, it is about us, and that is as it should be. In the requested comments for last week’s giveaway (scroll down to see the winner and this week’s giveaway), participants mentioned some version of the “me time” aspect of getting to sit down and create more than anything else. I mean, I know we create because it is something we enjoy, regardless of what anyone else thinks, but I just love that so many people acknowledged and celebrated it. We should!

I strongly believe that everyone should have something of their own, something they can turn to in order to express themselves or at least put something out into the world that would not have existed without their desire to create it. The art we create gives us purpose, exercises a uniquely human part of our brains, and helps us to love ourselves. Not to mention that we deserve the joy we get from it!

But, by definition, that is selfish—doing something because it’s what we want. I wish our society would get over the idea that doing something for ourselves is bad. I think not doing things for yourself is self-negligence. Why is that not a commonly understood thing?

This also highlights the bigger, contradictory world that we inhabit. We live in such strange societies where selflessness and humility are expected or requested, and yet we are also pushed to strive for excellence in what we do. How do we reach excellence without focusing on ourselves? And then there is this silliness where we are not supposed to acknowledge when the work we do is good or that we’re proud of it. If we do, others may think we’re being arrogant or grandiose.

So, do we strive to be great and then pretend that we’re mediocre? We talk about contrast being good in art, but this is so not the right kind of contrast!

I’ve long found the dichotomy of these contradictory but societally prescribed behaviors beyond aggravating as well as having the potential to be debilitating. I think that is why it made me so happy to see so many people acknowledging their creative hours as me-time, self-care, and a time of wonderfully selfish joy. Keep it up, I say!

Now, let’s talk about the good kind of contrast in art.

 

Design Refresh

Let’s look at the beautiful brooch by Lyne Tilt that opened this post. What do you notice first about this? There’s a lot going on in this little space, isn’t there? What are the three things that jump out at you as far as design elements?

I’m going to say color, shape, and texture. Did you come up with the same three? There is also a lot going on with marks and size. So, any combination of those would be spot on.

How about design principles? What do you think is the number one principal used in this design? Sure, we could refer to scale and proportion considering all the different sizes of the layers, or we could talk about focal point or even just key in on the centered composition. But the one thing this has in spades is contrast.

Obviously, there is color contrast in all the major color characteristics—she has a vibrant trio of warm colors contrasting the cool of the blue and cyan; color values range from the dark blue and deep red to the moderate orange to the light yellow and pale polished silver; and, if you check your CMY color wheels, you’ll see that the color of the bottom layer is a blue-cyan whose complementary AND split complementaries are the yellow, orange, and red that you see in the upper layers.

But doesn’t a color palette have to have at least one common characteristic between all the colors? Well, ideally, yes, and this does. Here it’s saturation. These are not muted colors. The orange may be slightly tinted (has some white in it) but not enough to feel it’s gone off base from the saturated characteristic that ties them all together.

Now, look at the contrast in the textures. The top and bottom layers might have the same texture, but the rest are vastly different. There are even different materials—metal and clay. But they work together pretty well, don’t they? Why?

The textures work together in part because they are all drastically different—the wide variety is part of the charm of this piece. But, like color, they need something to tie them together.

Did you notice that the textures are applied to the entire layer from one edge to another? Thier differences are connected because the application on each layer is the same. That does seem to be enough to allow them to exist in the same piece and not have it feel completely chaotic.

The shapes, on the other hand, are not completely different but they are not the same either, right? They are all some version of a hand cut circle, but some of them are definitely more oval. I think pulling back on the amount of contrast between the shapes also helps to rein in the potential chaos all this dramatic contrast and color and texture could fall into. The centered composition also adds a bit of calm to the piece.

Let’s take this week to consider the design principle of contrast. Would your pieces benefit from more contrast, or do you need to rein some of that in? Remember, it all depends on your intention. There are no wrong levels of contrast, at least not in art.

 

Last Week’s Giveaway

Drum roll please…

This last week’s randomly chosen winner is Eloise B! I’ve spoken to her and her clay is already on the way. Congrats Eloise!

 

This Week’s Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s giveaway through comments on the post. As mentioned above, it really made me happy to see all the fantastic, positive and self-caring observations. I also hope it gave you a moment to focus on and appreciate what you love so much about creating.

So, let’s do this again.

The Goodies:

  • This week I have a selection of Sculpey clays in 2 new Soufflé colors, 3 new Premo colors, and 2 big 8 oz. blocks of clay stash basics—Sculpey III in Pearl and Silver. That’s 26 ounces of fresh clay along with a three-piece set of Sculpey silkscreens.
  • Or if outside the US, I have a $25 Tenth Muse certificate, since it would be such a gamble to ship clay outside the US.

How to Win:

  • Put a comment in the blog comments* (below), telling me what type of contrast you enjoy creating most in your own work, or the type of contrast you wish you used more of. And, yes, if you want to share pictures, you can do so by including a link. Just don’t put more than one link in or it may spam filter the comment.
  • Note: It can take some time for the comment to appear if you’ve not commented before since, due to annoying spamming, I have to approve it .
  • Giveaway winners will be chosen by random—it will NOT be based on your answers. I do hope you’ll give it some thought anyway. The answers could be helpful to you as well as interesting for the rest of us.
  • And let’s say you can only win once this month so we can spread the love around.
  • Get your comments posted by Wednesday March 17th at midnight Pacific time to get in for the raffle.
  • I’ll announce the winner here on the blog next weekend!

I’ll put together yet another pack of goodies for a giveaway in next weekend’s post, so stay tuned here!

 

 

 

You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…

 

Markedly Punctured

How is everyone holding up out there? I’m guessing that most of you reading this are not bored. That is one of the advantages of being a creative – we have tons of ideas to work on and a great imagination to work with so let’s keep at that!

I’ve not only had a busy week, I have also been under the weather. Is it the coronavirus? Probably. I have had most of the symptoms, although none too severe, and my husband spent hours in close quarters with someone hospitalized for it not long after while I have rarely left the house but was super cautious when I did, being the (then) annoying lady in line asking everyone to stay 6 feet away from her. I got through the illness with tons of vitamin C and other immune support supplements (having a nutritionist in the family is really helpful!) while my husband never showed signs so we are all good here and I just have that dry cough hanging on. It did, however, slow me down this week.

So, I’m going to share with you a slightly pared down version of the one thing I completed this week which was the Virtual Art Box weekend nudge. So, if you got your VAB nudge yesterday, you’ve seen this, not that a second read isn’t useful!

In the VAB this month we talk about a rather basic but very important design element, the mark. This last weekend of the month, I want to talk about a rather common mark although it’s rarely thought of in those terms. Most of you would simply call them holes. This refers to any kind of puncture that goes through (or nearly through) the material or form that you’re working with.

I, like many people, am fascinated by holes. You can see things through them, revealing layers, depth, and the space beyond. They draw the eye. Think about traveling past caves in a canyon wall or passing an open window. You try to look in, if even just briefly, don’t you? Think of the hollow in a tree trunk or the big holes in a piece of artisan bread. You take notice of these, I bet.

This is why holes are such strong marks. They will be noticed. If there is just one or a spare few, they usually become focal points. When there are many, we usually try to take them all in, see into and through them all. That causes our eye to wander all over the piece, peeking in at all the open spaces. But small holes used as marks are particularly intriguing because we have to take a closer look to see in and beyond them, inviting the viewer to get a bit more intimate with the piece.

Let’s look at a few examples and pay attention to how you look at them. How strongly are you drawn to the holes? Can you imagine the piece without those puncturing marks? How would it change the piece if the holes were just surface marks and not punctures?

 

We can start with the opening image – a brooch with some variation in hole marks by Sabine Spiesser simply titled, Reef 1. What draws your eyes first? It might be the red, being a strong draw itself, but did you stop to look into the little holes?

Sona Grigoryan’s holes nearly take over her pieces sometimes, as in these brooches.

 

Sometimes holes become edges, as readers discovered in February in the Virtual Art Box with the featured pin lace technique, but in the enameled piece by Danielle Embry that opens this post, we can see through them clearly to the bright yellow background beyond. This brooch made 10 years ago, and I didn’t know when I picked it that she had titled it “Corona”, but it feels visually metaphorical for us all right now. Kind of gives me shivers actually.

Holes as marks don’t have to be round or organically scattered as most of the above are. They can be any shape and can be orderly, even to the point of creating an image as show in this ceramic bowl by Annie Quigley who does nothing but make holes in her ceramics.

 

Okay, now it’s your turn to find holes being used as marks. Go look at work in your studio and see if you use holes and if so, how do you use them? Are they used as marks or for functional purposes or maybe you don’t know or recall your intention with those holes?

If you’re not seeing holes in your work, I would normally say go out and look for them at galleries and shops, but most of us can’t and shouldn’t be doing that kind of thing. So how about a virtual tour. Or 30? Click here to get a list of virtual tours. This list is actually more than museums which I thought was neat in case you have young ones with you that might really enjoy a virtual tour of an aquarium or zoo. There are some wonderful places to virtually visit here.

Ok, now to go rest up for a bit as I have much to write this coming week between sewing masks and keeping up with isolated family and friends. (We have THE busiest social schedule we’ve ever had, and its all virtual!) Please, everyone take care of yourselves and make the most of your indoor time with a lot of creative exploration!

 

 

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Christi Friesen free play days, next one on Sunday

Giving Voice to Vision

Alev Gozonar, Herd Psychology I, 2019

Do you consider yourself one of those people who like to talk about their art, or do you want never to talk about it, like it might lose some of it’s magic if you try to explain it?

I think a lot of artists feel a little of both. We love what we do so much that we want to share it with anyone who has the slightest interest, but at the same time, we don’t want to over analyze it for fear of diminishing the personal and often mysterious process that is the creation of art work.

You don’t have to be over analytical about your art in order to verbalize what you do but you should consider how putting your thoughts about your process and what drives you to create into writing can help both yourself and those who view your work.

Let’s look at a few artists and their words to see how authentic and intelligent discussions of one’s work can illuminate and grow our appreciation for the art and its creator.

 

From the Mouth of Artists

For some artists, their intention is wound up intensely in the stories they would like to tell. Christine Damm is an artist who believes so strongly in the power of storytelling, that she named her business “Stories They Tell”. In her own words:

Stories They Tell is the name I call my company, because I am a storyteller. For me, life is a process, a journey, a transformation, an unfolding. And as our lives tell a story, so does our art. We – and it– are shaped by what we’ve done, who we’ve met, what we’ve learned, what we’ve struggled with or succeeded at. Life is an intersection with other souls, other lives, other ways of seeing, other ways of living. Art expresses that in a wonderful and ever-changing, topsy-turvy marvel of creation and discovery.

This paragraph from her website is an honest expression of how she sees the world and how that viewpoint lives with her and her day to day creative work. You can tell that it is a heartfelt view and description of herself, right? She’s not saying anything that hasn’t been said before, but she is saying it in her own words, and it gives us an understanding of what is important to her and what drives her creative process.

 

Alev Gozonar is a very conceptual artist. She clings to, and explores, words, stories, and specific ideologies as she creates. In the piece below I found on Instagram, she tags her images with just a handful of descriptors, primarily #concrete and #brutalism, referring to an architectural style in the mid-20th century that was characterized by monolithic, blocky, concrete elements. She contrasts the concrete shapes with delicate floral petals in this piece, but in other pieces in this line, the polymer petals are spattered or covered in concrete rather than just existing alongside the harsh building material, so there’s both an interesting juxtaposition and an immersion of the delicate in the hard and harsh. (You can find those other pieces on her Instagram page.) Now read how she sees her work. Her statements about reveal even more layers to her approach. In her words:

The dominant theme in my works is the composition of a whole via the repetition of parts.  This can be seen as an extension of my textiles education and has become a cornerstone of my identity as an artist. If I make an attempt to describe the general framework of my artwork, I would say that the most important starting points for me are the emotional losses and gains I have experienced in various phases of my life, my observations about life, my personal experiences and the way all of these things reflect on daily life, behavior and emotional states. 

Now what do you think when you look at this piece, or at the piece that opens this blog? Does it change how you see them?

 

Debra Adelson is a jewelry artist working in a “centuries old Bohemian cold work glass technique. Cold working does not use heat but, rather, water to keep the glass cool while manipulating it using abrasives such as sandblasting, grinding, drilling, and cutting.”

Look at her pieces below. If you did not know what her process was, you might take but a very quick glance at her work but you would not have had a lot to ponder. However, you now know something of her process and so probably have an increased appreciation and so, you’ll linger longer to identify how her process forms the work.


She has a very specific design process as well and often photographs her work to show the original inspiration which further informs us about the piece. For instance, it will be hard to look at the amber colored brooch and not see the water worn slot canyon walls, now that we have seen the photograph – the image is forever connected in our minds to that brooch, even if we see it without the image.

So, yes, images can help but, still, Debra gives us further insight into her process and thoughts with this selection of words from her online bio:

I am inspired by the natural world and our relationship to it. My pieces pay homage to changing forces that shape our landscape—both natural and manmade. I seek to create harmony in my work and find balance between our need to shape our environment while preserving and respecting the natural world. Each series begins with a distinct inspiration or concept. I base the initial piece on an image, a moment in nature and experiment to come up with my ‘visual language’ that tells a story for the series.

Her work is really amazing so do stop and click through to look at the colorful and very interestingly carved glass “gems” on her Instagram page or website.

 

Obviously, this is just a small taste of what people post to talk about their art. I might suggest that, as you zip around online and run into various artists that you admire or work that inspires you, go to their websites and read the ‘About’ page or their artist statements. The more of these you read and the more aware you become of how statements inform the artwork, the easier it will be for you to form a statement, a bio, or other text about you and your work that is authentic and truly brings across what it is you would like people to see in what you do.

 

Me and My Projects

I can’t tell you how energized and excited I am these days! For one, the Virtual Art Box which was released a bit over a week ago, has been so enthusiastically received (for which I am so relieved as I wondered how people would like it) and, secondly, because I’m getting to write tons about the things I am most passionate about! I get up in the morning and write like a mad woman. It just comes pouring out. I have to actually stop myself so I can make room for some guest artists and writers. When was the last time you were so excited about something that you could hardly think of anything else? It’s a great feeling!

It truly helps my enthusiasm to have such glowing comments sent to me (“This changed my life, already!”, “This was just what I needed. I thought I was burned out on creating but that wasn’t it …”, “I feel like I’m taking a college course!”) but I was a bit overwhelmed and emotional at moments. I am trying, in everything I do with my publications and projects, to affect other people’s lives in a positive and nurturing way but, unlike when teaching in person, in this business, you don’t get a clear idea of what people are doing with what they learn. But with the Creative Pursuits (a challenge and form in the Virtual Art Box that lets readers connect with me on their focus and goals) and the social media pages, not to mention the kind emails and messages I’ve been getting, I’m hearing exactly what your fellow polymer enthusiasts are up to and what they want. It’s fascinating and creates such energy for me and, I think, it will do so for the active VAB members. It’s so exciting!

If you aren’t getting the VAB, you can join in today by buying the one month February box, no subscription required, and then you can  check out what we are doing. You can get a subscription right now too although that won’t start you until March. Whatever you do, I just hope you have a chance to get in on this energy.

 

 

Lindly Needs a Little Love

If you have not already heard, one of our very dear community leaders and pioneers, Lindly Haunani, had a horrific accident a bit over a week ago. She has multiple broken bones, including bones in her dominant hand, and although she is sure to recover, it is going to be a very long and difficult road. Of course, this community jumped in to help her out in a huge way, but she will need your continued love and support for quite a while.

Take a look at her Go Fund Me page and send Lindly a little love this Valentine’s weekend if you can.

Additional fundraising avenues are being worked on as well. I will keep you updated on those and her well-being as I get news.

 

Shimmer and Shine … and Get Published.
Deadline for submission of ideas is March 15th

Scheduling this for Fall 2020, the Polymer Arts Projects – Shimmer and Shine book will, like the PAP – Organic’s book, feature numerous in-depth tutorials by some of our community’s most accomplished artists.

If you feel you are one of these folks that have something fantastic to offer readers for this theme, I am now open for submission ideas. Here are the basic guidelines:

  • As the theme is Shimmer and Shine, the project should be shiny, glitzy, sparkly, or blingy but also artistic, well-designed, and skillfully conceived.
  • The tutorial should work for readers in the experienced novice to moderately advanced range. This will not be for absolute beginners.
  • The tools and materials, or workable alternatives, should be obtainable by the majority of our worldwide readership.
  • The project should have a specific technique or look that can be reproduced in different forms and styles with examples of possible variations shown.
  • Artists submitting should be experienced at photographing their process and writing detailed tutorials.

This special publication offers payment and profit sharing for our contributing artists. Keep an eye on these newsletters for your submission opportunity next month. Check out the Polymer Arts Projects – Organics  book for further examples of the kind of tutorials we will be looking for.

At this time submit just the summary of your idea–just a few sentences–and links or small attachments to images of the technique and/or pieces of the kind your proposed tutorial would include. Send them to sage(a)tenthmusearts.com. My response will be sent after the March 15th deadline.

I look forward to your ideas!

Well, my dear readers, I do hope you’ve had a loving weekend. I’m off to spend the rest of it with my sun and stars. I hope you have an exciting and creative week!

Questioning Focus

July 7, 2019

“Fabiclay” brooch by Klio Tsaliki

Are you one of those people who finds an interesting path and goes down its until you find the end or do you like to wander about? I know that’s kind of a vague question, but you could apply it as a metaphor to goals in your life, the path of your career, or the way you create your artwork. I recently read some excerpts by Thomas Edison on the importance of keeping focused. He said, “The one prudence in life is concentration, the one evil is dissipation.” I don’t know if I wholly agree with that or, at least, I think it’s not so readily summed up in one tidy sentence.

I bet you can come up with at least a couple of artists off the top of your head who have come up with a treatment in polymer clay that they create with almost exclusively and have become quite masterful at it. But I think you come up with quite a few artists who consistently try different things, exploring, growing, and changing their style and focus on the artwork. Would you say that the person who focuses is probably doing better work than the person who is constantly exploring?

Perhaps it’s because we are talking about art that I can so readily dismiss Edison’s comment. I have always thought that, for most artists, art is about the exploration. I think if you find one technique and worked very hard to perfect it, you might get overly comfortable because you will more likely succeed with each successive piece as you hone your skill. And yes, I am presenting that as a possible problem. I am a strong believer in the value of messing up and creating pieces that “fail” on some level. It’s those experiences that really teach us and allow us to grow as artists. However, I do think that masterful artists who stick with one approach do, especially in their mind, make a lot of mistakes and have numerous pieces that failed or fell short of the artist’s expectations for every piece of work we would deem a masterpiece.

The bottom line is, I think whatever journey your imagination and curiosity leads you on is the right path to follow with your creative work. Don’t fight it if you like to stick with one technique and refine it over and over or if you get easily bored once you feel you’ve mastered something enough to understand it and want to move on to the next challenge. The journey of our creative process is as individual and unique as our own artwork.

Let’s look at a few examples of people on both sides of this coin – those dedicated to a primary technique and those that constantly change their focus. Then you can decide for yourself if Edison had a point or not.

Single Minded Tangents

There are so many artists that come to mind that focus on a single technique or process and have mastered it to a mind-blowing extent. Elise Winters is one of the first that comes to mind when it comes to technique. This surface treatment was her signature and her legacy and no one, that I’ve seen, has yet matched her skill with it.

 

When it comes to form, I don’t think anyone else in the polymer community has made more of the same form than Ron Lehocky with his hearts. But here’s an example of staying focused on one thing while exploring just about everything else you can. He’s made tens of thousands of hearts and no two are the same. Here are examples of the variations he came up with from a single Skinner blend.

 

One of the most masterful and single-minded people of process would have to be Jon Stuart Anderson with his cane covered animals and functional objects. Although caning is his focus as far as technique, he is constantly exploring pattern and how it affects the form. It’s a subtle exploration but if you look back through his work you’ll see how the application of pattern has changed over the years and how he is constantly exploring new forms to apply them to, working on how the new forms will show off the canes or how the canes will accentuate the forms.

I love this bowl below. It shows more “quiet space” with those swaths of black to red canes, than I think I’ve ever seen in his work before. The relatively unpatterned area so dramatically contrasts the complex canes designs but you can take in the individual cane and pattern placement more readily because the eye has a place to rest, giving you a moment to rest and to process more of what you’re seeing

 

This whole subject matter recalls to me a conversation Rosanna Faillace and I had with Melanie Muir in Rome last year. We were talking about people who stick with one technique and don’t branch out and Melanie, seeming to think it might be a negative thing, said “That’s me. I’m a one trick pony.” But of course, she’s not. She loves her inlaid mokume gane veneers, but she is constantly exploring construction and different forms on which to present these, resulting in pieces like this beautiful bracelet.

Frenetically Fabulous

I myself am of the exploratory variety of artists. I do wish I had a little more focus and could spend more time on any single technique, form, or process, but the thing is, my curiosity about what else I could do is a stronger driving force, so I go with that. There are a LOT of us artistic explorers in polymer art as polymer just cries out to be explored.

When it comes to an exploratory approach in polymer, Debbie Crothers is the first person who comes to mind. You can see her gorgeous acrylic on polymer beads on the front of the upcoming issue of The Polymer Studio. Her penchant for exploration is why she is writing the “Mix it Up” articles in the magazine. She always has something she’s playing around with and she does love to share. She does occasionally show the results of both her good and not so successful explorations, which I love because it demonstrates her willingness to try, to make mistakes, and to do the work over and over again until she has mastered it. It is highly unlikely that Debbie would have gotten the results she got in these beads below if she didn’t go through a lot of trial and error first. The final results are well worth the exploration!

 

Another person I’ve been following for years is Klio Tsaliki. She’ll try almost anything and, in the process, comes up with some great techniques and approaches. Some attempts come out better than others, but I love that she shares it all, or at least enough for us to see that she is not afraid to try anything that interests her. I find that very inspiring. A couple of years ago she was playing with metallic silkscreen and the possible fabric-like quality of polymer, as you can see in the opening photo of this post. More recently, she’s played with translucent clay and LED lights, as seen below.

Klio’s newest work has been in the up and coming new clay from Fimo, “Leather Effect”. Once cured, this clay is supposed to be very much like leather. You can see here on the Fimo website that it is very pliable and can be cut and even stitched. I don’t know about you, but I have never been so excited about a new line of polymer clay! It’s not available in the US yet, and I don’t know how widely distributed it is in Europe, but there is supposed to be news about that soon and, trust me, when it is available, I’m going to be playing with it quite a bit as leather was one of my first materials I made jewelry from. You can go to Klio’s Flickr photostream to see what she’s been doing with it.

Another name for exploration is pioneering. Pioneers need to explore their subject extensively to find those new and intriguing aspects that lead the rest of us to their fresh finds. In general, you’ll find that most of the folks we identify as polymer pioneers were and are highly exploratory. Just look at what Kathleen Dustin has done throughout her career. From ornate purses to translucent layered brooches to reinterpretations of textile patterns such as with these new brooches below, you never really know what Kathleen will be working on next and yet, all her work is masterfully constructed and impeccably finished. I think her exploration keeps her work fresh for us and, most especially, for her and her passion for her work.

 

Focus on Yourself

So, as you see, there are many approaches to the creative process, all of which have value and result in beautiful, emotive, and inspiring work. So, no, I don’t think focus and concentration on one technique, form, or even material, is necessary but I do think keeping a sharp focus on the overriding creative goal – to make fulfilling artwork, financially supportive artwork, satiating your curiosity, or whatever the important creative motivation is for you – is something to keep a watchful eye on.

Speaking of focus … The construction on my house is in the finishing stages now. That hasn’t helped me with my focus on getting the next issue out, neither has my tendinitis and back issue which was such a huge problem last year. The thing is, in the last year, I have not really had enough time off to completely heal and am having issues again. I’m pretty sure I can get this issue to the printer in time to have it out by the end of the month but I’m probably going to have a heart-to-heart with my doctor on what I really need to do to get this healed and am working out a bit of time off later this month. This is one area where keeping focus would be very helpful!

I will keep you apprised of any shakeups in production if you are a subscriber to The Polymer Studio so just stay tuned here. And next week maybe I can get you pictures of the house for those of you who are curious. Everything’s under plastic wrap right now as they finish plastering and painting. But it’s horribly exciting seeing it come together!

So, I will leave you with these thoughts on focus and exploration. I hope it brings you some interesting insights for your own process and work. Have a fabulous week!

 

Orient your Contrast (+Sitewide Sale)

June 2, 2019

Have you ever looked at a piece that you are creating and think, it could use a little more contrast? And when you think of contrast, what do you turn to? Colors? Light or dark values? Maybe texture? How about, next time you’re looking for more contrast, you consider orientation?

In most work, there is a perceivable orientation of the pieces, marks, and edges. If everything is going in the same direction –vertically, horizontally, or some version of diagonally – there is a constant and strong flow in that direction which can be a wonderful way to convey certain emotions or levels of energy, but mixing it up can increase the energy of your work when it needs that extra boost.

I was thinking about that this week because we finally determined a suitable tile design for our new shower. The go-to design for shower accent tile is running it horizontally towards the top of the wall, although vertical lines have become a thing of late. I don’t particularly like either, but then I came up with the idea of having both – a vertical run of accent tile down the middle of the faucet wall and a horizontal one on the opposite side where we created a sunken ledge. I came up to this when it hit me that we had only been considering contrast in terms of tile color and not the orientation of those swaths of contrasting tile.

So, I thought this week we could look at contrast of orientation in polymer art. It can be such a simple thing to tweak in a design and yet it can make a huge difference in the feel, dynamics, and focus of the work.

 

Orientation versus Line

I think we need to define a couple of terms before we dive in here. As you’ll see, I’m going to use the words “orientation” and “line” a lot in this post, but I don’t want you to get confused and think of them as the same thing in terms of design.

Let me start out being the master of the obvious for a moment by defining those terms: Orientation is the relative position of an object or element from a particular viewpoint while a line is an element that follows a singular path and whose path can have an orientation. For instance, a bean pod lying on the counter has a horizontal orientation. The seam of the pod, on the other hand, is a line, which, following the length of the pod, will have the same horizontal orientation as the pod’s shape. Crack open that seam and you have a horizontal row of beans as well, even if each bean is sitting up (so each bean itself has a vertical orientation.) That’s because a row is a visual line. However, each item in a row will have its own orientation as well.

In other words, most everything will have its own orientation, including lines, but lines are not the only thing that has an orientation. Their orientation just happens to be very prominent and lines are a common and highly employed design element so I end up pointing them out a lot here.

Below is a more interesting example than a bean pod (although I found this while looking for polymer bean pods because Shelley Atwood, the creator of this pair of earrings has also made bean pod earrings!) Here there are a lot of vertical elements. The overall shape, the snakes of clay, and the row of balls are all vertical. However, the texture on one side runs horizontally within the vertical shape of the earring. And with that, she’s created contrast in orientation.

So, all you have to remember is that a line will have an orientation, but a shape, mark, or edge, also has an orientation. Orientation is like a bigger, more general characteristic of an element while line is just one type of element. Is that all a bit much for a Sunday morning? I wasn’t aiming to take you to class but there you have it!

 

Cases for Contrasting Orientation

Let’s start with a simple but high contrast example in orientation. This pendant by  Kseniya of Etsy shop Solar Bird has a vertical shape but is heavy on the horizontal lines. The contrast in orientation carries this piece. It takes a simple construction – a stack of extruded canes – and creates the energy this contemporary, understated piece needs. The contrast between surfaces (the horizontal lines versus the stack of concentric circle cane ends) creates interest but such a pendant would not have had as much presence if it had been a simple square or an equilateral triangle as those lack the contrast of the vertical shape against the horizontal lines we have here.

 

Here is another way to work with a vertical shape and introduce contrast in orientation. These polymer and metal earrings by Sue Savage include vertical polymer shapes with diagonal lines in the treated polymer and in the wire, creating a very dynamic, kind of spinning feel to the set.

 

The elements in Jeffrey Lloyd Dever’s work is a constant study of variation in contrasting orientation. His pin in the opening image of this post has elements that are strongly opposed in orientation. However, how the brooch is worn determines the level of contrast and how it feels when looking at it. If the long central body of the brooch is set vertically or horizontally the individual spines create a high opposing, and thus contrasting, orientation. If set on a horizontal, like it is in the image, it becomes a series of opposing horizontals which isn’t quite as stark a contrast. Isn’t that interesting?

There is one design element on that pin, and in his assemblage piece below, that does not have an orientation but is integral to the design, slowing down all that contrasting energy and giving the eye a place to rest. I bet you can identify what that is.

As you might have noted earlier, I said that “most” objects have an orientation. Well, you are now seeing the one type of object that does not – a symmetrically round one. A circle or a ball has no top or bottom, no sides, no vertical, horizontal, or diagonal edges. It is one continuous curve. Because of that it visually sits still. It is grounded and yet imbued with mild energy. That’s why circles, dots, and balls make such great focal points. So, if you going to go high contrast with lines or orientation, and it feels like it needs to be reined in, a round element may be just what you need. With every type of orientation included in the brooch assemblage above, the ball is needed to anchor all that energy, give it focus, and provide a place for the viewer’s eye to rest.

 

Let’s look at a more subtle use of orientation that is still high contrast. Sonya Girodon loves contrasting verticals and horizontals, sometimes in very obvious and stark ways, but other times her dedication to these absolute orientations is set in a more understated manner.

In the necklace below, most elements are involved in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The horizontals appear as marks on the clay but are also present in the row of staple-like wires, the two rows of circles (the horizontal emphasized by the lines running through them), and in how the vertical marks are lined up. The staple wires themselves are vertical as are many of the marks and the overall shape of the pendant. This high contrast in vertical versus horizontal within the elements that make up this piece creates a tremendous amount of energy but it is softened and contained by the curve of the central shapes and the circles which, again, create a focal point.

 

I think by now you must be getting the idea. You can switch up the orientation of elements such as shape, line, and marks to increase, decrease or anchor the energy of your designs. I think we all inherently know this, but how often do you make a conscious decision as to how the various components or elements in your work will sit in relation to the others? I think this may be one of those too often neglected design decisions. But maybe now it won’t be glossed over next time you sit down at your studio table.

 

I am going to have to leave it at that this week. I have much to do as I prepare to run off to Australia next weekend. I am going to put together something for you to have on the weekends while I’m gone and, with any luck, I’ll be able to sneak in some pics from the trip as well. But as those of you who travel internationally a lot know, you just can’t count on Internet connectivity. And I could really use some unplugged time.

 

Important Info in Our Recent Newsletter

In the meantime, if you got our recent newsletter or if you are a reader of our other publications (thank you so much for your support of our projects!), be sure to read about the upcoming increases in USPS shipping and why it has become so very important to keep us up-to-date on any change of address.

There is some fantastic news in that newsletter as well – we are having a sitewide SALE! Go ahead, stock up, and take 10% off everything in your cart. Head over to our website here by Thursday (June 6th) and use Promo code Now10.

If you don’t get our newsletter, you can see this edition here and sign up for it on our home page (scroll down … it’s on the right side) here.

 

We have walls!

For all you fabulous and funny people who are still interested in the house progress here, we have walls and floors and many fewer holes! We still don’t always have a hot shower so we have to get that figured out and soon. But we have had some warm days for the first time in I don’t how long, so it’s been a good week. But the constant checking in with the contractors and this whole designing of the shower tile has eaten up a ton of time so I must run off. It’s a working Sunday for me, which is kind of sad, but it’s going to be worth it when I am snorkeling through the Great Barrier Reef and shooting pictures of curious creatures on Kangaroo Island!

 

In the meantime, stay inspired, keep creating, and enjoy a wonderful first week of June!

 

One Element at a Time

February 3, 2019

I don’t know if you have ever considered, or found important, the fact that most polymer art is a collection of elements constructed into a single piece. Yes, I know I am stating the obvious here but consider the fact that most polymer art is put together in such a way as to make the individual elements blend into a cohesiveness whole. Have you ever considered that maybe each element can be its own little piece of art, even if it’s to be a part of something bigger?

If you make the work about each individual elements and not the single composition they are part of, you should be able to give yourself more freedom in the creative process. The idea would be to just focus on the single component in front of you without regard for the other parts it may eventually be joined with. Since you don’t have to consider any other elements you should be able to just let your mind and hands go play. You could, in fact, just create tons of individual pieces and then pull together the ones that you find relate and from that create a finished piece. There would be no pressure to make things work together or fit. Does that sound intriguing?

 

Elemental Artists

There are a lot of artists that do this almost exclusively. When Debbie Crothers creates, a finished piece is usually the last thing on her mind. She is in love with seeing what the material will do and spends most of her time playing and exploring. Once her stock builds up, or just whenever the bug bites her, then she will create finished pieces of wearable art.

Recently she has also been incorporating her love of found objects as you can see in the image above. This is just a part of a very long necklace of Debbie’s. (The whole of which I’ve not seen her posted anywhere but will be featured in the upcoming Polymer Journeys 2019 book. Look for pre-sale announcements this coming week.) Each individual component definitely stands on its own here since each individual polymer and found object component is framed. But you can also see, if you look at her work on Facebook or on her website, that her pieces are almost always a variety show, one that features the results of her exploration and just having fun with the clay.

Another cool thing about this type of artwork is that the viewer will probably want to look at each and every individual component. Just the variety heightens the interest in these kinds of pieces which means the people viewing it will spend more time looking at it and more time appreciating your work. That can really help in terms of sales too because the more time someone spends looking at a piece the more likely they will be to want to buy it.

I think this kind of intrigue born of variety may be the primary draw when it comes to the jewelry of Olga Ledneva. This piece you see here is a bit more dense and has more potential movement than her newer work but I thought it was also a good example of how all these pieces, together, create a textural canvas since they are all kind of dangling on top of each other, and yet, as cohesive as it feels, you still want to look carefully at each piece in the assembly. Olga’s Facebook page and Flickr photostream are good places to look around for other assembled element ideas.

I know those  two ladies make some pretty interesting and complex components but don’t think you have to go to that extent. The individual elements you create in this process can be as simple as punched out squares such as you might see in one of Laurie Mika’s mosaics. I am such a fan of this kind of free-form collage work, one that allows you to simply show off the characteristics you love about working with clay. You can assemble bits of your alcohol ink treated sheets, mokume gane, complex canes, impressed clay components, or hand sculpted forms. A mosaic or even a necklace of just simple shapes can let those treatments and colors shine, each on their own.

Of course, this approach isn’t just for polymer clay. This brilliant green assemblage necklace by an artist known only as Gebrufa is all fabric and fiber, although some components could as easily have been polymer. My guess would be that she gave herself just the restriction of a limited color palette but otherwise made all the individual pieces as whimsy led her. Should you want to know that you can have a cohesive finished piece when you are done freely creating components, this kind of approach would give you a path to that while still creating with relative freedom.

 

So, have I got you thinking about the individual elements of your pieces in a different way now?

Planning and meticulously designing pieces is essential in many circumstances but letting yourself just explore can also be an important part of your artistic growth as it helps to free up and expand your creativity. Letting yourself just play can be hard to do when you don’t have a lot of time and you want the time you do have to result in finished pieces. Knowing you can focus on making great little individual components which you can later put together into a fabulous necklace or wall piece might just be the thing that gives you the license to let go and doodle away with your clay.

 

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

  • Want to CLAY OUT EAST or CLAY OUT WEST? Registration for both of this multi-instructor, 4 day workshop events are open now. Clay out East is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, June 12-15th and Clay out West will be held Sept 30 – Oct 3 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here is the link for the East event’s registration. I couldn’t scare up a link for the West event registration but you can email them at clayoutwest@aol.com to get the details.
  • Did you catch the “Make Your Own Silkscreens” article in the Summer 2018 issue of The Polymer Arts? It was so much fun to make these and right now, the company that made it so fun and easy, EZScreenPrint if having a 15% off sale but it ends today! Go here, and use coupon code JAN15. No minimum purchase required.
  • Did you know that Poly Clay Play has a Shopping Discount Club? If you go through a lot of supplies (or just tend to get overly excited around polymer clay and tools and want to buy everything you see) this discount club could help in big ways. PCP is one of my favorite shops, especially for pastes, powders, and alcohol ink. She gets them all! Go here to check out the club deal or just shop around.

Always glad to get your feedback!

Last week we did some history, this week was about how you approach your work. Did you like the subject and did it get you thinking? Or do you thoughts on other things you’d like for me to research and write about? Just let me know. Write me in the comments below this post (click here if you are reading this in an email).

 

Fond Goodbyes to Winter

I was traveling this past week, otherwise I would have posted earlier about the passing of our iconic Elise Winters. I’m sure you have heard the news through other avenues that her battle with cancer ended on New Year’s day but I wanted to post a farewell here.

Although I did not know her well, we did talk and in our few conversations, I found we had some differing views but the details mattered little as we were on the same team, wanting to promote and raise the view of polymer to the level of a fine art wherever we could. My efforts have been tiny ripples to her tremendous waves, however. Elise is the reason we have polymer art in so many museums and, especially, holding its own at the esteemed Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin where polymer is one of the six categories of craft that the museum has placed its focus on. We have so much to thank her for.

Elise’s work is readily recognizable and has never been well replicated. Her combination of Skinner blends and crazed acrylic stripes were coaxed into some of the most unusual and unexpected shapes and forms. Although her ruffled and pillow forms were some of her most widely known pieces, I have always thought the piece you see here was one of her best. It’s a brooch from 2006 called Skinner Inner Brooch. This has a much more direct and grounded energy than her well-known ruffles and its inner reveal of a bull’s-eye cane gives it another dimension, bringing us to consider what is underneath, beyond the beautiful surface.

Movement and energy of this kind were paramount in her artwork and, as we have seen, also in her passion and drive to make polymer a recognized fine art material. I hope there are enough of us to amass a similarly zealous energy to continue the work for which she paved such an integral path for our craft. Thank you, Elise.

For a look back at this legendary artist, jewelry designer, and polymer art advocate you can visit her website here.

From Winter into Spring …

I would also like to put out a reminder that the first issue of The Polymer Studio is set to go to print at the end of this week. If you would like to get the first print copies straight from the printer, be sure to purchase your subscription or single issue pre-order by this Wednesday, January 9th, to get on the direct mail list we give to the printer. The issue will be released on January 19th in digital.

You can look forward to …

Tutorials

  • Kitchen Sink Imprint Mokume by Julie Picarello
  • Magical Phoenix Feather by Christi Friesen
  • Martian Footprints Necklace by Anna Malnaya
  • Swoop Pendant by Beatrice Picq
  • More is More Fimo Bracelet by Jeannette Froese LeBlanc
  • Mosaic Stained Glass Canes by Linda Leach
  • Shimmering Scenery Pendant by Sage Bray

Tips

  • Mix a Near and Far Color Palette with Tracy Holmes
  • Mix it Up with Embossing Powders with Debbie Crothers
  • Creative Studio Organization Ideas by our Staff

Inspiration

  • Studio Tour: Small Spaces in Germany with Anke Humpert
  • In-Depth Artist Profile: Julie Picarello
  • Uncommon Clay Artist Profile: Travis Suda

… and much more!

Get your subscription here at www.ThePolymerStudio.com or www.TenthMuseArts.com.

 

A Serving of Fruits and Veggies

October 15, 2018

Happy Monday, fellow polymer enthusiasts. I’m not sure how this week is going to turn out as I have not had time to put together a full-fledged theme so we’re gonna go with “things that caught my eye” for now.

I’m sure you can understand why this piece by Marion Le Coq aka Fancy Puppet, might have caught my eye. They are fun and refreshing pieces, wonderfully finished and composed. She connects all her elements with repetition of motifs, colors, or other things. For example, the leaf off the apple is reflected in the leaf addition on the back and hanging leaves. The carrot’s colors are reflected in its layered pieces behind it, and its crisscross of lines reflect the crisscross of the plaid.

I’m guessing the plaids and dots are silkscreen but the secret is probably available on her YouTube page where she has dozens of tutorials and review items. She’s also quite busy elsewhere online. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, Canal blog, and Etsy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost Late to Class

September 12, 2018

You know those times when you’re so busy that, although you sense something exciting is going on around you, you don’t stop to check it out until it’s too late? That was me these last few weeks. I knew that Dan Cormier’s and Tracy Holmes’ Bioforming class was coming up, but not that registration was nearing its end. Then, in my weekly search for cool polymer goodies to share with you this past weekend, I found this refreshing brooch by Dan and realized I didn’t know what was going on with their class. And guess what? It looked like registration for the class may have come and gone. Could this be true?

Not that I would have time to take it, much less sleep much, this year.  If you read Monday’s news, you know about the new Polymer Art Projects – Organics book for which pre-sales started at a discount price on Monday, and you probably know about our new magazine, The Polymer Studio, coming in January, and you may also have heard that the next Polymer Journeys book will be on its way in November, so you know I’m beyond busy! But I wished I’d managed to make the time to tell you about this great new class before it was too late.

But then I thought, maybe it’s not! And a couple emails later and I have for you … drumroll please … a secret back door into a few extra spots Dan and Tracy have kindly opened just for you, my readers!

So, if you’re interested, jump over to this link to sign up for their in-depth Bioforming class.  This secret back door will only be ope through this Friday so don’t wait as it is probably your last chance to get in on this.

Even if you can’t make the class, be sure to sign up for their newsletter so you’re one of the first to know when their next fantastic class is available.

In the meantime, here’s a bit of Dan’s latest work. The sophistication and mastery that underlies his approach to form, finishes, and design is all here but the little bouncing balls of color and the fun cactus form gives a humorous edge that is not as common in Dan’s work although, if you know him, is a big part of his personality.

For more on Dan’s work and on the classes Dan and Tracy have been teaching, go to their primary website here.

Contrast of Self

March 14, 2021
Posted in ,

Would you call yourself a selfish person? I doubt very many of us would think that way about ourselves. Yet, as artists, we often find ourselves “stealing” time away from others or other things to do what we love, reveling in it when we have it. Is that selfish? I mean, it is more about us than anyone else, isn’t it?

Yes, it is about us, and that is as it should be. In the requested comments for last week’s giveaway (scroll down to see the winner and this week’s giveaway), participants mentioned some version of the “me time” aspect of getting to sit down and create more than anything else. I mean, I know we create because it is something we enjoy, regardless of what anyone else thinks, but I just love that so many people acknowledged and celebrated it. We should!

I strongly believe that everyone should have something of their own, something they can turn to in order to express themselves or at least put something out into the world that would not have existed without their desire to create it. The art we create gives us purpose, exercises a uniquely human part of our brains, and helps us to love ourselves. Not to mention that we deserve the joy we get from it!

But, by definition, that is selfish—doing something because it’s what we want. I wish our society would get over the idea that doing something for ourselves is bad. I think not doing things for yourself is self-negligence. Why is that not a commonly understood thing?

This also highlights the bigger, contradictory world that we inhabit. We live in such strange societies where selflessness and humility are expected or requested, and yet we are also pushed to strive for excellence in what we do. How do we reach excellence without focusing on ourselves? And then there is this silliness where we are not supposed to acknowledge when the work we do is good or that we’re proud of it. If we do, others may think we’re being arrogant or grandiose.

So, do we strive to be great and then pretend that we’re mediocre? We talk about contrast being good in art, but this is so not the right kind of contrast!

I’ve long found the dichotomy of these contradictory but societally prescribed behaviors beyond aggravating as well as having the potential to be debilitating. I think that is why it made me so happy to see so many people acknowledging their creative hours as me-time, self-care, and a time of wonderfully selfish joy. Keep it up, I say!

Now, let’s talk about the good kind of contrast in art.

 

Design Refresh

Let’s look at the beautiful brooch by Lyne Tilt that opened this post. What do you notice first about this? There’s a lot going on in this little space, isn’t there? What are the three things that jump out at you as far as design elements?

I’m going to say color, shape, and texture. Did you come up with the same three? There is also a lot going on with marks and size. So, any combination of those would be spot on.

How about design principles? What do you think is the number one principal used in this design? Sure, we could refer to scale and proportion considering all the different sizes of the layers, or we could talk about focal point or even just key in on the centered composition. But the one thing this has in spades is contrast.

Obviously, there is color contrast in all the major color characteristics—she has a vibrant trio of warm colors contrasting the cool of the blue and cyan; color values range from the dark blue and deep red to the moderate orange to the light yellow and pale polished silver; and, if you check your CMY color wheels, you’ll see that the color of the bottom layer is a blue-cyan whose complementary AND split complementaries are the yellow, orange, and red that you see in the upper layers.

But doesn’t a color palette have to have at least one common characteristic between all the colors? Well, ideally, yes, and this does. Here it’s saturation. These are not muted colors. The orange may be slightly tinted (has some white in it) but not enough to feel it’s gone off base from the saturated characteristic that ties them all together.

Now, look at the contrast in the textures. The top and bottom layers might have the same texture, but the rest are vastly different. There are even different materials—metal and clay. But they work together pretty well, don’t they? Why?

The textures work together in part because they are all drastically different—the wide variety is part of the charm of this piece. But, like color, they need something to tie them together.

Did you notice that the textures are applied to the entire layer from one edge to another? Thier differences are connected because the application on each layer is the same. That does seem to be enough to allow them to exist in the same piece and not have it feel completely chaotic.

The shapes, on the other hand, are not completely different but they are not the same either, right? They are all some version of a hand cut circle, but some of them are definitely more oval. I think pulling back on the amount of contrast between the shapes also helps to rein in the potential chaos all this dramatic contrast and color and texture could fall into. The centered composition also adds a bit of calm to the piece.

Let’s take this week to consider the design principle of contrast. Would your pieces benefit from more contrast, or do you need to rein some of that in? Remember, it all depends on your intention. There are no wrong levels of contrast, at least not in art.

 

Last Week’s Giveaway

Drum roll please…

This last week’s randomly chosen winner is Eloise B! I’ve spoken to her and her clay is already on the way. Congrats Eloise!

 

This Week’s Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s giveaway through comments on the post. As mentioned above, it really made me happy to see all the fantastic, positive and self-caring observations. I also hope it gave you a moment to focus on and appreciate what you love so much about creating.

So, let’s do this again.

The Goodies:

  • This week I have a selection of Sculpey clays in 2 new Soufflé colors, 3 new Premo colors, and 2 big 8 oz. blocks of clay stash basics—Sculpey III in Pearl and Silver. That’s 26 ounces of fresh clay along with a three-piece set of Sculpey silkscreens.
  • Or if outside the US, I have a $25 Tenth Muse certificate, since it would be such a gamble to ship clay outside the US.

How to Win:

  • Put a comment in the blog comments* (below), telling me what type of contrast you enjoy creating most in your own work, or the type of contrast you wish you used more of. And, yes, if you want to share pictures, you can do so by including a link. Just don’t put more than one link in or it may spam filter the comment.
  • Note: It can take some time for the comment to appear if you’ve not commented before since, due to annoying spamming, I have to approve it .
  • Giveaway winners will be chosen by random—it will NOT be based on your answers. I do hope you’ll give it some thought anyway. The answers could be helpful to you as well as interesting for the rest of us.
  • And let’s say you can only win once this month so we can spread the love around.
  • Get your comments posted by Wednesday March 17th at midnight Pacific time to get in for the raffle.
  • I’ll announce the winner here on the blog next weekend!

I’ll put together yet another pack of goodies for a giveaway in next weekend’s post, so stay tuned here!

 

 

 

You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like…

 

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Markedly Punctured

March 29, 2020
Posted in ,

How is everyone holding up out there? I’m guessing that most of you reading this are not bored. That is one of the advantages of being a creative – we have tons of ideas to work on and a great imagination to work with so let’s keep at that!

I’ve not only had a busy week, I have also been under the weather. Is it the coronavirus? Probably. I have had most of the symptoms, although none too severe, and my husband spent hours in close quarters with someone hospitalized for it not long after while I have rarely left the house but was super cautious when I did, being the (then) annoying lady in line asking everyone to stay 6 feet away from her. I got through the illness with tons of vitamin C and other immune support supplements (having a nutritionist in the family is really helpful!) while my husband never showed signs so we are all good here and I just have that dry cough hanging on. It did, however, slow me down this week.

So, I’m going to share with you a slightly pared down version of the one thing I completed this week which was the Virtual Art Box weekend nudge. So, if you got your VAB nudge yesterday, you’ve seen this, not that a second read isn’t useful!

In the VAB this month we talk about a rather basic but very important design element, the mark. This last weekend of the month, I want to talk about a rather common mark although it’s rarely thought of in those terms. Most of you would simply call them holes. This refers to any kind of puncture that goes through (or nearly through) the material or form that you’re working with.

I, like many people, am fascinated by holes. You can see things through them, revealing layers, depth, and the space beyond. They draw the eye. Think about traveling past caves in a canyon wall or passing an open window. You try to look in, if even just briefly, don’t you? Think of the hollow in a tree trunk or the big holes in a piece of artisan bread. You take notice of these, I bet.

This is why holes are such strong marks. They will be noticed. If there is just one or a spare few, they usually become focal points. When there are many, we usually try to take them all in, see into and through them all. That causes our eye to wander all over the piece, peeking in at all the open spaces. But small holes used as marks are particularly intriguing because we have to take a closer look to see in and beyond them, inviting the viewer to get a bit more intimate with the piece.

Let’s look at a few examples and pay attention to how you look at them. How strongly are you drawn to the holes? Can you imagine the piece without those puncturing marks? How would it change the piece if the holes were just surface marks and not punctures?

 

We can start with the opening image – a brooch with some variation in hole marks by Sabine Spiesser simply titled, Reef 1. What draws your eyes first? It might be the red, being a strong draw itself, but did you stop to look into the little holes?

Sona Grigoryan’s holes nearly take over her pieces sometimes, as in these brooches.

 

Sometimes holes become edges, as readers discovered in February in the Virtual Art Box with the featured pin lace technique, but in the enameled piece by Danielle Embry that opens this post, we can see through them clearly to the bright yellow background beyond. This brooch made 10 years ago, and I didn’t know when I picked it that she had titled it “Corona”, but it feels visually metaphorical for us all right now. Kind of gives me shivers actually.

Holes as marks don’t have to be round or organically scattered as most of the above are. They can be any shape and can be orderly, even to the point of creating an image as show in this ceramic bowl by Annie Quigley who does nothing but make holes in her ceramics.

 

Okay, now it’s your turn to find holes being used as marks. Go look at work in your studio and see if you use holes and if so, how do you use them? Are they used as marks or for functional purposes or maybe you don’t know or recall your intention with those holes?

If you’re not seeing holes in your work, I would normally say go out and look for them at galleries and shops, but most of us can’t and shouldn’t be doing that kind of thing. So how about a virtual tour. Or 30? Click here to get a list of virtual tours. This list is actually more than museums which I thought was neat in case you have young ones with you that might really enjoy a virtual tour of an aquarium or zoo. There are some wonderful places to virtually visit here.

Ok, now to go rest up for a bit as I have much to write this coming week between sewing masks and keeping up with isolated family and friends. (We have THE busiest social schedule we’ve ever had, and its all virtual!) Please, everyone take care of yourselves and make the most of your indoor time with a lot of creative exploration!

 

 

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Christi Friesen free play days, next one on Sunday

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Giving Voice to Vision

February 16, 2020
Posted in ,

Alev Gozonar, Herd Psychology I, 2019

Do you consider yourself one of those people who like to talk about their art, or do you want never to talk about it, like it might lose some of it’s magic if you try to explain it?

I think a lot of artists feel a little of both. We love what we do so much that we want to share it with anyone who has the slightest interest, but at the same time, we don’t want to over analyze it for fear of diminishing the personal and often mysterious process that is the creation of art work.

You don’t have to be over analytical about your art in order to verbalize what you do but you should consider how putting your thoughts about your process and what drives you to create into writing can help both yourself and those who view your work.

Let’s look at a few artists and their words to see how authentic and intelligent discussions of one’s work can illuminate and grow our appreciation for the art and its creator.

 

From the Mouth of Artists

For some artists, their intention is wound up intensely in the stories they would like to tell. Christine Damm is an artist who believes so strongly in the power of storytelling, that she named her business “Stories They Tell”. In her own words:

Stories They Tell is the name I call my company, because I am a storyteller. For me, life is a process, a journey, a transformation, an unfolding. And as our lives tell a story, so does our art. We – and it– are shaped by what we’ve done, who we’ve met, what we’ve learned, what we’ve struggled with or succeeded at. Life is an intersection with other souls, other lives, other ways of seeing, other ways of living. Art expresses that in a wonderful and ever-changing, topsy-turvy marvel of creation and discovery.

This paragraph from her website is an honest expression of how she sees the world and how that viewpoint lives with her and her day to day creative work. You can tell that it is a heartfelt view and description of herself, right? She’s not saying anything that hasn’t been said before, but she is saying it in her own words, and it gives us an understanding of what is important to her and what drives her creative process.

 

Alev Gozonar is a very conceptual artist. She clings to, and explores, words, stories, and specific ideologies as she creates. In the piece below I found on Instagram, she tags her images with just a handful of descriptors, primarily #concrete and #brutalism, referring to an architectural style in the mid-20th century that was characterized by monolithic, blocky, concrete elements. She contrasts the concrete shapes with delicate floral petals in this piece, but in other pieces in this line, the polymer petals are spattered or covered in concrete rather than just existing alongside the harsh building material, so there’s both an interesting juxtaposition and an immersion of the delicate in the hard and harsh. (You can find those other pieces on her Instagram page.) Now read how she sees her work. Her statements about reveal even more layers to her approach. In her words:

The dominant theme in my works is the composition of a whole via the repetition of parts.  This can be seen as an extension of my textiles education and has become a cornerstone of my identity as an artist. If I make an attempt to describe the general framework of my artwork, I would say that the most important starting points for me are the emotional losses and gains I have experienced in various phases of my life, my observations about life, my personal experiences and the way all of these things reflect on daily life, behavior and emotional states. 

Now what do you think when you look at this piece, or at the piece that opens this blog? Does it change how you see them?

 

Debra Adelson is a jewelry artist working in a “centuries old Bohemian cold work glass technique. Cold working does not use heat but, rather, water to keep the glass cool while manipulating it using abrasives such as sandblasting, grinding, drilling, and cutting.”

Look at her pieces below. If you did not know what her process was, you might take but a very quick glance at her work but you would not have had a lot to ponder. However, you now know something of her process and so probably have an increased appreciation and so, you’ll linger longer to identify how her process forms the work.


She has a very specific design process as well and often photographs her work to show the original inspiration which further informs us about the piece. For instance, it will be hard to look at the amber colored brooch and not see the water worn slot canyon walls, now that we have seen the photograph – the image is forever connected in our minds to that brooch, even if we see it without the image.

So, yes, images can help but, still, Debra gives us further insight into her process and thoughts with this selection of words from her online bio:

I am inspired by the natural world and our relationship to it. My pieces pay homage to changing forces that shape our landscape—both natural and manmade. I seek to create harmony in my work and find balance between our need to shape our environment while preserving and respecting the natural world. Each series begins with a distinct inspiration or concept. I base the initial piece on an image, a moment in nature and experiment to come up with my ‘visual language’ that tells a story for the series.

Her work is really amazing so do stop and click through to look at the colorful and very interestingly carved glass “gems” on her Instagram page or website.

 

Obviously, this is just a small taste of what people post to talk about their art. I might suggest that, as you zip around online and run into various artists that you admire or work that inspires you, go to their websites and read the ‘About’ page or their artist statements. The more of these you read and the more aware you become of how statements inform the artwork, the easier it will be for you to form a statement, a bio, or other text about you and your work that is authentic and truly brings across what it is you would like people to see in what you do.

 

Me and My Projects

I can’t tell you how energized and excited I am these days! For one, the Virtual Art Box which was released a bit over a week ago, has been so enthusiastically received (for which I am so relieved as I wondered how people would like it) and, secondly, because I’m getting to write tons about the things I am most passionate about! I get up in the morning and write like a mad woman. It just comes pouring out. I have to actually stop myself so I can make room for some guest artists and writers. When was the last time you were so excited about something that you could hardly think of anything else? It’s a great feeling!

It truly helps my enthusiasm to have such glowing comments sent to me (“This changed my life, already!”, “This was just what I needed. I thought I was burned out on creating but that wasn’t it …”, “I feel like I’m taking a college course!”) but I was a bit overwhelmed and emotional at moments. I am trying, in everything I do with my publications and projects, to affect other people’s lives in a positive and nurturing way but, unlike when teaching in person, in this business, you don’t get a clear idea of what people are doing with what they learn. But with the Creative Pursuits (a challenge and form in the Virtual Art Box that lets readers connect with me on their focus and goals) and the social media pages, not to mention the kind emails and messages I’ve been getting, I’m hearing exactly what your fellow polymer enthusiasts are up to and what they want. It’s fascinating and creates such energy for me and, I think, it will do so for the active VAB members. It’s so exciting!

If you aren’t getting the VAB, you can join in today by buying the one month February box, no subscription required, and then you can  check out what we are doing. You can get a subscription right now too although that won’t start you until March. Whatever you do, I just hope you have a chance to get in on this energy.

 

 

Lindly Needs a Little Love

If you have not already heard, one of our very dear community leaders and pioneers, Lindly Haunani, had a horrific accident a bit over a week ago. She has multiple broken bones, including bones in her dominant hand, and although she is sure to recover, it is going to be a very long and difficult road. Of course, this community jumped in to help her out in a huge way, but she will need your continued love and support for quite a while.

Take a look at her Go Fund Me page and send Lindly a little love this Valentine’s weekend if you can.

Additional fundraising avenues are being worked on as well. I will keep you updated on those and her well-being as I get news.

 

Shimmer and Shine … and Get Published.
Deadline for submission of ideas is March 15th

Scheduling this for Fall 2020, the Polymer Arts Projects – Shimmer and Shine book will, like the PAP – Organic’s book, feature numerous in-depth tutorials by some of our community’s most accomplished artists.

If you feel you are one of these folks that have something fantastic to offer readers for this theme, I am now open for submission ideas. Here are the basic guidelines:

  • As the theme is Shimmer and Shine, the project should be shiny, glitzy, sparkly, or blingy but also artistic, well-designed, and skillfully conceived.
  • The tutorial should work for readers in the experienced novice to moderately advanced range. This will not be for absolute beginners.
  • The tools and materials, or workable alternatives, should be obtainable by the majority of our worldwide readership.
  • The project should have a specific technique or look that can be reproduced in different forms and styles with examples of possible variations shown.
  • Artists submitting should be experienced at photographing their process and writing detailed tutorials.

This special publication offers payment and profit sharing for our contributing artists. Keep an eye on these newsletters for your submission opportunity next month. Check out the Polymer Arts Projects – Organics  book for further examples of the kind of tutorials we will be looking for.

At this time submit just the summary of your idea–just a few sentences–and links or small attachments to images of the technique and/or pieces of the kind your proposed tutorial would include. Send them to sage(a)tenthmusearts.com. My response will be sent after the March 15th deadline.

I look forward to your ideas!

Well, my dear readers, I do hope you’ve had a loving weekend. I’m off to spend the rest of it with my sun and stars. I hope you have an exciting and creative week!

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Questioning Focus

July 7, 2019
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“Fabiclay” brooch by Klio Tsaliki

Are you one of those people who finds an interesting path and goes down its until you find the end or do you like to wander about? I know that’s kind of a vague question, but you could apply it as a metaphor to goals in your life, the path of your career, or the way you create your artwork. I recently read some excerpts by Thomas Edison on the importance of keeping focused. He said, “The one prudence in life is concentration, the one evil is dissipation.” I don’t know if I wholly agree with that or, at least, I think it’s not so readily summed up in one tidy sentence.

I bet you can come up with at least a couple of artists off the top of your head who have come up with a treatment in polymer clay that they create with almost exclusively and have become quite masterful at it. But I think you come up with quite a few artists who consistently try different things, exploring, growing, and changing their style and focus on the artwork. Would you say that the person who focuses is probably doing better work than the person who is constantly exploring?

Perhaps it’s because we are talking about art that I can so readily dismiss Edison’s comment. I have always thought that, for most artists, art is about the exploration. I think if you find one technique and worked very hard to perfect it, you might get overly comfortable because you will more likely succeed with each successive piece as you hone your skill. And yes, I am presenting that as a possible problem. I am a strong believer in the value of messing up and creating pieces that “fail” on some level. It’s those experiences that really teach us and allow us to grow as artists. However, I do think that masterful artists who stick with one approach do, especially in their mind, make a lot of mistakes and have numerous pieces that failed or fell short of the artist’s expectations for every piece of work we would deem a masterpiece.

The bottom line is, I think whatever journey your imagination and curiosity leads you on is the right path to follow with your creative work. Don’t fight it if you like to stick with one technique and refine it over and over or if you get easily bored once you feel you’ve mastered something enough to understand it and want to move on to the next challenge. The journey of our creative process is as individual and unique as our own artwork.

Let’s look at a few examples of people on both sides of this coin – those dedicated to a primary technique and those that constantly change their focus. Then you can decide for yourself if Edison had a point or not.

Single Minded Tangents

There are so many artists that come to mind that focus on a single technique or process and have mastered it to a mind-blowing extent. Elise Winters is one of the first that comes to mind when it comes to technique. This surface treatment was her signature and her legacy and no one, that I’ve seen, has yet matched her skill with it.

 

When it comes to form, I don’t think anyone else in the polymer community has made more of the same form than Ron Lehocky with his hearts. But here’s an example of staying focused on one thing while exploring just about everything else you can. He’s made tens of thousands of hearts and no two are the same. Here are examples of the variations he came up with from a single Skinner blend.

 

One of the most masterful and single-minded people of process would have to be Jon Stuart Anderson with his cane covered animals and functional objects. Although caning is his focus as far as technique, he is constantly exploring pattern and how it affects the form. It’s a subtle exploration but if you look back through his work you’ll see how the application of pattern has changed over the years and how he is constantly exploring new forms to apply them to, working on how the new forms will show off the canes or how the canes will accentuate the forms.

I love this bowl below. It shows more “quiet space” with those swaths of black to red canes, than I think I’ve ever seen in his work before. The relatively unpatterned area so dramatically contrasts the complex canes designs but you can take in the individual cane and pattern placement more readily because the eye has a place to rest, giving you a moment to rest and to process more of what you’re seeing

 

This whole subject matter recalls to me a conversation Rosanna Faillace and I had with Melanie Muir in Rome last year. We were talking about people who stick with one technique and don’t branch out and Melanie, seeming to think it might be a negative thing, said “That’s me. I’m a one trick pony.” But of course, she’s not. She loves her inlaid mokume gane veneers, but she is constantly exploring construction and different forms on which to present these, resulting in pieces like this beautiful bracelet.

Frenetically Fabulous

I myself am of the exploratory variety of artists. I do wish I had a little more focus and could spend more time on any single technique, form, or process, but the thing is, my curiosity about what else I could do is a stronger driving force, so I go with that. There are a LOT of us artistic explorers in polymer art as polymer just cries out to be explored.

When it comes to an exploratory approach in polymer, Debbie Crothers is the first person who comes to mind. You can see her gorgeous acrylic on polymer beads on the front of the upcoming issue of The Polymer Studio. Her penchant for exploration is why she is writing the “Mix it Up” articles in the magazine. She always has something she’s playing around with and she does love to share. She does occasionally show the results of both her good and not so successful explorations, which I love because it demonstrates her willingness to try, to make mistakes, and to do the work over and over again until she has mastered it. It is highly unlikely that Debbie would have gotten the results she got in these beads below if she didn’t go through a lot of trial and error first. The final results are well worth the exploration!

 

Another person I’ve been following for years is Klio Tsaliki. She’ll try almost anything and, in the process, comes up with some great techniques and approaches. Some attempts come out better than others, but I love that she shares it all, or at least enough for us to see that she is not afraid to try anything that interests her. I find that very inspiring. A couple of years ago she was playing with metallic silkscreen and the possible fabric-like quality of polymer, as you can see in the opening photo of this post. More recently, she’s played with translucent clay and LED lights, as seen below.

Klio’s newest work has been in the up and coming new clay from Fimo, “Leather Effect”. Once cured, this clay is supposed to be very much like leather. You can see here on the Fimo website that it is very pliable and can be cut and even stitched. I don’t know about you, but I have never been so excited about a new line of polymer clay! It’s not available in the US yet, and I don’t know how widely distributed it is in Europe, but there is supposed to be news about that soon and, trust me, when it is available, I’m going to be playing with it quite a bit as leather was one of my first materials I made jewelry from. You can go to Klio’s Flickr photostream to see what she’s been doing with it.

Another name for exploration is pioneering. Pioneers need to explore their subject extensively to find those new and intriguing aspects that lead the rest of us to their fresh finds. In general, you’ll find that most of the folks we identify as polymer pioneers were and are highly exploratory. Just look at what Kathleen Dustin has done throughout her career. From ornate purses to translucent layered brooches to reinterpretations of textile patterns such as with these new brooches below, you never really know what Kathleen will be working on next and yet, all her work is masterfully constructed and impeccably finished. I think her exploration keeps her work fresh for us and, most especially, for her and her passion for her work.

 

Focus on Yourself

So, as you see, there are many approaches to the creative process, all of which have value and result in beautiful, emotive, and inspiring work. So, no, I don’t think focus and concentration on one technique, form, or even material, is necessary but I do think keeping a sharp focus on the overriding creative goal – to make fulfilling artwork, financially supportive artwork, satiating your curiosity, or whatever the important creative motivation is for you – is something to keep a watchful eye on.

Speaking of focus … The construction on my house is in the finishing stages now. That hasn’t helped me with my focus on getting the next issue out, neither has my tendinitis and back issue which was such a huge problem last year. The thing is, in the last year, I have not really had enough time off to completely heal and am having issues again. I’m pretty sure I can get this issue to the printer in time to have it out by the end of the month but I’m probably going to have a heart-to-heart with my doctor on what I really need to do to get this healed and am working out a bit of time off later this month. This is one area where keeping focus would be very helpful!

I will keep you apprised of any shakeups in production if you are a subscriber to The Polymer Studio so just stay tuned here. And next week maybe I can get you pictures of the house for those of you who are curious. Everything’s under plastic wrap right now as they finish plastering and painting. But it’s horribly exciting seeing it come together!

So, I will leave you with these thoughts on focus and exploration. I hope it brings you some interesting insights for your own process and work. Have a fabulous week!

 

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Orient your Contrast (+Sitewide Sale)

June 2, 2019
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Have you ever looked at a piece that you are creating and think, it could use a little more contrast? And when you think of contrast, what do you turn to? Colors? Light or dark values? Maybe texture? How about, next time you’re looking for more contrast, you consider orientation?

In most work, there is a perceivable orientation of the pieces, marks, and edges. If everything is going in the same direction –vertically, horizontally, or some version of diagonally – there is a constant and strong flow in that direction which can be a wonderful way to convey certain emotions or levels of energy, but mixing it up can increase the energy of your work when it needs that extra boost.

I was thinking about that this week because we finally determined a suitable tile design for our new shower. The go-to design for shower accent tile is running it horizontally towards the top of the wall, although vertical lines have become a thing of late. I don’t particularly like either, but then I came up with the idea of having both – a vertical run of accent tile down the middle of the faucet wall and a horizontal one on the opposite side where we created a sunken ledge. I came up to this when it hit me that we had only been considering contrast in terms of tile color and not the orientation of those swaths of contrasting tile.

So, I thought this week we could look at contrast of orientation in polymer art. It can be such a simple thing to tweak in a design and yet it can make a huge difference in the feel, dynamics, and focus of the work.

 

Orientation versus Line

I think we need to define a couple of terms before we dive in here. As you’ll see, I’m going to use the words “orientation” and “line” a lot in this post, but I don’t want you to get confused and think of them as the same thing in terms of design.

Let me start out being the master of the obvious for a moment by defining those terms: Orientation is the relative position of an object or element from a particular viewpoint while a line is an element that follows a singular path and whose path can have an orientation. For instance, a bean pod lying on the counter has a horizontal orientation. The seam of the pod, on the other hand, is a line, which, following the length of the pod, will have the same horizontal orientation as the pod’s shape. Crack open that seam and you have a horizontal row of beans as well, even if each bean is sitting up (so each bean itself has a vertical orientation.) That’s because a row is a visual line. However, each item in a row will have its own orientation as well.

In other words, most everything will have its own orientation, including lines, but lines are not the only thing that has an orientation. Their orientation just happens to be very prominent and lines are a common and highly employed design element so I end up pointing them out a lot here.

Below is a more interesting example than a bean pod (although I found this while looking for polymer bean pods because Shelley Atwood, the creator of this pair of earrings has also made bean pod earrings!) Here there are a lot of vertical elements. The overall shape, the snakes of clay, and the row of balls are all vertical. However, the texture on one side runs horizontally within the vertical shape of the earring. And with that, she’s created contrast in orientation.

So, all you have to remember is that a line will have an orientation, but a shape, mark, or edge, also has an orientation. Orientation is like a bigger, more general characteristic of an element while line is just one type of element. Is that all a bit much for a Sunday morning? I wasn’t aiming to take you to class but there you have it!

 

Cases for Contrasting Orientation

Let’s start with a simple but high contrast example in orientation. This pendant by  Kseniya of Etsy shop Solar Bird has a vertical shape but is heavy on the horizontal lines. The contrast in orientation carries this piece. It takes a simple construction – a stack of extruded canes – and creates the energy this contemporary, understated piece needs. The contrast between surfaces (the horizontal lines versus the stack of concentric circle cane ends) creates interest but such a pendant would not have had as much presence if it had been a simple square or an equilateral triangle as those lack the contrast of the vertical shape against the horizontal lines we have here.

 

Here is another way to work with a vertical shape and introduce contrast in orientation. These polymer and metal earrings by Sue Savage include vertical polymer shapes with diagonal lines in the treated polymer and in the wire, creating a very dynamic, kind of spinning feel to the set.

 

The elements in Jeffrey Lloyd Dever’s work is a constant study of variation in contrasting orientation. His pin in the opening image of this post has elements that are strongly opposed in orientation. However, how the brooch is worn determines the level of contrast and how it feels when looking at it. If the long central body of the brooch is set vertically or horizontally the individual spines create a high opposing, and thus contrasting, orientation. If set on a horizontal, like it is in the image, it becomes a series of opposing horizontals which isn’t quite as stark a contrast. Isn’t that interesting?

There is one design element on that pin, and in his assemblage piece below, that does not have an orientation but is integral to the design, slowing down all that contrasting energy and giving the eye a place to rest. I bet you can identify what that is.

As you might have noted earlier, I said that “most” objects have an orientation. Well, you are now seeing the one type of object that does not – a symmetrically round one. A circle or a ball has no top or bottom, no sides, no vertical, horizontal, or diagonal edges. It is one continuous curve. Because of that it visually sits still. It is grounded and yet imbued with mild energy. That’s why circles, dots, and balls make such great focal points. So, if you going to go high contrast with lines or orientation, and it feels like it needs to be reined in, a round element may be just what you need. With every type of orientation included in the brooch assemblage above, the ball is needed to anchor all that energy, give it focus, and provide a place for the viewer’s eye to rest.

 

Let’s look at a more subtle use of orientation that is still high contrast. Sonya Girodon loves contrasting verticals and horizontals, sometimes in very obvious and stark ways, but other times her dedication to these absolute orientations is set in a more understated manner.

In the necklace below, most elements are involved in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The horizontals appear as marks on the clay but are also present in the row of staple-like wires, the two rows of circles (the horizontal emphasized by the lines running through them), and in how the vertical marks are lined up. The staple wires themselves are vertical as are many of the marks and the overall shape of the pendant. This high contrast in vertical versus horizontal within the elements that make up this piece creates a tremendous amount of energy but it is softened and contained by the curve of the central shapes and the circles which, again, create a focal point.

 

I think by now you must be getting the idea. You can switch up the orientation of elements such as shape, line, and marks to increase, decrease or anchor the energy of your designs. I think we all inherently know this, but how often do you make a conscious decision as to how the various components or elements in your work will sit in relation to the others? I think this may be one of those too often neglected design decisions. But maybe now it won’t be glossed over next time you sit down at your studio table.

 

I am going to have to leave it at that this week. I have much to do as I prepare to run off to Australia next weekend. I am going to put together something for you to have on the weekends while I’m gone and, with any luck, I’ll be able to sneak in some pics from the trip as well. But as those of you who travel internationally a lot know, you just can’t count on Internet connectivity. And I could really use some unplugged time.

 

Important Info in Our Recent Newsletter

In the meantime, if you got our recent newsletter or if you are a reader of our other publications (thank you so much for your support of our projects!), be sure to read about the upcoming increases in USPS shipping and why it has become so very important to keep us up-to-date on any change of address.

There is some fantastic news in that newsletter as well – we are having a sitewide SALE! Go ahead, stock up, and take 10% off everything in your cart. Head over to our website here by Thursday (June 6th) and use Promo code Now10.

If you don’t get our newsletter, you can see this edition here and sign up for it on our home page (scroll down … it’s on the right side) here.

 

We have walls!

For all you fabulous and funny people who are still interested in the house progress here, we have walls and floors and many fewer holes! We still don’t always have a hot shower so we have to get that figured out and soon. But we have had some warm days for the first time in I don’t how long, so it’s been a good week. But the constant checking in with the contractors and this whole designing of the shower tile has eaten up a ton of time so I must run off. It’s a working Sunday for me, which is kind of sad, but it’s going to be worth it when I am snorkeling through the Great Barrier Reef and shooting pictures of curious creatures on Kangaroo Island!

 

In the meantime, stay inspired, keep creating, and enjoy a wonderful first week of June!

 

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One Element at a Time

February 3, 2019
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I don’t know if you have ever considered, or found important, the fact that most polymer art is a collection of elements constructed into a single piece. Yes, I know I am stating the obvious here but consider the fact that most polymer art is put together in such a way as to make the individual elements blend into a cohesiveness whole. Have you ever considered that maybe each element can be its own little piece of art, even if it’s to be a part of something bigger?

If you make the work about each individual elements and not the single composition they are part of, you should be able to give yourself more freedom in the creative process. The idea would be to just focus on the single component in front of you without regard for the other parts it may eventually be joined with. Since you don’t have to consider any other elements you should be able to just let your mind and hands go play. You could, in fact, just create tons of individual pieces and then pull together the ones that you find relate and from that create a finished piece. There would be no pressure to make things work together or fit. Does that sound intriguing?

 

Elemental Artists

There are a lot of artists that do this almost exclusively. When Debbie Crothers creates, a finished piece is usually the last thing on her mind. She is in love with seeing what the material will do and spends most of her time playing and exploring. Once her stock builds up, or just whenever the bug bites her, then she will create finished pieces of wearable art.

Recently she has also been incorporating her love of found objects as you can see in the image above. This is just a part of a very long necklace of Debbie’s. (The whole of which I’ve not seen her posted anywhere but will be featured in the upcoming Polymer Journeys 2019 book. Look for pre-sale announcements this coming week.) Each individual component definitely stands on its own here since each individual polymer and found object component is framed. But you can also see, if you look at her work on Facebook or on her website, that her pieces are almost always a variety show, one that features the results of her exploration and just having fun with the clay.

Another cool thing about this type of artwork is that the viewer will probably want to look at each and every individual component. Just the variety heightens the interest in these kinds of pieces which means the people viewing it will spend more time looking at it and more time appreciating your work. That can really help in terms of sales too because the more time someone spends looking at a piece the more likely they will be to want to buy it.

I think this kind of intrigue born of variety may be the primary draw when it comes to the jewelry of Olga Ledneva. This piece you see here is a bit more dense and has more potential movement than her newer work but I thought it was also a good example of how all these pieces, together, create a textural canvas since they are all kind of dangling on top of each other, and yet, as cohesive as it feels, you still want to look carefully at each piece in the assembly. Olga’s Facebook page and Flickr photostream are good places to look around for other assembled element ideas.

I know those  two ladies make some pretty interesting and complex components but don’t think you have to go to that extent. The individual elements you create in this process can be as simple as punched out squares such as you might see in one of Laurie Mika’s mosaics. I am such a fan of this kind of free-form collage work, one that allows you to simply show off the characteristics you love about working with clay. You can assemble bits of your alcohol ink treated sheets, mokume gane, complex canes, impressed clay components, or hand sculpted forms. A mosaic or even a necklace of just simple shapes can let those treatments and colors shine, each on their own.

Of course, this approach isn’t just for polymer clay. This brilliant green assemblage necklace by an artist known only as Gebrufa is all fabric and fiber, although some components could as easily have been polymer. My guess would be that she gave herself just the restriction of a limited color palette but otherwise made all the individual pieces as whimsy led her. Should you want to know that you can have a cohesive finished piece when you are done freely creating components, this kind of approach would give you a path to that while still creating with relative freedom.

 

So, have I got you thinking about the individual elements of your pieces in a different way now?

Planning and meticulously designing pieces is essential in many circumstances but letting yourself just explore can also be an important part of your artistic growth as it helps to free up and expand your creativity. Letting yourself just play can be hard to do when you don’t have a lot of time and you want the time you do have to result in finished pieces. Knowing you can focus on making great little individual components which you can later put together into a fabulous necklace or wall piece might just be the thing that gives you the license to let go and doodle away with your clay.

 

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

  • Want to CLAY OUT EAST or CLAY OUT WEST? Registration for both of this multi-instructor, 4 day workshop events are open now. Clay out East is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, June 12-15th and Clay out West will be held Sept 30 – Oct 3 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here is the link for the East event’s registration. I couldn’t scare up a link for the West event registration but you can email them at clayoutwest@aol.com to get the details.
  • Did you catch the “Make Your Own Silkscreens” article in the Summer 2018 issue of The Polymer Arts? It was so much fun to make these and right now, the company that made it so fun and easy, EZScreenPrint if having a 15% off sale but it ends today! Go here, and use coupon code JAN15. No minimum purchase required.
  • Did you know that Poly Clay Play has a Shopping Discount Club? If you go through a lot of supplies (or just tend to get overly excited around polymer clay and tools and want to buy everything you see) this discount club could help in big ways. PCP is one of my favorite shops, especially for pastes, powders, and alcohol ink. She gets them all! Go here to check out the club deal or just shop around.

Always glad to get your feedback!

Last week we did some history, this week was about how you approach your work. Did you like the subject and did it get you thinking? Or do you thoughts on other things you’d like for me to research and write about? Just let me know. Write me in the comments below this post (click here if you are reading this in an email).

 

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Fond Goodbyes to Winter

January 7, 2019
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I was traveling this past week, otherwise I would have posted earlier about the passing of our iconic Elise Winters. I’m sure you have heard the news through other avenues that her battle with cancer ended on New Year’s day but I wanted to post a farewell here.

Although I did not know her well, we did talk and in our few conversations, I found we had some differing views but the details mattered little as we were on the same team, wanting to promote and raise the view of polymer to the level of a fine art wherever we could. My efforts have been tiny ripples to her tremendous waves, however. Elise is the reason we have polymer art in so many museums and, especially, holding its own at the esteemed Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin where polymer is one of the six categories of craft that the museum has placed its focus on. We have so much to thank her for.

Elise’s work is readily recognizable and has never been well replicated. Her combination of Skinner blends and crazed acrylic stripes were coaxed into some of the most unusual and unexpected shapes and forms. Although her ruffled and pillow forms were some of her most widely known pieces, I have always thought the piece you see here was one of her best. It’s a brooch from 2006 called Skinner Inner Brooch. This has a much more direct and grounded energy than her well-known ruffles and its inner reveal of a bull’s-eye cane gives it another dimension, bringing us to consider what is underneath, beyond the beautiful surface.

Movement and energy of this kind were paramount in her artwork and, as we have seen, also in her passion and drive to make polymer a recognized fine art material. I hope there are enough of us to amass a similarly zealous energy to continue the work for which she paved such an integral path for our craft. Thank you, Elise.

For a look back at this legendary artist, jewelry designer, and polymer art advocate you can visit her website here.

From Winter into Spring …

I would also like to put out a reminder that the first issue of The Polymer Studio is set to go to print at the end of this week. If you would like to get the first print copies straight from the printer, be sure to purchase your subscription or single issue pre-order by this Wednesday, January 9th, to get on the direct mail list we give to the printer. The issue will be released on January 19th in digital.

You can look forward to …

Tutorials

  • Kitchen Sink Imprint Mokume by Julie Picarello
  • Magical Phoenix Feather by Christi Friesen
  • Martian Footprints Necklace by Anna Malnaya
  • Swoop Pendant by Beatrice Picq
  • More is More Fimo Bracelet by Jeannette Froese LeBlanc
  • Mosaic Stained Glass Canes by Linda Leach
  • Shimmering Scenery Pendant by Sage Bray

Tips

  • Mix a Near and Far Color Palette with Tracy Holmes
  • Mix it Up with Embossing Powders with Debbie Crothers
  • Creative Studio Organization Ideas by our Staff

Inspiration

  • Studio Tour: Small Spaces in Germany with Anke Humpert
  • In-Depth Artist Profile: Julie Picarello
  • Uncommon Clay Artist Profile: Travis Suda

… and much more!

Get your subscription here at www.ThePolymerStudio.com or www.TenthMuseArts.com.

 

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A Serving of Fruits and Veggies

October 15, 2018
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Happy Monday, fellow polymer enthusiasts. I’m not sure how this week is going to turn out as I have not had time to put together a full-fledged theme so we’re gonna go with “things that caught my eye” for now.

I’m sure you can understand why this piece by Marion Le Coq aka Fancy Puppet, might have caught my eye. They are fun and refreshing pieces, wonderfully finished and composed. She connects all her elements with repetition of motifs, colors, or other things. For example, the leaf off the apple is reflected in the leaf addition on the back and hanging leaves. The carrot’s colors are reflected in its layered pieces behind it, and its crisscross of lines reflect the crisscross of the plaid.

I’m guessing the plaids and dots are silkscreen but the secret is probably available on her YouTube page where she has dozens of tutorials and review items. She’s also quite busy elsewhere online. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, Canal blog, and Etsy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Almost Late to Class

September 12, 2018
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You know those times when you’re so busy that, although you sense something exciting is going on around you, you don’t stop to check it out until it’s too late? That was me these last few weeks. I knew that Dan Cormier’s and Tracy Holmes’ Bioforming class was coming up, but not that registration was nearing its end. Then, in my weekly search for cool polymer goodies to share with you this past weekend, I found this refreshing brooch by Dan and realized I didn’t know what was going on with their class. And guess what? It looked like registration for the class may have come and gone. Could this be true?

Not that I would have time to take it, much less sleep much, this year.  If you read Monday’s news, you know about the new Polymer Art Projects – Organics book for which pre-sales started at a discount price on Monday, and you probably know about our new magazine, The Polymer Studio, coming in January, and you may also have heard that the next Polymer Journeys book will be on its way in November, so you know I’m beyond busy! But I wished I’d managed to make the time to tell you about this great new class before it was too late.

But then I thought, maybe it’s not! And a couple emails later and I have for you … drumroll please … a secret back door into a few extra spots Dan and Tracy have kindly opened just for you, my readers!

So, if you’re interested, jump over to this link to sign up for their in-depth Bioforming class.  This secret back door will only be ope through this Friday so don’t wait as it is probably your last chance to get in on this.

Even if you can’t make the class, be sure to sign up for their newsletter so you’re one of the first to know when their next fantastic class is available.

In the meantime, here’s a bit of Dan’s latest work. The sophistication and mastery that underlies his approach to form, finishes, and design is all here but the little bouncing balls of color and the fun cactus form gives a humorous edge that is not as common in Dan’s work although, if you know him, is a big part of his personality.

For more on Dan’s work and on the classes Dan and Tracy have been teaching, go to their primary website here.

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