The Collaborative Path

January 3, 2015

collaboration-necklace-carol-and-rebecca-view-2-9-inA last idea to push you into new territory this year would be to try a collaboration; you could work with another artist and share the process of creation. You could have equal say in all the elements of a piece, or you could each work independently on components that are brought together later. One of you could start a piece, and the other can finish it. You can collaborate with other polymer artists, artists in other mediums, including two-dimensional art forms (any 2-D image can be used as a transfer or as a background for instance).

So who do you know that you might want to work with? It’s kind of a scary prospect, isn’t it? I have collaborations in mind with a couple people this year, and I’m almost too scared to ask! But I know it will push me to get into the studio when I would otherwise let the magazine take over and it will push me to think in ways I haven’t before.

Here is a collaboration between Carol Simmons and Rebecca Watkins from 2013. Can you see what each of them contributed? And isn’t is wonderful how cohesive it is? You can read up on their project in the post Carol has on her blog.

So what do you think? Are you going to push yourself and try something completely different this year? If you do, let me know. Send photos, and we’ll look at sharing them as they come up!

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     lpedit

Claire’s Accident

November 8, 2014

I thought we’d end this week on depth with an in-depth mini-interview conducted by Randee Ketzel. This time she spoke to Claire Wallis who doesn’t work with illusionary depth, but does explore faux and illustrative techniques quite a bit. Here is what Randee sent to share with us:

5283318719_c70aa92153_oClaire Wallis is probably best known as the creator of the faux knit tutorial in polymer clay, which she generously shared with the world, but there is so much more to her work. Caner, sculptor, illustrator, Claire is a self-taught artist from the south of England and came to polymer ‘entirely by accident’. She played with it as a child and became re-engaged with it after viewing the works of other artists on the Internet.

An avid fan of Fantasy/Sci-Fi, she has carved her favorite characters on pumpkins, sketched them on chinaware, and sculpted them in polymer. She also illustrates–this elephant cuff is smashing–and clearly has no fear of color, as evidenced by her eye-popping bangles.

The influence of her other artistic  explorations like ceramics, acrylics, pastels, printmaking and pyrography is evident in her work, though she says she had very little formal training. She counts that a blessing, as it leaves her free to approach polymer with no preconceptions as to how it ought to be used. As she puts it, “I find ignorance is not only bliss, but genuinely constructive, particularly in a medium as adaptable as polymer clay.”

Her driving force is a keen desire for craftsmanship, every  piece should be the best it can be, and she can’t imagine a day without some artistic endeavor to try her hand. Claire recently gave up her job as an assistant manager for St. Barnabas’ charity shop (which helps support their hospice work) to be a full-time mom and is waiting to see where motherhood leads her creative processes.

She describes herself as ‘a bit of a one-trick pony,’ with which I humbly  beg to differ, given her obvious mastery of so many media and techniques. She says of herself, “I love to read and learn, and for me nothing beats the sense of achievement you get when you master a new skill.” We will eagerly await the next chapter in her new adventure. In the meantime, you can certainly glean hints from her Flickr photostream and maybe recognize a kindred soul.

 

Randee Ketzel, a life-long craft artist, previously worked in metals, but is now a polymer enthusiast and co-author of “Polymer Clay Gemstones, the Art of Deception” a different kind of polymer book devoted to faux techniques and the reproduction of historical jewelry.  Her book can be found on Amazon while her other tutorials can be found in her Etsy shop.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm      TPA Blog Newsletter Ad  ShadesofClay 1014 v2  

The Collaborative Path

January 3, 2015
Posted in

collaboration-necklace-carol-and-rebecca-view-2-9-inA last idea to push you into new territory this year would be to try a collaboration; you could work with another artist and share the process of creation. You could have equal say in all the elements of a piece, or you could each work independently on components that are brought together later. One of you could start a piece, and the other can finish it. You can collaborate with other polymer artists, artists in other mediums, including two-dimensional art forms (any 2-D image can be used as a transfer or as a background for instance).

So who do you know that you might want to work with? It’s kind of a scary prospect, isn’t it? I have collaborations in mind with a couple people this year, and I’m almost too scared to ask! But I know it will push me to get into the studio when I would otherwise let the magazine take over and it will push me to think in ways I haven’t before.

Here is a collaboration between Carol Simmons and Rebecca Watkins from 2013. Can you see what each of them contributed? And isn’t is wonderful how cohesive it is? You can read up on their project in the post Carol has on her blog.

So what do you think? Are you going to push yourself and try something completely different this year? If you do, let me know. Send photos, and we’ll look at sharing them as they come up!

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     lpedit

Read More

Claire’s Accident

November 8, 2014
Posted in

I thought we’d end this week on depth with an in-depth mini-interview conducted by Randee Ketzel. This time she spoke to Claire Wallis who doesn’t work with illusionary depth, but does explore faux and illustrative techniques quite a bit. Here is what Randee sent to share with us:

5283318719_c70aa92153_oClaire Wallis is probably best known as the creator of the faux knit tutorial in polymer clay, which she generously shared with the world, but there is so much more to her work. Caner, sculptor, illustrator, Claire is a self-taught artist from the south of England and came to polymer ‘entirely by accident’. She played with it as a child and became re-engaged with it after viewing the works of other artists on the Internet.

An avid fan of Fantasy/Sci-Fi, she has carved her favorite characters on pumpkins, sketched them on chinaware, and sculpted them in polymer. She also illustrates–this elephant cuff is smashing–and clearly has no fear of color, as evidenced by her eye-popping bangles.

The influence of her other artistic  explorations like ceramics, acrylics, pastels, printmaking and pyrography is evident in her work, though she says she had very little formal training. She counts that a blessing, as it leaves her free to approach polymer with no preconceptions as to how it ought to be used. As she puts it, “I find ignorance is not only bliss, but genuinely constructive, particularly in a medium as adaptable as polymer clay.”

Her driving force is a keen desire for craftsmanship, every  piece should be the best it can be, and she can’t imagine a day without some artistic endeavor to try her hand. Claire recently gave up her job as an assistant manager for St. Barnabas’ charity shop (which helps support their hospice work) to be a full-time mom and is waiting to see where motherhood leads her creative processes.

She describes herself as ‘a bit of a one-trick pony,’ with which I humbly  beg to differ, given her obvious mastery of so many media and techniques. She says of herself, “I love to read and learn, and for me nothing beats the sense of achievement you get when you master a new skill.” We will eagerly await the next chapter in her new adventure. In the meantime, you can certainly glean hints from her Flickr photostream and maybe recognize a kindred soul.

 

Randee Ketzel, a life-long craft artist, previously worked in metals, but is now a polymer enthusiast and co-author of “Polymer Clay Gemstones, the Art of Deception” a different kind of polymer book devoted to faux techniques and the reproduction of historical jewelry.  Her book can be found on Amazon while her other tutorials can be found in her Etsy shop.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm      TPA Blog Newsletter Ad  ShadesofClay 1014 v2  

Read More
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