Color Islands
September 26, 2018
Inspirational Art
In the latest issue of The Polymer Arts, we spent some time with Eva Haskova through an interview by Lindly Haunani. It’s a lovely article full of thought-provoking statements on Eva’s use of color. Lindly also shares an approach for tinting translucents with opaque polymer clays in the “Color Expiration” section that always follows this “Color Spotlight” article.
We couldn’t fit this lovely tile by Eva into the layout but I wanted to share with it you for a couple of reasons. First of all, if you read the posts last week about the use of squiggles, then you are certain to already recognize the way her folded polymer creates a vibrant energy and liveliness. The flow of these neutral colored folds around the islands of saturated color really make those spots pop. Those circles of color also give the eye a place to rest amid the rush and flow that makes up the majority of the surface texture. It’s a mass squiggle approach to texture reined in with bright color and simple forms.
I also thought I would take the opportunity to talk about forms that allow us to work on concept and exploration of technique without having to worry about things like construction and wearability. Although tiles are not always an easy sell because the functionality of a single tile is not as apparent as a piece of jewelry—not many people are out looking for a single tile to decorate their home with, although they may be inspired by a title such as this. But as an artist, this little canvas is perfect for letting yourself work on a technique, composition, or juxtaposition of elements without the other concerns that a functional object such as a necklace or vase would require.
This tile could also be a lovely brooch, don’t you think? The work done on a tile can, usually, be scaled down into a brooch or pendant. These jewelry forms can also work as exploratory canvases for your ideas and they result in an easily recognizable piece of functional adornment that should be easy to sell.
So do take a good look at Eva’s article and if you want to look at more of her work, go to her website or her Flickr photostream.
How to Make It Your Own
April 25, 2018
Inspirational Art
I know I just featured Katie Way in February, but this is such a great example of taking a technique and making it your own that I didn’t want to pass by this opportunity. This seemed particularly apropos after an incident came up a week or so ago that I was consulted about involving a student submitting something to a contest that they created either in a class or based on a class. The problem was not in taking something that was learned in a class and creating from that knowledge but using the design choices that the teaching artist used. So, let’s just review what that means. In a way, it’s very simple – you can replicate technique, but you cannot use the design decisions of another artist.
I think part of the issue is that there is some confusion as to what’s is technique and what is design, so let me try to define that.
Technique is how you manipulate the material including how you apply texture, the process of forming/sculpting, the mixing or application of color treatments, the creation of mechanisms or use of materials for constructing the piece, etc. In other words, it’s about the process of creating.
Design is about the specific choices you make about how something is going to look. So, your choices about the type of texture (not how you apply it), the shapes you create (but not how you create them), the colors you choose (but not the source of the color), and the arrangement of your construction (but not the mechanisms used to put pieces together), are all design choices. If the majority of your choices are based on someone else’s examples, then you’re in danger of copying their design. Changing the color or shape is simply not enough, nor is it fair to the artist that inspired you and, equally so, it’s not fair to you and your creative growth to skip the exploration of what a piece could be by not making the design decisions yourself.
In the piece we see here, Katie Way took a class with Alice Stroppel and made a piece that is uniquely her own. You can see the influence of both artists in this work. The big, bold cane work shows Alice’s influence, but the color choices and all those bulls-eye circles are absolutely Katie. I would’ve known this was Katie’s right away, but it would’ve taken me a few moments to realize where her change in technique came from if she hadn’t made note of her influencer. And that’s really how it should be.
You can absolutely copy the work of the teaching artist in class as a way to learn. Most of them do prefer that. But when you go home, don’t make that same basic piece ever again. Have enough confidence and belief in your artistic self to work out your own designs. It is far more fulfilling to create from your own sense of aesthetic and ideas than to simply be successful with someone else’s design.
Okay, getting off my soapbox now. If you’re intrigued by Alice’s cane mapping class, go to her website to check out where she will be teaching next. And if you’ve somehow missed Katie’s work, check out her Etsy shop and her Instagram page.
Round the Hearts
February 5, 2018
Inspirational Art
As we approach that heart-filled holiday, I find I have succumbed to collecting related polymer art and polymer hearts. I couldn’t help it this year and I can’t say why. But maybe I’ll get this all in early enough that you can appreciate these unusual hearts and heartfelt pieces before you overdose on it next week.
I am a big fan of polymer artist Katie Way. Her work has a very distinguished style full of color and energy and, as her shop name reveals, bullseye dots, spots, circles and canes.
Just because her preferred motif is round doesn’t stop her from creating all kinds of shapes with her round favorites as building blocks. Like this heart. It is a fantastic metaphor for our hearts in the real world. Love and related emotions are so complex and we love so many different people in so many different ways don’t we? Well, I hope most of us do because that is the real beauty of our connection with the people we love. It’s complex and constantly changing and whirring about inside us. The energy of this piece and the variation of her circles represents this so well.
Enjoy more of Katie’s work by going to her Etsy shop and her Instagram page.
Light-Hearted Blue
July 25, 2017
Inspirational Art
The primary reason for blue being such a favorite is its ability to sooth our spirits. Blue is the color of peace and contentment as well as reliability and security. Those are things we all need to feel on a regular basis. So designs that include blue will give off those kinds of feelings.
I thought this simple pair of earrings by Warren and Robbin of Bali did that in spades. The sky-blue background of the drop part has rippling lines much like you would see on a peaceful body of water and what is more peaceful than sitting by a rippling pool or pond filled with the reflection of a blue sky?
I find the white sections above interesting in that the wobbly circles are energetic but reserved on their steady canvas of white. That little tick up in energy contrasts the bottom half just enough to emphasize its peacefulness plus the circles feel like they are floating, maybe on water, bringing that peaceful water idea full circle.
Robbin and Warren don’t always work in polymer but their designs are always interesting to process. Find more of their work in both natural materials and polymer on their Flickr photostream and on their website.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Convex Disks & Beaded Bezels
March 17, 2015
Inspirational Art
The domed disk, used for nesting as in yesterday’s post, is also commonly used to present a surface design with dimension and substance. We do love our domed, hollow, lentil-style beads, don’t we? But, here we have a beautiful example of a domed shape used as a center point and a raised form for some lovely beading.
This is from Katka Václavíková, working as Kat-ja, an artist from the Czech Republic who is an enthusiastic beader but looks to be taking her polymer quite seriously these days as well. The beauty in this piece that really caught my eye, aside from the nice color palette, was the way the polymer design was integrated with the beading. It is not just in the physical joining of the bead bezel, but also the type of polymer cabochon. Look at the design on the polymer surface–it is very much like a beading pattern; the way the stringing crosses back and forth and repeats in a steady, structured rhythm. It made this particular polymer focal piece a completely natural and well-suited pairing for the decorative bead work.
Kat-ja has a shop in two parts on Fler.cz; an Etsy-style site for arts and handicrafts in the Czech and Slovak Republics. She sells supplies for beaders and clayers, as well as handmade beads and cabochons on her supply side under Kat-ja Materials and her finished jewelry under her Kat-ja shop. It’s a well-rounded business model that looks to be keeping her busy!
Correction: Katka wrote to let us know that actually the cabochon created was created by Iva Brozova. So it was a collaborative piece with well collaborating materials! Great work ladies.
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.
;
Spinning Off
March 8, 2014
Inspirational Art
For this Saturday, here is a bit of fun asymmetry composed from elements not aligning. In this case, these earrings by Elvira Krick consist of incomplete circles whose breaks sit at different positions make the line kind of rock back and forth. But then, free them from hanging in the same flat plane as shown in the right side image, and you have a number of new asymmetrical compositions and, still with a kinetic feel to them.
Elvira hails from Amsterdam where she creates jewelry from a variety of materials including glass beads, metals, and fiber as well as polymer clay. Check out more of her work on her Flickr page and 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.
Circles and Dots and Things that Go Round
April 13, 2013
Inspirational Art
I know I bombarded you with swirls and curls this week but while we are on the subject, I thought we could look at another element that also really draws our attention. The circle.
Circles are a prominent element in all kinds of artwork because they are one of the most powerful basic shapes we know. It is the shape of some of the most important elements in our world such as the sun, the earth, the moon, eyes, and human faces. Circles are a signal to focus in on a particular spot; we don’t usually put a square or triangle around something we want to make note of … we draw a circle. It’s also a very pleasing shape … balanced, continuous, and soft. So if you use it in artwork, a circle, more so than probably any other element you have in a piece, will draw the eye.
So what if you use a lot of circles? And dots which are designators like pins on a map? Well, I think you can get a lot of attention. Just look at these pieces by Beatriz Rubio. Circles and dots and spots … you can’t help but check them out, can you?
So what have we learned this week, kids? Things that go round can certainly draw our attention. That’s enough for now. It’s the weekend. Time to go out and play!
In the latest issue of The Polymer Arts, we spent some time with Eva Haskova through an interview by Lindly Haunani. It’s a lovely article full of thought-provoking statements on Eva’s use of color. Lindly also shares an approach for tinting translucents with opaque polymer clays in the “Color Expiration” section that always follows this “Color Spotlight” article.
We couldn’t fit this lovely tile by Eva into the layout but I wanted to share with it you for a couple of reasons. First of all, if you read the posts last week about the use of squiggles, then you are certain to already recognize the way her folded polymer creates a vibrant energy and liveliness. The flow of these neutral colored folds around the islands of saturated color really make those spots pop. Those circles of color also give the eye a place to rest amid the rush and flow that makes up the majority of the surface texture. It’s a mass squiggle approach to texture reined in with bright color and simple forms.
I also thought I would take the opportunity to talk about forms that allow us to work on concept and exploration of technique without having to worry about things like construction and wearability. Although tiles are not always an easy sell because the functionality of a single tile is not as apparent as a piece of jewelry—not many people are out looking for a single tile to decorate their home with, although they may be inspired by a title such as this. But as an artist, this little canvas is perfect for letting yourself work on a technique, composition, or juxtaposition of elements without the other concerns that a functional object such as a necklace or vase would require.
This tile could also be a lovely brooch, don’t you think? The work done on a tile can, usually, be scaled down into a brooch or pendant. These jewelry forms can also work as exploratory canvases for your ideas and they result in an easily recognizable piece of functional adornment that should be easy to sell.
So do take a good look at Eva’s article and if you want to look at more of her work, go to her website or her Flickr photostream.
Read More
I know I just featured Katie Way in February, but this is such a great example of taking a technique and making it your own that I didn’t want to pass by this opportunity. This seemed particularly apropos after an incident came up a week or so ago that I was consulted about involving a student submitting something to a contest that they created either in a class or based on a class. The problem was not in taking something that was learned in a class and creating from that knowledge but using the design choices that the teaching artist used. So, let’s just review what that means. In a way, it’s very simple – you can replicate technique, but you cannot use the design decisions of another artist.
I think part of the issue is that there is some confusion as to what’s is technique and what is design, so let me try to define that.
Technique is how you manipulate the material including how you apply texture, the process of forming/sculpting, the mixing or application of color treatments, the creation of mechanisms or use of materials for constructing the piece, etc. In other words, it’s about the process of creating.
Design is about the specific choices you make about how something is going to look. So, your choices about the type of texture (not how you apply it), the shapes you create (but not how you create them), the colors you choose (but not the source of the color), and the arrangement of your construction (but not the mechanisms used to put pieces together), are all design choices. If the majority of your choices are based on someone else’s examples, then you’re in danger of copying their design. Changing the color or shape is simply not enough, nor is it fair to the artist that inspired you and, equally so, it’s not fair to you and your creative growth to skip the exploration of what a piece could be by not making the design decisions yourself.
In the piece we see here, Katie Way took a class with Alice Stroppel and made a piece that is uniquely her own. You can see the influence of both artists in this work. The big, bold cane work shows Alice’s influence, but the color choices and all those bulls-eye circles are absolutely Katie. I would’ve known this was Katie’s right away, but it would’ve taken me a few moments to realize where her change in technique came from if she hadn’t made note of her influencer. And that’s really how it should be.
You can absolutely copy the work of the teaching artist in class as a way to learn. Most of them do prefer that. But when you go home, don’t make that same basic piece ever again. Have enough confidence and belief in your artistic self to work out your own designs. It is far more fulfilling to create from your own sense of aesthetic and ideas than to simply be successful with someone else’s design.
Okay, getting off my soapbox now. If you’re intrigued by Alice’s cane mapping class, go to her website to check out where she will be teaching next. And if you’ve somehow missed Katie’s work, check out her Etsy shop and her Instagram page.
Read More
As we approach that heart-filled holiday, I find I have succumbed to collecting related polymer art and polymer hearts. I couldn’t help it this year and I can’t say why. But maybe I’ll get this all in early enough that you can appreciate these unusual hearts and heartfelt pieces before you overdose on it next week.
I am a big fan of polymer artist Katie Way. Her work has a very distinguished style full of color and energy and, as her shop name reveals, bullseye dots, spots, circles and canes.
Just because her preferred motif is round doesn’t stop her from creating all kinds of shapes with her round favorites as building blocks. Like this heart. It is a fantastic metaphor for our hearts in the real world. Love and related emotions are so complex and we love so many different people in so many different ways don’t we? Well, I hope most of us do because that is the real beauty of our connection with the people we love. It’s complex and constantly changing and whirring about inside us. The energy of this piece and the variation of her circles represents this so well.
Enjoy more of Katie’s work by going to her Etsy shop and her Instagram page.
Read More
The primary reason for blue being such a favorite is its ability to sooth our spirits. Blue is the color of peace and contentment as well as reliability and security. Those are things we all need to feel on a regular basis. So designs that include blue will give off those kinds of feelings.
I thought this simple pair of earrings by Warren and Robbin of Bali did that in spades. The sky-blue background of the drop part has rippling lines much like you would see on a peaceful body of water and what is more peaceful than sitting by a rippling pool or pond filled with the reflection of a blue sky?
I find the white sections above interesting in that the wobbly circles are energetic but reserved on their steady canvas of white. That little tick up in energy contrasts the bottom half just enough to emphasize its peacefulness plus the circles feel like they are floating, maybe on water, bringing that peaceful water idea full circle.
Robbin and Warren don’t always work in polymer but their designs are always interesting to process. Find more of their work in both natural materials and polymer on their Flickr photostream and on their website.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreThe domed disk, used for nesting as in yesterday’s post, is also commonly used to present a surface design with dimension and substance. We do love our domed, hollow, lentil-style beads, don’t we? But, here we have a beautiful example of a domed shape used as a center point and a raised form for some lovely beading.
This is from Katka Václavíková, working as Kat-ja, an artist from the Czech Republic who is an enthusiastic beader but looks to be taking her polymer quite seriously these days as well. The beauty in this piece that really caught my eye, aside from the nice color palette, was the way the polymer design was integrated with the beading. It is not just in the physical joining of the bead bezel, but also the type of polymer cabochon. Look at the design on the polymer surface–it is very much like a beading pattern; the way the stringing crosses back and forth and repeats in a steady, structured rhythm. It made this particular polymer focal piece a completely natural and well-suited pairing for the decorative bead work.
Kat-ja has a shop in two parts on Fler.cz; an Etsy-style site for arts and handicrafts in the Czech and Slovak Republics. She sells supplies for beaders and clayers, as well as handmade beads and cabochons on her supply side under Kat-ja Materials and her finished jewelry under her Kat-ja shop. It’s a well-rounded business model that looks to be keeping her busy!
Correction: Katka wrote to let us know that actually the cabochon created was created by Iva Brozova. So it was a collaborative piece with well collaborating materials! Great work ladies.
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.
;
For this Saturday, here is a bit of fun asymmetry composed from elements not aligning. In this case, these earrings by Elvira Krick consist of incomplete circles whose breaks sit at different positions make the line kind of rock back and forth. But then, free them from hanging in the same flat plane as shown in the right side image, and you have a number of new asymmetrical compositions and, still with a kinetic feel to them.
Elvira hails from Amsterdam where she creates jewelry from a variety of materials including glass beads, metals, and fiber as well as polymer clay. Check out more of her work on her Flickr page and 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.
I know I bombarded you with swirls and curls this week but while we are on the subject, I thought we could look at another element that also really draws our attention. The circle.
Circles are a prominent element in all kinds of artwork because they are one of the most powerful basic shapes we know. It is the shape of some of the most important elements in our world such as the sun, the earth, the moon, eyes, and human faces. Circles are a signal to focus in on a particular spot; we don’t usually put a square or triangle around something we want to make note of … we draw a circle. It’s also a very pleasing shape … balanced, continuous, and soft. So if you use it in artwork, a circle, more so than probably any other element you have in a piece, will draw the eye.
So what if you use a lot of circles? And dots which are designators like pins on a map? Well, I think you can get a lot of attention. Just look at these pieces by Beatriz Rubio. Circles and dots and spots … you can’t help but check them out, can you?
So what have we learned this week, kids? Things that go round can certainly draw our attention. That’s enough for now. It’s the weekend. Time to go out and play!
Read More