A Few Touches
May 28, 2018
Inspirational Art
Have you seen what crazy, amazing illustrative cane work people have been doing lately? This work has been absolutely amazing the way the canes take on a painterly look beneath the skillful hands of these particular artists.
The Kingfisher bird in this brooch is a cane by Claire Wallis. Mind-blowing isn’t it? She applied it to a painted background but she didn’t just leave it as a cane blended into a background layer. She was very thoughtful about how it would appear and applied a thin layer of translucent clay to give the edges a soft focus.
She also scratched in a pale border along the edges of the beak and some of the feathers to further blend the cane’s edge. This has the added effect of making the bird image sit on a more definite foreground plane as well as separating the abundance of cool colors in the background and bird feathers which would otherwise visually meld, making the edge of the bird’s head a bit nebulous. These little touches have really made the difference between it just being an amazing cane and creating an overall amazing image and brooch.
Claire’s cane work keeps getting better and better, even when you don’t think it could. You can check out her polymer journey on her Facebook page and Flickr site, and see her finished items in her Etsy shop.
Damage Sale, and Cellular Caning
October 3, 2016
Inspirational Art
As many of you may know, we started our annual Damage Sale yesterday. This is when we sell copies of our publications that are not in perfect condition for half the base cover price–that’s $5 a copy for the magazine! We also put a stock of ‘perfect’ magazines and the book on sale from 15%-30% off alongside them. Not all publications are available as ‘imperfect copies’ and some have already sold out but there are about 10 different issues still available as of writing this so pop over to my Etsy store where we conduct this once a year sale, and stock up on the cheap! (Shipping is additional but we use the Etsy site because we can best calculate shipping for you there and can easily refund on shipping when we find we have a less expensive option.)
Now onto clay considerations …
Playing with translucent clay and canes, especially those with cells of some sort, has been quite a popular direction for many caners, and one that draws attention from many admirers. I went a’wandering this weekend to see what has been going on in the world of caning and noticed the trend in recent tutorials and in images posted and pinned out in cyberspace. I’ve been enjoying the look because although an experienced clayer would recognize it as caning, it’s not what first comes to mind.
The texture, energy, and illusion of depth is what hits you in pieces like this water cane bracelet by the very talented Claire Wallis. Not only that, the translucent cell opens itself to a variety of cane applications. Here Claire took the cane and created a radiating pattern to get that splashed look. The bracelet was a perfect choice for it too, giving the splash imagery a central form from which to radiate–the wearer’s arm! I can only imagine how striking it must be when worn.
You can learn to create this water cane plus a beautiful lightening cane by grabbing Claire’s dual tutorial on CraftArtEdu. For more on her application of this and some of her other mind-blowing canes, check out her Flickr photostream.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Whether you predominantly work in canes, veneers or sculptural elements (or something else completely), try laying your favorite surface application out in a repeated but energetic pattern. You can take Claire’s radiating pattern from a central point as your inspirational source, or find a pattern out in nature, in city structures, or on decorative art and use the pattern you find there as inspiration for a new way of applying and composing your elements.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Wooden Canes and Turquoise Veins
September 23, 2015
Inspirational Art
I was going to focus on mixed media this week, but I have run into a plethora of fabulous faux wood work, so I can’t resist showing some more. Where is this coming from? Is someone out there teaching a class or sharing a tutorial that I missed? Well, for whatever the reason, the trend has brought us some truly lovely faux wood like we’ve rarely seen before.
This ring by the ever-exploring Cara Jane Hayman just knocked my socks off. What a wonderful mahogany and inlaid look she achieved here. It’s dramatically paired with an almost graphical looking faux turquoise filled with a bold spiderweb veining. It’s terrifically real looking but aside from the impressive faux work, the pairing of visual textures in an uncomplicated form highlighted with a meticulous finish makes for a beautiful piece.
If you happen to be in the UK next year around, say, March 18th-20th, you absolutely will need to go to Polymania 2016 where Cara Jane will be teaching this ring as a workshop. You will also be able to take workshops with Claire Wallis, Bettina Welker and Donna Kato at this 3-day event. Check your calendars and get more information on this event and the skinny on this ring on Cara Jane’s website.
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
A Bit of Wow Caning
May 6, 2015
Inspirational Art
How about we go from intriguing to just ‘wow!’ today? I don’t know what theme this might fall under, but I had to stop and share this regardless of theme.
I was rather floored by the sight of these beauties when they popped up on my Flickr feed yesterday. These brooches were created by Claire Wallis. Not only are they a beautiful likeness of this bird of prey, but the cane has a striking painterly quality to it. Not being a very accomplished caner myself I may be more often amazed than many by what the talented cane clayers do in our community, but even so, I can’t imagine many of you aren’t at least just a tad impressed.
She’s even given us a peek at her work in progress with this work table shot here. I brought that up on my big screen and got lost in the pattern of the chest feathers. There’s just a beautiful flow to it that would be lovely in any medium.
Claire did a wonderful rooster cane last year that was pretty amazing too, but I think this particular image really shows off her approach with amazing results. She’s been creating wonderful bird canes for a while it seems, but these last too, and this one in particular are just, wow! I can’t wait to see what else she does in canes this year.
You can see more of Claire’s canes and other beautiful creations on her Flickr site.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Claire’s Accident
November 8, 2014
Inspirational Art
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:
Claire 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.
A Delicate Glow
June 3, 2014
Inspirational Art
Even though English Artist Claire Wallis is self taught and is fairly new to polymer, her attention to detail is inspiring and her finishing techniques are immaculate. Take a look at these bracelets pictured here. The designs are fairly simple but strong. Her canes here use an approach that gives the pattern a subtle glow. This kind of technique uses color value and gradation to emulate light in a surface pattern. We actually have an entire article about ways to create the illusion of light in the Summer issue that starts mailing out this coming Friday.
Claire is also a talented illustrator and you can see her graphite drawings and painting as well as her polymer work on her website. You may also want to take a look at more of her work, including some delightful polymer birds, on her Flickr page.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
A Bright, Mature Fall
August 27, 2013
Inspirational Art
Have you found some color combinations in the Pantone Fall palette posted yesterday? I did quite a bit of searching looking for pieces that fit this palette. Searching by color palette is no easy task, let me tell you! But I did find these lovely beads by Claire Wallis that use two of the brighter colors in the Pantone palette.
Although we don’t think of Fall as a bright season, people don’t stop wearing rich, saturated colors simply because the air is cooler outside. We don’t match our outfits to the changing color of the trees outside (although I have seen people change their home decor to match it). If we are to follow the Pantone Fall palette, there is going to be some brightness in our creations this coming season. Great news for polymer!
The Pantone Acai is a more blue-leaning purple. Purple is associate with royalty and extravagance due to its rarity in centuries past as it was simply a difficult and expensive dye to produce. Because this purple has more blue in it, the calm associated with blue makes this feel more reserved than extravagant. The magenta, which appears a bit richer than the actual Vivacious Pantone color, is also leaning a bit more towards a sense of maturity with its deeper tone, rather than going towards the bright and girlish pink end of the magenta spectrum. And what is Fall but the richer and more mature end of our cycle of seasons?
I will continue my search for more polymer work associated with Pantone’s color palette for this week’s posts, and we’ll certainly talk more about color choices, color mood, and creating palettes; but if any of you find a well-done piece you think I need to share, please give me a head’s up: sbray(a)thepolymerarts.com.
In the meantime, take a closer look at Claire’s work on Flickr. Her pieces are excellently finished and her variety of forms she creates is quite interesting and are also very well done.
The Nails Have It!
August 21, 2012
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
I’ve been drawn to stripes a lot lately … we have a cool striping tutorial in the latest issue — a simple, fun technique from Donna Greenberg that you can add to your approach to any practice in rhythm and repetition you might be inspired to try from the articles focused on those design concepts — as well as a lot of sample art in the Fall 2012 issue that uses lines as a primary design elements.
So a set of striped nails attracted me like a magnet. Polymer nail art has so much potential and not just the cane accents that have become so popular.
Claire Wallis’ Facebook tutorial with the steps on how to make your own fake nails with polymer is terrific. After you have looked at the tutorial, buzz over to her site to check out more hyponotizing stripes in her work, especially her beautiful bangles.
Have you seen what crazy, amazing illustrative cane work people have been doing lately? This work has been absolutely amazing the way the canes take on a painterly look beneath the skillful hands of these particular artists.
The Kingfisher bird in this brooch is a cane by Claire Wallis. Mind-blowing isn’t it? She applied it to a painted background but she didn’t just leave it as a cane blended into a background layer. She was very thoughtful about how it would appear and applied a thin layer of translucent clay to give the edges a soft focus.
She also scratched in a pale border along the edges of the beak and some of the feathers to further blend the cane’s edge. This has the added effect of making the bird image sit on a more definite foreground plane as well as separating the abundance of cool colors in the background and bird feathers which would otherwise visually meld, making the edge of the bird’s head a bit nebulous. These little touches have really made the difference between it just being an amazing cane and creating an overall amazing image and brooch.
Claire’s cane work keeps getting better and better, even when you don’t think it could. You can check out her polymer journey on her Facebook page and Flickr site, and see her finished items in her Etsy shop.
Read More
As many of you may know, we started our annual Damage Sale yesterday. This is when we sell copies of our publications that are not in perfect condition for half the base cover price–that’s $5 a copy for the magazine! We also put a stock of ‘perfect’ magazines and the book on sale from 15%-30% off alongside them. Not all publications are available as ‘imperfect copies’ and some have already sold out but there are about 10 different issues still available as of writing this so pop over to my Etsy store where we conduct this once a year sale, and stock up on the cheap! (Shipping is additional but we use the Etsy site because we can best calculate shipping for you there and can easily refund on shipping when we find we have a less expensive option.)
Now onto clay considerations …
Playing with translucent clay and canes, especially those with cells of some sort, has been quite a popular direction for many caners, and one that draws attention from many admirers. I went a’wandering this weekend to see what has been going on in the world of caning and noticed the trend in recent tutorials and in images posted and pinned out in cyberspace. I’ve been enjoying the look because although an experienced clayer would recognize it as caning, it’s not what first comes to mind.
The texture, energy, and illusion of depth is what hits you in pieces like this water cane bracelet by the very talented Claire Wallis. Not only that, the translucent cell opens itself to a variety of cane applications. Here Claire took the cane and created a radiating pattern to get that splashed look. The bracelet was a perfect choice for it too, giving the splash imagery a central form from which to radiate–the wearer’s arm! I can only imagine how striking it must be when worn.
You can learn to create this water cane plus a beautiful lightening cane by grabbing Claire’s dual tutorial on CraftArtEdu. For more on her application of this and some of her other mind-blowing canes, check out her Flickr photostream.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Whether you predominantly work in canes, veneers or sculptural elements (or something else completely), try laying your favorite surface application out in a repeated but energetic pattern. You can take Claire’s radiating pattern from a central point as your inspirational source, or find a pattern out in nature, in city structures, or on decorative art and use the pattern you find there as inspiration for a new way of applying and composing your elements.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreI was going to focus on mixed media this week, but I have run into a plethora of fabulous faux wood work, so I can’t resist showing some more. Where is this coming from? Is someone out there teaching a class or sharing a tutorial that I missed? Well, for whatever the reason, the trend has brought us some truly lovely faux wood like we’ve rarely seen before.
This ring by the ever-exploring Cara Jane Hayman just knocked my socks off. What a wonderful mahogany and inlaid look she achieved here. It’s dramatically paired with an almost graphical looking faux turquoise filled with a bold spiderweb veining. It’s terrifically real looking but aside from the impressive faux work, the pairing of visual textures in an uncomplicated form highlighted with a meticulous finish makes for a beautiful piece.
If you happen to be in the UK next year around, say, March 18th-20th, you absolutely will need to go to Polymania 2016 where Cara Jane will be teaching this ring as a workshop. You will also be able to take workshops with Claire Wallis, Bettina Welker and Donna Kato at this 3-day event. Check your calendars and get more information on this event and the skinny on this ring on Cara Jane’s website.
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
How about we go from intriguing to just ‘wow!’ today? I don’t know what theme this might fall under, but I had to stop and share this regardless of theme.
I was rather floored by the sight of these beauties when they popped up on my Flickr feed yesterday. These brooches were created by Claire Wallis. Not only are they a beautiful likeness of this bird of prey, but the cane has a striking painterly quality to it. Not being a very accomplished caner myself I may be more often amazed than many by what the talented cane clayers do in our community, but even so, I can’t imagine many of you aren’t at least just a tad impressed.
She’s even given us a peek at her work in progress with this work table shot here. I brought that up on my big screen and got lost in the pattern of the chest feathers. There’s just a beautiful flow to it that would be lovely in any medium.
Claire did a wonderful rooster cane last year that was pretty amazing too, but I think this particular image really shows off her approach with amazing results. She’s been creating wonderful bird canes for a while it seems, but these last too, and this one in particular are just, wow! I can’t wait to see what else she does in canes this year.
You can see more of Claire’s canes and other beautiful creations on her Flickr site.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Read More
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:
Claire 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.
Even though English Artist Claire Wallis is self taught and is fairly new to polymer, her attention to detail is inspiring and her finishing techniques are immaculate. Take a look at these bracelets pictured here. The designs are fairly simple but strong. Her canes here use an approach that gives the pattern a subtle glow. This kind of technique uses color value and gradation to emulate light in a surface pattern. We actually have an entire article about ways to create the illusion of light in the Summer issue that starts mailing out this coming Friday.
Claire is also a talented illustrator and you can see her graphite drawings and painting as well as her polymer work on her website. You may also want to take a look at more of her work, including some delightful polymer birds, on her Flickr page.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Read More
Have you found some color combinations in the Pantone Fall palette posted yesterday? I did quite a bit of searching looking for pieces that fit this palette. Searching by color palette is no easy task, let me tell you! But I did find these lovely beads by Claire Wallis that use two of the brighter colors in the Pantone palette.
Although we don’t think of Fall as a bright season, people don’t stop wearing rich, saturated colors simply because the air is cooler outside. We don’t match our outfits to the changing color of the trees outside (although I have seen people change their home decor to match it). If we are to follow the Pantone Fall palette, there is going to be some brightness in our creations this coming season. Great news for polymer!
The Pantone Acai is a more blue-leaning purple. Purple is associate with royalty and extravagance due to its rarity in centuries past as it was simply a difficult and expensive dye to produce. Because this purple has more blue in it, the calm associated with blue makes this feel more reserved than extravagant. The magenta, which appears a bit richer than the actual Vivacious Pantone color, is also leaning a bit more towards a sense of maturity with its deeper tone, rather than going towards the bright and girlish pink end of the magenta spectrum. And what is Fall but the richer and more mature end of our cycle of seasons?
I will continue my search for more polymer work associated with Pantone’s color palette for this week’s posts, and we’ll certainly talk more about color choices, color mood, and creating palettes; but if any of you find a well-done piece you think I need to share, please give me a head’s up: sbray(a)thepolymerarts.com.
In the meantime, take a closer look at Claire’s work on Flickr. Her pieces are excellently finished and her variety of forms she creates is quite interesting and are also very well done.
I’ve been drawn to stripes a lot lately … we have a cool striping tutorial in the latest issue — a simple, fun technique from Donna Greenberg that you can add to your approach to any practice in rhythm and repetition you might be inspired to try from the articles focused on those design concepts — as well as a lot of sample art in the Fall 2012 issue that uses lines as a primary design elements.
So a set of striped nails attracted me like a magnet. Polymer nail art has so much potential and not just the cane accents that have become so popular.
Claire Wallis’ Facebook tutorial with the steps on how to make your own fake nails with polymer is terrific. After you have looked at the tutorial, buzz over to her site to check out more hyponotizing stripes in her work, especially her beautiful bangles.
Read More
