Blended Approaches
November 26, 2014
Inspirational Art
This gorgeous brooch, created by polymer and precious metal clay artist Kelly Russell, is actually a combination of techniques, with mokume being one of the primary ones. Do you actually see the mokume as mokume when you first look at it, or do you see the sections as kind of blending together like a series of textures and melding of color?
It’s probably obvious from the length of that second question that I think the choice of components are pretty synergistic so that no one technique stands out. The jewel tones, subdued to bright pastels, run through all the components for cohesiveness. It’s also not that heavy on contrast, but rather sticks with a light to mid-range set of values, which makes it feel calm and serene.
I like that Kelly does not restrict her materials or her techniques in her pieces. She mixes it up while keeping it unified through color palette choices. Take a look a more of her lovely work on her blog and website.
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.
Arrangements in Layers
July 15, 2014
Inspirational Art
Another collection of work for your consideration of examples in variety are these brooches by Betsy Baker. She takes similarly treated sheets with variations in color and texture, cuts them in an assortment of shapes and layers them to create compositions with different effects and impact.
You could do the same thing with some standard pieces you have been making. Vary the form, imagery, combinations and composition to see what you can come up with. Betsy actually does this quite a bit and shares her results in collages and close-ups on her Stonehouse Studio Flickr pages.
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.
This gorgeous brooch, created by polymer and precious metal clay artist Kelly Russell, is actually a combination of techniques, with mokume being one of the primary ones. Do you actually see the mokume as mokume when you first look at it, or do you see the sections as kind of blending together like a series of textures and melding of color?
It’s probably obvious from the length of that second question that I think the choice of components are pretty synergistic so that no one technique stands out. The jewel tones, subdued to bright pastels, run through all the components for cohesiveness. It’s also not that heavy on contrast, but rather sticks with a light to mid-range set of values, which makes it feel calm and serene.
I like that Kelly does not restrict her materials or her techniques in her pieces. She mixes it up while keeping it unified through color palette choices. Take a look a more of her lovely work on her blog and website.
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.
Another collection of work for your consideration of examples in variety are these brooches by Betsy Baker. She takes similarly treated sheets with variations in color and texture, cuts them in an assortment of shapes and layers them to create compositions with different effects and impact.
You could do the same thing with some standard pieces you have been making. Vary the form, imagery, combinations and composition to see what you can come up with. Betsy actually does this quite a bit and shares her results in collages and close-ups on her Stonehouse Studio Flickr pages.
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.
