Creature Advantages
October 2, 2014
Inspirational Art
As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, mirroring is extremely common in nature, especially among it’s many creatures. From the tiniest insects to the largest mammals, most creatures start out as forms that split into two, becoming whole as two halves of the same original design. It’s kind of interesting if you think about it; there really aren’t any asymmetrical creatures until you get down to the microscopic level or go deep under the sea.
This mirroring in nature is both for survival purposes and it is kind of a shortcut. Or at least I tend to think of it that way. Nature can design just one half and then copy and repeat to make a whole, functional and well-balanced creature. Well, that same concept works great for craft artists too! Insects are fun and colorful creature to recreate or make up in polymer and can be created using the same elements on both sides of the little buggers. This beautiful beetle by the wonderfully fun and creative Joyce Fritz was created with cane slices cut and flipped to mirror the other side’s intricate patterns. A great shortcut for creating complex looking creatures!
Joyce makes all kinds of mirrored and not-so-mirrored creatures, but all with a similar level of intricacy. Find more of her little guys on her 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.
Literal Mirrors
October 1, 2014
Inspirational Art
I am really pushing the mirror theme here, I know. But, I have been in love with these bowls since I first saw them. It was during those first few magical months after I realized what polymer clay really was and what it could do. I was taking in everything I could find online. The images of James Lehman’s bowls were by far the most breathtaking for a newbie like me. The colors are amazing, the shine is unreal and the form and overall workmanship was unlike anything I’d seen. To this day, I think of them as being in a class by themselves that no one else has quite been able to match.
So, the imagery isn’t usually mirrored in James’ pieces, but the polish is mirror-like and because of the detail and attention he applied to both the insides and the backsides of his bowl, he had to take photos of them on a mirrored surface to show the full effect. So, humor me while I fit it into this week’s theme. Because this kind of dedication to the finish of a piece — this was nearly 15 years ago as well — is awe inspiring, if not a level any fine polymer artist would want to aspire to reach.
James still has a site with his work online here but has not done much in the community for a number of years. If you Google the guy and look at his other websites, it’s obvious that he is one easily distracted and fanatically curious fellow, and it’s no surprise he has gone on to further develop his skills in another area of interest. But, we will still have his amazing work to enjoy, appreciate and inspire us.
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.
Decoratively Speaking
September 30, 2014
Inspirational Art
Because mirror images are so common in nature, I do suppose we find their centered-ness less adventuresome, edgy or contemporary. But, when it comes to nostalgic decor, centered and familiar is where it is at!
Many holiday ornaments like this carefully crafted piece by Kay Miller, will play off some of nature’s most common mirrored designs. In this case, both floral and snowflake designs are harkened to. Floral influence is seen in the motifs chosen and the petal-like structure of the form, but the way they are built up, in visual steps from the center outward, changing as they progress while using the same kind of shapes, is particular to the snowflake and other crystal patterns.
I couldn’t find an active page for Kay, but she does have an Etsy shop; it’s just a little empty at the moment. However, you can find a lot of her ornaments on Google images using her name and ‘ornaments’ as key words (or use the link you see here, of course.)
As a little fun side item, try to find the one single element that is not mirrored in this ornament. I don’t know if she did this on purpose, and if I had the time, I’d start combing through her designs to see if she does this with all of them. This one single discrepancy, which becomes very obvious once you find it, reminds me of a story I heard in an art history class many moons ago about a tradition in a particular tribe of American Indians. Their artisans were so adept that they could make every object with absolute perfection, but instead they would purposely make one tiny thing incorrectly, weaving one twist backwards, miss one painted dot in a series or leave one carved feather untextured. Why? Because they were not gods and believed they should not create as if they were perfect like the gods. I always thought that if I become that perfect in anything I do, I would do the same. I’m just not that perfect yet to even worry about attaining a god-like status in my work. But, it’s fun to think someone else might be doing something like that out there.
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.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, mirroring is extremely common in nature, especially among it’s many creatures. From the tiniest insects to the largest mammals, most creatures start out as forms that split into two, becoming whole as two halves of the same original design. It’s kind of interesting if you think about it; there really aren’t any asymmetrical creatures until you get down to the microscopic level or go deep under the sea.
This mirroring in nature is both for survival purposes and it is kind of a shortcut. Or at least I tend to think of it that way. Nature can design just one half and then copy and repeat to make a whole, functional and well-balanced creature. Well, that same concept works great for craft artists too! Insects are fun and colorful creature to recreate or make up in polymer and can be created using the same elements on both sides of the little buggers. This beautiful beetle by the wonderfully fun and creative Joyce Fritz was created with cane slices cut and flipped to mirror the other side’s intricate patterns. A great shortcut for creating complex looking creatures!
Joyce makes all kinds of mirrored and not-so-mirrored creatures, but all with a similar level of intricacy. Find more of her little guys on her 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.
I am really pushing the mirror theme here, I know. But, I have been in love with these bowls since I first saw them. It was during those first few magical months after I realized what polymer clay really was and what it could do. I was taking in everything I could find online. The images of James Lehman’s bowls were by far the most breathtaking for a newbie like me. The colors are amazing, the shine is unreal and the form and overall workmanship was unlike anything I’d seen. To this day, I think of them as being in a class by themselves that no one else has quite been able to match.
So, the imagery isn’t usually mirrored in James’ pieces, but the polish is mirror-like and because of the detail and attention he applied to both the insides and the backsides of his bowl, he had to take photos of them on a mirrored surface to show the full effect. So, humor me while I fit it into this week’s theme. Because this kind of dedication to the finish of a piece — this was nearly 15 years ago as well — is awe inspiring, if not a level any fine polymer artist would want to aspire to reach.
James still has a site with his work online here but has not done much in the community for a number of years. If you Google the guy and look at his other websites, it’s obvious that he is one easily distracted and fanatically curious fellow, and it’s no surprise he has gone on to further develop his skills in another area of interest. But, we will still have his amazing work to enjoy, appreciate and inspire us.
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.
Because mirror images are so common in nature, I do suppose we find their centered-ness less adventuresome, edgy or contemporary. But, when it comes to nostalgic decor, centered and familiar is where it is at!
Many holiday ornaments like this carefully crafted piece by Kay Miller, will play off some of nature’s most common mirrored designs. In this case, both floral and snowflake designs are harkened to. Floral influence is seen in the motifs chosen and the petal-like structure of the form, but the way they are built up, in visual steps from the center outward, changing as they progress while using the same kind of shapes, is particular to the snowflake and other crystal patterns.
I couldn’t find an active page for Kay, but she does have an Etsy shop; it’s just a little empty at the moment. However, you can find a lot of her ornaments on Google images using her name and ‘ornaments’ as key words (or use the link you see here, of course.)
As a little fun side item, try to find the one single element that is not mirrored in this ornament. I don’t know if she did this on purpose, and if I had the time, I’d start combing through her designs to see if she does this with all of them. This one single discrepancy, which becomes very obvious once you find it, reminds me of a story I heard in an art history class many moons ago about a tradition in a particular tribe of American Indians. Their artisans were so adept that they could make every object with absolute perfection, but instead they would purposely make one tiny thing incorrectly, weaving one twist backwards, miss one painted dot in a series or leave one carved feather untextured. Why? Because they were not gods and believed they should not create as if they were perfect like the gods. I always thought that if I become that perfect in anything I do, I would do the same. I’m just not that perfect yet to even worry about attaining a god-like status in my work. But, it’s fun to think someone else might be doing something like that out there.
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.
