Crowded Elegance

August 14, 2014

tubeNecklace1I knew it was not likely that I would get through a week about repetition and crowded aesthetics without bringing in Cynthia Toops. I tried, but of all the artists I can think of, no one really beats her degree of repetitious elements that is a portrayal  of beauty rather than something that tips into chaos or excess.

This tube necklace really drives home the idea that no matter how machined and perfect the elements, the crowded disorder of their assemblage is going to read as organic. Every element here was created with a precision tool or skill set, from the extruded tubes to the carefully chosen gradation of colors, and then to the elegant high-sided bezels the polymer tubes are packed into. It is easy to sense the care in the craftsmanship, but the precision may be hidden. You see this and still think of bunches of flowers, a meadow dense with wildflowers or the flowering of yarrow plants and the like, don’t you? It’s that very slight variation in color and height of each standing tube that sways our thoughts to the natural settings. A simple idea, but the results are complex, rich and rather intense in a quiet, elegant way.

From their amassed tubes to dense string of pods, and on to micro mosaics, Cynthia and her collaborator, Dan Adams, really crowd it in and continue to awe and delight us along the way. If you’ve never visited their website, take a a little trip through some of these beautifully packed spaces. 

 

 

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-P2 CoverFnl-blog   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-1   marble cane ad

Hats Off to Polymer

August 9, 2012

Adornment is a favored form for polymer but how often do you see it in hats? And we’re not talking hat pins or buttons but where polymer is what the hat is about.

Cynthia Toops and Dan Adams’ Anenome Hat is the kind of thing I’m thinking about. This piece was made from polymer clay with brass, velvet, and aluminum screen. It had quite a life apparently. Cynthia said in regards to the hat showing at the MIPCES Exhibition, “My fondest memories of the hat were all the people at the conference taking pictures of each other wearing the hat. It reminds me that art is best when shared.”

Trying something unusual like a hat can also push you in your other forms. Cynthia Toops wrote: “Dan and I create beads for elaborate jewelry pieces. For this project I wanted to make a full-size hat and imposed one restriction- no beads. We partially encased wire elements in polymer clay in a different way and by forcing myself out of the jewelry mode, it automatically gave me freedom to experiment. What began with the hat will become a starting point for new jewelry ideas.”

This visit to the past was courtesy of the Polymer Art Archive.

 

Crowded Elegance

August 14, 2014
Posted in

tubeNecklace1I knew it was not likely that I would get through a week about repetition and crowded aesthetics without bringing in Cynthia Toops. I tried, but of all the artists I can think of, no one really beats her degree of repetitious elements that is a portrayal  of beauty rather than something that tips into chaos or excess.

This tube necklace really drives home the idea that no matter how machined and perfect the elements, the crowded disorder of their assemblage is going to read as organic. Every element here was created with a precision tool or skill set, from the extruded tubes to the carefully chosen gradation of colors, and then to the elegant high-sided bezels the polymer tubes are packed into. It is easy to sense the care in the craftsmanship, but the precision may be hidden. You see this and still think of bunches of flowers, a meadow dense with wildflowers or the flowering of yarrow plants and the like, don’t you? It’s that very slight variation in color and height of each standing tube that sways our thoughts to the natural settings. A simple idea, but the results are complex, rich and rather intense in a quiet, elegant way.

From their amassed tubes to dense string of pods, and on to micro mosaics, Cynthia and her collaborator, Dan Adams, really crowd it in and continue to awe and delight us along the way. If you’ve never visited their website, take a a little trip through some of these beautifully packed spaces. 

 

 

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-P2 CoverFnl-blog   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-1   marble cane ad

Read More

Hats Off to Polymer

August 9, 2012
Posted in

Adornment is a favored form for polymer but how often do you see it in hats? And we’re not talking hat pins or buttons but where polymer is what the hat is about.

Cynthia Toops and Dan Adams’ Anenome Hat is the kind of thing I’m thinking about. This piece was made from polymer clay with brass, velvet, and aluminum screen. It had quite a life apparently. Cynthia said in regards to the hat showing at the MIPCES Exhibition, “My fondest memories of the hat were all the people at the conference taking pictures of each other wearing the hat. It reminds me that art is best when shared.”

Trying something unusual like a hat can also push you in your other forms. Cynthia Toops wrote: “Dan and I create beads for elaborate jewelry pieces. For this project I wanted to make a full-size hat and imposed one restriction- no beads. We partially encased wire elements in polymer clay in a different way and by forcing myself out of the jewelry mode, it automatically gave me freedom to experiment. What began with the hat will become a starting point for new jewelry ideas.”

This visit to the past was courtesy of the Polymer Art Archive.

 

Read More
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