Clearly Layered
October 5, 2016
Inspirational Art
The really cool thing about translucent canes is that whatever is set behind them shows through, allowing for all kinds of possibilities with imagery and depth. The cellular cane conversation started Monday now turns to how to apply translucent canes created more for textural application than for the images embedded inside.
Ivy Niles has got this particular idea down as can be seen here in what she calls a translucent lattice lace cane. Adding the mostly opaque flower patterns into the mix allows for the canes to add their own variation in layering to whatever they are applied to so the flowers sit ‘up’ on the surface while the translucent squares frame small sections of the layer beneath. The cane slices from this could be set corner to corner for a regular and consistent pattern or, due to the outer translucent edges, can be blended seamlessly into other patterns or can be applied as accent textures on corners or edges.
Ivy has several examples of how to apply this particular cane on the listing for it on Etsy (sold long ago, I’m afraid), so you can pop over to see this here or just rummage for other ideas in her Etsy shop. She also shows off more of her goodies on her website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Today, accent, decorate or hand mark just the edges and corners of a piece. Let this kind of design suggest a focal point or maybe it won’t need a focal point but rather the texture may come together to create a pattern that becomes the focus and interest of the piece. Don’t judge what you’re doing. Just let yourself go and have fun.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Illustrative Illusion
November 4, 2014
Inspirational Art
Yesterday we looked at the depth achieved through applying unique polymer techniques that allow for a smooth surface to look like it has variations in the depth of that surface. But this can also be done with some good standard methods of optical illusion as well.
MaryKot created this pendant for a challenge using grays on the Parole De Pate blog. When you first glance at the piece you might think there are over a half dozen round elements sunk into the surface. Then like me (and I don’t have the best vision), you might have thought all the circles were just caned illusions. Then you realize some are sunk, and some are just color change. Or value change to be precise. It’s the change in value that gives the illusion of depth. In this case, it’s also well placed, as the darker value in the flower is toward the thicker center, where a cut out in the clay surface would look darker, and it gets lighter towards the edge, which is just about right, although it would get kind of Escher-esque if the black inset circles were more apparent. But the change in value and the nicely balanced design makes this a good example of a illustrative optical illusion.
Go back to our own week on the study of gray starting early in October for more on the use of value and illusion. You can see more MaryKot on her Flickr pages and her blog.
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.
Just Beneath the Surface
November 3, 2014
Inspirational Art
The real or illusionary depiction of depth is something that draws the eye. We want to see what is down there, what is in the shadows or just beyond, what we can make out by looking deeper. Depth in polymer can be achieved through a myriad of techniques and approaches.
Let’s start this week of looking at creating a look of depth with this amazing necklace by Victoria James. The depth is subtle, but like shimmering pebbles just under the trickle of a clear creek, you want to reach in and touch the texture here. It is so hard to tell from the photo how this was achieved, but here is what Victoria says:
“These beads were created with the shingle cracked growth ring texture sheet. They are made from polymer clay, alcohol inks and metal leaf. The look of depth is an illusion, they are perfectly smooth.”
So, we are thinking this is a really great buffing job here. If it was flat, I might say resin with that shine and layered translucent appearance. But, I don’t think so. Mica shift may have played a role, but then again, it’s hard to say from here. What we can all say, I believe, is simply … wow. Beautifully done.
More illusion, texture and faux can be found on Victoria’s Flickr page and on her website where you will find her work in basketry, as well as her collection of ‘real’ world texture sheets.
f 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.
Exposure: Deep Underneath
June 27, 2013
Inspirational Art
So why is it that we are fascinated by things revealed, seeing things we know or suspect were once hidden?
This nearly universal allure has to do with discovery. Like digging up a buried treasure, seeing a colorful new bird in the backyard or pulling out old photos from a box you found in the attic, discovering things we didn’t know existed gives us a thrill and feeds our inherent curiosity about what we don’t know or see.
When working in polymer, the excitement of finding something that was hidden is commonly the experience of the artist and not usually the viewer of the art. But I think the viewer will often unconsciously register that special quality, that extra depth the material had to have in order for the artist to come up with such intriguing designs or imagery.
That is why it may not matter at all if the design presented actually comes from revealing the depths of the material or not. Having the sense that something may once have been buried should still give us that little thrill, even if it wasn’t. I’m pretty sure Cate van Alphen embedded the colorful swirls that show in the concave spaces on the surface of this pendant; but it might appear at first glance (or to someone unfamiliar with the material) that carving out the indentations revealed the swirls within the lentil bead.
So, even when you aren’t creating visual texture or imagery by slicing across or into your polymer, you can make a piece appear to have an exposed interior which can flip that switch in a potential buyer, intriguing them with the thought that you revealed the secret core of the clay, the hidden treasure and things otherwise unseen.
Revealing Polymer
June 24, 2013
Inspirational Art
Polymer is a very different craft material for a number of reasons. Of course, the biggest advantage to polymer is undoubtedly its versatility. I mean, it has versatility within its versatile possibilities. What other material allows you to create forms embedded with interior imagery? Of course you will assume that I am talking about caning, which I am — sort of. Caning is just one way of working with polymer that can’t be done as easily or with such versatility with other craft materials. It’s our ability to layer and build with polymer from the inside of a form out, to reshape and manipulate it not just on the surface but within the interior of the forms we work with that gives us so many possibilities.
This layering and building allows for hidden imagery and visual texture that we can fully control. How cool is that? I though this week, we’d look at the various ways polymer can be used to bury and then reveal our visions planted within them.
This bracelet by Silvia Ortiz de la Torre is what got me thinking about this particular aspect of polymer.
This piece is caning of a sort … at least in the initial build with the polymer. But instead of caning used to create a surface design, the cane is formed into cones with an outside layer developed to be a primary element and the cane cross-section showing as a revealed interior. This use of a cane celebrates its three-dimensionality. It’s not that we don’t realize that the images we make from canes come from a roll that the image follows all the way through its length; but the end product of a cane is usually as a two-dimensional surface design. The depth of the imagery is not a consideration when used this way.
Seeing the design in a cross section makes one consider how deep the design must go. It made me think just how much actual depth polymer often has and how really cool it is that we can use this to create visual textures and patterns, both planned and unexpected, for the work we make. So this week, we’ll just have fun checking out the different ways our fellow clayers reveal this particularly versatile aspect of polymer art.
The really cool thing about translucent canes is that whatever is set behind them shows through, allowing for all kinds of possibilities with imagery and depth. The cellular cane conversation started Monday now turns to how to apply translucent canes created more for textural application than for the images embedded inside.
Ivy Niles has got this particular idea down as can be seen here in what she calls a translucent lattice lace cane. Adding the mostly opaque flower patterns into the mix allows for the canes to add their own variation in layering to whatever they are applied to so the flowers sit ‘up’ on the surface while the translucent squares frame small sections of the layer beneath. The cane slices from this could be set corner to corner for a regular and consistent pattern or, due to the outer translucent edges, can be blended seamlessly into other patterns or can be applied as accent textures on corners or edges.
Ivy has several examples of how to apply this particular cane on the listing for it on Etsy (sold long ago, I’m afraid), so you can pop over to see this here or just rummage for other ideas in her Etsy shop. She also shows off more of her goodies on her website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Today, accent, decorate or hand mark just the edges and corners of a piece. Let this kind of design suggest a focal point or maybe it won’t need a focal point but rather the texture may come together to create a pattern that becomes the focus and interest of the piece. Don’t judge what you’re doing. Just let yourself go and have fun.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreYesterday we looked at the depth achieved through applying unique polymer techniques that allow for a smooth surface to look like it has variations in the depth of that surface. But this can also be done with some good standard methods of optical illusion as well.
MaryKot created this pendant for a challenge using grays on the Parole De Pate blog. When you first glance at the piece you might think there are over a half dozen round elements sunk into the surface. Then like me (and I don’t have the best vision), you might have thought all the circles were just caned illusions. Then you realize some are sunk, and some are just color change. Or value change to be precise. It’s the change in value that gives the illusion of depth. In this case, it’s also well placed, as the darker value in the flower is toward the thicker center, where a cut out in the clay surface would look darker, and it gets lighter towards the edge, which is just about right, although it would get kind of Escher-esque if the black inset circles were more apparent. But the change in value and the nicely balanced design makes this a good example of a illustrative optical illusion.
Go back to our own week on the study of gray starting early in October for more on the use of value and illusion. You can see more MaryKot on her Flickr pages and her blog.
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.
The real or illusionary depiction of depth is something that draws the eye. We want to see what is down there, what is in the shadows or just beyond, what we can make out by looking deeper. Depth in polymer can be achieved through a myriad of techniques and approaches.
Let’s start this week of looking at creating a look of depth with this amazing necklace by Victoria James. The depth is subtle, but like shimmering pebbles just under the trickle of a clear creek, you want to reach in and touch the texture here. It is so hard to tell from the photo how this was achieved, but here is what Victoria says:
“These beads were created with the shingle cracked growth ring texture sheet. They are made from polymer clay, alcohol inks and metal leaf. The look of depth is an illusion, they are perfectly smooth.”
So, we are thinking this is a really great buffing job here. If it was flat, I might say resin with that shine and layered translucent appearance. But, I don’t think so. Mica shift may have played a role, but then again, it’s hard to say from here. What we can all say, I believe, is simply … wow. Beautifully done.
More illusion, texture and faux can be found on Victoria’s Flickr page and on her website where you will find her work in basketry, as well as her collection of ‘real’ world texture sheets.
f 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
So why is it that we are fascinated by things revealed, seeing things we know or suspect were once hidden?
This nearly universal allure has to do with discovery. Like digging up a buried treasure, seeing a colorful new bird in the backyard or pulling out old photos from a box you found in the attic, discovering things we didn’t know existed gives us a thrill and feeds our inherent curiosity about what we don’t know or see.
When working in polymer, the excitement of finding something that was hidden is commonly the experience of the artist and not usually the viewer of the art. But I think the viewer will often unconsciously register that special quality, that extra depth the material had to have in order for the artist to come up with such intriguing designs or imagery.
That is why it may not matter at all if the design presented actually comes from revealing the depths of the material or not. Having the sense that something may once have been buried should still give us that little thrill, even if it wasn’t. I’m pretty sure Cate van Alphen embedded the colorful swirls that show in the concave spaces on the surface of this pendant; but it might appear at first glance (or to someone unfamiliar with the material) that carving out the indentations revealed the swirls within the lentil bead.
So, even when you aren’t creating visual texture or imagery by slicing across or into your polymer, you can make a piece appear to have an exposed interior which can flip that switch in a potential buyer, intriguing them with the thought that you revealed the secret core of the clay, the hidden treasure and things otherwise unseen.
Polymer is a very different craft material for a number of reasons. Of course, the biggest advantage to polymer is undoubtedly its versatility. I mean, it has versatility within its versatile possibilities. What other material allows you to create forms embedded with interior imagery? Of course you will assume that I am talking about caning, which I am — sort of. Caning is just one way of working with polymer that can’t be done as easily or with such versatility with other craft materials. It’s our ability to layer and build with polymer from the inside of a form out, to reshape and manipulate it not just on the surface but within the interior of the forms we work with that gives us so many possibilities.
This layering and building allows for hidden imagery and visual texture that we can fully control. How cool is that? I though this week, we’d look at the various ways polymer can be used to bury and then reveal our visions planted within them.
This bracelet by Silvia Ortiz de la Torre is what got me thinking about this particular aspect of polymer.
This piece is caning of a sort … at least in the initial build with the polymer. But instead of caning used to create a surface design, the cane is formed into cones with an outside layer developed to be a primary element and the cane cross-section showing as a revealed interior. This use of a cane celebrates its three-dimensionality. It’s not that we don’t realize that the images we make from canes come from a roll that the image follows all the way through its length; but the end product of a cane is usually as a two-dimensional surface design. The depth of the imagery is not a consideration when used this way.
Seeing the design in a cross section makes one consider how deep the design must go. It made me think just how much actual depth polymer often has and how really cool it is that we can use this to create visual textures and patterns, both planned and unexpected, for the work we make. So this week, we’ll just have fun checking out the different ways our fellow clayers reveal this particularly versatile aspect of polymer art.
Read More
