Working in a Wisteria

April 4, 2015

Starkov wisteriaNature has such a wide variety of flower forms, and not just the nested petals we are so familiar with such as roses, peonies, daisies and the like. The forms, not to mention the colors of course, are incredible. Search “Unusual Flowers” on Pinterest or Google images and you will see some of the craziest shapes and textures in what are considered flowers. Some are stunning while others are kind of scary, and others still are just plain weird. But see if you find any that get your fingers itching to recreate them in polymer or have you scrambling through your clay to see if you can recreate the color combinations.

In the meantime, how about practicing some unusual flower shapes by creating wisteria flowers? These are a little oddly shaped for flowers, but their purple and pink colors are just so lovely, especially in the way they drip off the trees in delicate falls. Catherine Starkov shares her method for creating a fall of wisteria for a set of earrings in this easy tutorial (click here for the English translation). Have fun with this or whatever you find yourself creating or enjoying this weekend!

 

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.

 

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Floral Lines

April 2, 2015

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Today, I thought we’d just admire the easy way that flowers can be used, like any singular element, as a way to create lines. Lines define and give direction, as well as creating energy by creating visual movement. An arrangement of many small flowers will create those lines just as would a series of beads, crystals, hand tool marks, etc. So instead of bunching flower motifs into, well, a bunch, consider how you can create lines with them to convey the kind of calm or energy you are after in the piece you are making.

Here is a beautiful set of champagne bottles created by Anastaisa of Art-Kisto4ka on Livemaster.ru.  I love the way the line of flowers twist back and forth on the first two bottles giving the compositions a flowing energy, which is further picked up and added to by the lines of pearly dots shooting off in little swirls. I included one that outlined a heart as well simply to show how the flowers can create a grounded line that easily defines a shape.

Anastasia makes the most realistic looking flowers. I have to look around to ensure they weren’t real and preserved flowers. The ones on the bottles are excellent, but it’s her larger flowers that will really blow you away. You can see more of her finished work in her shop and on her blog. She also sells her flowers as components in her supply shop on LiveMaster.

 

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.

 

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Working in a Wisteria

April 4, 2015
Posted in

Starkov wisteriaNature has such a wide variety of flower forms, and not just the nested petals we are so familiar with such as roses, peonies, daisies and the like. The forms, not to mention the colors of course, are incredible. Search “Unusual Flowers” on Pinterest or Google images and you will see some of the craziest shapes and textures in what are considered flowers. Some are stunning while others are kind of scary, and others still are just plain weird. But see if you find any that get your fingers itching to recreate them in polymer or have you scrambling through your clay to see if you can recreate the color combinations.

In the meantime, how about practicing some unusual flower shapes by creating wisteria flowers? These are a little oddly shaped for flowers, but their purple and pink colors are just so lovely, especially in the way they drip off the trees in delicate falls. Catherine Starkov shares her method for creating a fall of wisteria for a set of earrings in this easy tutorial (click here for the English translation). Have fun with this or whatever you find yourself creating or enjoying this weekend!

 

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.

 

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Read More

Floral Lines

April 2, 2015
Posted in

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Today, I thought we’d just admire the easy way that flowers can be used, like any singular element, as a way to create lines. Lines define and give direction, as well as creating energy by creating visual movement. An arrangement of many small flowers will create those lines just as would a series of beads, crystals, hand tool marks, etc. So instead of bunching flower motifs into, well, a bunch, consider how you can create lines with them to convey the kind of calm or energy you are after in the piece you are making.

Here is a beautiful set of champagne bottles created by Anastaisa of Art-Kisto4ka on Livemaster.ru.  I love the way the line of flowers twist back and forth on the first two bottles giving the compositions a flowing energy, which is further picked up and added to by the lines of pearly dots shooting off in little swirls. I included one that outlined a heart as well simply to show how the flowers can create a grounded line that easily defines a shape.

Anastasia makes the most realistic looking flowers. I have to look around to ensure they weren’t real and preserved flowers. The ones on the bottles are excellent, but it’s her larger flowers that will really blow you away. You can see more of her finished work in her shop and on her blog. She also sells her flowers as components in her supply shop on LiveMaster.

 

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.

 

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Read More
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