Graphical Pattern Play

103316258Well, has this week’s cool patterns got you hankering to try a some new dramatic patterns yourself? Here, I found a great online tutorial that uses the drama of graphical black patterns edged by white to pump up the color and pattern of scrap canes. It’s a beautifully simple technique brought to us by Pinklily of France. I decided to show you just the resultant sheets here and hope you’ll go see what can be made from them on her blog post. Because the options are too fun to miss I thought you might just get curious and click through.

The instructions on here are in French and can’t be copied into Google translate, but I think the images are pretty self-explanatory. Although she uses canes for the background, you could really use any kind of pattern from marbling to leftover mokume to Stroppel canes. You could even keep it simple with a solid or Skinner blend background. The general effect will be the same.

Pinklily is pretty generous with her tutorials on her blog, so if you like this, take some time to wander about and see what other fund stuff she might have for you.

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

Outside Inspiration: A Burst of Swirling Spots

April 17, 2015

BTakenaka

I pulled this one out particularly for you mad cane slicing artists who might want some fresh ideas for creating patterns with your slices. Barbara Takenaga is a painter who works solely in pattern rather than imagery or abstraction. Her paintings have the illusion of depth and movement that creates wonderful drama, as well as an often mesmerizing effect.

Since the energy and movement is created by the arrangement and size of the forms–spots, in this case–one can easily imagine creating such movement with cane slices using canes of various sizes. A few extruded snakes to emphasize the lines and you could end up with some pretty amazing wall or decorative art.

Time spent wandering her gallery is like a trip through a galactic field of stars and sometimes kind of like an acid trip, but it’s wonderfully engrossing. You will get lost in the work. You have been warned.

http://www.barbaratakenaga.com/

 

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

Spirited Patterns

April 16, 2015

spiritwearelephantA week of dramatic patterns would not be complete without a little Jon Anderson. You have likely seen at least a few of his larger, cane covered animals or maybe his bowls or even his guitars. But, have you seen his jewelry?

Jon’s fascination with canes is all about the pattern. The forms he covers are more of a canvas than the source of inspiration. Of course, animals and the spirit of them is where his finds a home for his patterns, but his canes come from what he has seen on his travels in other decorative artwork, as well as architecture and the decorative elements of buildings.

Jon has such an amazing eye for how to lay out the canes in a way that enhances the form. Also, his canes are so carefully created and reduced that he can bring them down to a size that can be applied onto forms as small as the pendants you see here. This means that many of us can afford to collect a few, even when our budgets are small.

Although Jon is American, he lives and creates in Bali with his wife who takes care of his promotions and PR. He also has an agent in the US who takes care of the sales and distribution of his work, so Jon gets to just focus on his art. Lucky, lucky guy.

You can read one of his only personal interviews in the Spring 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts and see more of his work on his website.

 

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

A Nod to Klimt

April 14, 2015

95292610A bit of dramatic patterning can be accomplished with a combination of patterns. Here we have an attractive combination of very Klimt-like colors and lines along with a few jeweled accents to give our eyes a stopping place here and there to rest. The accents also visually anchor the patterned clay in order to keep our view from regularly wandering off the edges.

I originally found this set on the ever intriguing blog Parole de Pate (translates as “Word of Dough” by Google, but let’s go with “Words of Clay” or its subtitle “Petit Journal de la Polymere”, which shouldn’t really need translation.)

In any case, that is where I found Arliane of Paris who made this set. She is very heavy into visual patterning, especially in the mokume techniques with some really gorgeous color palettes. For more of Arliane’s work, take a look at her blog pages.

 

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

Skillfully Decorative Folds

April 2, 2014

We featured some of  Zuzana Liptáková‘s earrings constructed from folded polymer shapes last year. She keeps improving her designs with little extra touches. The little leaves, dot accents and color combination here, add to the overall design and give a dancing effect to her creations. She makes flowers with flat shapes by stacking them in detail patterns.

7124186363_26d5125e99_o

Take a look at her website and her Flickr pages for more views of her work.

 

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.

14P1 cover Fnl   PCW blue string art cane   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-2

Graphical Pattern Play

April 18, 2015
Posted in ,

103316258Well, has this week’s cool patterns got you hankering to try a some new dramatic patterns yourself? Here, I found a great online tutorial that uses the drama of graphical black patterns edged by white to pump up the color and pattern of scrap canes. It’s a beautifully simple technique brought to us by Pinklily of France. I decided to show you just the resultant sheets here and hope you’ll go see what can be made from them on her blog post. Because the options are too fun to miss I thought you might just get curious and click through.

The instructions on here are in French and can’t be copied into Google translate, but I think the images are pretty self-explanatory. Although she uses canes for the background, you could really use any kind of pattern from marbling to leftover mokume to Stroppel canes. You could even keep it simple with a solid or Skinner blend background. The general effect will be the same.

Pinklily is pretty generous with her tutorials on her blog, so if you like this, take some time to wander about and see what other fund stuff she might have for you.

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

Outside Inspiration: A Burst of Swirling Spots

April 17, 2015
Posted in

BTakenaka

I pulled this one out particularly for you mad cane slicing artists who might want some fresh ideas for creating patterns with your slices. Barbara Takenaga is a painter who works solely in pattern rather than imagery or abstraction. Her paintings have the illusion of depth and movement that creates wonderful drama, as well as an often mesmerizing effect.

Since the energy and movement is created by the arrangement and size of the forms–spots, in this case–one can easily imagine creating such movement with cane slices using canes of various sizes. A few extruded snakes to emphasize the lines and you could end up with some pretty amazing wall or decorative art.

Time spent wandering her gallery is like a trip through a galactic field of stars and sometimes kind of like an acid trip, but it’s wonderfully engrossing. You will get lost in the work. You have been warned.

http://www.barbaratakenaga.com/

 

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

Spirited Patterns

April 16, 2015
Posted in

spiritwearelephantA week of dramatic patterns would not be complete without a little Jon Anderson. You have likely seen at least a few of his larger, cane covered animals or maybe his bowls or even his guitars. But, have you seen his jewelry?

Jon’s fascination with canes is all about the pattern. The forms he covers are more of a canvas than the source of inspiration. Of course, animals and the spirit of them is where his finds a home for his patterns, but his canes come from what he has seen on his travels in other decorative artwork, as well as architecture and the decorative elements of buildings.

Jon has such an amazing eye for how to lay out the canes in a way that enhances the form. Also, his canes are so carefully created and reduced that he can bring them down to a size that can be applied onto forms as small as the pendants you see here. This means that many of us can afford to collect a few, even when our budgets are small.

Although Jon is American, he lives and creates in Bali with his wife who takes care of his promotions and PR. He also has an agent in the US who takes care of the sales and distribution of his work, so Jon gets to just focus on his art. Lucky, lucky guy.

You can read one of his only personal interviews in the Spring 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts and see more of his work on his website.

 

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

A Nod to Klimt

April 14, 2015
Posted in

95292610A bit of dramatic patterning can be accomplished with a combination of patterns. Here we have an attractive combination of very Klimt-like colors and lines along with a few jeweled accents to give our eyes a stopping place here and there to rest. The accents also visually anchor the patterned clay in order to keep our view from regularly wandering off the edges.

I originally found this set on the ever intriguing blog Parole de Pate (translates as “Word of Dough” by Google, but let’s go with “Words of Clay” or its subtitle “Petit Journal de la Polymere”, which shouldn’t really need translation.)

In any case, that is where I found Arliane of Paris who made this set. She is very heavy into visual patterning, especially in the mokume techniques with some really gorgeous color palettes. For more of Arliane’s work, take a look at her blog pages.

 

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

Skillfully Decorative Folds

April 2, 2014
Posted in

We featured some of  Zuzana Liptáková‘s earrings constructed from folded polymer shapes last year. She keeps improving her designs with little extra touches. The little leaves, dot accents and color combination here, add to the overall design and give a dancing effect to her creations. She makes flowers with flat shapes by stacking them in detail patterns.

7124186363_26d5125e99_o

Take a look at her website and her Flickr pages for more views of her work.

 

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.

14P1 cover Fnl   PCW blue string art cane   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-2

Read More
If you love these posts ...