The Off-White Canvas
September 28, 2016
Inspirational Art
Let’s look at a little more off-white today. In general, off-whites on the warm side tend to look older or antiqued. This would be due to most whites aging warm, not cool. Hence the term ‘yellowing’ for aged white materials, because they take on a yellow cast which is a warm color.
This is something to keep in mind if you choose to create something in a warm off-white. There is a very good chance it will look aged which, if you are going for the look of faux bone, antique ivory or are pulling inspiration from an ancient society, is precisely what you want. This piece here is an example of using that warm off-white to give a piece an ancient look. In the piece seen here, Marina of Clay Carousel looks to be drawing on inspiration from the Mayan culture, with the art work titled “Mayan Princess”. She created a perfectly symmetrical but still energetic necklace with an off white canvas for all her accents and details. The dangles are what really make the design work with their strong directional downward lines and, of course, their actual swaying movement while on the wearer. Choosing the off-white background allows the lines and accents to take center stage as well as automatically giving us the impression of age even when we aren’t aware of what it has been titled.
The link on the image here goes to her second version of this necklace since the first, not surprisingly sold already in her LiveMaster shop but take a look at how she changed up the design. I think the way an artist alters a design can be so interesting and so telling of what they were after.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: If you don’t still have that cool and warm white clay from the last post’s challenge, create a couple more balls, one warm off-white and one cool. Then create the exact same design, one with the warm clay and one with the cool clay. Can you see how the color temperature changes the look of the piece? Cool whites look cleaner and brighter. Where would you want to use a cool off-white?
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Blended Ikat
April 16, 2014
Inspirational Art
As we look at polymer clay inspired by fabrics, this necklace by Eva Haskova, from the Czech Republic, looks much like woven ikat cloth. If you are not familiar with ikat, it is a dyeing technique that uses a resist dyeing process to pattern textiles. This style of tie-dye originated in Indonesia, and because of the difficulty involved in weaving ikat, some cultures believe the fabrics contain magical powers. Notice on the pendant how the texture resembles fabric that has been bound by threads during the dyeing process. The clarity of pattern in this piece is reminiscent of weft ikat weavings, giving it a contemporary yet ethnic design motif.
Eva developed her polymer skills with the help of Donna Kato, Carol Blackburn, and Leslie Blackford. She likes to work with natural materials, wire, and ceramic clay, as well as sewing and hand printing textiles. To see more of her work, visit her Flickr site or 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.
Let’s look at a little more off-white today. In general, off-whites on the warm side tend to look older or antiqued. This would be due to most whites aging warm, not cool. Hence the term ‘yellowing’ for aged white materials, because they take on a yellow cast which is a warm color.
This is something to keep in mind if you choose to create something in a warm off-white. There is a very good chance it will look aged which, if you are going for the look of faux bone, antique ivory or are pulling inspiration from an ancient society, is precisely what you want. This piece here is an example of using that warm off-white to give a piece an ancient look. In the piece seen here, Marina of Clay Carousel looks to be drawing on inspiration from the Mayan culture, with the art work titled “Mayan Princess”. She created a perfectly symmetrical but still energetic necklace with an off white canvas for all her accents and details. The dangles are what really make the design work with their strong directional downward lines and, of course, their actual swaying movement while on the wearer. Choosing the off-white background allows the lines and accents to take center stage as well as automatically giving us the impression of age even when we aren’t aware of what it has been titled.
The link on the image here goes to her second version of this necklace since the first, not surprisingly sold already in her LiveMaster shop but take a look at how she changed up the design. I think the way an artist alters a design can be so interesting and so telling of what they were after.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: If you don’t still have that cool and warm white clay from the last post’s challenge, create a couple more balls, one warm off-white and one cool. Then create the exact same design, one with the warm clay and one with the cool clay. Can you see how the color temperature changes the look of the piece? Cool whites look cleaner and brighter. Where would you want to use a cool off-white?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreAs we look at polymer clay inspired by fabrics, this necklace by Eva Haskova, from the Czech Republic, looks much like woven ikat cloth. If you are not familiar with ikat, it is a dyeing technique that uses a resist dyeing process to pattern textiles. This style of tie-dye originated in Indonesia, and because of the difficulty involved in weaving ikat, some cultures believe the fabrics contain magical powers. Notice on the pendant how the texture resembles fabric that has been bound by threads during the dyeing process. The clarity of pattern in this piece is reminiscent of weft ikat weavings, giving it a contemporary yet ethnic design motif.
Eva developed her polymer skills with the help of Donna Kato, Carol Blackburn, and Leslie Blackford. She likes to work with natural materials, wire, and ceramic clay, as well as sewing and hand printing textiles. To see more of her work, visit her Flickr site or 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.
