The Off-White Canvas

September 28, 2016

marina-mayan-princess-1

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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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front  Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  2Wards Blog Sept 2016

never knead -july-2015c-125  The Great Create Sept 15 blog  businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

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Texture in Animal Print

April 17, 2014

This animal print bracelet made by Slovenian artist Tina Mežek is another good example of what could be fabric inspired polymer clay. The rich, bold, earthtone color choices are typical of animal print fabrics and the textured surface gives this bangle the feel and look of a base covered in a rich woven cloth.

7751267474_a7f71da170_o

Tina is a designer who loves to work with mixed media, precious metals, wire, and Swarovski crystals, as well as polymer clay. If you would like to see more of her designs, visit her Flickr pages or her Facebook page. And if you would like to learn how to do this type of design, take one of her classes or workshops. She teaches for CraftArtEdu and there is a list of her workshops on 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.

Blog2 -2014-02Feb-5   Millefiori eggs   14P1 cover Fnl

The Off-White Canvas

September 28, 2016
Posted in

marina-mayan-princess-1

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.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front  Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  2Wards Blog Sept 2016

never knead -july-2015c-125  The Great Create Sept 15 blog  businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

_________________________________________

Read More

Texture in Animal Print

April 17, 2014
Posted in

This animal print bracelet made by Slovenian artist Tina Mežek is another good example of what could be fabric inspired polymer clay. The rich, bold, earthtone color choices are typical of animal print fabrics and the textured surface gives this bangle the feel and look of a base covered in a rich woven cloth.

7751267474_a7f71da170_o

Tina is a designer who loves to work with mixed media, precious metals, wire, and Swarovski crystals, as well as polymer clay. If you would like to see more of her designs, visit her Flickr pages or her Facebook page. And if you would like to learn how to do this type of design, take one of her classes or workshops. She teaches for CraftArtEdu and there is a list of her workshops on 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.

Blog2 -2014-02Feb-5   Millefiori eggs   14P1 cover Fnl

Read More
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