Way Beyond Translucent Canes

October 7, 2016

agnes-shell-bead-tutIt’s been a while since I shared something you could actually sit in the studio and try so although this isn’t exactly within the theme of the week, it’s related enough and could be a really cool and fun thing to try this weekend if you are looking for something new and have a bit of translucent clay on hand.

They are related to translucent canes because they are translucent and the technique came from pushing caning. As the artist Agnes Dettai says on the Flickr post for this technique, “I have to thank Christine Dumont again; the idea for these came from the work on reinventing caning that we did for the course ‘Becoming a better artist.'”

It’s great to see how pushing yourself in a completely different direction, way beyond what you think something is or should be, can result in something so radically different. The shells are little gems all by themselves but there is much more than can be done with this. She uses Play-Doh to create a temporary base to wrap the translucent clay around but as she notes, the clay leaves a bit of stain from the color of the Play-Doh. Although this may not have been intended initially, it gives a lovely, vibrant and still very translucent color to the polymer. A great incidental discovery within a successful exploration.

You can see what else Agnes does with her playdoh hollows and what exploration she has done with this idea on her Flickr photostream and can find detailed notes on the technique on this blog post of hers. Get the complete steps for these shells by clicking the photo to get to the Flickr photo they are on and then go the next image left for the finishing steps.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Try out Agnes’ technique with translucent clay or just try using water-soluble clay (Play-Doh) as a form for hollow or open forms. Where can you take this idea?

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  never knead -july-2015c-125   2Wards Blog Sept 2016

The Great Create Sept 15 blog   businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

_________________________________________

Extruding Beyond the Expected

September 4, 2014

12997373894_7a334e5ea0_oAnother multi-artist article in the new Fall 2014 issue tracks the growth and experience of six artists that went through the Voila! creativity classes. We were given the opportunity to see what six emerging or accomplished artists developed as they went through an intensive, nearly year-long course that focused solely on developing creativity and personal voice rather than learning techniques and particular skills. The outcomes were quite remarkable. The growth those artists have continued to have is just as, or maybe even more so, remarkable.

Angela Garrod has been making leaps and bounds in her work the last couple years, but until the article came to me, I had not realized where much of this inspiration and push came from. Many of her designs have explored what can be done with extruding, but I have to say some of the pieces she experimented with earlier this year is pushing extruding far beyond what we’ve seen from the rest of the community. I would not have thought the patterning on this neck piece had anything to do with extruding, but now my mind is working furiously to try to surmise how it might have been accomplished. Angela’s creative exploration of technique, as well as design, seems to have been buoyed by her natural instinct to experiment. All with wonderful results.

Take a look at the other recent pieces Angela has been working on her Flickr page where you can see the chronological journey of her work. Be sure to read the article as well and follow the links to each of the artists to see what else they have been up to since their classes. It’s a fascinating story told through the artwork itself.

 

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.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-2   3d star ad  Polymania Advert 125  tpa-125x125-blog

Way Beyond Translucent Canes

October 7, 2016
Posted in

agnes-shell-bead-tutIt’s been a while since I shared something you could actually sit in the studio and try so although this isn’t exactly within the theme of the week, it’s related enough and could be a really cool and fun thing to try this weekend if you are looking for something new and have a bit of translucent clay on hand.

They are related to translucent canes because they are translucent and the technique came from pushing caning. As the artist Agnes Dettai says on the Flickr post for this technique, “I have to thank Christine Dumont again; the idea for these came from the work on reinventing caning that we did for the course ‘Becoming a better artist.'”

It’s great to see how pushing yourself in a completely different direction, way beyond what you think something is or should be, can result in something so radically different. The shells are little gems all by themselves but there is much more than can be done with this. She uses Play-Doh to create a temporary base to wrap the translucent clay around but as she notes, the clay leaves a bit of stain from the color of the Play-Doh. Although this may not have been intended initially, it gives a lovely, vibrant and still very translucent color to the polymer. A great incidental discovery within a successful exploration.

You can see what else Agnes does with her playdoh hollows and what exploration she has done with this idea on her Flickr photostream and can find detailed notes on the technique on this blog post of hers. Get the complete steps for these shells by clicking the photo to get to the Flickr photo they are on and then go the next image left for the finishing steps.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Try out Agnes’ technique with translucent clay or just try using water-soluble clay (Play-Doh) as a form for hollow or open forms. Where can you take this idea?

_________________________________________

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

Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  never knead -july-2015c-125   2Wards Blog Sept 2016

The Great Create Sept 15 blog   businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

_________________________________________

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Extruding Beyond the Expected

September 4, 2014
Posted in

12997373894_7a334e5ea0_oAnother multi-artist article in the new Fall 2014 issue tracks the growth and experience of six artists that went through the Voila! creativity classes. We were given the opportunity to see what six emerging or accomplished artists developed as they went through an intensive, nearly year-long course that focused solely on developing creativity and personal voice rather than learning techniques and particular skills. The outcomes were quite remarkable. The growth those artists have continued to have is just as, or maybe even more so, remarkable.

Angela Garrod has been making leaps and bounds in her work the last couple years, but until the article came to me, I had not realized where much of this inspiration and push came from. Many of her designs have explored what can be done with extruding, but I have to say some of the pieces she experimented with earlier this year is pushing extruding far beyond what we’ve seen from the rest of the community. I would not have thought the patterning on this neck piece had anything to do with extruding, but now my mind is working furiously to try to surmise how it might have been accomplished. Angela’s creative exploration of technique, as well as design, seems to have been buoyed by her natural instinct to experiment. All with wonderful results.

Take a look at the other recent pieces Angela has been working on her Flickr page where you can see the chronological journey of her work. Be sure to read the article as well and follow the links to each of the artists to see what else they have been up to since their classes. It’s a fascinating story told through the artwork itself.

 

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.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-2   3d star ad  Polymania Advert 125  tpa-125x125-blog

Read More
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