Moving Beyond Imagination
September 1, 2013
Ponderings
In other words, imagination is the source of creativity, but creativity doesn’t exist until you act upon the fruit of your imagination. We’ve looked at color ideas for the coming season this week; did they get you thinking? Did they bring up any ideas for new pieces to include in upcoming shows and in your online shop, or maybe gifts to make for friends and family? If they did, great. But now it’s time to make those ideas a reality. Create, bring more beauty into the world, and make yourself a happier person for having done so.
Pantone Color Everywhere
August 31, 2013
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials, Tips and Tricks
So apparently, this has been quite the week for Pantone in the craft blogs.
Besides the posts here, Art Bead Scene chatted about the new Fall colors, showing off some lovely bracelets in the palette colors and throwing in a nice little tutorial for a hidden clasp beaded bracelet.
Then over at the 2 Good Claymates’ blog, Carolyn and Dave spent the last week breaking down the Pantone colors and giving away polymer clay color recipes for the majority of the Fall 2013 palette. Here is a collection of their trademark flowers, using their recipe for the rich orange that Pantone calls “Koi“.
The Goods also have recipes for Samba, Mykonos Blue, Deep Lichen Green, Linden Green, Turbulence and Carafe as well. (click on the color name to get to their post on each of the colors.) If you like the Good’s recipes, you might want to get Carolyn’s Color System tutorial for some more color exploration.
Thank you to Francie Owens, who sent me the Art Bead Scene link, and to Jamie Hibbs, who clued me into what the Goods were up to this week. Thanks for keeping me in the loop, ladies!
Floral in Fall
August 28, 2013
Inspirational Art
Working up a Fall product line doesn’t mean leaving your floral tendencies behind; the fashion designers certainly aren’t this coming year. From all I’ve read about upcoming trends, pattern in general will be a big focus and flowers, especially wispy wildflowers, daisies, and even dandelions, look to be the “in”thing. So how would you change things up from your Spring or Summer collection of blossoms?
Color will be primary in changing up for a Fall look. Although the Pantone palette for Fall has some rather bright colors, they are not pure colors or pastel. The Samba red and the Koi orange are both deeper and a step or two off their color origin, and the lighter colors are neutral more than anything; the Linden Green comes awfully close to being a kahki, and the Deep Lichen Green is more a cool gray than a green. So, can your flowers still be beautifully ornamental if toned down from their summer brilliance or if created in neutral colors? Of course!
Eva Thissen does neutral floral with a very delicate and controlled application of lines, small shapes, and contrast in color. In this case, we have a rich red heavily contrasting a neutral green (pretty much that Samba red and Linden green in the Pantone palette) with subdued blue, cream, pink, and brown flowers accenting the scene. Feminine, fetching, and definitely floral, there is the reserve and the richness associated with Fall, although I would be putting this in my jewelry rotation year round.
Part of Eva’s distinction as a polymer artist is in her color choices. Although she is far from the only one to work heavily in the polymer embroidery technique, I find I easily recognize her work due to her color choices, not to mention the precision of application with those tiny bits of polymer and her penchant for story-like scenes. Enjoy perusing her Flickr pages and her enchanting pieces for a bit today.
Things Missed
August 12, 2013
Inspirational Art
One of the more difficult parts of editing a magazine is deciding not what will go in, but what won’t. For every article you see and every artist featured, there are many more ideas and pieces that are worthy of attention and examination. This week, I thought I’d present some art, artists, ideas, and references that were in my notes or folders but which didn’t make it into this issue (not that they won’t in a future issue!) or that I wish I could have explored further.
The Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts prints the last of the three article series on Wall Art put together by Alice Stroppel and Suzanne Ivester. I’ll miss their in-depth investigation into this form of polymer art, but hope to get back to the subject through other avenues of discussion. I have a whole page of ideas and artists that work in wall art that we haven’t gotten to yet. Here is one such polymer wall artist that works with tiles pieces and multiple treatments. Gail Woods began exploring the possibilities of polymer clay tiles after taking a class with the very talented Laurie Mika (who is the featured artist interviewed in our Color Spotlight in this upcoming issue, by the way.)
Her wall pieces go from mosaic to bargello to puzzle style compositions like the one here. Her wall art allows her to directly explore favorite subjects such as the ocean, being out in nature, and just the favorite things in her everyday life. Enjoy looking through her eyes in her gallery here.
Keepsake Imagery
July 6, 2013
Inspirational Art
Since image transfer can be used with any kind of imagery, why not use it to memorialize important people, moments, places, and photos that are near and dear to you or your customers?
I just love what Cynthia Tinnapple did with transfers on some of her husband’s turned bowls a few years back. The image transfers were applied to polymer sunk into a channel around the bowl, and all the images were of the women in her family. I believe she quickly and simply turned a beautiful bowl into a priceless heirloom. How many people display their family photos in anything much more than picture frames?
This same approach can be use to add photos to anything you can adhere polymer clay to (which is just about anything). If you want ideas for objects you can start adorning with favorite family photos, take a look at the “Covered Objects” article in the present Summer 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts. Also check out the article on collaboration to read more about how Cynthia and her husband combine their crafts.
Also. be sure you have an up to date subscription, because the Fall issue that will be out next month is packed with tons of great stuff, including a review and peek into Cynthia’s new book Polymer Clay Global Concepts, due out July 30th. (But you can pre-order on Amazon if you just can’t wait to see the review. We wouldn’t blame you!)
In other words, imagination is the source of creativity, but creativity doesn’t exist until you act upon the fruit of your imagination. We’ve looked at color ideas for the coming season this week; did they get you thinking? Did they bring up any ideas for new pieces to include in upcoming shows and in your online shop, or maybe gifts to make for friends and family? If they did, great. But now it’s time to make those ideas a reality. Create, bring more beauty into the world, and make yourself a happier person for having done so.
So apparently, this has been quite the week for Pantone in the craft blogs.
Besides the posts here, Art Bead Scene chatted about the new Fall colors, showing off some lovely bracelets in the palette colors and throwing in a nice little tutorial for a hidden clasp beaded bracelet.
Then over at the 2 Good Claymates’ blog, Carolyn and Dave spent the last week breaking down the Pantone colors and giving away polymer clay color recipes for the majority of the Fall 2013 palette. Here is a collection of their trademark flowers, using their recipe for the rich orange that Pantone calls “Koi“.
The Goods also have recipes for Samba, Mykonos Blue, Deep Lichen Green, Linden Green, Turbulence and Carafe as well. (click on the color name to get to their post on each of the colors.) If you like the Good’s recipes, you might want to get Carolyn’s Color System tutorial for some more color exploration.
Thank you to Francie Owens, who sent me the Art Bead Scene link, and to Jamie Hibbs, who clued me into what the Goods were up to this week. Thanks for keeping me in the loop, ladies!
Working up a Fall product line doesn’t mean leaving your floral tendencies behind; the fashion designers certainly aren’t this coming year. From all I’ve read about upcoming trends, pattern in general will be a big focus and flowers, especially wispy wildflowers, daisies, and even dandelions, look to be the “in”thing. So how would you change things up from your Spring or Summer collection of blossoms?
Color will be primary in changing up for a Fall look. Although the Pantone palette for Fall has some rather bright colors, they are not pure colors or pastel. The Samba red and the Koi orange are both deeper and a step or two off their color origin, and the lighter colors are neutral more than anything; the Linden Green comes awfully close to being a kahki, and the Deep Lichen Green is more a cool gray than a green. So, can your flowers still be beautifully ornamental if toned down from their summer brilliance or if created in neutral colors? Of course!
Eva Thissen does neutral floral with a very delicate and controlled application of lines, small shapes, and contrast in color. In this case, we have a rich red heavily contrasting a neutral green (pretty much that Samba red and Linden green in the Pantone palette) with subdued blue, cream, pink, and brown flowers accenting the scene. Feminine, fetching, and definitely floral, there is the reserve and the richness associated with Fall, although I would be putting this in my jewelry rotation year round.
Part of Eva’s distinction as a polymer artist is in her color choices. Although she is far from the only one to work heavily in the polymer embroidery technique, I find I easily recognize her work due to her color choices, not to mention the precision of application with those tiny bits of polymer and her penchant for story-like scenes. Enjoy perusing her Flickr pages and her enchanting pieces for a bit today.
One of the more difficult parts of editing a magazine is deciding not what will go in, but what won’t. For every article you see and every artist featured, there are many more ideas and pieces that are worthy of attention and examination. This week, I thought I’d present some art, artists, ideas, and references that were in my notes or folders but which didn’t make it into this issue (not that they won’t in a future issue!) or that I wish I could have explored further.
The Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts prints the last of the three article series on Wall Art put together by Alice Stroppel and Suzanne Ivester. I’ll miss their in-depth investigation into this form of polymer art, but hope to get back to the subject through other avenues of discussion. I have a whole page of ideas and artists that work in wall art that we haven’t gotten to yet. Here is one such polymer wall artist that works with tiles pieces and multiple treatments. Gail Woods began exploring the possibilities of polymer clay tiles after taking a class with the very talented Laurie Mika (who is the featured artist interviewed in our Color Spotlight in this upcoming issue, by the way.)
Her wall pieces go from mosaic to bargello to puzzle style compositions like the one here. Her wall art allows her to directly explore favorite subjects such as the ocean, being out in nature, and just the favorite things in her everyday life. Enjoy looking through her eyes in her gallery here.
Since image transfer can be used with any kind of imagery, why not use it to memorialize important people, moments, places, and photos that are near and dear to you or your customers?
I just love what Cynthia Tinnapple did with transfers on some of her husband’s turned bowls a few years back. The image transfers were applied to polymer sunk into a channel around the bowl, and all the images were of the women in her family. I believe she quickly and simply turned a beautiful bowl into a priceless heirloom. How many people display their family photos in anything much more than picture frames?
This same approach can be use to add photos to anything you can adhere polymer clay to (which is just about anything). If you want ideas for objects you can start adorning with favorite family photos, take a look at the “Covered Objects” article in the present Summer 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts. Also check out the article on collaboration to read more about how Cynthia and her husband combine their crafts.
Also. be sure you have an up to date subscription, because the Fall issue that will be out next month is packed with tons of great stuff, including a review and peek into Cynthia’s new book Polymer Clay Global Concepts, due out July 30th. (But you can pre-order on Amazon if you just can’t wait to see the review. We wouldn’t blame you!)
