Almost Ancient

June 29, 2015

staci louse faux ceramicThe obvious visual signs of age have been at the center of many conversations I’ve had this week. Many of us try very hard to cover up the signs of aging in ourselves because we don’t think they are considered beautiful. But I, for one, think the visual changes that come with age and being well-used can be quite beautiful. I do admit that I prefer to see these marks on inanimate objects rather than on myself, but even the soft wrinkles beneath the eyes and the laugh lines on the face have an inviting texture. They show we have lived and laughed; that we got out and lived our lives. That we have stories to tell.

I do believe that same feeling–that there are stories where we see age and change–is why we are drawn to old items and why we enjoy the aged faux looks we can achieve in polymer. This necklace here by Staci Louise is a kind of faux ceramic, but both the forms and the crackling affect make the set feel like something almost ancient. Doesn’t it make you want to hear the history of the civilization that bore these? And have a chance to ask about the significance of the beads, and where they got their color?

Luckily, the creator is not from some distant past, but is alive and well today. Staci even has a tutorial for her technique. Find it in her Etsy shop after you drop by her blog to see how she transforms white clay into these spectacular beads.

 

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

Salted Old Beads

karenia

 

Has this week’s selection of faux ancient and old art got you thinking about ways to create more of that look in your own work? The techniques used to create these looks can be applied to a variety of forms and even be reinvented using brighter colors and not-so-old-looking contrasting textures and finishes. Searching for something fun and easy to get you started on that track, if you haven’t already, I found this delightfully easy and highly textural tutorial for you.

The blog post with this tutorial is originally in Russian, but I’ll send you to the the translated to English version here. It’s really pretty well laid out in the photos, and the steps are simple but with a beautiful and sophisticated result, as can be seen in the necklace Russia’s Katerina Sidorova designed from her technique. The layering of the clay is an ingenious way of adding that additional color for the aged look since it will show on the ends and wherever the salt digs through the very thin top layer to the colors underneath. So no additional painting or other color is needed. Pretty neat.

Katerina is the shop owner at Russia’s online polymer and jewelry supply shop, KalinkaPolinka, and for what I think must be wholesale or at least bulk-buying, Kalinka-Pro. If you are on that side of the globe, it is a shop well worth checking out. But for everyone everywhere, she has a great page on her website of articles, free tutorials and links to other tutorials that would be a great starting point for other new avenues to explore.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     sfxpaad

Old Stories, New Faces

January 19, 2015

lisarennerSo since I spent all last week aiming to introduce you to something new, I thought this week we could do something “old.” Not that I would bore you with old techniques or things you’ve seen a million times — but how about old looks, as in antiqued or ancient, while meeting new faces we haven’t seen on the blog before? Well, that will be my aim this week.

Ancient, antique, patina, aged, degraded, worn out and rough … these looks are hot in many markets right now. If you have a penchant for anything of that sort and you are looking for some new looks for your line of sellable art, you might just want to consider playing with some of those faux old techniques and looks.

Here is the work of an artist I’ve followed for a while now, due to the way her pieces seem to embody some mysterious tale. Lisa Renner makes very distinct art dolls, books, jewelry, sculpture and wall art, much of which is in a mixed media arena. Most all of her work has an old or ancient feel to it but nothing that can be pinned down to any one type of technique or period influence. What I decided to share of hers is not on her website or any site I could readily find, but there is something about this faux ivory pendant that makes me want to ask about its story. It looks like something that has been beaten and well worn, with embellishments that might have been added at different points in time, if it had been an ancient piece of jewelry. There is so much subtle complexity here to explore: cracks, impressions, gouges, random beads. One can spend a lot of time pondering it.

I would heavily encourage you to take some time exploring her portfolio on her website. If this is the first you’ve seen her work, this single piece does not do justice as an introduction to her artistry.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     sfxpaad

The Look of Burning Embers

January 8, 2015

il_570xN.660979065_2xvsDon’t you love embers? Those lively, sparking, crawling fires inside a burning log that move in a seemingly choreographed dance? They are mesmerizing and calming and one of the neatest things about sitting in front of a fire and relaxing. I have tried emulating them in polymer. You can even see one of my modest attempts in an article on faux organics in the Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts. But this particular photo of a copper inlaid bracelet created by Adriana Allen really seems to capture the light and liveliness of them.

It doesn’t seem that Adriana intended to create an ember-like appearance with the rubbed-in foil, but it sure gives one an idea about how to go about creating something like this. The way the copper is more rubbed off in the more open indentations and denser in the thinner lines does emulate that variation in the ember of a burning coal. It is lovely, as is the blue clay contrasting the orange of the copper.

Adriana creates beautiful cuff bracelets with a lot of texture, leaning heavily on faux antiquing and patina to get her signature look. Take a look through her Etsy shop for more beauties and ideas, while I go give my lively 8 month old German Shepard some much needed attention. Her name, by the way, is Ember.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     lpedit

Almost Ancient

June 29, 2015
Posted in

staci louse faux ceramicThe obvious visual signs of age have been at the center of many conversations I’ve had this week. Many of us try very hard to cover up the signs of aging in ourselves because we don’t think they are considered beautiful. But I, for one, think the visual changes that come with age and being well-used can be quite beautiful. I do admit that I prefer to see these marks on inanimate objects rather than on myself, but even the soft wrinkles beneath the eyes and the laugh lines on the face have an inviting texture. They show we have lived and laughed; that we got out and lived our lives. That we have stories to tell.

I do believe that same feeling–that there are stories where we see age and change–is why we are drawn to old items and why we enjoy the aged faux looks we can achieve in polymer. This necklace here by Staci Louise is a kind of faux ceramic, but both the forms and the crackling affect make the set feel like something almost ancient. Doesn’t it make you want to hear the history of the civilization that bore these? And have a chance to ask about the significance of the beads, and where they got their color?

Luckily, the creator is not from some distant past, but is alive and well today. Staci even has a tutorial for her technique. Find it in her Etsy shop after you drop by her blog to see how she transforms white clay into these spectacular beads.

 

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

Salted Old Beads

January 24, 2015
Posted in ,

karenia

 

Has this week’s selection of faux ancient and old art got you thinking about ways to create more of that look in your own work? The techniques used to create these looks can be applied to a variety of forms and even be reinvented using brighter colors and not-so-old-looking contrasting textures and finishes. Searching for something fun and easy to get you started on that track, if you haven’t already, I found this delightfully easy and highly textural tutorial for you.

The blog post with this tutorial is originally in Russian, but I’ll send you to the the translated to English version here. It’s really pretty well laid out in the photos, and the steps are simple but with a beautiful and sophisticated result, as can be seen in the necklace Russia’s Katerina Sidorova designed from her technique. The layering of the clay is an ingenious way of adding that additional color for the aged look since it will show on the ends and wherever the salt digs through the very thin top layer to the colors underneath. So no additional painting or other color is needed. Pretty neat.

Katerina is the shop owner at Russia’s online polymer and jewelry supply shop, KalinkaPolinka, and for what I think must be wholesale or at least bulk-buying, Kalinka-Pro. If you are on that side of the globe, it is a shop well worth checking out. But for everyone everywhere, she has a great page on her website of articles, free tutorials and links to other tutorials that would be a great starting point for other new avenues to explore.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     sfxpaad

Read More

Old Stories, New Faces

January 19, 2015
Posted in

lisarennerSo since I spent all last week aiming to introduce you to something new, I thought this week we could do something “old.” Not that I would bore you with old techniques or things you’ve seen a million times — but how about old looks, as in antiqued or ancient, while meeting new faces we haven’t seen on the blog before? Well, that will be my aim this week.

Ancient, antique, patina, aged, degraded, worn out and rough … these looks are hot in many markets right now. If you have a penchant for anything of that sort and you are looking for some new looks for your line of sellable art, you might just want to consider playing with some of those faux old techniques and looks.

Here is the work of an artist I’ve followed for a while now, due to the way her pieces seem to embody some mysterious tale. Lisa Renner makes very distinct art dolls, books, jewelry, sculpture and wall art, much of which is in a mixed media arena. Most all of her work has an old or ancient feel to it but nothing that can be pinned down to any one type of technique or period influence. What I decided to share of hers is not on her website or any site I could readily find, but there is something about this faux ivory pendant that makes me want to ask about its story. It looks like something that has been beaten and well worn, with embellishments that might have been added at different points in time, if it had been an ancient piece of jewelry. There is so much subtle complexity here to explore: cracks, impressions, gouges, random beads. One can spend a lot of time pondering it.

I would heavily encourage you to take some time exploring her portfolio on her website. If this is the first you’ve seen her work, this single piece does not do justice as an introduction to her artistry.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     sfxpaad

Read More

The Look of Burning Embers

January 8, 2015
Posted in

il_570xN.660979065_2xvsDon’t you love embers? Those lively, sparking, crawling fires inside a burning log that move in a seemingly choreographed dance? They are mesmerizing and calming and one of the neatest things about sitting in front of a fire and relaxing. I have tried emulating them in polymer. You can even see one of my modest attempts in an article on faux organics in the Fall 2013 issue of The Polymer Arts. But this particular photo of a copper inlaid bracelet created by Adriana Allen really seems to capture the light and liveliness of them.

It doesn’t seem that Adriana intended to create an ember-like appearance with the rubbed-in foil, but it sure gives one an idea about how to go about creating something like this. The way the copper is more rubbed off in the more open indentations and denser in the thinner lines does emulate that variation in the ember of a burning coal. It is lovely, as is the blue clay contrasting the orange of the copper.

Adriana creates beautiful cuff bracelets with a lot of texture, leaning heavily on faux antiquing and patina to get her signature look. Take a look through her Etsy shop for more beauties and ideas, while I go give my lively 8 month old German Shepard some much needed attention. Her name, by the way, is Ember.

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     lpedit

Read More
If you love these posts ...