Burning for Your Art
July 21, 2013
Ponderings
I like this quote but I do have a caveat to it …
I agree that what makes a piece true art is its way of appearing so different and so new that we feel compelled to stop and ponder. That does take destroying what already is understood and expected, for yourself and for your viewer. But, I would not want others to think that concepts considered ordinary do not have their value. We need the ordinary, we need to the simple and comforting things that meet our expectations. If it weren’t for these, the extraordinary would not be, well, extraordinary. Everything has its place. Even the ordinary. However, to be an artist, you have to reach beyond, be a unique voice that makes others stop and listen.
Quote by Charles Bukowski and graphic by Chris Piascik
Fire and Passion from the Past
July 20, 2013
Inspirational Art
I started this week with a vessel and now end with another one, an older piece of work that is one of my all time favorite polymer vessels. Grant Diffendaffer created the most amazing mica shift textures, textures which such depth and original patterning that they still seem cutting edge many years later.
I love not only the unusual representation of fire in what appears to be similar to rock in a molten state, but also the way the black carbon with its cold pitted texture really sets the reds and oranges off. Grant has steered largely away from polymer these days but his influence and obvious burning artistic passion are unforgettable.
Ye Old Fire Dragon
July 18, 2013
Inspirational Art
I decided a week about fire as inspiration would be incomplete without at least one dragon. I have been ever fascinated with the idea of dragons ever since reading the book The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson when I was maybe 12. He actually supports the possibility of dragons existing through scientific theory (not all that realistically supported, but good enough for my young mind!) and some really ornate illustrations (by the sometimes dark but always fascinating Wayne Anderson). Dragons still pop up in my work on occasion because they are creatures that have a vast range of possible manifestations, details, colors, lines, and textures that you can use to represent them, not to mention the lore and fascination with them that spans every continent.
And how can one resist visually exploring the stylings of Ryan MacLeod’s whimsical and intricately detailed dragons, like the Fire Dragon he did this year?
Ryan’s dragons and their surroundings are so very detailed. Do you see all the little mice hanging around the lounging dragon? Or the jeweled details on the books, the nails in the floor and even the grain of the floor planks? Take a close up look by clicking on the picture here to get to the original page. Then peruse the rest of his gallery, especially pieces like “Magical Mischief in the Absence of Merlin” with a skeleton table stand, dozen of little labeled bottles and every bit of trim on the furniture accented with magical motifs. Such fun!
Thanks to Christa McKibben for re-introducing me to Ryan’s work recently.
Skies on Fire
July 17, 2013
Inspirational Art
There is nothing quite like a stunningly colorful sunset, the way the sky appears to be on fire and how the glow of it colors everything you see. But in art, portraying sunsets is a tricky business. Overdone and often associated with tawdry craft and cheap commercialism, sunsets are rarely given a visual voice anymore in fine art and craft. So to find these earrings by Janet Wilson with the poor mistreated sunset as inspiration was a delightful surprise, not to mention some truly eye-catching work.
I think the draw here is not just the fiery color but the change in texture from the ends that look like they are disintegrating and melting from the heat to the smooth austere red that peaks at the top with spare barren branches etched in them. Nothing complex, just calmly compelling, very much like the beauty of a great sunset.
Janet Wilson’s sculpted, scratched, and antiqued nature inspired work can be found on both her Flickr pages and in her Etsy shop.
Crackling Fires
July 16, 2013
Inspirational Art
Our association with fire extends beyond the flames and light of it to the affect it has on the materials it burns. Claire Maunsell’s most recent post on her Flickr page, this hollow red and ocher crackle bangle, really caught my eye due somewhat to my penchant for crackle textures but more so for the rough elegance of this piece. It captures the colors and beauty that result from the destructive nature of fire. The way the color is applied reminds me of embers, and the way you’ll see bright red light moving back and forth through a smoldering piece of wood.
The bangle actually has a lot more color than you can see in this image. You really need to go to her Flickr page and see the various close-up photos of this piece, not to mention the rest of her wonderfully aged and weathered looking work.
I like this quote but I do have a caveat to it …
I agree that what makes a piece true art is its way of appearing so different and so new that we feel compelled to stop and ponder. That does take destroying what already is understood and expected, for yourself and for your viewer. But, I would not want others to think that concepts considered ordinary do not have their value. We need the ordinary, we need to the simple and comforting things that meet our expectations. If it weren’t for these, the extraordinary would not be, well, extraordinary. Everything has its place. Even the ordinary. However, to be an artist, you have to reach beyond, be a unique voice that makes others stop and listen.
Quote by Charles Bukowski and graphic by Chris Piascik
Read MoreI started this week with a vessel and now end with another one, an older piece of work that is one of my all time favorite polymer vessels. Grant Diffendaffer created the most amazing mica shift textures, textures which such depth and original patterning that they still seem cutting edge many years later.
I love not only the unusual representation of fire in what appears to be similar to rock in a molten state, but also the way the black carbon with its cold pitted texture really sets the reds and oranges off. Grant has steered largely away from polymer these days but his influence and obvious burning artistic passion are unforgettable.
Read More
I decided a week about fire as inspiration would be incomplete without at least one dragon. I have been ever fascinated with the idea of dragons ever since reading the book The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson when I was maybe 12. He actually supports the possibility of dragons existing through scientific theory (not all that realistically supported, but good enough for my young mind!) and some really ornate illustrations (by the sometimes dark but always fascinating Wayne Anderson). Dragons still pop up in my work on occasion because they are creatures that have a vast range of possible manifestations, details, colors, lines, and textures that you can use to represent them, not to mention the lore and fascination with them that spans every continent.
And how can one resist visually exploring the stylings of Ryan MacLeod’s whimsical and intricately detailed dragons, like the Fire Dragon he did this year?
Ryan’s dragons and their surroundings are so very detailed. Do you see all the little mice hanging around the lounging dragon? Or the jeweled details on the books, the nails in the floor and even the grain of the floor planks? Take a close up look by clicking on the picture here to get to the original page. Then peruse the rest of his gallery, especially pieces like “Magical Mischief in the Absence of Merlin” with a skeleton table stand, dozen of little labeled bottles and every bit of trim on the furniture accented with magical motifs. Such fun!
Thanks to Christa McKibben for re-introducing me to Ryan’s work recently.
There is nothing quite like a stunningly colorful sunset, the way the sky appears to be on fire and how the glow of it colors everything you see. But in art, portraying sunsets is a tricky business. Overdone and often associated with tawdry craft and cheap commercialism, sunsets are rarely given a visual voice anymore in fine art and craft. So to find these earrings by Janet Wilson with the poor mistreated sunset as inspiration was a delightful surprise, not to mention some truly eye-catching work.
I think the draw here is not just the fiery color but the change in texture from the ends that look like they are disintegrating and melting from the heat to the smooth austere red that peaks at the top with spare barren branches etched in them. Nothing complex, just calmly compelling, very much like the beauty of a great sunset.
Janet Wilson’s sculpted, scratched, and antiqued nature inspired work can be found on both her Flickr pages and in her Etsy shop.
Our association with fire extends beyond the flames and light of it to the affect it has on the materials it burns. Claire Maunsell’s most recent post on her Flickr page, this hollow red and ocher crackle bangle, really caught my eye due somewhat to my penchant for crackle textures but more so for the rough elegance of this piece. It captures the colors and beauty that result from the destructive nature of fire. The way the color is applied reminds me of embers, and the way you’ll see bright red light moving back and forth through a smoldering piece of wood.
The bangle actually has a lot more color than you can see in this image. You really need to go to her Flickr page and see the various close-up photos of this piece, not to mention the rest of her wonderfully aged and weathered looking work.
