Of Hierarchy and Uncertainty
February 7, 2021
Design lessons
Have you started to see hierarchy in creative work everywhere since reading last week’s post? Consciously recognizing the hierarchy in artwork not only reveals the path our eye tends to follow around the work but can also tell you a lot about the artist’s intention and themes.
Maybe I’m a weirdo but I really enjoy searching out the hierarchy and the path the eye makes through a piece of artwork. Sometimes, though, the work seems so simple that one might assume there is not much of a path, if any, or that there really isn’t any hierarchy. But there always is.
Let’s do a deep dive on what initially appears to be a fairly simple composition. I’ve got a few surprise thoughts for you on this!
The Eye and the Hierarchy
I found this gem of a piece here a couple weeks ago on Lyn Tremblay’s Facebook page. It doesn’t appear overly complex at first glance, so where is the hierarchy? We probably all can see that the emphasis is on what looks like stitches between the predominantly yellow portion and the striated blue section. But does anything really take our eye around the canvas?
Of course, the answer is yes, there is a lot going on that brings our eye around the entire piece. Let’s map the probably path.
Before you read on, take a look at the piece and make note of where your eyes goes first and how it travels around the work. Then we can see if the likely path I found is similar to yours!
Did you find your path? Ok, great. Let’s do this!
I don’t think that there is any question that we are all likely to go first to the line of stitches and the edges they pull together but, I think, we don’t linger there for so very long. The brilliance of the yellow likely draws us towards the far end where we kind of float around like we are in a warm, comfy pool of sunshine.
However, the yellow’s disintegration into that murky gray-green is probably going to pull us away soon enough because that area has more contrast and there’s movement created by that color change as well as by the lines of yellow we follow back and forth as it tries to break through the gray-green.
The momentum of moving from one side of the yellow section to the other can be used to pull us off into the blue section whose striated lines push our view to the edge where we halt, ready to turn back but instead we may discover the grouping of impressed dots in the one corner, a surprising addition that slows our return so that we can land rather softly back at the stitches.
Of Interpretation and Uncertainty
Now, if you are to consider the hierarchy in terms of what you think the artist might find most important, I think you have to agree that it pretty much follows where the eye wants to go. Having found the path through the canvas and confirming what we believe her intended hierarchy would be, what do you think her intention was for the piece?
Something being held together must be central since the stitches are where the primary emphasis is. And there must be more significance in the yellow than the blue. Do remember what emotions and associations yellow brings up? It generally brings up thoughts of warmth, playfulness, and happiness when juxtaposed with primarily positive elements. (It can be associated with depression, stress, and cowardice is surrounded by dreary or negative elements though.)
So, is she trying to stitch a happiness that might disintegrate to the calm represented by the blue or to the openness of blue skies? She titles it Dream Weaver so could the line be where the edge of her dreams of happiness met the real world? Is that what she meant?
Guess what? It doesn’t matter overmuch what her own specific intention was. The fact is, the piece feels complete and cohesive which is likely due to a consistent adherence to her intention, and If the whole of the design is good enough to draw you in and to have you wondering or making your own conclusions, the artist has done a splendid job.
The composition and sparse elements seen here are enough to create metaphors in our minds, leaving us to fill in the blanks about what it might mean based on our own life and outlook. That’s the kind of thing that makes great design and wonderful art!
Uncertain Orientation
Here’s a bonus little lesson and a different view of the piece found on the same post. I found it really interesting that Lyn posted this piece in both a portrait and landscape orientation. The piece can be read rather differently depending on which way the piece is sitting.
The vertical orientation makes it look like the undeniable presentation of a wish or, not so coincidentally, a dream. On its side, and with the stitches to the right (remember the Rule of Right!), it feels more like a journey or a process as we have a gradual change going from left to right.
It may seem like a piece of art that is presented as not needing to be shown in a particular orientation suffers from a lack of commitment to the artist’s intention. It is the case sometimes but not always. I think in Lyn’s piece, it works both ways since the same basic idea of trying to connect the strange world of dreams with the reality of life, or whatever metaphor you might have found there, is still present although one way shows a strength of position while the other feels open to change.
And I think it works particularly well with the concept of dreams since they are subject to such wide interpretation. So why not allow the owner of the piece to hang it in the orientation they prefer because it best represents their interpretation of it? Kind of cool really.
That doesn’t mean you don’t need to create your work with an orientation in mind. Most of the time you probably should. But, in some cases, if it’s abstract enough, follows at least one of the compositional rules, (we have the Rule of Thirds working here) and it makes sense for the piece, leaving the orientation open to the owners preference can really work.
What Next?
Phew! That was a deep dive, wasn’t it? Were you able to follow my interpretation? I’d like to do this kind of thing fairly regularly, focusing on a different design lesson each time so you have a chance to really dig into the concepts along with me. But if it’s just a lot to wade through on a Sunday morning with the cobwebs not quite cleared out of your brain yet, let me know.
You can reply to this email, if that’s how you get this, or go to the contact page here. I am always thrilled to hear what you think whether it’s a commendation, criticism, or suggestion. Absolutely love getting all of them. It really helps me steer what I create for you.
During the next couple weeks, I think I might steer us away from design and talk about other things that can really help take your artwork up a notch. I’ve been in a lot of conversations and have been reading a lot about novel length fiction writing and I keep finding equivalences to the way one can approach art and so that’s where my mind is and I think some of the ideas might be pretty exciting for you.
So, join me again next Sunday for an easy read and some, hopefully, brilliant ideas. And the meantime, have a wonderful, safe, and warm (or cool if you’re down under!) week!
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like, just …
Orient your Contrast (+Sitewide Sale)
June 2, 2019
Inspirational Art
Have you ever looked at a piece that you are creating and think, it could use a little more contrast? And when you think of contrast, what do you turn to? Colors? Light or dark values? Maybe texture? How about, next time you’re looking for more contrast, you consider orientation?
In most work, there is a perceivable orientation of the pieces, marks, and edges. If everything is going in the same direction –vertically, horizontally, or some version of diagonally – there is a constant and strong flow in that direction which can be a wonderful way to convey certain emotions or levels of energy, but mixing it up can increase the energy of your work when it needs that extra boost.
I was thinking about that this week because we finally determined a suitable tile design for our new shower. The go-to design for shower accent tile is running it horizontally towards the top of the wall, although vertical lines have become a thing of late. I don’t particularly like either, but then I came up with the idea of having both – a vertical run of accent tile down the middle of the faucet wall and a horizontal one on the opposite side where we created a sunken ledge. I came up to this when it hit me that we had only been considering contrast in terms of tile color and not the orientation of those swaths of contrasting tile.
So, I thought this week we could look at contrast of orientation in polymer art. It can be such a simple thing to tweak in a design and yet it can make a huge difference in the feel, dynamics, and focus of the work.
Orientation versus Line
I think we need to define a couple of terms before we dive in here. As you’ll see, I’m going to use the words “orientation” and “line” a lot in this post, but I don’t want you to get confused and think of them as the same thing in terms of design.
Let me start out being the master of the obvious for a moment by defining those terms: Orientation is the relative position of an object or element from a particular viewpoint while a line is an element that follows a singular path and whose path can have an orientation. For instance, a bean pod lying on the counter has a horizontal orientation. The seam of the pod, on the other hand, is a line, which, following the length of the pod, will have the same horizontal orientation as the pod’s shape. Crack open that seam and you have a horizontal row of beans as well, even if each bean is sitting up (so each bean itself has a vertical orientation.) That’s because a row is a visual line. However, each item in a row will have its own orientation as well.
In other words, most everything will have its own orientation, including lines, but lines are not the only thing that has an orientation. Their orientation just happens to be very prominent and lines are a common and highly employed design element so I end up pointing them out a lot here.
Below is a more interesting example than a bean pod (although I found this while looking for polymer bean pods because Shelley Atwood, the creator of this pair of earrings has also made bean pod earrings!) Here there are a lot of vertical elements. The overall shape, the snakes of clay, and the row of balls are all vertical. However, the texture on one side runs horizontally within the vertical shape of the earring. And with that, she’s created contrast in orientation.
So, all you have to remember is that a line will have an orientation, but a shape, mark, or edge, also has an orientation. Orientation is like a bigger, more general characteristic of an element while line is just one type of element. Is that all a bit much for a Sunday morning? I wasn’t aiming to take you to class but there you have it!
Cases for Contrasting Orientation
Let’s start with a simple but high contrast example in orientation. This pendant by Kseniya of Etsy shop Solar Bird has a vertical shape but is heavy on the horizontal lines. The contrast in orientation carries this piece. It takes a simple construction – a stack of extruded canes – and creates the energy this contemporary, understated piece needs. The contrast between surfaces (the horizontal lines versus the stack of concentric circle cane ends) creates interest but such a pendant would not have had as much presence if it had been a simple square or an equilateral triangle as those lack the contrast of the vertical shape against the horizontal lines we have here.
Here is another way to work with a vertical shape and introduce contrast in orientation. These polymer and metal earrings by Sue Savage include vertical polymer shapes with diagonal lines in the treated polymer and in the wire, creating a very dynamic, kind of spinning feel to the set.
The elements in Jeffrey Lloyd Dever’s work is a constant study of variation in contrasting orientation. His pin in the opening image of this post has elements that are strongly opposed in orientation. However, how the brooch is worn determines the level of contrast and how it feels when looking at it. If the long central body of the brooch is set vertically or horizontally the individual spines create a high opposing, and thus contrasting, orientation. If set on a horizontal, like it is in the image, it becomes a series of opposing horizontals which isn’t quite as stark a contrast. Isn’t that interesting?
There is one design element on that pin, and in his assemblage piece below, that does not have an orientation but is integral to the design, slowing down all that contrasting energy and giving the eye a place to rest. I bet you can identify what that is.
As you might have noted earlier, I said that “most” objects have an orientation. Well, you are now seeing the one type of object that does not – a symmetrically round one. A circle or a ball has no top or bottom, no sides, no vertical, horizontal, or diagonal edges. It is one continuous curve. Because of that it visually sits still. It is grounded and yet imbued with mild energy. That’s why circles, dots, and balls make such great focal points. So, if you going to go high contrast with lines or orientation, and it feels like it needs to be reined in, a round element may be just what you need. With every type of orientation included in the brooch assemblage above, the ball is needed to anchor all that energy, give it focus, and provide a place for the viewer’s eye to rest.
Let’s look at a more subtle use of orientation that is still high contrast. Sonya Girodon loves contrasting verticals and horizontals, sometimes in very obvious and stark ways, but other times her dedication to these absolute orientations is set in a more understated manner.
In the necklace below, most elements are involved in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The horizontals appear as marks on the clay but are also present in the row of staple-like wires, the two rows of circles (the horizontal emphasized by the lines running through them), and in how the vertical marks are lined up. The staple wires themselves are vertical as are many of the marks and the overall shape of the pendant. This high contrast in vertical versus horizontal within the elements that make up this piece creates a tremendous amount of energy but it is softened and contained by the curve of the central shapes and the circles which, again, create a focal point.
I think by now you must be getting the idea. You can switch up the orientation of elements such as shape, line, and marks to increase, decrease or anchor the energy of your designs. I think we all inherently know this, but how often do you make a conscious decision as to how the various components or elements in your work will sit in relation to the others? I think this may be one of those too often neglected design decisions. But maybe now it won’t be glossed over next time you sit down at your studio table.
I am going to have to leave it at that this week. I have much to do as I prepare to run off to Australia next weekend. I am going to put together something for you to have on the weekends while I’m gone and, with any luck, I’ll be able to sneak in some pics from the trip as well. But as those of you who travel internationally a lot know, you just can’t count on Internet connectivity. And I could really use some unplugged time.
Important Info in Our Recent Newsletter
In the meantime, if you got our recent newsletter or if you are a reader of our other publications (thank you so much for your support of our projects!), be sure to read about the upcoming increases in USPS shipping and why it has become so very important to keep us up-to-date on any change of address.
There is some fantastic news in that newsletter as well – we are having a sitewide SALE! Go ahead, stock up, and take 10% off everything in your cart. Head over to our website here by Thursday (June 6th) and use Promo code Now10.
If you don’t get our newsletter, you can see this edition here and sign up for it on our home page (scroll down … it’s on the right side) here.
We have walls!
For all you fabulous and funny people who are still interested in the house progress here, we have walls and floors and many fewer holes! We still don’t always have a hot shower so we have to get that figured out and soon. But we have had some warm days for the first time in I don’t how long, so it’s been a good week. But the constant checking in with the contractors and this whole designing of the shower tile has eaten up a ton of time so I must run off. It’s a working Sunday for me, which is kind of sad, but it’s going to be worth it when I am snorkeling through the Great Barrier Reef and shooting pictures of curious creatures on Kangaroo Island!
In the meantime, stay inspired, keep creating, and enjoy a wonderful first week of June!
Material Flow
December 12, 2018
Inspirational Art
Here is another wonderful mixed-media piece that makes you really stop and ask, “Is that really polymer?”
The work is by Sue Savage who keeps a low profile in the polymer realm but is highly regarded for her jewelry. She works in metal, precious stones and polymer but although the polymer is usually the focal point, you don’t think of it as polymer clay when you look at the design. You see how well integrated her mokume polymer cabochon is here. The black dots in the polymer are inversely echoed in the reflected white of the stones placed around the keyhole frame of the piece. The handmade metal frame itself works primarily on the diagonal as do the lineup of the dots in the mokume, set around but not hugging the polymer cab. It makes for a lovely balance and flow.
The design could really have worked with any stone as the focal point but the use of polymer allows her to create a dynamic type of “stone” that might be difficult to find and probably harder and more expensive to work with. Her use of polymer in her pieces allows for a wide range of design without the limitations of what is simply available.
Take a look at the many other designs mixing metal and polymer on her website here.
Getting Squared Away
November 21, 2018
Inspirational Art
Did you see the announcement on Monday that The Polymer Studio subscriptions are now available online? Check out our new website, www.tenthmusearts.com, to subscribe or just see what we’re up to or get a head start on holiday shopping with subscriptions, books or back issues of The Polymer Arts (Don’t miss out on the “All Issues Still in Print” package available for 40% off … that’s over $100 you’d save to have all available issues while we still have them!) available as gifts.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I don’t have a theme for the week unless it’s rectangles and squares. You know, like magazines are rectangles and books are rectangles and this piece is rectangular with squares inside it. Rectangles and squares have such a solid dominant feeling. They are great shapes for work that you want to project boldness and confidence. This mixed-media piece of metal and polymer was created by Angela Garrod whose work of late seems to be all about the exploration of metal with polymer.
If you look at her Flickr photo stream, you can see the transition and how the new material is challenging her and giving her opportunities to stretch her design skills and creative muscle. You can see the influence of other artists, whether intentional or not, such as Sonya Giordon and Vicki Grant, coming out in her recent designs as she works toward a new facet of her own voice.
In this piece, she calls on her hallmark work with texture, deftly but subtly echoing the organic roughness found in the metal and the polymer. The contrast between the materials is all about support where the metal gives structural strength and a background canvas to the polymer squares, whose job as focal points runs second only to its work of imbuing the piece with atmospheric color.
To get a full picture of what Angela has been up to, jump over to her Flickr photostream, her Facebook page, and the gallery on her website.
Squiggles and Swirls
September 21, 2018
Inspirational Art
Now that we’ve been talking about squiggles all week, are you seeing them everywhere? They are used in artwork of all kinds, commonly inspired by nature, often stylized or reined in to create a more cohesive composition. But they can also run rampant, gaining cohesiveness from the way they echo each other within the same piece.
Take a look at the various squiggles in this journal cover by Gabrielle Pollacco. Gabrielle is primarily a scrapbook artist but has also discovered the joys of combining polymer with pages. The bonsai tree in the center is a polymer clay wall and the rest is paint-applied wood stencils and various mixed-media elements attached over and under painted layers.
The frame-like squiggle piece around the bonsai tree looks to be derived from the stylized squiggle work seen in Art Nouveau. There is a less orderly but still contained series of lines going from squiggles into cracks amongst the rocks at the bottom. Then the vines with leaves throughout the background at the top gently pull the eye upward. There are also a handful of swirls—the buttoned-up cousin of the squiggle—with their terminal end a focal point as it rounds in on itself. All these lines, especially the squiggles, create a riot of energy. But with a strong focal point of the polymer tree in the center, it still feels grounded.
Scrapbooking is such a great marriage of so many materials. A skilled and creative scrapbooker, like Gabrielle, creates works of art that could so readily be framed and placed on a wall for all to adore. But making it part of something that is functional, that is held and touched and itself holds treasured images, makes the idea of putting it on the wall on almost sacrilegious. Even if, like me, you’re one of those people who doesn’t spend much time organizing or even just printing out their photos, it would be hard not to appreciate the creativity of these unique works.
You can take a look at more of Gabrielle’s wonderfully intricate scrapbook covers and pages on her BlogSpot website.
Mix and Match Stone
August 22, 2018
Inspirational Art
As I’ve said many times, you can have all types of contrast as long as there is some commonality in some aspect that will create a relationship between the disparate parts. Olga Ledneva is quite adept at this as you’re certain to see in this piece here.
What Olga had done to bring all these disparate pieces together was create a variety of faux stone and other natural and inherently solid-looking faux materials, all finished with a smooth surface and in relatively geometric shapes. That tied most of the bead elements together. But then there’s this flower, a delicate object with an uneven shape and a rippling surface. It’s completely different from everything else but it works, doesn’t it? Why would that be?
For one, she’s made this flower element the focal point by making it so completely different. Just its hugely different look actually ties it to the rest with its high contrast. But she sneaks in one subtle characteristic that makes it work with the other beads— she makes it approximately the same size as all the center stone beads. Similarly sized objects will seem to belong together when they are surrounded by a variety of other sized objects. This can be a tricky thing to pull off well but I think Olga did it wonderfully here.
Olga’s work has grown in leaps and bounds since I last posted her work in early 2015, a post that caused little bit of a stir because she was combining elements, forms, and techniques learned in classes from master polymer artists, which I pointed out while noting the original, completely valid and successful way she applied them. Not everyone was comfortable with comments that might be perceived as anything less than glowingly positive but, as I replied in the comments then, I feel that I am a funnel for the community and our thoughts and concerns. So, I wanted to present the piece as a great example of taking what you learn and making it your own.
Some people were actually mad about what I wrote but Olga, to her credit, saw this as supportive and positive. That kind of openness to constructive commentary on one’s work is an important element in an artist’s growth. It shows a sincere desire to better one’s skills and designs and I think we really see that in Olga’s work.
You can watch her growth over time and see more of her beautiful work by looking through her photos on her Facebook page and Flickr photostream.
Finally Focused: The Fall Cover
August 17, 2018
Inspirational Art
Thank you all for your patience. The fall issue is coming together now and, as you can see, we have a lovely piece, a brooch by Helen Breil, to grace the cover.
The theme for the fall issue is “Center of Attention” which will include all types of focal, emphasis, and center point type conversations. Here are a few the articles you can look forward to seeing next month:
—The Focused Art of Helen Breil
—Six Different Fresh Faux Stone Technique tutorials
—Organic Sautori Necklace tutorial
—Designing Dynamic Focal Points
—Diversifying with Hair Adornments
—Becoming a Niche Artist
—Inspiringly Unexpected with Christi Friesen
—Creating for Yourself with Debbie Crothers
… and much more.
We hope you’re looking forward to this as much as we are! We should have the release date before the end of the month. It’ll be something to look forward to as we head into the fall (for down the southern hemisphere, spring) season!
We are setting up the website for pre-orders as I write this so if you click through to www.thepolymerarts.com and it is not there yet, it should be by Monday. I’ll remind yon on the Monday’s post. Have a wonderful and creative weekend!
Circularly Centric
February 26, 2018
Inspirational Art
Circles are one of the most basic design elements, seen throughout nature and in one of the most meaningful human features, the eyes. They have had their ups and downs in terms of popularity in art and design, however, it is unquestionable that we all have a strong affinity for them. If there is a circle on a design, it will be noticed before any other shape. Its symmetry is comforting and mildly energized due to its connection to movement as in wheels and anything round feeling like it could roll away. It has no beginning and no end which has given it a revered place in religious and spiritual designs.
The circle as the central form certainly enjoys a revered place in polymer art, old and new. What you see here is a new piece by Sona Grigoryan and a very colorful one for her at that. This pendant looks like a miniature stained glass window from a cathedral with the exception of the hole in the middle. The negative space there adds a focal point as well as making the center feel infinite in its depth. It is mandala-like as well which adds to the spiritual feel of it.
Take a look at Sona’s new and colorful designs by visiting her website, Flickr photostream, or Instagram page.
Pile it On
January 31, 2017
Inspirational Art
I do like to keep busy, but I have to say the last few weeks have been beyond what any normal human should do to themselves. And I do say, I am doing this to myself because I am fully capable of saying no to some things but I have a very hard time doing so! So I’ve been piling it on and have to-do lists to keep track of my to-do lists and yet, I am a pretty happy camper.
Bringing lots of parts of things together can feel like chaos but with a little organization and stepping back to see the whole picture, it can look pretty good. I’m using this concept as a way to step into the things I want to show you this week … pieces made from pieces, in layers and repetition, doing the whole gestalt thing whereby the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Following me still?
This charming pendant is an example of bringing together a lot of little things to present a pretty nice picture. It is a series of simple cane slices put together with a bit of texture and an embellishment here and there, creating this little scene. Kim Detmers has made a number of these dragonfly garden pins but this is the most eye-catching, I think. Whereas the others are nearly all greens and blues, keeping the range all on the cool side of the color spectrum, this one has a dragonfly with yellow-orange wings which makes it stand out and creates a strong focal point. The many diagonal lines in the composition adds to the energy and drama, but just a little. It’s still pretty idyllic which has as much to do with the calming blue and green color dominance as the subject matter.
Kim tends to keep things light and bright with a penchant for fantasy-esque themes as you can see in her Etsy shop. I don’t see any Dragonfly Gardens here but there are a few to compare by doing a Google image search.
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Have you started to see hierarchy in creative work everywhere since reading last week’s post? Consciously recognizing the hierarchy in artwork not only reveals the path our eye tends to follow around the work but can also tell you a lot about the artist’s intention and themes.
Maybe I’m a weirdo but I really enjoy searching out the hierarchy and the path the eye makes through a piece of artwork. Sometimes, though, the work seems so simple that one might assume there is not much of a path, if any, or that there really isn’t any hierarchy. But there always is.
Let’s do a deep dive on what initially appears to be a fairly simple composition. I’ve got a few surprise thoughts for you on this!
The Eye and the Hierarchy
I found this gem of a piece here a couple weeks ago on Lyn Tremblay’s Facebook page. It doesn’t appear overly complex at first glance, so where is the hierarchy? We probably all can see that the emphasis is on what looks like stitches between the predominantly yellow portion and the striated blue section. But does anything really take our eye around the canvas?
Of course, the answer is yes, there is a lot going on that brings our eye around the entire piece. Let’s map the probably path.
Before you read on, take a look at the piece and make note of where your eyes goes first and how it travels around the work. Then we can see if the likely path I found is similar to yours!
Did you find your path? Ok, great. Let’s do this!
I don’t think that there is any question that we are all likely to go first to the line of stitches and the edges they pull together but, I think, we don’t linger there for so very long. The brilliance of the yellow likely draws us towards the far end where we kind of float around like we are in a warm, comfy pool of sunshine.
However, the yellow’s disintegration into that murky gray-green is probably going to pull us away soon enough because that area has more contrast and there’s movement created by that color change as well as by the lines of yellow we follow back and forth as it tries to break through the gray-green.
The momentum of moving from one side of the yellow section to the other can be used to pull us off into the blue section whose striated lines push our view to the edge where we halt, ready to turn back but instead we may discover the grouping of impressed dots in the one corner, a surprising addition that slows our return so that we can land rather softly back at the stitches.
Of Interpretation and Uncertainty
Now, if you are to consider the hierarchy in terms of what you think the artist might find most important, I think you have to agree that it pretty much follows where the eye wants to go. Having found the path through the canvas and confirming what we believe her intended hierarchy would be, what do you think her intention was for the piece?
Something being held together must be central since the stitches are where the primary emphasis is. And there must be more significance in the yellow than the blue. Do remember what emotions and associations yellow brings up? It generally brings up thoughts of warmth, playfulness, and happiness when juxtaposed with primarily positive elements. (It can be associated with depression, stress, and cowardice is surrounded by dreary or negative elements though.)
So, is she trying to stitch a happiness that might disintegrate to the calm represented by the blue or to the openness of blue skies? She titles it Dream Weaver so could the line be where the edge of her dreams of happiness met the real world? Is that what she meant?
Guess what? It doesn’t matter overmuch what her own specific intention was. The fact is, the piece feels complete and cohesive which is likely due to a consistent adherence to her intention, and If the whole of the design is good enough to draw you in and to have you wondering or making your own conclusions, the artist has done a splendid job.
The composition and sparse elements seen here are enough to create metaphors in our minds, leaving us to fill in the blanks about what it might mean based on our own life and outlook. That’s the kind of thing that makes great design and wonderful art!
Uncertain Orientation
Here’s a bonus little lesson and a different view of the piece found on the same post. I found it really interesting that Lyn posted this piece in both a portrait and landscape orientation. The piece can be read rather differently depending on which way the piece is sitting.
The vertical orientation makes it look like the undeniable presentation of a wish or, not so coincidentally, a dream. On its side, and with the stitches to the right (remember the Rule of Right!), it feels more like a journey or a process as we have a gradual change going from left to right.
It may seem like a piece of art that is presented as not needing to be shown in a particular orientation suffers from a lack of commitment to the artist’s intention. It is the case sometimes but not always. I think in Lyn’s piece, it works both ways since the same basic idea of trying to connect the strange world of dreams with the reality of life, or whatever metaphor you might have found there, is still present although one way shows a strength of position while the other feels open to change.
And I think it works particularly well with the concept of dreams since they are subject to such wide interpretation. So why not allow the owner of the piece to hang it in the orientation they prefer because it best represents their interpretation of it? Kind of cool really.
That doesn’t mean you don’t need to create your work with an orientation in mind. Most of the time you probably should. But, in some cases, if it’s abstract enough, follows at least one of the compositional rules, (we have the Rule of Thirds working here) and it makes sense for the piece, leaving the orientation open to the owners preference can really work.
What Next?
Phew! That was a deep dive, wasn’t it? Were you able to follow my interpretation? I’d like to do this kind of thing fairly regularly, focusing on a different design lesson each time so you have a chance to really dig into the concepts along with me. But if it’s just a lot to wade through on a Sunday morning with the cobwebs not quite cleared out of your brain yet, let me know.
You can reply to this email, if that’s how you get this, or go to the contact page here. I am always thrilled to hear what you think whether it’s a commendation, criticism, or suggestion. Absolutely love getting all of them. It really helps me steer what I create for you.
During the next couple weeks, I think I might steer us away from design and talk about other things that can really help take your artwork up a notch. I’ve been in a lot of conversations and have been reading a lot about novel length fiction writing and I keep finding equivalences to the way one can approach art and so that’s where my mind is and I think some of the ideas might be pretty exciting for you.
So, join me again next Sunday for an easy read and some, hopefully, brilliant ideas. And the meantime, have a wonderful, safe, and warm (or cool if you’re down under!) week!
You can support this blog by buying yourself a little something at Tenth Muse Arts or, if you like, just …
Have you ever looked at a piece that you are creating and think, it could use a little more contrast? And when you think of contrast, what do you turn to? Colors? Light or dark values? Maybe texture? How about, next time you’re looking for more contrast, you consider orientation?
In most work, there is a perceivable orientation of the pieces, marks, and edges. If everything is going in the same direction –vertically, horizontally, or some version of diagonally – there is a constant and strong flow in that direction which can be a wonderful way to convey certain emotions or levels of energy, but mixing it up can increase the energy of your work when it needs that extra boost.
I was thinking about that this week because we finally determined a suitable tile design for our new shower. The go-to design for shower accent tile is running it horizontally towards the top of the wall, although vertical lines have become a thing of late. I don’t particularly like either, but then I came up with the idea of having both – a vertical run of accent tile down the middle of the faucet wall and a horizontal one on the opposite side where we created a sunken ledge. I came up to this when it hit me that we had only been considering contrast in terms of tile color and not the orientation of those swaths of contrasting tile.
So, I thought this week we could look at contrast of orientation in polymer art. It can be such a simple thing to tweak in a design and yet it can make a huge difference in the feel, dynamics, and focus of the work.
Orientation versus Line
I think we need to define a couple of terms before we dive in here. As you’ll see, I’m going to use the words “orientation” and “line” a lot in this post, but I don’t want you to get confused and think of them as the same thing in terms of design.
Let me start out being the master of the obvious for a moment by defining those terms: Orientation is the relative position of an object or element from a particular viewpoint while a line is an element that follows a singular path and whose path can have an orientation. For instance, a bean pod lying on the counter has a horizontal orientation. The seam of the pod, on the other hand, is a line, which, following the length of the pod, will have the same horizontal orientation as the pod’s shape. Crack open that seam and you have a horizontal row of beans as well, even if each bean is sitting up (so each bean itself has a vertical orientation.) That’s because a row is a visual line. However, each item in a row will have its own orientation as well.
In other words, most everything will have its own orientation, including lines, but lines are not the only thing that has an orientation. Their orientation just happens to be very prominent and lines are a common and highly employed design element so I end up pointing them out a lot here.
Below is a more interesting example than a bean pod (although I found this while looking for polymer bean pods because Shelley Atwood, the creator of this pair of earrings has also made bean pod earrings!) Here there are a lot of vertical elements. The overall shape, the snakes of clay, and the row of balls are all vertical. However, the texture on one side runs horizontally within the vertical shape of the earring. And with that, she’s created contrast in orientation.
So, all you have to remember is that a line will have an orientation, but a shape, mark, or edge, also has an orientation. Orientation is like a bigger, more general characteristic of an element while line is just one type of element. Is that all a bit much for a Sunday morning? I wasn’t aiming to take you to class but there you have it!
Cases for Contrasting Orientation
Let’s start with a simple but high contrast example in orientation. This pendant by Kseniya of Etsy shop Solar Bird has a vertical shape but is heavy on the horizontal lines. The contrast in orientation carries this piece. It takes a simple construction – a stack of extruded canes – and creates the energy this contemporary, understated piece needs. The contrast between surfaces (the horizontal lines versus the stack of concentric circle cane ends) creates interest but such a pendant would not have had as much presence if it had been a simple square or an equilateral triangle as those lack the contrast of the vertical shape against the horizontal lines we have here.
Here is another way to work with a vertical shape and introduce contrast in orientation. These polymer and metal earrings by Sue Savage include vertical polymer shapes with diagonal lines in the treated polymer and in the wire, creating a very dynamic, kind of spinning feel to the set.
The elements in Jeffrey Lloyd Dever’s work is a constant study of variation in contrasting orientation. His pin in the opening image of this post has elements that are strongly opposed in orientation. However, how the brooch is worn determines the level of contrast and how it feels when looking at it. If the long central body of the brooch is set vertically or horizontally the individual spines create a high opposing, and thus contrasting, orientation. If set on a horizontal, like it is in the image, it becomes a series of opposing horizontals which isn’t quite as stark a contrast. Isn’t that interesting?
There is one design element on that pin, and in his assemblage piece below, that does not have an orientation but is integral to the design, slowing down all that contrasting energy and giving the eye a place to rest. I bet you can identify what that is.
As you might have noted earlier, I said that “most” objects have an orientation. Well, you are now seeing the one type of object that does not – a symmetrically round one. A circle or a ball has no top or bottom, no sides, no vertical, horizontal, or diagonal edges. It is one continuous curve. Because of that it visually sits still. It is grounded and yet imbued with mild energy. That’s why circles, dots, and balls make such great focal points. So, if you going to go high contrast with lines or orientation, and it feels like it needs to be reined in, a round element may be just what you need. With every type of orientation included in the brooch assemblage above, the ball is needed to anchor all that energy, give it focus, and provide a place for the viewer’s eye to rest.
Let’s look at a more subtle use of orientation that is still high contrast. Sonya Girodon loves contrasting verticals and horizontals, sometimes in very obvious and stark ways, but other times her dedication to these absolute orientations is set in a more understated manner.
In the necklace below, most elements are involved in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The horizontals appear as marks on the clay but are also present in the row of staple-like wires, the two rows of circles (the horizontal emphasized by the lines running through them), and in how the vertical marks are lined up. The staple wires themselves are vertical as are many of the marks and the overall shape of the pendant. This high contrast in vertical versus horizontal within the elements that make up this piece creates a tremendous amount of energy but it is softened and contained by the curve of the central shapes and the circles which, again, create a focal point.
I think by now you must be getting the idea. You can switch up the orientation of elements such as shape, line, and marks to increase, decrease or anchor the energy of your designs. I think we all inherently know this, but how often do you make a conscious decision as to how the various components or elements in your work will sit in relation to the others? I think this may be one of those too often neglected design decisions. But maybe now it won’t be glossed over next time you sit down at your studio table.
I am going to have to leave it at that this week. I have much to do as I prepare to run off to Australia next weekend. I am going to put together something for you to have on the weekends while I’m gone and, with any luck, I’ll be able to sneak in some pics from the trip as well. But as those of you who travel internationally a lot know, you just can’t count on Internet connectivity. And I could really use some unplugged time.
Important Info in Our Recent Newsletter
In the meantime, if you got our recent newsletter or if you are a reader of our other publications (thank you so much for your support of our projects!), be sure to read about the upcoming increases in USPS shipping and why it has become so very important to keep us up-to-date on any change of address.
There is some fantastic news in that newsletter as well – we are having a sitewide SALE! Go ahead, stock up, and take 10% off everything in your cart. Head over to our website here by Thursday (June 6th) and use Promo code Now10.
If you don’t get our newsletter, you can see this edition here and sign up for it on our home page (scroll down … it’s on the right side) here.
We have walls!
For all you fabulous and funny people who are still interested in the house progress here, we have walls and floors and many fewer holes! We still don’t always have a hot shower so we have to get that figured out and soon. But we have had some warm days for the first time in I don’t how long, so it’s been a good week. But the constant checking in with the contractors and this whole designing of the shower tile has eaten up a ton of time so I must run off. It’s a working Sunday for me, which is kind of sad, but it’s going to be worth it when I am snorkeling through the Great Barrier Reef and shooting pictures of curious creatures on Kangaroo Island!
In the meantime, stay inspired, keep creating, and enjoy a wonderful first week of June!
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Here is another wonderful mixed-media piece that makes you really stop and ask, “Is that really polymer?”
The work is by Sue Savage who keeps a low profile in the polymer realm but is highly regarded for her jewelry. She works in metal, precious stones and polymer but although the polymer is usually the focal point, you don’t think of it as polymer clay when you look at the design. You see how well integrated her mokume polymer cabochon is here. The black dots in the polymer are inversely echoed in the reflected white of the stones placed around the keyhole frame of the piece. The handmade metal frame itself works primarily on the diagonal as do the lineup of the dots in the mokume, set around but not hugging the polymer cab. It makes for a lovely balance and flow.
The design could really have worked with any stone as the focal point but the use of polymer allows her to create a dynamic type of “stone” that might be difficult to find and probably harder and more expensive to work with. Her use of polymer in her pieces allows for a wide range of design without the limitations of what is simply available.
Take a look at the many other designs mixing metal and polymer on her website here.
Read MoreDid you see the announcement on Monday that The Polymer Studio subscriptions are now available online? Check out our new website, www.tenthmusearts.com, to subscribe or just see what we’re up to or get a head start on holiday shopping with subscriptions, books or back issues of The Polymer Arts (Don’t miss out on the “All Issues Still in Print” package available for 40% off … that’s over $100 you’d save to have all available issues while we still have them!) available as gifts.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I don’t have a theme for the week unless it’s rectangles and squares. You know, like magazines are rectangles and books are rectangles and this piece is rectangular with squares inside it. Rectangles and squares have such a solid dominant feeling. They are great shapes for work that you want to project boldness and confidence. This mixed-media piece of metal and polymer was created by Angela Garrod whose work of late seems to be all about the exploration of metal with polymer.
If you look at her Flickr photo stream, you can see the transition and how the new material is challenging her and giving her opportunities to stretch her design skills and creative muscle. You can see the influence of other artists, whether intentional or not, such as Sonya Giordon and Vicki Grant, coming out in her recent designs as she works toward a new facet of her own voice.
In this piece, she calls on her hallmark work with texture, deftly but subtly echoing the organic roughness found in the metal and the polymer. The contrast between the materials is all about support where the metal gives structural strength and a background canvas to the polymer squares, whose job as focal points runs second only to its work of imbuing the piece with atmospheric color.
To get a full picture of what Angela has been up to, jump over to her Flickr photostream, her Facebook page, and the gallery on her website.
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Now that we’ve been talking about squiggles all week, are you seeing them everywhere? They are used in artwork of all kinds, commonly inspired by nature, often stylized or reined in to create a more cohesive composition. But they can also run rampant, gaining cohesiveness from the way they echo each other within the same piece.
Take a look at the various squiggles in this journal cover by Gabrielle Pollacco. Gabrielle is primarily a scrapbook artist but has also discovered the joys of combining polymer with pages. The bonsai tree in the center is a polymer clay wall and the rest is paint-applied wood stencils and various mixed-media elements attached over and under painted layers.
The frame-like squiggle piece around the bonsai tree looks to be derived from the stylized squiggle work seen in Art Nouveau. There is a less orderly but still contained series of lines going from squiggles into cracks amongst the rocks at the bottom. Then the vines with leaves throughout the background at the top gently pull the eye upward. There are also a handful of swirls—the buttoned-up cousin of the squiggle—with their terminal end a focal point as it rounds in on itself. All these lines, especially the squiggles, create a riot of energy. But with a strong focal point of the polymer tree in the center, it still feels grounded.
Scrapbooking is such a great marriage of so many materials. A skilled and creative scrapbooker, like Gabrielle, creates works of art that could so readily be framed and placed on a wall for all to adore. But making it part of something that is functional, that is held and touched and itself holds treasured images, makes the idea of putting it on the wall on almost sacrilegious. Even if, like me, you’re one of those people who doesn’t spend much time organizing or even just printing out their photos, it would be hard not to appreciate the creativity of these unique works.
You can take a look at more of Gabrielle’s wonderfully intricate scrapbook covers and pages on her BlogSpot website.
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As I’ve said many times, you can have all types of contrast as long as there is some commonality in some aspect that will create a relationship between the disparate parts. Olga Ledneva is quite adept at this as you’re certain to see in this piece here.
What Olga had done to bring all these disparate pieces together was create a variety of faux stone and other natural and inherently solid-looking faux materials, all finished with a smooth surface and in relatively geometric shapes. That tied most of the bead elements together. But then there’s this flower, a delicate object with an uneven shape and a rippling surface. It’s completely different from everything else but it works, doesn’t it? Why would that be?
For one, she’s made this flower element the focal point by making it so completely different. Just its hugely different look actually ties it to the rest with its high contrast. But she sneaks in one subtle characteristic that makes it work with the other beads— she makes it approximately the same size as all the center stone beads. Similarly sized objects will seem to belong together when they are surrounded by a variety of other sized objects. This can be a tricky thing to pull off well but I think Olga did it wonderfully here.
Olga’s work has grown in leaps and bounds since I last posted her work in early 2015, a post that caused little bit of a stir because she was combining elements, forms, and techniques learned in classes from master polymer artists, which I pointed out while noting the original, completely valid and successful way she applied them. Not everyone was comfortable with comments that might be perceived as anything less than glowingly positive but, as I replied in the comments then, I feel that I am a funnel for the community and our thoughts and concerns. So, I wanted to present the piece as a great example of taking what you learn and making it your own.
Some people were actually mad about what I wrote but Olga, to her credit, saw this as supportive and positive. That kind of openness to constructive commentary on one’s work is an important element in an artist’s growth. It shows a sincere desire to better one’s skills and designs and I think we really see that in Olga’s work.
You can watch her growth over time and see more of her beautiful work by looking through her photos on her Facebook page and Flickr photostream.
Read MoreThank you all for your patience. The fall issue is coming together now and, as you can see, we have a lovely piece, a brooch by Helen Breil, to grace the cover.
The theme for the fall issue is “Center of Attention” which will include all types of focal, emphasis, and center point type conversations. Here are a few the articles you can look forward to seeing next month:
—The Focused Art of Helen Breil
—Six Different Fresh Faux Stone Technique tutorials
—Organic Sautori Necklace tutorial
—Designing Dynamic Focal Points
—Diversifying with Hair Adornments
—Becoming a Niche Artist
—Inspiringly Unexpected with Christi Friesen
—Creating for Yourself with Debbie Crothers
… and much more.
We hope you’re looking forward to this as much as we are! We should have the release date before the end of the month. It’ll be something to look forward to as we head into the fall (for down the southern hemisphere, spring) season!
We are setting up the website for pre-orders as I write this so if you click through to www.thepolymerarts.com and it is not there yet, it should be by Monday. I’ll remind yon on the Monday’s post. Have a wonderful and creative weekend!
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Circles are one of the most basic design elements, seen throughout nature and in one of the most meaningful human features, the eyes. They have had their ups and downs in terms of popularity in art and design, however, it is unquestionable that we all have a strong affinity for them. If there is a circle on a design, it will be noticed before any other shape. Its symmetry is comforting and mildly energized due to its connection to movement as in wheels and anything round feeling like it could roll away. It has no beginning and no end which has given it a revered place in religious and spiritual designs.
The circle as the central form certainly enjoys a revered place in polymer art, old and new. What you see here is a new piece by Sona Grigoryan and a very colorful one for her at that. This pendant looks like a miniature stained glass window from a cathedral with the exception of the hole in the middle. The negative space there adds a focal point as well as making the center feel infinite in its depth. It is mandala-like as well which adds to the spiritual feel of it.
Take a look at Sona’s new and colorful designs by visiting her website, Flickr photostream, or Instagram page.
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I do like to keep busy, but I have to say the last few weeks have been beyond what any normal human should do to themselves. And I do say, I am doing this to myself because I am fully capable of saying no to some things but I have a very hard time doing so! So I’ve been piling it on and have to-do lists to keep track of my to-do lists and yet, I am a pretty happy camper.
Bringing lots of parts of things together can feel like chaos but with a little organization and stepping back to see the whole picture, it can look pretty good. I’m using this concept as a way to step into the things I want to show you this week … pieces made from pieces, in layers and repetition, doing the whole gestalt thing whereby the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Following me still?
This charming pendant is an example of bringing together a lot of little things to present a pretty nice picture. It is a series of simple cane slices put together with a bit of texture and an embellishment here and there, creating this little scene. Kim Detmers has made a number of these dragonfly garden pins but this is the most eye-catching, I think. Whereas the others are nearly all greens and blues, keeping the range all on the cool side of the color spectrum, this one has a dragonfly with yellow-orange wings which makes it stand out and creates a strong focal point. The many diagonal lines in the composition adds to the energy and drama, but just a little. It’s still pretty idyllic which has as much to do with the calming blue and green color dominance as the subject matter.
Kim tends to keep things light and bright with a penchant for fantasy-esque themes as you can see in her Etsy shop. I don’t see any Dragonfly Gardens here but there are a few to compare by doing a Google image search.
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