Why Size Matters

Fanni Sandor creates exquisitely small and biologically accurate creatures in polymer clay and mixed mediums. Her choice to go small is born of a fascination with minature art and we, likewise, are fascinated by the tiny masterpieces. See more on her Instagram page.

What size art do you work in? Have you even ever thought about that? Do you work small, big, or a nice moderate middle size?

I think many of us have a limited size range that we feel comfortable working in and rarely, if ever, venture outside that range. There’s nothing wrong with that but it does beg the question, do you think about what the appropriate size is when you create something?

As you might be guessing, if you’ve been reading my blog or design articles for any length of time, I’m about to point out that making the decision about the size of your work can help to fulfill your intention.

(Do you ever think, “If she says something about intention one more time…!” Well, I do hope it’s not annoying. It’s just that important!)

Size in art simply refers to how big or small something is. It is used in a variety of ways to emphasize, organize, assist in functionality, and symbolize the intention of the artist. A lot of the size choices made have to do with relativity – something can only be called small if something else is big and vice versa.

In design, this is actually a principal known as proportion and scale. Proportion is about the relative size between two or more objects or elements when they are grouped together or juxtaposed. Scale refers to how big or small something is compared to the general understanding of how a thing usually is or should be. For instance, we expect a chair to be sized for human beings to sit in and a teapot big enough to hold several cups of tea. Anything significantly larger or smaller than these expectations would be a change in scale.

Scale represents an interesting concept in that it makes note that we do have expectations about how big or small thing should be. That may sound like we have some kind of undue constraints placed upon those of us who create, but actually, scale gives us an opportunity to step outside those expectations and make a point.

As mentioned above, size can be used emphasize things. Making something bigger than expected usually draws attention, so if you created a beaded necklace with beads as big as golf balls, those are definitely beads that are bigger than normally expected.

The same concept of emphasis works with proportions. Let’s say that you only made one of those beads as big as a golf ball in the previously mentioned beaded necklace and the rest of the beads were of a more reasonable size. In that case, you would be drawing attention to the big bead as a focal point. Size allows you to direct the viewer’s eye and their impression of the work.

It may seem that bigger items will be more impressive or have a bigger impact but, honestly, very small artistic creations can be just as fascinating, sometimes more so due to the skill needed to create beauty in such a small space. I think you can see that in the opening image of this post. Small art requires the viewer to come close to it to really see the details, creating an intimacy between the viewer and the piece.

So, have you ever thought about these considerations for size when creating your work? Don’t worry if you haven’t. It’s not that uncommon for size to be determined in some arbitrary or organic manner. And I’m not saying that doing it that way is wrong, but you could be missing out on an opportunity to better express your intention if size was a conscious decision.

 

A Sizable Story

One of my high corset collars with stitched copper and polymer embellishments.

When I was a working artist, I often made decisions about size based on what I thought people would want. It wasn’t a particularly conscious choice, more of an aim not to make pieces too big. I was not trying to make statement jewelry, but rather something that could be comfortably worn all day, or so that was my train of thought.

I can’t say what got me to start thinking about size, but at some point, I started to ask myself why I was afraid to go big. So, I started to push myself, making big collar pieces that would sit as high as the jawline and come down to the collarbone. Some were a little crazy, some were so uncomfortable, but I still found so much joy in making all of them.

I found something freeing in pushing myself beyond what I thought my market would like. And, as it turned out, my market liked them big too. I sold every one that I put up for sale. They never came home with me after a show. So, what I discovered was that the sizes I had been working in were completely self-imposed without any supportable basis for my choices other than my own fear of not being able to make a sale.

Once I realized why I had been working in those smaller sizes, I was able to start making decisions based on what the work needed to be instead of what I thought the market might want. For example, if I was going to make an ornate piece with the intention that the wearer feel like a queen, I would probably decide that it should be big and bold, not small and delicate or demurely moderate, to better emphasize the feeling of nobility I wanted it to embody.

 

Georg Dinkel works large when he is trying to make a point about our reverence for technology, like with this iPhone docking station titled IReliquary.

What’s Your Size?

So why do you work in the sizes that you do?

Is it purely functionality or rooted in the idea of what people would expect the size to be?

Is it limited by the tools or forms you have on hand, or by the capability of the materials being used?

Do you let the size come about organically or unconsciously or do you make a conscious decision about size based on the impact or response you would like the viewer to have?

I truly don’t believe that there’s really a wrong way to determine the size of your work but, like any design element, you are only truly a master of it if you are aware of its possibilities and make conscious choices.

So maybe this week, think about the size of your artwork in terms of your intention. Look at pieces that you’ve made in the past and ask yourself how the look and message, if there was one, would have changed if the piece had been smaller or larger. And in the next few things that you design, ask yourself what size piece would best serve the artwork before letting your tools or expectations of scale determine it for you.

 

Goodies are About Gone

Support this blog and your creative endeavors … join the club!

If you didn’t see the newsletter yesterday, I shared the stock I have left for a few special items that were first offered to Art Boxer Club Members, but a couple things are sold out or nearly so already. These are limited items that I will periodically offer publicly, without the discounts or freebies club members get, when there is extra stock, so if you can’t join us in the club, keep your eye out for my newsletters and sign up here if you aren’t on that list for my next offering.

Getting first dibs as well as discounts and freebies is one of the advantages of being part of the Art Boxer clubs, along with the weekly mini-magazine pick me up you get in your email. (The Art Boxer Success club that includes coaching is also unavailable at this time as spots are full up but I do have a waiting list going – just write to me if interested.)

These limited supplies are available on this page if you are still interested.

 

All Quiet on this Western Front

I have little to report on the home front. I did go in in for a small surgery Thursday only to find out I’m going have to go back in six weeks or so from now to have it completed. Nothing is straightforward and simple this year, is it? So, just trying to make myself take it easy this weekend although I am just a horrible patient in that regard.

Next weekend, assuming nothing else weird happens, my better half and I are going to slip away for the weekend to test the camper van conversion we’ve been slowly working on. I do plan to put something for you together before I go so you should still be able to visit with me next Sunday.

In the meantime, all your hopes and plans, big or small, all go off as intended this week!

Moving Objects

September 15, 2019

Don’t you love when something you put out in the world actually has a real and positive effect on other people? Last week’s post about movement really hit a chord with a lot of people. I just love that! To get such a lot of you thinking and jazzed about trying something new really makes my day! Thanks to you all who wrote me or posted messages. Please keep the feedback coming in. Criticism and suggestions as well as stories of your inspired studio ventures are all most welcome!

Last week’s discussion about movement was all based around jewelry, largely because kinetic movement is necessarily a consideration of good jewelry designs because anything worn has the potential for movement. The human body does move about a lot. But functional and even decorative objects as well as sculptural artwork can be designed to have movement with beautiful and intriguing results.

I am pretty sure that the majority of my blog readers work in jewelry as a primary form and if that’s you, don’t think that design in these other forms I’m going to talk about today doesn’t apply to you because jewelry and sculptural objects have a lot of crossover. Most art jewelry is a kind of small sculpture with the added complication of wearability thrown in. So, if you work exclusively in jewelry, look at the way these artists add movement to their objects and sculptures and consider how their approach might be translated in jewelry. And if you work a lot in functional or decorative objects, well, I have some great ideas for you today, but I hope you look at the design of jewelry for inspiration as well.

Not Standing Still

Many, many moons ago, just a few weeks after graduating art school, I packed up everything I owned into my long bed Toyota truck and drove from southern California to the middle of New Mexico, eventually landing in Albuquerque. I had no job there, I didn’t know anyone, I had no place to live, and I was completely alone. I was there because I had been through there once and fell in love with the landscape and I had desperately wanted to experience something besides California.

That move was crazy and scary and eventually proved to be one of the most difficult times of my life, but it was also one of the most magical periods of my life. To this day I will declare that my sudden uprooting then was one of the best things I could have possibly done. I knew it was a risky thing to do but you never really know who you are, what you can do, or how strong you are until you really push yourself way beyond your comfort zone and introduce yourself to completely new things.

Think about it… what would you say the most magical time of your life was? Not places but experiences, things that really opened up your eyes and fired up your passion. I bet it was something very new to you and probably a little scary and maybe even something that made you very uncomfortable initially. And I bet you wouldn’t trade it for anything. And why would we not trade in these often difficult and life altering experiences? Probably because they opened up new vistas in our life, helped up to understand ourselves, allowed us to grow and believe in ourselves like we never had before. Well, that crazy move alone was what I think of as the most magical time of my life.

Santa Fe, New Mexico was at the center of this magic back then. There were no jobs in Santa Fe so I couldn’t live there but I drove up there every chance I got to wander through the galleries and the artist studios and explore the truly deserted ghost towns that dotted the land around there. I remember walking into one gallery and seeing a small inverted teardrop pot just inside the door in glazes of matte oranges and greens. There was a small protrusion, a loop of clay, at the throat of the pot from which hung beads, a tiny bundle of reeds, and feathers and they fluttered lightly in the breeze as I entered. Talk about magic! I was mesmerized by the mix of those colors and the liveliness of those gently dancing accents. I was working in wood and wearable art at the time and suddenly decided everything would have something that moved. That’s when I first fell in love with the idea of kinetic energy in art and although it fades to the background sometimes, I always drawn back to it. What are you drawn back to over and over?

 

Nowadays, a leather thong with beads and feathers around the neck of native American pottery is not an unusual thing. You see them in gift shops throughout the Southwest so that whole idea now has a kitschy, touristy vibe but done right, it can still make a piece feel alive in a way that no amount of surface detail can. For that reason, I find it surprising that there are not more examples out there. In fact, the only person I could find working with dangling components on polymer vessels is Christi Friesen. I mean, what would this vessel be without its many pretty dangling bits and how alive must it look when they are swinging?

I am sure there are other polymer vessels with dangling accents or more, but I couldn’t find them for this post. if you know of others doing that kind of thing on vessels, please send me the links in the comments here. Commenting is better than sending me an email because then we can all see what additional sources of inspiration there might be. If you get this by email you could always click the title of the post at the top to take you to the online blog where you can post a comment.

 

Dangles are not the only way to enliven a decorative object that would otherwise sit in relative stillness. There are a number of people who add airy, springy bits that will bounce and wave in passing. Jeffrey Lloyd Dever is one of those in the small circle of polymer vessel makers for which movement is often added. It doesn’t hurt the liveliness of his pieces that they also look like they might get up and clamber off at any moment.

 

Ok, let’s set my fascination with lively vessels aside and look at the most kinetic of artwork–mobiles. Mobiles are all about balance and movement. They are inherently energetic because, even when still, we know that the slightest breeze will get these hanging (or sitting, in the case of mobile’s desktop cousin, the stabile) creations moving. Mobiles are often credited to the 20th century artist Alexander Calder but only because his work was given the name “mobiles” (by Marcel Duchamp not Calder himself actually) in 1931. Previously deemed “kinetic sculpture”, mobiles and decorative pieces that move have been around since prehistoric times, primarily in the form of windchimes and complex hanging charms and ornaments.

Kinetic sculpture was recognized as an art form only around the second decade of the 20th century, primarily due to a handful of Russian artists. The first artist to use the balance construction that is so familiar in mobiles today was actually the visual artist (best known for his photography) Man Ray. Using a series of wooden coat hangers and a cart and plow pulling design used for centuries all over Europe and elsewhere (Yes, the hook up to the animals is not a hanging one but the pulling weight of the animals is the same as the hanging weight of elements on mobile), Man Ray figured out how to perfectly balance multiple layers of coat hangers. You can go to mobile artist Marco Mahler’s website for his brief account of mobile history and pictures of Man Ray’s first mobile, complete with his early instructions for making your own.

Now, if you want to attempt a not so complex mobile design and in polymer, you might take inspiration from Marie-Charlotte Chaillon whose mobile opens this post. She smartly mixes her version of Carol Blackburn’s moebius twists with loose spirals and scattered balls for a very energetic and fun look. It might seem a complex piece at first but a quick inspection will show that all parts are hooked onto a simple set of crossed bars. You could do that kind of thing, right? Or you can go even a tad more simplified and hang a series of elements vertically, like with this mobile of hers.

 

Debra Ann, the inventor of the NeverKnead (that fantastic machine that saves you from tons of cranking on your pasta machine and readily works to soften hard clay blocks) is also the artist behind Atomic Mobiles. Although she makes her mobiles (or her stabiles, verticals, atomic screens, or earrings … she is very much into kinetic art!) from acrylic sheets rather than polymer clay, the principles are all the same. Here is one of her stabiles with a painted acrylic base.

Although she probably could have made the above stabile with polymer, the use of the acrylic material is more practical, probably quicker to create and more stable, especially for the base. Get a nice stable base out of whatever material makes the most sense for the construction of your own piece then polymer can take over for the hanging elements.

 

And as I mentioned at the beginning, kinetic sculptural art can readily be translated into jewelry and I couldn’t resist at least one example. Just look at this pair of earrings by TyAnn Zeal, with polymer for the earring base and brass for the dangles. The weight of the metal dangles will quickly get the closely arranged pieces back in position after any vigorous headshaking. With polymer, if you make mobile like earrings, you may want to make the dangling pieces somewhat thick so they too have some weight to keep them from flipping all over the place all the time.

 

Although these blog posts can never be completely comprehensive on any one subject, and there is so much more I could share on this subject, I would really be truly remiss if I did not include Georg Dinkel’s artwork in a discussion of kinetic sculptural pieces. Although not all of his work has moving parts, they all look like they could. He does love creating his mechanical pieces though and he loves putting videos together to show off the movement. They can be quite entertaining.

Ok, Georg’s hand cranked pieces might be hard to translate into jewelry but maybe some moving gears on a pendant? Or a hand-cranked brooch? They have potential, right?

 

Moving Forward  

I’m hoping these items might get a few more of you thinking about movement and how it might work in your own creations. Next week I’m going to share with you the secrets of creating visual movement. There are some pretty simple tricks to add high-energy and liveliness to your pieces without attaching separate actual moving parts. Although the kinetic energy is fantastic, it is sometimes not the most functional way to instill that level of energy. There are many other ways!

In the meantime, especially if you make decorative or functional objects, consider how you might be able to add a simple dangle, a string of beads, or a springy stalk with an accent on the end to bring some liveliness to a design that seems to need just a bit more energy. Or, using spare beads or unused elements you already have on hand, why not make a simple vertical mobile or even try your hand at balanced mobiles if you’ve never done them. You can find full instructions for creating polymer mobiles along with kinetic jewelry in the Summer 2016 – Movement issue of The Polymer Arts available on our website. It’s only $7.95 to get those tutorials in print (or $5.95 for a digital edition) along with all the other great content.

 

Slow Progress 

For those wondering how I am doing, I’ve hit some kind of plateau with the arm. It has been flaring up randomly all week after a fairly good week last week. It’s frustrating that for all the care and physical therapy, its not that much better than a month ago. But there will be no giving up here. Just like with a design or technique that has been giving you trouble, if you keep at it, you will break through. I am sure that will be the case with this arm too!

On the other hand, my metabolic issues are making progress and I am sleeping and feeling much better! So, there is progress somewhere. Yay!

There has also been progress on future production plans. I’ve been in some pretty intense talks with my managing editor, Anke Humpert, and I think we are close to a plan for getting back to some version of production with maybe some creative and practical changes. I do beg your patience for a little bit longer as its still hard to judge when I will be able to get back to print work but we are working on it. We will have some truly wonderful things to share with you in the not too distant future. I promise!

 

So, for now, go off and have a wonderful, energetic, and moving week!

Man-made Handmade

Have you noticed that most people who work in polymer will cite nature as their primary inspiration? Do you, or would you, too? But isn’t it ironic that, as inspired as we are by nature, we work with a wholly man-made material? I’ve been thinking about this because, as I polished up the Polymer Journeys 2019 book, I was making notes on some of the trends and I noticed that all but three people who cited their inspiration said they were inspired by nature. It got me to thinking about why we aren’t more inspired by the man-made world, as rich and diverse as it is.

My curiosity piqued, I did some research and made more notes to see if, for one, my perception was correct in that polymer artists look to nature more than anything and, secondly, to see what things other than nature inspire people. So, the observations that inspiration from nature is predominant in polymer art was upheld by all I looked through. I also found it interesting that, when it boils down to it, nearly everything in almost all art forms looks to be inspired by nature or by man-made styles and designs that themselves were inspired by nature. To see examples of where nature is inspiration for man-made design, just take a look at styles such as Baroque or Art Deco. Flowers, trees, leaves, vines, butterflies, birds, and a myriad of other natural flora and fauna are evident sources of inspiration in the forms and lines of those styles. We might be inspired by the designs of that age but the inspiration is still rooted in nature.

However, I did my best to find pieces that were inspired by man-made objects, scenes, or styles. Let me tell you, it was not terribly easy but just because it is less often turned to does not mean it doesn’t have wonderful forms, colors, motifs, and textures for all of us. Let’s take a look at some of the work created by polymer artists who are inspired by the man-made.

A Gallery of Man-made Inspiration

One of the first people who came to mind when thinking about man-made inspiration was Cornelia Brockstedt. She has had several series such as “Street Life” and her “City” bangles. She also did a series of what she called “graphical studies” in 2015. So I went to her Flickr photo stream to find something to share with you and it struck me that, even with the graphical tendencies and inspiration taken from city life, there is so much organic that shows up in her work. This tended to be true with a lot of artists. This pendant, one of my favorite pieces of hers, was inspired by sidewalks and the grass that grows up from around it. So it was inspired by man-made walkways but with contrast in the nature that is still sneaking in.

 

Another artist who came to mind, even before I started my search, was Sona Grigoryan.  She did a lovely series of polymer and resin pieces inspired by the Barcelona cathedrals and stained-glass windows she sees where she lives.

 

And of course, we have to consider the work of the Georg Dinkel who is inspired by architecture and machinery to the extent that even when he decides to create some creatures, they too look mechanical. He is also, apparently, inspired by literature and humor, as this Don Quixote scene he set up with two of his mechanized creatures hints at.

 

And, when talking mechanical, we certainly can’t ignore the influence of the mechanical from movements like steampunk. From jewelry to sculpture to journals and phone cases, this style is everywhere but it’s hard to say whether polymer found steampunk or steampunk found polymer first. The steampunk monster heart that opened this post is a sculpture by Kimberly Hart who posts under MonsterKookies on Etsy.

Carol Blackburn, whose work is so colorful and graphic, often cites fashion styles and movements as her source of inspiration. I think these fall under her “Missoni” fashion inspired line.

 

Another artist who seems quite enamored of fabric but also of metal and other man-made textures is Nikolina Otrzan. Mostly, she’s just a texture fiend but you’ll notice that her textures generally have a certain uniformity to them that automatically makes them feel that they would be man-made in origin, whether they were intended to or not. Even her shapes, like these tube pieces, reflect a penchant for uniformity that is beautifully balanced with her choice of rough or edge softening surface treatments.

 

So has this got you pondering the possibilities of man-made forms and textures as a source of inspiration for you? I know I’ve been looking at the shapes in my house, the walls in the neighborhood, and the forms on the buildings I pass with new eyes.

Going for Man-made

Freebies

If you want to try a few man-made inspired textures or forms, there are quite a few out there although the quick and free were a bit more scarce. Nonetheless, here are a few pages with related free tutorials. You’ll want to pop the last two URLs into Google translate if it doesn’t automatically translate for you:

Tutorial Shops

Your best sources of tutorial with man-made inspiration are going to cost a couple of bucks, but are well worth it. Here are some of my favorite shops for this:

 

A Bit o’ News

And now for a few tidbits about things going on in the polymer community you might want to know about:

Vote for the 2018 International Polymer Clay Awards!

The International Polymer Clay Association member voting is now open through March 8. Active members should have received an email with a link for your ballot. If your membership has expired please renew at www.theipca.org before March 8, 2019 so that you may vote for your favorites.

Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes Online Courses

Dan and Tracy have recently announced the lineup for their 2019 online Master Classes. Check out the present information and sign up for future announcements on their website here.

Polymer Journeys 2019 has been released!
  • Our latest publication, the second installment of the Polymer Journeys retrospective series was released this morning in digital format for those who purchased early or otherwise supported the project. (It was noon PST time if you need to search your inbox or your spam folder if not there.)
  • Print Pre-orders (ordered prior to Feb 27th) will go into the mail a little later than we had hoped but will be shipped directly from the printer on March 6. Our shipment should be our doorstep March 8, so newer orders will ship out as soon as we have them in our hot little hands. Buy yours here if you haven’t yet. (We’ve already sold half our print run so don’t wait too long!)
  • BOGO Half Off! We’ve added special package pricing for the new book … Purchase both the 2016 and 2019 edition of Polymer Journeys with half off the 2016 book, or get both the print and digital edition of the new 2019 book with half off the digital. No promo code needed. Packages available here when you click on the Polymer Journeys book cover here.
  • The Polymer Arts Collection on sale for HALF off! Purchases the whole collection of The Polymer Arts and get HALF off  the entire package – all 29 Digital issues or the 23 Print issues we still have available. If you want to collect them, now would be the time!

Until next week, have an inspired and creative Sunday and upcoming week!

The Glotzer Have Landed!

July 9, 2018

Sculpture by artist Vunderkammer.Guest Blog post by Christi Friesen

Have you noticed what Georg Dinkel has been up to lately? He’s been creating an array of surreal pieces that are some of the most interesting little characters I’ve ever seen.

But wait there’s more! Georg is a master photographer, so he has observed these Glotzer creatures in the wild, preserving their spirit of adventure and exploration through his captivating images.

When you hear someone talk about an artist having a “voice” it means that their work is distinctly their own. You know who the artist is without having to search for the credit because it’s instantly recognizable. Georg has a voice and it’s been loud and clear lately!

Oh! And he’s just launched his new website, including the store where you can get one of his amazing creations before they are all gobbled up. Of course, you won’t be able to get Glotzer #10, because it’s already on the way to me!

I think that one of the most wonderful things about following the work of an artist who has a distinct style is watching it evolve, grow and become more “itself”… something for us all to think about as we explore our own creative paths.

In the meantime, the Glotzer have landed. Brace yourselves.

Don’t forget to check out Christi’s new book coming out soon. It’s going to be a great summer for reading! And creating! Link to new book site:
https://www.christifriesen-workshops.com/ebooks

Summer is Here! (The 2016 issue) and a Closer Look at Georg

June 13, 2016

GeorgeDinkel TV ShrineHurrah! The Summer 2016 issue went out on Saturday, so if you were waiting on a digital edition, check your inbox (or spam folder if it’s not there). We started mailing the print edition out on Thursday and the last of those (for subscribers with active accounts and pre-orders prior to Friday) will get packed and off today. We’ll do another mailing for recent orders in a couple of days, so if you haven’t subscribed, renewed, or ordered your copy, you’ll want to be sure to have this for your summer reading and plane rides to vacation destinations. Not to mention in the studio!

Because there is a lot going on in this issue, this week and maybe next we’ll be highlighting art that we just couldn’t fit in. The first article in the Summer 2016 Movement issue is an interview with the amazing Georg Dinkel. Of course, all his work involves movement, even this TV shrine that looks like a beautifully ornate shrine in classic ecclesiastical styling when closed but opens to reveal a modern Apple TV and what looks like religious portraits until you get a closer look. I had wanted to get these portraits in the article but they just wouldn’t be printable if we made them large enough to show the detail. Because at closer inspection, you see that they aren’t cardinals and priests but rather iconic TV and movie characters dressed up like them. Click on the image below to get a bigger picture and see who you can identify.

For more images and information on this and Georg’s many other intensely detailed pieces, visit his website and read the article which gives so much insight into why he creates these, how he creates and constructs them, and the interesting story about how he moved from wood to polymer in his work. Get your copy of the issue at www.thepolymerarts.com.

GeorgeDinkel TVShrine side panels

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Draw inspiration from your sources of entertainment. What TV shows, movies, books, or music are you drawn to? Choose one and create or design a piece that relates to it somehow. It can embody a concept from the source or could be worn by a character in a show or may just have colors and forms inspired by the emotions it brings up in you.

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

never knead -july-2015c-125  2Wards Blog May 2016  PCTV March 2016 Blog

Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  The Great Create Sept 15 blog  businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

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Polymer Idols

April 18, 2016

TVShrine48As you may have seen on Friday’s post or through another avenue, we recognized 6 particularly talented artists in a featured section of the Polymer Journeys 2016 retrospective book. I thought we’d take a day to look at each of them this week and next, see what they are up to and maybe where they are going.

Georg Dinkel was the first of the group in the book. His work just continuously amazes and entertains. His work is beautiful and fun and, at the same time, it makes a serious statement about the questionable idolization of technology and manufacturing the brands. I happen to have a bit of an insider’s view on a new project he will be unveiling at Eurosynergy, although I cannot share details. But suffice it to say, it’s quite the undertaking in both detail, size, and complexity of movement.

The reason we are so in the know is because Georg is also the artist we are profiling for the next issue of The Polymer Arts. We have an in-depth interview on his process and how he came into polymer from an unlikely side door in his photography career. His story is as fascinating as his work, so you won’t want to miss the next issue if you’re a fan. You can go to the website to get a subscription or just keep your eyes on this blog and we’ll let you know when individual pre-sales are available.

I love this photo with Georg next to his TV Shrine. It helps to see the scale of his work. This piece in particular has so much detail and to imagine he did all but the support structure and electronics in polymer is pretty mind-boggling. There is so much more to see when the doors of the piece are open, too. Go to this page on his website to see more detailed shots of this piece (see if you can make out the TV celebrities in the pictures that look like saints and holy men on the inside of the door). And, if you have the time, just wander through his site and watch his videos. There is so much to take in!

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Have you ever tried to make a statement with your work? What is on your mind these days? Design or create a new piece that addresses an issue close to you. You don’t need to be literal. It can be very, very subtle, represented by related colors in your work or by creating a related image or form. Let the idea marinate for the day if you can before getting down to designing it.

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

PCTV March 2016 Blog never knead -july-2015c-125 Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog

Tavoos Blog Apr 2016 The Great Create Sept 15 blog TPA_McGuire_blog ad

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Recognizing Inspiration

April 15, 2016

DesertWalkingGownfull120I have a little something different for you this morning and I will get to this amazing piece you see here at the end. This announcement will go out on a few channels between yesterday and today so I hope not too many of you get hit over the head with this but … with the Polymer Journeys book coming out next week, we wanted to publicly announce our board’s picks for artists whose work and contribution to polymer art during the years 2014-2015 were particularly significant and inspirational and so were highlighted in the featured sections of the book.

We are certainly not saying our opinions are the end-all and be-all on this subject, but our consideration came from our own vast experience and education as well as gauging the impact and response we have seen in the polymer and craft communities. Although the creation of this book was in no way a contest, we did feel that making specific note of these artists and their work will further help us understand the direction and history of the medium in years to come. Here are our two featured categories:

Best Polymer Art of 2014-2015–these are artists and art that pushed the boundaries of what can be created with polymer. All these artists have been recognized for their masterful skills as well as the messages and vision found in their work.

Recognizing Generosity–We also wanted to recognize the generosity of the artists and the resulting programs that have become such a big part of the community. To that end, we included these amazing people as well as stories on how they have helped others.

So what is this unusual piece I have to show you here? It is a special and rather personal project created by the amazing Wendy Moore, who you see was recognized in the book under the section highlighting our charitable artists. Wendy is a primary force in the success of the Samunnat Nepal project. Bringing polymer clay to the women there gave them a joyful and colorful way to create financial independence when they so desperately needed it. She continues to return to teach and helped the project grow.

Wendy feels like Nepal is as much home to her as her native Australia. This robe of Wendy’s was actually part of processing a farewell to a part of Australia that she had to move away from. I won’t say much more on that, though, so those of you who are waiting on the book can read her short but poignant story.

If you have not pre-ordered your book but would like to, we have extended the 20% off sale until the 20th due to the delay with our printing that put the release of the book off until April 21st. Jump over to the Polymer Journeys website to take advantage of the early discount.

 

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Dinkel’s Vision

July 5, 2014

Georg Dinkel not only names his work aptly but has a whole set of stories, ideas and concepts behind his pieces. He recently sent us the link to this fascinating and fun little video about his piece Tone Shrine for iPod. I know we talked about him back in May but this was too good to not pass on. I have the feeling he had as much fun making this video as he did making the piece.

GDinkel

If you missed checking out his work from other posts here and elsewhere, there is more to see and watch on his website as well.

 

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

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And the Winners Are

At each conference, there are Polymer Clay Awards. At EuroSynergy 800 entries were juried to find the most significant 40 works for the IPCA Awards Exhibition. Georg Dinkel took Best of Show with his I-reliquaries and shrines, dedicated to Apple products like iPad and iPod. Best in 2D Art went to Fran Abrams for her “Warmth of Fire” and Laurie Mika for her “Circle of Life”. Best of Jewelry was shared by Angela Garrod for her “The Final Frontier”, Cornelia Brockstedt for her “City Skies”, and Annie Pennington for two of her pieces “Phagocytosis Brooch” and “Tucson Squiggle Brooch”. Best in Sculpture was awarded to Penne Mobley for “Pensive Prince”, Claire Fairweather for “Spring Trio”, and Joyce Cloutman for “Woodland Elf”. And pictured here, one of the Best in Functional Containers was this bowl by Emily Squires Levine.

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Emily, a 2014 Niche Award Finalist, designs and creates one-of-a-kind accent tiles, bowls, and eggs. Using sophisticated color palettes, she fashions unique canes to form her exciting polymer clay art. Take a look at her use of pattern, shape, and color. How can you incorporate some of her distinctive juxtapositions into your own work? You can see more of her work on her website or Facebook page.

 

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

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Why Size Matters

October 11, 2020
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Fanni Sandor creates exquisitely small and biologically accurate creatures in polymer clay and mixed mediums. Her choice to go small is born of a fascination with minature art and we, likewise, are fascinated by the tiny masterpieces. See more on her Instagram page.

What size art do you work in? Have you even ever thought about that? Do you work small, big, or a nice moderate middle size?

I think many of us have a limited size range that we feel comfortable working in and rarely, if ever, venture outside that range. There’s nothing wrong with that but it does beg the question, do you think about what the appropriate size is when you create something?

As you might be guessing, if you’ve been reading my blog or design articles for any length of time, I’m about to point out that making the decision about the size of your work can help to fulfill your intention.

(Do you ever think, “If she says something about intention one more time…!” Well, I do hope it’s not annoying. It’s just that important!)

Size in art simply refers to how big or small something is. It is used in a variety of ways to emphasize, organize, assist in functionality, and symbolize the intention of the artist. A lot of the size choices made have to do with relativity – something can only be called small if something else is big and vice versa.

In design, this is actually a principal known as proportion and scale. Proportion is about the relative size between two or more objects or elements when they are grouped together or juxtaposed. Scale refers to how big or small something is compared to the general understanding of how a thing usually is or should be. For instance, we expect a chair to be sized for human beings to sit in and a teapot big enough to hold several cups of tea. Anything significantly larger or smaller than these expectations would be a change in scale.

Scale represents an interesting concept in that it makes note that we do have expectations about how big or small thing should be. That may sound like we have some kind of undue constraints placed upon those of us who create, but actually, scale gives us an opportunity to step outside those expectations and make a point.

As mentioned above, size can be used emphasize things. Making something bigger than expected usually draws attention, so if you created a beaded necklace with beads as big as golf balls, those are definitely beads that are bigger than normally expected.

The same concept of emphasis works with proportions. Let’s say that you only made one of those beads as big as a golf ball in the previously mentioned beaded necklace and the rest of the beads were of a more reasonable size. In that case, you would be drawing attention to the big bead as a focal point. Size allows you to direct the viewer’s eye and their impression of the work.

It may seem that bigger items will be more impressive or have a bigger impact but, honestly, very small artistic creations can be just as fascinating, sometimes more so due to the skill needed to create beauty in such a small space. I think you can see that in the opening image of this post. Small art requires the viewer to come close to it to really see the details, creating an intimacy between the viewer and the piece.

So, have you ever thought about these considerations for size when creating your work? Don’t worry if you haven’t. It’s not that uncommon for size to be determined in some arbitrary or organic manner. And I’m not saying that doing it that way is wrong, but you could be missing out on an opportunity to better express your intention if size was a conscious decision.

 

A Sizable Story

One of my high corset collars with stitched copper and polymer embellishments.

When I was a working artist, I often made decisions about size based on what I thought people would want. It wasn’t a particularly conscious choice, more of an aim not to make pieces too big. I was not trying to make statement jewelry, but rather something that could be comfortably worn all day, or so that was my train of thought.

I can’t say what got me to start thinking about size, but at some point, I started to ask myself why I was afraid to go big. So, I started to push myself, making big collar pieces that would sit as high as the jawline and come down to the collarbone. Some were a little crazy, some were so uncomfortable, but I still found so much joy in making all of them.

I found something freeing in pushing myself beyond what I thought my market would like. And, as it turned out, my market liked them big too. I sold every one that I put up for sale. They never came home with me after a show. So, what I discovered was that the sizes I had been working in were completely self-imposed without any supportable basis for my choices other than my own fear of not being able to make a sale.

Once I realized why I had been working in those smaller sizes, I was able to start making decisions based on what the work needed to be instead of what I thought the market might want. For example, if I was going to make an ornate piece with the intention that the wearer feel like a queen, I would probably decide that it should be big and bold, not small and delicate or demurely moderate, to better emphasize the feeling of nobility I wanted it to embody.

 

Georg Dinkel works large when he is trying to make a point about our reverence for technology, like with this iPhone docking station titled IReliquary.

What’s Your Size?

So why do you work in the sizes that you do?

Is it purely functionality or rooted in the idea of what people would expect the size to be?

Is it limited by the tools or forms you have on hand, or by the capability of the materials being used?

Do you let the size come about organically or unconsciously or do you make a conscious decision about size based on the impact or response you would like the viewer to have?

I truly don’t believe that there’s really a wrong way to determine the size of your work but, like any design element, you are only truly a master of it if you are aware of its possibilities and make conscious choices.

So maybe this week, think about the size of your artwork in terms of your intention. Look at pieces that you’ve made in the past and ask yourself how the look and message, if there was one, would have changed if the piece had been smaller or larger. And in the next few things that you design, ask yourself what size piece would best serve the artwork before letting your tools or expectations of scale determine it for you.

 

Goodies are About Gone

Support this blog and your creative endeavors … join the club!

If you didn’t see the newsletter yesterday, I shared the stock I have left for a few special items that were first offered to Art Boxer Club Members, but a couple things are sold out or nearly so already. These are limited items that I will periodically offer publicly, without the discounts or freebies club members get, when there is extra stock, so if you can’t join us in the club, keep your eye out for my newsletters and sign up here if you aren’t on that list for my next offering.

Getting first dibs as well as discounts and freebies is one of the advantages of being part of the Art Boxer clubs, along with the weekly mini-magazine pick me up you get in your email. (The Art Boxer Success club that includes coaching is also unavailable at this time as spots are full up but I do have a waiting list going – just write to me if interested.)

These limited supplies are available on this page if you are still interested.

 

All Quiet on this Western Front

I have little to report on the home front. I did go in in for a small surgery Thursday only to find out I’m going have to go back in six weeks or so from now to have it completed. Nothing is straightforward and simple this year, is it? So, just trying to make myself take it easy this weekend although I am just a horrible patient in that regard.

Next weekend, assuming nothing else weird happens, my better half and I are going to slip away for the weekend to test the camper van conversion we’ve been slowly working on. I do plan to put something for you together before I go so you should still be able to visit with me next Sunday.

In the meantime, all your hopes and plans, big or small, all go off as intended this week!

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Moving Objects

September 15, 2019
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Don’t you love when something you put out in the world actually has a real and positive effect on other people? Last week’s post about movement really hit a chord with a lot of people. I just love that! To get such a lot of you thinking and jazzed about trying something new really makes my day! Thanks to you all who wrote me or posted messages. Please keep the feedback coming in. Criticism and suggestions as well as stories of your inspired studio ventures are all most welcome!

Last week’s discussion about movement was all based around jewelry, largely because kinetic movement is necessarily a consideration of good jewelry designs because anything worn has the potential for movement. The human body does move about a lot. But functional and even decorative objects as well as sculptural artwork can be designed to have movement with beautiful and intriguing results.

I am pretty sure that the majority of my blog readers work in jewelry as a primary form and if that’s you, don’t think that design in these other forms I’m going to talk about today doesn’t apply to you because jewelry and sculptural objects have a lot of crossover. Most art jewelry is a kind of small sculpture with the added complication of wearability thrown in. So, if you work exclusively in jewelry, look at the way these artists add movement to their objects and sculptures and consider how their approach might be translated in jewelry. And if you work a lot in functional or decorative objects, well, I have some great ideas for you today, but I hope you look at the design of jewelry for inspiration as well.

Not Standing Still

Many, many moons ago, just a few weeks after graduating art school, I packed up everything I owned into my long bed Toyota truck and drove from southern California to the middle of New Mexico, eventually landing in Albuquerque. I had no job there, I didn’t know anyone, I had no place to live, and I was completely alone. I was there because I had been through there once and fell in love with the landscape and I had desperately wanted to experience something besides California.

That move was crazy and scary and eventually proved to be one of the most difficult times of my life, but it was also one of the most magical periods of my life. To this day I will declare that my sudden uprooting then was one of the best things I could have possibly done. I knew it was a risky thing to do but you never really know who you are, what you can do, or how strong you are until you really push yourself way beyond your comfort zone and introduce yourself to completely new things.

Think about it… what would you say the most magical time of your life was? Not places but experiences, things that really opened up your eyes and fired up your passion. I bet it was something very new to you and probably a little scary and maybe even something that made you very uncomfortable initially. And I bet you wouldn’t trade it for anything. And why would we not trade in these often difficult and life altering experiences? Probably because they opened up new vistas in our life, helped up to understand ourselves, allowed us to grow and believe in ourselves like we never had before. Well, that crazy move alone was what I think of as the most magical time of my life.

Santa Fe, New Mexico was at the center of this magic back then. There were no jobs in Santa Fe so I couldn’t live there but I drove up there every chance I got to wander through the galleries and the artist studios and explore the truly deserted ghost towns that dotted the land around there. I remember walking into one gallery and seeing a small inverted teardrop pot just inside the door in glazes of matte oranges and greens. There was a small protrusion, a loop of clay, at the throat of the pot from which hung beads, a tiny bundle of reeds, and feathers and they fluttered lightly in the breeze as I entered. Talk about magic! I was mesmerized by the mix of those colors and the liveliness of those gently dancing accents. I was working in wood and wearable art at the time and suddenly decided everything would have something that moved. That’s when I first fell in love with the idea of kinetic energy in art and although it fades to the background sometimes, I always drawn back to it. What are you drawn back to over and over?

 

Nowadays, a leather thong with beads and feathers around the neck of native American pottery is not an unusual thing. You see them in gift shops throughout the Southwest so that whole idea now has a kitschy, touristy vibe but done right, it can still make a piece feel alive in a way that no amount of surface detail can. For that reason, I find it surprising that there are not more examples out there. In fact, the only person I could find working with dangling components on polymer vessels is Christi Friesen. I mean, what would this vessel be without its many pretty dangling bits and how alive must it look when they are swinging?

I am sure there are other polymer vessels with dangling accents or more, but I couldn’t find them for this post. if you know of others doing that kind of thing on vessels, please send me the links in the comments here. Commenting is better than sending me an email because then we can all see what additional sources of inspiration there might be. If you get this by email you could always click the title of the post at the top to take you to the online blog where you can post a comment.

 

Dangles are not the only way to enliven a decorative object that would otherwise sit in relative stillness. There are a number of people who add airy, springy bits that will bounce and wave in passing. Jeffrey Lloyd Dever is one of those in the small circle of polymer vessel makers for which movement is often added. It doesn’t hurt the liveliness of his pieces that they also look like they might get up and clamber off at any moment.

 

Ok, let’s set my fascination with lively vessels aside and look at the most kinetic of artwork–mobiles. Mobiles are all about balance and movement. They are inherently energetic because, even when still, we know that the slightest breeze will get these hanging (or sitting, in the case of mobile’s desktop cousin, the stabile) creations moving. Mobiles are often credited to the 20th century artist Alexander Calder but only because his work was given the name “mobiles” (by Marcel Duchamp not Calder himself actually) in 1931. Previously deemed “kinetic sculpture”, mobiles and decorative pieces that move have been around since prehistoric times, primarily in the form of windchimes and complex hanging charms and ornaments.

Kinetic sculpture was recognized as an art form only around the second decade of the 20th century, primarily due to a handful of Russian artists. The first artist to use the balance construction that is so familiar in mobiles today was actually the visual artist (best known for his photography) Man Ray. Using a series of wooden coat hangers and a cart and plow pulling design used for centuries all over Europe and elsewhere (Yes, the hook up to the animals is not a hanging one but the pulling weight of the animals is the same as the hanging weight of elements on mobile), Man Ray figured out how to perfectly balance multiple layers of coat hangers. You can go to mobile artist Marco Mahler’s website for his brief account of mobile history and pictures of Man Ray’s first mobile, complete with his early instructions for making your own.

Now, if you want to attempt a not so complex mobile design and in polymer, you might take inspiration from Marie-Charlotte Chaillon whose mobile opens this post. She smartly mixes her version of Carol Blackburn’s moebius twists with loose spirals and scattered balls for a very energetic and fun look. It might seem a complex piece at first but a quick inspection will show that all parts are hooked onto a simple set of crossed bars. You could do that kind of thing, right? Or you can go even a tad more simplified and hang a series of elements vertically, like with this mobile of hers.

 

Debra Ann, the inventor of the NeverKnead (that fantastic machine that saves you from tons of cranking on your pasta machine and readily works to soften hard clay blocks) is also the artist behind Atomic Mobiles. Although she makes her mobiles (or her stabiles, verticals, atomic screens, or earrings … she is very much into kinetic art!) from acrylic sheets rather than polymer clay, the principles are all the same. Here is one of her stabiles with a painted acrylic base.

Although she probably could have made the above stabile with polymer, the use of the acrylic material is more practical, probably quicker to create and more stable, especially for the base. Get a nice stable base out of whatever material makes the most sense for the construction of your own piece then polymer can take over for the hanging elements.

 

And as I mentioned at the beginning, kinetic sculptural art can readily be translated into jewelry and I couldn’t resist at least one example. Just look at this pair of earrings by TyAnn Zeal, with polymer for the earring base and brass for the dangles. The weight of the metal dangles will quickly get the closely arranged pieces back in position after any vigorous headshaking. With polymer, if you make mobile like earrings, you may want to make the dangling pieces somewhat thick so they too have some weight to keep them from flipping all over the place all the time.

 

Although these blog posts can never be completely comprehensive on any one subject, and there is so much more I could share on this subject, I would really be truly remiss if I did not include Georg Dinkel’s artwork in a discussion of kinetic sculptural pieces. Although not all of his work has moving parts, they all look like they could. He does love creating his mechanical pieces though and he loves putting videos together to show off the movement. They can be quite entertaining.

Ok, Georg’s hand cranked pieces might be hard to translate into jewelry but maybe some moving gears on a pendant? Or a hand-cranked brooch? They have potential, right?

 

Moving Forward  

I’m hoping these items might get a few more of you thinking about movement and how it might work in your own creations. Next week I’m going to share with you the secrets of creating visual movement. There are some pretty simple tricks to add high-energy and liveliness to your pieces without attaching separate actual moving parts. Although the kinetic energy is fantastic, it is sometimes not the most functional way to instill that level of energy. There are many other ways!

In the meantime, especially if you make decorative or functional objects, consider how you might be able to add a simple dangle, a string of beads, or a springy stalk with an accent on the end to bring some liveliness to a design that seems to need just a bit more energy. Or, using spare beads or unused elements you already have on hand, why not make a simple vertical mobile or even try your hand at balanced mobiles if you’ve never done them. You can find full instructions for creating polymer mobiles along with kinetic jewelry in the Summer 2016 – Movement issue of The Polymer Arts available on our website. It’s only $7.95 to get those tutorials in print (or $5.95 for a digital edition) along with all the other great content.

 

Slow Progress 

For those wondering how I am doing, I’ve hit some kind of plateau with the arm. It has been flaring up randomly all week after a fairly good week last week. It’s frustrating that for all the care and physical therapy, its not that much better than a month ago. But there will be no giving up here. Just like with a design or technique that has been giving you trouble, if you keep at it, you will break through. I am sure that will be the case with this arm too!

On the other hand, my metabolic issues are making progress and I am sleeping and feeling much better! So, there is progress somewhere. Yay!

There has also been progress on future production plans. I’ve been in some pretty intense talks with my managing editor, Anke Humpert, and I think we are close to a plan for getting back to some version of production with maybe some creative and practical changes. I do beg your patience for a little bit longer as its still hard to judge when I will be able to get back to print work but we are working on it. We will have some truly wonderful things to share with you in the not too distant future. I promise!

 

So, for now, go off and have a wonderful, energetic, and moving week!

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Man-made Handmade

March 3, 2019
Posted in , ,

Have you noticed that most people who work in polymer will cite nature as their primary inspiration? Do you, or would you, too? But isn’t it ironic that, as inspired as we are by nature, we work with a wholly man-made material? I’ve been thinking about this because, as I polished up the Polymer Journeys 2019 book, I was making notes on some of the trends and I noticed that all but three people who cited their inspiration said they were inspired by nature. It got me to thinking about why we aren’t more inspired by the man-made world, as rich and diverse as it is.

My curiosity piqued, I did some research and made more notes to see if, for one, my perception was correct in that polymer artists look to nature more than anything and, secondly, to see what things other than nature inspire people. So, the observations that inspiration from nature is predominant in polymer art was upheld by all I looked through. I also found it interesting that, when it boils down to it, nearly everything in almost all art forms looks to be inspired by nature or by man-made styles and designs that themselves were inspired by nature. To see examples of where nature is inspiration for man-made design, just take a look at styles such as Baroque or Art Deco. Flowers, trees, leaves, vines, butterflies, birds, and a myriad of other natural flora and fauna are evident sources of inspiration in the forms and lines of those styles. We might be inspired by the designs of that age but the inspiration is still rooted in nature.

However, I did my best to find pieces that were inspired by man-made objects, scenes, or styles. Let me tell you, it was not terribly easy but just because it is less often turned to does not mean it doesn’t have wonderful forms, colors, motifs, and textures for all of us. Let’s take a look at some of the work created by polymer artists who are inspired by the man-made.

A Gallery of Man-made Inspiration

One of the first people who came to mind when thinking about man-made inspiration was Cornelia Brockstedt. She has had several series such as “Street Life” and her “City” bangles. She also did a series of what she called “graphical studies” in 2015. So I went to her Flickr photo stream to find something to share with you and it struck me that, even with the graphical tendencies and inspiration taken from city life, there is so much organic that shows up in her work. This tended to be true with a lot of artists. This pendant, one of my favorite pieces of hers, was inspired by sidewalks and the grass that grows up from around it. So it was inspired by man-made walkways but with contrast in the nature that is still sneaking in.

 

Another artist who came to mind, even before I started my search, was Sona Grigoryan.  She did a lovely series of polymer and resin pieces inspired by the Barcelona cathedrals and stained-glass windows she sees where she lives.

 

And of course, we have to consider the work of the Georg Dinkel who is inspired by architecture and machinery to the extent that even when he decides to create some creatures, they too look mechanical. He is also, apparently, inspired by literature and humor, as this Don Quixote scene he set up with two of his mechanized creatures hints at.

 

And, when talking mechanical, we certainly can’t ignore the influence of the mechanical from movements like steampunk. From jewelry to sculpture to journals and phone cases, this style is everywhere but it’s hard to say whether polymer found steampunk or steampunk found polymer first. The steampunk monster heart that opened this post is a sculpture by Kimberly Hart who posts under MonsterKookies on Etsy.

Carol Blackburn, whose work is so colorful and graphic, often cites fashion styles and movements as her source of inspiration. I think these fall under her “Missoni” fashion inspired line.

 

Another artist who seems quite enamored of fabric but also of metal and other man-made textures is Nikolina Otrzan. Mostly, she’s just a texture fiend but you’ll notice that her textures generally have a certain uniformity to them that automatically makes them feel that they would be man-made in origin, whether they were intended to or not. Even her shapes, like these tube pieces, reflect a penchant for uniformity that is beautifully balanced with her choice of rough or edge softening surface treatments.

 

So has this got you pondering the possibilities of man-made forms and textures as a source of inspiration for you? I know I’ve been looking at the shapes in my house, the walls in the neighborhood, and the forms on the buildings I pass with new eyes.

Going for Man-made

Freebies

If you want to try a few man-made inspired textures or forms, there are quite a few out there although the quick and free were a bit more scarce. Nonetheless, here are a few pages with related free tutorials. You’ll want to pop the last two URLs into Google translate if it doesn’t automatically translate for you:

Tutorial Shops

Your best sources of tutorial with man-made inspiration are going to cost a couple of bucks, but are well worth it. Here are some of my favorite shops for this:

 

A Bit o’ News

And now for a few tidbits about things going on in the polymer community you might want to know about:

Vote for the 2018 International Polymer Clay Awards!

The International Polymer Clay Association member voting is now open through March 8. Active members should have received an email with a link for your ballot. If your membership has expired please renew at www.theipca.org before March 8, 2019 so that you may vote for your favorites.

Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes Online Courses

Dan and Tracy have recently announced the lineup for their 2019 online Master Classes. Check out the present information and sign up for future announcements on their website here.

Polymer Journeys 2019 has been released!
  • Our latest publication, the second installment of the Polymer Journeys retrospective series was released this morning in digital format for those who purchased early or otherwise supported the project. (It was noon PST time if you need to search your inbox or your spam folder if not there.)
  • Print Pre-orders (ordered prior to Feb 27th) will go into the mail a little later than we had hoped but will be shipped directly from the printer on March 6. Our shipment should be our doorstep March 8, so newer orders will ship out as soon as we have them in our hot little hands. Buy yours here if you haven’t yet. (We’ve already sold half our print run so don’t wait too long!)
  • BOGO Half Off! We’ve added special package pricing for the new book … Purchase both the 2016 and 2019 edition of Polymer Journeys with half off the 2016 book, or get both the print and digital edition of the new 2019 book with half off the digital. No promo code needed. Packages available here when you click on the Polymer Journeys book cover here.
  • The Polymer Arts Collection on sale for HALF off! Purchases the whole collection of The Polymer Arts and get HALF off  the entire package – all 29 Digital issues or the 23 Print issues we still have available. If you want to collect them, now would be the time!

Until next week, have an inspired and creative Sunday and upcoming week!

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The Glotzer Have Landed!

July 9, 2018
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Sculpture by artist Vunderkammer.Guest Blog post by Christi Friesen

Have you noticed what Georg Dinkel has been up to lately? He’s been creating an array of surreal pieces that are some of the most interesting little characters I’ve ever seen.

But wait there’s more! Georg is a master photographer, so he has observed these Glotzer creatures in the wild, preserving their spirit of adventure and exploration through his captivating images.

When you hear someone talk about an artist having a “voice” it means that their work is distinctly their own. You know who the artist is without having to search for the credit because it’s instantly recognizable. Georg has a voice and it’s been loud and clear lately!

Oh! And he’s just launched his new website, including the store where you can get one of his amazing creations before they are all gobbled up. Of course, you won’t be able to get Glotzer #10, because it’s already on the way to me!

I think that one of the most wonderful things about following the work of an artist who has a distinct style is watching it evolve, grow and become more “itself”… something for us all to think about as we explore our own creative paths.

In the meantime, the Glotzer have landed. Brace yourselves.

Don’t forget to check out Christi’s new book coming out soon. It’s going to be a great summer for reading! And creating! Link to new book site:
https://www.christifriesen-workshops.com/ebooks

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Summer is Here! (The 2016 issue) and a Closer Look at Georg

June 13, 2016
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GeorgeDinkel TV ShrineHurrah! The Summer 2016 issue went out on Saturday, so if you were waiting on a digital edition, check your inbox (or spam folder if it’s not there). We started mailing the print edition out on Thursday and the last of those (for subscribers with active accounts and pre-orders prior to Friday) will get packed and off today. We’ll do another mailing for recent orders in a couple of days, so if you haven’t subscribed, renewed, or ordered your copy, you’ll want to be sure to have this for your summer reading and plane rides to vacation destinations. Not to mention in the studio!

Because there is a lot going on in this issue, this week and maybe next we’ll be highlighting art that we just couldn’t fit in. The first article in the Summer 2016 Movement issue is an interview with the amazing Georg Dinkel. Of course, all his work involves movement, even this TV shrine that looks like a beautifully ornate shrine in classic ecclesiastical styling when closed but opens to reveal a modern Apple TV and what looks like religious portraits until you get a closer look. I had wanted to get these portraits in the article but they just wouldn’t be printable if we made them large enough to show the detail. Because at closer inspection, you see that they aren’t cardinals and priests but rather iconic TV and movie characters dressed up like them. Click on the image below to get a bigger picture and see who you can identify.

For more images and information on this and Georg’s many other intensely detailed pieces, visit his website and read the article which gives so much insight into why he creates these, how he creates and constructs them, and the interesting story about how he moved from wood to polymer in his work. Get your copy of the issue at www.thepolymerarts.com.

GeorgeDinkel TVShrine side panels

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Draw inspiration from your sources of entertainment. What TV shows, movies, books, or music are you drawn to? Choose one and create or design a piece that relates to it somehow. It can embody a concept from the source or could be worn by a character in a show or may just have colors and forms inspired by the emotions it brings up in you.

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Polymer Idols

April 18, 2016
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TVShrine48As you may have seen on Friday’s post or through another avenue, we recognized 6 particularly talented artists in a featured section of the Polymer Journeys 2016 retrospective book. I thought we’d take a day to look at each of them this week and next, see what they are up to and maybe where they are going.

Georg Dinkel was the first of the group in the book. His work just continuously amazes and entertains. His work is beautiful and fun and, at the same time, it makes a serious statement about the questionable idolization of technology and manufacturing the brands. I happen to have a bit of an insider’s view on a new project he will be unveiling at Eurosynergy, although I cannot share details. But suffice it to say, it’s quite the undertaking in both detail, size, and complexity of movement.

The reason we are so in the know is because Georg is also the artist we are profiling for the next issue of The Polymer Arts. We have an in-depth interview on his process and how he came into polymer from an unlikely side door in his photography career. His story is as fascinating as his work, so you won’t want to miss the next issue if you’re a fan. You can go to the website to get a subscription or just keep your eyes on this blog and we’ll let you know when individual pre-sales are available.

I love this photo with Georg next to his TV Shrine. It helps to see the scale of his work. This piece in particular has so much detail and to imagine he did all but the support structure and electronics in polymer is pretty mind-boggling. There is so much more to see when the doors of the piece are open, too. Go to this page on his website to see more detailed shots of this piece (see if you can make out the TV celebrities in the pictures that look like saints and holy men on the inside of the door). And, if you have the time, just wander through his site and watch his videos. There is so much to take in!

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Have you ever tried to make a statement with your work? What is on your mind these days? Design or create a new piece that addresses an issue close to you. You don’t need to be literal. It can be very, very subtle, represented by related colors in your work or by creating a related image or form. Let the idea marinate for the day if you can before getting down to designing it.

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Recognizing Inspiration

April 15, 2016
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DesertWalkingGownfull120I have a little something different for you this morning and I will get to this amazing piece you see here at the end. This announcement will go out on a few channels between yesterday and today so I hope not too many of you get hit over the head with this but … with the Polymer Journeys book coming out next week, we wanted to publicly announce our board’s picks for artists whose work and contribution to polymer art during the years 2014-2015 were particularly significant and inspirational and so were highlighted in the featured sections of the book.

We are certainly not saying our opinions are the end-all and be-all on this subject, but our consideration came from our own vast experience and education as well as gauging the impact and response we have seen in the polymer and craft communities. Although the creation of this book was in no way a contest, we did feel that making specific note of these artists and their work will further help us understand the direction and history of the medium in years to come. Here are our two featured categories:

Best Polymer Art of 2014-2015–these are artists and art that pushed the boundaries of what can be created with polymer. All these artists have been recognized for their masterful skills as well as the messages and vision found in their work.

Recognizing Generosity–We also wanted to recognize the generosity of the artists and the resulting programs that have become such a big part of the community. To that end, we included these amazing people as well as stories on how they have helped others.

So what is this unusual piece I have to show you here? It is a special and rather personal project created by the amazing Wendy Moore, who you see was recognized in the book under the section highlighting our charitable artists. Wendy is a primary force in the success of the Samunnat Nepal project. Bringing polymer clay to the women there gave them a joyful and colorful way to create financial independence when they so desperately needed it. She continues to return to teach and helped the project grow.

Wendy feels like Nepal is as much home to her as her native Australia. This robe of Wendy’s was actually part of processing a farewell to a part of Australia that she had to move away from. I won’t say much more on that, though, so those of you who are waiting on the book can read her short but poignant story.

If you have not pre-ordered your book but would like to, we have extended the 20% off sale until the 20th due to the delay with our printing that put the release of the book off until April 21st. Jump over to the Polymer Journeys website to take advantage of the early discount.

 

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Dinkel’s Vision

July 5, 2014
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Georg Dinkel not only names his work aptly but has a whole set of stories, ideas and concepts behind his pieces. He recently sent us the link to this fascinating and fun little video about his piece Tone Shrine for iPod. I know we talked about him back in May but this was too good to not pass on. I have the feeling he had as much fun making this video as he did making the piece.

GDinkel

If you missed checking out his work from other posts here and elsewhere, there is more to see and watch on his website as well.

 

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And the Winners Are

May 10, 2014
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At each conference, there are Polymer Clay Awards. At EuroSynergy 800 entries were juried to find the most significant 40 works for the IPCA Awards Exhibition. Georg Dinkel took Best of Show with his I-reliquaries and shrines, dedicated to Apple products like iPad and iPod. Best in 2D Art went to Fran Abrams for her “Warmth of Fire” and Laurie Mika for her “Circle of Life”. Best of Jewelry was shared by Angela Garrod for her “The Final Frontier”, Cornelia Brockstedt for her “City Skies”, and Annie Pennington for two of her pieces “Phagocytosis Brooch” and “Tucson Squiggle Brooch”. Best in Sculpture was awarded to Penne Mobley for “Pensive Prince”, Claire Fairweather for “Spring Trio”, and Joyce Cloutman for “Woodland Elf”. And pictured here, one of the Best in Functional Containers was this bowl by Emily Squires Levine.

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Emily, a 2014 Niche Award Finalist, designs and creates one-of-a-kind accent tiles, bowls, and eggs. Using sophisticated color palettes, she fashions unique canes to form her exciting polymer clay art. Take a look at her use of pattern, shape, and color. How can you incorporate some of her distinctive juxtapositions into your own work? You can see more of her work on her website or Facebook page.

 

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