Go Big or Go Personal
January 5, 2020
Inspirational Art
So, here we are. The new year has begun, and we have 12 months and nearly 52 weeks of possibilities before us. Will you be changing the way you work or challenging yourself this coming year?
If you read last week’s post, you know I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions, but I do believe in always having goals. Goals give you something to bounce out of bed for in the morning. Even small goals can get you up and going and keep you focused. However, this weekend I want to talk about making big goals, or particularly big projects.
This will mean different things to different people but whether or not the idea of doing something challenging in size or scope appeals to you, I think it’s just one of those things you should periodically ask yourself. Do I want to do something big, monumental, dramatic, or just drastically different? There is nothing wrong with saying no and just focusing on small, easily manageable projects. But I think you ought to ask the question just to be sure.
Nearly a decade ago, I interviewed Gwen Piña who, at the time, was the most prolific polymer artist I knew of in our community, with over 600 accounts she regularly fulfilled orders for. (She has since retired from polymer.) With all that work, I was really surprised when she took me to a side room to show me her personal projects. These were rather tall dolls and other pieces made from found objects and polymer. These were her personal projects which she didn’t always try to sell. Although they took time away from her primary wholesale work, she acknowledged that she needed that creative outlet to make her happy.
I think that is an important consideration. Not everything you make has to sell. Actually, unless your livelihood depends upon it, nothing you make needs to be sold. Go ahead – create for the sake of creating! How freeing is that idea? I bring this up because, many times, our big personal projects are not something that is either easy to sell or easy for us to part with.
So, setting aside the idea that everything you make has to support a business, let’s talk about big personal projects you might consider taking on to feed your soul.
A Big Way
Large, showy art pieces are often referred to as “statement” pieces. Big necklaces, towering vases, and wildly colorful wall sculptures can all be considered statement pieces when they outshine the wearer or dominate the room they occupy.
There is more latitude given for the functionality of craft art that is created as a statement piece. Awkward and uncomfortable collar necklaces, dangerously spiky brooches, and vases that are too monumental to hold any kind of flower arrangement are forgiven their lack of functionality in exchange for being a conversation piece or attention grabber. These can be great fun to create because you have fewer restrictions with that concern for functional construction set aside. If you’re looking for a bit more freedom in your designs this year, this might be something to explore.
But what if we change that definition of a statement piece and attach it to work that is primarily personal—making that kind of work a personal statement piece, as in you have something to say. You may just want to share your aesthetic views, or you may have opinions about the state of the world, or you might aim to share the emotion of a personal experience. These are all expressions of the artist being taken from inside themselves and put out into the world. That’s really at the core of what, arguably, defines something as a piece of art.
So how about YOU get noticed for some “big” piece of yours this year that is focused on expressing what you want to put out into the world? Being that this kind of project is more for you, you also get to define what a big project means to you. It could be literally large. It could also be small but so minutely thought out or detailed that it is big in terms of its process and scope. A big project could be based on a really delicate or difficult personal subject that you have previously found hard to share. It could also be a large collection of work instead of a single piece. Or a piece made up of a lot of smaller pieces. Do any of these ideas spark a fire in you?
Let’s look at just a few “big projects” other artists have taken in polymer.
Thinking Big
Heather Campbell goes big quite often. The piece of hers that opens this blog, Trippin’ in Spain, is 6 feet long! A handful of years ago, you might have seen the challenge she took on of making this insanely detailed polymer quilt called Keep Circling. Much of the texture and pattern is created with the attachment of many small, but easily replicated accents and objects as can be seen in the detail shot.
This piece is both a great approach to creating big, beautiful artwork in polymer and a metaphor for how to take on a big project or any daunting goal. Just do one small thing at a time and, if you just keep at it, next thing you know, you have something huge and amazing and that goal is reached.
A similar approach can be used in jewelry. A gloriously monumental bit of adornment does not have to be complicated. You can simply make a lot of something that you love to create and bring it together into a single magnificent piece. Gloria Danvers does a lot of this type of thing with polymer butterflies, leaves, and other caned shapes.
You know how I mentioned you could set your big goal to not just be one thing but that you might consider just creating a big collection? Well, what if you did both? That’s essentially what Jeffrey Lloyd Dever did with his Edensong Revisited installation piece from 2011. Taking dozens of individual pieces, he created a fascinating wall piece that you have to just keep looking at to take it all in.
Edensong Revisited | 2011 | Approx. 50”H x 42” W x 3.5” D | Polymer clay, steel wire, plastic coated wire, repurposed mixed media, latex paint | Photo credit: Jon Bolton/Racine Art Museum
The idea of something big for you though, might just be a project that’s really different and daring. If so, I would strongly suggest looking at artwork in other mediums for inspiration, not just polymer. I don’t know if anyone’s doing any really wild with ear cuffs like the ones below in polymer, but this is just one possible inspiration for what could be done with polymer and unique forms of jewelry. Check out this site for some wild pieces. No artists are listed although they do say these are handmade.
Sometimes your big idea can simply be sticking with a particular theme and really pushing yourself to see what you can do with it. I got a wonderful email from blog reader Suzanne Andrews, noting how the last post on having a goal really resonated with her. She’d already started on her goal to get focused this year by cleaning up her studio (and that’s a pretty big project for many of us, I know!) And then, she said she, “placed one photograph for reference on the wall in the studio. It is of a painting that speaks to me and my goal is to create pieces that belong with this painting.” I don’t know if she’ll make anything literally big or complex, but I love that idea of committing to that painting. It will give her a focus on something that she feels personally connected to, which can take some bravery. And that is a statement!
The Big Idea
So, whether or not you’re ready to take on something big, in whatever way you define it, or just want to play around this year, I’m hoping to make setting goals, or at least working on a focus, to be a bigger part of what we talk about throughout this year. It’s something I’m going to focus on with the Virtual Art Box, hoping for those of you who are up for it, to make what I share with you a more active kind of information exchange. Most of us aren’t reading this to simply pass the time, are we? This material and our creativity drive us to make art, right? So, let’s do that and make art that we are personally passionate about! I can’t tell you how fulfilling it is to take risks and push yourself. You won’t always succeed but, man, when you do, there’s nothing like it!
We’ll go over a few other ideas for possible goals and focuses you might want to take on over the coming year if you’re not sure what you want to do yet, if anything. There really is no rush so just let ideas wash over you until something grabs you.
Myself, I need to put a rush on some things. I think we finally have the technical end ironed out for the new Virtual Art Box so I’m getting ready to get sign ups set up on the website. Just need a few more tests. Then back to whipping the content into shape. That’s my focus this week so keep an eye out for newsletters for more info and I’ll update you on the blog this next week and as well. Get on this list here to be notified first for special discounts.
Nudge Sale is Still On!
Don’t forget we have that nudge sale going for another week or so. Almost everything is on sale so if you need more inspiration at your fingertips as you set yourself up for a great creative year, hop over to the website and snatch up a great deal on beautiful print and digital publications!
Happy first full work week of 2020! Hope its a beautiful and creative one!
Crosswise Crafts
August 4, 2019
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news
Heather Campbell – “Keep Circling”
If you read this blog because polymer is your primary art material, do you consider yourself a polymer artist or a mixed-media artist? This question has arisen in a few conversations recently – how to identify oneself as an artist – and also in regard to the content of these blogs posts because a lot of people that are writing me of late have turned out not to be primarily polymer artists, or at least identify themselves as mixed-media rather than polymer artists. I think that’s really cool and I don’t find it terribly surprising that people who work in other art materials are interested in polymer because polymer has so much crossover and such a wide range of possible applications.
I mean, is polymer clay the only material in your art studio? Aside from maybe dedicated caners, I think the majority of us who identify as polymer artists also have drawers and bins and boxes of other things like beads, fabric, paints, paper, resin, and so much more. So, is your polymer art really a type of mixed-media art? And what is mixed-media art really anyways?
And most of all… do the labels really matter?
Labels are important for the purpose of organizing all the information we are inundated with daily, but unfortunately, it also puts people and concepts in restrictive boxes and that can become problematic. When someone is labeled (or calls themselves) a polymer artist, it doesn’t mean that they work only with polymer or even primarily with polymer. They may simply have an affinity for the material more than any other single material.
Not only do we use a lot of other materials in polymer work, but we can also so readily draw inspiration from looking at artwork in materials. I, myself, find fiber art to be an immense resource for ideas in my polymer work, especially modern quilting, so I thought I’d bring you along to explore some of the ways today’s quilt art and polymer creatively crossover.
Crosswise Crafts
Quilt art is a form of fiber art which pushes beyond functional bedcovers and quilted clothing of the past. Fiber Art itself is a relatively recent term, first used shortly after World War II to categorize fine art using natural or synthetic fiber as the material. This speaks to how relatively new the focus has been on fiber as an art form. Luckily, the term quickly worked its way out of the relatively elite world of curators and art historians into a more generalized use encompassing all fiber-based artistic applications, from weaving and quilting to intensely detailed embroidery and monumental outdoor installations.
There has been a tremendous amount of experimentation going on in fiber arts since the latter decades of the twentieth century, something as polymer artists we understand and applaud but, unlike polymer the many forms of fiber art draw from some of mankind’s oldest crafts so experimentation tends to rally not around techniques but around form, nontraditional materials, unusual use and placement of materials, and conceptual approaches, especially those involving cultural issues and activism. This makes it a rich source of inspiration that can really light the way for new possibilities in polymer.
As I’m sure you know, not only do we emulate fiber in polymer, we also have methods of construction and layout with veneers and inlays which use basically the same approach as quilting, less the sewing. Both art forms also technically work in three-dimensions but are commonly composed in two-dimensions which is why I think it’s such a great arena to look to for a creative shot in the arm.
Here is a very direct example of the crossover between quilting and polymer. Lindly Haunani draws the patterns for her polymer quilts directly from classic quilt patterns, like this one based on a half square quilt design.
She uses these wall pieces to examine and teach color. She also applies the concepts to brooches like these lovely pieces.
By the way, Lindly has a series of workshops teaching color through the creation of veneers and polymer quilts coming up in late August/early September at Creative Journey Studios. You can check those out here.
Although classic quilt patterns pop up in polymer quite often, contemporary quilts are nothing like these. Here is an example of traditional quilting techniques but without the traditional patterns by Lisa Jenni. Do the colors or composition poke at your creative brain but with polymer on the mind? It could be an arrangement with alcohol ink dyed polymer, striped canes, and stamped clay medallions, right?
That quilt reminds me a little bit of Gera Scott Chandler’s work. The colors and the emphasis on oblong circles are probably the connections but you see how one could possibly inspire the other, yes?
And how have we not seen something like this piece below done in polymer? This is embroidered quilting by Susan Lenz It’s less than 3’ x 2’ so such a piece in polymer would not be a monumental task. This has given me an idea … I think I know what I’m going to do with all the inchies collected over the years. Let’s all make wall pieces from our collections!
Be sure to look at Susan’s Lancet window series too. They have a similarly open layout but in kind of stained-glass patterns.
Contemporary quilts, like polymer, are not restricted to a two-dimensional canvas or flat layers. There are a lot of things being added into and onto quilts today. Just look at this riot of wonder by Molly Jean Hobbit.
Does this piece bring to mind any polymer artists who also use lots of pieces and materials in their work? Maybe Laurie Mika, Heather Campbell (as seen in the opening image), or even Christi Friesen with her mixed-media mosaics? If you have always liked what these ladies are doing, just imagine the fresh batch of ideas you could get from contemporary quilts.
Want to really delve into the quilt world now? You go down a rabbit hole by simply putting “quilt art” into Pinterest, or you could start on the Contemporary Quilt Art associations gallery pages. Click on each image to get a whole slew of additional quilts by various artists. It’s quite the fabulous (and possibly time gobbling) rabbit hole to go down.
Want to do a little polymer quilting of your own today? Well, you could sit down to this video by Jan Montarsi, demonstrating how to make striped polymer quilt squares. Mind you, he uses his new Create Template, but you could do it without the template if you want to get right to it. If you have the latest edition of The Polymer Studio, Issue #3, go to Jan’s article on multicolor blends first to make some really bright and saturated blended sheets to work with. If you didn’t subscribe or purchase your copy yet, you can get an immediate digital download or order a print edition on the website here. And you can get Jan’s templates here.
Where Two Crafts Collide – working with the Craft Industry Alliance
So, my curiosity about this mixed media labeling question pushed me to do some research early last month and, in the process, I found the Craft Industry Alliance. This is a fairly new organization – it was created in 2015 – but it is growing quite quickly as an information and supportive advocacy trade association for all working craft artists – this includes you!
I really liked that this organization recognizes craft art as a broader community that is not segregated by material or form. Since the founders are primarily fiber artist, however, it started out heavy in that arena, but they are actively growing into other communities. I know this because the president of CIA (gosh, their acronym sounds so covert!) contacted me after I joined their organization online with an earnest request to get to know the polymer community better. After a lovely chat and a few emails, we are now working on polymer based content for the Alliance. How cool is that?
So, what is this organization and what might it do for you? Well, here is the skinny, straight from President, Abby Glassenberg:
Craft Industry Alliance is a community of craft professionals. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections within a supportive trade association. Artists who are interested in becoming teachers of their craft, writing books, and showing their work in galleries need to think about setting up a solid business foundation from which to grow. Marketing and branding, legal, accounting and tax issues, social media and blogging … these are all issues creative business owners need to think through. Don’t do it alone! Come together with 1,300+ fellow members in a supportive community where you can find solid answers to your questions, make connections with the right people, and find the resources you need. Check it out at https://www.craftindustryalliance.org
As you can see, the organization is focused on active artists who show and sell their work or promote themselves as teachers or writers. It doesn’t really matter how small or how big your creative operation is, you’ll always benefit from a little help and I think it’s a fantastic idea to have a community of people from all areas of craft supporting each other. I’ve always been a little worried that the polymer community has remained a bit insular since we have issues that few other material arenas have, being such a very young material, working with a plastic in an environmentally sensitive world, and battling the “kids art material” image. But growth in this community will come from the outside, not from within so the more we reach out and network with other craft artists and the larger craft community, the more energized and innovative we will be as a whole and that will keep the community growing and vital.
The Sage Sabbatical
So, as most of you probably know by now, August starts my little sabbatical from production work on print publications so I can attend to some health issues. I have to admit, it’s made me a little depressed. It’s just rather sudden and I’m such a workaholic and so used to having a deadline hanging over me all the time so it’s a little unnerving. Luckily, it actually started out busy since we wrapped up the release of The Polymer Studio Issue #3. It turned out just beautiful and we’ve already received so many great comments on it with particular excitement around articles like the fascinating story of Brazil’s polymer master, Beatriz Cominatto, Debbie Crothers’ acrylic and polymer exploration, and Jan’s multi-color skinner blend techniques.
If you’re waiting on your copy, the digital edition went out on the 31st – check spam/junk mail folders if you’re due one and didn’t see it in your inbox. Print editions went to the post office this past Wednesday, so they are on the way too. I have my batch of stock here if you need to order it. Just go to the website.
We also added a Special 3 issue Package of all three of The Polymer Studio issues if you need to do some catching up.
If you’re unfamiliar with my silly little situation that forced me into taking time off, you can find the more-or-less full story in our most recent newsletter here.
If you don’t get our twice a month newsletter, signing up for the newsletter is one of the best ways to stay informed on our publications and new projects, of which there will be something before the year ends even if I can’t do print! But yes, I promise I will not overextend myself and do with the doctor orders!
Speaking of which … I should go now. I hope you are excited by the peek at quilts and the connection to polymer. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and an inspired week!
Large Expression
April 25, 2016
Inspirational Art
We are going to spend this week on a few more of the artists who made it to the most notable position in the new Polymer Journeys book. Mind you, there is a lot of very, very notable art in the book but these six made a showing that really impresses people. Heather Campbell‘s work is notable for the way she makes a personal connection with the viewer, creating imagery that speak to ubiquitous experiences that, nonetheless, quite often feel very personal and unique. Her large wall pieces emerge from her experiences and dreams with the many details reflecting the complexity of life and emotion, something I think we can all relate to.
As she writes on her blog, “I consider my work an extension of life experience, designed with complexity while remaining beautifully simple …While creating myself or teaching others I emphasize imagination and self-expression.”
The piece here, a huge wall hanging at 36″x54″, is titled Off The Deep End. It speaks to a very essential question that many of us have struggled with. In reference to this piece, Heather says, “Being true to oneself is one of life’s greatest accomplishments, with rewards that parallel the most beautiful colors, the greatest adventures and the deepest questions. That world awaits us, with its danger, its uncertainty, its beauty and endless opportunity. The query is, do we take the leap, do we step into the unknown, do we trust ourselves?”
You really need to go to Heather’s website to see the wide variety in her work as well as read her thoughts about each. She certainly has something to say.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let’s have a day of pure expression. Choose a small number of colors that “feel” how you feel today. Keep your favorite hand tools nearby, roll out your clay on a mid-range thickness or condition as you normally would to start a project and then just play. Don’t think about it and don’t worry about whether anyone else will see it. Just let you imagination go and create whatever the clay leads you to create.
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Recognizing Inspiration
April 15, 2016
Inspirational Art
I 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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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
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Out of the Box Quilt-ish Clay
October 12, 2015
Inspirational Art
This last week’s conversations with various polymer friends, both old and new, seemed consistently to circle around new challenges and pushing our personal creative envelopes. If you saw Friday’s post, you got a peek at one artist seriously pushing herself with the result being the creation of a great new tool for polymer artists.
Then of course, we have the artists who want to push themselves in terms of what they are creating. Trying something new, leaving your comfort zone, and creating a challenge for yourself that makes you both nervous and terribly excited can be so invigorating for both your creativity and for your soul.
So, when I ran across this amazing and unusual quilt-ish piece by Heather Campbell, I just had to share it. Here Heather is working, as she puts it, “so out of the box for me … crazy fun!” It does look like fun but also a lot of work! Wonderful work, though.
It appears to be fabric-covered boards with polymer embellishments, mostly in heavily repeated elements. The large top image you see here is a detail, but you can get a better idea of the size and see the whole piece as it was when Heather took her progress images for her blog post. There, you can see her steps from the start to what you see here. It’s a feast for the eyes and a nice shot in the arm of color and creativity for a Monday.
We had the honor of getting a wonderful interview article on Heather for our Spring issue of The Polymer Arts, so do check that out if you can. Also, visit her site if you never have or haven’t recently and just wander through her galleries and blogs. Beautiful wall pieces and touching stories await you.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
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So, here we are. The new year has begun, and we have 12 months and nearly 52 weeks of possibilities before us. Will you be changing the way you work or challenging yourself this coming year?
If you read last week’s post, you know I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions, but I do believe in always having goals. Goals give you something to bounce out of bed for in the morning. Even small goals can get you up and going and keep you focused. However, this weekend I want to talk about making big goals, or particularly big projects.
This will mean different things to different people but whether or not the idea of doing something challenging in size or scope appeals to you, I think it’s just one of those things you should periodically ask yourself. Do I want to do something big, monumental, dramatic, or just drastically different? There is nothing wrong with saying no and just focusing on small, easily manageable projects. But I think you ought to ask the question just to be sure.
Nearly a decade ago, I interviewed Gwen Piña who, at the time, was the most prolific polymer artist I knew of in our community, with over 600 accounts she regularly fulfilled orders for. (She has since retired from polymer.) With all that work, I was really surprised when she took me to a side room to show me her personal projects. These were rather tall dolls and other pieces made from found objects and polymer. These were her personal projects which she didn’t always try to sell. Although they took time away from her primary wholesale work, she acknowledged that she needed that creative outlet to make her happy.
I think that is an important consideration. Not everything you make has to sell. Actually, unless your livelihood depends upon it, nothing you make needs to be sold. Go ahead – create for the sake of creating! How freeing is that idea? I bring this up because, many times, our big personal projects are not something that is either easy to sell or easy for us to part with.
So, setting aside the idea that everything you make has to support a business, let’s talk about big personal projects you might consider taking on to feed your soul.
A Big Way
Large, showy art pieces are often referred to as “statement” pieces. Big necklaces, towering vases, and wildly colorful wall sculptures can all be considered statement pieces when they outshine the wearer or dominate the room they occupy.
There is more latitude given for the functionality of craft art that is created as a statement piece. Awkward and uncomfortable collar necklaces, dangerously spiky brooches, and vases that are too monumental to hold any kind of flower arrangement are forgiven their lack of functionality in exchange for being a conversation piece or attention grabber. These can be great fun to create because you have fewer restrictions with that concern for functional construction set aside. If you’re looking for a bit more freedom in your designs this year, this might be something to explore.
But what if we change that definition of a statement piece and attach it to work that is primarily personal—making that kind of work a personal statement piece, as in you have something to say. You may just want to share your aesthetic views, or you may have opinions about the state of the world, or you might aim to share the emotion of a personal experience. These are all expressions of the artist being taken from inside themselves and put out into the world. That’s really at the core of what, arguably, defines something as a piece of art.
So how about YOU get noticed for some “big” piece of yours this year that is focused on expressing what you want to put out into the world? Being that this kind of project is more for you, you also get to define what a big project means to you. It could be literally large. It could also be small but so minutely thought out or detailed that it is big in terms of its process and scope. A big project could be based on a really delicate or difficult personal subject that you have previously found hard to share. It could also be a large collection of work instead of a single piece. Or a piece made up of a lot of smaller pieces. Do any of these ideas spark a fire in you?
Let’s look at just a few “big projects” other artists have taken in polymer.
Thinking Big
Heather Campbell goes big quite often. The piece of hers that opens this blog, Trippin’ in Spain, is 6 feet long! A handful of years ago, you might have seen the challenge she took on of making this insanely detailed polymer quilt called Keep Circling. Much of the texture and pattern is created with the attachment of many small, but easily replicated accents and objects as can be seen in the detail shot.
This piece is both a great approach to creating big, beautiful artwork in polymer and a metaphor for how to take on a big project or any daunting goal. Just do one small thing at a time and, if you just keep at it, next thing you know, you have something huge and amazing and that goal is reached.
A similar approach can be used in jewelry. A gloriously monumental bit of adornment does not have to be complicated. You can simply make a lot of something that you love to create and bring it together into a single magnificent piece. Gloria Danvers does a lot of this type of thing with polymer butterflies, leaves, and other caned shapes.
You know how I mentioned you could set your big goal to not just be one thing but that you might consider just creating a big collection? Well, what if you did both? That’s essentially what Jeffrey Lloyd Dever did with his Edensong Revisited installation piece from 2011. Taking dozens of individual pieces, he created a fascinating wall piece that you have to just keep looking at to take it all in.
Edensong Revisited | 2011 | Approx. 50”H x 42” W x 3.5” D | Polymer clay, steel wire, plastic coated wire, repurposed mixed media, latex paint | Photo credit: Jon Bolton/Racine Art Museum
The idea of something big for you though, might just be a project that’s really different and daring. If so, I would strongly suggest looking at artwork in other mediums for inspiration, not just polymer. I don’t know if anyone’s doing any really wild with ear cuffs like the ones below in polymer, but this is just one possible inspiration for what could be done with polymer and unique forms of jewelry. Check out this site for some wild pieces. No artists are listed although they do say these are handmade.
Sometimes your big idea can simply be sticking with a particular theme and really pushing yourself to see what you can do with it. I got a wonderful email from blog reader Suzanne Andrews, noting how the last post on having a goal really resonated with her. She’d already started on her goal to get focused this year by cleaning up her studio (and that’s a pretty big project for many of us, I know!) And then, she said she, “placed one photograph for reference on the wall in the studio. It is of a painting that speaks to me and my goal is to create pieces that belong with this painting.” I don’t know if she’ll make anything literally big or complex, but I love that idea of committing to that painting. It will give her a focus on something that she feels personally connected to, which can take some bravery. And that is a statement!
The Big Idea
So, whether or not you’re ready to take on something big, in whatever way you define it, or just want to play around this year, I’m hoping to make setting goals, or at least working on a focus, to be a bigger part of what we talk about throughout this year. It’s something I’m going to focus on with the Virtual Art Box, hoping for those of you who are up for it, to make what I share with you a more active kind of information exchange. Most of us aren’t reading this to simply pass the time, are we? This material and our creativity drive us to make art, right? So, let’s do that and make art that we are personally passionate about! I can’t tell you how fulfilling it is to take risks and push yourself. You won’t always succeed but, man, when you do, there’s nothing like it!
We’ll go over a few other ideas for possible goals and focuses you might want to take on over the coming year if you’re not sure what you want to do yet, if anything. There really is no rush so just let ideas wash over you until something grabs you.
Myself, I need to put a rush on some things. I think we finally have the technical end ironed out for the new Virtual Art Box so I’m getting ready to get sign ups set up on the website. Just need a few more tests. Then back to whipping the content into shape. That’s my focus this week so keep an eye out for newsletters for more info and I’ll update you on the blog this next week and as well. Get on this list here to be notified first for special discounts.
Nudge Sale is Still On!
Don’t forget we have that nudge sale going for another week or so. Almost everything is on sale so if you need more inspiration at your fingertips as you set yourself up for a great creative year, hop over to the website and snatch up a great deal on beautiful print and digital publications!
Happy first full work week of 2020! Hope its a beautiful and creative one!
Read MoreHeather Campbell – “Keep Circling”
If you read this blog because polymer is your primary art material, do you consider yourself a polymer artist or a mixed-media artist? This question has arisen in a few conversations recently – how to identify oneself as an artist – and also in regard to the content of these blogs posts because a lot of people that are writing me of late have turned out not to be primarily polymer artists, or at least identify themselves as mixed-media rather than polymer artists. I think that’s really cool and I don’t find it terribly surprising that people who work in other art materials are interested in polymer because polymer has so much crossover and such a wide range of possible applications.
I mean, is polymer clay the only material in your art studio? Aside from maybe dedicated caners, I think the majority of us who identify as polymer artists also have drawers and bins and boxes of other things like beads, fabric, paints, paper, resin, and so much more. So, is your polymer art really a type of mixed-media art? And what is mixed-media art really anyways?
And most of all… do the labels really matter?
Labels are important for the purpose of organizing all the information we are inundated with daily, but unfortunately, it also puts people and concepts in restrictive boxes and that can become problematic. When someone is labeled (or calls themselves) a polymer artist, it doesn’t mean that they work only with polymer or even primarily with polymer. They may simply have an affinity for the material more than any other single material.
Not only do we use a lot of other materials in polymer work, but we can also so readily draw inspiration from looking at artwork in materials. I, myself, find fiber art to be an immense resource for ideas in my polymer work, especially modern quilting, so I thought I’d bring you along to explore some of the ways today’s quilt art and polymer creatively crossover.
Crosswise Crafts
Quilt art is a form of fiber art which pushes beyond functional bedcovers and quilted clothing of the past. Fiber Art itself is a relatively recent term, first used shortly after World War II to categorize fine art using natural or synthetic fiber as the material. This speaks to how relatively new the focus has been on fiber as an art form. Luckily, the term quickly worked its way out of the relatively elite world of curators and art historians into a more generalized use encompassing all fiber-based artistic applications, from weaving and quilting to intensely detailed embroidery and monumental outdoor installations.
There has been a tremendous amount of experimentation going on in fiber arts since the latter decades of the twentieth century, something as polymer artists we understand and applaud but, unlike polymer the many forms of fiber art draw from some of mankind’s oldest crafts so experimentation tends to rally not around techniques but around form, nontraditional materials, unusual use and placement of materials, and conceptual approaches, especially those involving cultural issues and activism. This makes it a rich source of inspiration that can really light the way for new possibilities in polymer.
As I’m sure you know, not only do we emulate fiber in polymer, we also have methods of construction and layout with veneers and inlays which use basically the same approach as quilting, less the sewing. Both art forms also technically work in three-dimensions but are commonly composed in two-dimensions which is why I think it’s such a great arena to look to for a creative shot in the arm.
Here is a very direct example of the crossover between quilting and polymer. Lindly Haunani draws the patterns for her polymer quilts directly from classic quilt patterns, like this one based on a half square quilt design.
She uses these wall pieces to examine and teach color. She also applies the concepts to brooches like these lovely pieces.
By the way, Lindly has a series of workshops teaching color through the creation of veneers and polymer quilts coming up in late August/early September at Creative Journey Studios. You can check those out here.
Although classic quilt patterns pop up in polymer quite often, contemporary quilts are nothing like these. Here is an example of traditional quilting techniques but without the traditional patterns by Lisa Jenni. Do the colors or composition poke at your creative brain but with polymer on the mind? It could be an arrangement with alcohol ink dyed polymer, striped canes, and stamped clay medallions, right?
That quilt reminds me a little bit of Gera Scott Chandler’s work. The colors and the emphasis on oblong circles are probably the connections but you see how one could possibly inspire the other, yes?
And how have we not seen something like this piece below done in polymer? This is embroidered quilting by Susan Lenz It’s less than 3’ x 2’ so such a piece in polymer would not be a monumental task. This has given me an idea … I think I know what I’m going to do with all the inchies collected over the years. Let’s all make wall pieces from our collections!
Be sure to look at Susan’s Lancet window series too. They have a similarly open layout but in kind of stained-glass patterns.
Contemporary quilts, like polymer, are not restricted to a two-dimensional canvas or flat layers. There are a lot of things being added into and onto quilts today. Just look at this riot of wonder by Molly Jean Hobbit.
Does this piece bring to mind any polymer artists who also use lots of pieces and materials in their work? Maybe Laurie Mika, Heather Campbell (as seen in the opening image), or even Christi Friesen with her mixed-media mosaics? If you have always liked what these ladies are doing, just imagine the fresh batch of ideas you could get from contemporary quilts.
Want to really delve into the quilt world now? You go down a rabbit hole by simply putting “quilt art” into Pinterest, or you could start on the Contemporary Quilt Art associations gallery pages. Click on each image to get a whole slew of additional quilts by various artists. It’s quite the fabulous (and possibly time gobbling) rabbit hole to go down.
Want to do a little polymer quilting of your own today? Well, you could sit down to this video by Jan Montarsi, demonstrating how to make striped polymer quilt squares. Mind you, he uses his new Create Template, but you could do it without the template if you want to get right to it. If you have the latest edition of The Polymer Studio, Issue #3, go to Jan’s article on multicolor blends first to make some really bright and saturated blended sheets to work with. If you didn’t subscribe or purchase your copy yet, you can get an immediate digital download or order a print edition on the website here. And you can get Jan’s templates here.
Where Two Crafts Collide – working with the Craft Industry Alliance
So, my curiosity about this mixed media labeling question pushed me to do some research early last month and, in the process, I found the Craft Industry Alliance. This is a fairly new organization – it was created in 2015 – but it is growing quite quickly as an information and supportive advocacy trade association for all working craft artists – this includes you!
I really liked that this organization recognizes craft art as a broader community that is not segregated by material or form. Since the founders are primarily fiber artist, however, it started out heavy in that arena, but they are actively growing into other communities. I know this because the president of CIA (gosh, their acronym sounds so covert!) contacted me after I joined their organization online with an earnest request to get to know the polymer community better. After a lovely chat and a few emails, we are now working on polymer based content for the Alliance. How cool is that?
So, what is this organization and what might it do for you? Well, here is the skinny, straight from President, Abby Glassenberg:
Craft Industry Alliance is a community of craft professionals. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections within a supportive trade association. Artists who are interested in becoming teachers of their craft, writing books, and showing their work in galleries need to think about setting up a solid business foundation from which to grow. Marketing and branding, legal, accounting and tax issues, social media and blogging … these are all issues creative business owners need to think through. Don’t do it alone! Come together with 1,300+ fellow members in a supportive community where you can find solid answers to your questions, make connections with the right people, and find the resources you need. Check it out at https://www.craftindustryalliance.org
As you can see, the organization is focused on active artists who show and sell their work or promote themselves as teachers or writers. It doesn’t really matter how small or how big your creative operation is, you’ll always benefit from a little help and I think it’s a fantastic idea to have a community of people from all areas of craft supporting each other. I’ve always been a little worried that the polymer community has remained a bit insular since we have issues that few other material arenas have, being such a very young material, working with a plastic in an environmentally sensitive world, and battling the “kids art material” image. But growth in this community will come from the outside, not from within so the more we reach out and network with other craft artists and the larger craft community, the more energized and innovative we will be as a whole and that will keep the community growing and vital.
The Sage Sabbatical
So, as most of you probably know by now, August starts my little sabbatical from production work on print publications so I can attend to some health issues. I have to admit, it’s made me a little depressed. It’s just rather sudden and I’m such a workaholic and so used to having a deadline hanging over me all the time so it’s a little unnerving. Luckily, it actually started out busy since we wrapped up the release of The Polymer Studio Issue #3. It turned out just beautiful and we’ve already received so many great comments on it with particular excitement around articles like the fascinating story of Brazil’s polymer master, Beatriz Cominatto, Debbie Crothers’ acrylic and polymer exploration, and Jan’s multi-color skinner blend techniques.
If you’re waiting on your copy, the digital edition went out on the 31st – check spam/junk mail folders if you’re due one and didn’t see it in your inbox. Print editions went to the post office this past Wednesday, so they are on the way too. I have my batch of stock here if you need to order it. Just go to the website.
We also added a Special 3 issue Package of all three of The Polymer Studio issues if you need to do some catching up.
If you’re unfamiliar with my silly little situation that forced me into taking time off, you can find the more-or-less full story in our most recent newsletter here.
If you don’t get our twice a month newsletter, signing up for the newsletter is one of the best ways to stay informed on our publications and new projects, of which there will be something before the year ends even if I can’t do print! But yes, I promise I will not overextend myself and do with the doctor orders!
Speaking of which … I should go now. I hope you are excited by the peek at quilts and the connection to polymer. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and an inspired week!
Read MoreWe are going to spend this week on a few more of the artists who made it to the most notable position in the new Polymer Journeys book. Mind you, there is a lot of very, very notable art in the book but these six made a showing that really impresses people. Heather Campbell‘s work is notable for the way she makes a personal connection with the viewer, creating imagery that speak to ubiquitous experiences that, nonetheless, quite often feel very personal and unique. Her large wall pieces emerge from her experiences and dreams with the many details reflecting the complexity of life and emotion, something I think we can all relate to.
As she writes on her blog, “I consider my work an extension of life experience, designed with complexity while remaining beautifully simple …While creating myself or teaching others I emphasize imagination and self-expression.”
The piece here, a huge wall hanging at 36″x54″, is titled Off The Deep End. It speaks to a very essential question that many of us have struggled with. In reference to this piece, Heather says, “Being true to oneself is one of life’s greatest accomplishments, with rewards that parallel the most beautiful colors, the greatest adventures and the deepest questions. That world awaits us, with its danger, its uncertainty, its beauty and endless opportunity. The query is, do we take the leap, do we step into the unknown, do we trust ourselves?”
You really need to go to Heather’s website to see the wide variety in her work as well as read her thoughts about each. She certainly has something to say.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let’s have a day of pure expression. Choose a small number of colors that “feel” how you feel today. Keep your favorite hand tools nearby, roll out your clay on a mid-range thickness or condition as you normally would to start a project and then just play. Don’t think about it and don’t worry about whether anyone else will see it. Just let you imagination go and create whatever the clay leads you to create.
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Read MoreI 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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This last week’s conversations with various polymer friends, both old and new, seemed consistently to circle around new challenges and pushing our personal creative envelopes. If you saw Friday’s post, you got a peek at one artist seriously pushing herself with the result being the creation of a great new tool for polymer artists.
Then of course, we have the artists who want to push themselves in terms of what they are creating. Trying something new, leaving your comfort zone, and creating a challenge for yourself that makes you both nervous and terribly excited can be so invigorating for both your creativity and for your soul.
So, when I ran across this amazing and unusual quilt-ish piece by Heather Campbell, I just had to share it. Here Heather is working, as she puts it, “so out of the box for me … crazy fun!” It does look like fun but also a lot of work! Wonderful work, though.
It appears to be fabric-covered boards with polymer embellishments, mostly in heavily repeated elements. The large top image you see here is a detail, but you can get a better idea of the size and see the whole piece as it was when Heather took her progress images for her blog post. There, you can see her steps from the start to what you see here. It’s a feast for the eyes and a nice shot in the arm of color and creativity for a Monday.
We had the honor of getting a wonderful interview article on Heather for our Spring issue of The Polymer Arts, so do check that out if you can. Also, visit her site if you never have or haven’t recently and just wander through her galleries and blogs. Beautiful wall pieces and touching stories await you.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
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