A Journey in Organic Domes

March 19, 2015

tanja ringPicking items to feature this week was quite diverting. There is so much out there in this form but no easy way to search for it, so I just meandered the polymer highway; very grateful to find such cool things as this highly-organic ring by Tanja of Flickr’s Fantastisch-Plastisch. I actually found it after spotting the domed beads you see below it. They were created six years apart. If you meander through Tanja’s Flickr photostream you can see the journey and exploration she goes through as she returns to variations of this form over and over.

The interesting thing here is, she created these based on the teachings of other artists. The influence is pretty obvious in the ring–she shares that this and the other recent rings in this series were inspired by projects in  Ronna Sarvas Weltman‘s book Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay and Wire JewelryThe beads below were inspired by Grant Diffendaffer. She has other work in domed disks that are wholly her own, as well, but they all look quite different. The one thing that most all of them encompass is an organic quality. Even the Diffendaffer inspired beads with their high shine have distinctly organic textures. Because of the easy way we can form domes and disks on lightbulbs with cookie cutters, it is nice to see them rough and freeform, as well.

 

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

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

Variation on a Disk

March 18, 2015

betsy baker retro diskA week’s exploration of the domed disk form could not be presented without discussing the variations of hollow lentil beads. Especially not those with peek-a-boo windows. This is a popular and rather classic look that is so easily formed in polymer and has so many possible variations. This form has to be Betsy Baker’s favorite. And she does it so well, with tons of variation, especially in the area of layered domes and layered pieces to create domes.

This piece has a dome with a window, as well as another with a window so large as to make it more like a bezel. The interior objects that initially draw our attention reflect the texture and color of the fabric-like central dome, which then brings us back out and around to the outer textured gray that echos the darker gray interior. We find ourselves doing a lot of visual wandering for just a pendant, but that is what makes it such a nice piece.

If you’ve not explored Betsy’s wide range of domed focal beads and other fabulous pieces, you can do so on her beautiful new website.

 

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

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

A Journey in Organic Domes

March 19, 2015
Posted in

tanja ringPicking items to feature this week was quite diverting. There is so much out there in this form but no easy way to search for it, so I just meandered the polymer highway; very grateful to find such cool things as this highly-organic ring by Tanja of Flickr’s Fantastisch-Plastisch. I actually found it after spotting the domed beads you see below it. They were created six years apart. If you meander through Tanja’s Flickr photostream you can see the journey and exploration she goes through as she returns to variations of this form over and over.

The interesting thing here is, she created these based on the teachings of other artists. The influence is pretty obvious in the ring–she shares that this and the other recent rings in this series were inspired by projects in  Ronna Sarvas Weltman‘s book Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay and Wire JewelryThe beads below were inspired by Grant Diffendaffer. She has other work in domed disks that are wholly her own, as well, but they all look quite different. The one thing that most all of them encompass is an organic quality. Even the Diffendaffer inspired beads with their high shine have distinctly organic textures. Because of the easy way we can form domes and disks on lightbulbs with cookie cutters, it is nice to see them rough and freeform, as well.

 

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

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

Read More

Variation on a Disk

March 18, 2015
Posted in

betsy baker retro diskA week’s exploration of the domed disk form could not be presented without discussing the variations of hollow lentil beads. Especially not those with peek-a-boo windows. This is a popular and rather classic look that is so easily formed in polymer and has so many possible variations. This form has to be Betsy Baker’s favorite. And she does it so well, with tons of variation, especially in the area of layered domes and layered pieces to create domes.

This piece has a dome with a window, as well as another with a window so large as to make it more like a bezel. The interior objects that initially draw our attention reflect the texture and color of the fabric-like central dome, which then brings us back out and around to the outer textured gray that echos the darker gray interior. We find ourselves doing a lot of visual wandering for just a pendant, but that is what makes it such a nice piece.

If you’ve not explored Betsy’s wide range of domed focal beads and other fabulous pieces, you can do so on her beautiful new website.

 

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

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

Read More
If you love these posts ...