Taking the Disk Challenge
August 12, 2015
Inspirational Art
I just had to share this because these creations by Debbie Crothers were a direct result of the pieces posted on this past Friday’s blog. Do you recall those gorgeous glass beads by Debbie Sanders? And my mental meanderings about how cool something like this would be in polymer? Well … ta-da!, Debbie took on Debbie and created polymer versions, and I have to say they are just luscious.
Our dear Deb is such an explorer. These beads are just one in many recent experiments she’s shared on her Facebook page and blog. If you are a lover of visual, organic textures, take a look at her recent “what-if” beads you see here too. I don’t know what she put on these, but they’re entrancing in their variation of color and forms. Jump over to her post on her what-if day in the studio to see more. 
Debbie also released her latest Craft Art Edu class on image transfers. There must be something out there in the ether that is pushing us towards image transfers because we also have an article on image transfer in the soon-to-be-released Fall 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts. Deb’s class uses pre-printed laser prints, waterslide images, and temporary tattoo applications while the tutorial in the upcoming TPA issue explores inkjet print transfer created on plain paper (yes, just regular old white copy paper) and photo paper. They both have their pros and cons, so you’d have to check them out to see which you might want to play with.
Pre-order your copy of the Fall 2015 issue on the website, and you can preview Debbie’s class on Craft Art Edu by just clicking on the window you find there.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Outside Inspiration: Organic Disks in Glass
August 7, 2015
Inspirational Art
Keeping with the disk theme this week, I went out in search of organic versions that weren’t polymer, and as soon as I saw these, I knew I just had to share.
The luminosity of glass touched with even just a little bit of metallic feels so rich and ‘special occasion’ that even in organic forms and colors, it still looks like you need to pull out that fancy evening dress or be in the mood to garner a lot of attention in order to wear it. These gorgeous organic beads by Debbie Sanders would be head-turners no matter what they are worn with. These are a set of beads rather than a finished necklace, but other than some spacers, I’d say this grouping is good to go as a necklace.
Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of polymer disks with the side accents and various textures and treatments, but I don’t know that I’ve seen them treated this way in translucents. Just imagine how the light would play through a translucent polymer disk done in this style with a bit of metal leaf or gilder’s paste, colored with a dash of ink and finished with a glossy sealant or buffed to a brilliant shine? It would compete for attention with the likes of these beads I’d think. Or better yet … combine them with these beads! Wouldn’t that be something? Oh, the ideas these outside inspirations bring us!
Debbie has a ton of these beautiful beads to be ogled over on both her website and in her Etsy shop where, by the way, you can also buy a set to play with! Just saying.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Outside Inspiration: Blooming Glass
April 3, 2015
Inspirational Art
Glass work has really been making the rounds lately, which is my excuse for showing off glass two weeks in a row. But really, this was just too beautiful of a piece not to share, and who knows when a theme would come up again that would have allowed me to share this beauty.
The work is by glass artist Kristen Frantzen Orr; another artist with a serious dedication to nature’s amazing floral creations. I was entranced by the way she has layered and blended the colors, which makes more sense once you know she has a background in watercolors. A couple of words from Kristen’s website reveals a bit more about how she achieves these color effects:
To add detail to her work, she makes special canes from multiple colors of glass, and by combining these component parts with layers of transparent colors, she creates depth and captures an exciting play of light.
You can find more of these intensely detailed glass beads on Kristen’s website, but there are tons more out there online, so search for her by name on Pinterest or Google images to dig up even more amazing beauties.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Outside Inspiration: Feathery Glass
March 27, 2015
Inspirational Art
A collection of elements doesn’t always get the best photo set ups, but when they shine so beautifully regardless of the makeshift backdrop, you have to admire and take time to get a really good look at the beauty of each piece.
These gorgeous glass beads are the work of Kimberly Affleck. Although the seahorses kind of draw you in first, it’s what she calls her dragon feather beads that have me entranced. There is so much going on with them–that feathery texture wrapping around in soft swirls among the delicate colors, accented and accentuated by the raised dots that follow the swirling, and then there is the focal point of one clear dot that somehow pulls it all together. I would love to hold one of these in my hands and get a really close look at the work.
However, Kimberly had to cut back on her glass work when her day job became more demanding back in 2011. Her last posts on Facebook in early 2013 were the last public postings I could find, so it seems the job didn’t ease up so very much. If anyone knows of more recent work hidden on some other websites, do let us know. Otherwise, you can find the greatest collection of her beautiful glass beads on her Facebook fan page.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
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Outside Inspiration: Carnival in Glass
August 22, 2014
Inspirational Art
Okay, so I don’t have another snail for you. I went back and looked at fun stuff that I had collected to share, and this certainly fills the bill. Plus, I just feel like a splash of colorful fun is needed today.
These are glass beads created by Australia’s Regis Teixera. This is all lampwork glass. There is a great mix of colors from bright and saturated to pastel and earth-tones, but I think the unlimited palette works primarily because the mix is only happening on half of each bead. The frosted translucent halves have color peeking in from underneath, but the space is a resting place between the very active and colorful sections of the other beads.
In any case, it’s beautiful fun and definitely a mix of color and visual texture we can consider translating to polymer. Just the frosted translucent versus colored half of the bead has me considering how to do something like that.
More color and fun beads are to be found on Regis’ Magma Beads site to help move your Friday along.
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.
Outside Inspiration: Getting Lost in Glass
March 28, 2014
Inspirational Art
Of course the 1000 Beads books has many beads that are not polymer but I would say all the beads, no matter what the material, are inspirational for the polymer artist.
I know I completely fell in love with the beads by glass artist Lisa Atchison whose lampwork reminded me of intricate polymer cane layering, only there are a few additions to the traditional all cane layered bead. Can you see the additional micro beads and crystals she’s added not to mention the filigree like lines laid atop the basic layers? This kind of accenting would be easy enough to add to any polymer bead. Its a great example of how the approach in another medium can be transferred to a polymer approach.
Do take a look at the many other beautiful pieces by Lisa on her blog. Just the ones in the header are amazing!
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.
I just had to share this because these creations by Debbie Crothers were a direct result of the pieces posted on this past Friday’s blog. Do you recall those gorgeous glass beads by Debbie Sanders? And my mental meanderings about how cool something like this would be in polymer? Well … ta-da!, Debbie took on Debbie and created polymer versions, and I have to say they are just luscious.
Our dear Deb is such an explorer. These beads are just one in many recent experiments she’s shared on her Facebook page and blog. If you are a lover of visual, organic textures, take a look at her recent “what-if” beads you see here too. I don’t know what she put on these, but they’re entrancing in their variation of color and forms. Jump over to her post on her what-if day in the studio to see more.
Debbie also released her latest Craft Art Edu class on image transfers. There must be something out there in the ether that is pushing us towards image transfers because we also have an article on image transfer in the soon-to-be-released Fall 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts. Deb’s class uses pre-printed laser prints, waterslide images, and temporary tattoo applications while the tutorial in the upcoming TPA issue explores inkjet print transfer created on plain paper (yes, just regular old white copy paper) and photo paper. They both have their pros and cons, so you’d have to check them out to see which you might want to play with.
Pre-order your copy of the Fall 2015 issue on the website, and you can preview Debbie’s class on Craft Art Edu by just clicking on the window you find there.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Keeping with the disk theme this week, I went out in search of organic versions that weren’t polymer, and as soon as I saw these, I knew I just had to share.
The luminosity of glass touched with even just a little bit of metallic feels so rich and ‘special occasion’ that even in organic forms and colors, it still looks like you need to pull out that fancy evening dress or be in the mood to garner a lot of attention in order to wear it. These gorgeous organic beads by Debbie Sanders would be head-turners no matter what they are worn with. These are a set of beads rather than a finished necklace, but other than some spacers, I’d say this grouping is good to go as a necklace.
Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of polymer disks with the side accents and various textures and treatments, but I don’t know that I’ve seen them treated this way in translucents. Just imagine how the light would play through a translucent polymer disk done in this style with a bit of metal leaf or gilder’s paste, colored with a dash of ink and finished with a glossy sealant or buffed to a brilliant shine? It would compete for attention with the likes of these beads I’d think. Or better yet … combine them with these beads! Wouldn’t that be something? Oh, the ideas these outside inspirations bring us!
Debbie has a ton of these beautiful beads to be ogled over on both her website and in her Etsy shop where, by the way, you can also buy a set to play with! Just saying.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Glass work has really been making the rounds lately, which is my excuse for showing off glass two weeks in a row. But really, this was just too beautiful of a piece not to share, and who knows when a theme would come up again that would have allowed me to share this beauty.
The work is by glass artist Kristen Frantzen Orr; another artist with a serious dedication to nature’s amazing floral creations. I was entranced by the way she has layered and blended the colors, which makes more sense once you know she has a background in watercolors. A couple of words from Kristen’s website reveals a bit more about how she achieves these color effects:
To add detail to her work, she makes special canes from multiple colors of glass, and by combining these component parts with layers of transparent colors, she creates depth and captures an exciting play of light.
You can find more of these intensely detailed glass beads on Kristen’s website, but there are tons more out there online, so search for her by name on Pinterest or Google images to dig up even more amazing beauties.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
A collection of elements doesn’t always get the best photo set ups, but when they shine so beautifully regardless of the makeshift backdrop, you have to admire and take time to get a really good look at the beauty of each piece.
These gorgeous glass beads are the work of Kimberly Affleck. Although the seahorses kind of draw you in first, it’s what she calls her dragon feather beads that have me entranced. There is so much going on with them–that feathery texture wrapping around in soft swirls among the delicate colors, accented and accentuated by the raised dots that follow the swirling, and then there is the focal point of one clear dot that somehow pulls it all together. I would love to hold one of these in my hands and get a really close look at the work.
However, Kimberly had to cut back on her glass work when her day job became more demanding back in 2011. Her last posts on Facebook in early 2013 were the last public postings I could find, so it seems the job didn’t ease up so very much. If anyone knows of more recent work hidden on some other websites, do let us know. Otherwise, you can find the greatest collection of her beautiful glass beads on her Facebook fan page.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
;
Okay, so I don’t have another snail for you. I went back and looked at fun stuff that I had collected to share, and this certainly fills the bill. Plus, I just feel like a splash of colorful fun is needed today.
These are glass beads created by Australia’s Regis Teixera. This is all lampwork glass. There is a great mix of colors from bright and saturated to pastel and earth-tones, but I think the unlimited palette works primarily because the mix is only happening on half of each bead. The frosted translucent halves have color peeking in from underneath, but the space is a resting place between the very active and colorful sections of the other beads.
In any case, it’s beautiful fun and definitely a mix of color and visual texture we can consider translating to polymer. Just the frosted translucent versus colored half of the bead has me considering how to do something like that.
More color and fun beads are to be found on Regis’ Magma Beads site to help move your Friday along.
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.
Read More
Of course the 1000 Beads books has many beads that are not polymer but I would say all the beads, no matter what the material, are inspirational for the polymer artist.
I know I completely fell in love with the beads by glass artist Lisa Atchison whose lampwork reminded me of intricate polymer cane layering, only there are a few additions to the traditional all cane layered bead. Can you see the additional micro beads and crystals she’s added not to mention the filigree like lines laid atop the basic layers? This kind of accenting would be easy enough to add to any polymer bead. Its a great example of how the approach in another medium can be transferred to a polymer approach.
Do take a look at the many other beautiful pieces by Lisa on her blog. Just the ones in the header are amazing!
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.
