Committed to Metal

July 25, 2018

I remember first seeing Anna Fidecka’s work back when I started the magazine in 2011. She worked in both polymer and precious metal clay and seemed to be searching for something. But I love the sophisticated look of her work which usually was a bit more geometric than the piece you see here. However, this piece is probably very telling in the direction she would eventually go, which was to leave polymer behind and work exclusively in metal but with more organic forms and earth-connected imagery.

I really loved how she worked with canes as they were never applied in a particularly orderly fashion. Her simple canes were often scattered across the surface of the clay so that they looked like little floating organic bodies such as you might see under a microscope. The way she did that in the necklace here, a piece called Mermaid World, really worked with the potential depth of layering with the help of translucents. The spare but off-center placement of the holes adds to that floating, underwater feel, which works so well with the motif and colors.

Now, when she embeds something in her clay it is usually natural semi-precious stones although she did play with enamel for a while. This is another artist whose progression can be seen by flipping through her Flickr photostream pages. You can see her most recent work in her Etsy shop.

Translucent Clouds

May 29, 2015

jahyun rita baek cloudFirst of all, I just realized this will be the last post of May. Really? This month is over?  Wow … that went quick. Due to all the bedlam here, we’ve been just barely keeping up with the 3 blogs a week, and we have at least another week or so of chaos to get through. So, between that and all the notes from people who are liking the 3 days a week (“We have so much to read every day as it is …”), for now, we are going to keep this pace. Once we have the summer issue wrapped up next week, I’ll put together a survey (and some fun stuff to give away!) and give everyone who wants to offer their opinion, a chance to weigh in on the blog schedule.

In the meantime, my search for recent translucent clay work that uses the clay’s very particular characteristics in a new or surprising way was not as fruitful as I might have hoped. Have we gotten a bit tired of it? There are plenty of people using it to produce a wide variety of faux effects and mixing it with regular clays for better color and luminosity, but purely translucent for the sake of playing with its diaphanous quality seems to be the purview of just a handful of folks. However, in my search I ran across the pieces you see here. The first example I saw was the earrings you see in the upper left. I thought they were polymer, but then I got to the artist’s page and realized it had to be acrylic.

The artist is Jahyun Rita Baek, and this work is not new either, but something created when Rita was in art school in the United Kingdom. The series is called Cloud, which I  believe is referring to the concept of light in both the illuminating quality and the perceived weight that are at play here. The work is beautifully simplistic and mesmerizing. Similar approaches with translucent polymer would be just as amazing, don’t you think?

So, this is the bit of inspiration I wanted to share with you today. Simple forms in floating and swirling designs could be created so easily with polymer. About the only thing this would take is knowing how to hold back and working clean–by which I mean clean clay and clean lines. If I could even get into my studio right now, I would go play for an hour just to relieve some stress. But parts of my office are in the way! So back to that.

Jump over to Rita’s website for more of her unusual work, not just in acrylic, but all kinds of materials from plastic to precious. And enjoy a beautiful spring weekend with a bit of creativity mixed in!

 

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.

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Translucence and Texture from Mother Earth

May 27, 2015

il_570xN.725327179_q4v1Shortly after I sent Monday’s blog, I ran into this interesting set of earrings on Pinterest. Yes, we’re talking translucent polymer here, but can you guess what the colorants and inclusions are?

The pieces were made by Dawn Wilson-Enoch who is not a polymer artist but rather is what one might think of as a natural artist. She draws from nature very directly using all kinds of stones, plants, seeds and even earth to create her jewelry or inspire her metal work. These were the only polymer pieces I found of hers, so my guess is she wanted a way to present these fragile and granular elements of the natural world in a way that would show their beauty and natural state, yet allow them to be wearable. And translucent polymer, with its diaphanous nature and low curing temperature compared to other clear material options, was the answer she found.

I was drawn to them by the textures the natural elements create. The rough and sparingly random elements are contrasted wonderfully. The cracked metal leaf is layered much more completely across the hand torn ‘leaves’ of polymer. Dawn says each of these pieces encase “a different desert plant, sand, or metal leaf. When you are still, the contents of the layers are mostly hidden, but when you move the layers dance and swing and reveal their treasures.” I can only imagine how much more intriguing the revelation would be under a bright light like the desert sun.

I was thinking that the inclusions, tearing, and contrasting textures would be great fun to play with further by each of us in our own way with the elements we are most drawn to. What do you think? Is it time to go play with a bit of translucence and texture?

 

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.

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Outside Inspiration: Shadows of Enamel

November 7, 2014

4564372_origI don’t know if it’s fair to say that enamel work can give the illusion of depth because usually you are looking into some depth. Enamel work is commonly layered, so you are seeing light reflected back through various colors and treatments applied in the process of laying down and firing powdered glass. But, if the artist works it right, there appears to be a lot more depth than there actually is.

The illusion in enameling can be created with illustrative techniques such as painting (yes, enamel work is often referred to as painting) in deeper colors along the edges of objects and lines. I find Ruth Ball’s work in this approach just mesmerizing. This piece is a small dish all of 10cm wide used for serving spices or condiments. The decorative cloisonne (a type of enameling using thin strips of metal or wire in the design) has many lines and objects to apply a touch of shadow to, making the longer lines seem like deep walls and the reed like dashes appear to float above it all.

I thought this piece would be of interest to those of you who play with translucent clay and alcohol inks. I’m thinking getting painterly with the inks on translucents could result in some very interesting looks, especially if layered. Because layering really thin sheets of translucent clay is not that different than layering enamel, is it? I wish all this blogging didn’t bring up so many amazing ideas. I don’t have time to try all these things, but I hope some of you do!

A break in the day to take time to wander around Ruth’s website would be time well spent. Take a look at her jewelry and see if you aren’t reminded of one of the work of one of our bigger polymer artists. Interesting isn’t it?

 

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.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm      TPA Blog Newsletter Ad  ShadesofClay 1014 v2  

Committed to Metal

July 25, 2018
Posted in

I remember first seeing Anna Fidecka’s work back when I started the magazine in 2011. She worked in both polymer and precious metal clay and seemed to be searching for something. But I love the sophisticated look of her work which usually was a bit more geometric than the piece you see here. However, this piece is probably very telling in the direction she would eventually go, which was to leave polymer behind and work exclusively in metal but with more organic forms and earth-connected imagery.

I really loved how she worked with canes as they were never applied in a particularly orderly fashion. Her simple canes were often scattered across the surface of the clay so that they looked like little floating organic bodies such as you might see under a microscope. The way she did that in the necklace here, a piece called Mermaid World, really worked with the potential depth of layering with the help of translucents. The spare but off-center placement of the holes adds to that floating, underwater feel, which works so well with the motif and colors.

Now, when she embeds something in her clay it is usually natural semi-precious stones although she did play with enamel for a while. This is another artist whose progression can be seen by flipping through her Flickr photostream pages. You can see her most recent work in her Etsy shop.

Read More

Translucent Clouds

May 29, 2015
Posted in

jahyun rita baek cloudFirst of all, I just realized this will be the last post of May. Really? This month is over?  Wow … that went quick. Due to all the bedlam here, we’ve been just barely keeping up with the 3 blogs a week, and we have at least another week or so of chaos to get through. So, between that and all the notes from people who are liking the 3 days a week (“We have so much to read every day as it is …”), for now, we are going to keep this pace. Once we have the summer issue wrapped up next week, I’ll put together a survey (and some fun stuff to give away!) and give everyone who wants to offer their opinion, a chance to weigh in on the blog schedule.

In the meantime, my search for recent translucent clay work that uses the clay’s very particular characteristics in a new or surprising way was not as fruitful as I might have hoped. Have we gotten a bit tired of it? There are plenty of people using it to produce a wide variety of faux effects and mixing it with regular clays for better color and luminosity, but purely translucent for the sake of playing with its diaphanous quality seems to be the purview of just a handful of folks. However, in my search I ran across the pieces you see here. The first example I saw was the earrings you see in the upper left. I thought they were polymer, but then I got to the artist’s page and realized it had to be acrylic.

The artist is Jahyun Rita Baek, and this work is not new either, but something created when Rita was in art school in the United Kingdom. The series is called Cloud, which I  believe is referring to the concept of light in both the illuminating quality and the perceived weight that are at play here. The work is beautifully simplistic and mesmerizing. Similar approaches with translucent polymer would be just as amazing, don’t you think?

So, this is the bit of inspiration I wanted to share with you today. Simple forms in floating and swirling designs could be created so easily with polymer. About the only thing this would take is knowing how to hold back and working clean–by which I mean clean clay and clean lines. If I could even get into my studio right now, I would go play for an hour just to relieve some stress. But parts of my office are in the way! So back to that.

Jump over to Rita’s website for more of her unusual work, not just in acrylic, but all kinds of materials from plastic to precious. And enjoy a beautiful spring weekend with a bit of creativity mixed in!

 

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.

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Read More

Translucence and Texture from Mother Earth

May 27, 2015
Posted in

il_570xN.725327179_q4v1Shortly after I sent Monday’s blog, I ran into this interesting set of earrings on Pinterest. Yes, we’re talking translucent polymer here, but can you guess what the colorants and inclusions are?

The pieces were made by Dawn Wilson-Enoch who is not a polymer artist but rather is what one might think of as a natural artist. She draws from nature very directly using all kinds of stones, plants, seeds and even earth to create her jewelry or inspire her metal work. These were the only polymer pieces I found of hers, so my guess is she wanted a way to present these fragile and granular elements of the natural world in a way that would show their beauty and natural state, yet allow them to be wearable. And translucent polymer, with its diaphanous nature and low curing temperature compared to other clear material options, was the answer she found.

I was drawn to them by the textures the natural elements create. The rough and sparingly random elements are contrasted wonderfully. The cracked metal leaf is layered much more completely across the hand torn ‘leaves’ of polymer. Dawn says each of these pieces encase “a different desert plant, sand, or metal leaf. When you are still, the contents of the layers are mostly hidden, but when you move the layers dance and swing and reveal their treasures.” I can only imagine how much more intriguing the revelation would be under a bright light like the desert sun.

I was thinking that the inclusions, tearing, and contrasting textures would be great fun to play with further by each of us in our own way with the elements we are most drawn to. What do you think? Is it time to go play with a bit of translucence and texture?

 

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.

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Read More

Outside Inspiration: Shadows of Enamel

November 7, 2014
Posted in

4564372_origI don’t know if it’s fair to say that enamel work can give the illusion of depth because usually you are looking into some depth. Enamel work is commonly layered, so you are seeing light reflected back through various colors and treatments applied in the process of laying down and firing powdered glass. But, if the artist works it right, there appears to be a lot more depth than there actually is.

The illusion in enameling can be created with illustrative techniques such as painting (yes, enamel work is often referred to as painting) in deeper colors along the edges of objects and lines. I find Ruth Ball’s work in this approach just mesmerizing. This piece is a small dish all of 10cm wide used for serving spices or condiments. The decorative cloisonne (a type of enameling using thin strips of metal or wire in the design) has many lines and objects to apply a touch of shadow to, making the longer lines seem like deep walls and the reed like dashes appear to float above it all.

I thought this piece would be of interest to those of you who play with translucent clay and alcohol inks. I’m thinking getting painterly with the inks on translucents could result in some very interesting looks, especially if layered. Because layering really thin sheets of translucent clay is not that different than layering enamel, is it? I wish all this blogging didn’t bring up so many amazing ideas. I don’t have time to try all these things, but I hope some of you do!

A break in the day to take time to wander around Ruth’s website would be time well spent. Take a look at her jewelry and see if you aren’t reminded of one of the work of one of our bigger polymer artists. Interesting isn’t it?

 

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.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm      TPA Blog Newsletter Ad  ShadesofClay 1014 v2  

Read More
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