Looking Back for Inspiration
March 30, 2016
Inspirational Art
A quick note on the Polymer Journey 2016 book … we’ve been able to extend the introductory sale through Friday, so if you haven’t reserved your copy or were waiting for payday, this is your chance! Go to the website today before the price goes up this weekend.
T
here are timeless techniques as well as timeless art. This easy but impressive looking technique, painting with mica powders on molded clay, was posted by Lilin in 2008. This particular construction harkens back to the art deco style with the enameled look of the butterfly wings against the stylized faces. It gives them an antique air. Lilin credits Donna Kato as her inspiration although she doesn’t say if that was from a book or class. But she gives her own brief instructions and tips, enough for you to get some ideas and run with a new design of your own.
The instructions for these are on this blog post. Lilin hasn’t posted since 2009 and I couldn’t find any reference to her moving her work to somewhere else. I am always curious how an artist progresses. It’s both encouraging and fascinating to see people improve their skills and to see what directions they chose. So I am curious. If anyone knows what Lilin is up to now, let me know and I’ll post an update here.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Find a new way to apply an old technique. Look through your older project books, back issues of magazines, or your favorite tutorial sites and find something you haven’t done in a while or never tried and use it with your present forms and color palettes. What do you do differently today that you didn’t when the tutorial was published or when you first used it? It’s interesting to see how your approach has shifted.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Fire and Passion from the Past
July 20, 2013
Inspirational Art
I started this week with a vessel and now end with another one, an older piece of work that is one of my all time favorite polymer vessels. Grant Diffendaffer created the most amazing mica shift textures, textures which such depth and original patterning that they still seem cutting edge many years later.
I love not only the unusual representation of fire in what appears to be similar to rock in a molten state, but also the way the black carbon with its cold pitted texture really sets the reds and oranges off. Grant has steered largely away from polymer these days but his influence and obvious burning artistic passion are unforgettable.
Bails on the Backside
February 23, 2013
Inspirational Art
If you’ve gotten your latest issue of The Polymer Arts magazine (yes, I know many of you are still waiting for it to come in the mail … they just went out this past week so give them a little time but they will be there soon!) you probably saw the article “Back Stories” which Jan Montarsi put together, soliciting a number of artists to tell why and how they treat the back sides of their work for a professional and well finished look. Jan’s penchant for doing all things well shows in his own carefully finished pieces and simple but elegant ideas such as these backside bails.
Jan has several shots of what he does with just a jump ring and a little clay on his Flickr page. Heading on over to his pages also gives you a chance to ogle his beautiful mica mush pendants (seen here) and other beauties. Don’t you just love the colors and shimmer? Jan’s Flickr pages are a treasure of color and fun pieces so hopefully you can take a little time to wander around there and check out his work.
If you haven’t received your latest issue of The Polymer Arts as a digital subscriber, check your spam/junk mail folders first as they do sometimes get shuffled off there. You can also write me at connect@thepolymerarts.com to inquire. Please be patient about print issues arriving … they are on thier way. If you need to order yourself a digital or print copy of the Spring 2013 Stories themed issue or would like a subscription, that can all be done here: http://www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
A quick note on the Polymer Journey 2016 book … we’ve been able to extend the introductory sale through Friday, so if you haven’t reserved your copy or were waiting for payday, this is your chance! Go to the website today before the price goes up this weekend.
There are timeless techniques as well as timeless art. This easy but impressive looking technique, painting with mica powders on molded clay, was posted by Lilin in 2008. This particular construction harkens back to the art deco style with the enameled look of the butterfly wings against the stylized faces. It gives them an antique air. Lilin credits Donna Kato as her inspiration although she doesn’t say if that was from a book or class. But she gives her own brief instructions and tips, enough for you to get some ideas and run with a new design of your own.
The instructions for these are on this blog post. Lilin hasn’t posted since 2009 and I couldn’t find any reference to her moving her work to somewhere else. I am always curious how an artist progresses. It’s both encouraging and fascinating to see people improve their skills and to see what directions they chose. So I am curious. If anyone knows what Lilin is up to now, let me know and I’ll post an update here.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Find a new way to apply an old technique. Look through your older project books, back issues of magazines, or your favorite tutorial sites and find something you haven’t done in a while or never tried and use it with your present forms and color palettes. What do you do differently today that you didn’t when the tutorial was published or when you first used it? It’s interesting to see how your approach has shifted.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read MoreI started this week with a vessel and now end with another one, an older piece of work that is one of my all time favorite polymer vessels. Grant Diffendaffer created the most amazing mica shift textures, textures which such depth and original patterning that they still seem cutting edge many years later.
I love not only the unusual representation of fire in what appears to be similar to rock in a molten state, but also the way the black carbon with its cold pitted texture really sets the reds and oranges off. Grant has steered largely away from polymer these days but his influence and obvious burning artistic passion are unforgettable.
Read More
If you’ve gotten your latest issue of The Polymer Arts magazine (yes, I know many of you are still waiting for it to come in the mail … they just went out this past week so give them a little time but they will be there soon!) you probably saw the article “Back Stories” which Jan Montarsi put together, soliciting a number of artists to tell why and how they treat the back sides of their work for a professional and well finished look. Jan’s penchant for doing all things well shows in his own carefully finished pieces and simple but elegant ideas such as these backside bails.
Jan has several shots of what he does with just a jump ring and a little clay on his Flickr page. Heading on over to his pages also gives you a chance to ogle his beautiful mica mush pendants (seen here) and other beauties. Don’t you just love the colors and shimmer? Jan’s Flickr pages are a treasure of color and fun pieces so hopefully you can take a little time to wander around there and check out his work.
If you haven’t received your latest issue of The Polymer Arts as a digital subscriber, check your spam/junk mail folders first as they do sometimes get shuffled off there. You can also write me at connect@thepolymerarts.com to inquire. Please be patient about print issues arriving … they are on thier way. If you need to order yourself a digital or print copy of the Spring 2013 Stories themed issue or would like a subscription, that can all be done here: http://www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
Read More