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: Bead & Fiber on the Verge
October 24, 2014
Inspirational Art
Before I write up a blog, I search what I’ve posted over the years to insure I’m not showing the same artists over and over, and that it’s been a while since I’ve posted their work. It’s a way of spreading the love around, so to speak. I don’t usually have to worry about that with posts from artists working in other mediums, but I was afraid I’d already shared the stunning work of Amy Gross and maybe shouldn’t be sharing it again. But, to my surprise, I never have! I don’t know how that happened. However, since her work was in the Racine Museum of Art’s (in)Organic exhibition I saw this past weekend, I can now correct that.
Amy is so one of my very favorite artists in the realm of mixed media art. The richness of the textures and colors are what draw you in, but it’s the imagery, both realistic and implied, that holds you there. At least it does me. It helps that I have an interest in both the growth and decay that is the cycle of nature. Amy’s work filters what she sees in this cycle through her own personal experiences as she notes in her artist statement on her website:
“My embroidered and beaded fiber pieces are my attempt to merge the natural observable world with my own inner life: I’m trying to remake nature sieved through my own experiences. I’ve always been attracted and frightened by things that are in their fullest bloom but on the verge of spoiling. There’s such beauty and sadness to them, heightened by the undeniable inevitability of their ending.”
I was so immensely thrilled to see her work in person for the first time at Racine Art Museum–I had read her work would be in the exhibit–that I was having a hard time containing myself. But, jumping up and down or squealing with glee is not museum-appropriate conduct. So, I am happy I have a chance to to do so here. The first image is one I was given permission to take at the museum. I really wanted to capture the colors in that top leaf in contrast with the darker colors below. The second photo is from her website and gives you more details of the lower half. See even more shots of this and other pieces of Amy’s in her website gallery pages.
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.
Polymer Under a Microscope
May 12, 2014
Inspirational Art
The organic forms, colors and patterns of nature inspire the work of many polymer artists. There was quite a bit of this at EuroSynergy, the microscopic looking variety especially and it has been on my mind since then. So this week, let’s look at items that could be drawn from what we might find under a microscope.
When thinking of cellular imagery, Christine Dumont’s work comes to mind first. We enjoyed a number of wonderful talks at EuroSynergy and I had the opportunity to take a close look at some of her more recent work although I didn’t get any photos. However, Christine takes such wonderful photos of her work so let’s look at her images instead. This pendant is a slight departure from others in her “Cellularia” series. She usually layers the perforated clay, lining the holes in precise rows to create a three dimensional surface. Here we have just the one layer of very organically spaced holes giving it even more of a cellular look.
Christine is known for her wonderfully helpful site, Voila as well as her beautifully finished work. Enjoy some time on her beautiful website and do check out Voila.eu.com if you haven’t yet or haven’t been there recently.
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.
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.
Before I write up a blog, I search what I’ve posted over the years to insure I’m not showing the same artists over and over, and that it’s been a while since I’ve posted their work. It’s a way of spreading the love around, so to speak. I don’t usually have to worry about that with posts from artists working in other mediums, but I was afraid I’d already shared the stunning work of Amy Gross and maybe shouldn’t be sharing it again. But, to my surprise, I never have! I don’t know how that happened. However, since her work was in the Racine Museum of Art’s (in)Organic exhibition I saw this past weekend, I can now correct that.
Amy is so one of my very favorite artists in the realm of mixed media art. The richness of the textures and colors are what draw you in, but it’s the imagery, both realistic and implied, that holds you there. At least it does me. It helps that I have an interest in both the growth and decay that is the cycle of nature. Amy’s work filters what she sees in this cycle through her own personal experiences as she notes in her artist statement on her website:
“My embroidered and beaded fiber pieces are my attempt to merge the natural observable world with my own inner life: I’m trying to remake nature sieved through my own experiences. I’ve always been attracted and frightened by things that are in their fullest bloom but on the verge of spoiling. There’s such beauty and sadness to them, heightened by the undeniable inevitability of their ending.”
I was so immensely thrilled to see her work in person for the first time at Racine Art Museum–I had read her work would be in the exhibit–that I was having a hard time containing myself. But, jumping up and down or squealing with glee is not museum-appropriate conduct. So, I am happy I have a chance to to do so here. The first image is one I was given permission to take at the museum. I really wanted to capture the colors in that top leaf in contrast with the darker colors below. The second photo is from her website and gives you more details of the lower half. See even more shots of this and other pieces of Amy’s in her website gallery pages.
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.
The organic forms, colors and patterns of nature inspire the work of many polymer artists. There was quite a bit of this at EuroSynergy, the microscopic looking variety especially and it has been on my mind since then. So this week, let’s look at items that could be drawn from what we might find under a microscope.
When thinking of cellular imagery, Christine Dumont’s work comes to mind first. We enjoyed a number of wonderful talks at EuroSynergy and I had the opportunity to take a close look at some of her more recent work although I didn’t get any photos. However, Christine takes such wonderful photos of her work so let’s look at her images instead. This pendant is a slight departure from others in her “Cellularia” series. She usually layers the perforated clay, lining the holes in precise rows to create a three dimensional surface. Here we have just the one layer of very organically spaced holes giving it even more of a cellular look.
Christine is known for her wonderfully helpful site, Voila as well as her beautifully finished work. Enjoy some time on her beautiful website and do check out Voila.eu.com if you haven’t yet or haven’t been there recently.
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.
