Following Our Stars
May 11, 2016
Inspirational Art
The wide open skies of the afternoon desert in the southwest have some serious competition. The stars are so very dense over the unpopulated areas of the United State’s southwest. The density makes for an almost unreal brilliance. All the constellations, the milky way, and the planets you see in photos in museums, in magazines, and on science shows are right there before you.
I think I know the feeling that inspired Venezuela’s MariaEva Ramos to create this series of rings. A night sky filled with stars can draw you in on so many levels. There is the beauty of it, of course, but then there is the realization that you are looking at other planets as large as, or maybe even larger than, our own and you suddenly feel so incredibly small and insignificant. Maybe that feeling is unsettling to some, but I think it is humbling. I think it reduces our stresses and the intensity of problems that seem so large and overwhelming because you realize that, among all of that space, those things are nothing but specs of dust.
MariaEva has a whole series of these star sky rings that can be found on her Flickr page, among other nature-inspired creations.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take a peek outside tonight. What out there catches your eye? It might be the stars or maybe a hazy lamp light. It could be the neighbor silhouetted in a kitchen window or a cat, gently lit, standing street side. Ask yourself how you can translate this to your art work and sketch or create a new design based on this inspiration.
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Big Montana Skies
May 9, 2016
Inspirational Art
If someone asked us to imagine a sky, what would come to mind? Many of us would likely envision a wide expanse of blue, maybe a few fluffy clouds drifting through it because the sky alone, without context and without weather is, by default, a wide swath of blue. But how often is that the sky we experience?
This last week I was in Colorado during a couple amazing storms as well as crystal clear nights. The skies out in the center of the country can be so amazingly big and dramatic. It is no wonder at all that people who live in these regions often portray or translate the impact and feel of these huge skies in their artwork. These beads, needing not much more than some simple ear wires to make a great set of earrings, were created by Jo Anne St. James. She describes these on her Etsy listing with an apt statement: “The rising moon over the Rocky Mountains in Montana “Big Sky” country is a sight to behold. So if you can’t get to “Big Sky” country let it come to you …” Or both, I say. It’s great that there is no moon but you feel its presence in the glow on the rock formations. And all those stars! Yep, that’s how it is when you are in those wide open spaces on a moonlit night.
These have been sold but Jo Anne has a whole series of sky and landscape inspired beads to share. You can enjoy the view in her Etsy shop and on her Facebook page.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: What in the sky in your area really captures your eye? The colors, the forms of the clouds, the silhouette of trees against it …? Let that characteristic of your home sky inspire your next design, sketch or finished piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
The wide open skies of the afternoon desert in the southwest have some serious competition. The stars are so very dense over the unpopulated areas of the United State’s southwest. The density makes for an almost unreal brilliance. All the constellations, the milky way, and the planets you see in photos in museums, in magazines, and on science shows are right there before you.
I think I know the feeling that inspired Venezuela’s MariaEva Ramos to create this series of rings. A night sky filled with stars can draw you in on so many levels. There is the beauty of it, of course, but then there is the realization that you are looking at other planets as large as, or maybe even larger than, our own and you suddenly feel so incredibly small and insignificant. Maybe that feeling is unsettling to some, but I think it is humbling. I think it reduces our stresses and the intensity of problems that seem so large and overwhelming because you realize that, among all of that space, those things are nothing but specs of dust.
MariaEva has a whole series of these star sky rings that can be found on her Flickr page, among other nature-inspired creations.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take a peek outside tonight. What out there catches your eye? It might be the stars or maybe a hazy lamp light. It could be the neighbor silhouetted in a kitchen window or a cat, gently lit, standing street side. Ask yourself how you can translate this to your art work and sketch or create a new design based on this inspiration.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read MoreIf someone asked us to imagine a sky, what would come to mind? Many of us would likely envision a wide expanse of blue, maybe a few fluffy clouds drifting through it because the sky alone, without context and without weather is, by default, a wide swath of blue. But how often is that the sky we experience?
This last week I was in Colorado during a couple amazing storms as well as crystal clear nights. The skies out in the center of the country can be so amazingly big and dramatic. It is no wonder at all that people who live in these regions often portray or translate the impact and feel of these huge skies in their artwork. These beads, needing not much more than some simple ear wires to make a great set of earrings, were created by Jo Anne St. James. She describes these on her Etsy listing with an apt statement: “The rising moon over the Rocky Mountains in Montana “Big Sky” country is a sight to behold. So if you can’t get to “Big Sky” country let it come to you …” Or both, I say. It’s great that there is no moon but you feel its presence in the glow on the rock formations. And all those stars! Yep, that’s how it is when you are in those wide open spaces on a moonlit night.
These have been sold but Jo Anne has a whole series of sky and landscape inspired beads to share. You can enjoy the view in her Etsy shop and on her Facebook page.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: What in the sky in your area really captures your eye? The colors, the forms of the clouds, the silhouette of trees against it …? Let that characteristic of your home sky inspire your next design, sketch or finished piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read More