Outside Inspiration: Tactile Fun
December 26, 2014 Inspirational Art
I don’t know how long I’ve had these candy-colored goodies on my list, but every time I see them they make me smile. There is something so playful about the forms, colors and what must be an amazing tactile texture, yet they don’t exactly come across as toy-like. I think it may be the very energized color pairing on each that make them too pretty to be a child’s plaything.
These were created by Demi Chao, who was a Birmingham School of Jewellery graduate student at the time she created these. I cannot find a note of what these are made of, but a close-up shot I found looks like rubber. Do you wonder where she got her inspiration for these though? Here it is in her own words:
“Just like the organisms in the natural world, this series of brooches are colorful and textural. They are inspired by the microscopic photographs of pollen cells and sea corals which possess vibrant colours and peculiar shapes. They always make me want to touch them. Therefore, the idea of making playful and tactile jewellery came to mind.”
We do tend to play with our jewelry anyways, sometimes nervously, sometimes while daydreaming or thinking deeply. Why not create work that our sense of touch responds heavily to? I know I have a number of designs in my sketchbooks specifically focused on the pieces’ tactile nature, but I never did anything with them. When I see these, I know I need to revisit that idea.
Take a look at more of the delicious color combinations and other organic forms on Demi’s website.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an 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.
I don’t know how long I’ve had these candy-colored goodies on my list, but every time I see them they make me smile. There is something so playful about the forms, colors and what must be an amazing tactile texture, yet they don’t exactly come across as toy-like. I think it may be the very energized color pairing on each that make them too pretty to be a child’s plaything.
These were created by Demi Chao, who was a Birmingham School of Jewellery graduate student at the time she created these. I cannot find a note of what these are made of, but a close-up shot I found looks like rubber. Do you wonder where she got her inspiration for these though? Here it is in her own words:
“Just like the organisms in the natural world, this series of brooches are colorful and textural. They are inspired by the microscopic photographs of pollen cells and sea corals which possess vibrant colours and peculiar shapes. They always make me want to touch them. Therefore, the idea of making playful and tactile jewellery came to mind.”
We do tend to play with our jewelry anyways, sometimes nervously, sometimes while daydreaming or thinking deeply. Why not create work that our sense of touch responds heavily to? I know I have a number of designs in my sketchbooks specifically focused on the pieces’ tactile nature, but I never did anything with them. When I see these, I know I need to revisit that idea.
Take a look at more of the delicious color combinations and other organic forms on Demi’s website.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read More