It Was in the Numbers

February 13, 2015

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Our story today comes from Colleen White, and the art work comes from her husband, David White. Being it is Friday when we do outside inspirations, it fits that we can show something non-polymer; although, the shapes of those rocks, the swirling texture in the stone and the green of that cape might bring up a polymer possibility or two.

It Was in the Numbers

My husband and I met in 1969; he was a senior, and I was a junior in high school.  We dated for a few months, then “broke up”, but remained friends as he went off to college in north New Jersey, and I went to Florida to art school. Over the next  four years I saw him only a few times; meeting him and his girlfriend in New York for concerts or visiting them when I went up to New Jersey to visit my folks. The last time I saw him was 1973, and they were married. I later married and stayed in Florida.

In 2001, I had just signed my divorce papers and put a contract on a house when I got a note in the mail from him saying, “Please write or call.” He was an art director in New York when the Trade Towers and Pentagon were hit. He thought it was the beginning of WW3 and decided he had to find me. He had looked for me in the late 80s when he was divorced, but with no luck, so he had hired a detective agency to find me. That’s how he got my address. The first time we talked on the phone, it was like 29 years had disappeared! Within a few months, he moved to Florida, we married and now live in paradise. He is truly my soul mate. He is an amazing artist and inspiration to me.

There are a few strange coincidences that makes it all more fun. We met in 1969, and 911 was the reason he started looking for me again. The house I had just purchased was 911 69th Ave. He also has the same first and middle name as my ex-husband, and both their last names are colors!

To see more of David’s work, go to his website here. Collen works in polymer and metal clays among other things and has work and classes posted on her 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.

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Outside Inspiration: Visions in Metal

February 6, 2015

Na Pali Moon I 2012 07131_0Looking at all the other craft mediums out there, there is so much in the way of representational imagery. It was hard to decide what to share today. But since we are so many of us jewelry artists, I decided to return to the classic precious metal jewelry craft.  This particular piece titled Na Pali Moon by Joan Tenenbaum uses several different classic techniques including reticulation (heating precious metal to cause ripples on the surface), cutting, patina surface treatments and even mokume gane (quick … can you find it?). For an all metal piece, the colors are particularly amazing and well controlled.

Joan described what she was trying to recreate here: “I have long been fascinated by the view of distant hills as they disappear into the mist. I love how they become less and less distinct and fade in color the farther away they are. As one looks along the coast, the rippling texture of the ridges of headlands has always inspired visions of jewelry capturing that movement and that landscape. In Na Pali Moon I have combined this theme with another favorite — that of moonlight on water. There are many beautiful coastlines, but the distinctive northwest coast of the Island of Kauai is one of the most exciting to me.”

I can see this kind of thing being made in polymer too. Polymer would lend itself well to the layers and textures. The hardest part might be mixing the muted colors to keep the serene feeling of such a scene.  For more on Joan’s work and process, take a look at her gallery here.

Speaking of precious metal jewelry, our friends over at Metal Clay Artist magazine have had a terrible financial blow fall on them due to another business’s faulty practices. The problem is so bad that they’ve suspended publication on this magazine indefinitely — and it’s the only metal clay focused magazine in print! I am particularly saddened by and empathetic to their situation because MCAM is so much like The Polymer Arts — created by and for artists in a new medium and out of a passion to share with and grow their community. They even publish polymer clay articles, so you know they’re good people! We have been in touch to see how TPA might help, but first the editor, Jeanette LeBlanc, needs to get out from under the overwhelming financial burden caused by unforeseeable circumstances. You can read more on this story and how you can help and even get yourself some goodies or issues of this beautiful magazines at this MCAM FundMe page.  Or go to the Metal Clay Artists’ website to buy a back issue or two. Get new inspiration, and help out a fellow artist dedicated to helping fellow crafters.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: Where We Find Ourselves

January 30, 2015

laminated_07Conceptual work in contemporary jewelry is no rare thing. What is a tad rare, in my opinion, is conceptual jewelry that is wearable (how else can you really fully share it if you can’t wear it out?) and accessible. And by “accessible,” I mean a creation that most people can appreciate because it speaks to and pulls at the one thing we all share — the experience of being human.

I actually love conceptual jewelry, the kind that makes you stop and think, but to share something that this community will find inspiration in kept me focused on finding something that we can all smile at or find something to admire. Our experiences and wanting to hang onto memories of the times and places we’ve experienced is pretty ubiquitous, don’t you think? Tzu-Ju Chen seems to be speaking to that aspect of our human side with this ring. It does push the “wearable” boundary with its size, but I love the nostalgic sense he’s captured with the little cropped photos. Chartres Cathedral, as it is named, shows off photos of the building from a variety of angles on angled little boards accented with semi-precious gems. Tzu-Ju actually sees this work from a slightly different perspective, saying, “My works explores the conceptual play of material and meaning. Travel photography and vintage snapshots serve as mementos that embody the present reality.”

Maybe I am tired, but I’m not sure about the “present reality” embodiment here. Nonetheless, I think I could spend a lot of time staring at my hand and checking out the little photos. Especially if they were photos from a trip of my own. It’s kind of a neat idea to consider how we might integrate our own memories into our work in such a literal fashion.

Tzu-Ju’s work certainly does explore the play of material and meaning and in a wide range of approaches and materials. Tzu-Ju’s website is a beautiful, quiet gallery of her work and concepts that should make a perfect quiet break for you today.

 

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.

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Antique Does Ancient

January 23, 2015

art nouveau egyptEmulating other cultures and ancient work is not a new idea. Artists throughout history have been inspired by the relative uniqueness of other cultures and times. This adaptation of other aesthetics, however, became quite a bit more common when world exploration, archaeology and increased global trade and communication made this type of inspiration more readily available to more and more artists.

The 19th and 20th centuries were particularly enthusiastic about other cultures. The discoveries of ancient Egypt at the end of the 18th century spurred what is know as the Egyptian Revival in American decorative arts. This period began sometime after Napolean’s campaign in Egypt and lasted all the way into the 1920s. We have the combination of this Egyptian Revival with the period of Art Nouveau to thank for gorgeous pieces like this hair comb and bracelet. Their creator is unknown, but the Tumblr page I found it on said they are of French origin and are estimated to have been made around 1900. They consist of gold, enamel, rubies, sapphires and ancient Egyptian scarabs noted to be glazed steatite. I just call them lovely.

I wish I had a particular site to send you to in order to do some more exploring of your own, but I didn’t find anything better than a keyword search on Pinterest or Google images. So if you want to see more Egyptian Revival or Art Nouveau or the combination of these, let your fingers do the tapping and have fun getting into lots of pages of beautiful, inspiring imagery.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: The Art of the Doodle

January 16, 2015

Doodle5So yesterday I brought you a wire artist who got into carving rubber stamps. Did the carving idea pique your interest? I think the hardest part of carving a stamp is not going to be the carving itself but deciding on a pattern to carve. How do you come up with stamp design ideas? Well, besides copying someone else’s patterns or designs — which would negate the point of creating your own original stamps — you can find your own personal patterns by doing something you probably did a lot as a kid or as a bored teenager in class. You can doodle.

Doodling is not as pointless and aimless as it might seem. It is really a translation of what is going on in your subconscious or, or it’s an expression of your mind’s reaction to what you see and hear around you. If you are doodling without a preconceived idea of what you are drawing, especially while otherwise occupied (such as being on hold during a phone call or listening to a lecture), the doodling can create a  very personal design and set of patterns pulled from subconscious thoughts.

A recent doodling-related development is the Zentangle which uses repeated patterns and lines to lend your doodling direction. The original Zentagle method includes a series of rules, such as drawing only in 3.5 inch squares, only drawing in pen so you can’t erase and only drawing abstract designs. So it’s not quite doodling, but it can result in similarly personal designs. A lot of people have expanded on the Zentangle idea, throwing many rules out the window and developing cool abstract art like the Zentangle doodle you see here, by illustrator Angel Van Dam. Her doodles are a bit more organized and purposeful than your standard notepad doodle but aren’t standard Zentangling either. The thing is, it doesn’t matter how you approach it –doodle loose and randomly, mark off the 3.5 inch square to Zentangle in, or use a contractor to draw concentric circles, as Angel did for this illustration, and fill it in as you like.

And why should you want to doodle? Because it can offer so much for your polymer play! Use doodles or Zentangles to create the patterns for your carved rubber stamps. Doodle with colored pencils, and use it as an image transfer onto clay. Use the patterns, imagery or colors to inspire or directly design a polymer piece from.

Doodling is also thought to help you problem-solve so, if you hit a creative block, stop and listen to some music, a book on tape or podcast, and then just doodle away! The solution to your creative work can then bubble to the surface, or you may find a whole new idea there in front of you. No matter what, it is no waste of time. The other thing about doodling that has been discovered through clinical studies is that it reduces stress and can make you more aware and mindful.  So doodle for your well-being as well as for your art!

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: A Clay-Fire Connection

January 9, 2015

Chris_Hawkins1206Raku pottery is so fascinating. There are a myriad of variations and techniques, so much so that it’s rather hard to define. The only real commonalities between them all seem to be the low-firing temperature and pulling the pottery out of the kiln while still red hot. The Western method includes introducing red hot clay to a combustible material to halt the chemical reaction in glazes and introducing the black smoke that works its way into the cracked glaze, creating those characteristic black crazing patterns. But it has been the intense color that can be achieved with raku that has drawn it into such favor in recent decades.

I had a chance to build a few of my own raku pots back in art school and found myself drawn not only to the color and crazing but to the direct relationship the pottery had with fire and earth. We would bury our hot pots in a sawdust-filled hole in the ground, watch it smolder and then cover the hole with a heavy metal lid to let the pottery sit and take it in. There was this primal, raw feeling that the earth itself was assisting in creating this art. It was so unusual, to be outside, letting the fire, smoke and earth create the texture and design of my pieces, and I can’t say I’ve had quite that kind of experience since then.

I think it is that uncontrollable outcome in the surface design of raku that also draws people to this kind of work. That happenstance texture is dominant in the work of ceramicist Chris Hawkins. Yes, he works up some really brilliant colors, but it is his collaboration with the fire elements, allowing the heat, flame and smoke to choose the patterning, that makes it so breathtakingly beautiful.

You can find a gallery of Chris’s work on his website and a bit of insight into how and why he creates these pieces on his blog.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: Challenge Yourself

January 2, 2015

gil bruvel flow series

I know, for some readers, Friday is their least favorite blog day because it is the one day I do not post something made with polymer. But in my opinion, these posts are some of the most important posts I show to you because you have to stretch your mind to find the inspiration within the characteristics of these non-polymer pieces, not just see how others are working with our favorite material. I often wonder how many of you, dear readers, have created something or changed something in a polymer piece of yours because of something you’ve seen that wasn’t made from polymer. I’m hoping it is the majority of you. But if you are one that has not or don’t usually look to other kinds of materials for new ideas and imagery, may I suggest that this year you try to pull something from non-polymer work?

I guess I could really have pulled anything for today’s post, but this amazing piece by the fabulous Gil Bruvel stood out because it is not only something that could be accomplished with polymer but because the artist himself is trying something different (so he’s possibly influenced by another art form as well). This bust looks realistic in some intangible manner but is made up completely of lines. The energy of the lines is where the feeling of its liveliness comes from, the feeling that this could be a realistic representation of another person, not just in looks but in expression. I have seen drawings like this, even recall form-defining line drawing exercises in art school not unlike this, so I wonder if he got the idea for his “Flow” series from drawing. A sculptor borrowing from not just another medium but one the works in another dimension. Every art form, every form in life, can be inspiration.

So what do think? Will you meet the challenge? I’ll even bring the work to you to ponder. Or you can try other fabulous blogs like the Daily Art Muse, This is Colossal, or the Wearable Art Blog.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: Tactile Fun

December 26, 2014

demi chao broochesI 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.

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Outside Inspiration: Lone Trees

June 20, 2014

I just got in last night from the last leg of an unplanned road trip back to California to help with some family matters. On the way into Colorado I stopped in the beautiful Canyonlands area of Utah where the soil is red and the skies are huge and blue. I took a run and hike up a canyon to a lone arch that springs off the canyons upper level. The ground was rocky and dry but every once in a while a bold tree would reach up out of the rock and break the beautiful stark horizon. I have always found those lone trees draw me. Maybe I have a thing for the lone struggle in a landscape that fights you all the way.

So when I saw this piece today, I had to pull it for the Outside Inspiration Friday post. This both plays to the scenes I was seeing yesterday and to the idea of surprising single elements creating the focus and beauty in a piece of art.

The artist here is a very interesting woman by the name of Ione Thorkelsson. She works in glass, adding other elements such as the found metal and the lichen she uses in this glass cast microcosm of our world, created as both a miniature of the globe we live on and a metaphor of the most basic truth of our lonely existence–lonely but reaching.

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Ione has a lot to say as well as show us. You can get lost in her thoughts and meanderings on her website and I do encourage you to do so. She speaks very openly and honestly about her process, her struggles both in creating art and the rigors of showing and living as an artist. I have heard some of her words uttered near exactly by a number of polymer artists. It’s definitely worth a sit with a cup of coffee or tea today.

 

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.

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It Was in the Numbers

February 13, 2015
Posted in

150239_106327192773639_7050106_n

Our story today comes from Colleen White, and the art work comes from her husband, David White. Being it is Friday when we do outside inspirations, it fits that we can show something non-polymer; although, the shapes of those rocks, the swirling texture in the stone and the green of that cape might bring up a polymer possibility or two.

It Was in the Numbers

My husband and I met in 1969; he was a senior, and I was a junior in high school.  We dated for a few months, then “broke up”, but remained friends as he went off to college in north New Jersey, and I went to Florida to art school. Over the next  four years I saw him only a few times; meeting him and his girlfriend in New York for concerts or visiting them when I went up to New Jersey to visit my folks. The last time I saw him was 1973, and they were married. I later married and stayed in Florida.

In 2001, I had just signed my divorce papers and put a contract on a house when I got a note in the mail from him saying, “Please write or call.” He was an art director in New York when the Trade Towers and Pentagon were hit. He thought it was the beginning of WW3 and decided he had to find me. He had looked for me in the late 80s when he was divorced, but with no luck, so he had hired a detective agency to find me. That’s how he got my address. The first time we talked on the phone, it was like 29 years had disappeared! Within a few months, he moved to Florida, we married and now live in paradise. He is truly my soul mate. He is an amazing artist and inspiration to me.

There are a few strange coincidences that makes it all more fun. We met in 1969, and 911 was the reason he started looking for me again. The house I had just purchased was 911 69th Ave. He also has the same first and middle name as my ex-husband, and both their last names are colors!

To see more of David’s work, go to his website here. Collen works in polymer and metal clays among other things and has work and classes posted on her 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.

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Outside Inspiration: Visions in Metal

February 6, 2015
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Na Pali Moon I 2012 07131_0Looking at all the other craft mediums out there, there is so much in the way of representational imagery. It was hard to decide what to share today. But since we are so many of us jewelry artists, I decided to return to the classic precious metal jewelry craft.  This particular piece titled Na Pali Moon by Joan Tenenbaum uses several different classic techniques including reticulation (heating precious metal to cause ripples on the surface), cutting, patina surface treatments and even mokume gane (quick … can you find it?). For an all metal piece, the colors are particularly amazing and well controlled.

Joan described what she was trying to recreate here: “I have long been fascinated by the view of distant hills as they disappear into the mist. I love how they become less and less distinct and fade in color the farther away they are. As one looks along the coast, the rippling texture of the ridges of headlands has always inspired visions of jewelry capturing that movement and that landscape. In Na Pali Moon I have combined this theme with another favorite — that of moonlight on water. There are many beautiful coastlines, but the distinctive northwest coast of the Island of Kauai is one of the most exciting to me.”

I can see this kind of thing being made in polymer too. Polymer would lend itself well to the layers and textures. The hardest part might be mixing the muted colors to keep the serene feeling of such a scene.  For more on Joan’s work and process, take a look at her gallery here.

Speaking of precious metal jewelry, our friends over at Metal Clay Artist magazine have had a terrible financial blow fall on them due to another business’s faulty practices. The problem is so bad that they’ve suspended publication on this magazine indefinitely — and it’s the only metal clay focused magazine in print! I am particularly saddened by and empathetic to their situation because MCAM is so much like The Polymer Arts — created by and for artists in a new medium and out of a passion to share with and grow their community. They even publish polymer clay articles, so you know they’re good people! We have been in touch to see how TPA might help, but first the editor, Jeanette LeBlanc, needs to get out from under the overwhelming financial burden caused by unforeseeable circumstances. You can read more on this story and how you can help and even get yourself some goodies or issues of this beautiful magazines at this MCAM FundMe page.  Or go to the Metal Clay Artists’ website to buy a back issue or two. Get new inspiration, and help out a fellow artist dedicated to helping fellow crafters.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: Where We Find Ourselves

January 30, 2015
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laminated_07Conceptual work in contemporary jewelry is no rare thing. What is a tad rare, in my opinion, is conceptual jewelry that is wearable (how else can you really fully share it if you can’t wear it out?) and accessible. And by “accessible,” I mean a creation that most people can appreciate because it speaks to and pulls at the one thing we all share — the experience of being human.

I actually love conceptual jewelry, the kind that makes you stop and think, but to share something that this community will find inspiration in kept me focused on finding something that we can all smile at or find something to admire. Our experiences and wanting to hang onto memories of the times and places we’ve experienced is pretty ubiquitous, don’t you think? Tzu-Ju Chen seems to be speaking to that aspect of our human side with this ring. It does push the “wearable” boundary with its size, but I love the nostalgic sense he’s captured with the little cropped photos. Chartres Cathedral, as it is named, shows off photos of the building from a variety of angles on angled little boards accented with semi-precious gems. Tzu-Ju actually sees this work from a slightly different perspective, saying, “My works explores the conceptual play of material and meaning. Travel photography and vintage snapshots serve as mementos that embody the present reality.”

Maybe I am tired, but I’m not sure about the “present reality” embodiment here. Nonetheless, I think I could spend a lot of time staring at my hand and checking out the little photos. Especially if they were photos from a trip of my own. It’s kind of a neat idea to consider how we might integrate our own memories into our work in such a literal fashion.

Tzu-Ju’s work certainly does explore the play of material and meaning and in a wide range of approaches and materials. Tzu-Ju’s website is a beautiful, quiet gallery of her work and concepts that should make a perfect quiet break for you today.

 

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.

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Antique Does Ancient

January 23, 2015
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art nouveau egyptEmulating other cultures and ancient work is not a new idea. Artists throughout history have been inspired by the relative uniqueness of other cultures and times. This adaptation of other aesthetics, however, became quite a bit more common when world exploration, archaeology and increased global trade and communication made this type of inspiration more readily available to more and more artists.

The 19th and 20th centuries were particularly enthusiastic about other cultures. The discoveries of ancient Egypt at the end of the 18th century spurred what is know as the Egyptian Revival in American decorative arts. This period began sometime after Napolean’s campaign in Egypt and lasted all the way into the 1920s. We have the combination of this Egyptian Revival with the period of Art Nouveau to thank for gorgeous pieces like this hair comb and bracelet. Their creator is unknown, but the Tumblr page I found it on said they are of French origin and are estimated to have been made around 1900. They consist of gold, enamel, rubies, sapphires and ancient Egyptian scarabs noted to be glazed steatite. I just call them lovely.

I wish I had a particular site to send you to in order to do some more exploring of your own, but I didn’t find anything better than a keyword search on Pinterest or Google images. So if you want to see more Egyptian Revival or Art Nouveau or the combination of these, let your fingers do the tapping and have fun getting into lots of pages of beautiful, inspiring imagery.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: The Art of the Doodle

January 16, 2015
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Doodle5So yesterday I brought you a wire artist who got into carving rubber stamps. Did the carving idea pique your interest? I think the hardest part of carving a stamp is not going to be the carving itself but deciding on a pattern to carve. How do you come up with stamp design ideas? Well, besides copying someone else’s patterns or designs — which would negate the point of creating your own original stamps — you can find your own personal patterns by doing something you probably did a lot as a kid or as a bored teenager in class. You can doodle.

Doodling is not as pointless and aimless as it might seem. It is really a translation of what is going on in your subconscious or, or it’s an expression of your mind’s reaction to what you see and hear around you. If you are doodling without a preconceived idea of what you are drawing, especially while otherwise occupied (such as being on hold during a phone call or listening to a lecture), the doodling can create a  very personal design and set of patterns pulled from subconscious thoughts.

A recent doodling-related development is the Zentangle which uses repeated patterns and lines to lend your doodling direction. The original Zentagle method includes a series of rules, such as drawing only in 3.5 inch squares, only drawing in pen so you can’t erase and only drawing abstract designs. So it’s not quite doodling, but it can result in similarly personal designs. A lot of people have expanded on the Zentangle idea, throwing many rules out the window and developing cool abstract art like the Zentangle doodle you see here, by illustrator Angel Van Dam. Her doodles are a bit more organized and purposeful than your standard notepad doodle but aren’t standard Zentangling either. The thing is, it doesn’t matter how you approach it –doodle loose and randomly, mark off the 3.5 inch square to Zentangle in, or use a contractor to draw concentric circles, as Angel did for this illustration, and fill it in as you like.

And why should you want to doodle? Because it can offer so much for your polymer play! Use doodles or Zentangles to create the patterns for your carved rubber stamps. Doodle with colored pencils, and use it as an image transfer onto clay. Use the patterns, imagery or colors to inspire or directly design a polymer piece from.

Doodling is also thought to help you problem-solve so, if you hit a creative block, stop and listen to some music, a book on tape or podcast, and then just doodle away! The solution to your creative work can then bubble to the surface, or you may find a whole new idea there in front of you. No matter what, it is no waste of time. The other thing about doodling that has been discovered through clinical studies is that it reduces stress and can make you more aware and mindful.  So doodle for your well-being as well as for your art!

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: A Clay-Fire Connection

January 9, 2015
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Chris_Hawkins1206Raku pottery is so fascinating. There are a myriad of variations and techniques, so much so that it’s rather hard to define. The only real commonalities between them all seem to be the low-firing temperature and pulling the pottery out of the kiln while still red hot. The Western method includes introducing red hot clay to a combustible material to halt the chemical reaction in glazes and introducing the black smoke that works its way into the cracked glaze, creating those characteristic black crazing patterns. But it has been the intense color that can be achieved with raku that has drawn it into such favor in recent decades.

I had a chance to build a few of my own raku pots back in art school and found myself drawn not only to the color and crazing but to the direct relationship the pottery had with fire and earth. We would bury our hot pots in a sawdust-filled hole in the ground, watch it smolder and then cover the hole with a heavy metal lid to let the pottery sit and take it in. There was this primal, raw feeling that the earth itself was assisting in creating this art. It was so unusual, to be outside, letting the fire, smoke and earth create the texture and design of my pieces, and I can’t say I’ve had quite that kind of experience since then.

I think it is that uncontrollable outcome in the surface design of raku that also draws people to this kind of work. That happenstance texture is dominant in the work of ceramicist Chris Hawkins. Yes, he works up some really brilliant colors, but it is his collaboration with the fire elements, allowing the heat, flame and smoke to choose the patterning, that makes it so breathtakingly beautiful.

You can find a gallery of Chris’s work on his website and a bit of insight into how and why he creates these pieces on his blog.

 

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Outside Inspiration: Challenge Yourself

January 2, 2015
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gil bruvel flow series

I know, for some readers, Friday is their least favorite blog day because it is the one day I do not post something made with polymer. But in my opinion, these posts are some of the most important posts I show to you because you have to stretch your mind to find the inspiration within the characteristics of these non-polymer pieces, not just see how others are working with our favorite material. I often wonder how many of you, dear readers, have created something or changed something in a polymer piece of yours because of something you’ve seen that wasn’t made from polymer. I’m hoping it is the majority of you. But if you are one that has not or don’t usually look to other kinds of materials for new ideas and imagery, may I suggest that this year you try to pull something from non-polymer work?

I guess I could really have pulled anything for today’s post, but this amazing piece by the fabulous Gil Bruvel stood out because it is not only something that could be accomplished with polymer but because the artist himself is trying something different (so he’s possibly influenced by another art form as well). This bust looks realistic in some intangible manner but is made up completely of lines. The energy of the lines is where the feeling of its liveliness comes from, the feeling that this could be a realistic representation of another person, not just in looks but in expression. I have seen drawings like this, even recall form-defining line drawing exercises in art school not unlike this, so I wonder if he got the idea for his “Flow” series from drawing. A sculptor borrowing from not just another medium but one the works in another dimension. Every art form, every form in life, can be inspiration.

So what do think? Will you meet the challenge? I’ll even bring the work to you to ponder. Or you can try other fabulous blogs like the Daily Art Muse, This is Colossal, or the Wearable Art Blog.

 

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.

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Outside Inspiration: Tactile Fun

December 26, 2014
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demi chao broochesI 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.

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Outside Inspiration: Lone Trees

June 20, 2014
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I just got in last night from the last leg of an unplanned road trip back to California to help with some family matters. On the way into Colorado I stopped in the beautiful Canyonlands area of Utah where the soil is red and the skies are huge and blue. I took a run and hike up a canyon to a lone arch that springs off the canyons upper level. The ground was rocky and dry but every once in a while a bold tree would reach up out of the rock and break the beautiful stark horizon. I have always found those lone trees draw me. Maybe I have a thing for the lone struggle in a landscape that fights you all the way.

So when I saw this piece today, I had to pull it for the Outside Inspiration Friday post. This both plays to the scenes I was seeing yesterday and to the idea of surprising single elements creating the focus and beauty in a piece of art.

The artist here is a very interesting woman by the name of Ione Thorkelsson. She works in glass, adding other elements such as the found metal and the lichen she uses in this glass cast microcosm of our world, created as both a miniature of the globe we live on and a metaphor of the most basic truth of our lonely existence–lonely but reaching.

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Ione has a lot to say as well as show us. You can get lost in her thoughts and meanderings on her website and I do encourage you to do so. She speaks very openly and honestly about her process, her struggles both in creating art and the rigors of showing and living as an artist. I have heard some of her words uttered near exactly by a number of polymer artists. It’s definitely worth a sit with a cup of coffee or tea today.

 

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.

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