Keeping Busy
September 5, 2018 Inspirational Art
It has recently occurred to me that 2018 has been a very, very busy year for a lot of people for a wide variety of reasons. I think all this high energy and the complexity of our lives these days may be coming out in much of the work and techniques being used of late.
The Flickr page of Jana Honnerová is one such page that is full of new work and is visually busy but in a wonderful way. Her photostream shows off her explorations in surface texture as well as the completed pieces resulting from some of those explorations. The work is a beautiful mix of of undulating texture and color, reined in with simple but carefully finished forms.
These bracelets here, with the busy surface texture of each bead, have a lot of energy but it’s not overwhelming. One might expect them to be a bit riotous with all that texture and change of color packed into the highly kinetic visuals of swirls. But because of her chosen color palette and the repetition of the evenly spaced beads, all of the same size and form, the energy is controlled, giving each piece that sense of sophistication that is a signature of Jana’s work.
You can see what else Jana has been up to on her Flickr photostream.
Organic Waves
July 17, 2017 Inspirational Art
With all the hot weather we’ve been having lately, I’ve been staying in my cool home a lot more than usual. Missing my time wandering around the property looking at all the cool and unusual plants, I found myself drawn to our organic brethren in polymer as I rummaged through images online and gathered a bouquet of curious and cool pieces that should pique the interest of many a nature lover.
Here we have quite a fantastical interpretation of nature’s forms, colors, and textures. The waves atop the petals would certainly make one want to reach out and run fingers across it, then down through the hanging strings as well. The combination of the old standard primaries is an interesting color palette choice. It gives it a carnival feel. That and the directional lines from the wavy texture and the yellow strings makes this feels like it is on the edge of some riotous dancing.
This is just one of several recent works by Kathy McCurry where she creates her own version of flowers. This looks to be the most ambitious piece so far, taking 40 hours and 8 curing sessions in the oven. As hard as these kinds of pieces can be to create, I think it’s just wonderful when an artist takes a risk, investing so much time in one piece. But what a reward we have in store for us when we spend a lot of time on one piece and have something so wonderful to show for it at the end.
You can see images of her recent work on Kathy’s Facebook page and on her website.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
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Standard in Stripes
March 2, 2017 Inspirational Art
So many artists spend an inordinately large amount of time looking for the next really cool and totally different thing that will get them all kinds of attention and make their work stand out. But here is the thing … nothing is really new anymore. It’s just a variation of something that was done before. Thinking and creating with this in mind can be so freeing. It allows you to just create what you love or what you want to express.
And some days you just want to be simple, clean and use some no-fuss forms and applications. Nothing wrong with that. Go for it. You can see how a basic striped composition on a bangle shape and a couple of lentil earrings did for Julia Peker‘s approach. Choosing an array of both visual and tactile textures gives this variation within the limitations of a palette of subdued and tinted cool colors. Nothing crazy or new design wise, but it pulls off a tasteful and understated elegance that most anyone can appreciate.
Julia takes notes from a lot of other polymer artists as can be seen in her work so I suspect she is still working on her voice but I think I see it emerging. Her postings look to be relegated to Instagram for the moment but I would be interested to see how her work develops. We’ll keep an eye out!ow
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Planning Your Colors
January 19, 2014 Tips and Tricks
So with this talk of color palettes all week, I thought I ought to stop and add that you don’t need to follow Pantone’s colors for the season. Get to know your market, as well as the colors you prefer to work with, and build your own signature palette for the season.
I know for some people, how to put together a color scheme is a bit of a mystery. But there is help out there! Several sites online have tools that allow you to make your own palettes. This one here is a new favorite of mine because of its relative simplicity and the fact that you can save your color exploration in your own account.
To create a color palette, you choose a color on the wheel in the bottom right then use the sliders on the upper right to adjust hue, tint (addition of white) and/or shade (addition of black). The boxes below the color wheel give you 5 options for types of color schemes that can be created off that first color.
Join the ColourLovers community on this site to save palettes, swatches and images in your account. I haven’t explored everything this site has to offer yet but I sure am having fun checking it all out. Try this palette maker for yourself!
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.
Moving Beyond Imagination
September 1, 2013 Ponderings
In other words, imagination is the source of creativity, but creativity doesn’t exist until you act upon the fruit of your imagination. We’ve looked at color ideas for the coming season this week; did they get you thinking? Did they bring up any ideas for new pieces to include in upcoming shows and in your online shop, or maybe gifts to make for friends and family? If they did, great. But now it’s time to make those ideas a reality. Create, bring more beauty into the world, and make yourself a happier person for having done so.
It has recently occurred to me that 2018 has been a very, very busy year for a lot of people for a wide variety of reasons. I think all this high energy and the complexity of our lives these days may be coming out in much of the work and techniques being used of late.
The Flickr page of Jana Honnerová is one such page that is full of new work and is visually busy but in a wonderful way. Her photostream shows off her explorations in surface texture as well as the completed pieces resulting from some of those explorations. The work is a beautiful mix of of undulating texture and color, reined in with simple but carefully finished forms.
These bracelets here, with the busy surface texture of each bead, have a lot of energy but it’s not overwhelming. One might expect them to be a bit riotous with all that texture and change of color packed into the highly kinetic visuals of swirls. But because of her chosen color palette and the repetition of the evenly spaced beads, all of the same size and form, the energy is controlled, giving each piece that sense of sophistication that is a signature of Jana’s work.
You can see what else Jana has been up to on her Flickr photostream.
Read MoreWith all the hot weather we’ve been having lately, I’ve been staying in my cool home a lot more than usual. Missing my time wandering around the property looking at all the cool and unusual plants, I found myself drawn to our organic brethren in polymer as I rummaged through images online and gathered a bouquet of curious and cool pieces that should pique the interest of many a nature lover.
Here we have quite a fantastical interpretation of nature’s forms, colors, and textures. The waves atop the petals would certainly make one want to reach out and run fingers across it, then down through the hanging strings as well. The combination of the old standard primaries is an interesting color palette choice. It gives it a carnival feel. That and the directional lines from the wavy texture and the yellow strings makes this feels like it is on the edge of some riotous dancing.
This is just one of several recent works by Kathy McCurry where she creates her own version of flowers. This looks to be the most ambitious piece so far, taking 40 hours and 8 curing sessions in the oven. As hard as these kinds of pieces can be to create, I think it’s just wonderful when an artist takes a risk, investing so much time in one piece. But what a reward we have in store for us when we spend a lot of time on one piece and have something so wonderful to show for it at the end.
You can see images of her recent work on Kathy’s Facebook page and on her website.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreSo many artists spend an inordinately large amount of time looking for the next really cool and totally different thing that will get them all kinds of attention and make their work stand out. But here is the thing … nothing is really new anymore. It’s just a variation of something that was done before. Thinking and creating with this in mind can be so freeing. It allows you to just create what you love or what you want to express.
And some days you just want to be simple, clean and use some no-fuss forms and applications. Nothing wrong with that. Go for it. You can see how a basic striped composition on a bangle shape and a couple of lentil earrings did for Julia Peker‘s approach. Choosing an array of both visual and tactile textures gives this variation within the limitations of a palette of subdued and tinted cool colors. Nothing crazy or new design wise, but it pulls off a tasteful and understated elegance that most anyone can appreciate.
Julia takes notes from a lot of other polymer artists as can be seen in her work so I suspect she is still working on her voice but I think I see it emerging. Her postings look to be relegated to Instagram for the moment but I would be interested to see how her work develops. We’ll keep an eye out!ow
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreSo with this talk of color palettes all week, I thought I ought to stop and add that you don’t need to follow Pantone’s colors for the season. Get to know your market, as well as the colors you prefer to work with, and build your own signature palette for the season.
I know for some people, how to put together a color scheme is a bit of a mystery. But there is help out there! Several sites online have tools that allow you to make your own palettes. This one here is a new favorite of mine because of its relative simplicity and the fact that you can save your color exploration in your own account.
To create a color palette, you choose a color on the wheel in the bottom right then use the sliders on the upper right to adjust hue, tint (addition of white) and/or shade (addition of black). The boxes below the color wheel give you 5 options for types of color schemes that can be created off that first color.
Join the ColourLovers community on this site to save palettes, swatches and images in your account. I haven’t explored everything this site has to offer yet but I sure am having fun checking it all out. Try this palette maker for yourself!
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 MoreIn other words, imagination is the source of creativity, but creativity doesn’t exist until you act upon the fruit of your imagination. We’ve looked at color ideas for the coming season this week; did they get you thinking? Did they bring up any ideas for new pieces to include in upcoming shows and in your online shop, or maybe gifts to make for friends and family? If they did, great. But now it’s time to make those ideas a reality. Create, bring more beauty into the world, and make yourself a happier person for having done so.
Read More