The Purpose of Intention

February 9, 2020

How often, when you sit down to create something, do you think about why you’re doing it, the story behind what you are creating, or even just the theme or look? Apparently, it’s not overly common, at least not amongst the readers writing me this weekend.

Friday evening, I finally got the Virtual Art Box out after some technical difficulties that required a change of plans on the backend. I was a bit frazzled over reworking the technical stuff and, even though I was happy with the content I’d created, I was getting a bit nervous about how this new project would be received. But, as I wrote in the immersive design article for the Virtual Art Box project, things generally work out well when you have a particular idea in mind and you make all your decisions based on that overriding intention.

Well, my intention for the Virtual Art Box was to immerse the readers in a particular design idea that can be explored throughout the month. I was hoping that the primary design article, supported by the additional content the readers would journey through, would encourage them to really delve into the idea I presented in a purposeful and substantial way. But the question was, would they?

I thought it might be a bit of a challenge this first month since my chosen theme is conceptual rather than being a more concrete design element. But it’s just such an important concept in art. The immersive design theme this month is “Intention”. It’s simply the idea that when you sit down to create something, you can be more successful and have a more fulfilling creative experience if you have an overriding idea of what you are creating in terms of its purpose and its concept, concept being the theme, story, style or whatnot.

Well, I think my own intention to keep my focus on making the Virtual Art Box an immersive learning experience is working. Already. (Yay!) I have to say that I am a bit startled and overwhelmed by the reception of the project so far. In a community where publications, both in print and online, are dominated by project tutorials and things that are “easy and fun” (not that there’s anything wrong with fun at all!), my approach feels rather serious even though, as many of you may have seen, I do try to stay conversational and lighthearted and occasionally I just get silly. Art should be fun, and enjoyable, and fulfilling. But making good art in a truly fulfilling creative life does take work. I don’t know why I was worried that people wouldn’t want to put the work in. You, my readers, have always been pretty gung ho!

I already have a few Creative Pursuit challenge forms in (this is the part of the Box in which you create a self-challenge, and the form shares it with me and with you, and I help track it and keep you motivated.) It turns out, people look to be quick intrigued by the idea of working with intention. I love that I’m not the only art nerd who gets into things like that!

The thing is, I think  intention is the core of all design. Without it, no matter how well you understand the various aspects of design, construction, workmanship, etc., it is difficult to create a successful design. Every piece of art needs a base, a core, a grounding concept from which the artist can build, otherwise the work risks being chaotic. It’s true that a chaotic design could work but only if it is the artist’s intention to create chaos. Then it has purpose. But chaos without intent is not art; it is just messy.

Intention not only gets you where you want to go but it helps guide your design choices along the way. When you make design choices based on what works for your overriding intention, the result will be a cohesive, purposeful, and, most likely, well-designed piece.

Now, I know, some of you are already thinking that you don’t want to think so deliberately about what you’re creating or that you just like to explore. Exploration, creating for the joy of it, and stream of consciousness creating are still processes with a particular intention. Because isn’t the success of a piece really measured against how well it fulfills your intention?

Let’s look at a few of the examples.

Debbie Crothers prefers to explore and make lots of pieces as she exhausts a technique or material’s possibilities. She doesn’t usually work with a finished piece in mind but, with extensive exploration as her intention, she finds success in much of what she does and ends up with undeniably stunning beads.

 

Joseph Barbaccia specializes in inspired polymer illustrations of people and things he admires and enjoys so his intention is to visually represent objects, places, and beings from his view point such as this great portrait of David Lynch.

 

In Melanie Muir’s Summer Seas in White cuff, you can see that from the colors to the patterns, even to how the patterns are tilted on the tilted square of the beads, this piece speaks of bright light on rippling ocean waters. Her intention is clear and all her design choices align with the intended look.

 

Are you starting to get the picture? If so, think about what your intention means to you and what you intention is next time you sit down to the studio table. And if this concept really intrigues you, even if you don’t want to subscribe, you can buy the Virtual Art Box for just the one month, get all the details and ideas I am offering on how to make intention a new and exciting tool for your creative work, and see how you like the Box.

Now, if you signed up for the Virtual Art Box and didn’t see your access email, check your spam folders. It went out Friday evening (PST). If you purchased it online (rather than had your prior magazine subscription balance transferred to the Virtual Art Box), you should find the PDF package download in your account on the website. If you expected it and can’t find it in either place, write me and we’ll get you fixed up.

 

And with that, I am off to relax a bit. Its been a bit of a marathon getting the new project off the ground but now that is has taken wing, it’s time to attend to me a bit and I am going to make that include some further intention … the intention to make studio time a priority at least a couple days a week. How do you ensure you get the creative time in that you need? Maybe we’ll look at that subject a bit this week as well.

In the meantime, have an intentionally, purposefully, and mindfully creative week!

Going Half Round

Бижутерия своими руками мастер-клаThis week, I have pieces to share with you that have unexpected additions or changes. I think it is fantastic to mix things up, not only in our own world and work, but to step outside the expectations of what we think certain types of pieces should be. For instance, does a bead really have to be round? No, of course not. But should it at least be three-dimensionally symmetrical? Not really.

Katerina Sidorova has taken the round bead and literally reshaped it for this bracelet. The beads here were created by making perfectly round balls, cutting them in half, and adding thick cane slices on top that were carefully smoothed in to blend with the cut halves. The result is an off-balance half-round shape, or you might say it’s a ball half smashed, or you might call it acorn shaped even. What it is, though, is an unusual shape for a bead, which makes the gathering of the beautiful blue details quite intriguing. And really, the idea is pretty simple, but just that change makes us look twice because it does go beyond the expected round form.

Katerina has generously shared how she created these in this tutorial. She is the shop owner at Russia’s online polymer and jewelry supply shop KalinkaPolinka, which is also a great website full of articles, free tutorials, and links to other tutorials to explore.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Consider a form you regularly create and consider how you can change it to make it more interesting or intriguing. Sketch, cut, or sculpt your ideas.

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

   

PCA Nov 15 Blog   businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

___________________________________________

Translucent Tests

November 18, 2015

Francoise HecquetHere I found an artist testing the possibilities of translucents in what looks like some fairly classic applications, but with the added complexity of coloring for depth.

Françoise Hecquet, aka Bounette, creates a wide variety of beads, but I think her translucent pieces really stand out in her collections.  I’m not sure what she was attempting here, although I think they were successful unto themselves. All she has in the text that accompanies this post is “Je sais pas si les couleurs…” which translates as something like “not knowing about the colors”. But that’s all she says. So, we are left to wonder what she was trying but at least we can admire the crystalline-like effect of the way the translucent was mixed and colored.

If you feel a little let down that she hasn’t hinted at the mysteries behind these pretty test pieces, she does share a pretty cool technique with opaque dots and translucent clay, which has a really beautiful effect. You can find that tutorial post on her blog here.  

 

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Taking the Disk Challenge

August 12, 2015

Crothers glass beadsI just had to share this because these creations by Debbie Crothers were a direct result of the pieces posted on this past Friday’s blog. Do you recall those gorgeous glass beads by Debbie Sanders? And my mental meanderings about how cool something like this would be in polymer? Well … ta-da!, Debbie took on Debbie and created polymer versions, and I have to say they are just luscious.

Our dear Deb is such an explorer. These beads are just one in many recent experiments she’s shared on her Facebook page and blog. If you are a lover of visual, organic textures, take a look at her recent “what-if” beads you see here too. I don’t know what she put on these, but they’re entrancing in their variation of color and forms. Jump over to her post on her what-if day in the studio to see more.  Crothers what if beads

Debbie also released her latest Craft Art Edu class on image transfers. There must be something out there in the ether that is pushing us towards image transfers because we also have an article on image transfer in the soon-to-be-released Fall 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts. Deb’s class uses pre-printed laser prints, waterslide images, and temporary tattoo applications while the tutorial in the upcoming TPA issue explores inkjet print transfer created on plain paper (yes, just regular old white copy paper) and photo paper. They both have their pros and cons, so you’d have to check them out to see which you might want to play with.

Pre-order your copy of the Fall 2015 issue on the website, and you can preview Debbie’s class on Craft Art Edu by just clicking on the window you find there.

 

 

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.

      TPA_McGuire_blog ad  

Fabulous Feeling

August 10, 2015

klew disk necklace lgtWe might spend a day or two more on disks since it’s garnered such interest but also because I’ve been sent such beautiful pieces as this necklace by Karen Lewis (aka Klew). Ronna’s piece on the cover of the Fall 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts pushed Klew to reach out to share this. She has such beautiful work, and I just don’t think we see enough of it! So lucky us!

Klew said this about her work as well: “I am inspired by ancient jewelry, specifically semi- precious stone and shell. I love designing with heishi beads, and thought I’d make my own! I pinched them slightly so that they would have a ripple texture rather than simply flat and uninteresting. They are opened up with tiny copper heishi as well to provide movement. It feels wonderful around my neck. I just love it!”

Klew brings up a little pondered point … how jewelry feels when you wear it. A wearer’s experience and connection with your piece also has to do with how it physically feels. I’ve had some stunning pieces that were too uncomfortable to wear for long and other unassuming pieces that I never wanted to take off because they had such a comforting or even massaging texture. What characteristics make adornment feel fabulous on, as well as looked fabulous? It is something that I think bears more study!

In the meantime, you can jump over to Klew’s website and gallery for more gorgeous bits and bobs.

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.

      TPA_McGuire_blog ad  

A Collection Kit

March 25, 2015

il_fullxfull.207091800This fun little set of beads is actually an example of the beads you can make from a kit that Barbara Briggs ingenuously put together. Not that kits are anything new, but this one for beginning polymer beads is pretty clever. She offers wooden bead centers as a jumping off point for shapes and adds mica powders and pre-mixed clays in particular color palettes as designated by the buyer. Along with other basic necessities, she offers plenty of instruction.

I thought this sampler of what her buyers could make was quite lovely on its own.  The colors are slightly muted, and the textures are organic and rounded, so they could easily be paired up on a single necklace string. I’d wear that! And, how exciting for beginners to see the versatility and the ease with which polymer can create lovely components. The hard part is getting away from a kit and making your own color, form, texture and other design choices. But, that is when your own voice comes into play.

If you are unfamiliar with Barbara’s work, she is an insane beader who works in all kinds of beading material. If you are on here because you find polymer fascinating but maybe haven’t tried doing much with it yet, here is a great opportunity. Or if you’re one of our experienced readers, take a look at Barbara’s other beading kits and add some complex beading to your repertoire. These kits and patterns can all be found in her Etsy shop.

 

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.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

A Collection of Beaded Beads

March 23, 2015

Belkomor mircobeads

Although finished work is the usual focus here, I am often just as fascinated by the elements that make up a piece of jewelry, a sculpture, or a wonderfully decorated container. Well-developed faux stones, layered cabochons, complex canes and intricately designed beads can be such little worlds of wonder unto themselves. I guess part of me has held back on sharing images of components because the quiet little unimposing collections may not look so impressive as a tiny photo on the blog or on Facebook. But this week … we are going to show them anyway. I’d highly encourage you click on the images in the posts to find the larger views, so you can really soak up the details.

This is one I found yesterday that kind of sparked the whole idea. It popped up somewhere on my Pinterest feed, and I was just so excited to see microbeads being used in such a controlled manner. I have been working out ways to use these a bit more myself and just fell in love with Maria Belkomor’s lovely application. These beads look like individual little planets, well seeded and covered in beautiful lush lands and waters.

She has a number of these microbead bead sets on LiveJournal including a bracelet with strips using this application. Get yourself a closer look on the post here.

 

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.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

Degraded Discs

January 22, 2015

kristin LoganSquareThis bit of inspired faux old art has more to do with the disintegration of materials than any past culture. The material it emulates could be seen as stone or sap or bone, but it long ago degraded into something soft and well-weathered.  The texture and colors are simple but lovely in their organic connection.

I found these on an Etsy shop called @Logan Square. The artisan only identifies herself as Kristin. She does have some interesting words to explain where her textures come from and how she sees her beads:

“Each bead is unique, created by impressions taken from found objects. These objects come from my collection of plant forms, drift wood and pebbles from Lake Michigan, fossils and shells, as well as copper etchings of digital patterns I’ve created (I call these my digital “runes”) … my beads are fantasy fossils and relics.”

Take a look at her shop and the other wonderful textures she has there, especially her banner; she identifies the impressions made in those beads as being from “walnut seed, crayfish claws, fish vertebrae, digital runes, swordfish skull bones, and weathered concrete.” Wow. I would say no texture is safe from being used in this polymer work!

 

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.

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    PolymerArts Kaleidoscope     sfxpaad

From Czech with Love

I have been taking a lot of shots of the art being worn by the attendees, or as we keep noting here, of people’s chests because between pins and necklaces; that is where most of the jewelry is so what choice do we have, right?  It has made for some funny moments. I had a great time with a trio of gals from the Czech Republic during one of our breaks. We couldn’t stop laughing as I tried to photograph their jewelry. I was trying to compare the work and they were standing next to each other comparing, well, other things that were ending up in the shot. They were so fun.

Martina Malaskova

Martina Malaskova

Pavla Čepelíková

Pavla Čepelíková

Dana Phamova

Dana Phamova

My grandmother was from Czechoslovakia and I had learned a few words in the language when I was a child so I do have a soft spot for people from that part of the world which is probably part of the reason I chatted it up with these gals. Their fun and happy demeanor can be seen in the type of work they made and wore this week. Take a look at more of their work on these pages:

Pavla Čepelíková: www.saffron-addict.com

Dana Phamova: www.fler.cz/fruitensse

Martina Malaskova: www.lca-jewellery.com/home_en.php

 

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.

Blog2 -2014-02Feb-5   polymer clay overlapping cane   14P1 cover Fnl

The Purpose of Intention

February 9, 2020
Posted in

How often, when you sit down to create something, do you think about why you’re doing it, the story behind what you are creating, or even just the theme or look? Apparently, it’s not overly common, at least not amongst the readers writing me this weekend.

Friday evening, I finally got the Virtual Art Box out after some technical difficulties that required a change of plans on the backend. I was a bit frazzled over reworking the technical stuff and, even though I was happy with the content I’d created, I was getting a bit nervous about how this new project would be received. But, as I wrote in the immersive design article for the Virtual Art Box project, things generally work out well when you have a particular idea in mind and you make all your decisions based on that overriding intention.

Well, my intention for the Virtual Art Box was to immerse the readers in a particular design idea that can be explored throughout the month. I was hoping that the primary design article, supported by the additional content the readers would journey through, would encourage them to really delve into the idea I presented in a purposeful and substantial way. But the question was, would they?

I thought it might be a bit of a challenge this first month since my chosen theme is conceptual rather than being a more concrete design element. But it’s just such an important concept in art. The immersive design theme this month is “Intention”. It’s simply the idea that when you sit down to create something, you can be more successful and have a more fulfilling creative experience if you have an overriding idea of what you are creating in terms of its purpose and its concept, concept being the theme, story, style or whatnot.

Well, I think my own intention to keep my focus on making the Virtual Art Box an immersive learning experience is working. Already. (Yay!) I have to say that I am a bit startled and overwhelmed by the reception of the project so far. In a community where publications, both in print and online, are dominated by project tutorials and things that are “easy and fun” (not that there’s anything wrong with fun at all!), my approach feels rather serious even though, as many of you may have seen, I do try to stay conversational and lighthearted and occasionally I just get silly. Art should be fun, and enjoyable, and fulfilling. But making good art in a truly fulfilling creative life does take work. I don’t know why I was worried that people wouldn’t want to put the work in. You, my readers, have always been pretty gung ho!

I already have a few Creative Pursuit challenge forms in (this is the part of the Box in which you create a self-challenge, and the form shares it with me and with you, and I help track it and keep you motivated.) It turns out, people look to be quick intrigued by the idea of working with intention. I love that I’m not the only art nerd who gets into things like that!

The thing is, I think  intention is the core of all design. Without it, no matter how well you understand the various aspects of design, construction, workmanship, etc., it is difficult to create a successful design. Every piece of art needs a base, a core, a grounding concept from which the artist can build, otherwise the work risks being chaotic. It’s true that a chaotic design could work but only if it is the artist’s intention to create chaos. Then it has purpose. But chaos without intent is not art; it is just messy.

Intention not only gets you where you want to go but it helps guide your design choices along the way. When you make design choices based on what works for your overriding intention, the result will be a cohesive, purposeful, and, most likely, well-designed piece.

Now, I know, some of you are already thinking that you don’t want to think so deliberately about what you’re creating or that you just like to explore. Exploration, creating for the joy of it, and stream of consciousness creating are still processes with a particular intention. Because isn’t the success of a piece really measured against how well it fulfills your intention?

Let’s look at a few of the examples.

Debbie Crothers prefers to explore and make lots of pieces as she exhausts a technique or material’s possibilities. She doesn’t usually work with a finished piece in mind but, with extensive exploration as her intention, she finds success in much of what she does and ends up with undeniably stunning beads.

 

Joseph Barbaccia specializes in inspired polymer illustrations of people and things he admires and enjoys so his intention is to visually represent objects, places, and beings from his view point such as this great portrait of David Lynch.

 

In Melanie Muir’s Summer Seas in White cuff, you can see that from the colors to the patterns, even to how the patterns are tilted on the tilted square of the beads, this piece speaks of bright light on rippling ocean waters. Her intention is clear and all her design choices align with the intended look.

 

Are you starting to get the picture? If so, think about what your intention means to you and what you intention is next time you sit down to the studio table. And if this concept really intrigues you, even if you don’t want to subscribe, you can buy the Virtual Art Box for just the one month, get all the details and ideas I am offering on how to make intention a new and exciting tool for your creative work, and see how you like the Box.

Now, if you signed up for the Virtual Art Box and didn’t see your access email, check your spam folders. It went out Friday evening (PST). If you purchased it online (rather than had your prior magazine subscription balance transferred to the Virtual Art Box), you should find the PDF package download in your account on the website. If you expected it and can’t find it in either place, write me and we’ll get you fixed up.

 

And with that, I am off to relax a bit. Its been a bit of a marathon getting the new project off the ground but now that is has taken wing, it’s time to attend to me a bit and I am going to make that include some further intention … the intention to make studio time a priority at least a couple days a week. How do you ensure you get the creative time in that you need? Maybe we’ll look at that subject a bit this week as well.

In the meantime, have an intentionally, purposefully, and mindfully creative week!

Read More

Going Half Round

January 18, 2016
Posted in ,

Бижутерия своими руками мастер-клаThis week, I have pieces to share with you that have unexpected additions or changes. I think it is fantastic to mix things up, not only in our own world and work, but to step outside the expectations of what we think certain types of pieces should be. For instance, does a bead really have to be round? No, of course not. But should it at least be three-dimensionally symmetrical? Not really.

Katerina Sidorova has taken the round bead and literally reshaped it for this bracelet. The beads here were created by making perfectly round balls, cutting them in half, and adding thick cane slices on top that were carefully smoothed in to blend with the cut halves. The result is an off-balance half-round shape, or you might say it’s a ball half smashed, or you might call it acorn shaped even. What it is, though, is an unusual shape for a bead, which makes the gathering of the beautiful blue details quite intriguing. And really, the idea is pretty simple, but just that change makes us look twice because it does go beyond the expected round form.

Katerina has generously shared how she created these in this tutorial. She is the shop owner at Russia’s online polymer and jewelry supply shop KalinkaPolinka, which is also a great website full of articles, free tutorials, and links to other tutorials to explore.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Consider a form you regularly create and consider how you can change it to make it more interesting or intriguing. Sketch, cut, or sculpt your ideas.

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

   

PCA Nov 15 Blog   businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front

___________________________________________

Read More

Translucent Tests

November 18, 2015
Posted in

Francoise HecquetHere I found an artist testing the possibilities of translucents in what looks like some fairly classic applications, but with the added complexity of coloring for depth.

Françoise Hecquet, aka Bounette, creates a wide variety of beads, but I think her translucent pieces really stand out in her collections.  I’m not sure what she was attempting here, although I think they were successful unto themselves. All she has in the text that accompanies this post is “Je sais pas si les couleurs…” which translates as something like “not knowing about the colors”. But that’s all she says. So, we are left to wonder what she was trying but at least we can admire the crystalline-like effect of the way the translucent was mixed and colored.

If you feel a little let down that she hasn’t hinted at the mysteries behind these pretty test pieces, she does share a pretty cool technique with opaque dots and translucent clay, which has a really beautiful effect. You can find that tutorial post on her blog here.  

 

___________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

    Print  

  PCA Nov 15 Blog    

___________________________________________

Read More

Taking the Disk Challenge

August 12, 2015
Posted in

Crothers glass beadsI just had to share this because these creations by Debbie Crothers were a direct result of the pieces posted on this past Friday’s blog. Do you recall those gorgeous glass beads by Debbie Sanders? And my mental meanderings about how cool something like this would be in polymer? Well … ta-da!, Debbie took on Debbie and created polymer versions, and I have to say they are just luscious.

Our dear Deb is such an explorer. These beads are just one in many recent experiments she’s shared on her Facebook page and blog. If you are a lover of visual, organic textures, take a look at her recent “what-if” beads you see here too. I don’t know what she put on these, but they’re entrancing in their variation of color and forms. Jump over to her post on her what-if day in the studio to see more.  Crothers what if beads

Debbie also released her latest Craft Art Edu class on image transfers. There must be something out there in the ether that is pushing us towards image transfers because we also have an article on image transfer in the soon-to-be-released Fall 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts. Deb’s class uses pre-printed laser prints, waterslide images, and temporary tattoo applications while the tutorial in the upcoming TPA issue explores inkjet print transfer created on plain paper (yes, just regular old white copy paper) and photo paper. They both have their pros and cons, so you’d have to check them out to see which you might want to play with.

Pre-order your copy of the Fall 2015 issue on the website, and you can preview Debbie’s class on Craft Art Edu by just clicking on the window you find there.

 

 

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.

      TPA_McGuire_blog ad  

Read More

Fabulous Feeling

August 10, 2015
Posted in

klew disk necklace lgtWe might spend a day or two more on disks since it’s garnered such interest but also because I’ve been sent such beautiful pieces as this necklace by Karen Lewis (aka Klew). Ronna’s piece on the cover of the Fall 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts pushed Klew to reach out to share this. She has such beautiful work, and I just don’t think we see enough of it! So lucky us!

Klew said this about her work as well: “I am inspired by ancient jewelry, specifically semi- precious stone and shell. I love designing with heishi beads, and thought I’d make my own! I pinched them slightly so that they would have a ripple texture rather than simply flat and uninteresting. They are opened up with tiny copper heishi as well to provide movement. It feels wonderful around my neck. I just love it!”

Klew brings up a little pondered point … how jewelry feels when you wear it. A wearer’s experience and connection with your piece also has to do with how it physically feels. I’ve had some stunning pieces that were too uncomfortable to wear for long and other unassuming pieces that I never wanted to take off because they had such a comforting or even massaging texture. What characteristics make adornment feel fabulous on, as well as looked fabulous? It is something that I think bears more study!

In the meantime, you can jump over to Klew’s website and gallery for more gorgeous bits and bobs.

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.

      TPA_McGuire_blog ad  

Read More

A Collection Kit

March 25, 2015
Posted in

il_fullxfull.207091800This fun little set of beads is actually an example of the beads you can make from a kit that Barbara Briggs ingenuously put together. Not that kits are anything new, but this one for beginning polymer beads is pretty clever. She offers wooden bead centers as a jumping off point for shapes and adds mica powders and pre-mixed clays in particular color palettes as designated by the buyer. Along with other basic necessities, she offers plenty of instruction.

I thought this sampler of what her buyers could make was quite lovely on its own.  The colors are slightly muted, and the textures are organic and rounded, so they could easily be paired up on a single necklace string. I’d wear that! And, how exciting for beginners to see the versatility and the ease with which polymer can create lovely components. The hard part is getting away from a kit and making your own color, form, texture and other design choices. But, that is when your own voice comes into play.

If you are unfamiliar with Barbara’s work, she is an insane beader who works in all kinds of beading material. If you are on here because you find polymer fascinating but maybe haven’t tried doing much with it yet, here is a great opportunity. Or if you’re one of our experienced readers, take a look at Barbara’s other beading kits and add some complex beading to your repertoire. These kits and patterns can all be found in her Etsy shop.

 

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.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

Read More

A Collection of Beaded Beads

March 23, 2015
Posted in

Belkomor mircobeads

Although finished work is the usual focus here, I am often just as fascinated by the elements that make up a piece of jewelry, a sculpture, or a wonderfully decorated container. Well-developed faux stones, layered cabochons, complex canes and intricately designed beads can be such little worlds of wonder unto themselves. I guess part of me has held back on sharing images of components because the quiet little unimposing collections may not look so impressive as a tiny photo on the blog or on Facebook. But this week … we are going to show them anyway. I’d highly encourage you click on the images in the posts to find the larger views, so you can really soak up the details.

This is one I found yesterday that kind of sparked the whole idea. It popped up somewhere on my Pinterest feed, and I was just so excited to see microbeads being used in such a controlled manner. I have been working out ways to use these a bit more myself and just fell in love with Maria Belkomor’s lovely application. These beads look like individual little planets, well seeded and covered in beautiful lush lands and waters.

She has a number of these microbead bead sets on LiveJournal including a bracelet with strips using this application. Get yourself a closer look on the post here.

 

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Degraded Discs

January 22, 2015
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kristin LoganSquareThis bit of inspired faux old art has more to do with the disintegration of materials than any past culture. The material it emulates could be seen as stone or sap or bone, but it long ago degraded into something soft and well-weathered.  The texture and colors are simple but lovely in their organic connection.

I found these on an Etsy shop called @Logan Square. The artisan only identifies herself as Kristin. She does have some interesting words to explain where her textures come from and how she sees her beads:

“Each bead is unique, created by impressions taken from found objects. These objects come from my collection of plant forms, drift wood and pebbles from Lake Michigan, fossils and shells, as well as copper etchings of digital patterns I’ve created (I call these my digital “runes”) … my beads are fantasy fossils and relics.”

Take a look at her shop and the other wonderful textures she has there, especially her banner; she identifies the impressions made in those beads as being from “walnut seed, crayfish claws, fish vertebrae, digital runes, swordfish skull bones, and weathered concrete.” Wow. I would say no texture is safe from being used in this polymer work!

 

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From Czech with Love

May 2, 2014
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I have been taking a lot of shots of the art being worn by the attendees, or as we keep noting here, of people’s chests because between pins and necklaces; that is where most of the jewelry is so what choice do we have, right?  It has made for some funny moments. I had a great time with a trio of gals from the Czech Republic during one of our breaks. We couldn’t stop laughing as I tried to photograph their jewelry. I was trying to compare the work and they were standing next to each other comparing, well, other things that were ending up in the shot. They were so fun.

Martina Malaskova

Martina Malaskova

Pavla Čepelíková

Pavla Čepelíková

Dana Phamova

Dana Phamova

My grandmother was from Czechoslovakia and I had learned a few words in the language when I was a child so I do have a soft spot for people from that part of the world which is probably part of the reason I chatted it up with these gals. Their fun and happy demeanor can be seen in the type of work they made and wore this week. Take a look at more of their work on these pages:

Pavla Čepelíková: www.saffron-addict.com

Dana Phamova: www.fler.cz/fruitensse

Martina Malaskova: www.lca-jewellery.com/home_en.php

 

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