Giving Floral a Little Teeth
September 27, 2017
Inspirational Art
Along with hitting up a number of museums, I got to chat with a lot of artist friends, including my crazy circle in Colorado who seek out, as well as create, really wild and fantastical work. And whenever they find polymer related work, they bring it to me.
My old roommate and the instigator of my own polymer journey, Kyle Kelley, introduced me to this unusual artist, Anastasiya Khramina of NooboSlowpokoPanda. The polymer flowers you see here may have beautifully painted petals and lots of natural detail but take just a little closer look and you’ll see they also have teeth! And some crazy but realistically textured tongues. There is even one embellished with a cat’s snout, complete with bared teeth.
These beautifully creepy, ready-for-Halloween creations are made into brooches, pendants and hair clips, per the customer’s request. She actually makes other things besides flowers but they all have teeth and tongues. If you’re getting into the Halloween mood or are looking for some creepy inspiration, jump over to Anastasiya’s NooboSlowpokoPanda Facebook page for short videos on her pieces and process and her Etsy shop for a look at her present offerings.
And don’t forget … tomorrow is the last day to get half off all available print editions of The Polymer Arts and Polymer Journeys. Head to our Etsy shop to pick up any publications you don’t have yet!
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Traveling Color
April 8, 2016
Inspirational Art
I have one more day of running about before I can get back to business as usual. I love road trips primarily for the wide variety of things you see along the way. This trip was particularly colorful as spring starts to show itself and the wispy clouds in the sky turn sunrises and sunsets all shades of pink, peach, and violet. Then there was rain yesterday, drenching the red rocks around the new green foliage in the central California mountains. These are the kinds of things that really get you excited about playing with color.
But since I can’t go play, let’s enjoy the color play of Claudia Stern, a bit of a jet-setting person herself. Claudia is a native of Peru who studied jewelry design in Italy and now lives in Sweden. She works in textiles but commonly uses polymer to create floral additions or centerpieces for her work. She creates gorgeous and intricate purses as well as jewelry. While I finish the last leg of my traveling today, enjoy this colorful neck piece and go take a look at her colorful work on her Facebook page and her quieter metal work on her website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take particular note of the color you see throughout the day. What colors are you drawn to? Choose 2-3 colors or a combination you see and use it as the basis and inspiration for a new piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Toasting in the New Year
January 1, 2016
Inspirational Art
I
know at this hour, the whole world has had the chance to greet the first day of the New Year, but I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy, creative, productive, and beautiful 2016.
I am doing so with the help of the DiAmore Design Studio, which is a team of artists rather than an individual. They hail from the Ukraine and specialize in unique decorated and custom wedding items such as guestbooks, cake toppers, table decorations, and, more than anything really, hand decorated glasses.
I think it is rather hard to make a sophisticated decorated glass that isn’t over done but this team has that down. This beautiful polymer hydrangea works with these champagne glasses, even as large as they are, because their shape simply follows the bottom edge of the glasses’ bowl. It would feel obtrusive if it was planted farther up and farther down would cover up the thin delicacy of the stem which keeps the whole look from feeling bulky.
Beyond the flower, there is this delicate hand-painted design with accented pearls. Those seem rather standard with these hand adorned glasses, but the bold flower makes for a rather unique decorated champagne glass. I think bold should be the motto this year! I have a few bold ideas of my own I’ll introduce in the coming weeks. What have you in store for the new year?
So, a toast to you and yours. I hope you are relaxing and enjoying the first day of this brand new year!
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Masses of Flowers
August 12, 2014
Inspirational Art
In all of the comments and emails that I received regarding yesterday’s post, it seems as if we find nature’s masses of similar items most alluring.
Flowers are, of course, an obvious example. Nature packs them in bunches on bushes, in small explosions of colors in meadows and amassed across the canopy of trees in the spring.
So, I went looking for a polymer example, and there are plenty of them, but I particularly like this bracelet due to the likeness of the flowers in shape and size, with just a little change in color. I think this is more nature’s type of design versus the lovely, but very varied designs of the more ornate floral pieces we have seen so much of the last few years.
This was created by a Russian artist who lists her name as Valeria-Maslova in her Livemaster shop. She has a lot of lovely items in her shop, which include more masses of flowers, circles and colonies of shapes that will intrigue you. I am off to keep working on polishing up the next issue, and as you all suggest, I will head off in search of more of these designs to share with you.
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.
Jumping into Spring
January 13, 2014
Inspirational Art
I know it’s still the middle of winter but there are definitely a lot of thoughts of Spring being bandied about. I caught sight of these little flowers by Etsy’s MyCraftGarden in Bangkok and thought they would be a delightful way to start the week. Who doesn’t like flowers on a Monday?
These 2″x 4″ (5 x10 cm) flower baskets wouldn’t take up a lot of desk space but what a nice way to brighten up a work area. For more day brightening flowers, miniature blooming bonsai, and colorful baskets of mini fruits and vegetables take a look at MyCraftGarden’s Etsy’s shop.
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.
Something Different This Year
December 30, 2013
Inspirational Art
The New Year is just about here. Many of us are thinking about what we will be doing in 2014 including new projects, new shows and maybe even a new direction in our craft work. This week I’ll throw out a few ideas about how to push your work while we enjoy some pretty polymer pieces.
Many of us cover objects with clay. Often it involves canes or sheets of clay, but what if you used the object more like a canvas and added many small elements to create intricate patterns an texture. I think this can really bring that kind of work up a notch or two. Just look at these wedding toast glasses by Inara Kirhenstein from Riga, Latvia.
Inara’s description of her glasses: “Luxury wedding flutes decorated with more than 50 polymer clay flowers, Swarovski rhinestones, seed beads and faux pearls. Small Czech Preciosa seed beads are appliqued one by one.” This kind of application would certainly take a bit of patience but the detailed work certainly pays off. It’s very eye-catching and impressive.
All of Inara’s work is similarly detailed. She does jewelry as well as these kinds of glasses. You can see more of her beautiful work in her Etsy shop.
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.
Along with hitting up a number of museums, I got to chat with a lot of artist friends, including my crazy circle in Colorado who seek out, as well as create, really wild and fantastical work. And whenever they find polymer related work, they bring it to me.
My old roommate and the instigator of my own polymer journey, Kyle Kelley, introduced me to this unusual artist, Anastasiya Khramina of NooboSlowpokoPanda. The polymer flowers you see here may have beautifully painted petals and lots of natural detail but take just a little closer look and you’ll see they also have teeth! And some crazy but realistically textured tongues. There is even one embellished with a cat’s snout, complete with bared teeth.
These beautifully creepy, ready-for-Halloween creations are made into brooches, pendants and hair clips, per the customer’s request. She actually makes other things besides flowers but they all have teeth and tongues. If you’re getting into the Halloween mood or are looking for some creepy inspiration, jump over to Anastasiya’s NooboSlowpokoPanda Facebook page for short videos on her pieces and process and her Etsy shop for a look at her present offerings.
And don’t forget … tomorrow is the last day to get half off all available print editions of The Polymer Arts and Polymer Journeys. Head to our Etsy shop to pick up any publications you don’t have yet!
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read More I have one more day of running about before I can get back to business as usual. I love road trips primarily for the wide variety of things you see along the way. This trip was particularly colorful as spring starts to show itself and the wispy clouds in the sky turn sunrises and sunsets all shades of pink, peach, and violet. Then there was rain yesterday, drenching the red rocks around the new green foliage in the central California mountains. These are the kinds of things that really get you excited about playing with color.
But since I can’t go play, let’s enjoy the color play of Claudia Stern, a bit of a jet-setting person herself. Claudia is a native of Peru who studied jewelry design in Italy and now lives in Sweden. She works in textiles but commonly uses polymer to create floral additions or centerpieces for her work. She creates gorgeous and intricate purses as well as jewelry. While I finish the last leg of my traveling today, enjoy this colorful neck piece and go take a look at her colorful work on her Facebook page and her quieter metal work on her website.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take particular note of the color you see throughout the day. What colors are you drawn to? Choose 2-3 colors or a combination you see and use it as the basis and inspiration for a new piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read MoreI know at this hour, the whole world has had the chance to greet the first day of the New Year, but I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy, creative, productive, and beautiful 2016.
I am doing so with the help of the DiAmore Design Studio, which is a team of artists rather than an individual. They hail from the Ukraine and specialize in unique decorated and custom wedding items such as guestbooks, cake toppers, table decorations, and, more than anything really, hand decorated glasses.
I think it is rather hard to make a sophisticated decorated glass that isn’t over done but this team has that down. This beautiful polymer hydrangea works with these champagne glasses, even as large as they are, because their shape simply follows the bottom edge of the glasses’ bowl. It would feel obtrusive if it was planted farther up and farther down would cover up the thin delicacy of the stem which keeps the whole look from feeling bulky.
Beyond the flower, there is this delicate hand-painted design with accented pearls. Those seem rather standard with these hand adorned glasses, but the bold flower makes for a rather unique decorated champagne glass. I think bold should be the motto this year! I have a few bold ideas of my own I’ll introduce in the coming weeks. What have you in store for the new year?
So, a toast to you and yours. I hope you are relaxing and enjoying the first day of this brand new year!
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read MoreIn all of the comments and emails that I received regarding yesterday’s post, it seems as if we find nature’s masses of similar items most alluring.
Flowers are, of course, an obvious example. Nature packs them in bunches on bushes, in small explosions of colors in meadows and amassed across the canopy of trees in the spring.
So, I went looking for a polymer example, and there are plenty of them, but I particularly like this bracelet due to the likeness of the flowers in shape and size, with just a little change in color. I think this is more nature’s type of design versus the lovely, but very varied designs of the more ornate floral pieces we have seen so much of the last few years.
This was created by a Russian artist who lists her name as Valeria-Maslova in her Livemaster shop. She has a lot of lovely items in her shop, which include more masses of flowers, circles and colonies of shapes that will intrigue you. I am off to keep working on polishing up the next issue, and as you all suggest, I will head off in search of more of these designs to share with you.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
I know it’s still the middle of winter but there are definitely a lot of thoughts of Spring being bandied about. I caught sight of these little flowers by Etsy’s MyCraftGarden in Bangkok and thought they would be a delightful way to start the week. Who doesn’t like flowers on a Monday?
These 2″x 4″ (5 x10 cm) flower baskets wouldn’t take up a lot of desk space but what a nice way to brighten up a work area. For more day brightening flowers, miniature blooming bonsai, and colorful baskets of mini fruits and vegetables take a look at MyCraftGarden’s Etsy’s shop.
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.
The New Year is just about here. Many of us are thinking about what we will be doing in 2014 including new projects, new shows and maybe even a new direction in our craft work. This week I’ll throw out a few ideas about how to push your work while we enjoy some pretty polymer pieces.
Many of us cover objects with clay. Often it involves canes or sheets of clay, but what if you used the object more like a canvas and added many small elements to create intricate patterns an texture. I think this can really bring that kind of work up a notch or two. Just look at these wedding toast glasses by Inara Kirhenstein from Riga, Latvia.
Inara’s description of her glasses: “Luxury wedding flutes decorated with more than 50 polymer clay flowers, Swarovski rhinestones, seed beads and faux pearls. Small Czech Preciosa seed beads are appliqued one by one.” This kind of application would certainly take a bit of patience but the detailed work certainly pays off. It’s very eye-catching and impressive.
All of Inara’s work is similarly detailed. She does jewelry as well as these kinds of glasses. You can see more of her beautiful work in her Etsy shop.
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.
