Your Morning Book
June 30, 2019
Inspirational Art
Monika Duchowicz’s Slavic Village polymer journal cover
Have you ever gone to a foreign country and found yourself talking like them after being there awhile? It might just be the phrasing but perhaps you take on accents or hand gestures as well. It’s natural to adopt accents and ways of speaking when you are around it a lot. That’s how you learned to talk as a baby and your brain doesn’t completely turn off that learning from what you hear around you.
This phenomenon can happen with things other than language too. As fashion and décor changes around us, we may find our tastes get tweaked along with them. When we peruse social media sites and see artwork online, we may adopt a tendency towards certain types of design, colors, and forms. This can happen over time or even over the course of a day. That means that what you see online and around you can effect what you create.
So how do you keep your own voice and your style unaltered? Well, you can’t, really. Our aesthetic is formed from our interaction with our world but we can do something about the dominance of other influences over our own unique and personal voice. But it’s like muscle memory and that takes regular practice.
Ages ago, I read a book written in 1920 (whose title and author I have shamefully forgotten) on how to be a writer. The author had one line that really struck me. After stating he explained that a writer must get up every morning and, before doing anything else including getting out of bed, he or she must write at least a page of what we would now call free-writing, because this was the only way to insure the writer would wrote with their own voice later in the day. The section ended with him saying, “If you cannot get up and write a page every morning, then you are not a writer.”
At that point, a writer was all I wanted to be, so, fearful that I would not prove up to the task and therefore, I’d never be a real writer (I was rather young and impressionable then), I took that line to heart and I wrote every morning, no matter what, for what was probably about 10 years. Getting married and having a family kind of threw me off the habit but I do try to go back to it each time I stray.
When I don’t do this exercise, I do find that my day to day interactions find their way into my creative work. I found out early on that if I didn’t write in the morning, or tried writing fiction or poetry after a long day of reading academic books or writing training manuals, my writing would feel awkward or stilted. It just didn’t sound like me.
I think this influence of other art we see during the day can similarly affect the art we create as well. So, as part of my morning ritual now, I write for 10-15 minutes and then sketch for about the same amount of time. It is a very pleasant way to wake up and, in the process, I flex my unique voice and get my brain geared up for creative work. I don’t always have time to work in the studio but at least every day I am flexing that visual creative muscle and, I find, it makes my creative time easier to get into when I do get to go play.
Even if you aren’t able to spend productive time creating every day, I think you would find that a morning sketch, a quick “clay doodle” (just sitting at the studio table, playing with your clay for 15 minutes), or just journaling about design ideas will go a long way to concrete you personal voice. It will also show you what you are drawn to or might give you some really unique ideas for new designs. It’s something I would highly encourage.
So, would you be up for that? If you choose to write or sketch in the mornings, you can increase your motivation by creating a beautifully covered sketchbook or journal. And since polymer clay lends itself so well to decorating just about anything, why not make a beautiful cover for a blank book, and then keep it by your bedside? With a gorgeous tome to work in, you’re sure not to miss out on a very useful and fulfilling bit of creative exercise.
A Book and It’s Cover
The first person who comes to mind when talking of polymer covered journals is Aniko Kolesnikova aka Mandarin Duck. She does some of the most interesting and detailed journal covers you can find in polymer these days. And she doesn’t do just the front. She covers the back quite often, like on this one here.
If you are the sculptural type and want a ton of ideas to get you going on a cover design of your own, check out Aniko’s Flickr photostream. If you want more than just ideas, go to her Etsy page for tutorials, including one for that gorgeous peacock cover that was featured in Polymer Journeys 2019.
The other person that comes readily to mind for polymer covered books, and is one of my early influencers, is Chris Kapono, who, like Aniko, also has an affinity for the word Mandarin for some reason, her shop being Mandarin Moon. Chris’ covers are a riotous mixed-media decoration of polymer with glass cabochons, metal charms, beads, and, sometimes, hand-drawn decoration, as you see in the border of this book below.
Books are a perfect canvas for Chris’ style of decorative polymer. She shares her process as well, through tutorials on her Etsy site and in publications such as her tremendous contribution to the Polymer Art Projects – Organics book.
If you would like to create a cover with a more painterly approach, you might aspire to the work of Monika Duchowicz. Her polymer paintings are masterful but she kindly shares process shots on her Instagram account and was so kind to create a tutorial for her style of polymer painting for The Polymer Arts in the Summer 2017 issue.
Here’s another painterly polymer artist, Zhanna Bessonova, who likes to go really large. I just didn’t want you to think it had to be a small journal or sketchbook. Pick the size of the book you want to write or draw in first, then decide the cover.
I know, I know … the work of these very talented ladies might be intimidating to some people but remember, the whole idea is to make something that can help you find and/or hold onto your unique voice so you certainly don’t need to make covers like these—make them your way! Whatever you can create on a flat sheet of polymer can become a journal cover. Create a cover with a mosaic of textured squares, tons of polymer dots, rhinestones, polymer ‘embrodiery or, heck, canes will do, of course! Strangely enough, I couldn’t really find anyone doing cane covered books. I thought clayers had hit everything with cane slices! They must be out there somewhere! (If you know of some, share the links to them in the comments at the end of this post. Click the header if you are getting this by email.)
Also keep in mind, your cover doesn’t have to be complicated. And it doesn’t have to be polymer. Use whatever you like and do as much or as little as you like on it. Look at this lovely but simple book by a French crafter who goes by shop name alone – Avenuedes Fantaisies. It’s just a polymer honeycomb background and some fun rhinestone bees that were probably pins at one time, but it feels joyful.
You really can attach anything you want to your book cover. It’s for you, so if you are up for the challenge, make it yours!
New Issue of The Polymer Studio, coming late July
If you haven’t seen the new cover roaming about social media, here it is! Debbie Crothers’s acrylic on polymer beads grace the front for issue #3. We also have tutorials by Christi Friesen, Anita Long, Beatriz Cominatto, Kathy Koontz and Nika Nakit. There is also a fascinating interview with Beatriz, Brazil’s premiere polymer artist with a branded line of polymer clay, and a peek into the studio of master miniature artist, Angie Scarr. Plus much more.
Start or renew subscriptions or pre-order a copy on the website here.
Painter for a Day
I am off to paint a bathroom today then back to polishing the next issue. We might have a fully functional bathroom by the end of the day Monday but only if I can get this part done today. It’s not that the contractors couldn’t paint it but, well, I’m cheaper—I just require some yummy baked goods and a good audiobook or podcast and I’ll work away! And, honestly, I will do a better job. When it’s your place, you just take extra care with things. So, I am off. Enjoy your Sunday and have a beautiful week! I hope you get up every morning before your mind is otherwise influenced, and you write or create something just for yourself. You deserve it!
Trying on Detail
August 10, 2018
Inspirational Art
So, for those of us who like to keep our two-dimensional approach to polymer on the smaller side, I thought I’d nudge you to try your hand at polymer painting, if you haven’t already done so, and maybe combine it with a bit of polymer embroidery. As you see here, you can use polymer painting as a decorative approach to jewelry or small functional objects as well as for wall art.
To get you jump-started on these ideas, why don’t you jump over to Fiona Abel-Smith’s tutorial where she shows you how to create these little tree paintings that can be used for pendants or brooches. You can also peek in on her website where I encourage you to check out her Pietra dura polymer pieces.
Just click the image here to get to the YouTube video tutorial. Hope this kicks off some creative time for you this weekend!
Putting It into Context
August 8, 2018
Inspirational Art
Since we started out the week talking about two-dimensional polymer, I went looking for more polymer wall art for you. There are quite a few people who do polymer “painting” and collage work with polymer and I was having a hard time choosing but then I ran into this fascinating little piece.
Our artist here, Reuven Eliazar, a gentleman in Israel with no particular medium affiliation, created this some 10 years ago. Once I read his statement that, “The colours and the materials are the ‘subject’. My ‘stories’ are only the excuse for them to speak out,” I saw what he seems to be trying to do here and it made more sense. The butterfly is wonderful on its own, but putting it in this little scene creates context for the work and starts the idea of a story upon which Reuven can display his exploration of the clay.
Although Reuven seems to be focused on photography more than anything these days, he does have a collection of his polymer work in this album on Flickr so you can get a better idea of what he was exploring. And, of course, perhaps this example has given you some ideas about putting a scene together with your own pieces so you can tell some little stories of your own.
A Perfect Pairing
August 6, 2018
Inspirational Art
Even though polymer is generally considered a three-dimensional art form, this does not preclude it from being an exceptional two-dimensional art material. It allows for some very unique applications of imagery.
Would you have thought of this painting as being polymer clay when you first looked at it? The application of polymer doesn’t get much more two-dimensional than this but the energy of the colors and visual texture on what is obviously a very flat surface shows off some of the advantages of working with polymer as a “painting” medium.
This work is by the splendidly harmonious duo of Debo Groover and Tina Torrance, known as Debortina Studio. Their story is an interesting one. Pulled from their About page: “In 2008, after a long sabbatical from working as a professional artist, Debo created a new technique using polymer clay as a painting and collage material. This technique was formulated and fine-tuned for several years until it was perfected. The public response was so unexpected and overwhelmingly positive, that they joined forces and formed Debortina Studio.”
Their use of polymer with this curious combination of imagery is fascinating and enthralling. And so is the rest of their story. Why not hop on over to their website to read about it here and then take a look through their gallery at all the wonderfully patterned collage paintings.
When the Medium Does the Painting
March 18, 2016
Inspirational Art
Letting the material determine the outcome of a piece by allowing it to flow and mix as it wants is an approach that can be used in a variety of mediums including polymer, as we saw on Wednesday.
This beautiful image here, as I am sure you surmised, is not polymer. It’s not alcohol inks or watercolor or any of the traditional mediums. Although it may not be surprising to find out it is encaustic wax, the way the artist gets these ethereal forms and textures just might be surprising. So, instead of listening to me blather about the technique, I will suggest you slake your curiosity by watching this wonderful video the artist, Alicia Tormey, recently produced to show her technique. It’s a beautifully done video, but it is nothing next to the gorgeous texture of the pieces she creates.
Visit this link for the video on her home page, then stay and investigate her website and the wonderful colors and forms she creates for her wall art.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Starting with a single white, translucent, or light-colored sheet of clay, work the surface with spontaneous, uncontrolled additions. Crumple paper or foil and press the texture into it. Drop inks onto it, splatter paint or rub gilders paste onto it. Spritz with alcohol and water and let inks and paints run, then dab or rub off spots with a bit of towel. Sprinkle mica powder or oxide powder over it or randomly adhere metal leaf. Do as much or as little of this as you like until you see a surface that pleases you. If you go a little overboard, let any liquids dry then roll the sheet one step down on the pasta machine once or twice. Pick out parts you like to make polymer elements for jewelry or add to the sheet to develop a piece of wall art.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Painting with Edges
March 17, 2016
Inspirational Art
The wide open canvas idea that the Fimo 50 project brought up on Monday got me looking around at polymer painting. It is not an easy thing to literally paint with polymer, and sometimes I think that there isn’t really any advantage to painting in polymer other than to see if it can be done. I mean, if you are familiar with the wide world of acrylics, you know so much of what we do as painting with polymer can be done in acrylics. Thick dimensionality, rich color, marbling, layering, and even sculpting is possible with acrylic paint mediums. And you don’t have to cure it. But then you see a piece like this and yes, the rippling effect would be harder to achieve in polymer. It does have its place. It just depends on the hands it is in.
The hands this was in were Gloria Nilsson’s. She works almost exclusively in paint now, along with creating some jewelry, so I don’t have too much information on what she did here. This is from an old web page site on the piece:
“I developed this rolling wave technique in several of my polymer clay jewelry pieces first exhibited in September 2010 at the Killingworth Library. The process of painting with clay requires an artist to be open to the clay itself. The design of the wave is established, but the detail and the movement is dictated by the spontaneous color mixing process. No two will ever be alike.”
She goes on to say that she planned on exploring this further, but I could not find any other polymer paintings. It was certainly a beautiful start to this kind of ‘painting’, although it might more accurately be called construction or layering. But let’s forget categories and labels. When texture and imagery blend so well that you get a little lost as you look at it, you know the piece has transcended begin defined by its medium and any associated labels. I think this is one of those pieces.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Work with very, very thin sheets of clay and layer them so the edges form the lines, shapes, and texture of the piece you are creating. It is okay if this process leads you in another direction. Just follow your muse.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Little Bits of Filigree and Applique
June 15, 2015
Inspirational Art
I am a fan of small details. I love work that has been built one tiny bit at a time, which is probably why I find myself drawn to the application of tiny bits of polymer something called polymer embroidery, applique or even filigree. I found a number of pieces on a search this weekend that I think really open up the vast possibilities of creating imagery and texture from working with small bits and thin strings of polymer.
I want to start with this lovely little pendant because I just adore how the impressed polymer bits were extended into a dynamic rush of water and plumes of ocean foam. This was created by Estonia’s Katrina who has the shop, Filigrina, on Etsy. Every detail on this was hand-tooled in a way that makes me think more of painting than sculpting. And instead of simply pressing the bits of clay to create texture from the impressions, there also looks to be some dragging and cutting in with the hand-tools to make those little bits into the imagery we see here.
Katrina also sells printable scrapbook paper images and jewelry transfer images in her Etsy shop, so stop by and take a look at all the fun stuff she has to offer.
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.
Monika Duchowicz’s Slavic Village polymer journal cover
Have you ever gone to a foreign country and found yourself talking like them after being there awhile? It might just be the phrasing but perhaps you take on accents or hand gestures as well. It’s natural to adopt accents and ways of speaking when you are around it a lot. That’s how you learned to talk as a baby and your brain doesn’t completely turn off that learning from what you hear around you.
This phenomenon can happen with things other than language too. As fashion and décor changes around us, we may find our tastes get tweaked along with them. When we peruse social media sites and see artwork online, we may adopt a tendency towards certain types of design, colors, and forms. This can happen over time or even over the course of a day. That means that what you see online and around you can effect what you create.
So how do you keep your own voice and your style unaltered? Well, you can’t, really. Our aesthetic is formed from our interaction with our world but we can do something about the dominance of other influences over our own unique and personal voice. But it’s like muscle memory and that takes regular practice.
Ages ago, I read a book written in 1920 (whose title and author I have shamefully forgotten) on how to be a writer. The author had one line that really struck me. After stating he explained that a writer must get up every morning and, before doing anything else including getting out of bed, he or she must write at least a page of what we would now call free-writing, because this was the only way to insure the writer would wrote with their own voice later in the day. The section ended with him saying, “If you cannot get up and write a page every morning, then you are not a writer.”
At that point, a writer was all I wanted to be, so, fearful that I would not prove up to the task and therefore, I’d never be a real writer (I was rather young and impressionable then), I took that line to heart and I wrote every morning, no matter what, for what was probably about 10 years. Getting married and having a family kind of threw me off the habit but I do try to go back to it each time I stray.
When I don’t do this exercise, I do find that my day to day interactions find their way into my creative work. I found out early on that if I didn’t write in the morning, or tried writing fiction or poetry after a long day of reading academic books or writing training manuals, my writing would feel awkward or stilted. It just didn’t sound like me.
I think this influence of other art we see during the day can similarly affect the art we create as well. So, as part of my morning ritual now, I write for 10-15 minutes and then sketch for about the same amount of time. It is a very pleasant way to wake up and, in the process, I flex my unique voice and get my brain geared up for creative work. I don’t always have time to work in the studio but at least every day I am flexing that visual creative muscle and, I find, it makes my creative time easier to get into when I do get to go play.
Even if you aren’t able to spend productive time creating every day, I think you would find that a morning sketch, a quick “clay doodle” (just sitting at the studio table, playing with your clay for 15 minutes), or just journaling about design ideas will go a long way to concrete you personal voice. It will also show you what you are drawn to or might give you some really unique ideas for new designs. It’s something I would highly encourage.
So, would you be up for that? If you choose to write or sketch in the mornings, you can increase your motivation by creating a beautifully covered sketchbook or journal. And since polymer clay lends itself so well to decorating just about anything, why not make a beautiful cover for a blank book, and then keep it by your bedside? With a gorgeous tome to work in, you’re sure not to miss out on a very useful and fulfilling bit of creative exercise.
A Book and It’s Cover
The first person who comes to mind when talking of polymer covered journals is Aniko Kolesnikova aka Mandarin Duck. She does some of the most interesting and detailed journal covers you can find in polymer these days. And she doesn’t do just the front. She covers the back quite often, like on this one here.
If you are the sculptural type and want a ton of ideas to get you going on a cover design of your own, check out Aniko’s Flickr photostream. If you want more than just ideas, go to her Etsy page for tutorials, including one for that gorgeous peacock cover that was featured in Polymer Journeys 2019.
The other person that comes readily to mind for polymer covered books, and is one of my early influencers, is Chris Kapono, who, like Aniko, also has an affinity for the word Mandarin for some reason, her shop being Mandarin Moon. Chris’ covers are a riotous mixed-media decoration of polymer with glass cabochons, metal charms, beads, and, sometimes, hand-drawn decoration, as you see in the border of this book below.
Books are a perfect canvas for Chris’ style of decorative polymer. She shares her process as well, through tutorials on her Etsy site and in publications such as her tremendous contribution to the Polymer Art Projects – Organics book.
If you would like to create a cover with a more painterly approach, you might aspire to the work of Monika Duchowicz. Her polymer paintings are masterful but she kindly shares process shots on her Instagram account and was so kind to create a tutorial for her style of polymer painting for The Polymer Arts in the Summer 2017 issue.
Here’s another painterly polymer artist, Zhanna Bessonova, who likes to go really large. I just didn’t want you to think it had to be a small journal or sketchbook. Pick the size of the book you want to write or draw in first, then decide the cover.
I know, I know … the work of these very talented ladies might be intimidating to some people but remember, the whole idea is to make something that can help you find and/or hold onto your unique voice so you certainly don’t need to make covers like these—make them your way! Whatever you can create on a flat sheet of polymer can become a journal cover. Create a cover with a mosaic of textured squares, tons of polymer dots, rhinestones, polymer ‘embrodiery or, heck, canes will do, of course! Strangely enough, I couldn’t really find anyone doing cane covered books. I thought clayers had hit everything with cane slices! They must be out there somewhere! (If you know of some, share the links to them in the comments at the end of this post. Click the header if you are getting this by email.)
Also keep in mind, your cover doesn’t have to be complicated. And it doesn’t have to be polymer. Use whatever you like and do as much or as little as you like on it. Look at this lovely but simple book by a French crafter who goes by shop name alone – Avenuedes Fantaisies. It’s just a polymer honeycomb background and some fun rhinestone bees that were probably pins at one time, but it feels joyful.
You really can attach anything you want to your book cover. It’s for you, so if you are up for the challenge, make it yours!
New Issue of The Polymer Studio, coming late July
If you haven’t seen the new cover roaming about social media, here it is! Debbie Crothers’s acrylic on polymer beads grace the front for issue #3. We also have tutorials by Christi Friesen, Anita Long, Beatriz Cominatto, Kathy Koontz and Nika Nakit. There is also a fascinating interview with Beatriz, Brazil’s premiere polymer artist with a branded line of polymer clay, and a peek into the studio of master miniature artist, Angie Scarr. Plus much more.
Start or renew subscriptions or pre-order a copy on the website here.
Painter for a Day
I am off to paint a bathroom today then back to polishing the next issue. We might have a fully functional bathroom by the end of the day Monday but only if I can get this part done today. It’s not that the contractors couldn’t paint it but, well, I’m cheaper—I just require some yummy baked goods and a good audiobook or podcast and I’ll work away! And, honestly, I will do a better job. When it’s your place, you just take extra care with things. So, I am off. Enjoy your Sunday and have a beautiful week! I hope you get up every morning before your mind is otherwise influenced, and you write or create something just for yourself. You deserve it!
Read MoreSo, for those of us who like to keep our two-dimensional approach to polymer on the smaller side, I thought I’d nudge you to try your hand at polymer painting, if you haven’t already done so, and maybe combine it with a bit of polymer embroidery. As you see here, you can use polymer painting as a decorative approach to jewelry or small functional objects as well as for wall art.
To get you jump-started on these ideas, why don’t you jump over to Fiona Abel-Smith’s tutorial where she shows you how to create these little tree paintings that can be used for pendants or brooches. You can also peek in on her website where I encourage you to check out her Pietra dura polymer pieces.
Just click the image here to get to the YouTube video tutorial. Hope this kicks off some creative time for you this weekend!
Read More
Since we started out the week talking about two-dimensional polymer, I went looking for more polymer wall art for you. There are quite a few people who do polymer “painting” and collage work with polymer and I was having a hard time choosing but then I ran into this fascinating little piece.
Our artist here, Reuven Eliazar, a gentleman in Israel with no particular medium affiliation, created this some 10 years ago. Once I read his statement that, “The colours and the materials are the ‘subject’. My ‘stories’ are only the excuse for them to speak out,” I saw what he seems to be trying to do here and it made more sense. The butterfly is wonderful on its own, but putting it in this little scene creates context for the work and starts the idea of a story upon which Reuven can display his exploration of the clay.
Although Reuven seems to be focused on photography more than anything these days, he does have a collection of his polymer work in this album on Flickr so you can get a better idea of what he was exploring. And, of course, perhaps this example has given you some ideas about putting a scene together with your own pieces so you can tell some little stories of your own.
Read More
Even though polymer is generally considered a three-dimensional art form, this does not preclude it from being an exceptional two-dimensional art material. It allows for some very unique applications of imagery.
Would you have thought of this painting as being polymer clay when you first looked at it? The application of polymer doesn’t get much more two-dimensional than this but the energy of the colors and visual texture on what is obviously a very flat surface shows off some of the advantages of working with polymer as a “painting” medium.
This work is by the splendidly harmonious duo of Debo Groover and Tina Torrance, known as Debortina Studio. Their story is an interesting one. Pulled from their About page: “In 2008, after a long sabbatical from working as a professional artist, Debo created a new technique using polymer clay as a painting and collage material. This technique was formulated and fine-tuned for several years until it was perfected. The public response was so unexpected and overwhelmingly positive, that they joined forces and formed Debortina Studio.”
Their use of polymer with this curious combination of imagery is fascinating and enthralling. And so is the rest of their story. Why not hop on over to their website to read about it here and then take a look through their gallery at all the wonderfully patterned collage paintings.
Read MoreLetting the material determine the outcome of a piece by allowing it to flow and mix as it wants is an approach that can be used in a variety of mediums including polymer, as we saw on Wednesday.
This beautiful image here, as I am sure you surmised, is not polymer. It’s not alcohol inks or watercolor or any of the traditional mediums. Although it may not be surprising to find out it is encaustic wax, the way the artist gets these ethereal forms and textures just might be surprising. So, instead of listening to me blather about the technique, I will suggest you slake your curiosity by watching this wonderful video the artist, Alicia Tormey, recently produced to show her technique. It’s a beautifully done video, but it is nothing next to the gorgeous texture of the pieces she creates.
Visit this link for the video on her home page, then stay and investigate her website and the wonderful colors and forms she creates for her wall art.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Starting with a single white, translucent, or light-colored sheet of clay, work the surface with spontaneous, uncontrolled additions. Crumple paper or foil and press the texture into it. Drop inks onto it, splatter paint or rub gilders paste onto it. Spritz with alcohol and water and let inks and paints run, then dab or rub off spots with a bit of towel. Sprinkle mica powder or oxide powder over it or randomly adhere metal leaf. Do as much or as little of this as you like until you see a surface that pleases you. If you go a little overboard, let any liquids dry then roll the sheet one step down on the pasta machine once or twice. Pick out parts you like to make polymer elements for jewelry or add to the sheet to develop a piece of wall art.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read MoreThe wide open canvas idea that the Fimo 50 project brought up on Monday got me looking around at polymer painting. It is not an easy thing to literally paint with polymer, and sometimes I think that there isn’t really any advantage to painting in polymer other than to see if it can be done. I mean, if you are familiar with the wide world of acrylics, you know so much of what we do as painting with polymer can be done in acrylics. Thick dimensionality, rich color, marbling, layering, and even sculpting is possible with acrylic paint mediums. And you don’t have to cure it. But then you see a piece like this and yes, the rippling effect would be harder to achieve in polymer. It does have its place. It just depends on the hands it is in.
The hands this was in were Gloria Nilsson’s. She works almost exclusively in paint now, along with creating some jewelry, so I don’t have too much information on what she did here. This is from an old web page site on the piece:
“I developed this rolling wave technique in several of my polymer clay jewelry pieces first exhibited in September 2010 at the Killingworth Library. The process of painting with clay requires an artist to be open to the clay itself. The design of the wave is established, but the detail and the movement is dictated by the spontaneous color mixing process. No two will ever be alike.”
She goes on to say that she planned on exploring this further, but I could not find any other polymer paintings. It was certainly a beautiful start to this kind of ‘painting’, although it might more accurately be called construction or layering. But let’s forget categories and labels. When texture and imagery blend so well that you get a little lost as you look at it, you know the piece has transcended begin defined by its medium and any associated labels. I think this is one of those pieces.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Work with very, very thin sheets of clay and layer them so the edges form the lines, shapes, and texture of the piece you are creating. It is okay if this process leads you in another direction. Just follow your muse.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Read MoreI am a fan of small details. I love work that has been built one tiny bit at a time, which is probably why I find myself drawn to the application of tiny bits of polymer something called polymer embroidery, applique or even filigree. I found a number of pieces on a search this weekend that I think really open up the vast possibilities of creating imagery and texture from working with small bits and thin strings of polymer.
I want to start with this lovely little pendant because I just adore how the impressed polymer bits were extended into a dynamic rush of water and plumes of ocean foam. This was created by Estonia’s Katrina who has the shop, Filigrina, on Etsy. Every detail on this was hand-tooled in a way that makes me think more of painting than sculpting. And instead of simply pressing the bits of clay to create texture from the impressions, there also looks to be some dragging and cutting in with the hand-tools to make those little bits into the imagery we see here.
Katrina also sells printable scrapbook paper images and jewelry transfer images in her Etsy shop, so stop by and take a look at all the fun stuff she has to offer.
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.
