Chaotic Tendrils
June 10, 2016
Inspirational Art
Let’s look at one last example of chaos, tendrils, and limited palettes. This time we join Beth Petricoin who wrote a great article on her polymer quilling in the Spring 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts. Here she actually builds it into a few layers which you don’t often see in paper quilling, the inspiration for her version of this technique.
With the randomness we have here–tendrils snaking their way into so much open space–the limited warm color palette holds the relationship between it all together. It does, of course, help that all the tendrils are anchored to a central form, but that round center’s prime function is as a focal point. When creating chaotic compositions, you would do well to provide a more solid resting point for the eyes of your viewers to gravitate to, otherwise the randomness can be overwhelming.
A focal point like this also give the viewer the opportunity to explore each section with a kind of home base to start from. The way the curls at the end of the tendrils roll back in on themselves helps redirect the viewer back to the center where they can start again in another direction if they like. It is even more impactful of a composition when the wall piece is seen straight on, but this image did a lot to show off the dimensionality of it.
Quilling is the theme of this month’s challenge through the PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild of Etsy), and the entries can be found on Beth’s blog. So if you like the look of this technique, find your copy of the Spring 2015 issue (or buy one here) and check out the challenge entries for alternate clay quilling ideas. She also has lovely work in a variety of techniques in her Etsy shop.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Try some quilling! You can create an entire piece using sliced up sheets of clay to create your ribbons of clay or just use them to decorate part of a piece or, using narrow strips, as ‘leading’ in a faux enamel or stained glass piece.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Dense Joy
May 25, 2016
Inspirational Art
I guess we are moving from the garden theme to more of a density of texture theme, because what I found for you today, although representative of what you might find in a garden, has me thinking a lot about the crowding of elements. We have all heard that too much of a good thing is bad, but that is hardly true across the board. I have always thought it was more about knowing when to stop, which might not sound so different of an idea, but I think it is the defining point. Eating an entire extra large pizza is too much of a good thing for most of us, but I have a roommate who is too thin and has a doctor constantly begging him to eat more. I have low blood pressure issues so my doctor pushes me to go overboard on salt. Too much is completely relative and comes down to what you need.
In art, the place where you stop putting too much on is going to be determined by the effect you are after. If you want to make something showy then bling it up, but if you want quiet and serene go minimal. In the case of our art today, created by Alice of Liska Flowers on Livemaster, simple, quilling-like forms are densely packed in to create texture and to give this bird a joyfully colorful look. The swirls and whorls give off the impression that the bird will flit off into some aerial acrobatics any moment. Alice really pushes this density of forms, and for pieces like this, the place at which to stop is when the space is completely full!
Alice creates all kinds of creatures with this approach as well as creating polymer flowers. I believe she creates, at least in part, with a Japanese version of Ultralight. See for yourself by flitting off to her Livemaster pages.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create something extremely simple and minimalistic or something intensely busy. I suggest choosing the extreme that is least like what you usually do.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
The Source of Her Quilling
March 12, 2015
Inspirational Art
The big, information laden and in depth technique tutorial in the spring issue is on polymer quilling. Quilling with paper has gotten quite popular and has gone beyond the realm of basic decoration into some truly museum-quality wall pieces. The art intrigued Beth Petricoin, and she wrote me last year to query about whether our readers would like to see this done in polymer. She had started working on the technique in the summer of 2013 and was needing that push to perfect it. So, with an enthusiastic “Yes!” from me, she worked on it until she streamlined the process and had developed several different approaches in order to provide a great variety of possibilities. The article in the spring 2015 issue includes these with everything from choices of substrate or none at all, closed and open quill work methods, and plenty of tips and tricks to get our readers started on this fun and beautiful technique.
In this article, we were able to show both simple and very complex pieces using this technique. What we didn’t have room for was the piece that rather started this whole journey for Beth. But, you see it here now. I believe this was her first full-scale attempt with this technique back in 2013, and it’s really quite well done. I love how the sky versus the ocean, both in shades of blue, are delineated by types of forms—round and rolling, accented with bubbles in the ocean while the sky is simple waves and white clouds. Zoom in on the turtle as well to see the whorls in the shell. There’s a lot of detail in this.
You can read about this first piece along with the Native American Indian story that inspired it on Beth’s blog. Take a look through some of her other entries and catch the broad range of her work with a little perusal around her Etsy store.
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.
;
Let’s look at one last example of chaos, tendrils, and limited palettes. This time we join Beth Petricoin who wrote a great article on her polymer quilling in the Spring 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts. Here she actually builds it into a few layers which you don’t often see in paper quilling, the inspiration for her version of this technique.
With the randomness we have here–tendrils snaking their way into so much open space–the limited warm color palette holds the relationship between it all together. It does, of course, help that all the tendrils are anchored to a central form, but that round center’s prime function is as a focal point. When creating chaotic compositions, you would do well to provide a more solid resting point for the eyes of your viewers to gravitate to, otherwise the randomness can be overwhelming.
A focal point like this also give the viewer the opportunity to explore each section with a kind of home base to start from. The way the curls at the end of the tendrils roll back in on themselves helps redirect the viewer back to the center where they can start again in another direction if they like. It is even more impactful of a composition when the wall piece is seen straight on, but this image did a lot to show off the dimensionality of it.
Quilling is the theme of this month’s challenge through the PCAGOE (Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild of Etsy), and the entries can be found on Beth’s blog. So if you like the look of this technique, find your copy of the Spring 2015 issue (or buy one here) and check out the challenge entries for alternate clay quilling ideas. She also has lovely work in a variety of techniques in her Etsy shop.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Try some quilling! You can create an entire piece using sliced up sheets of clay to create your ribbons of clay or just use them to decorate part of a piece or, using narrow strips, as ‘leading’ in a faux enamel or stained glass piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read MoreI guess we are moving from the garden theme to more of a density of texture theme, because what I found for you today, although representative of what you might find in a garden, has me thinking a lot about the crowding of elements. We have all heard that too much of a good thing is bad, but that is hardly true across the board. I have always thought it was more about knowing when to stop, which might not sound so different of an idea, but I think it is the defining point. Eating an entire extra large pizza is too much of a good thing for most of us, but I have a roommate who is too thin and has a doctor constantly begging him to eat more. I have low blood pressure issues so my doctor pushes me to go overboard on salt. Too much is completely relative and comes down to what you need.
In art, the place where you stop putting too much on is going to be determined by the effect you are after. If you want to make something showy then bling it up, but if you want quiet and serene go minimal. In the case of our art today, created by Alice of Liska Flowers on Livemaster, simple, quilling-like forms are densely packed in to create texture and to give this bird a joyfully colorful look. The swirls and whorls give off the impression that the bird will flit off into some aerial acrobatics any moment. Alice really pushes this density of forms, and for pieces like this, the place at which to stop is when the space is completely full!
Alice creates all kinds of creatures with this approach as well as creating polymer flowers. I believe she creates, at least in part, with a Japanese version of Ultralight. See for yourself by flitting off to her Livemaster pages.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create something extremely simple and minimalistic or something intensely busy. I suggest choosing the extreme that is least like what you usually do.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read MoreThe big, information laden and in depth technique tutorial in the spring issue is on polymer quilling. Quilling with paper has gotten quite popular and has gone beyond the realm of basic decoration into some truly museum-quality wall pieces. The art intrigued Beth Petricoin, and she wrote me last year to query about whether our readers would like to see this done in polymer. She had started working on the technique in the summer of 2013 and was needing that push to perfect it. So, with an enthusiastic “Yes!” from me, she worked on it until she streamlined the process and had developed several different approaches in order to provide a great variety of possibilities. The article in the spring 2015 issue includes these with everything from choices of substrate or none at all, closed and open quill work methods, and plenty of tips and tricks to get our readers started on this fun and beautiful technique.
In this article, we were able to show both simple and very complex pieces using this technique. What we didn’t have room for was the piece that rather started this whole journey for Beth. But, you see it here now. I believe this was her first full-scale attempt with this technique back in 2013, and it’s really quite well done. I love how the sky versus the ocean, both in shades of blue, are delineated by types of forms—round and rolling, accented with bubbles in the ocean while the sky is simple waves and white clouds. Zoom in on the turtle as well to see the whorls in the shell. There’s a lot of detail in this.
You can read about this first piece along with the Native American Indian story that inspired it on Beth’s blog. Take a look through some of her other entries and catch the broad range of her work with a little perusal around her Etsy store.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
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