The Inspiration of Children
June 27, 2018 Inspirational Art
Guest Blog Post by Debbie Crothers
When visiting the website of Perth-based porcelain artist Fleur Schell, my immediate reaction is to smile. Fleur’s work has such a whimsical, carefree style and makes me stop and take a breath. There is so much to explore and as I do so, I find myself getting lost in the detail.
Her restrained use of color is just beautiful and being the color junkie I am, I find this surprisingly refreshing and calming. It also helps us really “look” at each piece.
Her children, Harry and Heidi, are a huge inspiration and it appears that Fleur delights in creating whimsical worlds for them, almost like savoring their childhood and celebrating their innocence and differences. This particular artwork title sang to me: “She was beautifully out of place, like the moon during the day.”
Lose yourself in the story of Fleur and her amazing sculptures by visiting her website.
Debbie Crothers shares her love of polymer, color, and craft through her blog here, with tutorials available both free and for purchase here.
Outside Inspiration: Sketching on the Inside
March 21, 2014 Inspirational Art
Here is something to consider doing with a bracelet–draw on it! And not just on the outside.
I know we so love our polymer because of the colors and textures but a subtle surface can also lend itself well to sketching or image transfers. This is not actually a bracelet but it could be. This straight sided bowl is by ceramicist Helen Beard but when I first saw this, I thought it would have made such a great bracelet. Some of my favorite pieces–in polymer and other mediums–are those with details hidden on the inside or backsides. There is also something particularly intriguing about a piece that tells a story.
According to Helen’s website, “she likes to tell a story, creating whimsical scenes that capture the insignificant yet precious moments that make up our daily lives.” Wouldn’t it be neat to have such simple stories on one’s arm as well?
Take a look at the other precious scenes Helen illustrates on her wheel thrown porcelain pots, cups, bowls and other pottery on her website.
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.
Sculptural Jewelry from Ukraine
July 31, 2013 Inspirational Art
Our Eastern European artist today is Olga Zhukova from Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. Like her neighbor from Russia we saw yesterday, Olga does a lot of sculptural floral work in polymer; but if you look over her body of work, you realize that she enjoys playing with all kinds of polymer recreations, as long as there are vibrant colors to show off.
I would not say that this bracelet below is representative of the majority of her work, but it is representative of the breadth of sculptural techniques and realistic recreations she is capable of. And maybe I just really like the idea of the frog being the focal point of the bracelet. I can certainly see this being the center of conversation wherever the wearer goes with it. How often do you see a complete, rather realistic sculptural scene on someone’s wrist?
See the wide variety of Olga’s work in her shop, on her blog and on her Flickr photostream. Olga creates in cold porcelain as well as polymer–especially with her sculpted flowers–so keep in mind that not everything you see is made out of polymer clay. Nonetheless, all her work is beautiful and inspiring.
(To translate pages you find in the links this week, copy the web address for the page and paste into the translation box at http://translate.google.com/ or use Google Chrome as your web browser as it automatically offers to translate pages for you into your native language. Go here for more information on this cool toolbar.)
Sculptured Floral
September 6, 2012 Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
Floral motifs are so popular in polymer but not quite so much as a realistic sculptural subject. I think that is why this grabbed me.
These flowers are by Catherine Zverzhanskaya of Moscow. They are all polymer delicately formed with great little details. I don’t think these are even her most impressive flowers. She works these into jewelry as well as decor. Take a look at her website. Really incredible variety of flowers, all very realistic. If you want to learn how she does more of this, she has a nice FAQ section as well that covers her use of cold porcelain as well.
Outside Inspiration: Millefiori in Porcelain
August 24, 2012 Inspirational Art
I was sure when I first saw these that they had to be polymer but they aren’t. The way porcelain is being pushed here is inspiring. If you’ve ever worked with porcelain or any earthen clays, you know that manipulation and embedding color with any crispness is tricky.
In this pendant — a reversible one even — the application of color and pattern matches what we do with polymer … all borrowed from the ancient technique of millefiori.
Here is what the artist Tom Garvin of Blue Bus Studios (http://www.bluebusstudio.com/) says about his work:
“The extreme detail and intense color in our ceramic work results from the use of over 500 different colors of clay to create our carefully designed clay loaves. Next, cross-sections are sliced from the loaves, and these sections are shaped and finished into individual pieces, then glazed and fired twice.”
It’s just kind of cool to know that others are working in similar ways to us and that, well, we have a pretty easy material to work with. But kudos to all artists that push their medium to create more beauty in the world!
Outside Inspiration: Cutting in Clay
August 18, 2012 Inspirational Art
Okay so I usually do the Outside Inspiration posts on Fridays but we’ve been thrown off this week with the launch of The Polymer Arts latest issue. We know polymer can be manipulated very much like other clays. So …. who wants to try this?
This is porcelain created by the very talented Jennifer McCurdy. It is altered and carved, pushing the limits of porcelain’s ability to hold up structurally. But wow, is it gorgeous. She also gilds it on the inside … not the outside … inviting the viewer to consider the interior and allowing it to contrast with the white exterior. Very intriguing look.
I’m thinking that in polymer, it might work best if baked first. Or carved and smoothed while on a form. In any case, it’d be some serious work but with some serious rewards.
If this inspires anyone to try this kind of thing, send me images.
You can see a video on her technique on the Ceramic Arts Daily website. Also check out the wonderful photos of her work embedded into natural settings like the beach on her home page (it’s a slide show so wait for the change over in images) and rivers on her collection page. She has some really beautiful photos that are works of art themselves. So do take a moment to check them out.
Guest Blog Post by Debbie Crothers
When visiting the website of Perth-based porcelain artist Fleur Schell, my immediate reaction is to smile. Fleur’s work has such a whimsical, carefree style and makes me stop and take a breath. There is so much to explore and as I do so, I find myself getting lost in the detail.
Her restrained use of color is just beautiful and being the color junkie I am, I find this surprisingly refreshing and calming. It also helps us really “look” at each piece.
Her children, Harry and Heidi, are a huge inspiration and it appears that Fleur delights in creating whimsical worlds for them, almost like savoring their childhood and celebrating their innocence and differences. This particular artwork title sang to me: “She was beautifully out of place, like the moon during the day.”
Lose yourself in the story of Fleur and her amazing sculptures by visiting her website.
Debbie Crothers shares her love of polymer, color, and craft through her blog here, with tutorials available both free and for purchase here.
Read MoreHere is something to consider doing with a bracelet–draw on it! And not just on the outside.
I know we so love our polymer because of the colors and textures but a subtle surface can also lend itself well to sketching or image transfers. This is not actually a bracelet but it could be. This straight sided bowl is by ceramicist Helen Beard but when I first saw this, I thought it would have made such a great bracelet. Some of my favorite pieces–in polymer and other mediums–are those with details hidden on the inside or backsides. There is also something particularly intriguing about a piece that tells a story.
According to Helen’s website, “she likes to tell a story, creating whimsical scenes that capture the insignificant yet precious moments that make up our daily lives.” Wouldn’t it be neat to have such simple stories on one’s arm as well?
Take a look at the other precious scenes Helen illustrates on her wheel thrown porcelain pots, cups, bowls and other pottery on her website.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Read MoreOur Eastern European artist today is Olga Zhukova from Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. Like her neighbor from Russia we saw yesterday, Olga does a lot of sculptural floral work in polymer; but if you look over her body of work, you realize that she enjoys playing with all kinds of polymer recreations, as long as there are vibrant colors to show off.
I would not say that this bracelet below is representative of the majority of her work, but it is representative of the breadth of sculptural techniques and realistic recreations she is capable of. And maybe I just really like the idea of the frog being the focal point of the bracelet. I can certainly see this being the center of conversation wherever the wearer goes with it. How often do you see a complete, rather realistic sculptural scene on someone’s wrist?
See the wide variety of Olga’s work in her shop, on her blog and on her Flickr photostream. Olga creates in cold porcelain as well as polymer–especially with her sculpted flowers–so keep in mind that not everything you see is made out of polymer clay. Nonetheless, all her work is beautiful and inspiring.
(To translate pages you find in the links this week, copy the web address for the page and paste into the translation box at http://translate.google.com/ or use Google Chrome as your web browser as it automatically offers to translate pages for you into your native language. Go here for more information on this cool toolbar.)
Read More
Floral motifs are so popular in polymer but not quite so much as a realistic sculptural subject. I think that is why this grabbed me.
These flowers are by Catherine Zverzhanskaya of Moscow. They are all polymer delicately formed with great little details. I don’t think these are even her most impressive flowers. She works these into jewelry as well as decor. Take a look at her website. Really incredible variety of flowers, all very realistic. If you want to learn how she does more of this, she has a nice FAQ section as well that covers her use of cold porcelain as well.
Read MoreI was sure when I first saw these that they had to be polymer but they aren’t. The way porcelain is being pushed here is inspiring. If you’ve ever worked with porcelain or any earthen clays, you know that manipulation and embedding color with any crispness is tricky.
In this pendant — a reversible one even — the application of color and pattern matches what we do with polymer … all borrowed from the ancient technique of millefiori.
Here is what the artist Tom Garvin of Blue Bus Studios (http://www.bluebusstudio.com/) says about his work:
“The extreme detail and intense color in our ceramic work results from the use of over 500 different colors of clay to create our carefully designed clay loaves. Next, cross-sections are sliced from the loaves, and these sections are shaped and finished into individual pieces, then glazed and fired twice.”
It’s just kind of cool to know that others are working in similar ways to us and that, well, we have a pretty easy material to work with. But kudos to all artists that push their medium to create more beauty in the world!
Okay so I usually do the Outside Inspiration posts on Fridays but we’ve been thrown off this week with the launch of The Polymer Arts latest issue. We know polymer can be manipulated very much like other clays. So …. who wants to try this?
This is porcelain created by the very talented Jennifer McCurdy. It is altered and carved, pushing the limits of porcelain’s ability to hold up structurally. But wow, is it gorgeous. She also gilds it on the inside … not the outside … inviting the viewer to consider the interior and allowing it to contrast with the white exterior. Very intriguing look.
I’m thinking that in polymer, it might work best if baked first. Or carved and smoothed while on a form. In any case, it’d be some serious work but with some serious rewards.
If this inspires anyone to try this kind of thing, send me images.
You can see a video on her technique on the Ceramic Arts Daily website. Also check out the wonderful photos of her work embedded into natural settings like the beach on her home page (it’s a slide show so wait for the change over in images) and rivers on her collection page. She has some really beautiful photos that are works of art themselves. So do take a moment to check them out.
Read More