Black Kitties
October 24, 2018
Inspirational Art
Halloween is not all about the creepy stuff! Although they may have dark associations, black cats can be so adorable, right? It’s not about their color … the black cat has gotten a bad rap, just because some superstitious humans decided they represented bad luck. Poor kitties.
This crafter goes by Umay Designs, and nothing else (apparently this week is going to be about both dark and mysterious things!) but I did find out that she hails from Turkey. There is not a lot of information but her designs are interesting, and certain to inspire if you are still looking to whip up some appropriate Halloween adornment. I’m not sure there is any polymer clay in here, but hey, it’s still a cool piece and we get to talk kitties this week! For materials, she primarily lists resin, both cast and sculpted, so I am thinking it is something like two-part epoxy and casting resin. It could easily be done with just polymer though, but casting your sculptures after you’ve made a good piece to start with is a smart business decision.
So you can see if you’re inspired by any of her cool and creepy ideas by dropping by her Etsy shop or following her on Instagram.
Looking Back at Faux Glass
July 18, 2018
Inspirational Art
Although I did not plan on the theme this week, apparently we are focused on glass. I remember seeing this pendant years ago and I thought it was made of little glass mosaic tiles. But no, it’s polymer with a resin top but it’s beautifully done, with a great color palette that jazzes up the repetition of basic geometric shapes.
The work, created some eight years ago, is by Christi Uliczny. You can find Christi under the moniker of either Cabin Fever Clay or River Valley Design. Her recent work has moved quite a ways from this orderly geometric type of design. She’s gone quite organic in both form and color application. If you find the progression and change of an artist as fascinating as I do, you can find a timeline of Christi’s progress as an artist on her Flickr photostream as well as find her recent work in her Etsy shop or on Instagram.
Chroma Crazed
October 24, 2016
Inspirational Art
If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you’ve probably heard me say a time or two that color can be a crutch. Form, line, composition and other design elements need to be considered with the same weight as color. However, if you are going to let color carry the design, it helps to make it just take over. In other words, don’t be restrained. Go all out!
You can certainly say that Luba Meshakinoy went all out in these Rainbow necklaces of hers. Not only is there a lot of saturated color, she placed them on the shine of metal foil and capped it off with clear epoxy resin to magnify the color and the shine. Yes, the design is a tried and true gradation of shapes in a symmetrical composition and nothing she has done here is new or surprising but she the thing that makes this so appealing–aside from all the yummy color–is that she didn’t hold back in her choices. It does result in a necklace that will take a big, colorful personality to really pull it off or be seen aside from the brilliant color but so what? The super bright personalities need equally bright adornment. We cannot make pieces to satisfy everyone or even most people. And we really shouldn’t.
I do know, however, that most people do love color on some level. We are easily drawn to it. And it’s a Monday! So go take a peek at her bright and shiny color on her website here.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Go crazy with color. I don’t know what that means to you, but push what you usually do. If you work with a lot of color already, how can you heighten the impact? Use 4 or more colors in high saturation or color clay with alcohol links, paints, mica powders or anything you have bright and colorful. Just let the color lead you on this.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Crisp and Clean
October 12, 2016
Inspirational Art
Some days you just want simple and bright, something uncomplicated to make you smile. I found this one bead on this foggy Wednesday morning and it gave me an immediate visual pick me up with the beautiful colors and skillfully created and applied canes.
The cane and bead artisan here is Israel’s Sagit Levi. She specializes in bright, clean, well-defined and delightful colors and graphical lines in her beads as well as creating charming illustrative wall art. She also is very attentive to her finishes, completing edges and surfaces so smoothly that her resin and glaze sealants come out flawless, letting those yummy colors shine through.
Need a bit more color pick-me-up yourself? Just jump over to Sagit’s website, Flickr photostream or Etsy site and get yourself an eye full!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let color rule your day. Focus on creating a few new color palettes. Start with one color that you really like then stack all kinds of colors next to it and create a new palette that surprises and delights you. If you can’t do that in the studio, you can play with this somewhat new free online color palette finder from Adobe, Color CC, or try the polymer specific ColorMixr app on your phone.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Outside Inspiration: Rings and Resin
August 5, 2016
Inspirational Art
If you are one of those clayers that, like myself, sees something cool in another material and immediately asks yourself, “How can I create that in polymer?” then the rings from this group will really get your gears going. This ring is made from wood and resin. But why not polymer and resin?
Why not, indeed. The mysterious landscape and that rising gold cloud within just snares the imagination. The group, My Secret Wood, is a team of artists that create hundreds of these one of kind rings using different woods, varying inclusions and a range of tints in their resin. I imagine these are done with molds and some very refined resin skills to eliminate large bubbles but I could see this kind of thing being very do-able with polymer as the ring base. Not that I think one should just up and copy this form. Obviously not. And besides, polymer acts so differently than wood that the outcome would be a world away from this. But a resin cap would help protect surface effects and fragile forms that otherwise would be risky to have on the surface of a ring.
Do take some time today to wander through their gallery of available rings. It is sure to get your imagination going if not tempt you to buy your own.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Design or create an object of your choice in a way that shows an inner world. That could mean any number of things to you so don’t try to be literal but let the idea roll around in your mind and see what “inner world” means to you and see how you can transform that concept into a work of art.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Just A Little Glitz
December 30, 2015
Inspirational Art
A little glitz and glamour is always welcome as we ring in the new year. There is just something about starting out feeling and looking great but that doesn’t mean you need to go crazy with the sparkle and bling. Unless that is your thing, of course. But for many of us, just a touch of pizzazz is more comfortable and easier to pull off.
The key with sparkle is contrast which, as you know by now I’m sure, is key with most designs. You need to decide just how much contrast you want in order to express your vision. A little black dress with a big showy necklace works because the dress is minimal while the necklace is energetic. A shimmery dress can do with a simple chain or solid pendant which acts as a quiet accent. But how about a nicely cut, sophisticated outfit? You don’t want the adornment to compete or overshadow the rest of the outfit, but you want some sparkle. So go for a small sprinkle of glitz to show you are in the spirit while keeping that sophisticated tone. This is edging more towards less contrast which works well when understated is the goal.
And that is what we have in this pendant and earring set by Kristie Foss. The very strong lines of the cane are upstaged by just a smattering of sparkles. It is not big or showy but it is dressed up and after a long and busy holiday season, celebratory but subdued may be just the ticket.
This little collection of New Year’s glitz (as she aptly named this blog post of hers) shows a number of similar examples to the one shown here. Enjoy the light shimmer and shine and have a joyous and safe New Year’s eve tomorrow.
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Rings Working in Pairs
April 8, 2014
Inspirational Art
Here is a fun and cool concept … two different rings worn together as a set. This set is by artist Lourdes López. She uses these same components in a necklace as well. Why not? There really aren’t very many components you can’t turn into a ring. With tandem rings like this, there is a changing relationship between the two pieces as the wearer moves their fingers. Even though there is a quite a difference between the patterned half circle and the wide space of graduated color on the other side, their proximity and mirrored shapes connect them and increases the simple beauty of each half far more than than if they stood alone.
Lourdes likes to play with metals, resin and other mixed media as well as polymer clay. See more of Lourdes’ work and the way she plays with her designs on her Flickr pages.
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.
Outside Inspiration: Glitter, Resin and Wireworks
December 13, 2013
Inspirational Art
Is there any material better for showing off the shimmer and shine of any surface effect than crystal clear resin? It allows for light to fall on metal foils, glitter, mica powders and and any other shiny material locked under it’s clear layers. A tasteful addition of well worked wire and crystal accents keep the glittery resin of these dainty wing earrings created by Christina Allen Page from going overboard.
If you haven’t worked with resin yet, it’s a fantastic finishing product although it takes a little practice to work out bubble-free applications and to avoid the potential mess it can create. ALWAYS wear gloves when using resin and preferably on a dedicated work surface. For one, it is a super powerful adhesive. And secondly, you can become suddenly and severely allergic to the chemical if you allow regular contact with your skin. I know this to be true because I am one of those this happened to. It is no fun, not to mention pretty darn scary and now, to work with resin, I have to don the equivalent of a haz mat suit. Quite a drag. The chemical BPA is in high concentrations in all resins before it cures–it’s what allows the hardening of the liquid. So be good to yourself and take precaution so you can continue to use it for many, many years because it is great stuff.
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.
Outside Inspiration: Painting in Three Dimensions
July 26, 2013
Inspirational Art
The artist I’m introducing today is not a polymer artist, which is why I decided he belong in the Outside Inspiration category. However, he does use polymer. No, he doesn’t always use it, but when it suits the vision he is trying to create, polymer can play a prominent role in his images.
Andy Kehoe is an painter with quite the imagination. In researching him for this post I got completely lost in his stories and ramblings found throughout his website and on his blog. Trying to find out one serious bit about him was nigh impossible but I can’t say I didn’t have fun going down the rabbit hole of his imagination! So, back to what I do know. Andy works in painterly mediums, has a keen fascination with layers and depth and recently started playing with painting on multiple layers of resin, building up the strata of imagery that gives these works an almost surreal depth. This in conjunction with his stylized scenes that often look like paper cut-outs and/or uncertain dreamworld creatures creates an unusually strong atmosphere in the limited space the work exists in.
This piece, Approaching the Watcher of the Veil, combines oil, acrylic, polymer clay, and resin on wood. In what serious material I could find Andy is presented (usually on other people’s and galleries’ sites) as a painter, but obviously he doesn’t limit himself to any one medium. The polymer clay, which I assume is in the tree, also has a painterly look to it, making it blend into the work so that the piece transcends its motley medium existence to exist simply as an artist’s sincere and authentic vision.
Polymer is no stranger to being combined with paint or even becoming the paint so, no, this outside inspiration is not really about the painterly way polymer can be presented, but rather that polymer can be a medium used in conjunction with something as old and revered as painting and be an equal when chosen, as needed, for its particular characteristics. The medium is not the key. Its the choices of medium and how they are applied that defines a well-done piece.
Don’t miss some of Andy’s great posts on his blog as well as the entertaining material (especially in the “About” section) of his website.
Halloween is not all about the creepy stuff! Although they may have dark associations, black cats can be so adorable, right? It’s not about their color … the black cat has gotten a bad rap, just because some superstitious humans decided they represented bad luck. Poor kitties.
This crafter goes by Umay Designs, and nothing else (apparently this week is going to be about both dark and mysterious things!) but I did find out that she hails from Turkey. There is not a lot of information but her designs are interesting, and certain to inspire if you are still looking to whip up some appropriate Halloween adornment. I’m not sure there is any polymer clay in here, but hey, it’s still a cool piece and we get to talk kitties this week! For materials, she primarily lists resin, both cast and sculpted, so I am thinking it is something like two-part epoxy and casting resin. It could easily be done with just polymer though, but casting your sculptures after you’ve made a good piece to start with is a smart business decision.
So you can see if you’re inspired by any of her cool and creepy ideas by dropping by her Etsy shop or following her on Instagram.
Read MoreAlthough I did not plan on the theme this week, apparently we are focused on glass. I remember seeing this pendant years ago and I thought it was made of little glass mosaic tiles. But no, it’s polymer with a resin top but it’s beautifully done, with a great color palette that jazzes up the repetition of basic geometric shapes.
The work, created some eight years ago, is by Christi Uliczny. You can find Christi under the moniker of either Cabin Fever Clay or River Valley Design. Her recent work has moved quite a ways from this orderly geometric type of design. She’s gone quite organic in both form and color application. If you find the progression and change of an artist as fascinating as I do, you can find a timeline of Christi’s progress as an artist on her Flickr photostream as well as find her recent work in her Etsy shop or on Instagram.
Read More
If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you’ve probably heard me say a time or two that color can be a crutch. Form, line, composition and other design elements need to be considered with the same weight as color. However, if you are going to let color carry the design, it helps to make it just take over. In other words, don’t be restrained. Go all out!
You can certainly say that Luba Meshakinoy went all out in these Rainbow necklaces of hers. Not only is there a lot of saturated color, she placed them on the shine of metal foil and capped it off with clear epoxy resin to magnify the color and the shine. Yes, the design is a tried and true gradation of shapes in a symmetrical composition and nothing she has done here is new or surprising but she the thing that makes this so appealing–aside from all the yummy color–is that she didn’t hold back in her choices. It does result in a necklace that will take a big, colorful personality to really pull it off or be seen aside from the brilliant color but so what? The super bright personalities need equally bright adornment. We cannot make pieces to satisfy everyone or even most people. And we really shouldn’t.
I do know, however, that most people do love color on some level. We are easily drawn to it. And it’s a Monday! So go take a peek at her bright and shiny color on her website here.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Go crazy with color. I don’t know what that means to you, but push what you usually do. If you work with a lot of color already, how can you heighten the impact? Use 4 or more colors in high saturation or color clay with alcohol links, paints, mica powders or anything you have bright and colorful. Just let the color lead you on this.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreSome days you just want simple and bright, something uncomplicated to make you smile. I found this one bead on this foggy Wednesday morning and it gave me an immediate visual pick me up with the beautiful colors and skillfully created and applied canes.
The cane and bead artisan here is Israel’s Sagit Levi. She specializes in bright, clean, well-defined and delightful colors and graphical lines in her beads as well as creating charming illustrative wall art. She also is very attentive to her finishes, completing edges and surfaces so smoothly that her resin and glaze sealants come out flawless, letting those yummy colors shine through.
Need a bit more color pick-me-up yourself? Just jump over to Sagit’s website, Flickr photostream or Etsy site and get yourself an eye full!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let color rule your day. Focus on creating a few new color palettes. Start with one color that you really like then stack all kinds of colors next to it and create a new palette that surprises and delights you. If you can’t do that in the studio, you can play with this somewhat new free online color palette finder from Adobe, Color CC, or try the polymer specific ColorMixr app on your phone.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read More
If you are one of those clayers that, like myself, sees something cool in another material and immediately asks yourself, “How can I create that in polymer?” then the rings from this group will really get your gears going. This ring is made from wood and resin. But why not polymer and resin?
Why not, indeed. The mysterious landscape and that rising gold cloud within just snares the imagination. The group, My Secret Wood, is a team of artists that create hundreds of these one of kind rings using different woods, varying inclusions and a range of tints in their resin. I imagine these are done with molds and some very refined resin skills to eliminate large bubbles but I could see this kind of thing being very do-able with polymer as the ring base. Not that I think one should just up and copy this form. Obviously not. And besides, polymer acts so differently than wood that the outcome would be a world away from this. But a resin cap would help protect surface effects and fragile forms that otherwise would be risky to have on the surface of a ring.
Do take some time today to wander through their gallery of available rings. It is sure to get your imagination going if not tempt you to buy your own.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Design or create an object of your choice in a way that shows an inner world. That could mean any number of things to you so don’t try to be literal but let the idea roll around in your mind and see what “inner world” means to you and see how you can transform that concept into a work of art.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read MoreA little glitz and glamour is always welcome as we ring in the new year. There is just something about starting out feeling and looking great but that doesn’t mean you need to go crazy with the sparkle and bling. Unless that is your thing, of course. But for many of us, just a touch of pizzazz is more comfortable and easier to pull off.
The key with sparkle is contrast which, as you know by now I’m sure, is key with most designs. You need to decide just how much contrast you want in order to express your vision. A little black dress with a big showy necklace works because the dress is minimal while the necklace is energetic. A shimmery dress can do with a simple chain or solid pendant which acts as a quiet accent. But how about a nicely cut, sophisticated outfit? You don’t want the adornment to compete or overshadow the rest of the outfit, but you want some sparkle. So go for a small sprinkle of glitz to show you are in the spirit while keeping that sophisticated tone. This is edging more towards less contrast which works well when understated is the goal.
And that is what we have in this pendant and earring set by Kristie Foss. The very strong lines of the cane are upstaged by just a smattering of sparkles. It is not big or showy but it is dressed up and after a long and busy holiday season, celebratory but subdued may be just the ticket.
This little collection of New Year’s glitz (as she aptly named this blog post of hers) shows a number of similar examples to the one shown here. Enjoy the light shimmer and shine and have a joyous and safe New Year’s eve tomorrow.
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read MoreHere is a fun and cool concept … two different rings worn together as a set. This set is by artist Lourdes López. She uses these same components in a necklace as well. Why not? There really aren’t very many components you can’t turn into a ring. With tandem rings like this, there is a changing relationship between the two pieces as the wearer moves their fingers. Even though there is a quite a difference between the patterned half circle and the wide space of graduated color on the other side, their proximity and mirrored shapes connect them and increases the simple beauty of each half far more than than if they stood alone.
Lourdes likes to play with metals, resin and other mixed media as well as polymer clay. See more of Lourdes’ work and the way she plays with her designs on her Flickr pages.
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.
Is there any material better for showing off the shimmer and shine of any surface effect than crystal clear resin? It allows for light to fall on metal foils, glitter, mica powders and and any other shiny material locked under it’s clear layers. A tasteful addition of well worked wire and crystal accents keep the glittery resin of these dainty wing earrings created by Christina Allen Page from going overboard.
If you haven’t worked with resin yet, it’s a fantastic finishing product although it takes a little practice to work out bubble-free applications and to avoid the potential mess it can create. ALWAYS wear gloves when using resin and preferably on a dedicated work surface. For one, it is a super powerful adhesive. And secondly, you can become suddenly and severely allergic to the chemical if you allow regular contact with your skin. I know this to be true because I am one of those this happened to. It is no fun, not to mention pretty darn scary and now, to work with resin, I have to don the equivalent of a haz mat suit. Quite a drag. The chemical BPA is in high concentrations in all resins before it cures–it’s what allows the hardening of the liquid. So be good to yourself and take precaution so you can continue to use it for many, many years because it is great stuff.
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 artist I’m introducing today is not a polymer artist, which is why I decided he belong in the Outside Inspiration category. However, he does use polymer. No, he doesn’t always use it, but when it suits the vision he is trying to create, polymer can play a prominent role in his images.
Andy Kehoe is an painter with quite the imagination. In researching him for this post I got completely lost in his stories and ramblings found throughout his website and on his blog. Trying to find out one serious bit about him was nigh impossible but I can’t say I didn’t have fun going down the rabbit hole of his imagination! So, back to what I do know. Andy works in painterly mediums, has a keen fascination with layers and depth and recently started playing with painting on multiple layers of resin, building up the strata of imagery that gives these works an almost surreal depth. This in conjunction with his stylized scenes that often look like paper cut-outs and/or uncertain dreamworld creatures creates an unusually strong atmosphere in the limited space the work exists in.
This piece, Approaching the Watcher of the Veil, combines oil, acrylic, polymer clay, and resin on wood. In what serious material I could find Andy is presented (usually on other people’s and galleries’ sites) as a painter, but obviously he doesn’t limit himself to any one medium. The polymer clay, which I assume is in the tree, also has a painterly look to it, making it blend into the work so that the piece transcends its motley medium existence to exist simply as an artist’s sincere and authentic vision.
Polymer is no stranger to being combined with paint or even becoming the paint so, no, this outside inspiration is not really about the painterly way polymer can be presented, but rather that polymer can be a medium used in conjunction with something as old and revered as painting and be an equal when chosen, as needed, for its particular characteristics. The medium is not the key. Its the choices of medium and how they are applied that defines a well-done piece.
Don’t miss some of Andy’s great posts on his blog as well as the entertaining material (especially in the “About” section) of his website.
