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.
Outside Inspiration: Tile Elements
September 19, 2014
Inspirational Art
I just love what Ginger found for us today as an outside inspiration. A scene created with tiles, a kind of bas relief where the elements create the imagery and depth from how they are layered and arranged. This is not so very different from some of the polymer scenes we’ve seen this week. The primary difference is that the imagery is created with large swaths of color and texture to create a piecework landscape scene but one that is cohesive and pulls you in.
The wall hanging was created by Chris Sumka, a tile artist. This is the piece’s description:
“The old Palmer place”, 2014, 21″X42″, 237 hours, composed entirely of 12″X12″ r/c porcelain, ceramic and slate floor tile, mounted on r/c 3/4 inch plywood, green, eco friendly art. Large amounts of white grout were left behind to add to the snow effect.”
Now he actually cuts each of these shapes to fit the image from some pretty hard material. If you’ve ever worked with tile, then you know how hard this is and just how tricky it can be to make the right cut and not actually break the tile. I’ve done more than my share of tiling. I’m impressed. We can–and a number of people do–create polymer imagery in a similar fashion. With some pretty darn simple cutting work compared to this!
You can see further detail of this piece on Chris’ Facebook page here and more of his fascinating work including photos of pieces in progress on his Facebook timeline as well.
Our guest blogger partner, Ginger Davis Allman lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband Gary, her three kids and her many craft obsessions. Subscribe to her blog and look around her website for her well-researched and in-depth posts and articles on polymer related subjects. Support her great information and research as well as treating yourself by purchasing a tutorial or two from this talented lady.
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.
Scenes in Micro
September 18, 2014
Inspirational Art
Ginger really wanted to share a micro mosaic piece with you this week and I’ve gone back and forth on options for us. The thing is, micro mosaics in polymer were really established, and I think are still best done, by Cynthia Toops. But I’ll be breaking a rule of mine to not feature an artist that was on the blog within the last 6 months–I like to spread the love around so to speak and Cynthia was featured last month. Well, here’s to breaking rules now and then!
The image of this bracelet is actually from Chuck Domitrovich’s Flickr pages. Chuck, an accomplished metal smith, partnered with Cynthia to create this bracelet some years back. This gorgeous bangle has two scenes actually–one side with an underwater scenario on the right and a land scene on the left. They work together because of the similar color palette and the styling of the imagery. I didn’t think it was too hard to imagine how these were created but the timing issue was not something I would have expected. Here is Cynthia’s process in Chuck’s words:
“Each mosaic is made by rolling tiny Fimo/polymer threads out of each color, and then baking those threads to harden them. Then the threads are cut into small pieces and these are used as the basis for the mosaic, with each tiny cut piece of thread pushed into soft polymer lining the bezel. She only has a limited amount of time to set all the threads before the polymer clay dries out and the threads begin to curl. In some of the larger mosaics she has done, Cynthia has had to rework entire sections that have dried too fast. Each mosaic takes many, many hours, and it is not unusual for her to spend a week of working almost constantly to finish one. Once all the threads are in place the entire piece is baked once again, hardening and setting them.”
There is more detail in this bracelet at the hinges and a closer look really is needed to appreciate all that went into this. You can see great detail shots by clicking the image here or this link and then clicking the right side arrows on Chuck’s Flickr page to see them all. And you can find more of Cynthia and Chuck’s micro mosaic collaborations in this Flickr photo album.
Our guest blogger partner, Ginger Davis Allman lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband Gary, her three kids and her many craft obsessions. Subscribe to her blog and look around her website for her well-researched and in-depth posts and articles on polymer related subjects. Support her great information and research as well as treating yourself by purchasing a tutorial or two from this talented lady.
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.
Wrist Scenes
September 15, 2014
Inspirational Art
So here is something new for you my dear readers … a week of posts chosen by a guest artst! A little while back I reached out to a number of artists who regularly send me content ideas and asked if they would like to take over the art choices for a week. The idea was to get some fresh views of polymer art that I might not pick out because, even though I try to pull in all varieties and tastes, I just won’t see things the same as other people and vice versa. I am hoping enjoy this little change up and that we’ll get to periodically have a fun and different week like this. Let me know what you think of having a guest blogger as we go through this week or tell me if you’re interested in helping one week yourself by dropping me a note!
Our first guest blog partner is Ginger Davis Allman, blogger extraordinaire at The Blue Bottle Tree and creator and author of numerous techniques and tutorials. She’s looking at polymer ‘scenes’ this week. She wrote up this first post for us:
Normally known for her whimsical and cartoon-like character sculptures, Doreen Kassel also makes jewelry with the same recognizable fun and engaging style. This cuff bracelet features a sculpted street scene reminiscent of a quaint rural French village. Can you imagine walking down this street, meeting interesting characters along the way as you gather your shopping at the market?
The individual elements of the scene, each sculpted in polymer clay and painted in bright colors, come together to create a cohesive story. Each element is separate, but still connected by its placement, its color, and its style. Much in the way the the real buildings of a French village would be.
Doreen will be teaching how to make cuffs like this at a workshop in Stamford, CT this coming October.
Ginger Davis Allman lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband Gary, her three kids and her many craft obsessions. Subscribe to her blog and look around her website for her well-researched and in-depth posts and articles on polymer related subjects. Support her great information and research as well as treating yourself by getting yourself a tutorial or two from this talented lady.
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: A Felted Landscape
November 15, 2013
Inspirational Art
Another fantastic ‘canvas’ for landscape composition is an object that is “in the round”. That term simply means something can be viewed all the way around its form. What do you work in that can viewed that way? Big beads? Earrings? Vases?
Vases, bowls, boxes and containers of all kinds can be used as landscape composition pieces, with the advantage of being able to develop multiple scenes because they will be viewed from multiple sides. Here is an unusual application of felt in a very colorful, abstract landscape built around the form of a pot.
Sharon Costello will felt just about anything, it seems. Her website features figures, wall art, clothes, lampshades, masks, and covered objects like this vessel using both wet and needle felting methods. Have some fun on her site this afternoon seeing just how inventive one inspired artist can be with her felt. Then ask yourself as a polymer artist, what do you see that you can take back to your studio?
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
I just love what Ginger found for us today as an outside inspiration. A scene created with tiles, a kind of bas relief where the elements create the imagery and depth from how they are layered and arranged. This is not so very different from some of the polymer scenes we’ve seen this week. The primary difference is that the imagery is created with large swaths of color and texture to create a piecework landscape scene but one that is cohesive and pulls you in.
The wall hanging was created by Chris Sumka, a tile artist. This is the piece’s description:
“The old Palmer place”, 2014, 21″X42″, 237 hours, composed entirely of 12″X12″ r/c porcelain, ceramic and slate floor tile, mounted on r/c 3/4 inch plywood, green, eco friendly art. Large amounts of white grout were left behind to add to the snow effect.”
Now he actually cuts each of these shapes to fit the image from some pretty hard material. If you’ve ever worked with tile, then you know how hard this is and just how tricky it can be to make the right cut and not actually break the tile. I’ve done more than my share of tiling. I’m impressed. We can–and a number of people do–create polymer imagery in a similar fashion. With some pretty darn simple cutting work compared to this!
You can see further detail of this piece on Chris’ Facebook page here and more of his fascinating work including photos of pieces in progress on his Facebook timeline as well.
Our guest blogger partner, Ginger Davis Allman lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband Gary, her three kids and her many craft obsessions. Subscribe to her blog and look around her website for her well-researched and in-depth posts and articles on polymer related subjects. Support her great information and research as well as treating yourself by purchasing a tutorial or two from this talented lady.
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.
Ginger really wanted to share a micro mosaic piece with you this week and I’ve gone back and forth on options for us. The thing is, micro mosaics in polymer were really established, and I think are still best done, by Cynthia Toops. But I’ll be breaking a rule of mine to not feature an artist that was on the blog within the last 6 months–I like to spread the love around so to speak and Cynthia was featured last month. Well, here’s to breaking rules now and then!
The image of this bracelet is actually from Chuck Domitrovich’s Flickr pages. Chuck, an accomplished metal smith, partnered with Cynthia to create this bracelet some years back. This gorgeous bangle has two scenes actually–one side with an underwater scenario on the right and a land scene on the left. They work together because of the similar color palette and the styling of the imagery. I didn’t think it was too hard to imagine how these were created but the timing issue was not something I would have expected. Here is Cynthia’s process in Chuck’s words:
“Each mosaic is made by rolling tiny Fimo/polymer threads out of each color, and then baking those threads to harden them. Then the threads are cut into small pieces and these are used as the basis for the mosaic, with each tiny cut piece of thread pushed into soft polymer lining the bezel. She only has a limited amount of time to set all the threads before the polymer clay dries out and the threads begin to curl. In some of the larger mosaics she has done, Cynthia has had to rework entire sections that have dried too fast. Each mosaic takes many, many hours, and it is not unusual for her to spend a week of working almost constantly to finish one. Once all the threads are in place the entire piece is baked once again, hardening and setting them.”
There is more detail in this bracelet at the hinges and a closer look really is needed to appreciate all that went into this. You can see great detail shots by clicking the image here or this link and then clicking the right side arrows on Chuck’s Flickr page to see them all. And you can find more of Cynthia and Chuck’s micro mosaic collaborations in this Flickr photo album.
Our guest blogger partner, Ginger Davis Allman lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband Gary, her three kids and her many craft obsessions. Subscribe to her blog and look around her website for her well-researched and in-depth posts and articles on polymer related subjects. Support her great information and research as well as treating yourself by purchasing a tutorial or two from this talented lady.
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 More
So here is something new for you my dear readers … a week of posts chosen by a guest artst! A little while back I reached out to a number of artists who regularly send me content ideas and asked if they would like to take over the art choices for a week. The idea was to get some fresh views of polymer art that I might not pick out because, even though I try to pull in all varieties and tastes, I just won’t see things the same as other people and vice versa. I am hoping enjoy this little change up and that we’ll get to periodically have a fun and different week like this. Let me know what you think of having a guest blogger as we go through this week or tell me if you’re interested in helping one week yourself by dropping me a note!
Our first guest blog partner is Ginger Davis Allman, blogger extraordinaire at The Blue Bottle Tree and creator and author of numerous techniques and tutorials. She’s looking at polymer ‘scenes’ this week. She wrote up this first post for us:
Normally known for her whimsical and cartoon-like character sculptures, Doreen Kassel also makes jewelry with the same recognizable fun and engaging style. This cuff bracelet features a sculpted street scene reminiscent of a quaint rural French village. Can you imagine walking down this street, meeting interesting characters along the way as you gather your shopping at the market?
The individual elements of the scene, each sculpted in polymer clay and painted in bright colors, come together to create a cohesive story. Each element is separate, but still connected by its placement, its color, and its style. Much in the way the the real buildings of a French village would be.
Doreen will be teaching how to make cuffs like this at a workshop in Stamford, CT this coming October.
Ginger Davis Allman lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband Gary, her three kids and her many craft obsessions. Subscribe to her blog and look around her website for her well-researched and in-depth posts and articles on polymer related subjects. Support her great information and research as well as treating yourself by getting yourself a tutorial or two from this talented lady.
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.
Another fantastic ‘canvas’ for landscape composition is an object that is “in the round”. That term simply means something can be viewed all the way around its form. What do you work in that can viewed that way? Big beads? Earrings? Vases?
Vases, bowls, boxes and containers of all kinds can be used as landscape composition pieces, with the advantage of being able to develop multiple scenes because they will be viewed from multiple sides. Here is an unusual application of felt in a very colorful, abstract landscape built around the form of a pot.
Sharon Costello will felt just about anything, it seems. Her website features figures, wall art, clothes, lampshades, masks, and covered objects like this vessel using both wet and needle felting methods. Have some fun on her site this afternoon seeing just how inventive one inspired artist can be with her felt. Then ask yourself as a polymer artist, what do you see that you can take back to your studio?
Read More
