Traveling Color

April 8, 2016

nerve-tonic necklace I have one more day of running about before I can get back to business as usual. I love road trips primarily for the wide variety of things you see along the way. This trip was particularly colorful as spring starts to show itself and the wispy clouds in the sky turn sunrises and sunsets all shades of pink, peach, and violet. Then there was rain yesterday, drenching the red rocks around the new green foliage in the central California mountains. These are the kinds of things that really get you excited about playing with color.

But since I can’t go play, let’s enjoy the color play of Claudia Stern, a bit of a jet-setting person herself. Claudia is a native of Peru who studied jewelry design in Italy and now lives in Sweden. She works in textiles but commonly uses polymer to create floral additions or centerpieces for her work. She creates gorgeous and intricate purses as well as jewelry. While I finish the last leg of my traveling today, enjoy this colorful neck piece and go take a look at her colorful work on her Facebook page and her quieter metal work on her website.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take particular note of the color you see throughout the day. What colors are you drawn to? Choose 2-3 colors or a combination you see and use it as the basis and inspiration for a new piece.

_________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

PCTV March 2016 Blog never knead -july-2015c-125 Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog

Tavoos Blog Apr 2016 The Great Create Sept 15 blog TPA_McGuire_blog ad

_________________________________________

Sudden Color

March 31, 2015

4ddf3ca2204958b57dcbb7c1c1d4ae78Isn’t one of the most breathtaking things in spring really just the blossoming of color after long months of a barely-there tint to the world? It’s a simple and even expected occurrence, the return of brilliant color, but when starved of something for a while, we become so much more appreciative and even excited by it, as if it was our first glimpse all over again.

Simple, but perfectly bright and cheery, is what I thought of this hair slide by Kathy of Flowertown Originals on Etsy. It’s really those jelly roll canes, going from light in the middle to bright color on the outside that makes the composition seem to glow. (See our Summer 2014 article in The Polymer Arts on creating the illusion of light for more on these techniques.) Between the blossoming flowers, the greening of the grasses and the lengthening days, this is just the kind of work that will be very well appreciated this time of year!

 

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.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

A Bowl of Spring Beads

January 16, 2014

I kept thinking that the Pantone Spring palette seemed somewhat familiar. Then it occurred to me that Rebecca Watkins often works in similar color combinations and I went back and found this lovely bowl of beads on one of our Pinterest boards. The colors are subdued with low saturation but plenty of contrast to make them festive without being loud or garish.

6909372729_188b26a2fe

If you enjoy these types of color palettes’ and the fun approach Rebecca takes with her work, be sure to jump on over to her Blogspot site and her Flickr pages for more wonderful inspiration for Spring and beyond.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web    PCW_flower tile canes  WhimsicalBead051512

Sparkle on the Tree

December 14, 2013

One area glitter and sparkle can comfortably reside is on the holiday tree and in holiday home decor. Jainnie Jenkins was making these ornaments a couple years back but they certainly have a timeless quality about them.

6491650853_906f007d62

These ornaments are polymer clay overlaid over glass bulb ornaments. Jainnie creates this almost antique effect by layering Pearl-ex powders on the clay. After curing, she scrubs off a lot of the Pearl-ex leaving enough powder to accent the textures and shapes. She has also created similar effects by layering on metallic paints. She found that metallic paints make her work feel a little more loose or organic. Now how often do you hear the words metallic and organic together?

Have a look at more of Jainnie’s work on her Flickr photostream and her blog.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web  120113 snowflake display ad  WhimsicalBead051512

Traveling Color

April 8, 2016
Posted in

nerve-tonic necklace I have one more day of running about before I can get back to business as usual. I love road trips primarily for the wide variety of things you see along the way. This trip was particularly colorful as spring starts to show itself and the wispy clouds in the sky turn sunrises and sunsets all shades of pink, peach, and violet. Then there was rain yesterday, drenching the red rocks around the new green foliage in the central California mountains. These are the kinds of things that really get you excited about playing with color.

But since I can’t go play, let’s enjoy the color play of Claudia Stern, a bit of a jet-setting person herself. Claudia is a native of Peru who studied jewelry design in Italy and now lives in Sweden. She works in textiles but commonly uses polymer to create floral additions or centerpieces for her work. She creates gorgeous and intricate purses as well as jewelry. While I finish the last leg of my traveling today, enjoy this colorful neck piece and go take a look at her colorful work on her Facebook page and her quieter metal work on her website.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take particular note of the color you see throughout the day. What colors are you drawn to? Choose 2-3 colors or a combination you see and use it as the basis and inspiration for a new piece.

_________________________________________

Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:

PCTV March 2016 Blog never knead -july-2015c-125 Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog

Tavoos Blog Apr 2016 The Great Create Sept 15 blog TPA_McGuire_blog ad

_________________________________________

Read More

Sudden Color

March 31, 2015
Posted in

4ddf3ca2204958b57dcbb7c1c1d4ae78Isn’t one of the most breathtaking things in spring really just the blossoming of color after long months of a barely-there tint to the world? It’s a simple and even expected occurrence, the return of brilliant color, but when starved of something for a while, we become so much more appreciative and even excited by it, as if it was our first glimpse all over again.

Simple, but perfectly bright and cheery, is what I thought of this hair slide by Kathy of Flowertown Originals on Etsy. It’s really those jelly roll canes, going from light in the middle to bright color on the outside that makes the composition seem to glow. (See our Summer 2014 article in The Polymer Arts on creating the illusion of light for more on these techniques.) Between the blossoming flowers, the greening of the grasses and the lengthening days, this is just the kind of work that will be very well appreciated this time of year!

 

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.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad;

Read More

A Bowl of Spring Beads

January 16, 2014
Posted in

I kept thinking that the Pantone Spring palette seemed somewhat familiar. Then it occurred to me that Rebecca Watkins often works in similar color combinations and I went back and found this lovely bowl of beads on one of our Pinterest boards. The colors are subdued with low saturation but plenty of contrast to make them festive without being loud or garish.

6909372729_188b26a2fe

If you enjoy these types of color palettes’ and the fun approach Rebecca takes with her work, be sure to jump on over to her Blogspot site and her Flickr pages for more wonderful inspiration for Spring and beyond.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web    PCW_flower tile canes  WhimsicalBead051512

Read More

Sparkle on the Tree

December 14, 2013
Posted in

One area glitter and sparkle can comfortably reside is on the holiday tree and in holiday home decor. Jainnie Jenkins was making these ornaments a couple years back but they certainly have a timeless quality about them.

6491650853_906f007d62

These ornaments are polymer clay overlaid over glass bulb ornaments. Jainnie creates this almost antique effect by layering Pearl-ex powders on the clay. After curing, she scrubs off a lot of the Pearl-ex leaving enough powder to accent the textures and shapes. She has also created similar effects by layering on metallic paints. She found that metallic paints make her work feel a little more loose or organic. Now how often do you hear the words metallic and organic together?

Have a look at more of Jainnie’s work on her Flickr photostream and her blog.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web  120113 snowflake display ad  WhimsicalBead051512
Read More
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