Filling in the Story
February 26, 2016
Inspirational Art
Well, you know there is a story in this piece. Question is, what exactly is the story? Well, I think this is definitely one of those pieces where the viewer provides the story. Alisa Maskaeva, for some reason, created a heart made to look like it is living wood, or maybe it is supposed to be a tree growing from a heart or a wooden heart giving way to new growth? It could be any of these things. The message is not clear-cut. And it doesn’t need to be, does it? But putting two disparate things together, well, like Wednesday post, it makes you think. Our minds want to find the connection, a connection for ourselves or to determine what the artist might have been trying to say.
I think that is an important thing to remember when creating. Although it’s wonderful when a work can visually convey a very particular message, it is also valid, and often even preferable, to give the viewer the ability to fill in the message or the story according to what they will see or get out of the work. I think your goal as an artist then is to simply embody a feeling, a sentiment, or just part of a story in your work, and leave all that room for the viewer to fill in the blanks, or not. A piece of art can simply make someone smile while it may make others think. That is the thing about visual arts … it is hard to direct the viewer to our thoughts and observations specifically through our work but then it does allow them to contribute to the art, at least for themselves, in a way you could not have anticipated or planned.
Alisa does not have a lot of things out there online, but if you want to keep track of her upcoming items, favorite her Etsy shop or follow her page on Facebook.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Use a random word generator (like this one here) and have it choose two words for you. You can have it generate up to 5 different sets but make yourself pick one of those five. You can also open a dictionary and, with eyes closed, pick out a work on two different pages you randomly open to. Create or design a piece with these two different words. Your mind will make a connection in concept or with a story. Let that direct what you create.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
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Painting a Story in Polymer
February 24, 2016
Inspirational Art
I thought I’d continue with the theme of story which, visually, can be told abstractly or with much more literal images. Today, we’re going to look at a literal set of images.
Today’s bit of story was created by Angenia (also known as Tonia Angenia Lupo) of Italy. I am not posting this because of the mermaid, although she is nicely executed and the curled and wavy polymer of the tail has a particularly nice flow to it, but I wanted to show you this painting. Because it is all polymer. It is rather hard to grasp that at a glance, but if you take time to peruse her blog or even just go through her process photos on Facebook, you will be amazed at the detail and work involved. It appears that she applies this all with a toothpick from tiny dabs of soft polymer clay. It’s so well done, though, that it looks like it might be a print set in a frame simply to accompany the mermaid, but no, the real masterpiece is the painting. Granted, the image is actually one of Thomas Kinkade’s, but the execution in clay is a great testament to what can be done with polymer in a painterly fashion.
The story here is being relayed purely by imagery with juxtaposition providing another layer of story. The ship out on the ocean, hit with rays of sunlight as a storm breaks behind it (or gathers around it, as I might have thought had I not just researched the original image), has its own story of courage. The mermaid creates another element to the story, including the possibility of other dangers in the sea. But only because the myth of mermaids are rather dark, not cute like this one. A more sinister air or refinement for the mermaid would have been a better pairing, style wise, for the seriousness and subtly of the painting for the sake of style consistency, but Angelina’s talent is undeniable.
If you have a couple of moments, take a look at her blog or Facebook page to admire her processes and other mini paintings, as well as her doll art and other miniatures.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Today, play with juxtaposition. You can do this with elements you already have if you don’t have time to create from scratch. Take two or three disparate things and arrange them together. Can you find a satisfying, if imperfect, way to compose them? Try this with a few other items, keeping track of what you’ve done (take photos if you can). Now, which ones worked better? You will usually find that the pieces that end up working together have something in common–sometimes its a design element, like similar textures or complementary colors or similar styles like geometric or organic or tribal. The other thing that makes things work is the stories in our minds. Like seeing animals in the clouds, our minds will try and make connections between elements even if they were not intended to be related. Is there a story in the compositions that worked best?
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Well, you know there is a story in this piece. Question is, what exactly is the story? Well, I think this is definitely one of those pieces where the viewer provides the story. Alisa Maskaeva, for some reason, created a heart made to look like it is living wood, or maybe it is supposed to be a tree growing from a heart or a wooden heart giving way to new growth? It could be any of these things. The message is not clear-cut. And it doesn’t need to be, does it? But putting two disparate things together, well, like Wednesday post, it makes you think. Our minds want to find the connection, a connection for ourselves or to determine what the artist might have been trying to say.
I think that is an important thing to remember when creating. Although it’s wonderful when a work can visually convey a very particular message, it is also valid, and often even preferable, to give the viewer the ability to fill in the message or the story according to what they will see or get out of the work. I think your goal as an artist then is to simply embody a feeling, a sentiment, or just part of a story in your work, and leave all that room for the viewer to fill in the blanks, or not. A piece of art can simply make someone smile while it may make others think. That is the thing about visual arts … it is hard to direct the viewer to our thoughts and observations specifically through our work but then it does allow them to contribute to the art, at least for themselves, in a way you could not have anticipated or planned.
Alisa does not have a lot of things out there online, but if you want to keep track of her upcoming items, favorite her Etsy shop or follow her page on Facebook.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Use a random word generator (like this one here) and have it choose two words for you. You can have it generate up to 5 different sets but make yourself pick one of those five. You can also open a dictionary and, with eyes closed, pick out a work on two different pages you randomly open to. Create or design a piece with these two different words. Your mind will make a connection in concept or with a story. Let that direct what you create.
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read MoreI thought I’d continue with the theme of story which, visually, can be told abstractly or with much more literal images. Today, we’re going to look at a literal set of images.
Today’s bit of story was created by Angenia (also known as Tonia Angenia Lupo) of Italy. I am not posting this because of the mermaid, although she is nicely executed and the curled and wavy polymer of the tail has a particularly nice flow to it, but I wanted to show you this painting. Because it is all polymer. It is rather hard to grasp that at a glance, but if you take time to peruse her blog or even just go through her process photos on Facebook, you will be amazed at the detail and work involved. It appears that she applies this all with a toothpick from tiny dabs of soft polymer clay. It’s so well done, though, that it looks like it might be a print set in a frame simply to accompany the mermaid, but no, the real masterpiece is the painting. Granted, the image is actually one of Thomas Kinkade’s, but the execution in clay is a great testament to what can be done with polymer in a painterly fashion.
The story here is being relayed purely by imagery with juxtaposition providing another layer of story. The ship out on the ocean, hit with rays of sunlight as a storm breaks behind it (or gathers around it, as I might have thought had I not just researched the original image), has its own story of courage. The mermaid creates another element to the story, including the possibility of other dangers in the sea. But only because the myth of mermaids are rather dark, not cute like this one. A more sinister air or refinement for the mermaid would have been a better pairing, style wise, for the seriousness and subtly of the painting for the sake of style consistency, but Angelina’s talent is undeniable.
If you have a couple of moments, take a look at her blog or Facebook page to admire her processes and other mini paintings, as well as her doll art and other miniatures.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Today, play with juxtaposition. You can do this with elements you already have if you don’t have time to create from scratch. Take two or three disparate things and arrange them together. Can you find a satisfying, if imperfect, way to compose them? Try this with a few other items, keeping track of what you’ve done (take photos if you can). Now, which ones worked better? You will usually find that the pieces that end up working together have something in common–sometimes its a design element, like similar textures or complementary colors or similar styles like geometric or organic or tribal. The other thing that makes things work is the stories in our minds. Like seeing animals in the clouds, our minds will try and make connections between elements even if they were not intended to be related. Is there a story in the compositions that worked best?
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read More