Chaos and Quilting
April 19, 2014 Inspirational Art
This necklace by Aussie artist Robyn Gordon has a quilted textile feel to the shell designs used in the pendant and beads. The beads are shaped like turret sea snail shells while the pendant is an assemblage of several shell shapes. The details on the shells have faux sewing patterns and the beads are similar to rolled fabric beads. This particular necklace is made from polymer clay and silk thread and is part of the Powerhouse Museum Collection in Sydney, Australia.
Even though Robyn’s background is primarily in drawing, painting, and mixed media work, she was drawn to polymer jewelry adornment because it provides a direct communication between maker and wearer. If you would like to know more about this artist, browse through her website or take a peek at her gallery page.
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.
Texture in Animal Print
April 17, 2014 Inspirational Art
This animal print bracelet made by Slovenian artist Tina Mežek is another good example of what could be fabric inspired polymer clay. The rich, bold, earthtone color choices are typical of animal print fabrics and the textured surface gives this bangle the feel and look of a base covered in a rich woven cloth.
Tina is a designer who loves to work with mixed media, precious metals, wire, and Swarovski crystals, as well as polymer clay. If you would like to see more of her designs, visit her Flickr pages or her Facebook page. And if you would like to learn how to do this type of design, take one of her classes or workshops. She teaches for CraftArtEdu and there is a list of her workshops 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.
Outside Inspiration: Tactile Textiles
September 28, 2012 Inspirational Art
In quilting, it is more often than not about line and repetition – those elements that instill order to a variety of color and pattern. But that doesn’t mean the lines need to be straight, the repetition be squares or the print of the fabric being used.
In this small piece titled Celtic Spiral by Larkin Jean Van Horn, color and pattern on the fabric aren’t primary elements at all. There are no straight lines and no squares. Just a closely-aligned repetition of eye-like forms created by swirling lines with dense, rich rivers of beads flowing along with them. The potential translation to polymer seems obvious enough. A repeated stamping with flowing spaces of either beads or other richly textured surface treatments would make an amazing piece as well.
If you are interested in the concept of repetition and rhythm and haven’t seen the latest issue of The Polymer Arts, it’s a an issue packed with ideas for using these concepts to enliven your artwork. You can get your copy or a subscription here.
This necklace by Aussie artist Robyn Gordon has a quilted textile feel to the shell designs used in the pendant and beads. The beads are shaped like turret sea snail shells while the pendant is an assemblage of several shell shapes. The details on the shells have faux sewing patterns and the beads are similar to rolled fabric beads. This particular necklace is made from polymer clay and silk thread and is part of the Powerhouse Museum Collection in Sydney, Australia.
Even though Robyn’s background is primarily in drawing, painting, and mixed media work, she was drawn to polymer jewelry adornment because it provides a direct communication between maker and wearer. If you would like to know more about this artist, browse through her website or take a peek at her gallery page.
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 MoreThis animal print bracelet made by Slovenian artist Tina Mežek is another good example of what could be fabric inspired polymer clay. The rich, bold, earthtone color choices are typical of animal print fabrics and the textured surface gives this bangle the feel and look of a base covered in a rich woven cloth.
Tina is a designer who loves to work with mixed media, precious metals, wire, and Swarovski crystals, as well as polymer clay. If you would like to see more of her designs, visit her Flickr pages or her Facebook page. And if you would like to learn how to do this type of design, take one of her classes or workshops. She teaches for CraftArtEdu and there is a list of her workshops 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 MoreIn quilting, it is more often than not about line and repetition – those elements that instill order to a variety of color and pattern. But that doesn’t mean the lines need to be straight, the repetition be squares or the print of the fabric being used.
In this small piece titled Celtic Spiral by Larkin Jean Van Horn, color and pattern on the fabric aren’t primary elements at all. There are no straight lines and no squares. Just a closely-aligned repetition of eye-like forms created by swirling lines with dense, rich rivers of beads flowing along with them. The potential translation to polymer seems obvious enough. A repeated stamping with flowing spaces of either beads or other richly textured surface treatments would make an amazing piece as well.
If you are interested in the concept of repetition and rhythm and haven’t seen the latest issue of The Polymer Arts, it’s a an issue packed with ideas for using these concepts to enliven your artwork. You can get your copy or a subscription here.
Read More