When the Medium Does the Painting
March 18, 2016
Inspirational Art
Letting the material determine the outcome of a piece by allowing it to flow and mix as it wants is an approach that can be used in a variety of mediums including polymer, as we saw on Wednesday.
This beautiful image here, as I am sure you surmised, is not polymer. It’s not alcohol inks or watercolor or any of the traditional mediums. Although it may not be surprising to find out it is encaustic wax, the way the artist gets these ethereal forms and textures just might be surprising. So, instead of listening to me blather about the technique, I will suggest you slake your curiosity by watching this wonderful video the artist, Alicia Tormey, recently produced to show her technique. It’s a beautifully done video, but it is nothing next to the gorgeous texture of the pieces she creates.
Visit this link for the video on her home page, then stay and investigate her website and the wonderful colors and forms she creates for her wall art.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Starting with a single white, translucent, or light-colored sheet of clay, work the surface with spontaneous, uncontrolled additions. Crumple paper or foil and press the texture into it. Drop inks onto it, splatter paint or rub gilders paste onto it. Spritz with alcohol and water and let inks and paints run, then dab or rub off spots with a bit of towel. Sprinkle mica powder or oxide powder over it or randomly adhere metal leaf. Do as much or as little of this as you like until you see a surface that pleases you. If you go a little overboard, let any liquids dry then roll the sheet one step down on the pasta machine once or twice. Pick out parts you like to make polymer elements for jewelry or add to the sheet to develop a piece of wall art.
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Chance Lines, Chance Texture
February 5, 2014
Inspirational Art
Randomness can be used, not just in the composition of a piece but in the way you work with your clay. Applying or sculpting clay with a random approach can add wonderful, organic and quite expressive elements and textures to a piece.
Klavdija Kurent has allowed threads of clay, wound up without asserting stringent control, and ended up with these intriguing beads and the resulting necklace.
Letting go of your strict control over the clay and allowing the material to create the visual result can be so appealing both in creating this way and in the loose, natural result. Here, the end pattern is random but its the same type of pattern–loose flowing lines and loops–complimented by organic, rock like central beads and a large looping bead as the focal point. I love how the braided strings of clay start out orderly on the left of the focal bead but then break down, giving way suddenly to the chaos. I don’t know if Klavdija intended it, but that bead is a great metaphor for life in general!
Klavdija will be teaching her twisted techniques in April at EuroSynergy in Malta. Are you going to EuroSynergy? There are so many amazing artists and creatives that will be there with workshops, presentations and discussions panels. I’ll be there conducting two workshop style seminars to help attendees develop their personal voice and online presences as well as leading what promises to be a lively discussion with the ladies of From Polymer to Art on what we have and what we want to see more of in print. You can find a list of all our presentations on the Eurosynergy website.
And take a look at more of Klavdija’s work on her Flickr pages and her blog.
Thank you for supporting The Polymer Arts projects and our advertising partners you see below! Your purchases support the magazine, this blog and our upcoming “Best of” and “Workshop” books. To get even more out of our projects, subscribe, get our newsletter (see form on the left side of our home page), and follow us on Facebook.
Letting the material determine the outcome of a piece by allowing it to flow and mix as it wants is an approach that can be used in a variety of mediums including polymer, as we saw on Wednesday.
This beautiful image here, as I am sure you surmised, is not polymer. It’s not alcohol inks or watercolor or any of the traditional mediums. Although it may not be surprising to find out it is encaustic wax, the way the artist gets these ethereal forms and textures just might be surprising. So, instead of listening to me blather about the technique, I will suggest you slake your curiosity by watching this wonderful video the artist, Alicia Tormey, recently produced to show her technique. It’s a beautifully done video, but it is nothing next to the gorgeous texture of the pieces she creates.
Visit this link for the video on her home page, then stay and investigate her website and the wonderful colors and forms she creates for her wall art.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Starting with a single white, translucent, or light-colored sheet of clay, work the surface with spontaneous, uncontrolled additions. Crumple paper or foil and press the texture into it. Drop inks onto it, splatter paint or rub gilders paste onto it. Spritz with alcohol and water and let inks and paints run, then dab or rub off spots with a bit of towel. Sprinkle mica powder or oxide powder over it or randomly adhere metal leaf. Do as much or as little of this as you like until you see a surface that pleases you. If you go a little overboard, let any liquids dry then roll the sheet one step down on the pasta machine once or twice. Pick out parts you like to make polymer elements for jewelry or add to the sheet to develop a piece of wall art.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read MoreRandomness can be used, not just in the composition of a piece but in the way you work with your clay. Applying or sculpting clay with a random approach can add wonderful, organic and quite expressive elements and textures to a piece.
Klavdija Kurent has allowed threads of clay, wound up without asserting stringent control, and ended up with these intriguing beads and the resulting necklace.
Letting go of your strict control over the clay and allowing the material to create the visual result can be so appealing both in creating this way and in the loose, natural result. Here, the end pattern is random but its the same type of pattern–loose flowing lines and loops–complimented by organic, rock like central beads and a large looping bead as the focal point. I love how the braided strings of clay start out orderly on the left of the focal bead but then break down, giving way suddenly to the chaos. I don’t know if Klavdija intended it, but that bead is a great metaphor for life in general!
Klavdija will be teaching her twisted techniques in April at EuroSynergy in Malta. Are you going to EuroSynergy? There are so many amazing artists and creatives that will be there with workshops, presentations and discussions panels. I’ll be there conducting two workshop style seminars to help attendees develop their personal voice and online presences as well as leading what promises to be a lively discussion with the ladies of From Polymer to Art on what we have and what we want to see more of in print. You can find a list of all our presentations on the Eurosynergy website.
And take a look at more of Klavdija’s work on her Flickr pages and her blog.
Thank you for supporting The Polymer Arts projects and our advertising partners you see below! Your purchases support the magazine, this blog and our upcoming “Best of” and “Workshop” books. To get even more out of our projects, subscribe, get our newsletter (see form on the left side of our home page), and follow us on Facebook.
