The Paper and Polymer Advantage
March 11, 2016
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
My little contribution to the Spring issue of The Polymer Arts is an article on ways to combine paper with polymer. I did a lot of research to see if there was anything else I could share with readers beyond what I had done in the past with paper casting and collage style techniques and … wow! There are tons of ways paper can be used to kick up your work. It offers ways to make production less expensive and pieces lighter for castings and as cores for large beads, it can add interesting textures both tactile and visual, and, because it can go in the oven at polymer clay curing temperatures, it can be used over, under, inside of, and just about any way you want it with your raw clay and it all can go into the oven together.
My foray into paper and polymer came initially from looking for less expensive and less noxious ways to cast sculpted pieces I had created in polymer and wanted to duplicate. I went on to use the material as a substrate, to make light sculptural and bead cores and to make hollow beads. But the things they are doing with paper in the craft world is amazing, and looks a lot like polymer sometimes. From mokume-like carved stacks of paper to rolled beads to textured, stamped, and molded paper–the work is beautiful and a very direct source of inspiration for polymer artists. If you haven’t seen what I am talking about just google something like “paper jewelry” or “paper craft” on Google, Pinterest, Etsy or Flickr. It’s fascinating.
The other super cool thing about paper craft is that much of it is being made from recycled and upcycled paper sources. I do all my paper casting using junk mail and old newspapers and my collage work is from magazines I would otherwise just throw away. But those are not the only sources of paper we can recycle and combine with polymer pieces. This necklace by Izabela Nowak is a beautiful example of where using a paper source rather than polymer has a distinct advantage.
All those discs are cut from milk and juice cartons. Creating something like that with polymer would be intensely time-consuming and curing extremely thin polymer and keeping it flat takes a few tricks. I am not saying its impossible–I’ve done it myself–but why do that if you can get a similar effect while keeping more trash out of a landfill? And … it’s cheap or free! You gotta love that.
Izabela actually does a ton of work in paper and upcycled materials. She doesn’t often combine her polymer and paper but I find the pieces in which she doe, more interesting than the paper alone. The polymer adds solidity and texture the paper can’t and the paper offers crisp edges and smooth surfaces that are more difficult to do in polymer. So together, they make quite the pair!
Get your copy of the Spring 2016 issue of The Polymer Arts for this and other great article sure to get your creative juice flowing!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Search for paper craft, paper jewelry, or recycled art and find a piece you are drawn to. Don’t spend a lot of time looking. Then figure out what that one thing is that is really drawing you to that piece. Use that element … whether it’s the way the work was created (rolled, folded, molded), the form of the piece, or even the combination of colors, and use it to design or create your next piece.
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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Supplementary Knots
March 9, 2016
Inspirational Art
The original theme of the Spring issue was “Focus”, which is why we have that great article by Loretta Lam on designing with focal points in this latest issue. But last year, Iris Mishly sent me this great proposal for combining polymer with micro macramé and that, along with having these long-standing articles on my wish list to teach epoxy clay and metal clay, had us moving towards a much more mixed media issue.
Iris’ article is very detailed and quite thorough considering the variety and potential use of micro macramé as a substitute for typical metal findings as well as polymer embellishments. It’s really quite exciting, especially for us textile junkies, but I think anyone would find these fun and easy skills a great, inexpensive way to add to the complexity and uniqueness of polymer jewelry art. The macramé can also provide a great, flexible, and decorative stringing option to showcase your polymer elements, as it does in this necklace-turned-headband. Create bails, dangles, bezels, choker, and bracelet bands, or just learn a few quick knots to use as bead spacers.
The article in the Spring issue is a great way to start because it works through everything from planning the polymer elements to a step-by-step for creating a nice end and dangle for a pair of earrings, but Iris also has a couple of free tutorials to share with you, my dear readers. Just go here to get the free tutorials, then explore her site for the more advanced tutorials if you find the macramé bug caught you!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day:Try adding a material to your work you have never used before. Challenge yourself to use the first possible thing you come across either in your house (something that isn’t part of your present craft repertoire) or at a craft store. In your house, it could be dried petals from your potpourri or a foil wrapper from a chocolate candy. Around a craft store you might be intrigued by model airplane decals, scrap-book brads, or fiber used for hair in doll making. Don’t think about it as you look, just see what your eye finds for you.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
My little contribution to the Spring issue of The Polymer Arts is an article on ways to combine paper with polymer. I did a lot of research to see if there was anything else I could share with readers beyond what I had done in the past with paper casting and collage style techniques and … wow! There are tons of ways paper can be used to kick up your work. It offers ways to make production less expensive and pieces lighter for castings and as cores for large beads, it can add interesting textures both tactile and visual, and, because it can go in the oven at polymer clay curing temperatures, it can be used over, under, inside of, and just about any way you want it with your raw clay and it all can go into the oven together.
My foray into paper and polymer came initially from looking for less expensive and less noxious ways to cast sculpted pieces I had created in polymer and wanted to duplicate. I went on to use the material as a substrate, to make light sculptural and bead cores and to make hollow beads. But the things they are doing with paper in the craft world is amazing, and looks a lot like polymer sometimes. From mokume-like carved stacks of paper to rolled beads to textured, stamped, and molded paper–the work is beautiful and a very direct source of inspiration for polymer artists. If you haven’t seen what I am talking about just google something like “paper jewelry” or “paper craft” on Google, Pinterest, Etsy or Flickr. It’s fascinating.
The other super cool thing about paper craft is that much of it is being made from recycled and upcycled paper sources. I do all my paper casting using junk mail and old newspapers and my collage work is from magazines I would otherwise just throw away. But those are not the only sources of paper we can recycle and combine with polymer pieces. This necklace by Izabela Nowak is a beautiful example of where using a paper source rather than polymer has a distinct advantage.
All those discs are cut from milk and juice cartons. Creating something like that with polymer would be intensely time-consuming and curing extremely thin polymer and keeping it flat takes a few tricks. I am not saying its impossible–I’ve done it myself–but why do that if you can get a similar effect while keeping more trash out of a landfill? And … it’s cheap or free! You gotta love that.
Izabela actually does a ton of work in paper and upcycled materials. She doesn’t often combine her polymer and paper but I find the pieces in which she doe, more interesting than the paper alone. The polymer adds solidity and texture the paper can’t and the paper offers crisp edges and smooth surfaces that are more difficult to do in polymer. So together, they make quite the pair!
Get your copy of the Spring 2016 issue of The Polymer Arts for this and other great article sure to get your creative juice flowing!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Search for paper craft, paper jewelry, or recycled art and find a piece you are drawn to. Don’t spend a lot of time looking. Then figure out what that one thing is that is really drawing you to that piece. Use that element … whether it’s the way the work was created (rolled, folded, molded), the form of the piece, or even the combination of colors, and use it to design or create your next piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read More
The original theme of the Spring issue was “Focus”, which is why we have that great article by Loretta Lam on designing with focal points in this latest issue. But last year, Iris Mishly sent me this great proposal for combining polymer with micro macramé and that, along with having these long-standing articles on my wish list to teach epoxy clay and metal clay, had us moving towards a much more mixed media issue.
Iris’ article is very detailed and quite thorough considering the variety and potential use of micro macramé as a substitute for typical metal findings as well as polymer embellishments. It’s really quite exciting, especially for us textile junkies, but I think anyone would find these fun and easy skills a great, inexpensive way to add to the complexity and uniqueness of polymer jewelry art. The macramé can also provide a great, flexible, and decorative stringing option to showcase your polymer elements, as it does in this necklace-turned-headband. Create bails, dangles, bezels, choker, and bracelet bands, or just learn a few quick knots to use as bead spacers.
The article in the Spring issue is a great way to start because it works through everything from planning the polymer elements to a step-by-step for creating a nice end and dangle for a pair of earrings, but Iris also has a couple of free tutorials to share with you, my dear readers. Just go here to get the free tutorials, then explore her site for the more advanced tutorials if you find the macramé bug caught you!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day:Try adding a material to your work you have never used before. Challenge yourself to use the first possible thing you come across either in your house (something that isn’t part of your present craft repertoire) or at a craft store. In your house, it could be dried petals from your potpourri or a foil wrapper from a chocolate candy. Around a craft store you might be intrigued by model airplane decals, scrap-book brads, or fiber used for hair in doll making. Don’t think about it as you look, just see what your eye finds for you.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read More