Image Transfer as Pure Surface Design

September 16, 2015

il_fullxfull.688326151_dofsHere is another thought about the use of image transfer. Instead of making the image transfer the focal point of a piece, why not integrate it into the design so that it reflects, and is reflected in, the other elements that surround it. Using image transfers with the attitude that it is simply another form of surface design to be cut, formed, or otherwise manipulated may open up a much wider variety of possibilities in the way you might use them.

This whimsically formed bracelet by Connie Castle is such a wonderful example of this. You don’t think about this being an image transfer at first, if at all. The lines in the transfers are mirrored in the lines of the wire work around it, and the curved and free form shapes those lines create extend to the way each panel is shaped. It all works together so well that you could easily just sit back and admire the piece without a thought as to how it was created. Okay, well, many of us would eventually ask ourselves how the images were made, but that question is secondary to simply enjoying the look of it. And don’t you love the interruption of the panel set with that open work focal bead section? It’s like a bridge in a song after several stanzas, giving us a moment to pause as well as being a way to add dramatic contrast in the composition of the piece.

Connie doesn’t stop with simply working to integrate her transfers into her designs, she also enhances the images transfers with paint which is a great way to take paler images or black and white laser prints  and create your own color palette to make them so much more your own thing.

This is one of Connie’s two favorite methods for creating her art jewelry. She also works heavily in calico fabrics, which may give us a good hint as to why she followed this particular approach. You can find her work and more ideas for expanding on the possibilities of image transfers gracing the pages of her Etsy shop.

 

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

     

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Altered Image Transfers

September 14, 2015

Irene MacKinnon imagetransferOver the last year or so, there seems to be some resurgence in image transfer techniques, which is why we did the image transfer tutorial in the 2015 fall issue. It’s also something I had been playing with quite a bit, but not in the direct way we often see it–in perfect replication on a square or other geometric form and hung as a pendant. There is nothing at all wrong with this form, but with all the ways the transfer could be done, there seems like something was missing when the image has not been altered, added to, manipulated or colored in some fashion. The chance to add one’s own bit of expression and highlight why they liked the image is absent. Unless the image is the artist’s own creation, the image transfer–borrowed from some creative commons license imagery or bought from a digital image repository or other supplier–is just highlighting work that belongs to someone else.

I think the reason the unaltered image is so prevalent is because, for one, the images chosen usually look beautiful on their own, but more importantly, there aren’t a lot of examples out there showing what else can be done with them. My explorations in this are, for the most part, not ready for prime time, but there are others out there using image transfer as a means of self-expression or an expression of their aesthetics that I thought might help get the ball rolling for some of you.

This piece is actually a half-dozen years old, but Irene MacKinnon took the image transfers just a couple of steps beyond the simple image pendant by creating a collage of images. Whether she was able to do multiple transfers on the same sheet of clay, used a stack of liquid polymer transfer skins or created the collection of images on the computer so it printed out ready to transfer as one image, I can’t say. The thing we do know is that this composition of images has something to say and to draw us in, making us look past the technique to what the whole piece has to convey.

Irene’s recent work plays more with the form upon which her transfers are used, but there are still quite a few examples where the technique is taken step further than we often see it. Check out her album of photo transfers and see how the altered images pop out of the collection and hold your attention far quicker and longer than the basic pieces she also has there to share.

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

     

   TPA_McGuire_blog ad  Print

Image Transfer as Pure Surface Design

September 16, 2015
Posted in

il_fullxfull.688326151_dofsHere is another thought about the use of image transfer. Instead of making the image transfer the focal point of a piece, why not integrate it into the design so that it reflects, and is reflected in, the other elements that surround it. Using image transfers with the attitude that it is simply another form of surface design to be cut, formed, or otherwise manipulated may open up a much wider variety of possibilities in the way you might use them.

This whimsically formed bracelet by Connie Castle is such a wonderful example of this. You don’t think about this being an image transfer at first, if at all. The lines in the transfers are mirrored in the lines of the wire work around it, and the curved and free form shapes those lines create extend to the way each panel is shaped. It all works together so well that you could easily just sit back and admire the piece without a thought as to how it was created. Okay, well, many of us would eventually ask ourselves how the images were made, but that question is secondary to simply enjoying the look of it. And don’t you love the interruption of the panel set with that open work focal bead section? It’s like a bridge in a song after several stanzas, giving us a moment to pause as well as being a way to add dramatic contrast in the composition of the piece.

Connie doesn’t stop with simply working to integrate her transfers into her designs, she also enhances the images transfers with paint which is a great way to take paler images or black and white laser prints  and create your own color palette to make them so much more your own thing.

This is one of Connie’s two favorite methods for creating her art jewelry. She also works heavily in calico fabrics, which may give us a good hint as to why she followed this particular approach. You can find her work and more ideas for expanding on the possibilities of image transfers gracing the pages of her Etsy shop.

 

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

     

   TPA_McGuire_blog ad  Print

 

Read More

Altered Image Transfers

September 14, 2015
Posted in

Irene MacKinnon imagetransferOver the last year or so, there seems to be some resurgence in image transfer techniques, which is why we did the image transfer tutorial in the 2015 fall issue. It’s also something I had been playing with quite a bit, but not in the direct way we often see it–in perfect replication on a square or other geometric form and hung as a pendant. There is nothing at all wrong with this form, but with all the ways the transfer could be done, there seems like something was missing when the image has not been altered, added to, manipulated or colored in some fashion. The chance to add one’s own bit of expression and highlight why they liked the image is absent. Unless the image is the artist’s own creation, the image transfer–borrowed from some creative commons license imagery or bought from a digital image repository or other supplier–is just highlighting work that belongs to someone else.

I think the reason the unaltered image is so prevalent is because, for one, the images chosen usually look beautiful on their own, but more importantly, there aren’t a lot of examples out there showing what else can be done with them. My explorations in this are, for the most part, not ready for prime time, but there are others out there using image transfer as a means of self-expression or an expression of their aesthetics that I thought might help get the ball rolling for some of you.

This piece is actually a half-dozen years old, but Irene MacKinnon took the image transfers just a couple of steps beyond the simple image pendant by creating a collage of images. Whether she was able to do multiple transfers on the same sheet of clay, used a stack of liquid polymer transfer skins or created the collection of images on the computer so it printed out ready to transfer as one image, I can’t say. The thing we do know is that this composition of images has something to say and to draw us in, making us look past the technique to what the whole piece has to convey.

Irene’s recent work plays more with the form upon which her transfers are used, but there are still quite a few examples where the technique is taken step further than we often see it. Check out her album of photo transfers and see how the altered images pop out of the collection and hold your attention far quicker and longer than the basic pieces she also has there to share.

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

     

   TPA_McGuire_blog ad  Print

Read More
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