Moving Tribal

January 11, 2014

Polymer artist, Kim Otterbein, sees jewelry design as a meaningful way to express herself creatively. Her bracelets pictured here appear to be influenced by the tribal bangles made from bamboo and carved wood found in Africa and other Asian countries.

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The warmth of the faux wood and the juxtaposition of the metal bands and charms add interest as well as a fun, kinetic element to the bracelets. In addition, words and prayers are written on many of her pieces in the hope of making the wearer feel a sense of peace, protection, and healing.

If you would like to see more of Kim’s work and step-by-step instructions, take a look at her website and check out her book, “Polymer Clay 101,” written in partnership with Angela Mabray. It comes with a high quality DVD to provide visual instructions.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web    PCW_flower tile canes  WhimsicalBead051512

Tribal Trends

January 6, 2014

In our recent perusal of items that people are posting, commenting and otherwise bandying about online, we’ve noticed there is quite a bit of tribal influenced designs and color palettes. So this week, we thought we’d look at tribal tendencies and see how our fellow clayers are using this type source for inspiration in their work.

Liz Hall has previously put out a lot of work reminiscent of the American Southwest. (She’s from Maryland and lives in Virginia so I’m not sure how that happened.) I never really thought about it, but the southwest imagery and patterns are not so different from what we generally think of as tribal. Ancient art, whether from Africa, Australia, Europe or the Americas, tends towards natural and raw edged work, heavy with patterning in motifs particular to their area and culture. So it would not be difficult to move from the Southwestern aesthetic which draws from the Native American Indian culture to colors and patterns closer to an African influence as Liz has done here in these bangles.

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These bangles are one of the final entries for the polymer clay category of the Niche awards. You can see the other entries on the Niche website. Take a look at more of Liz’s work on her own website and Etsy store.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web    PCW_flower tile canes  WhimsicalBead051512

Moving Tribal

January 11, 2014
Posted in

Polymer artist, Kim Otterbein, sees jewelry design as a meaningful way to express herself creatively. Her bracelets pictured here appear to be influenced by the tribal bangles made from bamboo and carved wood found in Africa and other Asian countries.

ae6c255f3243ea7210ba3f2bd0d0e161

The warmth of the faux wood and the juxtaposition of the metal bands and charms add interest as well as a fun, kinetic element to the bracelets. In addition, words and prayers are written on many of her pieces in the hope of making the wearer feel a sense of peace, protection, and healing.

If you would like to see more of Kim’s work and step-by-step instructions, take a look at her website and check out her book, “Polymer Clay 101,” written in partnership with Angela Mabray. It comes with a high quality DVD to provide visual instructions.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web    PCW_flower tile canes  WhimsicalBead051512

Read More

Tribal Trends

January 6, 2014
Posted in

In our recent perusal of items that people are posting, commenting and otherwise bandying about online, we’ve noticed there is quite a bit of tribal influenced designs and color palettes. So this week, we thought we’d look at tribal tendencies and see how our fellow clayers are using this type source for inspiration in their work.

Liz Hall has previously put out a lot of work reminiscent of the American Southwest. (She’s from Maryland and lives in Virginia so I’m not sure how that happened.) I never really thought about it, but the southwest imagery and patterns are not so different from what we generally think of as tribal. Ancient art, whether from Africa, Australia, Europe or the Americas, tends towards natural and raw edged work, heavy with patterning in motifs particular to their area and culture. So it would not be difficult to move from the Southwestern aesthetic which draws from the Native American Indian culture to colors and patterns closer to an African influence as Liz has done here in these bangles.

1b710a976b909f0dc8e15ea502457c4a

These bangles are one of the final entries for the polymer clay category of the Niche awards. You can see the other entries on the Niche website. Take a look at more of Liz’s work on her own website and Etsy store.

 

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.

Cover 13-P4 web    PCW_flower tile canes  WhimsicalBead051512

Read More
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