Digging out Inclusions

October 14, 2014

Faux-Beach-Pebbles-Jewelry-07smIn my house, anything can be art materials. And I mean anything. We keep trying to come up with more ways to use the hair we brush off our furry kids, but dog and cat hair is troublesome and far too plentiful as inclusions. But seriously, if we have a lot of anything we’d otherwise throw away, my roommate or I have tried making something with it. Dryer lint is rather plentiful here (and full of pet hair too) and has long had its place in my studio. Yes, it sounds odd, but it’s really a fantastic material. I’ve been using dryer lint for years as an addition for strength and bulk in paper, resin and concrete castings. I don’t know why I didn’t think about mixing it with polymer, but someone else did!

Vanessa Brady was looking for something to help create a faux stone look when she came upon the dryer lint idea. And it does work beautifully. You can see here how it gives the faux rock a subtle rough look. I would love to see this faux rock technique in bolder colors and translucents. I may be giving this a try myself in the next couple days just to see. It look quick and easy enough for a whole slew of experimentation. The complete tutorial is on Vanessa’s blog along with other polymer and non-polymer crafty tidbits.

Additional note: On its own, lint is a rather flammable substance so use it with care.  Keep it away from open flames and heating elements. Mix it well in the polymer clay before curing.

 

 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.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm  Blog2 -2014-02Feb-3   polymer clay butterfly ornament sm   TPA Blog Newsletter Ad  ShadesofClay 1014 v2  tpabl-10-9072014

Layers of Texture

August 28, 2014

80111609_oI can’t give credit to the person who sent me this artist as I only have the email address it was sent from and a query back hasn’t received a response yet, but this was too good to pass by. (If you sent me this, write me back with your name!)

Astrid Brefort was the artist referred to and these fun, graphic pendants were what was sent in consideration of this week’s reader’s choice posts. It looks like texture, both tactile and visual in this piece, are what have been drawing readers lately. And layers! Here form created with layers again plays a role in enlivening the piece. Layers create depth and complexity while the halting swirl of the lines and the bright color contrast of the two colors bring visual energy against the white background. It’s simple elements brought together to create a vibrant and fun piece.

Astrid is one of those highly exploratory artists I occasionally talk about. If you take a look at her blog, she has been trying a little bit of a lot of things lately with great results. Go have fun poking around all the fun stuff on her blog and in her shop.

 

 

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.

14-P2 CoverFnl-blog   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-1   marble cane ad

Digging out Inclusions

October 14, 2014
Posted in

Faux-Beach-Pebbles-Jewelry-07smIn my house, anything can be art materials. And I mean anything. We keep trying to come up with more ways to use the hair we brush off our furry kids, but dog and cat hair is troublesome and far too plentiful as inclusions. But seriously, if we have a lot of anything we’d otherwise throw away, my roommate or I have tried making something with it. Dryer lint is rather plentiful here (and full of pet hair too) and has long had its place in my studio. Yes, it sounds odd, but it’s really a fantastic material. I’ve been using dryer lint for years as an addition for strength and bulk in paper, resin and concrete castings. I don’t know why I didn’t think about mixing it with polymer, but someone else did!

Vanessa Brady was looking for something to help create a faux stone look when she came upon the dryer lint idea. And it does work beautifully. You can see here how it gives the faux rock a subtle rough look. I would love to see this faux rock technique in bolder colors and translucents. I may be giving this a try myself in the next couple days just to see. It look quick and easy enough for a whole slew of experimentation. The complete tutorial is on Vanessa’s blog along with other polymer and non-polymer crafty tidbits.

Additional note: On its own, lint is a rather flammable substance so use it with care.  Keep it away from open flames and heating elements. Mix it well in the polymer clay before curing.

 

 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.

14-P3 Fall-Play cover Full sm  Blog2 -2014-02Feb-3   polymer clay butterfly ornament sm   TPA Blog Newsletter Ad  ShadesofClay 1014 v2  tpabl-10-9072014

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Layers of Texture

August 28, 2014
Posted in

80111609_oI can’t give credit to the person who sent me this artist as I only have the email address it was sent from and a query back hasn’t received a response yet, but this was too good to pass by. (If you sent me this, write me back with your name!)

Astrid Brefort was the artist referred to and these fun, graphic pendants were what was sent in consideration of this week’s reader’s choice posts. It looks like texture, both tactile and visual in this piece, are what have been drawing readers lately. And layers! Here form created with layers again plays a role in enlivening the piece. Layers create depth and complexity while the halting swirl of the lines and the bright color contrast of the two colors bring visual energy against the white background. It’s simple elements brought together to create a vibrant and fun piece.

Astrid is one of those highly exploratory artists I occasionally talk about. If you take a look at her blog, she has been trying a little bit of a lot of things lately with great results. Go have fun poking around all the fun stuff on her blog and in her shop.

 

 

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.

14-P2 CoverFnl-blog   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-1   marble cane ad

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