Polymer Under a Microscope
May 12, 2014
Inspirational Art
The organic forms, colors and patterns of nature inspire the work of many polymer artists. There was quite a bit of this at EuroSynergy, the microscopic looking variety especially and it has been on my mind since then. So this week, let’s look at items that could be drawn from what we might find under a microscope.
When thinking of cellular imagery, Christine Dumont’s work comes to mind first. We enjoyed a number of wonderful talks at EuroSynergy and I had the opportunity to take a close look at some of her more recent work although I didn’t get any photos. However, Christine takes such wonderful photos of her work so let’s look at her images instead. This pendant is a slight departure from others in her “Cellularia” series. She usually layers the perforated clay, lining the holes in precise rows to create a three dimensional surface. Here we have just the one layer of very organically spaced holes giving it even more of a cellular look.
Christine is known for her wonderfully helpful site, Voila as well as her beautifully finished work. Enjoy some time on her beautiful website and do check out Voila.eu.com if you haven’t yet or haven’t been there recently.
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.
Opportunity to Grow
May 3, 2013
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news
If you have been enjoying the conversation about expanding your artistic voice, you may want to hop on over to Voila! this weekend. As of this Sunday, there is a new class you can join–Ways To Wow … and all you have to do is show up on the site Sunday!
Here’s the deal: Voila! is creating an opportunity for you to spend the next 6 months planning, designing and making a piece to achieve significant creative growth. At the end of the course, you will have a landmark piece in your body of work that exemplifies your creativity. You will also have learned a method that you can use for your future big projects.
Christine Dumont is a force for artistic growth in our community and regularly has classes like this running on Voila!. Look at what Angela Garrod did during the last class, How to Become a Better Artist.
Angela has thoroughly explored this hollow pendant form with a variety of applications. Intense exploration into a technique, form or approach is a great way to explore your artistic voice. You find yourself drawn back to certain aspects of your experiments which gives you a direction to push yourself. This kind of in-depth exploration is what you can expect if you join in on one of Christine’s Voila! classes.
Here are highlights from the class description:
The course will require at least two hours of your time per week. The studio sessions will of course require as much time as it takes to complete the piece. This course is free and available to all but only Voila! members will have access to the forums to discuss the course material and post images in the gallery.
New course material will be posted on the Homepage every Sunday starting May 5th. You don’t have anything to do except wait for May 5th when Christine will be posting course material for the week.
Cool, huh? Head on over to Voila! if you aren’t familiar with the site and then we’ll see you back there on Sunday! http://www.voila.eu.com/
Become a Better Artist: Eight Month Course on Voila!
June 25, 2012
Polymer community news
Starting July 1, Voila.eu.com will be running an eight-month course on “How to Become a Better Artist.” There’s a short post about it on their homepage:
How To Become a Better Artist: An 8-month journey
If you are asking yourself these questions:
- Are my ideas good enough to spend more time on them?
- Why are some pieces “wow” and others “blah”?
- How is my work perceived?
Then this course will help you:
- Identify worthwhile ideas and mature them,
- Ensure that you effectively capture your good ideas,
- Understand how to learn from and accept criticism.
Starting July 1, 2012, the course will build on the wealth of experience and images from the last two years of Polymeristas of the Month competitions.
The course is free and available to all. Only members will have access to the archives.
Sign up on www.voila.eu.com to become a member and join in on this great opportunity! You can read more on Voila in the Summer Issue of The Polymer Arts magazine.
Encouraging Constructive Criticism
June 1, 2012
Polymer issues
Yesterday I posted observations about an organically inspired necklace. Beautifully done, it still had room for improvement and I mentioned my thoughts on that. It felt rather odd to do so. Our community doesn’t really spend a lot of time talking about the missed opportunities in our art work. Usually we praise (and usually deservedly so) the work of our fellow artists which certainly helps bolster confidence and enthusiasm in the artist. But how much does it help them improve their work?
A week or so ago I had a great Skype conversation with Christine Dumont of Voila (see the interview/article on Voila in our latest magazine issue). One of the very unique things about her site is that members get constructive feedback on work they submit in their gallery. Much of the Voila concept is built around ways to help polymer artists improve their work, not just receive confirmation that they are going in the right direction. I think this is a concept we all need to embrace further.
The hard part of with working more constructive feedback into our conversations is that most of us have not been through the training and educational experience of art school or other exposure to critical commentary on our heartfelt work. But in an artistic and educational environment, constructive criticism is a major part of the learning process. Not only does it help to hear other people’s opinions and ideas about how to improve what you do, but honing a critical eye through observing the work of others can help you more readily see ways of improving yours.
I would certainly love to see more of this kind of exchange in the community. Do you think you have a thick enough skin to hear people express what might be done to improve your work so you can learn and grow your artistic skills from it? And can you give others helpful and supportive advice on opportunities you find in their work? If so, perhaps try including small suggestions in your conversations about other artists’ work. And try Voila if you haven’t already done so.
The organic forms, colors and patterns of nature inspire the work of many polymer artists. There was quite a bit of this at EuroSynergy, the microscopic looking variety especially and it has been on my mind since then. So this week, let’s look at items that could be drawn from what we might find under a microscope.
When thinking of cellular imagery, Christine Dumont’s work comes to mind first. We enjoyed a number of wonderful talks at EuroSynergy and I had the opportunity to take a close look at some of her more recent work although I didn’t get any photos. However, Christine takes such wonderful photos of her work so let’s look at her images instead. This pendant is a slight departure from others in her “Cellularia” series. She usually layers the perforated clay, lining the holes in precise rows to create a three dimensional surface. Here we have just the one layer of very organically spaced holes giving it even more of a cellular look.
Christine is known for her wonderfully helpful site, Voila as well as her beautifully finished work. Enjoy some time on her beautiful website and do check out Voila.eu.com if you haven’t yet or haven’t been there recently.
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.
If you have been enjoying the conversation about expanding your artistic voice, you may want to hop on over to Voila! this weekend. As of this Sunday, there is a new class you can join–Ways To Wow … and all you have to do is show up on the site Sunday!
Here’s the deal: Voila! is creating an opportunity for you to spend the next 6 months planning, designing and making a piece to achieve significant creative growth. At the end of the course, you will have a landmark piece in your body of work that exemplifies your creativity. You will also have learned a method that you can use for your future big projects.
Christine Dumont is a force for artistic growth in our community and regularly has classes like this running on Voila!. Look at what Angela Garrod did during the last class, How to Become a Better Artist.
Angela has thoroughly explored this hollow pendant form with a variety of applications. Intense exploration into a technique, form or approach is a great way to explore your artistic voice. You find yourself drawn back to certain aspects of your experiments which gives you a direction to push yourself. This kind of in-depth exploration is what you can expect if you join in on one of Christine’s Voila! classes.
Here are highlights from the class description:
The course will require at least two hours of your time per week. The studio sessions will of course require as much time as it takes to complete the piece. This course is free and available to all but only Voila! members will have access to the forums to discuss the course material and post images in the gallery.
New course material will be posted on the Homepage every Sunday starting May 5th. You don’t have anything to do except wait for May 5th when Christine will be posting course material for the week.
Cool, huh? Head on over to Voila! if you aren’t familiar with the site and then we’ll see you back there on Sunday! http://www.voila.eu.com/
Read More
Starting July 1, Voila.eu.com will be running an eight-month course on “How to Become a Better Artist.” There’s a short post about it on their homepage:
How To Become a Better Artist: An 8-month journey
If you are asking yourself these questions:
- Are my ideas good enough to spend more time on them?
- Why are some pieces “wow” and others “blah”?
- How is my work perceived?
Then this course will help you:
- Identify worthwhile ideas and mature them,
- Ensure that you effectively capture your good ideas,
- Understand how to learn from and accept criticism.
Starting July 1, 2012, the course will build on the wealth of experience and images from the last two years of Polymeristas of the Month competitions.
The course is free and available to all. Only members will have access to the archives.
Sign up on www.voila.eu.com to become a member and join in on this great opportunity! You can read more on Voila in the Summer Issue of The Polymer Arts magazine.
Read MoreYesterday I posted observations about an organically inspired necklace. Beautifully done, it still had room for improvement and I mentioned my thoughts on that. It felt rather odd to do so. Our community doesn’t really spend a lot of time talking about the missed opportunities in our art work. Usually we praise (and usually deservedly so) the work of our fellow artists which certainly helps bolster confidence and enthusiasm in the artist. But how much does it help them improve their work?
A week or so ago I had a great Skype conversation with Christine Dumont of Voila (see the interview/article on Voila in our latest magazine issue). One of the very unique things about her site is that members get constructive feedback on work they submit in their gallery. Much of the Voila concept is built around ways to help polymer artists improve their work, not just receive confirmation that they are going in the right direction. I think this is a concept we all need to embrace further.
The hard part of with working more constructive feedback into our conversations is that most of us have not been through the training and educational experience of art school or other exposure to critical commentary on our heartfelt work. But in an artistic and educational environment, constructive criticism is a major part of the learning process. Not only does it help to hear other people’s opinions and ideas about how to improve what you do, but honing a critical eye through observing the work of others can help you more readily see ways of improving yours.
I would certainly love to see more of this kind of exchange in the community. Do you think you have a thick enough skin to hear people express what might be done to improve your work so you can learn and grow your artistic skills from it? And can you give others helpful and supportive advice on opportunities you find in their work? If so, perhaps try including small suggestions in your conversations about other artists’ work. And try Voila if you haven’t already done so.
Read More