A Tower of Giraffes

February 14, 2017

WJdStJorre Browsing Giraffe bowl #2I know it’s Valentine’s Day and I should be posting hearts or something but I’m guessing you’ve had plenty of that already today. So how about looking at something we are all sure to love because who can resist a tower of cute giraffes (‘tower’ is what a group of giraffes is called, so says Wikipedia) or the amazing precision of Wendy Jorre de St Jorre’s artwork?

I know I couldn’t resist these guys. This bowl just made me smile along with the usual stare of wonderment that accompanies the moment I spy a new piece by Wendy. She is so masterful in her control of her images. This is not, however, one of her canes although I did wonder for a moment. They would be insanely precise canes but she is so amazing, I wouldn’t put it past her. Instead, these are silkscreens but they are not store-bought. She made the silkscreens herself so they are completely original designs.

Her preciseness does give her some grief on occasion, although it looks effortless from here. Here are her words from her posting of the first version of her browsing giraffes:

My newest bowl, I call this one “Browsing Giraffe”. It has been quite a long haul getting this one done. I had to figure out a way to make a silkscreen veneer that would fit around a bowl. With compass and pencil I drew some circles and came up with a template that fit the bowl and also would fit on the “mini” silkscreens I have. It took a few goes to get the sizing right, but eventually I got what I thought would work and made 2 silkscreens that joined together. 3 repetitions of these fit around the bowl just right….whew! I had to wait a few days for the sun to come out so I could make the screens and then It was ready, set, go. Unfortunately the paint I was using was not quite right, so another day gone until I could buy some more, but eventually the silk-screened veneers were done. They needed cutting to shape to fit the bowl, that was tricky business, but patience won out in the end.

Although Wendy has a website, you’ll want to head to her Flickr pages or her Facebook account to keep up with her latest and greatest work.

A very happy Valentine’s Day to you all. You are all my Valentines for reading and supporting my blog and publications. I am a very lucky girl to have such wonderful readers!

 _________________________________________

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

   never knead -july-2015c-125   Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog   businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    The Great Create Sept 15 blog

_________________________________________

Challenging Rings

August 1, 2016

Wendy Jorre de St Jorre ring feb2016Can you believe it’s August already? More than halfway through the year! How have you been doing with your New Year’s resolutions? I have 2 out of 3 down pretty good. But like me, many of us have not been able to keep up with polymer challenges and studio goals and have had to adjust them. That’s okay. The real purpose of a challenge is to keep at it and see what you can discover if you push yourself. Just this week, I have finally been able to keep a steady studio schedule (a couple of hours every other day which is a 100% better than what I had managed at any time the first half of the year!)

Then there are amazing people like Wendy Jorre de St Jorre who have done this kind of thing at least a couple of years in a row. That’s dedication. Last year she did bangles and this year she’s been doing rings, one each week. She takes her amazing canes used for necklaces and bracelets as well as various decor items and works them into beautiful bands. Although some of the original canes distorts quite a bit as it is wrapped around the small domed band, because she has such great color sense and keeps an eye on the balance of contrasts, the abstract (and even not so abstract) results are just gorgeous.

To see what she has accomplished aside from this beautiful ring here, hop over to see Wendy’s adventures on her Flickr photostream.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take an application usually used in a different kind of jewelry or decor and create a ring. Or if you do create a lot of rings, create something unusual like a hat pin or an ear cuff.

_________________________________________

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

never knead -july-2015c-125  2Wards Blog May 2016  PCTV March 2016 Blog

The Great Create Sept 15 blog  Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  TPA-Blog_125x125_2015

_________________________________________

Diverse Repetition & Sampler Issue

March 2, 2015

Jorre de St Jorre blade holderUsually after the latest issue is released I do a week of showing you art work and artists related to the new issue, but I really wanted to continue talking a bit more about repetition. Plus, print subscribers are waiting for their issues which will largely start arriving this week, so I figured we’d start with one thing from the new spring 2015 issue AND talk repetition. I will save more from the spring Diversity issue for next week.

What we have here is a really neat piece by Australia’s Wendy Jorre de St Jorre. Wendy is an avid caner, but she doesn’t do the standard one scene cane all the time. She has a penchant for developing scenes from multiple but related canes, so on this nifty blade holder, she created a scene from a three cane set. Although these are repeated cane slices, they are different. They are carefully constructed to match up at the base and not have an abrupt cut off of objects at the edges. Lining them up creates a wide scene with diversity. That is why she was invited to be in the gallery section of the Spring 2015–Diversity issue.

Wendy has not been working in polymer very long, but she has taken to it like a fish to water. You can read her story, as well as see more of her wonderful work in the spring issue or make yourself a cuppa and spend some time on her Flickr photostream where you can go through her pieces including photos of the original canes lined up together. You might find yourself inspired to rethink your canes.

If you haven’t gotten your copy of the upcoming issue yet or haven’t bought or subscribed, here is a sampler issue of The Polymer Arts Spring 2015–Diversity issue that you can get a peek at. If you like what you see, do keep up your support of The Polymer Arts by purchasing an issue or a subscription. The magazine is what funds this blog and allows me to spend the time necessary to search, research, and write these every day. And eat. When I remember to. Now, if it could only buy me some more time to sleep …! Thank you for your support!

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad

A Tower of Giraffes

February 14, 2017
Posted in

WJdStJorre Browsing Giraffe bowl #2I know it’s Valentine’s Day and I should be posting hearts or something but I’m guessing you’ve had plenty of that already today. So how about looking at something we are all sure to love because who can resist a tower of cute giraffes (‘tower’ is what a group of giraffes is called, so says Wikipedia) or the amazing precision of Wendy Jorre de St Jorre’s artwork?

I know I couldn’t resist these guys. This bowl just made me smile along with the usual stare of wonderment that accompanies the moment I spy a new piece by Wendy. She is so masterful in her control of her images. This is not, however, one of her canes although I did wonder for a moment. They would be insanely precise canes but she is so amazing, I wouldn’t put it past her. Instead, these are silkscreens but they are not store-bought. She made the silkscreens herself so they are completely original designs.

Her preciseness does give her some grief on occasion, although it looks effortless from here. Here are her words from her posting of the first version of her browsing giraffes:

My newest bowl, I call this one “Browsing Giraffe”. It has been quite a long haul getting this one done. I had to figure out a way to make a silkscreen veneer that would fit around a bowl. With compass and pencil I drew some circles and came up with a template that fit the bowl and also would fit on the “mini” silkscreens I have. It took a few goes to get the sizing right, but eventually I got what I thought would work and made 2 silkscreens that joined together. 3 repetitions of these fit around the bowl just right….whew! I had to wait a few days for the sun to come out so I could make the screens and then It was ready, set, go. Unfortunately the paint I was using was not quite right, so another day gone until I could buy some more, but eventually the silk-screened veneers were done. They needed cutting to shape to fit the bowl, that was tricky business, but patience won out in the end.

Although Wendy has a website, you’ll want to head to her Flickr pages or her Facebook account to keep up with her latest and greatest work.

A very happy Valentine’s Day to you all. You are all my Valentines for reading and supporting my blog and publications. I am a very lucky girl to have such wonderful readers!

 _________________________________________

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

   never knead -july-2015c-125   Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog   businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-front    The Great Create Sept 15 blog

_________________________________________

Read More

Challenging Rings

August 1, 2016
Posted in

Wendy Jorre de St Jorre ring feb2016Can you believe it’s August already? More than halfway through the year! How have you been doing with your New Year’s resolutions? I have 2 out of 3 down pretty good. But like me, many of us have not been able to keep up with polymer challenges and studio goals and have had to adjust them. That’s okay. The real purpose of a challenge is to keep at it and see what you can discover if you push yourself. Just this week, I have finally been able to keep a steady studio schedule (a couple of hours every other day which is a 100% better than what I had managed at any time the first half of the year!)

Then there are amazing people like Wendy Jorre de St Jorre who have done this kind of thing at least a couple of years in a row. That’s dedication. Last year she did bangles and this year she’s been doing rings, one each week. She takes her amazing canes used for necklaces and bracelets as well as various decor items and works them into beautiful bands. Although some of the original canes distorts quite a bit as it is wrapped around the small domed band, because she has such great color sense and keeps an eye on the balance of contrasts, the abstract (and even not so abstract) results are just gorgeous.

To see what she has accomplished aside from this beautiful ring here, hop over to see Wendy’s adventures on her Flickr photostream.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take an application usually used in a different kind of jewelry or decor and create a ring. Or if you do create a lot of rings, create something unusual like a hat pin or an ear cuff.

_________________________________________

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

never knead -july-2015c-125  2Wards Blog May 2016  PCTV March 2016 Blog

The Great Create Sept 15 blog  Shades of Clay Sept 15 Blog  TPA-Blog_125x125_2015

_________________________________________

Read More

Diverse Repetition & Sampler Issue

March 2, 2015
Posted in

Jorre de St Jorre blade holderUsually after the latest issue is released I do a week of showing you art work and artists related to the new issue, but I really wanted to continue talking a bit more about repetition. Plus, print subscribers are waiting for their issues which will largely start arriving this week, so I figured we’d start with one thing from the new spring 2015 issue AND talk repetition. I will save more from the spring Diversity issue for next week.

What we have here is a really neat piece by Australia’s Wendy Jorre de St Jorre. Wendy is an avid caner, but she doesn’t do the standard one scene cane all the time. She has a penchant for developing scenes from multiple but related canes, so on this nifty blade holder, she created a scene from a three cane set. Although these are repeated cane slices, they are different. They are carefully constructed to match up at the base and not have an abrupt cut off of objects at the edges. Lining them up creates a wide scene with diversity. That is why she was invited to be in the gallery section of the Spring 2015–Diversity issue.

Wendy has not been working in polymer very long, but she has taken to it like a fish to water. You can read her story, as well as see more of her wonderful work in the spring issue or make yourself a cuppa and spend some time on her Flickr photostream where you can go through her pieces including photos of the original canes lined up together. You might find yourself inspired to rethink your canes.

If you haven’t gotten your copy of the upcoming issue yet or haven’t bought or subscribed, here is a sampler issue of The Polymer Arts Spring 2015–Diversity issue that you can get a peek at. If you like what you see, do keep up your support of The Polymer Arts by purchasing an issue or a subscription. The magazine is what funds this blog and allows me to spend the time necessary to search, research, and write these every day. And eat. When I remember to. Now, if it could only buy me some more time to sleep …! Thank you for your support!

 

If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.

  tpa-blog-125x125-2015 LP-PA-FoilsDf0215   ice cream ad  TPA_McGuire_blog ad

Read More
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