Outside Influence: Oceans in clay
July 13, 2012
Inspirational Art
The ocean is a an incredible source of inspiration for form, color and just a general sense of alienness. And who isn’t intriqued by the strange and unique?
Melanie Ferguson is a ceramicist who focuses on the strange and unique in organically themed pieces. This is from her 2012 “Tossed Ashore” series of which there are only a couple posted on her Facebook page at this time, but I am checking back regularly awaiting any new work. She has also explored plant and pods forms where her works becomes incredibly colorful. I get quite mesmerized by the bursting, melting and growing shapes she creates, not to mention the incredible surface texture. Her approach could so easily be translated to polymer that I keep stopping to read the description of her work to be sure she didn’t actually stray from mineral clays.
Do take some time to peruse her work. It will fill your mind with the pure beauty of nature’s forms as if you’ve never seen them before.
Unexpected Blossoms
July 12, 2012
Inspirational Art
This Thursday, with a fun but hectic couple of weeks of traveling behind me my brain is trying to get back to a calm state I work with. Something about circles is very calming–the way they loop and complete themselves without an end or a start. Perhaps that’s why discs and circles are so regularly set into quiet contemporary compositions but as seen here in work by Meisha Barbee, they can have that contemporary look and still be fun and unpredictable.
This piece has a single element that does this. The flowers. The necklace would have worked with just the mica shift sheets filling in the space around imperfect negative circles cut into the discs echoing the imperfect silver rings. But no … she had to throw us with a blossoming of flowers on the mica sheet seams. It’s a joy and surprise to see them there.
Unfortunately, they remind me of the little flowering weeds that cropped up in the cracks of my driveway while I was gone that I must go take care of. *sigh* I guess its off with me to go contemplate so blossoms of my own.
Organizing: Turn ‘Em Upside Down
July 11, 2012
Tips and Tricks
How many tiny bottles of paint, alcohol ink, glue, etc. you have taking up drawer or shelf space in the studio? If they are taking up valuable space, here is a fantastic idea from paper crafter Brianna Walling–it takes just a few magnets, some glue and an old baking sheet.
Attach a baking sheet or other flat sheet of metal (not aluminum … it won’t take magnets) to the underside of a shelf. If you have wire shelves, drill a couple holes and use ties to attach it, otherwise some well place screws should hold it to wooden shelving. Glue magnets onto the bottom of your bottles and pop them upside down onto the sheet. It’s a bit of space in your studio not often used and it keeps your paint and ink in the top of the bottle. Nice.
Brianna wrote a blog piece about it for paper crafters: http://wecanbeaoriginal.com/blog/2011/07/beaorganized-glitter-glue/
Crafting with Light: Hollow Faux Glass Beads
July 10, 2012
Inspirational Art
Kathrin Neumaier of Germany has been focused on translucents for well over a year now using layered translucent clay and liquid polymer to create a glass effect. Her work has a natural feel to them, like they might be something you would find washed up on the beach. But the simple elegance of the forms also makes me think they could be something you’d pull out of long forgotten collection of odds and ends in an old relative’s attic. Regardless, they are intriguing, not only because as polymer artsits we know this effect is not easy to achieve but because the forms rely on light to create interest.
The translucent hollow forms bounces light around and through the forms giving pieces like these simple earrings an enticing liveliness. This is the kind of thing we emphasized in The Polymer Arts’ Spring 2012 article “Design Beyond Form” where we talked about using light in the composition of your piece. Using glass (or faux glass), reflective surfaces, and shimmering texture can add that extra dimension that allows your piece to play with the light in the room–an element that changes based on the viewer’s position or, in terms of jewelry and adornment, the wearer’s movement. How cool is that?
Vote for Polymer Clay!
July 9, 2012
Inspirational Art, Supplies & other fun stuff
Recently The Crafts Report asked readers to help them chose the artwork for their upcoming October issue. And polymer has done quite well in this little competition. If you are not familiar with this magazine, you really should take a look at it, not only for business ideas but also for artistic inspiration. This comes out monthly, focusing on issues relevant to crafters of all types.
The Crafts Report has been particularly kind to polymer clay artists. With all the many different types of crafts out there, most of which are much more established than polymer, they still regularly feature polymer art on the cover. Even though we work in a newer art material, we do, actually, comprise a huge portion of the craft artist market. So, The Crafts Report does pay attention to polymer artists and keeps our art in the lime light. Thanks Crafts Report!
Today they resume a cover contest they are conducting on Facebook. It’s down to 4 pieces, and one of them being the beautiful polymer necklace here by Loretta Lam. If you are interested in helping polymer get yet another Crafts Report cover, find The Crafts Report on Facebook and toss in your vote!
Wisdom from Warhol!
July 8, 2012
Ponderings
A little food for thought on this Sunday –
Get that art critic off your back and make what feels right to you.
Test Drive CraftArtEdu
July 7, 2012
Technique tutorials
I know I put a note out in the last newsletter but I want to catch others here who may not know about CraftArtEdu.com. The idea is that instead of you having to pay for expensive classes with artists who can only come to your area once in a blue moon, you can take great, in-depth classes at a fraction of the cost and view it on your time and at your own pace.
The classes are basically videos but far more than just something you might find on YouTube. They can be quite lengthy as the instructors lead you through every step in detail. You can post questions, browse by chapter, click through from the video page directly to suppliers for items you might need, and you have unlimited access to all this and it never expires.
There are a handful of free classes to get a taste of how they work. You can check those out on the website here.
Break it Up!
July 6, 2012
Inspirational Art
I found this beauty in a Jewelry Making Daily email post a while back. I was intrigued by the casualness of the lines and shapes contrasted with the skilled craftsmanship and elegance of the gems. Primarily though, I was drawn by the broken frame. Who says a frame must be straight and closed? If you balance out any divergence from the expected norm with an element like the aquamarine placed in the open corner of the frame, the break seems almost necessary.
This silver-in-quartz in silver bezel setting by Helen Driggs (photo by Jim Lawson) was previously published on the cover of Lapidary Journal/Jewelry Artist in January 2010 (deservedly so) before making it into the JMD post.
So … if you have a composition that is stumping you, try ‘breaking it up!” Remember … there are no “musts” and “shoulds” in art. Only options.
Scenes & Stories
July 5, 2012
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
With our art, we are always telling some kind of story. But in these pieces by Estonian artist Katja, we get a literal scene from which we can draw a story. This link takes you to Katja’s LiveJournal page and her tutorial about how she makes these bracelets. It’s a fun process to see and a project all level of artists could try. The only real challenge I saw was how she made these with those long nails!
Next time you are working on a bracelet, necklace, vase or anything that allows you to work with a horizontal canvas, consider building a scene or story, even if it’s abstract. Using the scene layout as a design element can bring what might otherwise seem a random placement of shapes and color into a perceived order. And its fun!
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I don’t recall why I had dropped in on Lyne Ann Schwarzenberg’s website but it’s quite an opening act. This necklace is on the front page. Well it pretty much is the front page, and why not? For a relatively muted palette, it has tremendous impact. The immaculate execution combined with the bold, almost dangerous looking petals are going to grab your attention whether you are into florals or not.
Take some time to peruse her gallery and see her photos from her trip to Israel–a handful of minutes that will be well-spent.
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Today just a simple announcement … finally have the cover for the Fall 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts ready for prime time!
Don’t forget to subscribe, renew or pre-order your copy! http://thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html
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Have I ever mentioned that I live with another artist? My friend and very talented 3-D and digital artist Kyle Kelley lives on the upper floor of my house. I live on the bottom floor. And it is a very full house.
Sometimes we (meaning I) decide we should try to reclaim some space in the house and so we try to go through some portion of the many bins and boxes and shelves of art materials (isn’t every thing art material when it comes down to it?) but inevitably we just end up exchanging newly-discovered and all too precious (because we MIGHT use it someday) resources – which lead to spontaneous art projects; which then require additional materials – that we don’t have room for. So we buy yet-another shed, which requires additional materials to build …
Yes, making art is a vicious circle. And no, I don’t really want anyone to help me get out of that either.
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Polymer artists seem to be limitless consumers of texture. Stamps, texture sheets, a multitude of odds and ends, tools of all shapes, sizes and form can be regularly found over flowing bins and drawers and studio tables. So it was with some surprise to see a new term (for me!) … Texture Sticks.
Arlene Harrison, a fellow member of the wonderful Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild of Etsy, has apparently been making these texture sticks for a while and posted about them on her blog back in 2009. A timeless idea to be sure, I have seen other ‘sticks’ but with old metal buttons, bits of jewelry, and hardware on them. However, this is a wonderful and easy to assemble idea for creating easy to use, custom textures tools.
Check out Arlene’s original post here.
And check out yesterday’s post on stamping and using inks on polymer for more ways to play with stamps and texture on your clay!
Read MoreThis week’s alternate source of inspiration comes from the scrapbooking community. We already raid the scrapbooking aisle big time so you may have seen these stamps as well as the many inks and stains available but may not have realized how they are used. In the video on this page, stamping artist Jill Foster demonstrates how to make these gorgeous gift tags using layered stamping with variations on how to apply the inks.
What I thought would be of interest to polymer artists was not the products she uses but the way she uses them. You can’t actually use the heavy water based Distress Inks she demonstrates with to stamp onto polymer although you can certainly use those stamps! The rather painterly application of the ink on the stamps as well as the little touches like removing the ink here and there before stamping are ideas you can take to your studio table.
If you want to closely emulate this look by layering stamps on your clay, you will need to buy solvent inks such as StazOn or Ranger’s Archival Inks. These can be used on raw or baked clay but should be heat set after stamping regardless. You will want to let each stamping dry thoroughly before stamping over them. On baked clay, take a heat gun to the stamping after the ink dries to heat set it so the solvent in the following layer won’t smear it. This isn’t as big an issue on raw clay since it kind of sinks in but still, stamp carefully.
And have fun!
Read MoreEvery week in the blog, I try to include something that represents the sculptural side of polymer. As mentioned last week in the post on combining jewelry and sculpture, the two approaches aren’t exclusive. Jewelry can be sculptural, sculpture can be jewelry and, in addition, they can both be miniatures, another aspect of polymer art that can get buried among the abundance of polymer jewelry art.
Miniature art itself is an amazingly creative and sometimes tricky art form. Polymer, of course, is an obvious choice for this kind of art due to its broad imitative nature and is widely used in all kinds of miniature applications. Amanda (who, like Cher, sticks to just one name on all her sites) from here in Colorado, created these miniature sculptures of books based on actual books that belonged to her mother. They have been sculpted on a very small scale and turned into jewelry. The care and detail taken in their creation keep the sculptures from being cutesy and they seem to command a bit of the same reverence we tend to hold for old, collectible books. Tiny treasures and every bit a work of art.
Read MoreDid you ever think brains could be so lovely?
Yes, I said brains.
This brain cane just goes to prove that anything with the right coloring and application can be beautiful.
Dája Dagmar Andělová from the Czech Republic works some rather straight forward but beautiful magic with just a little folding of a few sheets of clay.
Interested in trying your hand at some brain work? You can see her tutorial here.
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Stamps and texture plates and things that impress … we all have a collection of such things to texturize our clay. But how often do we stop and do the most natural thing in art, the thing that we all did as children and still do while sitting in a boring meeting or droning phone call–draw?!
The drawings in these simple earrings byCristina from Umbria, Italy may take you back to your younger years when drawing simple shapes and lines was amazing and enthralling. It still can be.
Drawing in polymer takes nothing more than a hard tipped drawing implement. I would guess pins are used here. Cristina then uses acrylic paint to fill in and contrast the lines. It give it a wonderful antiqued look.
You can also draw on clay with a ball stylus or knitting needles using a variety of sizes to add some change and interest in the resulting lines. Or you can use my favorite and a not so obvious, yet should be obvious tool … a pencil! I like using colored pencils, the soft leaded Prismacolors in particular, because they color behind. Pencils also give you a wide variety of line as you can sharpen them to a fine point or rub the tip down to a wide dull point on scrap paper or sand paper.
Have fun tapping your inner doodler!
Read MoreWe have an abundance of faux effects in polymer. Many aim to duplicate what we see in nature. Which is great. We can then easily and inexpensively create fantastic forms that would be hard to acquire from nature. But I am of the mindset that if we have a medium that can be anything we can imagine, why not imagine things that do not exist and create those? I love stones and have worked toward developing techniques that emulate the real thing just so I can go and push the texture and colors that nature has. (See the Elabradorite technique in the Winter 2011 issue of The Polymer Arts magazine)
Kristine Taylor has been doing just that. As she told Jewelry Making Daily in an interview last year, “Polymer clay is a wonderful medium for mimicking other materials like stones, but I like to use polymer clay to create stones that nature does not produce.” She uses a simple marbling technique combined with mica powders and acrylic paint to create focal and accent beads that come out looking like some rare semi-precious stone.
If you often create faux stone, metal, wood, bone, etc., why not try to push it a bit next time? How about purple turquoise, pearl green bone or jewel tone wood grain? We do work with a medium that can do just about anything, so it would only be natural to take natural inspiration and create something completely new.
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