Extended Diversity
March 9, 2015
Inspirational Art
The newest issue of The Polymer Arts has been out for about a week and has been selling like mad. It is really a full issue. And, we had to cut down or save a lot of the material for later because the contributors for this issue sent us so much good stuff! So this week, I’ll share some of what we couldn’t get in.
Julie Cleveland’s article, “Rules of Resin” could have been a book for all the information there is out there on the subject. However, we choose to go into the basics, but in depth, so any of you could confidently and successfully work with resin and combine it with your polymer. A number of artists with extensive resin experience shared their work with us to include in the article, but we hardly had room for everything we wanted to share with our readers. Sherri Kellberg was one such contributor. She creates beautiful, shimmering pieces often finished with a resin coating. Recently, she played with a dichroic glass look in polymer and got some stunning results. Some of that work is in the resin article, but here is another piece that looks almost unreal in its shimmer and color. The resin acts like a magnifying glass that amplifies the colors and makes the surface texture look more three dimensional. It’s just one of many small advantages to using resin as a polymer finishing material.
You can see more of Sherri’s work in her recent collection of dichoric look polymer on her blog and more of her shimmering resin and polymer work on her Etsy pages.
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.
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Repeat a Space
March 7, 2015
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
I thought I’d look for some tutorials for you to play with this weekend that would accommodate some play with repetition. In that search, I found this simple, but charming, polymer bead spacer tutorial. We really didn’t talk about the repetition of strung beads, but I figured that would be a pretty obvious use of repetition. However, there are many ways to add variation to a string of beads. Different colors, sizes, shapes and textures is one way. Adding interesting spacers is another fantastic way.
Now, here is where I could use some help. I can find this tutorial on many a Pinterest board and numerous sites that gather tutorials, but I cannot pinpoint the author. And yes, there’s text on there but it does not seem to the English alphabet, so I’m at a loss. And with this tutorial so widely spread on English and non-English sites alike, it seems this person should get a little more obvious credit. So, if anyone has a clue, I’d love to hear from you. You can comment or reply to your email version of the blog post, and I’ll get it.
Here is where I originally found this tutorial if anyone wants to try to sleuth it out: http://claybooks.diary.ru/p172024294.htm?oam
In the meantime, how about making creative spacers this weekend? That could be a particularly fun, little project, especially for you snow bound folks!
Update: Thanks to Anna Anpilogova, we have our mystery solved.
The tutorial is by a Russian clayer Anna Mashkova. “Here is the link to original post in her blog … http://alica19.livejournal.com/17265.html” Thank you to both Annas!
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.
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Outside Inspiration: Reuse & Repeat
March 6, 2015
Inspirational Art
Earlier this week, I mentioned that you can avoid creating less-than-exciting pieces that use consistent repetition by adding variation or creating unusual or surprising visual impact. Well, today’s piece, created by jewelry artist Kathleen Nowak Tucci, has some serious impact while still using the same form, texture and accents repeated over and over. The impact of this piece comes from the gorgeous, shimmery color. There is a touch of variation in color, but I think this would still be eye-catching if it was all the same color. We sure do like our bright and shiny. Now, do you know what this is made from?
If you make your coffee with a Nespresso machine, then you might have recognized those colors from the capsules used in the appliance. Kathleen’s use of these started with a visit to a friend who used these. She was drawn to the beautiful colors and asked her friend to save the used ones. Now, she’s made a full-line of jewelry from these toss away cups.
I love that Kathleen has created something so beautiful from items we would normally toss out without a second thought. Well, that’s not wholly true. I bet polymer addicts would stop to admire the great colors and might have even wondered if they could be used in the studio. Actually, I know I saw some combination of these with polymer a while back. Although I could not find them just now, maybe you will come up with something of your own. Take a look at the many other beautiful pieces on her website, and if you’re intrigued, find a friend or get yourself a machine and see what you come up with. Nothing like coffee and art getting together!
A nod goes to the fabulous Helen Breil who sent me a link to this particular piece on the Beading Gem blog and website. Another nod goes to photographer Victor Wolansky who Kathleen praises for taking such a beautiful photograph of a particularly difficult piece.
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.
Steady Focus
March 5, 2015
Inspirational Art
Here’s another thought on that whole adding variation to repetition thing. Just as repetition doesn’t have to mean consistent and dull, variation doesn’t have to mean anything chaotic or crazy. The idea of variation is to give us something more to look at, to mix it up a little, to put enough interesting differences into a piece to either make a big initial impact, keep us looking at it, or to evoke a complexity of an emotion. Or, really, just because we find beauty in variation.
But varied can also be part of a series of consistently repeated elements. Center-focused compositions are often considered basic and boring. I probably rallied against that idea in art school more than anything else. What was this aversion to center-focus or balance? Nature is based heavily on this concept, and some of our most beautiful inspirations come from that kind of thing.
These pieces by Ivy Niles are an excellent example of variation in repetition using a centered composition. She uses more than one cane to give the eye a variety of visual textures plus those moderately used crystals to add a sparkle to the brilliant blues. I think we are averaging about five canes per piece plus accents, which could look quite busy, but the centric and regular repetition reins it all in. Just beautiful.
Ivy is a master cane maker with some of the most beautiful and intricate designs. She sells her canes on Etsy and shows off more of her goodies on her website as well.
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.
The Ups and Downs of Repetition
March 4, 2015
Inspirational Art
Let’s talk about that perilous pitfall with repetition–when it’s just boring. Why does repetition work sometimes but not other times? Sometimes it can simply be the impact of highly unusual elements (I have the perfect example for Friday … you can look forward to that!), but more commonly, it’s because of variation combined with consistency. And then you say … “What is that supposed to mean?”, right? Well, it’s something you probably already are instinctively aware of but let’s break it down.
Lynda Braunstein-Gilcher‘s necklace you see here is a beautiful example of variation with consistent elements that are cohesive and regular enough to produce a grounding for the variety in the design. I bet you can see it easily, especially when it’s pointed out. Obviously the repetition is in the inverted drop forms, but these forms were created in different sizes with several different canes in a variety of color and line widths. Additionally, some of these lines are gradients and some are solids. That’s a fair amount of variation, but it isn’t chaotic because there is a grounding consistency–they are all the same form, they all dangle off a short bit of cord and, most of all, they all echo the vertical theme. Well, kind of radiating verticals, if you can accept that term. The fact that everything moves in the same direction, from the cords to the lines in the canes to the inverted teardrops that act like arrows makes for strong, repeated lines that all move downward in this piece. So we have variation and consistency in a design of regular repetition and yet a lot of energy thanks to the variation and strong lines. That is not boring. At all.
So, if you like using repetition, consider how you can vary it to add energy or interest to the collective elements. Just keep something consistent to keep it grounded. Unless you are after a feeling of chaos. Then just have at it!
Lynda runs a stained glass and polymer supply store called Lynda’s Artistic Haven in Loveland, Ohio, so if you’re in the area, stop by! You can see more of what she is up to on her Facebook page as well.
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.
A Little Dance
March 3, 2015
Inspirational Art
So, yes, more about repetition but in slightly less obvious or more varied manners will be in store for you the rest of the week. Hopefully, you aren’t bored with the subject. The ways you can apply it are limitless really.
For instance, take this fun, contemporary piece titled “Little Cities Necklace” by Ann Dillon. There is plenty of repetition in the shape of the beads, the colors and order of the layers and the general placement of the thick cane cuts. But, the canes are laid out in a varied manner and are all different canes. This wonderfully illustrates the interconnection between repetition and rhythm. Repetition doesn’t mean regular, measured, evenly applied elements. It means something is used over and over, but how those elements are applied create rhythm that can be steady and strong or varied and even chaotic.
An underlying regular rhythm, like the bead bases here, provide grounding for the less predictable rhythm of the canes that kind of dance about in close but buoyant manner. The fact that they are applied across the horizontal center of each bead gives them that floating feel, so it’s definitely more of a dance or flight. If they were in the same formation but at the bottom, they could look heavy, as if they were spilled–nothing wrong with that, but definitely a different feel to the rhythm because they will look grounded.
Ann works in polymer and also a lot in seedbeads–talk about repetition and rhythm! That kind of bead work is all about that. Take a look at her website and practice identifying and feeling the rhythm of the pieces. It’s rather fun to think of work in that way.
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.
Diverse Repetition & Sampler Issue
March 2, 2015
Inspirational Art
Usually 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!
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Isn’t one of the most breathtaking things in spring really just the blossoming of color after long months of a barely-there tint to the world? It’s a simple and even expected occurrence, the return of brilliant color, but when starved of something for a while, we become so much more appreciative and even excited by it, as if it was our first glimpse all over again.
Simple, but perfectly bright and cheery, is what I thought of this hair slide by Kathy of Flowertown Originals on Etsy. It’s really those jelly roll canes, going from light in the middle to bright color on the outside that makes the composition seem to glow. (See our Summer 2014 article in The Polymer Arts on creating the illusion of light for more on these techniques.) Between the blossoming flowers, the greening of the grasses and the lengthening days, this is just the kind of work that will be very well appreciated this time of year!
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I have to say up front that I am not a particularly floral kind of girl. I am far more likely to be found in the plumbing department than the gardening department at the local hardware store, but I still have a sincere appreciation for nature’s creative show during this time of year. Those of us in the northern hemisphere who are lucky enough to be in a climate that has benefited from some of the beautiful weather these past couple weeks are seeing the first of the spring flowers covering the hillsides and sprouting up alongside the country lanes. It makes one just ache to jump about and sing a few lines from “The Sound of Music” … doesn’t it? Okay, maybe that’s just me, but truly, the signs of spring are showing, and we can get excited about the prospects of warmer weather and colorful scenery or be bidding the summer’s bounty a fond farewell if we are south of the equator, so it seems about time that we honor nature’s most lovely creations.
If you will be participating in any upcoming spring shows, a good selection of floral motifs would certainly be welcome displays. I’ve picked out a lovely bunch to share this week. This first set is a bow to the rose and to floral abundance. Not only does Vera Veselova have lovely bunches of blossoms here to share with us, she has a tutorial for it as well! Click the image to get to it.
Now, what could you do with these rosy flowers? Well, I was thinking you could envelope the upper or half dome of a lentil shape, run blooms down the outside edge of a rectangular pendant or, for the truly ambitious, ring the center line of a vase or bowl. Abundance is itself a legitimate element of design. The key is to tone down or control the variety of other elements so the viewer is not overwhelmed. I mean go look at a freshly sprung field of wildflowers … we must admit that Mother Nature knows a thing or two about design!
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I saved these beads for last because for all the color, texture and wow factor we saw in the other beads this week, these are the ones that I find most impressive. The care and precision shown here make them some of my favorite polymer beads to date.
The creator of these amazing pieces is Cody Craynor. He has many sets with similar motifs and forms, but this set shows a wider example of possibilities when using his bead making techniques. He has the ability to create variety and movement within his designs. How he does this, I’m not completely certain; although, he gives some first hints on this post on his website from 2012. He has some interesting things to say concerning his approach, too:
“By its nature, polymer clay lends itself to organic fluidity and sculptural forms. But through mechanical intervention I coax the clay to comply with my own mathematical rigidity. Unpredictable chaos makes up much of my life. The clay allows me to create forms, symmetry and rhythm, which are personally therapeutic and welcomingly familiar to my instincts.”
Well, I do like his instincts! You can view more of these visual marvels on Cody’s website.
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A collection of elements doesn’t always get the best photo set ups, but when they shine so beautifully regardless of the makeshift backdrop, you have to admire and take time to get a really good look at the beauty of each piece.
These gorgeous glass beads are the work of Kimberly Affleck. Although the seahorses kind of draw you in first, it’s what she calls her dragon feather beads that have me entranced. There is so much going on with them–that feathery texture wrapping around in soft swirls among the delicate colors, accented and accentuated by the raised dots that follow the swirling, and then there is the focal point of one clear dot that somehow pulls it all together. I would love to hold one of these in my hands and get a really close look at the work.
However, Kimberly had to cut back on her glass work when her day job became more demanding back in 2011. Her last posts on Facebook in early 2013 were the last public postings I could find, so it seems the job didn’t ease up so very much. If anyone knows of more recent work hidden on some other websites, do let us know. Otherwise, you can find the greatest collection of her beautiful glass beads on her Facebook fan page.
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Tube beads–they are round straight lines. Yeah, I know … sounds a little simplified and obvious but think about it. Round and straight don’t usually go together, but here we are, able to put the two together. My mother says I have never lost my childlike wonder of the world, and I guess she must be right since something as simple as a tube bead can still rather fascinate me.
Not only do tube beads have two seemingly disparate characteristics, they easily embody both the softness of their round aspect and the directionality of their straight lines. They can also be staccato by lining up short versions or hold long notes by being thin and lengthy. They can, like most beads, hold a tremendous amount of detail in a small space, such as the tube beads you see here by Annerose Doerling. The many colors and visual textures are just so yummy.
Now, here is the cool part. Annerose’s tube beads have been blogged about before, and it was revealed back then (some seven or so years ago) that she was working with a technique created by Dominique Franceschi that she found on another blog a couple years before that. The wonder of the Internet has preserved the links and the corresponding posts, so … tada … you can go back in time and see how old, very dry and crumbly clay can be turned into such gorgeous elements as these beads here. You can go to the Parole de Pate post here to see the super easy technique, but then you might want to bounce on over to Annerose’s Flickr pages to see how she perfected the technique and the finish for them. I’m sorry to say I couldn’t find any recent work by either the creator of the technique or her apt pupil, but I hope they are both out there still creating with childlike wonder and abandon.
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This fun little set of beads is actually an example of the beads you can make from a kit that Barbara Briggs ingenuously put together. Not that kits are anything new, but this one for beginning polymer beads is pretty clever. She offers wooden bead centers as a jumping off point for shapes and adds mica powders and pre-mixed clays in particular color palettes as designated by the buyer. Along with other basic necessities, she offers plenty of instruction.
I thought this sampler of what her buyers could make was quite lovely on its own. The colors are slightly muted, and the textures are organic and rounded, so they could easily be paired up on a single necklace string. I’d wear that! And, how exciting for beginners to see the versatility and the ease with which polymer can create lovely components. The hard part is getting away from a kit and making your own color, form, texture and other design choices. But, that is when your own voice comes into play.
If you are unfamiliar with Barbara’s work, she is an insane beader who works in all kinds of beading material. If you are on here because you find polymer fascinating but maybe haven’t tried doing much with it yet, here is a great opportunity. Or if you’re one of our experienced readers, take a look at Barbara’s other beading kits and add some complex beading to your repertoire. These kits and patterns can all be found in her Etsy shop.
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The classic, shiny, smooth cabochon has been a favorite shape for semi-precious stones for ages. It’s not surprising that with our vast array of techniques and our ability to add liquid polymer and resins, the polymer community has embraced and rather run wildly with many possibilities that recreate these popular focal pieces. I remember that they were the first truly exciting polymer elements I ever made, and I am still madly drawn to them. They are hard to resist.
This collection was created some years ago by Sharon Solly, but still feels fresh and alluring today. According to the description on her Flickr page, these are polymer clay painted with Lumiere paints and mica powders and then sealed with Kato liquid clay. They are reminiscent of dichroic glass, and the veins in them give them a more nature-made look.
Sharon had a lot of fun with cabs back around 2008. If you hit up her Flickr photostream around pages 3 & 4, you’ll see more cab variations like this, as well as caned cabs and those embedded with fantasy fibers and the like. She also is quite the multi-talented craftsperson with glass and bead work to show off as well; many of them are also collections of components that we can admire today.
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Although finished work is the usual focus here, I am often just as fascinated by the elements that make up a piece of jewelry, a sculpture, or a wonderfully decorated container. Well-developed faux stones, layered cabochons, complex canes and intricately designed beads can be such little worlds of wonder unto themselves. I guess part of me has held back on sharing images of components because the quiet little unimposing collections may not look so impressive as a tiny photo on the blog or on Facebook. But this week … we are going to show them anyway. I’d highly encourage you click on the images in the posts to find the larger views, so you can really soak up the details.
This is one I found yesterday that kind of sparked the whole idea. It popped up somewhere on my Pinterest feed, and I was just so excited to see microbeads being used in such a controlled manner. I have been working out ways to use these a bit more myself and just fell in love with Maria Belkomor’s lovely application. These beads look like individual little planets, well seeded and covered in beautiful lush lands and waters.
She has a number of these microbead bead sets on LiveJournal including a bracelet with strips using this application. Get yourself a closer look on the post here.
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Concave, convex, flat, nested, or peek-a-boo … domed disks hold numerous possibilities for polymer designs. Like this necklace of flat disks plus a focal concave disk accent on each that have been created by Polymeramoi who actually started this because of a momentary obsession with blended ikat patterns. The concept of disks show off the patterned polymer, and the solid, concave disks create a simple focal point that echos the flat disks in shape but with more volume.
If you want some ideas for playing with disks this weekend, there are numerous tutorials to check out online for free. Here are just a few I found fascinating. This first one is actually done with ceramic clay but lay down a little liquid polymer between the halves and it could be done with polymer.
Have a happy weekend claying, relaxing or otherwise enjoying the first day of Spring!
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
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