A Spring Shift

March 30, 2018

The colors of spring bring a refreshing dash of brightness to the end of winter with its leafless trees and stark landscapes. Svetlana Parenkova embedded the new season’s brilliant palette into her clay with mica shift and an enamel-like technique that looks to be mokume to create these eye-catching elements.

Note how the black outline around the metallic clay makes the bright background colors just pop around it.  The black adds a more severe contrast between the colors so they appear brighter than they would if the metallic and the colored background met without that dark buffer.

Svetlana works primarily in textures and metallics with a sophisticated, classic and old world style.  Find more of her work on Instagram, Facebook and in her LiveMaster shop.

 

Spring as a Work in Progress

March 26, 2018

Spring has sprung, and we are seeing all kinds of colorful, foliage-focused artwork as well. Bonnie Bishoff just completed this wall piece called Murmuration. We see leaves moving like water in a series of flowing, organized lines. Behind it, the more conventional colors of water swirl and rush in opposing directions to further energize the composition.

This is just another example of Bonnie’s penchant for movement. It’s why she made the cover of our movement-themed issue in the summer of 2016. Get a copy to check out her gallery page and short biography as well as to take in all the articles about adding movement to one’s designs if this is of interest to you.

I look forward to seeing what she will do with the framing and hanging of this piece. But for right now we’re just privileged to get this sneak peak. You can follow Bonnie on Instagram and the work she does with her partner, J.M. Syron,  on their website.

Where Spring and Summer Collide

July 22, 2015

Sylvie Peraud summer d earrings

One of the striking things about summer is that point where some of the vegetation on the hills are still green and putting forth great effort to uphold their place in the sun while swathes of other plants have given up and turned brown. Even though I don’t like to see the hills turn brown, that time where the last vestiges of spring and the heat of summer collide is so beautiful in its contrast.

These earrings by Sylvie Peraud is just one such example. Greens turn to yellow as the plant’s energies are sapped, but when seen on a hill with the morning sun hitting it, it’s just radiant. I don’t know if Sylvie was thinking this when creating these, but it reminds me of the places I was running just a couple of weeks ago out here in Southern California.

Writing about these lead me to Sylvie’s blog where she has some really stunning new work you just have to see as well. Jump on over to her blog and check out her wide range of work on her Flickr pages when you take a creative recharge break today or this week. It will be a good mid-year and mid-week place for new inspiration.

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.

  TPA_McGuire_blog ad    

A Sprinkle of Spring

April 1, 2015

handmade exp field flowersSpring is not just about the flowers, but also about the vast expanses of green many of us were longing for during the winter. This little field with its scattered few flowers made me smile when I saw it. That really is how the fields are out here right now, densely green with a sprinkle of wildflowers here and there. The simplicity of this piece is the key to the design.

I know very little about the creator except that she lives in Baia Mare, Romania, sells her work under the business name of Handmade Experience and doesn’t like to talk about herself. I prefer not to post work without having a name to go with it, but it is better to be seen without a name attached than not at all.

Update: Thanks to Sara Kroger we have a name for our artist–Anca Ursentea. She unearthed this interview with her: www.revista-atelierul.ro/2014/03/22/despre-lut-polimeric-cu-anca-ursentea/ 

Speaking of things not being seen, I had quite the collection of possible pieces to show this week, but so much was removed from the list for reasons that make me a tad sad. Mostly it’s about the photos. I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep saying it … take good, clear, well-lit photos with simple contrasting backgrounds. Most of the work I decided not to post this week had terribly busy backgrounds that made the art hard to discern. Maybe the flower theme gets people thinking about texture, and they feel this draw to fill the image with busy backgrounds. Some textured backgrounds can be nice and add atmosphere to the image, but most of the time, it just takes the focus away from your work. And if it’s a primarily green piece, don’t shoot on a green background. Also, avoid too much photo manipulation, and don’t use special photo effects. Get a good shot into the camera so you can do a minimal amount when you get to the computer, leaving you with a fresher, truer image of your piece.

I’m just saying … if you would like to get your work into any of the many quality, well-read blogs and websites that report on and re-post images from the web, give them something great to work with. You and your artwork deserve it.

 

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.

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Sudden Color

March 31, 2015

4ddf3ca2204958b57dcbb7c1c1d4ae78Isn’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!

 

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.

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

Sherbert and Spring

February 15, 2014

Winding down our color week, I thought we go out a bit on the soft side. As we demonstrated on Thursday, you can use a lot of color without it being bright or loud. Here is a sherbet colored necklace by Leah of Léa aime les fleurs, with all the colors of Spring. With the cold and snow so many have been experiencing, I thought a bit of Spring would be nice on a Saturday afternoon.

60785506

The airy nature of the way this is strung adds to the overall “light” feeling in visual weight and color and, I would assume actual weight as well. I thought the scattered nature of the design also fits the Spring theme as I always think of the arrival of Spring as that sudden pop of color coming up randomly in my flower beds and across the fields in the foothills where I trail run. I am so looking forward to it!

If you like Leah’s loose work and colors, she posts about her work on Canal Blog and sells in La Boutique.

 

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.

14P1 cover Fnl   PCW blue string art cane   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-2

A Spring Shift

March 30, 2018
Posted in

The colors of spring bring a refreshing dash of brightness to the end of winter with its leafless trees and stark landscapes. Svetlana Parenkova embedded the new season’s brilliant palette into her clay with mica shift and an enamel-like technique that looks to be mokume to create these eye-catching elements.

Note how the black outline around the metallic clay makes the bright background colors just pop around it.  The black adds a more severe contrast between the colors so they appear brighter than they would if the metallic and the colored background met without that dark buffer.

Svetlana works primarily in textures and metallics with a sophisticated, classic and old world style.  Find more of her work on Instagram, Facebook and in her LiveMaster shop.

 

Read More

Spring as a Work in Progress

March 26, 2018
Posted in

Spring has sprung, and we are seeing all kinds of colorful, foliage-focused artwork as well. Bonnie Bishoff just completed this wall piece called Murmuration. We see leaves moving like water in a series of flowing, organized lines. Behind it, the more conventional colors of water swirl and rush in opposing directions to further energize the composition.

This is just another example of Bonnie’s penchant for movement. It’s why she made the cover of our movement-themed issue in the summer of 2016. Get a copy to check out her gallery page and short biography as well as to take in all the articles about adding movement to one’s designs if this is of interest to you.

I look forward to seeing what she will do with the framing and hanging of this piece. But for right now we’re just privileged to get this sneak peak. You can follow Bonnie on Instagram and the work she does with her partner, J.M. Syron,  on their website.

Read More

Where Spring and Summer Collide

July 22, 2015
Posted in
Sylvie Peraud summer d earrings

One of the striking things about summer is that point where some of the vegetation on the hills are still green and putting forth great effort to uphold their place in the sun while swathes of other plants have given up and turned brown. Even though I don’t like to see the hills turn brown, that time where the last vestiges of spring and the heat of summer collide is so beautiful in its contrast.

These earrings by Sylvie Peraud is just one such example. Greens turn to yellow as the plant’s energies are sapped, but when seen on a hill with the morning sun hitting it, it’s just radiant. I don’t know if Sylvie was thinking this when creating these, but it reminds me of the places I was running just a couple of weeks ago out here in Southern California.

Writing about these lead me to Sylvie’s blog where she has some really stunning new work you just have to see as well. Jump on over to her blog and check out her wide range of work on her Flickr pages when you take a creative recharge break today or this week. It will be a good mid-year and mid-week place for new inspiration.

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.

  TPA_McGuire_blog ad    

Read More

A Sprinkle of Spring

April 1, 2015
Posted in

handmade exp field flowersSpring is not just about the flowers, but also about the vast expanses of green many of us were longing for during the winter. This little field with its scattered few flowers made me smile when I saw it. That really is how the fields are out here right now, densely green with a sprinkle of wildflowers here and there. The simplicity of this piece is the key to the design.

I know very little about the creator except that she lives in Baia Mare, Romania, sells her work under the business name of Handmade Experience and doesn’t like to talk about herself. I prefer not to post work without having a name to go with it, but it is better to be seen without a name attached than not at all.

Update: Thanks to Sara Kroger we have a name for our artist–Anca Ursentea. She unearthed this interview with her: www.revista-atelierul.ro/2014/03/22/despre-lut-polimeric-cu-anca-ursentea/ 

Speaking of things not being seen, I had quite the collection of possible pieces to show this week, but so much was removed from the list for reasons that make me a tad sad. Mostly it’s about the photos. I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep saying it … take good, clear, well-lit photos with simple contrasting backgrounds. Most of the work I decided not to post this week had terribly busy backgrounds that made the art hard to discern. Maybe the flower theme gets people thinking about texture, and they feel this draw to fill the image with busy backgrounds. Some textured backgrounds can be nice and add atmosphere to the image, but most of the time, it just takes the focus away from your work. And if it’s a primarily green piece, don’t shoot on a green background. Also, avoid too much photo manipulation, and don’t use special photo effects. Get a good shot into the camera so you can do a minimal amount when you get to the computer, leaving you with a fresher, truer image of your piece.

I’m just saying … if you would like to get your work into any of the many quality, well-read blogs and websites that report on and re-post images from the web, give them something great to work with. You and your artwork deserve it.

 

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.

     TPA_McGuire_blog ad    sfxpaad-diffuse

Read More

Sudden Color

March 31, 2015
Posted in

4ddf3ca2204958b57dcbb7c1c1d4ae78Isn’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!

 

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.

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

Read More

Sherbert and Spring

February 15, 2014
Posted in

Winding down our color week, I thought we go out a bit on the soft side. As we demonstrated on Thursday, you can use a lot of color without it being bright or loud. Here is a sherbet colored necklace by Leah of Léa aime les fleurs, with all the colors of Spring. With the cold and snow so many have been experiencing, I thought a bit of Spring would be nice on a Saturday afternoon.

60785506

The airy nature of the way this is strung adds to the overall “light” feeling in visual weight and color and, I would assume actual weight as well. I thought the scattered nature of the design also fits the Spring theme as I always think of the arrival of Spring as that sudden pop of color coming up randomly in my flower beds and across the fields in the foothills where I trail run. I am so looking forward to it!

If you like Leah’s loose work and colors, she posts about her work on Canal Blog and sells in La Boutique.

 

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.

14P1 cover Fnl   PCW blue string art cane   Blog2 -2014-02Feb-2

Read More
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