Fiber Arts Inspiration–Rough Soutache
April 14, 2014
Inspirational Art
I have meet a lot of polymer artists who had, and usually still have, a love affair with fiber and fabrics. I think it must be the similar breadth of possibility in color and textures found in fiber arts that attract polymer artists to it as well. So, it’s no surprise that many polymer artists look to fiber arts as inspiration for their work. There seems to be quite a bit showing up online lately so this week we’ll focus on fiber and fabric based inspirations.
Driven by what she learned in a tutorial by Alenyà Vitûgovoj, Tanya Mayorova used her ragged edge technique to add more texture to a faux soutache process. At first glance, I was certain this piece was actually fiber art as the ragged edge gives the soutache the look of handspun thread. The choice to use a textured edge instead of the extruded polymer snakes in the tutorial was genius. The effect of the ragged edge along with the deep forest palette and the light sheen of Czech glass pearls makes for an enchanting pendant.
Tanya is quite the texture maven, inspired by a wide variety of other craft arts and their textural approach. Browse through her Live Journal pages and her Live Master shop which is just brimming with her lovely polymer creations.
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.
Try a New Form … Shawl & Hair Pins perhaps?
January 2, 2014
Inspirational Art
Bonnie Bishoff and J.M. Syron steered their art in a new direction not long ago with these shawl pins. It may not be the most popular form of adornment but just look what you can do with them.
Bonnie always had a love for fiber arts, so the shawl pins were a natural progression. They feature colorful inlays of polymer clay in white bronze and lead free pewter settings. Of the new pins the pair have been creating, these here are the easiest to identify as shawl pins but their line goes way beyond the basic design. You’ll just have to pop over to their website and check out their wonderful pins!
What forms have you not yet tried creating? A little exploration might develop into a whole new line for yourself as well!
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.
Outside Inspiration: Texture in Textiles
December 27, 2013
Inspirational Art
My first love in crafts was in fiber arts. Weaving, dying, hand-stitched art-to-wear and mixed textiles wall pieces were all part of my early portfolio and exploration of craft art forms. These materials still fascinate me and polymer design ideas often include mixing fiber or drawing inspiration from the art form.
The textures and use of mixed media in today’s fiber arts often remind me of approaches to polymer. Rich, organic texture and intense color are signatures of many of today’s textile artists making the craft a fantastic source for polymer inspiration. This is a wall piece by Helen Suzanne, a texture maniac whose work I get lost in, just checking out all of the techniques and materials used in these pieces.
If you ever have a chance to see fiber art in person, in a gallery that specializes in the craft or a museum that has a collection or a curated show, make seeing it a priority. As with polymer, you get so much more out of the work when seen in person. One can’t help but be wowed by the intensity of the work you see in the details of these pieces. Yeah, the patience of a fiber artist who does work like Helen here just blows my mind. Maybe you can catch the traveling Fiber Art International exhibition, in California right now, or when it moves to South Carolina and Massachusetts in the coming year. Take a look at the FAI website and gallery sections to see just where fiber arts are today.
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.
I have meet a lot of polymer artists who had, and usually still have, a love affair with fiber and fabrics. I think it must be the similar breadth of possibility in color and textures found in fiber arts that attract polymer artists to it as well. So, it’s no surprise that many polymer artists look to fiber arts as inspiration for their work. There seems to be quite a bit showing up online lately so this week we’ll focus on fiber and fabric based inspirations.
Driven by what she learned in a tutorial by Alenyà Vitûgovoj, Tanya Mayorova used her ragged edge technique to add more texture to a faux soutache process. At first glance, I was certain this piece was actually fiber art as the ragged edge gives the soutache the look of handspun thread. The choice to use a textured edge instead of the extruded polymer snakes in the tutorial was genius. The effect of the ragged edge along with the deep forest palette and the light sheen of Czech glass pearls makes for an enchanting pendant.
Tanya is quite the texture maven, inspired by a wide variety of other craft arts and their textural approach. Browse through her Live Journal pages and her Live Master shop which is just brimming with her lovely polymer creations.
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.
Bonnie Bishoff and J.M. Syron steered their art in a new direction not long ago with these shawl pins. It may not be the most popular form of adornment but just look what you can do with them.
Bonnie always had a love for fiber arts, so the shawl pins were a natural progression. They feature colorful inlays of polymer clay in white bronze and lead free pewter settings. Of the new pins the pair have been creating, these here are the easiest to identify as shawl pins but their line goes way beyond the basic design. You’ll just have to pop over to their website and check out their wonderful pins!
What forms have you not yet tried creating? A little exploration might develop into a whole new line for yourself as well!
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.
My first love in crafts was in fiber arts. Weaving, dying, hand-stitched art-to-wear and mixed textiles wall pieces were all part of my early portfolio and exploration of craft art forms. These materials still fascinate me and polymer design ideas often include mixing fiber or drawing inspiration from the art form.
The textures and use of mixed media in today’s fiber arts often remind me of approaches to polymer. Rich, organic texture and intense color are signatures of many of today’s textile artists making the craft a fantastic source for polymer inspiration. This is a wall piece by Helen Suzanne, a texture maniac whose work I get lost in, just checking out all of the techniques and materials used in these pieces.
If you ever have a chance to see fiber art in person, in a gallery that specializes in the craft or a museum that has a collection or a curated show, make seeing it a priority. As with polymer, you get so much more out of the work when seen in person. One can’t help but be wowed by the intensity of the work you see in the details of these pieces. Yeah, the patience of a fiber artist who does work like Helen here just blows my mind. Maybe you can catch the traveling Fiber Art International exhibition, in California right now, or when it moves to South Carolina and Massachusetts in the coming year. Take a look at the FAI website and gallery sections to see just where fiber arts are today.
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.
