Black and White Chaos
June 6, 2016
Inspirational Art
I challenged you all on my last post to create something without color. For some people, this is not a problem, for others, this would feel like a serious handicap. Years ago I would have thought Laura Schiller, a member of my local guild in the Denver area, the Mile Hi Polymer Clay Guild (my apologies for being a rather absent member!), would have had trouble leaving color behind. Her work has always been a riot of color. But then out of the blue, she started creating these zentagle-like clay pieces with nothing but black and white. Do you see what I mean about how other design elements become so important when you leave color behind?
Yes, this is a little chaotic. Okay, a lot chaotic, but art doesn’t have restrictions on subject matter or style. And with something like this, it might be that the process is the more important aspect. Can you imagine how lost in your work you must be to do something so complex and busy? That’s not a bad place to be.
If you are up for a riot of color and chaos, and like eggs–the decorated kind which is Laura’s distinguishing form of decorative art–jump over to her Flickr pages. It will certainly brighten up your Monday!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let go and get lost in your work. Don’t plan or think about it. Pull out 2-3 colors of clay and just play. Layout a sheet as a base or a vase or something to just add things to and see where it takes you.
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Things That Break (And the Release date for the Summer issue!)
June 4, 2016
Inspirational Art
Business first … for all you patient people who have been asking about the Summer issue, we finally know the day of its release. June 11th! This is a Saturday, so I will try to get everything set so the digital version is ready for an early morning release (US side) which should be in time for afternoon tea across the pond. That is also the first possible day anyone might receive a print copy, so that is when you can start watching your mailboxes. My apologies that it ran so late this quarter. It will be likewise a little later in the Fall (which was actually planned), but we will keep you in the know! Pre-orders are ready for you early birds who like to get it one great issue at a time, and of course, subscriptions are available as well at www.thepolymerarts.com
Now, onto wrapping up my week of imperfections as beauty. And what a stunning piece we have! I have probably featured Sonya Girodan a bit heavily over the past year, but this woman is so intensely prolific. She has been whipping out a ton of work this last year or so and they have all been such fascinating pieces. This one just stopped me cold, in a good way. There is something a bit frightening about this, yet the atmosphere and condition feels familiar and close to home. I don’t like to imagine that anyone feels broken, but I think most of us go through this feeling at some time or another. I think it is more common among artists who tend to feel deeply, and so, for all the passion and strength they do have, there is a frailty when hit in just the right spot.
The lack of color paired with the rough edges does more to give this a sense of that frailty than any combination of color could ever do. The choice of texture, the gray and not-quite-white, and the sonorous eyes here combine to make a intensely arresting piece. Not that this is her only one. Take a quick stroll through her recent work on her Flickr photostream and you’ll see what I mean!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Make a piece with no color. Chose black or white, gray or ecru, or a combination. You will need to depend on texture, form, imagery, proportion, line, etc. … but it will show you how important these aspects are to good design. Don’t be surprised if you thoroughly impress yourself.
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Subtle Contrast
June 2, 2016
Inspirational Art
I’m sorry this blog is getting out a day late. Did you miss it? I really try not to do that, but it’s been a challenging week hence my being drawn to things that are a little off from what one might expect. I would use the word blemished except that I find this kind of work so lovely. This piece looks a lot like things I have been working on this past year, however, its creator Tatiana Lipatova, is in Russia. So, I know we haven’t exchanged notes, but then other people have been working with this kind of creeping texture on their pieces.
This necklace uses a subtle contrast with a shiny set of hollow beads–donut beads, of sorts, although off center and squared off–and unusual leather wrappings as well as this calcification-like texture. It looks like the texture was added from a treated sheet, one that was hand tooled, unless she has a stamp like this and she did a Sutton slice kind of thing. Regardless, the texture ties in the cleanness of the smooth bead with the roughness of the leather and other textured beads here. It doesn’t hurt that this is a color palette I am often drawn to use myself. Warm metals have such a sense of life to them, don’t they.
It was a challenge to find Tatiana, very much buried in her world in St. Petersburg, I think. But she has some really lovely pieces, most not going the way of faux decay either. Although it’s the European version of Facebook, no matter where you are in the world, you should still be able to browse her photos here. Do take the time to scroll down a ways as you browse. Her style keeps changing and beautiful little treasures keep popping up for you to admire.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take two very different styles, textures, materials, or colors and create a third element that you feel can tie them together. Design or create a new piece from this triad of subtle contrast.
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Stitching it All Together
May 30, 2016
Inspirational Art
Some days we are drawn to things primarily because they seem to reflect our state of mind, our emotions, or the thoughts that are taking up the majority of our time. I think that is the case today. So, what does this pendant have to say about where my thoughts are at?
We are wrapping up the Summer issue which has been taking far longer than usual to get all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted. When things do not go as planned, you find ways and tear things down and put them back together until they fit and then you hope you did a good job and that it will all hold. That’s been my past week so it’s no wonder I am drawn to a mosaic piece with what looks like random stitching.
This pendant by Tanya Mayorova has some gorgeous textures and colors and once you stop thinking about the metal wire stitching, you can just get lost in what each little square encompasses. This is also a bit like my mind right now. Lots of things going on, in their separate little boxes in my brain, each with their draw and their importance. I don’t know if these were all scrap pieces or if any were particularly made for this but it’s a great idea to put together pieces of your other work into one. The piece would represent that set of work, where your color palettes lean, and what textures and techniques you have been working on. It would be a three dimensional snap shot of your recent work.
More beautifully stitched together polymer can be found on Tanya’s Flickr photostream, her Live Journal pages, and her Live Master shop
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create the conglomerate piece, a snapshot of your recent work, as described above, in whatever form most appeals to you.
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Swirling Density
May 27, 2016
Inspirational Art
A denseness of elements that forms a texture can obviously be quite beautiful in a random pattern. The randomness gives it a bit of frenetic energy but that doesn’t mean a dense collection of elements can’t be beautiful and energetic when well-organized.
This brooch is one such example. Not only are the elements strictly organized, but they are all organized in the exact same way, with a circular motion lined up next to other lines of beads also following the same swirling motion. This emphasizes the energy of each line. As you know, lines, especially those with unfailing direction, can create a feeling of movement which is where the energy comes from. So as you can see, multiplying lines that are already energized by the sense of motion makes for some very dramatic energy.
The South African cooperative company, Beloved Bead, is credited with this creation, although Anna Richerby looks to be the designer and primary force behind the group of 12 women creating these gorgeous beaded works. There are dozens of variations of this brooch on their website along with many other beautifully designed beaded adornments. The company, collectively owned by the twelve women, also has a strong sense of purpose in both promoting bead art as well as “a keen interest in economic justice” which is represented by the way the company is slowly turning over ownership to all 12 participating women. It’s an interesting idea. You can read more about what Anna is doing with her group on their website and on her blog.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Organize your elements in strong directional lines. These can be beads or marks or the way can slices are laid out. Try to create an intentional level of energy. If you would like a sophisticated but strong energy, straight horizontal or slightly curved lines will work well while meandering lines will convey a more relaxed energy and diagonal will be strong and highly directional. Every line has a specific type of energy, so play around with this to find what you like.
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Dense Joy
May 25, 2016
Inspirational Art
I guess we are moving from the garden theme to more of a density of texture theme, because what I found for you today, although representative of what you might find in a garden, has me thinking a lot about the crowding of elements. We have all heard that too much of a good thing is bad, but that is hardly true across the board. I have always thought it was more about knowing when to stop, which might not sound so different of an idea, but I think it is the defining point. Eating an entire extra large pizza is too much of a good thing for most of us, but I have a roommate who is too thin and has a doctor constantly begging him to eat more. I have low blood pressure issues so my doctor pushes me to go overboard on salt. Too much is completely relative and comes down to what you need.
In art, the place where you stop putting too much on is going to be determined by the effect you are after. If you want to make something showy then bling it up, but if you want quiet and serene go minimal. In the case of our art today, created by Alice of Liska Flowers on Livemaster, simple, quilling-like forms are densely packed in to create texture and to give this bird a joyfully colorful look. The swirls and whorls give off the impression that the bird will flit off into some aerial acrobatics any moment. Alice really pushes this density of forms, and for pieces like this, the place at which to stop is when the space is completely full!
Alice creates all kinds of creatures with this approach as well as creating polymer flowers. I believe she creates, at least in part, with a Japanese version of Ultralight. See for yourself by flitting off to her Livemaster pages.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create something extremely simple and minimalistic or something intensely busy. I suggest choosing the extreme that is least like what you usually do.
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Hanging Gardens
May 23, 2016
Inspirational Art
When the Summer 2016 cover of the magazine came out on Wednesday, I interrupted my week of garden goodies to share it with you, but I hope you will put up with one more garden and a couple other earthy treasures this week.
Here is another wearable garden for the desert or xeriscape lover. This was created by Ukraine’s Darya Tarasenko. The wonderful denseness of the texture from the mini clay succulents makes the fact that they are recreations of real plants rather secondary. Or more precisely, the unusual textures is what is most attractive, then you get to looking at the variety of plants and the subtle colors changes and find yourself just smiling. Well, at least that is how it was for me. Now, how did she create that dusty, matte surface so characteristic of succulents? Hmm.
She does these hanging gardens in several variations, creating each one as a custom piece when they are ordered through her Etsy store. She has others with more purple and with different shapes. She lists her primarily sculptural pieces on Etsy and posts them to Instagram and Facebook.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create texture from variation. Identify something you like to do as part of creating your art … certain marks on the clay, certain types of small beads, a favorite cane … and recreate it. Not just a few times but 20 or 30 or more times. Each time you make that mark or roll that bead, change it just a little so it is still similar but unlike any of the ones you made before. With a favorite mark, you can make it deeper, long, wider, use a different tool, etc. A bead could have a slightly different form, the bead holes could go through them in a different direction, the color/texture/treatment of its surface could be different, etc. Make these variations, then create a piece including as many of them as you can.
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An Idyllic Shell
May 20, 2016
Inspirational Art
Ok, back to looking at the ground for inspiration. I’m finding a lot of fascinating and miniature gardens, but this one is in an unusual vessel, as well. The use of a snail-shell very much matches the idea of a garden, so it seems natural for it to be a tiny garden’s home but … it IS actually a snail-shell. Talk about tiny! I love the little lily pads and the lushness of the greenery. I would love to grab a nap by that little pond.
This beautiful little creation is the work of Germany’s SpankTB. Spank is a female artist, but that is all I could divine from her pages. She is a master of the beautifully tiny in polymer as well as working in illustration. She says something about having created other gardens, but this is all I could find. I am in a bit of a rush today with much to do still to get the Summer issue off to the printer, so if you want to investigate her gallery on Deviant Art or the ones on her website, or even rummage through her photos on Facebook, you are welcome to send me more links and put them in the comments as short cuts for others to enjoy.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Find two things on your work table, in your supply bins or in that box of incomplete or failed experiments, things that you would not normally put together, and start thinking about what they have in common. If you find that theme or form or concept that connects them, start thinking about how you could represent that in polymer. A snail and a garden pond are connected by being things that might be found at the same place. What can you create that encompasses this new connection you found at your work table?
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Summer 2016 issue Cover … Movement!
May 18, 2016
Inspirational Art, The Polymer Arts magazine news
We interrupt this week’s looking at the ground for inspiration to being you the latest cover of The Polymer Arts magazine!
This issue is not out yet, and although we would usually get this out to you by the end of May, it looks like it will be the first week of June, but we are moving along as quickly as we can while still ensuring you have wonderful quality content and beautiful pages to enjoy.
So, what do we have coming up for you in a few short weeks? Some truly energizing articles! As you can see, the theme is Movement, so we have really fun and dynamic articles for you including …
… Randee Ketzel sharing her beautiful new faux bakelite in a flowing bracelet design.
… Lisa Pavelka shares secrets on using illusion and juxtaposition for dynamic and vibrant color.
… Loretta Lam gets you thinking about how to create visual movement in your compositions.
… I’m sharing a mulit-piece kinetic earring and pendant tutorial set as well as a tutorial on creating balanced mobiles.
… my staff is going to give you some ideas on creating dangles as well as putting together truly wonderful PDF tutorials to sell.
… Shannon Tabor talks us through looking at the big picture to move your business forward.
… Tory Hughes has a fascinating discussion with long time polymer supporter Robert Liu of Ornament magazine.
… Anke Humpert has dug up secrets and plans in her interview with the amazing Georg Dinkel.
… and much more! Sheesh. I need to catch my breath!
While I’m catching my breath and polishing your next issue, enjoy this cover with this intense wall piece by Bonnie Bishoff and J.M Syron. It’s mesmerizing and wholly moving besides being completely enthralling just trying to figure out how it was made. If you need to get your subscription up to date, you can do so on the website at www.thepolymerarts.com/Subscribe.html. I apologize, we don’t have single issue pre-sales yet, but I hope to have the site updated by next week so we can do that.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Pick up an old copy of The Polymer Arts (or any craft magazine or book) and spend some time with it on your work break, over coffee, or to wind down tonight. Our old magazines and books are a treasure trove of inspiration. Find something you had wanted to try or find yourself wanting to try now, and do it. Make a goal of attempting of accomplishing a new technique, form, or approach by this weekend, no matter how busy you are.
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I’ve never really understood why the majority of guys don’t like to wear jewelry. There are definitely masculine versions and, maybe I am partial, but I think jewelry is more expressive than a t-shirt or sports jersey to say something about you. I guess just wearing jewelry for a guy says something about that guy. So what does this huge piece say about this guy? It says he’s not shy to start with!
This is Randy, Karen Mitchell’s husband, and he seems to really like wearing the big and bold stuff she makes for him, so it wasn’t too shocking to see him show up on our Gala night in this piece. Karen is one half of AnKara Designs, which she has run with her sister Ann for 25 years now. For Eurosynergy, Ann and Karen had a slew of complex pieces to show off a variety of construction options for their “Polymer Jewelry Construction” presentation (which I didn’t get to see due to other obligations), and I can only assume this was one.
The movement of the swaying chains made for quite a dynamic piece to match Randy’s already dynamic personality. It also occurred to me that swaying chains on a guy says something quite different than it would on a woman. Here, it felt very strong and dominant, like it’s something a warrior would wear, but on a woman it would probably be more reminiscent of dancing and graceful movement. The wearer does make the piece, which is why some work seems to ‘belong’ on some people while it just falls flat on someone else. If I had not seen this on Randy, I never would have thought a guy could pull this off, but Randy sure did!
They posted a lot of their new work used in their presentation on their Facebook page, but you can also follow them and see where they are selling by going to their website.
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I’m on my way home today after nearly 3 weeks in Europe. I really look forward to getting back to a regular schedule, and I will catch up will all of you who have been waiting for something from me. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of the crazy pieces and wonderful people I snapped pictures of on the last night of EuroSynergy when we got dressed up for the closing dinner.
Here is the witty piece that Anke Humpert created just for this event. If you’ve been to any polymer-centric events, you know how much time we spend checking out each other’s jewelry, so Anke thought it would be fun to have a piece that stares back. It was very entertaining, as well as surprising, and caused much laughter as she made the rounds.
Anke’s work often draws from social and environmental inspiration. You can take a look at her wide range of pieces and techniques on her website.
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A little view of the charming world of Doreen Kassel who delighted us with her little characters while in the south of France. She set them up on this great wall on the back porch of the place we stayed at. Her child-like joy in creating her critters and other objects is so evident in the expressions of these pieces. She adorns them with such cheerful colors and fun details.
I wish I could write more, but I am packing to catch a train so I must be brief. I will go through my images from EuroSynergy on the train and choose some to share with you in the blog next week and in the newsletter that we’ll get out to you this weekend. For now, au reviour!
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I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to not only see, live and in person, the latest work by the meticulous Christine Dumont but to see so much of it in one place. You can tell she spends hours getting every element just right, and I can only imagine how many hours she puts into developing her process in which she can achieve such perfection. The pieces here are examples for classes or are show pieces for the Fimo exhibition at Eurosynergy and not for sale, but I did get to try on and model a few for the gang and I was just in love with how they both looked and felt on. They are some truly masterful pieces of art.
Christine has not only been diligently working away on her own pieces but has continued helping others increase their creativity and exploration of design through the classes offered on Viola.eu. Take a look at the new set of courses she and Donna Greenberg are working on as well as dropping by Christine’s artist website for an eye full of her beautiful collection of work.
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Read MoreI am getting into the week of Eurosynergy and I have a completely full schedule, so while I am collecting photos of the event and the wonderful art around us, I will fill this week with images from the art shared in the week before. But I will share a ton with you next week!
Since so many of you just loved seeing Melanie West’s table of amazing work, I took more photos of the collected works that were shared in Durfort. This lovely little arrangement, by Donna Greenberg, was taken on an old fallen wooden door which became a favorite spot for shooting images of the work we had. Donna’s organic and expressive pieces seem quite at home on the weathered background. Donna was actually telling us how she has been experimenting with photographing her work with more objects and context. That can be a tricky thing as busy backgrounds and additional objects can be distracting as the rusted hardware here is threatening to be. But if the work can hold up to it or the objects used match the piece in a subtle and supportive way, including a bit more in the images of your work can create some really eye-catching photos that will make your work stand out.
Speaking of stand out work, jump over to Donna’s website to take in the wonderful range and luscious texture of her pieces.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take photos of your work in different environments and with (or on) a variety of objects. Take a look at the photos and see if the change in surroundings works visually with your work. Does it give you any new ideas about how to photograph and show your work?
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I finally get to start sharing some of the things I have been seeing over here in the south of France. Yes, there has been a ton of beautiful countryside and villages to see as well as amazing textures in the moss covered rocks, old cobblestone streets, aged and worn walls, and rusting and painted iron and copper hardware. I will not bore you with the trip slides but rather, let you peek in on some of what we have been doing back at the house.
I may not have explained what it is I am doing down here. I was kindly invited to join a small group of my polymer friends and colleagues to enjoy a week of beauty and creativity in the tiny village of Durfort where the lovely La Cascade art center is located. Dayle Doroshow was the driving force behind this get-together as she owns her own little slice of France down here. The rest of us rented a house down the row from her. The days are full of creative and intellectual conversation, general silliness, and French style meals. There has also been quite a bit of work as this was a chance for many of us to more efficiently discuss collaborative projects (mostly the business related kinds) and discuss our present direction as artists and entrepreneurs.
One of the things we have been doing to support each other has been to pull out our art, one artist a day, and discuss the work as well as the artist’s thoughts and motivations. Wednesday we had the pleasure of looking at all the gorgeous colors and impeccable finishes of Melanie West, which so works with the theme this week, so I snapped a few images for you to enjoy.
No words can express how wonderful it is to see such beautifully finished work laid out all together on a single table. It’s even more impossible to describe the delightful sensation of running one’s fingers over the velvety smoothness of these surfaces. I just wanted to pet them like they were precious little cats.
Now I have to get packing here for our trek to Bordeaux tomorrow for EuroSynergy, which starts on Sunday. My plan is to share beautiful things from there with you so keep your fingers crossed that the hotel internet cooperates! Have a beautiful, colorful weekend!
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Purple is such a rich color. Its royal overtones command attention, but its not so overly energetic as its neighboring red or orange, yet not so calm as the other cool colors it is grouped with. It is easily one of my favorite colors because of this complexity and richness. And I know I am not alone. So it’s no wonder that these beautiful silk screened pieces popped out and grabbed my color-seeking attention.
Veronika Sturdy created these silk screened pieces with a range of purples and analogous colors on both sides of purple. You have to look close to see how she also complements the darker and lighter shades with a bit of black and white, but it all works together to create a subtlety energetic and commanding set of pieces.
Veronika plays so very well with color, gradation, shading, and texture that you are sure to find a bit of inspiration for yourself on her website or Flickr pages.
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Internet is rather spotty here in the south of France but other than reaching out to you wonderful people (and my sweetie, of course) I can’t say I am missing it all that much. I had previously picked out a few pieces to get you through the week, although I didn’t have a specific theme, just the thought of the potentially lovely color I might see here drew me to these pieces. And I certainly have seen beautiful colors from the doors and shutters on the homes in this little village to the wildflowers that fill out the fields on the side of the roads we’ve wandered down.
So, going with that simple theme, I have this older piece by Irina Oano Diacenco. It was posted in 2011 but the contrasting purple and yellow are timeless and is further helped by the rough texture that makes the colors jump and glow as they skip over the lines together.
Although Irina doesn’t seem to have anything recent online (mind you my searching was limited as my internet goes in and out here), you can catch more beautiful color combinations and textures on the blog she used to keep here.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Pick two highly contrasting colors and create a piece based around how those colors make you feel.
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I am still in the midst of traveling, although I am feeling a little giddy on the overdose of art I took in the last day and a half as a we wandered about Paris waiting to take our bus down to Toulouse last night. I’m going to share one more beautifully polished piece, then next week I will be settled in the south of France and we’ll see what I find among the polymer pals and the little villages we’ll be exploring.
In the meantime, enjoy a simple but perfectly polished pendant by the amazing Jana Roberts Benzon. I picked this one for two reasons … one, it really displays how well cane shows when the surface is so well finished. Also, this image comes from a page with a tutorial for making this impressive little piece. So there’s a little project for you to do this weekend to practice that challenge I posed Monday to work on perfecting the finish in your work. The beauty and impact of a beautiful finish will make the effort well worthwhile!
If you’re wondering what Jana has been up to lately, take a look at her website and her Flickr photostream as well as checking out her classes on CraftEdu, her own DVDs, and her workshop schedule. She is definitely a great person to learn from.
Passez un bon week-end!
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