The Impact of the Past on the Present
November 6, 2013 Inspirational Art
One of the articles I personally looked forward to the most out of the articles in this next issue of The Polymer Arts is on the influence of past cultures on our work. Some of the influence and connections we have are very subtle or so ubiquitous that we don’t recognize their ancient roots, like the use of swirls, hand prints, or even hearts. But then there is the more obvious imagery we connect directly with past civilizations, like runes, hieroglyphs, Celtic knots, and cave paintings. We have a strong connection to these images and symbols, some of us more than others. I thought it’d be great to explore how such influences have appeared in polymer and how they can be used by readers to tell stories and create themes in their work. I was very lucky that Dayle Doroshow was interested in putting this article together. It’s a great piece.
In the past, I have been particularly interested in Luann Udell’s work using prehistoric images and aged textures. I haven’t yet had a theme in which I thought I could share her work with you all, but here we are! It’s not colorful work, but once you spend some time looking at what she does, you’re not likely to forget it.
Does this piece intrigue you? If so, take a little time to look at the sculptures and mixed media wall hangings that Luann has posted on her website as well. I would have liked to post a wall hanging, but the small image size used in these posts was just not going to do them justice.
Speaking
April 28, 2013 Ponderings
Earlier this week I received an email from one of our readers, Dara Meunier who came across an article and quote by Luann Udell that she thought we all might enjoy …
“Take what speaks TO you; tranform it into what speaks OF you.”
I had to wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. Whether we are cognizant of it or not, our art is a translation of the things we see and experience in this world, things we found that spoke to us in some way. Udell’s article is about this translation in the context of looking at other people’s art work. We see other artists doing something we really like and find ourselves inclined to want to either create the same work or do something quite similar. Of course, that pushes us towards the deep, dark realm of copying but not only that, it influences our own personal voice, the source of originality we could be instilling in our work.
I think looking at other polymer artists is important to expand our view of what is possible and as a means to inspire and motivate us. On the other hand, I do agree that we may let what we see influence us too greatly or more precisely, too directly. The art we find we would like to try our hand at should not be translated through just our skill set–that’s not really translating but more copying within the limitations of what we are presently capable of–rather we should filter inspiring work through who we are, our spirit and our particular view of the world. Let what you do “speak OF you”. Otherwise it is not art, as art by definition is personal expression; recreating someone else’s object of expression is just fabrication, nothing more, and certainly nothing that is uniquely you. And showing the unique you is where the true beauty of a piece will come from.
Jump over to Luann Udell’s very honest and down to earth article about these ideas.
Thanks, Dara, for sharing this with us.
One of the articles I personally looked forward to the most out of the articles in this next issue of The Polymer Arts is on the influence of past cultures on our work. Some of the influence and connections we have are very subtle or so ubiquitous that we don’t recognize their ancient roots, like the use of swirls, hand prints, or even hearts. But then there is the more obvious imagery we connect directly with past civilizations, like runes, hieroglyphs, Celtic knots, and cave paintings. We have a strong connection to these images and symbols, some of us more than others. I thought it’d be great to explore how such influences have appeared in polymer and how they can be used by readers to tell stories and create themes in their work. I was very lucky that Dayle Doroshow was interested in putting this article together. It’s a great piece.
In the past, I have been particularly interested in Luann Udell’s work using prehistoric images and aged textures. I haven’t yet had a theme in which I thought I could share her work with you all, but here we are! It’s not colorful work, but once you spend some time looking at what she does, you’re not likely to forget it.
Does this piece intrigue you? If so, take a little time to look at the sculptures and mixed media wall hangings that Luann has posted on her website as well. I would have liked to post a wall hanging, but the small image size used in these posts was just not going to do them justice.
Read More
Earlier this week I received an email from one of our readers, Dara Meunier who came across an article and quote by Luann Udell that she thought we all might enjoy …
“Take what speaks TO you; tranform it into what speaks OF you.”
I had to wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. Whether we are cognizant of it or not, our art is a translation of the things we see and experience in this world, things we found that spoke to us in some way. Udell’s article is about this translation in the context of looking at other people’s art work. We see other artists doing something we really like and find ourselves inclined to want to either create the same work or do something quite similar. Of course, that pushes us towards the deep, dark realm of copying but not only that, it influences our own personal voice, the source of originality we could be instilling in our work.
I think looking at other polymer artists is important to expand our view of what is possible and as a means to inspire and motivate us. On the other hand, I do agree that we may let what we see influence us too greatly or more precisely, too directly. The art we find we would like to try our hand at should not be translated through just our skill set–that’s not really translating but more copying within the limitations of what we are presently capable of–rather we should filter inspiring work through who we are, our spirit and our particular view of the world. Let what you do “speak OF you”. Otherwise it is not art, as art by definition is personal expression; recreating someone else’s object of expression is just fabrication, nothing more, and certainly nothing that is uniquely you. And showing the unique you is where the true beauty of a piece will come from.
Jump over to Luann Udell’s very honest and down to earth article about these ideas.
Thanks, Dara, for sharing this with us.
Read More