Into the Forest
July 27, 2016
Inspirational Art, Polymer community news
Okay, so this might just be a week of announcements but they are exciting announcements, let me tell you.
During her general assembly presentation at Eurosynergy, Laura Tabakman spoke about her projects, many of which are huge undertakings involving installations of her work and the work of others in anything from organic floor compositions in a gallery to entire bridges yarn bombed by the whole of the local community. So it wasn’t a complete surprise that she has a very ambitious project up her sleeve right now. The difference is that this project can include you!
Laura paired up with the very organized and motivated Emily Squires Levine to work on a project inspired by their time under the aspens in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Living here, I completely get what got their creative juices flowing. I am constantly amazed by the color, variety and just stunning beauty of the mountains here. I honestly have yet to find a place in the world I think is more beautiful than the scenery here. Laura and Emily were similarly impressed and started working out an idea for a large Rocky Mountain forest inspired installation. Later on they got Julie Eakes on board and between the three of them the seeds of the “Into the Forest” project was born. And just hours before Laura’s presentation, the threesome set up a Facebook page to help facilitate what is certainly to be an immense and fascinating project.
So what is “Into the Forest”? The image here is their first assembly based on the project idea and here is their description:
“An international collaboration of polymer artists and enthusiasts inspired by the high altitude aspen groves in the Rocky Mountains, “Into the Forest” is an evolving mixed media international installation organized by collaborating artists Laura Tabakman, Emily Squires Levine and Julie Eakes. Imagine yourself in a forest. On the ground beneath a canopy of branches and leaves, unexpected life exists. Look closely, be amazed at the variety of these organic forms. Be a part of our Forest and help it flourish! Create pieces which will form its life elements. We will combine them into living colonies of varying shapes, colors and sizes. We are looking for 1000s of elements, created by our international polymer community, to inhabit our Forest.”
To get involved, request an invitation to the “Into the Forest” Facebook group. There are already over 150 polymer artists and enthusiasts that have pledged to help. I know I’m excited. Jump over to the Facebook page to get more information and follow the project on Instagram (intotheforest17).
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Here’s a simple one … join the project! Make one element a day or at least every other day, to send off to the project. I started on leaves on the weekend and ideas for lichen and other creeping color. We have until April 4th of 2017 which, making one little simple piece a day means you could have a couple hundred to contribute by April!
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Wearing a Garden
May 16, 2016
Inspirational Art
Last week we looked to the sky, so this week let’s look at the ground around us. It is Spring for the northern hemisphere and Fall in the south so between budding flowers and falling leaves, the ground should be full of inspiration.
At one time, I created a lot of jewelry that held things …tiny scrolls of paper, essential oils, runes, dried flowers, and the like. I never thought about an entire tiny garden, though! How fun is this? Christina Butler created a series of these in pendants and pins a couple of years ago, but I just found them and am so enamored with the idea. I love that this is not too literal. There is the natural green and variation of plants and then these bowl shapes that simply suggest objects among the foliage, so you fill in the blank. What do you think they are? Abstract flowers? Lichen? Hollowed rocks? It just doesn’t seem to matter that they are not direct representations. Design wise, they are focal points that bring an anchor for the eye as well as being the actual suggestion that this is a garden and not just a bowl full of moss.
Being able to carry a little world around your neck, something you can look at to be reminded of a peaceful place during a hectic day is so enchanting. And I am sure it would enchant everyone the wearer stopped to talk to and more than a few passersby. The surprising tiny world, plus the natural draw we all have to nature, would make such a piece pique just about anyone’s curiosity and need to get a closer look.
Christina has not been active online in the last year, so I’m not sure what she is up to these days, but you can see another version of this garden bowl and other ideas of hers on her Flickr pages.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Encompass a big world in a tiny space. It doesn’t have to be a garden; it could be a city, a room, a park, or an entire universe. What elements would be essential to include to capture the essence of that space? Create or design a piece that encompasses how you see that space in any fashion you want including with direct imagery or abstract concepts.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Big Montana Skies
May 9, 2016
Inspirational Art
If someone asked us to imagine a sky, what would come to mind? Many of us would likely envision a wide expanse of blue, maybe a few fluffy clouds drifting through it because the sky alone, without context and without weather is, by default, a wide swath of blue. But how often is that the sky we experience?
This last week I was in Colorado during a couple amazing storms as well as crystal clear nights. The skies out in the center of the country can be so amazingly big and dramatic. It is no wonder at all that people who live in these regions often portray or translate the impact and feel of these huge skies in their artwork. These beads, needing not much more than some simple ear wires to make a great set of earrings, were created by Jo Anne St. James. She describes these on her Etsy listing with an apt statement: “The rising moon over the Rocky Mountains in Montana “Big Sky” country is a sight to behold. So if you can’t get to “Big Sky” country let it come to you …” Or both, I say. It’s great that there is no moon but you feel its presence in the glow on the rock formations. And all those stars! Yep, that’s how it is when you are in those wide open spaces on a moonlit night.
These have been sold but Jo Anne has a whole series of sky and landscape inspired beads to share. You can enjoy the view in her Etsy shop and on her Facebook page.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: What in the sky in your area really captures your eye? The colors, the forms of the clouds, the silhouette of trees against it …? Let that characteristic of your home sky inspire your next design, sketch or finished piece.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
A Different Kind of Fish
May 6, 2016
Inspirational Art
I love art dolls. And ornaments. And I’m getting into this whole fish thing so it’s no wonder some odd but beautiful item like this fish ornament by doll and toy maker Nadine Pau caught my eye. There is an ode to steampunk here but I like that its present only in its basic forms. What would be watch gears in someone else’s piece are ornate wheels here. Instead of obvious screw heads and rivets we have simple lines with bead like accents regularly terminating them in a mostly alternate rhythm.
Then there is the face, of course. The illustrative look of the face is content and serene and that look (like it doesn’t find anything wrong with being a fish with a human face but is rather enjoying its strange existence) along with the way the face is integrated with the body using a simple wavy trim for the transition makes for a cohesive and very enjoyable creature.
Then there is the question of what this is made of because it very obviously could be made from polymer. However, I believe this is papier mache as that is the only sculpting material she lists. It is possible that the face is fabric but this can all be done with fine papier mache and paint.
If you enjoy a wonderfully wacky creature or two, do take some time to wander through her gallery which you can find on her delightful website here.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take any direct imagery you usually use or that you admire and create highly stylized versions of it for a new piece or additions to a work in progress. If the direct imagery is simple, like a heart, you might want to make it more complex or if complex like gears, simplify it or its components so you come up with forms or imagery that is reminiscent of them but is quite different. How does using the stylized imagery change the feel of the work?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Mid Week Underwater Color Burst
May 4, 2016
Inspirational Art
Here’s a quick and colorful look at some further fishy polymer today.
This bright pendant is by Estonia’s Katrina of the shop Filigrina on Etsy. We took a peek at another ocean inspired work of hers last year and although this is the same form of pendant, where the other piece was in a limited palette of blues and white, this has a ton of full strength color to show off all this hand tooled texture.
Katrina uses the same basic techniques employed for what is often called polymer embroidery but this time, there are no flowers, which the application is commonly used to create. Obviously the technique is perfect for undersea scenery as well!
I’m sorry this is so short but I must go catch a plane and leave all my little fishes behind. Enjoy this little mid-week color burst!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Go crazy with color. Use color directly from the packet, choosing the brightest ones you have. Try using more of the colors you tend to steer away from. Create or design a piece with the color itself as inspiration. Let the things and memories that these colors remind you of be the source for imagery, form, texture and lines.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Fishing About
May 2, 2016
Inspirational Art
Although I’ve been so buried over here under the enthusiasm of readers and the many orders for the Polymer Journeys book as well as getting ready for the Summer issue and picking up slack while my key staff is in the process of moving or settling into a new home, my better half has regularly been dragging me away from work to help with the new home project, a large fish tank. I thought setting this up would be more like a chore but I have to say, it’s actually quite a creative process, picking out fish with an appropriate mix of sizes, colors, textures and temperaments as well as plants and structures for the fish to play around and hide under. The tank is like a canvas with a whole composition to work out. With two artists on it, our conversations have sounded more like we are working on a collaborative painting than creating an underwater environment so it’s been quite the relaxing and creative escape.
I also seem to be spotting more and more fish in the streams of art going through Flickr, on Pinterest and in my Facebook searches. (It’s been a little creepy actually … like the computer knows what I’ve been up to when I’m away from it!) So I’ve pulled a few favorites to share this week.
I absolutely adore the work of Gera Scott Chandler and spotted her hand in this Halibut Bowl as soon as I saw it. Her intense colors and the surprised expressions of the silly fish make me smile every time I look at it. The circular texture of the bowl emulates a flow of water and, with the saturation of these colors, it collectively gives the bowl a very energetic and fun feel.
Gera has a beautiful new site here. There isn’t a gallery but if you want to get this bowl for yourself, it is up for sale! You can keep up with her latest creative endeavors (including lots of fish!) on her Facebook page as well.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Bring your outside life into your studio. What has been going on in your family or social world, or with you personally that you can pull visuals from or create visuals for. If you’ve been spring gardening, bring a texture you’ve seen in the plants or the landscape into a piece of your art. If you have a lot of abstract things going on, imagine what colors, shapes or textures could represent it and create work around the visuals you conjure up in your mind.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Sophisticated Form
April 29, 2016
Inspirational Art
Last, but certainly not least, in this two week tour of our “best of” chosen artists for the Polymer Journeys 2016 book, we have Melanie Muir who is our sole representative of Scotland in the book. I think the draw Melanie’s work has is in its clean sophistication. She is so precise and has honed her particular set of techniques to absolute perfection.
Her mokume, although organic and flowing, has a feel of precision as well. The clean lines in her mokume come from a stamp or texture impression technique like the one you’ll find in the tutorial by Angela Barenholtz in our Winter 2015 issue of The Polymer Arts magazine.
Her large necklaces are lovely, of course, but I am partial to her pendants where the focus is on the mokume design, framed and centered so that the intricacies of the pattern grab your attention all by themselves. I love the color choices in this one, a bit autumnal using white to set up the saturation of the color. I found this little beauty while wandering around Melanie’s Facebook page.
Her precise shapes also generally come from a set of tools–her own shape templates. Because, like so many of our amazing polymer artists, Melanie applies her talents in more than one area, in this case, the creation of textures and templates. If you haven’t seen her offerings, you can find them on her site here and you can also purchase them on Etsy.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Focus on perfection. Create a small piece using a technique you’ve worked with before but maybe have not been doing for very long, and try to create the most perfect version of it. This may take a little forethought and patience to figure out how best to handle the material so it is not marred or defaced with finger prints to finish it well. You might want to take such additional steps as multiple curings or refrigerating to let the work rest between manipulations. See what you learn from examining and changing up the way you work. Can you develop more careful steps in your process or do you even want to?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Patterned Perfection
April 27, 2016
Inspirational Art
I saw a piece of Jon Stuart Anderson’s, before I even knew what polymer clay was, in a gift shop in the Denver airport. It was a frog so beautifully patterned in a material I didn’t know and since it was nothing I could afford that was as far as my admiration was able to go. It wasn’t until several years later when I was starting the magazine that I found Jon’s work again. We were compiling our resource list of artists and my assistant found his work and couldn’t stop gushing over it. Then he saw Jon’s work in that same gift shop and called me quite excited about seeing it in person and it clicked into place that I had seen this work in person myself.
I got to interview Jon, the first person he ever agreed to do that for, a year later. In a phone call from Bali, I got to know Jon a bit and was even more impressed by his kindness and joyful nature not to mention his complete immersion and dedication to his craft. He is certainly one of brightest gems and it’s no surprise that the board found him to have some of the best work of the last couple years.
Although Jon creates a lot more than animals, those are his best known pieces. I was going to pull out one of his sculptures or laminated guitars for you but these fish heads were too beautiful and fun and I don’t think they’ve really gotten around the web like his other creatures. The canes on top along with the varied texture of their underbellies show his wide range of fine caning skills and his brilliant use of color.
Images are really not enough to convey the vibrant colors and the flawless finish of Jon’s work. His work is in galleries and gift shops all over the world so keep your eye out for his work or see if you can nab some gorgeous piece from his retailer directly. In the meantime, you can discover more of his pieces on his website and for your tea or coffee break, I suggest sitting down to watch his videos on how he makes his canes. It’s a treat to watch a master at work!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Make the theme of your next piece ‘pattern’. Create small patterns, textural or visual, that are repeated over and over lining up to emphasize form or create the feel of movement. You could create with canes but you can also use handmade stamps, hand-tooled marks, or tiny tiles or shapes punched out of textured sheets of clay.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Large Expression
April 25, 2016
Inspirational Art
We are going to spend this week on a few more of the artists who made it to the most notable position in the new Polymer Journeys book. Mind you, there is a lot of very, very notable art in the book but these six made a showing that really impresses people. Heather Campbell‘s work is notable for the way she makes a personal connection with the viewer, creating imagery that speak to ubiquitous experiences that, nonetheless, quite often feel very personal and unique. Her large wall pieces emerge from her experiences and dreams with the many details reflecting the complexity of life and emotion, something I think we can all relate to.
As she writes on her blog, “I consider my work an extension of life experience, designed with complexity while remaining beautifully simple …While creating myself or teaching others I emphasize imagination and self-expression.”
The piece here, a huge wall hanging at 36″x54″, is titled Off The Deep End. It speaks to a very essential question that many of us have struggled with. In reference to this piece, Heather says, “Being true to oneself is one of life’s greatest accomplishments, with rewards that parallel the most beautiful colors, the greatest adventures and the deepest questions. That world awaits us, with its danger, its uncertainty, its beauty and endless opportunity. The query is, do we take the leap, do we step into the unknown, do we trust ourselves?”
You really need to go to Heather’s website to see the wide variety in her work as well as read her thoughts about each. She certainly has something to say.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Let’s have a day of pure expression. Choose a small number of colors that “feel” how you feel today. Keep your favorite hand tools nearby, roll out your clay on a mid-range thickness or condition as you normally would to start a project and then just play. Don’t think about it and don’t worry about whether anyone else will see it. Just let you imagination go and create whatever the clay leads you to create.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
If there was a shape that could represent state of the world today, what would you say that is? Chances are, you’re thinking of something that works as an icon or symbol rather than something as simple as a circle or octagon. Abstract shapes are something I touched upon only briefly in the article about shape and form at the beginning of the month. They are most commonly created for things that we are already familiar with, many of which are considered universal. Some have been with us for ages such as stars, teardrops, and hearts, but simplified shapes will pop up whenever a quick method of communication that is not language dependent is needed or preferred.
For instance, right now, a square with half circles on the ends, often with a few horizontal lines in the square, represents a medical mask. Such an icon may have meant nothing to you at the start of this year but it’s hard not to recognize it for what it is now.
That is the power of abstract shapes. With minimal characteristics, these shapes represent an object if not an entire concept. For this reason, I suggest you to not use them too frivolously. If you pop a heart shape on something, it should be because your intention necessitates calling on the viewer’s emotions rather than just putting it on to be cute. Now, I’m not saying that using hearts to be cute is a bad thing but realize that people will see it as an emotional expression. And I say emotional, not love, because the heart represents a base positive emotion associated with love, caring, and happiness but if your heart shape has a hole in it, is cracked or torn, or is jet black, the viewer will start thinking of things like loneliness, sadness, or even animosity.
Not all abstract shapes have such a wide range of potential meaning but many can elicit a similar or even stronger reaction, such as the shape of a cross or particular types of star shapes, depending on the context in which it’s used.
If you want to use abstract shapes but do not want to be so obvious or bring up the more common associations, you might find it useful to combine abstract shapes or to use them in unexpected ways. This approach to the use of abstract shapes can make for a much more subtle or complex statement which means your viewer will probably react more viscerally even with a readily recognized shape since its associations won’t be so blunt.
Here are just a few examples of abstract shapes where the association with them has been toned down.
Here, Elsie Smith overlays the impression of leaf forms on heart shapes showing just how perfectly they fit together. Pairing these makes the heart a gentle emotional background to the focus on, and apparent love of, nature’s intricate leaf formations.
This next one is a really good synergy of recognizable abstract shapes. Speaking in terms of the silhouette of the piece below as well as the focal point of the opening image, we could see a sunburst, a starburst, or a flower shape. Since Zuda Gay Pease was primarily creating flowers at the time she created this, we can assume her intention was for it to be a flower, but the energy of all those many pointed tips makes it come across as celestial. So, we get a combined association – the femininity and beauty of the floral shape with the energy and excitement of bursting light. It’s quite an impressive mix.
It’s interesting that practically all types of celestial bodies have a recognizable abstract shape (or variations of them.) There is probably nothing quite so common in abstract celestial shapes as a crescent moon. Our association with it can be fairly wide ranging from simply symbolizing the quiet and dark of night to embodying the ebb and flow of life.
In this example, I found it very curious that the lines on these crescents appear to be sun symbols with all their brilliant energy, and the bright blue ends of the crescent, visually truncating the shape, make us less likely to think crescent moon than simply an angular and curvy shape. The moon and its mysteries therefore become a quiet background to the louder energy of the colors and lines. I really like this contrast of concepts here as the sun and the blue color brings in a liveliness while the unconscious reaction to the moon shape is a quiet but divergent undertow. (Unfortunately, the Etsy shop from which this was saved is no longer available, so I am not sure who created it. If anyone knows, I would be ever so grateful if you would send me their name so I can update it.)
Is this making sense? I don’t think it’s hard to grasp the general idea of how iconic an abstract shape can be so I’m going to keep this short today. It’s also been a busy week getting all your accounts fixed up and so I should get off this computer. I challenge you to look around at the way abstract shapes are used in art work, be it your own or other people’s pieces.
Go Forth and Be Free… to be Inspired, For Free!
If you haven’t heard yet, starting in June (this next weekend) I will be posting the upcoming Virtual Art Box content previously planned for the VAB membership project on this blog so everyone can read it for free. I wanted readers, regardless of budget right now, to have access to these discussions, lessons, and exercises so we can all work on our art and increasing our skills and enjoyment together as well as give me the opportunity to take my work load down a notch or take breaks when necessary without being unfair to paid subscribers.
So, you can look forward to some in-depth article length discussions and ideas with a bit more juice to it than the blog usually has along with ideas on how to work with and apply the concepts if you so desire. Take it like a free class or just let the ideas sink in and enjoy the art. It’ll be here for you, starting next weekend.
Supporting Free Content
I am glad to have your support, in anyway you can provide it, to help me produce this content for free. Your supportive emails are always appreciated but if you want to help me keep the lights on, making purchases on the website is one of the best ways to do so since it gets you (or a lucky giftee) something to enjoy as well giving the contributing artists further exposure all while helping to keep me in busines.
If you have everything you want from the website at the moment, I have provided a donation option here for those who have asked and can afford to toss me a little something to help me, in particular, pay my tech guy and allow me much needed doses of dark chocolate!
So … until next weekend!
Read More
I love how silver can be representative of snow in winter even though it’s gray and not white. It’s that clean simplicity, I think, that echoes the simplicity of a landscape under newly fallen snow. That’s why think this piece by Wiwat Kamolpornjiwit makes me think of wintertime.
Wiwat’s mastery is often in his simplicity although a lot of his work isn’t simple. For instance, he does not usually treat the surface of the clay but rather goes for smooth shiny layers, accented with simplified or symbolic motifs of natural objects like flowers, leaves, trees, etc. In this piece, those motifs are nothing but pokes in the clay but we get an entire scene out of it. The rolled wire accents are like flowers popping out of a pot, and add a touch of energy outside the frame of those repeated shapes, breaking the line the top of the half-circles make. It’s not complex, but it’s not all that simple either. It’s just those little touches that give it a sense of sophistication and make it a satisfying design.
If you have not seen Wiwat’s work, or haven’t looked at it lately, you can find it on his website.
Read More
We are going to hop back to the new book, Polymer Art Projects—Organic (which you can still get 10% off on for the next couple of days, promo code PAP10), for one last day this week to give you another taste and some additional information on one of the beautiful projects in there.
One of our contributors, Fabi Ajates, has this wonderful collection of objects at the end of her tutorial, showing you some of the different decor items you can make with the many little techniques she teaches. In a conversation we had after the tutorial was in layout, I found out that some of the objects are actually reversible and Fabi, with the help of her son David, graciously sent us these additional images and some information about the pieces for you to enjoy. Here is what they sent:
CORAL KELP
All the textures and shapes I create are one-of-a-kind and handmade, conceived in the pursuit of the pieces’ harmony and the most dramatic result. Furthermore, the project [in the book] is meant to be versatile because it can be used not only to create jewelry such as the necklace, but also décor elements which can add a touch of individuality. When used for interior design pieces, these can have a double purpose which makes this technique even more resourceful, attractive, and interesting.
What looked like a turquoise coral vase from which a leaf of kelp languidly emerges, has become a bowl or small plate. We observe the same effect with the piece that imitates an anemone; its face changes relative to whether it sits upright or it is reversed, while it contrasts or harmonizes with the landscape and with the rest of the pieces.
Inspired by coral and marine vegetation, [these forms are] mysterious nature that awaits silently like a treasure in the depths of seas and oceans whose colors and shades, a combination of seawater and sunlight, are uniquely beautiful.
Thanks for the extra images and your thoughts, Fabi!
Find out more about this amazing artist who has not let her deaf condition or language barriers get in the way of sharing her skills. Check out her class schedule here and follow her artistic adventures on her blog.
And don’t forget to get in on the 10% off offer to get your own copy of the book or other items we presently have in print, here on The Polymer Arts website. Use promo code PAP10 before midnight on Sunday Pacific time to get the discount off everything in your cart!
Read More
Today’s attention grabbing item is brought to you by Mother Nature. Yes, you read that right. This is not polymer. It is not resin. It is not some new crazy Zentangle-like method of doodling on rocks or something. This is a 176 carat Koroit Boulder Opal from Australia.
I know a lot of you already look to the natural world for inspiration but the more you look, the more amazing natural creations you’ll find. It’s still baffling what a huge array of shapes, textures and colors are put together without conscious thought but with pattern and purpose nonetheless. These opal patterns are formed in voids and cracks, like natural molds that are filled with a deposit of silicon dioxide which settles and forms spheres under specific conditions. These spheres are reflective and, if I am understanding the research I just did correctly, are the cause of the variation in reflected color. And I thought some of our processes were painstaking!
Now to figure out how to recreate this in polymer. Some fairly old methods like a Damascus ladder or other Lizard’s Tail technique might get close with a layer or two of black clay tucked in. Are you up for experimenting on that? If I had the time, I would but I don’t yet. So I leave it up to you, my fearless friends. If you create anything cool, inspired by this bit of nature, post it here. Let’s see what you all can make this weekend!
Read More
Apparently, I’m a bit of a wreck. I’m only telling you this because you are probably going to see a bit of a slowdown in our publications coming out and maybe a little less research here on the blog. As many of you know, I’m the only full-time person who works on The Polymer Arts projects and I’m dealing with two injuries that occurred earlier this year and arthritis in my neck, none of which are happy with how much I work. So, doctor’s orders, I have to cut my computer time down the next few months while I focus on healing. It’s going to be hard to slow down, workaholic that I am, but I’m counting on you all to hold me to it!
So to minimize my research time, I’m going to be pulling things to share from my stash on my Pinterest boards and favorites on Instagram and Flickr and such for a while. We will, therefore, be seeing a fair amount of older work, but there’s so much really inspirational and timeless work to share.
This week’s first piece is from Adrianne Jeswiet whose work I discovered not too long ago. Her shop on Etsy is called “Kissing Glass” and it is filled with various glass vessels covered in detailed imagery. This piece includes tiny dragonflies, water lilies, irises and cattails applied to a recycled glass vase colored with glass paint. Take a close look to see the myriad of tiny details that are sure to make this a conversation piece wherever it finds its new home.
Pop over to Adrianne’s Etsy shop to see the full range of what she does.
Read More
Today we’re going to look at some actual flowers. Well, petals at least. This design is by Janine Bjornson, a Canadian life coach who, apparently, is drawn to color and pattern much like many of us polymer artists. She decided to make ephemeral art the subject of her 100 Day Project on Instagram and this is just one of her many beautiful, natural, and temporary designs.
If you’re not familiar with ephemeral art, it is art created with the intention of it being transitory. Its temporary nature is usually due to either the materials being something that quickly breaks down or the construction being set up in a place where nature or man will quickly and inevitably bring it down. The art is created for the momentary enjoyment, contemplation, or appreciation of it, and, often, also for the experience the artist has in the process of creating it.
In my 100 Day Project, which has completely changed parameters (I do manage to create a texture every day but the writing and posting have been more challenging!), I knew I would be traveling and considered ephemeral art as an option for those days when working with clay was not going to be possible. Some days we are not in a place where we get to be creative with our chosen material but that doesn’t mean we can’t stop and create something beautiful with what we have on hand.
Janine uses natural materials including flower petals, branches, leaves, berries, feathers, and even water droplets. Pretty much anything she can find outdoors, it looks like. So her work allows her to connect with nature and bring us these beautiful images as well. But this begs the question, that if it is photographed, is it still ephemeral art since we’ve made it lasting in recording it? That is a purely philosophical question, and irrelevant to our enjoyment of these beautiful colors designs.
Although this is an obvious mandala, she doesn’t commonly create symmetrically but changes it up pretty dramatically every day. You can take a look at her beautiful temporal creations on her Instagram account.
Read More
I’ll wrap up this week with some adorable creatures that will just pull at your heartstrings.
Alexis is the creative soul behind Meadow and Fawn, crafting in an unspecified clay and painting the most endearing little details in her jewelry, sculpture and shadow boxes. I found the painting on these owls intriguing because it’s not just feathers and texture, there are little scenes on them or other animals. Does the artist feel that the owls embody the wisdom of all types of nature and that is why she is inclined to paint natural scenes on them? Or are their cute little bodies simply a convenient canvas?
For those of you who have followed me for a while, you know I am very big on intention and the relationship between the elements in a piece. Logically, I am not finding an obvious relationship between the owl shapes and the fox, deer and butterflies on them, but somehow it still works and how readily they sell is a testament to how strongly they must speak to people as they are so quickly snatched up. That’s what is intriguing to me. Is it that they are natural images on a natural shape alongside her soft and gentle style of sculpting and painting?
Logic does not always provide the answers, especially when it comes to the heart and art. I think we can just simply look and enjoy and snatch up our own if so driven. You can follow Alexis on Instagram or find out more about her and peruse her shop on her website.
Read More
Pattern in nature is everywhere and not just on the surface but in the groupings as well. I know for certain that Wendy Moore, the creator of this lovely riot of red leaves, is heavily influenced by the patterns and energy in nature. You can hear it in the things she writes on her blog and her focus on repetition of natural shapes in her work which you can find on her Instagram account.
This piece was actually a commission but from one of the people most certainly to be a heavy influence on her as well–her mother. I’m thinking now that perhaps this connection to nature is also one her mother has and maybe she influenced Wendy’s appreciation of the natural world. Or maybe it’s Wendy’s life in Australia and her time in the outback or her years in Nepal and her continued visits there to support the Samunnat women‘s project.
I only ponder this because how much we interact with nature and how connected to it we are has been on my mind lately. I am so immensely lucky to have a wide swath of nature right outside my office and studio here. I have tried to make a point of spending time out there every day. Recent trending reports on “forest bathing” and how short immersive excursions among trees can really help reduce stress has led me to consider how important such moments of connection and relaxation are to creativity. The more I get outside, the more inspired I feel.
So, weather permitting, try to get outside this weekend. If weather is not being cooperative, perhaps there is a greenhouse or enclosed botanical garden not too far away. Or spend some time tending yohouseplantsnts. Notice the textures and patterns in nature, breathe in the smell of the growing things and just connect to the most constant thing we have interacted with in our history as a species–mother nature. I think you’ll find it invigorating, relaxing and inspiring!
Read More
I spent a lot of time looking for differently constructed clocks in polymer and couldn’t find much that really illustrated the point I was hoping to make. What I wanted was to show that a clock does not have to be on a flat surface. It can be made of many parts, attached or not, and fully dimensional. As long as you have something that can house or hide the clock mechanism while holding out the hands, the rest is wide open. You can have the hour markers designated by any form and attach them with sticks or wire or be free floating–whatever suits the piece and your inclination.
These two examples are commercial designs rather than polymer art but I think they give you the basics of this idea of moving beyond the flat clock face. Not only do these kinds of clocks make for really interesting wall pieces, they give you the freedom to use pieces you may already have such as large hollow beads, faux stones, unhung pendants, small figurines, flowers, etc.
As a gift, giving a clock that has separate pieces might be best attached to something that can be hung as one piece, like a backing of Plexiglas or painted plywood. Or include instructions for a template to mark on the wall where each piece goes. There is little to no construction to deal with but you will have to make concessions in the design for how the individual pieces will be hung. Alternately, go for a design where the elements are attached like the flowers you see here.
The sky is the limit with these kinds of designs. For more ideas, try searching “DIY clocks,” which was the keyword set that brought me to these two pieces. I hope these sparks some ideas and I look forward to seeing inventive clock designs this month!
Read More