BumpyTerrain
October 10, 2018
Inspirational Art
Take an already enticing, beautiful organic texture like crackle and literally “bump” it up with a wonderfully organic bumpy texture and you’ve got a real powerhouse of a textural combination.
That’s basically what Shelley Atwood did with these otherwise simply designed earrings. You really wouldn’t want to do a lot more with this as you would risk making this overly busy. The simple round shape and the round negative space reflect the roundness in the bumps but then the crackle comes in with an edgy and erratic energy that contrasts nicely with the predominate soft forms and shapes. The choice of color also brings additional energy to this organic terrain, the reds and yellows playing nicely with this contrasting combination of textures.
Shelley has been playing with dots and bumps and other heavily textured surface applications and techniques for quite a while now. Her Flickr photostream looks like a massive sampler of textural surface design possibilities in polymer. Pop over there or peruse her portfolio on her website for all kinds of textural inspiration.
The Squiggle Master
September 19, 2018
Inspirational Art
It will be hard to talk about squiggles and not talk about Julie Picarello’s mastery of the squiggle in negative space. Or peekaboo space if you prefer.
Julie’s impeccably controlled polymer mokume is full of squiggles both in the mokume pattern itself and in these wonderful little rivers she creates in her compositions. Perhaps that analogy is part of our attraction to squiggles—some of mother nature’s best squiggles are things we have long held dear, such as life-giving rivers and streams. Julie does such a beautiful job of re-creating this essence of flowing water in her signature approach to the mokume technique. I imagine that is part of the attraction to her work and the popularity of her particular techniques.
You don’t hear a lot from Julie these days. She is not an avid poster to the social media sites although she does have a presence. We were actually wondering what she had been up to lately ourselves which is why we’ve asked her to be the first artist to be profiled in the new The Polymer Studio magazine coming in January—and she’s agreed. So we will have an exclusive peek into her world for you to look forward to in January.
And yes, we are just about ready to get subscription ordering started for the new magazine. We’ve been ironing out some issues in the new website but stay tuned here and be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be one of the first to hear about the reveal of our new website.
You can take a look at some of Julie’s other designs in this technique on her Flickr photostream and don’t forget about her book Patterns in Polymer which you can purchase here.
Circularly Centric
February 26, 2018
Inspirational Art
Circles are one of the most basic design elements, seen throughout nature and in one of the most meaningful human features, the eyes. They have had their ups and downs in terms of popularity in art and design, however, it is unquestionable that we all have a strong affinity for them. If there is a circle on a design, it will be noticed before any other shape. Its symmetry is comforting and mildly energized due to its connection to movement as in wheels and anything round feeling like it could roll away. It has no beginning and no end which has given it a revered place in religious and spiritual designs.
The circle as the central form certainly enjoys a revered place in polymer art, old and new. What you see here is a new piece by Sona Grigoryan and a very colorful one for her at that. This pendant looks like a miniature stained glass window from a cathedral with the exception of the hole in the middle. The negative space there adds a focal point as well as making the center feel infinite in its depth. It is mandala-like as well which adds to the spiritual feel of it.
Take a look at Sona’s new and colorful designs by visiting her website, Flickr photostream, or Instagram page.
Exploring Points
October 18, 2017
Inspirational Art
Last week I had the very fortunate opportunity to spend a couple days chatting and exploring Los Angeles with Christi Friesen and one of my oldest polymer pals, Debbie Crothers. We definitely did more talking than anything else and one of the subjects that kept coming up was exploration. Exploration of a technique or of a design element in your work can reveal much about what you personally prefer to do in your work not just what the technique or element offers.
One great way to explore is to make a lot of elements using the same technique or the same design element. In this bold neckpiece by Hélène JeanClaude there are several variations on the dot. The dot as a colored accent, as repetition defining the structure of a visual pattern, and as negative space are joined together, linked by that same color of blue and the coppery brown. The curve of the shapes, as well as the colors and the dots themselves, create a cohesive whole of these three very different explorations of the way a dot can be used.
Hélène’s work often appears to be an exploration of a particular design element or perhaps she is simply not satisfied with an element being presented in just one way. Regardless, it presents a high level of sophistication and energy to her tribal-leaning aesthetic. You can explore the fruits of her explorations on her Flickr photostream and here on her blog.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
A Many Layered Thing
October 13, 2017
Inspirational Art
To wrap up our week of looking at the effect of gathering a multitude of things, I thought I’d share an example that shows not just a collection of many things but also the proliferation of negative space.
This wall piece is the work of alcohol ink artist Jess Kirkman. Although the multiple layers are the physical aspect of the work, it is the many holes–the absence of material–that brings about the energy and texture of this piece. The negative space allows you to see past each layer and multiplies the colors and texture. The “cells” as Jess calls them allows for full participation of each layer in the composition. They create both shadow and light as well as density, in the texture, and airiness, with all the open negative space. It is a wildly enticing set of contrasts.
Jess has a whole series of these, scattered in among the more traditional 2-D work. But the colors and textures are all lovely to look at. Take it in on her Instagram page or her shop.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Rough Layers
July 5, 2017
Inspirational Art
Martina Buriánová takes rough stuff–the theme this week–in an interesting direction for polymer. This unique use of layers in a polymer pendant might remind you of the side view of a warped, long-ago drenched book. Contained within its solid although equally roughed up frame, you get a sense that these layers have been through a few trials but, safely boxed in again, will continue to hold on. The unevenness of the layers gives it a nice texture along with the kind of negative space that allows it to be a part of its environment, not just some adornment in it.
The red spot is a bit of a mystery although I see its role as a contrast, a focal point, and a kind of anchor. I think the pendant could have stood on its own as the focal point, just layers and frame with that upper negative space peeking through the layers. But nonetheless, the red circle still works, it just diminishes the importance of the layers, where I think the real story is. I am like that with movies too, though. I am often more interested in the story of a minor but well-fleshed out character than I am in the heroes and heroines. The little, unassuming stories are the ones, I think, that really stick with us. Because most people connect with the little guy and that connection is what they will remember.
Martina is really good at rough and weathered-looking surfaces. You can find such works of hers on Facebook, on her website and on her Pinterest boards.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Body of Work
June 20, 2017
Inspirational Art
Looking over a collection of work can tell you quite a bit about an artist and what intrigues them. The posts this week will give us a chance to consider, in a more complete and varied way, what an artist might be doing or be after in particular types of work.
Carole Monahan-Kampfe recently posted some rather intriguing pieces in what she refers to as her Steampunk collection but instead of jewelry, it looks like we are seeing a lot of ornaments. We are looking at Swellegant treatments (click the ad link below for more on this fascinating stuff) which make for some very yummy textures but the various shapes and variation on an ornament is what is most captivating about this work.
Although she is calling it steampunk and the influence of that aesthetic is there, many of the common motifs are, gratefully, missing and we can enjoy the exploration of the surface treatment and the manipulation of the ornament forms. I love the negative space in the ones with the floating centers and then those forms that are folding in on themselves which she calls Infinity Orbs. No standard ornament forms here either. Carole actually looks to be taking not the motifs and objects from the Steampunk arena but rather the inventive nature it is supposed to be representative of. Regardless, the choice of shapes and decorative touches are beautiful and more so in a collection like this where the various take on the elements and forms can be compared and contrasted.
The orbs at least, she lists as being made with Makin’s clay which is an air dry clay, rather than polymer but this could all be done with polymer as well of course. Carole just likes to try all kinds of things out as you can see on her Flickr photostream–another method of looking at an artist’s collection of work and over time at that. In this collection though, she seems to have really hit her stride and I hope she keeps playing with these ideas.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Outside Inspiration: Beautiful Empty Frames
December 12, 2014
Inspirational Art
Yep … back to frames again today. There are just so many beautiful pieces with unique ways to incorporate frames.
Here, we have earrings by metal jewelry artist Nisa Smiley that are more than just frames. In actuality, what the open spaces frame is negative space. That negative space is filled with whatever your imagination comes up with or with the background beyond. Open metal work like this feels airy and light, which matches the wing imagery here.
Nisa works her pieces to bring elements of nature to the metal. She says “When creating a piece of jewelry, I strive to combine five elements of nature that speak most strongly to me: color, pattern, texture, organic shape, and metal. My sense of design recognizes these patterns, textures, and colors to be the ultimate complement to the human figure.” Can you discern the five elements she is working towards in this piece?
Although these frames may seem a bit delicate to create in polymer, open work and the framing of negative space is still a viable idea to work into your pieces when that airiness or space for the imagination are desired. You can see a bit more of this along with beautiful stones and colorfully treated metals in more of Nisa pieces on her website.
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.
Aysmmetrical Balancing Act
March 4, 2014
Inspirational Art
So, yesterday I very briefly started talking about how balance is at the center of well produced asymmetry. Here is a piece that works more toward a feeling of tension rather than being well-balanced.
In this piece, Margaret Polcawich has mixed wood and polymer clay. The strength of both materials is highlighted in the design as well as the asymmetry. The metal arm leans out to one side while the stacked shapes struggle to lean inward and in the opposite direction. There is a kind of balance in the juxtaposition of the components’ visual movement, even though that movement seems more of a struggle than an harmonious existence. But the piece is named “Temporary” and so the feeling that the balance achieved is only momentary fulfills that idea.
This Maryland artist is not only a sculptor but also a furniture designer. She calls furniture our most accessible sculpture. She explains, “While studying sculpture in college, I began utilizing the chair as a metaphor for the human figure, and have been drawn to functional art ever since.” You can see her furniture, mixed media jewelry and polymer clay accessories, along with some great Mokume
Gane tutorials, on her website.
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.
Take an already enticing, beautiful organic texture like crackle and literally “bump” it up with a wonderfully organic bumpy texture and you’ve got a real powerhouse of a textural combination.
That’s basically what Shelley Atwood did with these otherwise simply designed earrings. You really wouldn’t want to do a lot more with this as you would risk making this overly busy. The simple round shape and the round negative space reflect the roundness in the bumps but then the crackle comes in with an edgy and erratic energy that contrasts nicely with the predominate soft forms and shapes. The choice of color also brings additional energy to this organic terrain, the reds and yellows playing nicely with this contrasting combination of textures.
Shelley has been playing with dots and bumps and other heavily textured surface applications and techniques for quite a while now. Her Flickr photostream looks like a massive sampler of textural surface design possibilities in polymer. Pop over there or peruse her portfolio on her website for all kinds of textural inspiration.
Read MoreIt will be hard to talk about squiggles and not talk about Julie Picarello’s mastery of the squiggle in negative space. Or peekaboo space if you prefer.
Julie’s impeccably controlled polymer mokume is full of squiggles both in the mokume pattern itself and in these wonderful little rivers she creates in her compositions. Perhaps that analogy is part of our attraction to squiggles—some of mother nature’s best squiggles are things we have long held dear, such as life-giving rivers and streams. Julie does such a beautiful job of re-creating this essence of flowing water in her signature approach to the mokume technique. I imagine that is part of the attraction to her work and the popularity of her particular techniques.
You don’t hear a lot from Julie these days. She is not an avid poster to the social media sites although she does have a presence. We were actually wondering what she had been up to lately ourselves which is why we’ve asked her to be the first artist to be profiled in the new The Polymer Studio magazine coming in January—and she’s agreed. So we will have an exclusive peek into her world for you to look forward to in January.
And yes, we are just about ready to get subscription ordering started for the new magazine. We’ve been ironing out some issues in the new website but stay tuned here and be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be one of the first to hear about the reveal of our new website.
You can take a look at some of Julie’s other designs in this technique on her Flickr photostream and don’t forget about her book Patterns in Polymer which you can purchase here.
Read More
Circles are one of the most basic design elements, seen throughout nature and in one of the most meaningful human features, the eyes. They have had their ups and downs in terms of popularity in art and design, however, it is unquestionable that we all have a strong affinity for them. If there is a circle on a design, it will be noticed before any other shape. Its symmetry is comforting and mildly energized due to its connection to movement as in wheels and anything round feeling like it could roll away. It has no beginning and no end which has given it a revered place in religious and spiritual designs.
The circle as the central form certainly enjoys a revered place in polymer art, old and new. What you see here is a new piece by Sona Grigoryan and a very colorful one for her at that. This pendant looks like a miniature stained glass window from a cathedral with the exception of the hole in the middle. The negative space there adds a focal point as well as making the center feel infinite in its depth. It is mandala-like as well which adds to the spiritual feel of it.
Take a look at Sona’s new and colorful designs by visiting her website, Flickr photostream, or Instagram page.
Read More
Last week I had the very fortunate opportunity to spend a couple days chatting and exploring Los Angeles with Christi Friesen and one of my oldest polymer pals, Debbie Crothers. We definitely did more talking than anything else and one of the subjects that kept coming up was exploration. Exploration of a technique or of a design element in your work can reveal much about what you personally prefer to do in your work not just what the technique or element offers.
One great way to explore is to make a lot of elements using the same technique or the same design element. In this bold neckpiece by Hélène JeanClaude there are several variations on the dot. The dot as a colored accent, as repetition defining the structure of a visual pattern, and as negative space are joined together, linked by that same color of blue and the coppery brown. The curve of the shapes, as well as the colors and the dots themselves, create a cohesive whole of these three very different explorations of the way a dot can be used.
Hélène’s work often appears to be an exploration of a particular design element or perhaps she is simply not satisfied with an element being presented in just one way. Regardless, it presents a high level of sophistication and energy to her tribal-leaning aesthetic. You can explore the fruits of her explorations on her Flickr photostream and here on her blog.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreTo wrap up our week of looking at the effect of gathering a multitude of things, I thought I’d share an example that shows not just a collection of many things but also the proliferation of negative space.
This wall piece is the work of alcohol ink artist Jess Kirkman. Although the multiple layers are the physical aspect of the work, it is the many holes–the absence of material–that brings about the energy and texture of this piece. The negative space allows you to see past each layer and multiplies the colors and texture. The “cells” as Jess calls them allows for full participation of each layer in the composition. They create both shadow and light as well as density, in the texture, and airiness, with all the open negative space. It is a wildly enticing set of contrasts.
Jess has a whole series of these, scattered in among the more traditional 2-D work. But the colors and textures are all lovely to look at. Take it in on her Instagram page or her shop.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreMartina Buriánová takes rough stuff–the theme this week–in an interesting direction for polymer. This unique use of layers in a polymer pendant might remind you of the side view of a warped, long-ago drenched book. Contained within its solid although equally roughed up frame, you get a sense that these layers have been through a few trials but, safely boxed in again, will continue to hold on. The unevenness of the layers gives it a nice texture along with the kind of negative space that allows it to be a part of its environment, not just some adornment in it.
The red spot is a bit of a mystery although I see its role as a contrast, a focal point, and a kind of anchor. I think the pendant could have stood on its own as the focal point, just layers and frame with that upper negative space peeking through the layers. But nonetheless, the red circle still works, it just diminishes the importance of the layers, where I think the real story is. I am like that with movies too, though. I am often more interested in the story of a minor but well-fleshed out character than I am in the heroes and heroines. The little, unassuming stories are the ones, I think, that really stick with us. Because most people connect with the little guy and that connection is what they will remember.
Martina is really good at rough and weathered-looking surfaces. You can find such works of hers on Facebook, on her website and on her Pinterest boards.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreLooking over a collection of work can tell you quite a bit about an artist and what intrigues them. The posts this week will give us a chance to consider, in a more complete and varied way, what an artist might be doing or be after in particular types of work.
Carole Monahan-Kampfe recently posted some rather intriguing pieces in what she refers to as her Steampunk collection but instead of jewelry, it looks like we are seeing a lot of ornaments. We are looking at Swellegant treatments (click the ad link below for more on this fascinating stuff) which make for some very yummy textures but the various shapes and variation on an ornament is what is most captivating about this work.
Although she is calling it steampunk and the influence of that aesthetic is there, many of the common motifs are, gratefully, missing and we can enjoy the exploration of the surface treatment and the manipulation of the ornament forms. I love the negative space in the ones with the floating centers and then those forms that are folding in on themselves which she calls Infinity Orbs. No standard ornament forms here either. Carole actually looks to be taking not the motifs and objects from the Steampunk arena but rather the inventive nature it is supposed to be representative of. Regardless, the choice of shapes and decorative touches are beautiful and more so in a collection like this where the various take on the elements and forms can be compared and contrasted.
The orbs at least, she lists as being made with Makin’s clay which is an air dry clay, rather than polymer but this could all be done with polymer as well of course. Carole just likes to try all kinds of things out as you can see on her Flickr photostream–another method of looking at an artist’s collection of work and over time at that. In this collection though, she seems to have really hit her stride and I hope she keeps playing with these ideas.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreYep … back to frames again today. There are just so many beautiful pieces with unique ways to incorporate frames.
Here, we have earrings by metal jewelry artist Nisa Smiley that are more than just frames. In actuality, what the open spaces frame is negative space. That negative space is filled with whatever your imagination comes up with or with the background beyond. Open metal work like this feels airy and light, which matches the wing imagery here.
Nisa works her pieces to bring elements of nature to the metal. She says “When creating a piece of jewelry, I strive to combine five elements of nature that speak most strongly to me: color, pattern, texture, organic shape, and metal. My sense of design recognizes these patterns, textures, and colors to be the ultimate complement to the human figure.” Can you discern the five elements she is working towards in this piece?
Although these frames may seem a bit delicate to create in polymer, open work and the framing of negative space is still a viable idea to work into your pieces when that airiness or space for the imagination are desired. You can see a bit more of this along with beautiful stones and colorfully treated metals in more of Nisa pieces on her website.
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.
So, yesterday I very briefly started talking about how balance is at the center of well produced asymmetry. Here is a piece that works more toward a feeling of tension rather than being well-balanced.
In this piece, Margaret Polcawich has mixed wood and polymer clay. The strength of both materials is highlighted in the design as well as the asymmetry. The metal arm leans out to one side while the stacked shapes struggle to lean inward and in the opposite direction. There is a kind of balance in the juxtaposition of the components’ visual movement, even though that movement seems more of a struggle than an harmonious existence. But the piece is named “Temporary” and so the feeling that the balance achieved is only momentary fulfills that idea.
This Maryland artist is not only a sculptor but also a furniture designer. She calls furniture our most accessible sculpture. She explains, “While studying sculpture in college, I began utilizing the chair as a metaphor for the human figure, and have been drawn to functional art ever since.” You can see her furniture, mixed media jewelry and polymer clay accessories, along with some great Mokume
Gane tutorials, on her website.
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.
