High On Art
June 23, 2019
Inspirational Art
Just flew in from Australia yesterday so I’m a bit jetlagged still but I wrote up some thoughts on the plane and pulled some pretties to demonstrate some more ideas on passion in your art, so here goes.
If you are reading this, chances are, you are passionate about art, either creating it or supporting its creation. Can we take just a few spare seconds to admire and be amazed by that passion of yours? I’d suggest that you stop at this moment and really let the emotion of that passion of yours come to the forefront, letting it blossom in the memory of what drives you to create or be supportive of creativity. Can you feel it? Close your eyes if you don’t feel it yet and just give it a few seconds to come to the surface so I can pose a few questions while that emotion is coursing through you.
Got it now? Okay. So, tell me … what color is your passion? Close your eyes if you need to and see what color blooms in your mind.
Then ask, does your passion have a temperature? Is it cool and constant or warm and rolling? Or something else entirely?
What does it act like? Is it like a soft, persistent wind, or a crashing ocean or something in between?
It doesn’t matter what metaphors you come up with for the feeling, you just want something concrete to hold onto. With those sensations and images in mind now, ask yourself, is that feeling there when you sit down to create? Does that passion spill out onto your worktable and direct your work? Does it drive you to come up with ideas or search out and soak up great art and other inspiring sights and sounds?
With all these metaphors and answers in your mind, I want to ask the core question that just couldn’t be put forth until you were in the right mindset:
Do you like what you create and why you create?
That might sound like a strange question because who would continue to create art while not liking it? Well, many of us do. That’s been at the heart of several conversations I’ve had recently, all related to trying to make a living from creative endeavors. That need to pay one’s bills is not the kind of drive that we really want to direct our work if fulfilling our passion is at all a goal of ours.
The fact is, letting out your passion and letting it guide you feel risky because you are putting a bit of yourself out there into the world in that process. Or a lot of yourself sometimes. It’s scary, isn’t it, putting your latest work out, wondering what people will think, whether it will sell or whether the receiver will like it? But it’s thrilling too, especially when people respond to it, when they connect to your work and to you. It’s a serious high.
You deserve to get that high on art. Don’t you think?
High on Creativity
I bet you can spy those artists who do get that high on a regular basis, people who let their passion run wild and lead their work. Here are just a few of my personal favorites but start thinking of your own as I go through them.
One of the first people that comes to mind is Ellen Jewett. She has worked in polymer, epoxy, and paper clay, using no tools but her hands and a brush, and makes only what she wants to make. Here is but one of her mind-blowing sculptures.
Her work is born of a unique and driving passion. In her own words:
At first glance my work explores the more modern prosaic concept of nature: a source of serene nostalgia but this is balanced with the more visceral experience of ‘wildness’ as remarkably alien and indifferent. Upon closer inspection of each ‘creature’ the viewer may discover a frieze on which themes as familiar as domestication and as abrasive as domination fall into sharp relief. These qualities are not only present in the final work but are fleshed out in the process of building. Each sculpture is constructed using an additive technique, layered from inside to out by an accumulation of innumerable tiny components. Many of these components are microcosmic representations of plants, animals and objects. Some are beautiful, some are grotesque and some are fantastical. The singularity of each sculpture is the sum total of its small narrative structures.
I encourage you to take the time to read her full artist statement. You may be surprised by her approach and amazed by her insights into her own work and purpose.
I have found that many of insanely passionate artists are also similarly intense thinkers. Some of these passionate thinkers take their love of art a step further by sharing their passion through education as a way to spark and inspire the creativity of others. Christine Dumont is just such an artist, giving polymer and mixed media artists a place to push themselves and grow through her website Viola and its related projects.
Her own work comes about as a result of intense exploration. She does not create to sell, and I think this gives her a freedom that an artist dependent on their work for their income may find harder, although not at all impossible, to achieve.
Christine will actually be in Switzerland teaching this mix of polymer and metal September 14-15, 2019. If you are interested in joining the class, you can message her directly through her website.
As demonstrated by Christine’s passion for teaching, a creative passion doesn’t have to manifest itself purely in your art. Teaching, which takes a particular passion of its own, is just one alternate avenue to steer one’s creative passions. Giving back to others is another way. We had a whole section of community recognition for polymer artists who give back in our first edition Polymer Journey in 2016. We have so many giving and generous people in this community! One of those beautiful people is Wendy Moore who I had the unparalleled pleasure of staying with this past week in Canberra, Australia.
Her creative passion was intertwined with a passion to give back to others when she founded the Friends of Samunnat alongside Nepalese lawyer Kopila Basnet, to help support and give independence to women who were victims of violence. Wendy’s passion and empathy for others is seen directly in her art as well, including this piece I photographed at her home but which you can also find in the Polymer Journeys 2019 edition. It is a representation of her “confusion and angst relating to issues about how we move forward in relationships with Australia’s indigenous people.”
Wendy’s passion has not gone unnoticed outside the polymer community either. It was recently announced that she has been awarded the 2019 Order of Australia medal by the Australian Governor-General for her contribution to the international community of Nepal! This is one of a set of awards and appointments the Australian government uses as a principal way of recognizing outstanding citizens. Join me in a big congratulations to (a probably very embarrassed and blushing) Wendy Moore. Read more about the award along with her interview in this article here.
And you can also look forward to reading in depth about Wendy, her journey, her work, and her life in issue #4 of The Polymer Studio later this year, so keep up those subscriptions!
Here are a few pics from my time with Wendy. I’ll get more photos of the trip up on Facebook where you are welcome to follow me.
Wendy and I contemplating the insanity of this immense tapestry which recreated a much smaller painting in every nuance. At the Australian Parliament house’s Great Hall.
Forest labyrinth built by some passionate creative person in the bush just beyond Wendy’s house. Wendy and I are walking it with my step-daughter and Wendy’s granddaughter.
Photos by Brett Varon
There are so, so many other artists I could point out as examples of deeply passionate people who let that passion drive the work they do, both in and outside the studio. But this is all I have in me to write just now. Right now, I am very passionate about sleep!
However, I would encourage you to continue this search for passion in your daily perusals of artwork online. I would challenge you to keep an eye out for work in which the artist’s passion is intensely obvious and try to imagine the emotion and drive that they must have to create the wonderful work they share with us.
If you aren’t feeling a glimmer of what you think these dynamos must have, perhaps it’s time to assess what you are doing and why. Perhaps you need to infuse your work with new inspiration and materials (as suggested in last week’s post) or maybe you would be more fulfilled spending some of your time teaching (which might include writing articles for publications like The Polymer Studio. Check out our guidelines.) or maybe you need to step back and ensure you are creating in a fulfilling and meaningful way for you, not just for your customers. If your work is infused with your passion, you’ll sell it and you’ll get noticed. Just note how highly passionate art grabs your attention!
Okay, off for more sleep so I can hit the ground running on Monday as I aim to get Issue #3 off to the printer in early July. It’s shaping up to be a really gorgeous issue but I’m still having my challenges here as the house is still in various stages of construction (the worst of it being there are no working sinks except the one in the garage) but the bones of the kitchen are in so that is awesome! Now I can start working on the back-splash I designed. Well, maybe after this next issue if off to the printer.
In the meantime, have a wonderful, inspired, and passionate week!
A Bevy of Bezels
February 10, 2019
Inspirational Art
First, a quick announcement … the new Polymer Journeys 2019 book is now available for pre-orders!
As usual, we offer a HUGE discount for pre-ordering: $7 off the print edition cover price and $4 off the digital edition. So jump to our website to pre-order this great tome of beautiful polymer art with artist’s insights into their work as well as a historical retrospective that we hope will help continue to elevate how people see polymer in the art world and beyond.
Now onto a Bevy of Bezels …
What is your favorite kind of polymer bezel setting? Would you say you even have one? Let’s be honest, when it comes to bezels do most of us really give them a lot of thought? Some people really do but I think for many of us, when we do create one, it is probably not much more than a functional element we need in order to hold and maybe frame a stone or focal element. So, I thought this week we would take a look at what else you could do and where you can take the functional, and often essential, bezel.
Like any other element on your jewelry that can be seen, a bezel is a part of the piece’s design and so their form and finish should be quite consciously decided, which means, with polymer clay there’s a tremendous range of things that can be done with it. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the bezel been simple and primarily functional, as long as it makes sense for the design.
That said, let’s get to the interesting point … there is so much you can do with bezels and bezel style settings in polymer clay! I could yammer on and on about all the things you can do but I think it’s better to just show you. Make notes and start considering what you do with the clay that holds in the focal pieces on your creations and how you can expand on it.
A World of Bezels
One of my favorite bezel-ers, Chris Kapono, has the most wide-ranging ways to hold down a stone with polymer. Her tile and home decor pieces are also a great examples of how bezels can be used for pieces other than jewelry. She has many more tricks up her sleeve in this regards as seen on her Flickr photostream and in her Etsy shop.
Susan Waddington has always been one of my favorite polymer bezel makers. Her bezels are almost always black but are formed into pretty much anything but a basic square or circle and they are textured and inset with additional embellishments to work with the focal piece. This one may be a decade old but it is still inspiring as is her entire collection shown on her Flickr page. I don’t think she does much polymer any more so you have to scroll down past her paintings although looking through them is no hardship either.
A bezel can also be made from individual bits, all lined up. As seen in this pendant by Elsie Smith. The setting around this bezel continues the radiating lines that those lined up little squares start around the gem.
A bezel does not have to be symmetrical, continuous, sit with the stone or focal point straightforward or even completely surround what it’s holding. These pendants by Switzerland’s Chandani of ChaNoJa Jewerly on Etsy give you a few examples of non-traditional bezel settings with polymer.
And don’t be afraid to consider creating, or having a metalsmith create, metal bezels to put your polymer clay creations into. Making her own custom precious metal bezel settings is standard for Grace Stokes’ beautiful jewelry as seen here.
The How-Tos of Polymer Bezeling
Now, if you’ve not created polymer bezels before, or you would like a refresher or some jump-start, hands-on ideas, there quite a number of tutorials and such that you can reference.
Here’s a super quick way to make a bezel that works especially well for small round stones and crystals.
- Roll up a ball of clay about the width of the stone you want to set
- Press the ball flat but not too thin then press the stone or crystal into it.
- Gently push the sides of the clay in towards the stone so that the clay sits up around its edges and holds it in. At this point it can be further embellished with powders.
- Then just scoop it off your work surface using a blade and place it on your piece, maybe with just a tiny touch of liquid polymer to guarantee its adhesion.
- You can embellish it further here too. Just impress dots or lines into it with a needle tool, being careful not to move the clay away from the stone’s edge and lose its grip on it.
That’s it! It’s a super quick and easy bezel. It can be used on other shapes besides round too. You just have to shape the clay to the same size and shape as the stone before you press it into the clay.
By the way, you can see this quick set bezel and how I often use them in Issue #1 of The Polymer Studio in my tutorial, “Shimmering Scenery Pendants”. That same tutorial also shows you how to make an easy polymer clay frame which can readily be used as a bezel setting in addition to the techniques use for frame setting surface treated polymer sheets. Get your issue or a subscription if you don’t have it already. Single issues are only $7.95 in print, $5.95 digital, and that’s for eight detailed tutorials plus other fantastic articles. Can’t even buy one tutorial for that!
For a polymer bezel similar to traditional metalsmithing bezels, take a look at Tina Holden’s tutorial on her blog here. She shares her basic bezel and then some ways to embellish that are very easy to do but give the bezels a very rich look.
For a dainty frame bezel frame with filigree, there is this classic filigree tutorial here. If you stop after the first rim is placed on and cured, you have a bezel frame for cabochons or cut polymer sheets. But the filigree stuff is fun if you have the patience for it. The text’s English may sound a little wonky because it will be translated but it’s worth trying nonetheless.
If you want, or need, to create bezels quickly, you might want to look into purchasing Cabezel molds from Shades of Clay. These molds allow you to create a frame and a perfectly fitting cabochon for it in seconds. Once you have the basic frame molded you can expand on the setting in the area beyond the bezel frame or embellish the bezel itself so although it’s a mold, it has a lot of room for customization. Shades of Clay is a great resource for all kinds of unique polymer related supplies as well. (Keep in mind, this is a Canadian retailer, so the pricing is in Canadian dollars although Wendy does ship via USPS. To estimate what it will be in US dollars, deduct about 25%.)
Got Bezels?
Do you have any great bezels of your own? Or are you aware of any other great tutorials for polymer bezels? Leave links and comments in the comment section below. If you get the this by email click here to leave a comment. Myself and many a reader here would love to see more.
Just flew in from Australia yesterday so I’m a bit jetlagged still but I wrote up some thoughts on the plane and pulled some pretties to demonstrate some more ideas on passion in your art, so here goes.
If you are reading this, chances are, you are passionate about art, either creating it or supporting its creation. Can we take just a few spare seconds to admire and be amazed by that passion of yours? I’d suggest that you stop at this moment and really let the emotion of that passion of yours come to the forefront, letting it blossom in the memory of what drives you to create or be supportive of creativity. Can you feel it? Close your eyes if you don’t feel it yet and just give it a few seconds to come to the surface so I can pose a few questions while that emotion is coursing through you.
Got it now? Okay. So, tell me … what color is your passion? Close your eyes if you need to and see what color blooms in your mind.
Then ask, does your passion have a temperature? Is it cool and constant or warm and rolling? Or something else entirely?
What does it act like? Is it like a soft, persistent wind, or a crashing ocean or something in between?
It doesn’t matter what metaphors you come up with for the feeling, you just want something concrete to hold onto. With those sensations and images in mind now, ask yourself, is that feeling there when you sit down to create? Does that passion spill out onto your worktable and direct your work? Does it drive you to come up with ideas or search out and soak up great art and other inspiring sights and sounds?
With all these metaphors and answers in your mind, I want to ask the core question that just couldn’t be put forth until you were in the right mindset:
Do you like what you create and why you create?
That might sound like a strange question because who would continue to create art while not liking it? Well, many of us do. That’s been at the heart of several conversations I’ve had recently, all related to trying to make a living from creative endeavors. That need to pay one’s bills is not the kind of drive that we really want to direct our work if fulfilling our passion is at all a goal of ours.
The fact is, letting out your passion and letting it guide you feel risky because you are putting a bit of yourself out there into the world in that process. Or a lot of yourself sometimes. It’s scary, isn’t it, putting your latest work out, wondering what people will think, whether it will sell or whether the receiver will like it? But it’s thrilling too, especially when people respond to it, when they connect to your work and to you. It’s a serious high.
You deserve to get that high on art. Don’t you think?
High on Creativity
I bet you can spy those artists who do get that high on a regular basis, people who let their passion run wild and lead their work. Here are just a few of my personal favorites but start thinking of your own as I go through them.
One of the first people that comes to mind is Ellen Jewett. She has worked in polymer, epoxy, and paper clay, using no tools but her hands and a brush, and makes only what she wants to make. Here is but one of her mind-blowing sculptures.
Her work is born of a unique and driving passion. In her own words:
At first glance my work explores the more modern prosaic concept of nature: a source of serene nostalgia but this is balanced with the more visceral experience of ‘wildness’ as remarkably alien and indifferent. Upon closer inspection of each ‘creature’ the viewer may discover a frieze on which themes as familiar as domestication and as abrasive as domination fall into sharp relief. These qualities are not only present in the final work but are fleshed out in the process of building. Each sculpture is constructed using an additive technique, layered from inside to out by an accumulation of innumerable tiny components. Many of these components are microcosmic representations of plants, animals and objects. Some are beautiful, some are grotesque and some are fantastical. The singularity of each sculpture is the sum total of its small narrative structures.
I encourage you to take the time to read her full artist statement. You may be surprised by her approach and amazed by her insights into her own work and purpose.
I have found that many of insanely passionate artists are also similarly intense thinkers. Some of these passionate thinkers take their love of art a step further by sharing their passion through education as a way to spark and inspire the creativity of others. Christine Dumont is just such an artist, giving polymer and mixed media artists a place to push themselves and grow through her website Viola and its related projects.
Her own work comes about as a result of intense exploration. She does not create to sell, and I think this gives her a freedom that an artist dependent on their work for their income may find harder, although not at all impossible, to achieve.
Christine will actually be in Switzerland teaching this mix of polymer and metal September 14-15, 2019. If you are interested in joining the class, you can message her directly through her website.
As demonstrated by Christine’s passion for teaching, a creative passion doesn’t have to manifest itself purely in your art. Teaching, which takes a particular passion of its own, is just one alternate avenue to steer one’s creative passions. Giving back to others is another way. We had a whole section of community recognition for polymer artists who give back in our first edition Polymer Journey in 2016. We have so many giving and generous people in this community! One of those beautiful people is Wendy Moore who I had the unparalleled pleasure of staying with this past week in Canberra, Australia.
Her creative passion was intertwined with a passion to give back to others when she founded the Friends of Samunnat alongside Nepalese lawyer Kopila Basnet, to help support and give independence to women who were victims of violence. Wendy’s passion and empathy for others is seen directly in her art as well, including this piece I photographed at her home but which you can also find in the Polymer Journeys 2019 edition. It is a representation of her “confusion and angst relating to issues about how we move forward in relationships with Australia’s indigenous people.”
Wendy’s passion has not gone unnoticed outside the polymer community either. It was recently announced that she has been awarded the 2019 Order of Australia medal by the Australian Governor-General for her contribution to the international community of Nepal! This is one of a set of awards and appointments the Australian government uses as a principal way of recognizing outstanding citizens. Join me in a big congratulations to (a probably very embarrassed and blushing) Wendy Moore. Read more about the award along with her interview in this article here.
And you can also look forward to reading in depth about Wendy, her journey, her work, and her life in issue #4 of The Polymer Studio later this year, so keep up those subscriptions!
Here are a few pics from my time with Wendy. I’ll get more photos of the trip up on Facebook where you are welcome to follow me.
Wendy and I contemplating the insanity of this immense tapestry which recreated a much smaller painting in every nuance. At the Australian Parliament house’s Great Hall.
Forest labyrinth built by some passionate creative person in the bush just beyond Wendy’s house. Wendy and I are walking it with my step-daughter and Wendy’s granddaughter.
Photos by Brett Varon
There are so, so many other artists I could point out as examples of deeply passionate people who let that passion drive the work they do, both in and outside the studio. But this is all I have in me to write just now. Right now, I am very passionate about sleep!
However, I would encourage you to continue this search for passion in your daily perusals of artwork online. I would challenge you to keep an eye out for work in which the artist’s passion is intensely obvious and try to imagine the emotion and drive that they must have to create the wonderful work they share with us.
If you aren’t feeling a glimmer of what you think these dynamos must have, perhaps it’s time to assess what you are doing and why. Perhaps you need to infuse your work with new inspiration and materials (as suggested in last week’s post) or maybe you would be more fulfilled spending some of your time teaching (which might include writing articles for publications like The Polymer Studio. Check out our guidelines.) or maybe you need to step back and ensure you are creating in a fulfilling and meaningful way for you, not just for your customers. If your work is infused with your passion, you’ll sell it and you’ll get noticed. Just note how highly passionate art grabs your attention!
Okay, off for more sleep so I can hit the ground running on Monday as I aim to get Issue #3 off to the printer in early July. It’s shaping up to be a really gorgeous issue but I’m still having my challenges here as the house is still in various stages of construction (the worst of it being there are no working sinks except the one in the garage) but the bones of the kitchen are in so that is awesome! Now I can start working on the back-splash I designed. Well, maybe after this next issue if off to the printer.
In the meantime, have a wonderful, inspired, and passionate week!
First, a quick announcement … the new Polymer Journeys 2019 book is now available for pre-orders!
As usual, we offer a HUGE discount for pre-ordering: $7 off the print edition cover price and $4 off the digital edition. So jump to our website to pre-order this great tome of beautiful polymer art with artist’s insights into their work as well as a historical retrospective that we hope will help continue to elevate how people see polymer in the art world and beyond.
Now onto a Bevy of Bezels …
What is your favorite kind of polymer bezel setting? Would you say you even have one? Let’s be honest, when it comes to bezels do most of us really give them a lot of thought? Some people really do but I think for many of us, when we do create one, it is probably not much more than a functional element we need in order to hold and maybe frame a stone or focal element. So, I thought this week we would take a look at what else you could do and where you can take the functional, and often essential, bezel.
Like any other element on your jewelry that can be seen, a bezel is a part of the piece’s design and so their form and finish should be quite consciously decided, which means, with polymer clay there’s a tremendous range of things that can be done with it. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the bezel been simple and primarily functional, as long as it makes sense for the design.
That said, let’s get to the interesting point … there is so much you can do with bezels and bezel style settings in polymer clay! I could yammer on and on about all the things you can do but I think it’s better to just show you. Make notes and start considering what you do with the clay that holds in the focal pieces on your creations and how you can expand on it.
A World of Bezels
One of my favorite bezel-ers, Chris Kapono, has the most wide-ranging ways to hold down a stone with polymer. Her tile and home decor pieces are also a great examples of how bezels can be used for pieces other than jewelry. She has many more tricks up her sleeve in this regards as seen on her Flickr photostream and in her Etsy shop.
Susan Waddington has always been one of my favorite polymer bezel makers. Her bezels are almost always black but are formed into pretty much anything but a basic square or circle and they are textured and inset with additional embellishments to work with the focal piece. This one may be a decade old but it is still inspiring as is her entire collection shown on her Flickr page. I don’t think she does much polymer any more so you have to scroll down past her paintings although looking through them is no hardship either.
A bezel can also be made from individual bits, all lined up. As seen in this pendant by Elsie Smith. The setting around this bezel continues the radiating lines that those lined up little squares start around the gem.
A bezel does not have to be symmetrical, continuous, sit with the stone or focal point straightforward or even completely surround what it’s holding. These pendants by Switzerland’s Chandani of ChaNoJa Jewerly on Etsy give you a few examples of non-traditional bezel settings with polymer.
And don’t be afraid to consider creating, or having a metalsmith create, metal bezels to put your polymer clay creations into. Making her own custom precious metal bezel settings is standard for Grace Stokes’ beautiful jewelry as seen here.
The How-Tos of Polymer Bezeling
Now, if you’ve not created polymer bezels before, or you would like a refresher or some jump-start, hands-on ideas, there quite a number of tutorials and such that you can reference.
Here’s a super quick way to make a bezel that works especially well for small round stones and crystals.
- Roll up a ball of clay about the width of the stone you want to set
- Press the ball flat but not too thin then press the stone or crystal into it.
- Gently push the sides of the clay in towards the stone so that the clay sits up around its edges and holds it in. At this point it can be further embellished with powders.
- Then just scoop it off your work surface using a blade and place it on your piece, maybe with just a tiny touch of liquid polymer to guarantee its adhesion.
- You can embellish it further here too. Just impress dots or lines into it with a needle tool, being careful not to move the clay away from the stone’s edge and lose its grip on it.
That’s it! It’s a super quick and easy bezel. It can be used on other shapes besides round too. You just have to shape the clay to the same size and shape as the stone before you press it into the clay.
By the way, you can see this quick set bezel and how I often use them in Issue #1 of The Polymer Studio in my tutorial, “Shimmering Scenery Pendants”. That same tutorial also shows you how to make an easy polymer clay frame which can readily be used as a bezel setting in addition to the techniques use for frame setting surface treated polymer sheets. Get your issue or a subscription if you don’t have it already. Single issues are only $7.95 in print, $5.95 digital, and that’s for eight detailed tutorials plus other fantastic articles. Can’t even buy one tutorial for that!
For a polymer bezel similar to traditional metalsmithing bezels, take a look at Tina Holden’s tutorial on her blog here. She shares her basic bezel and then some ways to embellish that are very easy to do but give the bezels a very rich look.
For a dainty frame bezel frame with filigree, there is this classic filigree tutorial here. If you stop after the first rim is placed on and cured, you have a bezel frame for cabochons or cut polymer sheets. But the filigree stuff is fun if you have the patience for it. The text’s English may sound a little wonky because it will be translated but it’s worth trying nonetheless.
If you want, or need, to create bezels quickly, you might want to look into purchasing Cabezel molds from Shades of Clay. These molds allow you to create a frame and a perfectly fitting cabochon for it in seconds. Once you have the basic frame molded you can expand on the setting in the area beyond the bezel frame or embellish the bezel itself so although it’s a mold, it has a lot of room for customization. Shades of Clay is a great resource for all kinds of unique polymer related supplies as well. (Keep in mind, this is a Canadian retailer, so the pricing is in Canadian dollars although Wendy does ship via USPS. To estimate what it will be in US dollars, deduct about 25%.)
Got Bezels?
Do you have any great bezels of your own? Or are you aware of any other great tutorials for polymer bezels? Leave links and comments in the comment section below. If you get the this by email click here to leave a comment. Myself and many a reader here would love to see more.
