Collecting Varied Influences

October 19, 2016

ivana-brozova-pod-pendantsAlthough we regularly look at artwork once piece at a time, there is much to learn from looking over a collection of work, especially when the work has a lot of great variation.

We have not seen any work from Ivana Brozova recently as she was on a 10 month hiatus, traveling all over southeast Asia. I was curious to see what inspiration would come from that and although I don’t know how directly these pieces were influenced by her travels, these forms and colors certainly feel like they could come from the lush forests of Asia. They are also obviously based on things she’s done before but there is maturity in the details, especially looking at them as a group. Her material for hanging these necklaces is vastly different from one piece to the next. The treatment of the walls of the focal pod also varies as does the coloring and application of the color. The result is a series with each piece feeling quite different from the next although they are so much the same in form and construction. It gives you a good idea of some of the areas you can play with as you explore variation in your own work.

You can see how Ivana has developed variation in her past work as well as bookmark her pages to check in for future pretties on her Flickr photostream.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Play with the functional aspects of your work. If you do jewelry, try out vastly different types of findings, chains, and cords. If you do decor, try a different type of material to apply the polymer too or a completely different kind of vessel or form. If you do wall art, research unique ways to hang it that can be incorporated into it’s composition and design.

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Shining off Canes

July 1, 2016

Jana Roberts Benzon shine pendantI am still in the midst of traveling, although I am feeling a little giddy on the overdose of art I took in the last day and a half as a we wandered about Paris waiting to take our bus down to Toulouse last night. I’m going to share one more beautifully polished piece, then next week I will be settled in the south of France and we’ll see what I find among the polymer pals and the little villages we’ll be exploring.

In the meantime, enjoy a simple but perfectly polished pendant by the amazing Jana Roberts Benzon. I picked this one for two reasons … one, it really displays how well cane shows when the surface is so well finished. Also, this image comes from a page with a tutorial for making this impressive little piece. So there’s a little project for you to do this weekend to practice that challenge I posed Monday to work on perfecting the finish in your work. The beauty and impact of a beautiful finish will make the effort well worthwhile!

If you’re wondering what Jana has been up to lately, take a look at her website and her Flickr photostream as well as checking out her classes on CraftEdu, her own DVDs, and her workshop schedule. She is definitely a great person to learn from.

Passez un bon week-end!

 

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Polished Consideration

June 27, 2016

Noelia Contreras C063Who doesn’t enjoy a flawless finish? A smooth and highly polished finish in polymer is particularly attractive and those of us who have tried to reach this pinnacle of skill are awed by it. I’ve seen quite a bit of nicely polished finishes lately including this beautiful set by Noelia Contreras.

This is a simple, fun, and colorful design that could hold its own without the finish, but the high polish takes it up a level, making it particularly eye catching.  The blacks look blacker and the colors appear brighter because of the clean reflection of light. This kind of finish takes a little longer than a basic sand-and-buff and is sleeker and classier than a varnish short cut, but the results are so worth it.

These polished finishes are common in Noelia’s work, as is her very particular attention to all the details of a piece. Take a few minutes to admire her skill on her Flickr pages and in her shop.

 

 

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: In your next piece, or with a piece you have already created but could benefit from a bit more attention, practice your flawless finishes. This will mean different things for different people as not every piece should be polished or flawless. The idea is that your piece is carefully and skillfully finished off in a fashion that matches the type of work it is. If you are going for smooth, take the time to polish it to the best of your ability. If it is rough or layered, be particular about the cuts you make, the backs, and the edges.

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Subtle Contrast

June 2, 2016

Tatiana Lipatova

I’m sorry this blog is getting out a day late. Did you miss it? I really try not to do that, but it’s been a challenging week hence my being drawn to things that are a little off from what one might expect. I would use the word blemished except that I find this kind of work so lovely. This piece looks a lot like things I have been working on this past year, however, its creator Tatiana Lipatova, is in Russia. So, I know we haven’t exchanged notes, but then other people have been working with this kind of creeping texture on their pieces.

This necklace uses a subtle contrast with a shiny set of hollow beads–donut beads, of sorts, although off center and squared off–and unusual leather wrappings as well as this calcification-like texture. It looks like the texture was added from a treated sheet, one that was hand tooled, unless she has a stamp like this and she did a Sutton slice kind of thing. Regardless, the texture ties in the cleanness of the smooth bead with the roughness of the leather and other textured beads here. It doesn’t hurt that this is a color palette I am often drawn to use myself. Warm metals have such a sense of life to them, don’t they.

It was a challenge to find Tatiana, very much buried in her world in St. Petersburg, I think. But she has some really lovely pieces, most not going the way of faux decay either. Although it’s the European version of Facebook, no matter where you are in the world, you should still be able to browse her photos here. Do take the time to scroll down a ways as you browse. Her style keeps changing and beautiful little treasures keep popping up for you to admire.

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Take two very different styles, textures, materials, or colors and create a third element that you feel can tie them together. Design or create a new piece from this triad of subtle contrast.

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Stitching it All Together

May 30, 2016

tanya mayorova stitches pendantSome days we are drawn to things primarily because they seem to reflect our state of mind, our emotions, or the thoughts that are taking up the majority of our time. I think that is the case today. So, what does this pendant have to say about where my thoughts are at?

We are wrapping up the Summer issue which has been taking far longer than usual to get all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted. When things do not go as planned, you find ways and tear things down and put them back together until they fit and then you hope you did a good job and that it will all hold. That’s been my past week so it’s no wonder I am drawn to a mosaic piece with what looks like random stitching.

This pendant by Tanya Mayorova has some gorgeous textures and colors and once you stop thinking about the metal wire stitching, you can just get lost in what each little square encompasses. This is also a bit like my mind right now. Lots of things going on, in their separate little boxes in my brain, each with their draw and their importance. I don’t know if these were all scrap pieces or if any were particularly made for this but it’s a great idea to put together pieces of your other work into one. The piece would represent that set of work, where your color palettes lean, and what textures and techniques you have been working on. It would be a three dimensional snap shot of your recent work.

More beautifully stitched together polymer can be found on Tanya’s Flickr photostream, her Live Journal pages, and her Live Master shop

 

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create the conglomerate piece, a snapshot of your recent work, as described above, in whatever form most appeals to you.

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Wearing a Garden

May 16, 2016

Christina Butler garden bowlLast 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.

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A Relationship of Lines

April 11, 2016

12768184_370844913085808_8932626980699712895_oI have had this in my collection to share for a few weeks, but I hadn’t been able to figure out who the artist was until today. The image came from a Facebook post … that’s all I knew. Now, I am excited to introduce a new artist! Well, an artist that is new to me, I suppose. I haven’t learned a whole lot about her or her artistic story and history just yet.

I was intrigued by the mix of surface textures and the energy of the various lines used. The surface is both impressed with a controlled and deliberate pattern, probably hand tooled, then a central bit of random cracking, then a predictable pattern of swirling copper. They are all highly energetic lines, each doing their own thing independent of the others but nested the way they are and all in a muted orange of some sort, they work together.

The use of line and its energy as well as warm muted colors are even carried into the stringing and connectors of this piece. It makes for a lot of interest and movement but with a very cohesive feel.

After searching and searching, using Google image searches and looking through Facebook for artists with the initials MB, I finally got a hit and the mystery was solved. This necklace was created by Martina Burianova. You can find her on Facebook or check out her work on her website.

 

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Create a surface texture with at least three different types of lines in it. Create cohesiveness by choosing another element or two (color, material, texture, etc) they all have in common. You can make three separate elements, each with different line qualities, then work on arranging them so they have a visual relationship that creates a balanced design, or just dive in working on one surface with line qualities intermixed.

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The Paper and Polymer Advantage

izabela-nowak-upcycling-collierMy little contribution to the Spring issue of The Polymer Arts is an article on ways to combine paper with polymer. I did a lot of research to see if there was anything else I could share with readers beyond what I had done in the past with paper casting and collage style techniques and … wow! There are tons of ways paper can be used to kick up your work. It offers ways to make production less expensive and pieces lighter for castings and as cores for large beads, it can add interesting textures both tactile and visual, and, because it can go in the oven at polymer clay curing temperatures, it can be used over, under, inside of, and just about any way you want it with your raw clay and it all can go into the oven together.

My foray into paper and polymer came initially from looking for less expensive and less noxious ways to cast sculpted pieces I had created in polymer and wanted to duplicate. I went on to use the material as a substrate, to make light sculptural and bead cores and to make hollow beads. But the things they are doing with paper in the craft world is amazing, and looks a lot like polymer sometimes. From mokume-like carved stacks of paper to rolled beads to textured, stamped, and molded paper–the work is beautiful and a very direct source of inspiration for polymer artists. If you haven’t seen what I am talking about just google something like “paper jewelry” or “paper craft” on Google, Pinterest, Etsy or Flickr. It’s fascinating.

The other super cool thing about paper craft is that much of it is being made from recycled and upcycled paper sources. I do all my paper casting using junk mail and old newspapers and my collage work is from magazines I would otherwise just throw away. But those are not the only sources of paper we can recycle and combine with polymer pieces. This necklace by Izabela Nowak is a beautiful example of where using a paper source rather than polymer has a distinct advantage.

All those discs are cut from milk and juice cartons. Creating something like that with polymer would be intensely time-consuming and curing extremely thin polymer and keeping it flat takes a few tricks. I am not saying its impossible–I’ve done it myself–but why do that if you can get a similar effect while keeping more trash out of a landfill? And  … it’s cheap or free! You gotta love that.

Izabela actually does a ton of work in paper and upcycled materials. She doesn’t often combine her polymer and paper but I find the pieces in which she doe, more interesting than the paper alone. The polymer adds solidity and texture the paper can’t and the paper offers crisp edges and smooth surfaces that are more difficult to do in polymer. So together, they make quite the pair!

Get your copy of the Spring 2016 issue of The Polymer Arts for this and other great article sure to get your creative juice flowing!

 

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Search for paper craft, paper jewelry, or recycled art and find a piece you are drawn to. Don’t spend a lot of time looking. Then figure out what that one thing is that is really drawing you to that piece. Use that element … whether it’s the way the work was created (rolled, folded, molded), the form of the piece, or even the combination of colors, and use it to design or create your next piece.

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Saying Goodbye to Dotty

March 2, 2016

Bobbinbeads2One of our more influential and certainly well loved polymer pioneers, Dotty McMillan, passed away last weekend. She wrote two polymer books that are easily the most leafed through editions I have on my shelf, and I know this is true for others as well. Once I was hooked on polymer, I went out and bought a half-dozen books. Dotty’s Creative Ways with Polymer Clay was the book I continuously returned to in order to learn the material and challenge my budding skills. Plus, being a fellow writer (she wrote novels–suspense thrillers, or as she says “scary stuff”–as well as polymer books), I felt a kinship with her. We never met, having only had a few email conversations, but she was such a sweetheart and the things being posted about her life now, her amazing marriage and the way she helped and touched so many lives, fills out a picture of a very extraordinary woman who I think we must, at the very least, bow our heads to and thank for all she gave in her time with us.

So today we’ll look at her work. This necklace of Dotty’s is created on sewing bobbins. I’m not sure if she was the first to do this, though she did come to it on her own, but her love of bold colors and vibrant patterns makes the bobbin bases rather irrelevant. She definitely has brighter and more colorful versions, but I think this piece just glows with that intense contrast of bright metallic color against the black. This necklace, like most of her work, is a simple but solid design that can be appreciated for its timelessness, for its sense of fun, and beauty for its own sake.

If you are unfamiliar with Dotty’s polymer books, all you need to do is jump over to your favorite online seller and put in her name. They are filled with timeless projects and tips for all skill levels. You can also see more of her work on her Photobucket pages.

There is not much else to be done or said in the wake of someone’s passing, but we can say that we were so lucky to have her as part of our community and many of us will be forever grateful for the inspiration and instruction that allowed us to work towards our own dreams.

 

Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Open a polymer book (or website if you don’t have access to polymer books) and randomly open the pages until you find something that includes an element you find intriguing. If you treasure your Dotty McMillan books, I would encourage you to go to those books. Design or create a piece using one of the elements you see in the project or piece of art you found as your starting point. For instance, if you saw the bobbins necklace, you might be inspired by the bright metallic on black, which you can use as the central idea to start a new design.

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A Lack of Absolutes

October 25, 2020
Posted in ,

Helen Breil’s variations lean on the principles of emphasis and movement using line, in particular, to create a feeling of unity and a sense of complexity even though these are not particularly intricate. The design just feels so complete and satisfying.

Do you feel, or have you felt, that design is a very confusing subject? I wanted to ask because as of next month, we dive into the PRINCIPLES of Design. We’ve been working on Elements thus far. Yes, there are two categories to define the ways we use design. So, before I go further, let’s define those.

Elements of Design – the components used to create designs. They are like the ingredient in a recipe, only they are not the materials or tools you use but rather the individual elements you create with them.

Elements of Design (my list for mixed media arts) include:

    • Line
    • Marks
    • Color
    • Shape
    • Form
    • Texture

Principles of Design – the concepts used to arrange and organize the elements of design. These are like the methods and choices used to combine the ingredients in a recipe in order to create the desired outcome.

Principles of Design (as I am going to teach it here) include:

    • Balance
    • Movement
    • Contrast<->Variety
    • Emphasis<->Hierarchy
    • Repetition<->Rhythm
    • Scale<->Proportion
    • Unity<->Similarity

Don’t they look so manageable in those simple lists? Well, Elements does, I’m sure. Principles … they are concepts, so they’re more complicated. But don’t worry. I’ve been fiendishly sneaking them in all along so you are actually familiar with many of them if you’ve been reading my blog even for just this year. Just in the last couple months, I’ve been drilling in the ideas of contrast, similarity, movement and even a bit about scale.

There may be two separate lists above but they are completely dependent on each other. You can’t use principles with out the elements to create with and you can’t create with elements without the principles pushing you, consciously or unconsciously, towards the beauty and satisfaction that comes from a good design.

 

The Ultimate List of Design

Now, you may be asking yourself, why are the notations above about these lists my version? Aren’t these things standardized? Well, unfortunately, they are not and that’s the crux of the problem I want to peel open today.

When I talk about elements and principles of art and design, I’m giving you what I believe would be the best set of these for what we do in polymer and mixed media art. If you go online and search for just a list of the Principles of Design, you will find everything from a list of 5 up to a list of 20 principles. That’s pretty crazy!

It is understandable when some people think one or two things don’t belong on a list but when you regularly get this whole range, with some items paired up (like I did above) and others listing those same paired items as separate and distinct concepts, it can really make you wonder how you will ever learn the “right” set of concepts?

To make it simple (but possibly no less frustrating), I’m here to tell you there is no single ultimate list of elements or principles of design. And, no, it’s not because people have different opinions, although they do, but it has to do with the type of creative work each source assumes the reader will be considering.

These lists of elements and principles change to best serve the medium the writer or instructor assumes you, the reader, are dealing with. For instance, in painting and illustration, value is its own element discussed outside of color because value is what allows painters to define dimensionality, space, and perspective in the work. Our work in craft is primarily dimensional to begin with which is why I simplified my list to included value as part of the color element discussion.

Likewise, mark making in crafts is extremely important while mark making in graphic design is nearly nonexistent or is replaced with the concept of motif or pattern. And motif is an extremely important element in interior design but it is usually a side note, if even that, in fine arts.

So, all those lists out there are customized and created for the particular creatives the creator of the list believes will be using it. Right? Right!

I just wanted to clarify that before we jump in the principles of design so if any of you have learned or been taught something different than the list I’m going to give you, you understand why. I do believe my lists will best serve you as a mixed-media artist but you are welcome to build your own as needed.

The bottom line here… Don’t worry about whether you’ve got design terminology down precisely. Worry about understanding the concepts, identifying them, and working with them.

 

Ack! What’s a Creative to Focus On?

If all these lists and their imprecise ways make you feel like you’re going to hyperventilate, take heart. When it comes down to it, there are really just a few things you need to focus on as I can distill what I am trying to teach you into just three things. If you concentrate on these, you can just read my posts and the club’s mini-mag content and all this design knowledge will work its way into your brain by osmosis:

Your Artistic Keys:

  1. Create with intention, whatever that means to you.
  2. Draw your intention from that authentic and unique core that is you.
  3. Aim to make conscious, intentional design choices on every aspect of your work.

If you can do these three things, you can and will be an incredible and fulfilled artist. The rest – the terminology, concepts, elements and such – you can gather like you do art supplies. You pick them up as you can and then use them at every opportunity that makes sense. It would be great if you actually thought of them as new shiny tools and materials on your studio table. They can be, and usually are, the most valuable tools you have at hand.

 

The End of Free Lessons is Nigh!

In the coming months, the Principles of Design lessons, although they will continue to appear here in some fashion, will be largely moving to the weekly Devotee Club mini-mags. I need to start transitioning the bulk of my content to the Club content as the full free lessons were intended just to help get us all through this tumultuous year, but I do have to get back to bringing in the funds so I can keep at it!

So … if you have been enjoying the lessons you’ve had here in recent months, come join the club! Not only will you be getting the full lessons, but I also have a lot of other content from tips on living a creative life to community news to subscriber only specials and first dibs on new products.

And for the rest of this month, get a 14 day free trial! Offer ends October 31st.

(By the way, the Success Club, which combines coaching with the weekly content, is full, in case you are wondering when you get to the page and don’t see it to add to the cart. I am taking names for the waiting list only at this time.)

Come support your design knowledge, creative growth, and these Tenth Muse Arts projects with a subscription to the Devotee Club. Just click here.

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Preciousness

October 4, 2020
Posted in , ,

Kathleen Nowak Tucci going big with not-so-precious intertubes and other disposables.

What would you say if I suggested that you create a piece and then, after you are done, remove your favorite bit? Yes, I realize the request might be physically impossible without causing complete destruction but, alternately, what if I asked you to destroy something you just spent your valuable time and effort creating?

I know you might be wondering if this is some kind of dreadful crafty torture. Why in the world would anyone ask that of you and what would be the point?

Well, this was done to me and a couple dozen other classmates back in college… twice.

The first time was in a creative writing class. We brought in a piece we had been working on all week then were asked to highlight all of our favorite lines. We passed the highlighted sheets to the person next to us and then the professor asked that we scratch out all the highlighted lines in the story we had in hand.

Of course, all us sensitive little budding Hemingways and Dickinsons sat there stunned and appalled as our pieces were read aloud without the sparkling gems that we thought would certainly reveal our genius. Strangely enough, all but one of the pieces still made sense and sometimes, the author even admitted it sounded a bit better. The point was, the professor said, that we tend to fall in love with phrases or sentences and will leave them in even when they don’t serve the piece.

The point was that without our wittiest word choices we could, in theory, make better editing decisions. In art, is it possible that we could make better design decisions if we were willing to set aside the glitzy accents we love so much or not fall back on our favorite tried-and-true textures all the time?

The second time I had a professor crush my little angsty ego was in a ceramics class after we each had done a small series of slab vessels. The professor asked us to pick up our favorite piece, bring it to the center of the room, and hold it up. We were then asked if we would be willing to drop it from a height into the trash bin that sat there. Of course, no one did it at first and he just stood there waiting until a couple brave souls let their pieces go. Then the pressure was on for the rest of us to follow. Even though I wasn’t particularly attached to the piece I had in hand, it was still so hard to drop it but I did. I seem to recall that a handful of students did refuse.

Sounds like a real jerk of a professor to ask such a thing, right? Well, I have to say that, at first, that’s what I thought but then he started to talk about preciousness. His conversation had something to do with becoming too attached to particular pieces. He wanted us to put value on our process, our growth, and learning, not on impressing him or our classmates. I think he was also looking for a way to wake us up as he had been getting frustrated with our attention span during the lecture portion of the class. Well, he sure did that.

I remember thinking about that lesson some years later, when I was better able to take it in. It made me realize that each successful piece I made was really just a step in a journey more so than an end goal unto itself. That changed the way I looked at my work. And it somehow made me braver.

I still did, and do, have favorite pieces that I cherish and will never sell, but seeing the work as steps and creation as a process rather than an investment of time in an end goal has allowed me to work a bit more freely. I have a ton of pieces that remain unfinished, and although it’s disappointing every time to come to a point where you realize it’s not going to succeed how you wanted it to, I don’t have any qualms about setting it aside. I don’t see the work as wasted because I know I’ve gained a little bit more experience and a little better understanding of the process. I’ve let go of the preciousness I used to have about everything I made.

Preciousness arises not only in our valuing our time to such an extent that we will not give up on a piece even when it’s no longer salvageable, or ignoring possible design solutions because they would eliminate our favorite part, but it also happens with the material itself.

Liz Hall creates in polymer and (a lot of) precious metal clay.

Quite a few years ago, I was itching try precious metal clay but it really wasn’t in my budget. Then I found some at a really great price and bought it. But you know what? I never even opened the packages. I just couldn’t get myself to work with this very expensive material for fear I would ruin it. But, of course, it’s rather wasted now that I’ve had it so long that is not workable. Pretty stupid, right? But we can be like that, putting value on the material and not on the process and the joy that we get from learning and creating.

Preciousness is tied into fear and failure in a lot of ways. Our idea of what we think we can do or what we think we should be able to do may be so lofty or so dear and treasured that we are afraid to try, fearing that we will make a mistake and ruin our efforts or that it will not come out as we imagine it. So, we do nothing, which is the same as ruining it, just really early on.

We may also get to a point in a piece where we love it so much that we are afraid to take the next step, a step that might spoil it, and so we set it aside, with all the best intentions to take that next step at a future time but all we’ve done is deny, or even end, the work’s potential.

I thought we’d start out this month on the concept of preciousness because it felt like a good segue into discussing October’s design theme – size.

Preciousness is one of those factors that comes into play when we decide on the size or scope of the work we will take on. Our sense of preciousness can make us hesitate to do something large or particularly complex, as we may fear that we will invest a lot of effort, time, and materials into something we are not assured will be successful.

Julie Eake’s cane mosaic portrait of actress Sophie Turner was, like most of her cane mosaic portraits, a huge undertaking. But aren’t we glad she takes those risks?

But, again, have we not already failed by not attempting it in the first place?

If we looked at everything we create as precious, all the time and effort that we put into it as well as the finished work, we would have to play it rather safe in the studio. However, art is not about playing it safe.

Art is largely about the risks you take.

If you’re not taking risks, then are you actually creating art? There’s nothing wrong in creating just for that sense of accomplishment or the high of that Zen like flow we fall into when the work is familiar and comfortable. It is more than valid to have the process of making things with your hands be the primary purpose in what you do. However, it’s the hours of exploration, the failures, the false starts, our vulnerability, the deep digging, like miners looking for gold, that makes the work that we inevitably uncover truly art.

The risks we are willing to take is the thing that is truly precious.

 

So, keep the concept of preciousness in your mind as we talk about size this month. Of course, we’ll talk about variation and contrast in size since that is what is primarily being referred to when speaking of it as a design element, but there are other things about size that we can take into consideration as we create, move forward, and grow as creatives.

 

Speaking of considerations…this week, I am going to have to take my health into consideration, so although I do plan on preparing a blog for next weekend, if it ends up being short or skipped it’s because I’m having a little surgery towards the end of the week. It’s just my esophagus and I should recover in all of two days. I have to fit in all my usual physical therapy before then though, along with all the regular weekly business tasks so it will be a full week.

Don’t worry though – all you club members will get your Midweek Mini-Mag as usual including a goodies giveaway so you can look forward to that if you signed up for one of the clubs.

 

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Relationships in Texture

September 27, 2020
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Evgeniya Aleksandrova has a rough texture over everything here but varies the depth and pattern of the texture as well as the color.

Since we talked about tactile texture last week, it would seem logical that I would talk about visual texture this week.

But I’m not! I don’t want to be too predictable!

No, that’s not why. Actually, it’s that most of what needs to be said about visual texture has to do with the usual recommendation of choosing characteristics that fulfill your intention. If you read my blog, even sporadically, you’ve heard this before.

As long as you understand that visual texture is a purely visual variation on or within a surface (such as marbling, mokume, ikat, or any application of an ink, powder, dye or paint medium), then, as described in the post from the week before last, you can choose visual textures simply by coming up with adjectives to describe your intention and do likewise with possible visual textures and match them up based on similar adjectives. That is the core of the approach for working with visual textures.

So, that being established, I’d like to, instead, talk about another thing you’re also familiar with if you have been reading the blog for the past couple months but which we have yet to specifically associate with texture.

Creating a Relationship

Last month I talked about choosing color palettes in terms of contrast and similarities. But guess what? Combining different types of textures also plays by the same basic rules of contrasts and similarities.

I love how Joy Kruze echoes the spots in the stone with the spots of metal in the texture created in the spaces between the metal lines of her unusual bezel

Most work you create or look at probably has more than one texture. It could be a combination of smooth and rough textures or a variety of different rough textures or variations of smooth ones. You may often combine tactile texture and visual texture, as well. What these combinations all achieve is variation. Variation in texture is pretty instinctual for most creatives, as is a desire for variation in color.

The variation between textures can be heavily contrasted but, like color, it helps to have at least one similar characteristic so there is some relationship between them. With texture, you can actually use other design elements to create that relationship such as using the same or related color or a similar shape for the texture’ s space. Once you have that similarity, everything else can be contrasted.

But what about using similarities between the characteristics of the textures? For instance, you could create only rough textures but vary how that roughness is created. Or all your textures could be stippled holes but you vary the shape or size of those holes.

 

Just as you need similarities, you’re probably going to want variation, too, not only to create contrast, but also to create shapes, layers, and compositional direction (which we will get to later this year).

The Need for Variation

Variation, as always, adds some level of interest, energy, and complexity to your work and you can adjust how much you add of these by adjusting the variation between textures (or any design elements) – from subtle to bold or somewhere in between.

Let’s say you want to make a piece with a strong graphic look. You’ve already chosen hard edged graphic shapes and bold colors. What about the texture? You might choose a slick, glossy surface as a primary texture. Now, what other textures can be used to vary the surface but have it still related to a glossy one?

Hélène Jeanclaude creates glossy surfaces on all parts of this necklace but between mica shift and mokume, and the contrast of colors, she creates variation and lots of energy.

If you want to go subtle, you could stick with variations on smooth textures such as a matte or satin finish. Alternately, you can choose to rough up the surface but in a very orderly way similar to the orderliness of your graphic shapes. This can be done with a series of dense, parallel lines, or a dense but orderly mark.

As long as the marking of the surface is the only thing that changes, then all raised portions of the comparatively rougher texture will be glossy. That will give you your similar characteristic – the gloss of the smooth surface and the occasional gloss of the rough surface.

This is not to say that you can’t have textures that are completely and utterly different. The extreme contrast could be, in and of itself, a relationship. That difference will cause tension or discordance, but that could be exactly what you want.

Here are just some of the characteristics in texture that could create similarity or contrast:

  • Tactile or visual
  • Smooth or rough
  • The quality of the finished surface (glossy, satin, matte, or chalky)
  • Type of mark, technique, or tool used to create the tactile or visual texture
  • Organic versus graphic styles
  • Size (how much space each texture takes up)
  • Direction (if the texture visually flows or moves from one part of the piece to the other)
  • Shape of the space it is applied to

A visual texture shows variation in density and repetition of the dots that make up this surface. Melanie Ferguson actaully etched the surface and then polished it with cold was so she has smooth tactile but rough visual texture on her surfaces.

As you can see, other design elements can become quite intertwined with texture. Marks, lines, size, direction, and shape all can play a role in the similarity or contrast of areas of texture in your piece. It really doesn’t take much for us to see a relationship between textures. If it’s there, we’ll see or sense it and the design will feel more cohesive for it being there.

Since that texture relationship can be, and often is, developed through other design elements we work with, this is not always something you need to be wholly conscious of. But, if something in your work is not looking right, check for the relationship between your textures as well as your colors and other elements.

And, if next time you are looking at your work and feel like it needs some contrast in its tactile or visual texture, just look at the dominant texture that you have and, using it as a starting point, choose possible other textures or design options that will create at least one similar characteristic, still provide contrast at the level that makes sense for you piece, and has characteristics that recall the theme of your work.

 

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So, if you enjoy my blog, support this while boosting your own creative endeavors by joining us in the Devotee Club or Success Club 0r buy yourself a good book or an inspiring magazine to curl up with. Just visit the website by clicking here.

 

Visual Contrast … Out of Doors!

Packing up to take the camper van conversion for a test drive up the coast, just one night. That’s been my little side project that I’ve been getting myself lost in for an hour or so most days. It’s not completely done but good enough for one night out for my better half and me. I need some contrast between life inside this lovely home of ours and the outside and distant world! So, I am off. I hope you all are looking for new and novel things to add a bit of excitment and contrast in your lives as well!

 

 

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You’ve Got to Move It, Move It

September 8, 2019
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What are some of the first choices you make when creating a piece? Do you ask yourself, what colors are you going to use? What forms to make? What textures, what themes, what techniques? Do you ever ask yourself, what kind of movement will this piece have?

Movement is not one of the primary options that come to mind for most people when designing. If movement or kinetic components are not essential to what you are doing, it may not come to mind until much later on, if at all. And yet, in three-dimensional work and especially in jewelry, this is an integral part of the design. Sometimes the idea of movement doesn’t come along simply because it is created through another avenue – visual movement is created by lines while physical movement is created by the chosen construction. But where and how you placed those lines or the choices about the construction are actually choices about movement.

Movement is one of my favorite things about creating in three dimensions. It took me a long time to be brave enough to work in pieces that move. Why does that take courage? Because a piece that moves changes and has not one look but a multitude of looks. We are used to seeing artwork, when on display or in photographs, facing us in one neutral position where it hangs or sits still. But just as sculpture in the round will look different as you walk around it, any object that is worn or used functionally will look different as the wearer moves or the user works with it, especially when it moves and that means you aren’t always going to be able to have complete control over what the viewer of the work will see because movement means a piece will change.

Movement is actually such a big part of design and I have so much to show you on this subject, that I’m going to split this up into two or three posts. Today let’s focus on work that has physical, kinetic movement and in jewelry in particular, but keep in mind that movement isn’t just for jewelry!

 

Moving Right Along

One way to add really dynamic movement that also forces you to just rip the Band-Aid off and give in to the constant change in composition that the movement will create is to dangle a lot of individual elements in a cluster. As you see in the necklace by Natalya Aleksandrova below, the gathering of elements is going to sway and rearrange itself as the wearer moves.

However, unlike the designs of this type that utilize wire, each bead element is on a leather cord looped around a thick collection of cords, a combination that limits the amount of movement since leather on leather does not move smoothly. If this was a single cord necklace, or better yet, a thick metal wire wrapping around the neck, and the elements were attached using metal wire loops, the beads would swing far more freely. Here the beads still move but, for what is normally a very kinetic type of design, that energy will be restrained. I think that actually works in this highly organic design as you rarely see organic elements in nature swinging as freely as these would if on metal loops.

 

The above is really a subtle example of what I think this next piece does really well. You see, you can use your choice of movement to add a touch of realism or connection to the real thing it represents or was inspired by. The feather set below is also Natalya’s work. You can see how well polymer can emulate the texture of a feather, but you know it could never move like one. Breaking these feathers up into multiple sections allows the pieces to flutter and at least harken back to the movement of a feather when on a bird.

 

Necklaces and earrings are not the only pieces that this kind of energetic movement can be added to. The pin you see opening this post is by Celie Fago and was originally created for Dan Cormier’s fantastic Broken Telephone Project. It is not the still little creation one might normally associate with brooches. The leaves of the pin flutter, not unlike leaves on a tree. The light and almost whimsical movement of the leaves plays well with the very open design and its flowing lines which themselves create visual movement (more on visual movement in a week or two).

 

Celie’s work also tends to include a lot of movement, so we’ll look at one more of hers as well, but this time her bracelets. Bracelets move up and down an arm, making movement almost inherent in the idea of a bracelet. Dangles and charms are also not uncommon for bracelets, especially chain types, but they are fairly uncommon for bangle versions. The way Celie adds movement to her bangles is genius – the rings and charms on these bangles move the way the bangle itself would move up and down an arm, like tiny bangles on the bangle. This type of movement creates some of the most dynamic movement you can get in a bracelet.

We’ve been looking at a lot of horizontal or circular compositions for movement but another way to have movement in a design is with a stack of elements that you hinge so they can swing somewhat independently. I love this design because the long vertical automatically gives the piece a sense of strength and boldness—characteristics intrinsic in vertical designs–especially when it’s really long. The movement as a kind of sophisticated energy because instead of pieces swinging in multiple directions, the whole line tends of beads or elements tend to move together.

Below is a piece by Carla Benedetti, with each component being attached to the one above it by jump ring hinges. The whole vertical line of elements will swing side to side and forward and back, fluidly, and all together. Using relatively large elements gives this vertical stack some weight which pulls the whole piece against the body when the wearer is upright and helps to keep the pieces lined up as it swings. In other words, the composition of this piece really doesn’t change even though it will move and sway. This allows for all the elements to be easily seen and gives you more control over the composition that the viewer will see while still harvesting the energy that movement imparts.

Let’s make this a two-pieces-per artists-post with a second piece by Carla! Another way to add movement while holding onto the composition somewhat, is to create layers of chains or beads that can move individually or altogether, to varying degrees. Multi-strand necklaces like the one below gives you the opportunity to change up and create contrast between the strands with both the forms, elements, type of strand, and even how much each one can move. For instance, the chained strands on here will move much more than the densely beaded ones. As a result, this piece has more dynamic energy than Carla’s vertical composition above, but the construction keeps it from being just a jumble.

 

I’m telling you there is so much to this whole movement in design thing. There are tons of examples of movements in pieces that are not jewelry, but I don’t seem to have time for that this post. Let me get a bunch of those together for you for next week and then maybe we’ll get to visual movement after that if we are all still having just a ton of fun with this.

 

If You’re Feeling Moved

I strongly believe that all choices in a piece of art should be intentional in order to bring out all the potential that your design has and, of course, that includes deciding how much, if any, movement your piece will have.

You can start thinking about movement now by looking at pieces that you’ve previously created or designs you have in progress on your table or in your sketchbook. Ask yourself, “Does this have movement or stillness and how well does that fulfill the need of the design?” Or, “Would this benefit from more movement, less movement, or no movement?”  If you can get yourself to regularly think about movement in your work, you’ll be thrilled with the many options you have to add energy, atmosphere, and interest in your pieces. All you need to do is think about how movement should or could play into your designs to have a myriad of new possibilities suddenly open up before your eyes.

 

All Quiet on the Home Front

Strangely enough, I very little to report on the house and health situation. This is not to say that I’ve not been extremely busy, because I have. Getting this house back together is quite the huge task and there are dozens upon dozens of little things that need to be taken care of, things that might be barely noticed by others except if they were not done or finished properly.

I have started to feel some work withdrawal, however, and I think it’s keeping me up at night because some nights I just can’t fall asleep even though I don’t have anything overly stressful on my mind. I think I just feel a little out of touch. Thank goodness I have this blog to look forward to so I can connect with all of you!

 

Last Days of the DAMAGE SALE

 

The last few days I actually did do a fair amount of work although it wasn’t in production or writing. We had our Damage Sale and, holy moly, was that crazy! We sold out of half the stock in the first two hours. I think that may be a record!

Feeling bad for anybody who didn’t get to read the newsletter right after it was sent out, I went through the unopened boxes in my storage space, opening and pulling out many of the so often damaged first and last copies in the boxes, and found some publications that took some damage during shipping that was unnoticeable until boxes were opened.

So, the sale items were restocked some and even today there are still a decent number of magazines and books, in slightly imperfect condition, that are available for up to 60% off. You can get to the sale page here.

The sale will go on through Wednesday September 11th, or until all items are sold out, whichever comes first. I only sell the imperfect copies for one week each year because it’s a bear to track them separately from the other items on an ongoing basis, so you’ll want to grab these deals now while they are still available.

 

Well I am off to work on the Mosaic backsplash I am creating for the kitchen. I promise to share that when there’s any real visual progress but right now it’s just a lot of cutting little tiles. Do enjoy the rest of your weekends and have a beautifully inspired and moving week!

 

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A Translucent Memory

September 22, 2017
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Easily the all-time favorite cover and one of the best-selling issues since 2012 was the Fall 2013 – Organics issue. I think this was, in large part, due to this fabulous cover art by Kathrin Neumaier. Kathrin was the most prolific and arguably most interesting artist working in translucent polymer clay. She created hollow forms in both the solid and the liquid forms of polymer with stunning results.

I remember getting this image from her and I knew it had to be the cover art for the issue. I didn’t even make any other covers or put it to a vote with the staff as I usually did. I laid this out while on “vacation” with my family on the Oregon coast and while they were off playing on the beach, I got to play with making this piece shine. I remember finishing it and just stepping across the room to look at it from a distance and it was just gorgeous, no matter how you looked at it.

I dug around to see what Kathrin has been up to but there haven’t been any postings since the end of 2016 so it’s not the most up-to-date news on her. I do hope she resurfaces, but in the meantime, enjoy the inspiring collection of work she has created and shared with us on Flickr.

If you don’t have a copy of this beautiful issue, I have only about a dozen copies left in print although they will always be available in digital. Grab your copy of this memorable issue on our website here.

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Alluring Interpretation

September 13, 2017
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Going sculptural in a jewelry direction, this piece really caught my eye back when and I never forgot it. There is something very alluring and even a bit Georgia O’Keefe about this piece. Here is the original post in which I was promoting the popular Summer 2012 – Recycle and Reuse issue:

With our focus on finishing the next issue (Recycle & Reuse theme with TONS of ideas for using scrap clay, canes, old pieces & parts, etc.) I’ve been attracted to work with this theme. This piece from the mysterious Joyce (JVL on Flickr) uses scrap from a prior class and a broken glass bead. It feels so alive, like a strange new anemone. Some things just come together, even better for not being planned.

As is turned out, the mysterious Joyce was Joyce Ramdan who created this piece during a class with Jana Roberts Benzon back then. Joyce seems to have wandered off into other crafts since then but has several examples of her reinterpretation of the technique, all of them quite beautiful, as you can see here on her Flickr. photostream.

 

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A Talented Hobbyist

September 8, 2017
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I’m so glad that this artist became easier to find and to read up on since the day I originally posted this. Cecilia Button does amazing work but still, she doesn’t sell it. Rather this is a hobby for her that she does in the very early hours of the day before running off to attend to her busy textile career.

Here is the post from January 31st, 2012:

“The ‘Pretty of the Day’ … off another non-English blog (Google so needs to pay me for sending people to their translator all the time!) She’s French, lives in Asia, only lists ‘Cecilia’ for her name and doesn’t sell her work, just gifts it. Lucky friends she has! http://mabcrea.space-blogs.com/

These days you can find more of her work on her her Flickr pages as her blog site has not been active since 2013, but is still rather revealing.

 

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Enticing and Entertaining

August 23, 2017
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The art jewelry at these events is also a big draw. There is nothing quite like seeing masterful polymer work in person.

Here is a gorgeous piece by Bonnie Bishoff. She wore it to the final gala event and I just could not stop looking at the delicate forms and sunset-like colors. The picture (and the poor lighting in these places) doesn’t quite do it justice.

Another bonus to coming to these events is the local color. In this case, Sherman Oberson, a board member of the IPCA and a local Pennsylvania resident, treated a small handful of us to a tour of his insanely packed and ever-entertaining collection of flea market and thrift store finds. We did this, in part, to honor Nan Roche whose birthday it was. A huge collector of the curious and visually enticing herself, it was a perfect birthday outing for her and an immensely entertaining evening for those of us who got to tag along.

Poke around on Instagram and Facebook for more on Sherman’s place and other Synergy events.

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Synergy Recap in Pictures

August 21, 2017
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First of all … the new Fall issue came out over the weekend! Get your texture fix with this issue, in a big way. If you have a digital subscription and have not seen your access email, check your junk mail folder. You should also be able to access it through your account here. If you have a print subscription, those went to the post office in Idaho on Friday so they are on the way too. If you do not have an active subscription or need to get your single issue copy, go to our website at www.thepolymerarts.com.

So this week we are going to have a parade of photos from Synergy 4 to include some beautiful art and some show shots for those who didn’t go but are trying to live vicariously through the community’s representatives that did.

The absolute best thing about going to these events is the people you get to meet and chat it up with. I think I may have said that last week but it’s true! The first picture here is just a sampling of the talent that was sitting behind me at breakfast one morning. How thrilled would you be to have the opportunity to sit down with Jeff Dever and Rachel Carren and listen in on their, no doubt, very insightful conversation? Or pull up a chair and say hello to Nan Roche and Melanie West? Or hang out at the same table with Christi Friesen, Bettina Welker, and Martina Weller? And you can at these things. People here, no matter what the skill level or how long they have been involved, are happy to talk to all the attendees. It is always illuminating what one can learn from others with the same passion.

I was grateful to get to talk to so many people but I was particularly happy to have a little time to sit down with our longtime polymer master, Marie Segal. She gave a talk about the new Cernit formulation–there has been improved strength, flexibility, and clarity that looks to rival the other better-known brands which got me quite excited to try it. If you like sampling clays to see what works best in what application, jump over to her shop and get yourself some new goodies at The Clay Factory.

 

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Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.

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