Outside Inspirations–Watercolor Texture
January 6, 2018
Inspirational Art
Trying something different this year may mean looking outside the polymer realm for new techniques pulled straight from other mediums. Our innovators all did that back when there were no techniques yet and many polymer artists still do. And why not? With the flexibility of polymer, it is not hard to work out a way to recreate effects or adapt other techniques.
Recently, I landed on a page of watercolors with a texture that I hadn’t seen before. With a little exploration, I found a how-to on a plastic wrap texture technique and just had to try it with polymer. The technique, as you can see on this page, is a simple application of crumpled plastic wrap which causes the watercolor pigment to pool where the plastic touches the paper. Although watercolors don’t do so well on polymer, I figured the technique should work with alcohol inks, with some adjustments. So I gave it a try.
The image on the top is from the link I just mentioned, from Dr. Anastasia Halldin’s blog site, HealthyMamaInfo.com. It’s watercolor on paper and is so simple, that almost all the pages I found instructions on were for kids. The one below is my experiment on polymer. It’s a sheet of pearl clay with the right side dusted and burnished with pearl mica powder. I did this because I wondered if I would need to keep the ink from sinking in too quickly and the mica powder and burnishing acts as a mild resist. As it turned out, I didn’t need it to make the ink pool and it came out brighter on the unburnished left side.
I did spray the whole polymer sheet with a good amount of alcohol before dropping the ink on it so there would be plenty of liquid to pool, then quickly but loosely laid down the plastic. It all pooled quite nicely. It took three hours to dry enough to remove the plastic so the technique takes some patience. I’ll play with texturing and stretching the sheet to see how that affects it. And maybe next time, I’ll texture the clay first to see what that does to the pattern. I might try watered-down acrylics, too, to see how that works and what can be done with it.
So, you see how just playing with the basic idea taken from watercolor can lead to all kinds of wonderful ideas? It’s also a lot of fun. So go out and research a little and then play a lot with the ideas you find out there from all corners of the art world!
Exploration in the New Year
January 2, 2018
Inspirational Art, Technique tutorials
First of all …. a very happy New Year and all the best to you this coming year! I am very excited to welcome 2018 and see what it has in store for us all. 2017 was a bit rough for so many of us, personally and globally, within our community and without. Every year has its challenges, of course, but I like to greet the new year with optimism and enthusiasm because it does represent so many new possibilities.
New possibilities may be about looking forward but it can be helpful to look back in order to create new and exciting futures. I’ve dug up a few interesting techniques from the past in order to, hopefully, spark some new ideas and encourage you to find new ways to use older techniques.
Let me tie into some of last week’s subjects. If you didn’t see the post about the silkscreen stencils on Friday, do check that company out. That would provide you with new designs, pre-made or custom, to try a new approach with. Then try a little something different, using multiple colors and controlled placement. I believe that is what Kleio Tsaliki was doing with these gorgeous sheets she created back in 2015. I am thinking she used stencils and pearlescent paints and, in the top two, taped off sections as she applied colors. Or maybe she is using a stencil sponge to control where the color goes, which would work for the more random placement seen in the bottom sheet.
It doesn’t matter that we don’t know how she did this as the ideas we are guessing at are quite worthy of a bit of exploration regardless. I have found some really cool, unintended effects when I have just been guessing at how other people have done the work. It just pushed me to think of new ways to approach familiar techniques.
A quick click on this link to her Flickr pages will show you the variety of sheets she created. And if you are not into guessing how she did it, she also has a tutorial on this stencil technique available in her Etsy shop.
Ruffled Polymer Fabric Explorations
June 22, 2015
Inspirational Art
This week, I’ve had my eye on some ruffled up polymer pieces. Greece’s Eleni Tsaliki has been quite busy lately with a fabric fold and ruffle technique that includes a variety of surface treatments and bright jewel colors, as well as metallics and cutout lace. It looks like her explorations have left no fold unturned in the possible treatments these thin sheets of clay can take on.
This Horizon Brooch shows just a few of her exploratory treatments, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A quick click on this link to her Flickr pages will show you the amazing variety and beautiful sheets she’s been creating. She also has a tutorial available in her Etsy shop to help you on your way to your own avid explorations.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
Trying something different this year may mean looking outside the polymer realm for new techniques pulled straight from other mediums. Our innovators all did that back when there were no techniques yet and many polymer artists still do. And why not? With the flexibility of polymer, it is not hard to work out a way to recreate effects or adapt other techniques.
Recently, I landed on a page of watercolors with a texture that I hadn’t seen before. With a little exploration, I found a how-to on a plastic wrap texture technique and just had to try it with polymer. The technique, as you can see on this page, is a simple application of crumpled plastic wrap which causes the watercolor pigment to pool where the plastic touches the paper. Although watercolors don’t do so well on polymer, I figured the technique should work with alcohol inks, with some adjustments. So I gave it a try.
The image on the top is from the link I just mentioned, from Dr. Anastasia Halldin’s blog site, HealthyMamaInfo.com. It’s watercolor on paper and is so simple, that almost all the pages I found instructions on were for kids. The one below is my experiment on polymer. It’s a sheet of pearl clay with the right side dusted and burnished with pearl mica powder. I did this because I wondered if I would need to keep the ink from sinking in too quickly and the mica powder and burnishing acts as a mild resist. As it turned out, I didn’t need it to make the ink pool and it came out brighter on the unburnished left side.
I did spray the whole polymer sheet with a good amount of alcohol before dropping the ink on it so there would be plenty of liquid to pool, then quickly but loosely laid down the plastic. It all pooled quite nicely. It took three hours to dry enough to remove the plastic so the technique takes some patience. I’ll play with texturing and stretching the sheet to see how that affects it. And maybe next time, I’ll texture the clay first to see what that does to the pattern. I might try watered-down acrylics, too, to see how that works and what can be done with it.
So, you see how just playing with the basic idea taken from watercolor can lead to all kinds of wonderful ideas? It’s also a lot of fun. So go out and research a little and then play a lot with the ideas you find out there from all corners of the art world!
Read MoreFirst of all …. a very happy New Year and all the best to you this coming year! I am very excited to welcome 2018 and see what it has in store for us all. 2017 was a bit rough for so many of us, personally and globally, within our community and without. Every year has its challenges, of course, but I like to greet the new year with optimism and enthusiasm because it does represent so many new possibilities.
New possibilities may be about looking forward but it can be helpful to look back in order to create new and exciting futures. I’ve dug up a few interesting techniques from the past in order to, hopefully, spark some new ideas and encourage you to find new ways to use older techniques.
Let me tie into some of last week’s subjects. If you didn’t see the post about the silkscreen stencils on Friday, do check that company out. That would provide you with new designs, pre-made or custom, to try a new approach with. Then try a little something different, using multiple colors and controlled placement. I believe that is what Kleio Tsaliki was doing with these gorgeous sheets she created back in 2015. I am thinking she used stencils and pearlescent paints and, in the top two, taped off sections as she applied colors. Or maybe she is using a stencil sponge to control where the color goes, which would work for the more random placement seen in the bottom sheet.
It doesn’t matter that we don’t know how she did this as the ideas we are guessing at are quite worthy of a bit of exploration regardless. I have found some really cool, unintended effects when I have just been guessing at how other people have done the work. It just pushed me to think of new ways to approach familiar techniques.
A quick click on this link to her Flickr pages will show you the variety of sheets she created. And if you are not into guessing how she did it, she also has a tutorial on this stencil technique available in her Etsy shop.
Read MoreThis week, I’ve had my eye on some ruffled up polymer pieces. Greece’s Eleni Tsaliki has been quite busy lately with a fabric fold and ruffle technique that includes a variety of surface treatments and bright jewel colors, as well as metallics and cutout lace. It looks like her explorations have left no fold unturned in the possible treatments these thin sheets of clay can take on.
This Horizon Brooch shows just a few of her exploratory treatments, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A quick click on this link to her Flickr pages will show you the amazing variety and beautiful sheets she’s been creating. She also has a tutorial available in her Etsy shop to help you on your way to your own avid explorations.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or an issue of The Polymer Arts magazine, as well as by supporting our advertising partners.
