Making Friends with Failure
December 22, 2013 Ponderings
This is a bit longer installment than I usually have on Sunday but I think this strip by Stephen McCranie explains so well how silly it is for us to be so hard on ourselves, to expect perfection in every piece we create, and to miss out on the lessons we can learn from our imperfect creations. It is well worth the read. Click on the image here to see the entire strip. Enjoy.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Outside Inspiration: Appreciating our Polishing
November 2, 2012 Inspirational Art
Jill Kollmann, a talented polymer artist and contributor to The Polymer Arts magazine, was at the Bowers Museum this past week for an exhibit and sale. In addition two artists were giving demonstration of their technique for polishing the surface of their pots. Their technique gave her pause.
“What they called “polishing” or “buffing” was actually burnishing with a highly polished very small smooth rock. After the plain pot is cured, they coat it with their favorite oil and let it soak in, then began the burnishing process. I watched one of them working and figured that it would take at least 3 hours to burnish the entire ‘average’ sized pot. It creates a high shine, even glassy. I will never complain again about sanding! The painting is done by hand with brushes made of a few strands of human hair, and no template or stencil.”
Below is a piece by Pabla Quezada using the techniques Jill saw at the museum. The sheen is amazing and the painted matte lines seem impossibly precise. A definite testament to perfecting skills and working patiently.
Such results aren’t impossible with polymer. In actuality, buffing with denim or using a buffing wheel does the same basic thing as rubbing the surface down with a smooth object. Both approaches use friction to reform the surface, essentially smearing the materials by force and heat until the material lies smooth. You can burnish polymer with any smooth hard tool. This approach can be used in areas that the buffing material can’t reach such as in a recess formed from stamping or the sides of a raised area. It will take time and patience to rub these small areas down but if these potters can do it, so can we.
This is a bit longer installment than I usually have on Sunday but I think this strip by Stephen McCranie explains so well how silly it is for us to be so hard on ourselves, to expect perfection in every piece we create, and to miss out on the lessons we can learn from our imperfect creations. It is well worth the read. Click on the image here to see the entire strip. Enjoy.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Read MoreJill Kollmann, a talented polymer artist and contributor to The Polymer Arts magazine, was at the Bowers Museum this past week for an exhibit and sale. In addition two artists were giving demonstration of their technique for polishing the surface of their pots. Their technique gave her pause.
“What they called “polishing” or “buffing” was actually burnishing with a highly polished very small smooth rock. After the plain pot is cured, they coat it with their favorite oil and let it soak in, then began the burnishing process. I watched one of them working and figured that it would take at least 3 hours to burnish the entire ‘average’ sized pot. It creates a high shine, even glassy. I will never complain again about sanding! The painting is done by hand with brushes made of a few strands of human hair, and no template or stencil.”
Below is a piece by Pabla Quezada using the techniques Jill saw at the museum. The sheen is amazing and the painted matte lines seem impossibly precise. A definite testament to perfecting skills and working patiently.
Such results aren’t impossible with polymer. In actuality, buffing with denim or using a buffing wheel does the same basic thing as rubbing the surface down with a smooth object. Both approaches use friction to reform the surface, essentially smearing the materials by force and heat until the material lies smooth. You can burnish polymer with any smooth hard tool. This approach can be used in areas that the buffing material can’t reach such as in a recess formed from stamping or the sides of a raised area. It will take time and patience to rub these small areas down but if these potters can do it, so can we.
Read More