Sonya Rings in the New Year
January 12, 2018
Inspirational Art
Here are a couple more interesting pieces posted in the first week of the year from the prolific Sonya Girodan. Randee Ketzel sent me this before it popped up on my Flickr stream. These rings do really grab your attention. They might also grab your knitted sweater but that is beside the point.
These are an intriguing and different use of familiar techniques. The beads were inspired by classes she had with Celine Charuau, who we looked at on Wednesday, and Christine Dumont. In both cases, her instructors generally use these techniques on elements created as pendants or brooches rather than rings. Laying the beads down in a horizontal plane makes them feel a bit more placid than they would be in the about-face position of pendants and brooches.
Sonya brings back any energy lost by the change in orientation, however, by adding thin and reaching elements beneath the beads to draw the eye out and back from the body of the rings’ designs. It may make for delicate looking pieces and not everyday rings but you have to admit, they would grab your attention.
I do wonder if this announces a new direction for Sonya as I’ve not seen anything quite like this from her. Not that Sonya taking a left turn in her work is surprising. She seems to constantly be reinventing her style. Just take a look at her body of work. Her progression can be very explosive at times and her need to explore and push design is evident everywhere. It’s an inspiring journey and you can catch it all pretty quickly by taking a visual stroll through her Flickr photostream.
Brave Waves
May 25, 2017
Inspirational Art
Sonya Girodan has been consistently posting intriguing and quite exploratory pieces, this past year or so and I don’t think there has been one that I thought was just “meh”. They have all felt intense, with a sincere and thorough plunge into attempts to rip her voice and creativity out of herself and into the open. Maybe this sounds a tad dramatic but it’s rare to see work like this, playing around on the edge of the comfortable aesthetic range within polymer art.
That is not to say that every piece is unquestioningly successful but it is unquestionably brave to put such a range of work out there, to say, here is what I am as an artist right now and yes, it is a kind of all over the place. Sometimes an artist just need room to dance as softly or as wildly as they are inclined, to dance like no one is watching. .
This kind of gutsy approach has led Sonya through a lot of experimentation but to me, none has had quite the draw that these mixed fiber works have had. My prior craft work was in fiber, mostly natural materials in a raw state, so I will admit to a preference for the kind of thing you see here, mixing textures as well as materials. I know many people who work with polymer have such an awe or love of the material that they don’t want to work with anything else and may even feel like a bit of a traitor if they start to have an affinity for another material. But art should not have limitations, especially self-imposed ones. I think any creator should just reach out for whatever is needed to create the vision in their head or heart. The material is secondary to the vision.
Let me do some of that questioning of you, dear reader, that I was doing last month. I know this piece will not be everyone’s cup of tea but how do you feel about it? Bereft of color but rich in form and texture, does it feel like anything is missing? Does it feel whole and thought out or does it feel like an experiment that went as far as it could, a prelude to future work? You don’t need to post your answers (although I love to hear what you all think!) but if you take a moment to ask yourself these questions, maybe even write them down, you might find it interesting to see what you think put into words. There is a certain bravery to critiquing other people’s work and there is certainly a learning experience possible in it.
Sorry for the rambling. I have not had much sleep, battling some crazy neck pain this past week. But hopefully my meandering mind is entertaining! What you might find more entertaining is Sonya’s work. Take a stroll through her Flickr photostream for a better overview of what I have been babbling about here and enjoy peeking in on her artistic journey.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Things That Break (And the Release date for the Summer issue!)
June 4, 2016
Inspirational Art
Business first … for all you patient people who have been asking about the Summer issue, we finally know the day of its release. June 11th! This is a Saturday, so I will try to get everything set so the digital version is ready for an early morning release (US side) which should be in time for afternoon tea across the pond. That is also the first possible day anyone might receive a print copy, so that is when you can start watching your mailboxes. My apologies that it ran so late this quarter. It will be likewise a little later in the Fall (which was actually planned), but we will keep you in the know! Pre-orders are ready for you early birds who like to get it one great issue at a time, and of course, subscriptions are available as well at www.thepolymerarts.com
Now, onto wrapping up my week of imperfections as beauty. And what a stunning piece we have! I have probably featured Sonya Girodan a bit heavily over the past year, but this woman is so intensely prolific. She has been whipping out a ton of work this last year or so and they have all been such fascinating pieces. This one just stopped me cold, in a good way. There is something a bit frightening about this, yet the atmosphere and condition feels familiar and close to home. I don’t like to imagine that anyone feels broken, but I think most of us go through this feeling at some time or another. I think it is more common among artists who tend to feel deeply, and so, for all the passion and strength they do have, there is a frailty when hit in just the right spot.
The lack of color paired with the rough edges does more to give this a sense of that frailty than any combination of color could ever do. The choice of texture, the gray and not-quite-white, and the sonorous eyes here combine to make a intensely arresting piece. Not that this is her only one. Take a quick stroll through her recent work on her Flickr photostream and you’ll see what I mean!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Make a piece with no color. Chose black or white, gray or ecru, or a combination. You will need to depend on texture, form, imagery, proportion, line, etc. … but it will show you how important these aspects are to good design. Don’t be surprised if you thoroughly impress yourself.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Accountable Creativity
January 4, 2016
Inspirational Art
So, as is traditional for many of us at the beginning of a new year, I have set several new goals for myself. One of them–to schedule regular time in the studio–was on my list last year, but between figuring out how to live and work in two states, constant changes in my staff, and the chaos and construction that commenced at various times at both places I’ve been living, this never really happened. And in the end, those are all really just excuses, aren’t they? Well, this year, I decided my resolutions were going to be much more difficult to set aside. Because I’m going to tell you about them.
Telling someone else about goals or plans to do things makes us much more likely to get them done simply because we know someone else knows, and that accountability to someone else’s expectations is a huge motivator. It helps knowing who will motivate you best, as well. For me, it can be just about anyone. I am heavily driven by the thought that people have an expectation of me, but I am slightly more driven by people not so close to me. I know the people closest to me can see the craziness of my life and are more likely to understand why something didn’t get accomplished. But for those that can’t see it, they will only know it didn’t get done and I will feel I disappointed them.
That kind of motivation isn’t always a good thing, though. For instance, I pull a lot of all-nighters and commonly cut down my sleep to work more when I feel like we are getting behind at the magazine. That brings up another goal. I’m not going to deny myself a full 8 hours each night, not anymore. A lack of sleep isn’t really conducive to strong, productive work time to start with and I’m guessing a lot of time-consuming mistakes were because of that. Plus, I’ve been reading about the long-term effects sleep deprivation has on the brain. It seems it may contribute to Alzheimer’s and an escalation of memory loss as we age. I already have some brain damage from a prior illness to deal with, so to further jeopardize that all-too-important organ just seems silly. Same goes for exercising, which helps with the quality of sleep. I sometimes forego my runs or the gym when it gets busy but I am promising myself not to do that either. So, keep your fingers crossed that well rested and fit also means efficiency and easily kept deadlines.
But back to the creative goals … more time in the studio. How to do that? I could simply tell you I will get into the studio more, but if I’m not very specific it can too easily slip away. One needs a specific plan with specific goals and timelines. So, here is my plan, and you can join in on this if you like.
For each blog post I put up, I am going to add an inspirational challenge. I plan to create from each one of these challenges within a day of posting it. These will be small things that can be applied to existing projects, can be manifested in simple exercises that can include any medium or can be starting points for new projects. The point will be to nudge our creativity in a new direction in order to stretch our creative muscle. It can help energize your existing work or get you out of a slump, but more than anything I am hoping it will help keep up an enthusiasm for creating.
I think I will be able to pull the challenges out of the work I find to share, but I am leaving open the possibility of posting challenges that are unrelated. So bear with me as we figure this out. I am thinking of posting a 4th blog each week with my efforts of the week and/or the efforts of others if you want to send images to me. Or maybe a Flickr page? What do you think?
Here is the first challenge, inspired by Sonya Girodan, who has had quite the year of exploration and has created the most amazing work from it. Here, Sonya takes some of the stylized tribal faces she’s been working on and works them into a painting. The quality of the color and its application are used in both the painting and the polymer masks. The tribal-like masks, a stylistic contrast to the contemporary feel of the painting, adds to the potential meaning of the work, taking us beyond the purely emotive reaction we might have to the painting to questioning how the masks relate and what story there might be behind it. It’s intriguing, isn’t’ it?
Take a look at more of Sonya’s explorations on her Flickr photostream.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Mix your primary medium with another medium. Either work one type of work into another that already exists or take something you have and add to it in another medium. If that doesn’t inspire you, simply ‘doodle’ in an unfamiliar or not regularly used medium and see what your mind comes up with.
Ok … let’s see how this goes!
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Here are a couple more interesting pieces posted in the first week of the year from the prolific Sonya Girodan. Randee Ketzel sent me this before it popped up on my Flickr stream. These rings do really grab your attention. They might also grab your knitted sweater but that is beside the point.
These are an intriguing and different use of familiar techniques. The beads were inspired by classes she had with Celine Charuau, who we looked at on Wednesday, and Christine Dumont. In both cases, her instructors generally use these techniques on elements created as pendants or brooches rather than rings. Laying the beads down in a horizontal plane makes them feel a bit more placid than they would be in the about-face position of pendants and brooches.
Sonya brings back any energy lost by the change in orientation, however, by adding thin and reaching elements beneath the beads to draw the eye out and back from the body of the rings’ designs. It may make for delicate looking pieces and not everyday rings but you have to admit, they would grab your attention.
I do wonder if this announces a new direction for Sonya as I’ve not seen anything quite like this from her. Not that Sonya taking a left turn in her work is surprising. She seems to constantly be reinventing her style. Just take a look at her body of work. Her progression can be very explosive at times and her need to explore and push design is evident everywhere. It’s an inspiring journey and you can catch it all pretty quickly by taking a visual stroll through her Flickr photostream.
Read MoreSonya Girodan has been consistently posting intriguing and quite exploratory pieces, this past year or so and I don’t think there has been one that I thought was just “meh”. They have all felt intense, with a sincere and thorough plunge into attempts to rip her voice and creativity out of herself and into the open. Maybe this sounds a tad dramatic but it’s rare to see work like this, playing around on the edge of the comfortable aesthetic range within polymer art.
That is not to say that every piece is unquestioningly successful but it is unquestionably brave to put such a range of work out there, to say, here is what I am as an artist right now and yes, it is a kind of all over the place. Sometimes an artist just need room to dance as softly or as wildly as they are inclined, to dance like no one is watching. .
This kind of gutsy approach has led Sonya through a lot of experimentation but to me, none has had quite the draw that these mixed fiber works have had. My prior craft work was in fiber, mostly natural materials in a raw state, so I will admit to a preference for the kind of thing you see here, mixing textures as well as materials. I know many people who work with polymer have such an awe or love of the material that they don’t want to work with anything else and may even feel like a bit of a traitor if they start to have an affinity for another material. But art should not have limitations, especially self-imposed ones. I think any creator should just reach out for whatever is needed to create the vision in their head or heart. The material is secondary to the vision.
Let me do some of that questioning of you, dear reader, that I was doing last month. I know this piece will not be everyone’s cup of tea but how do you feel about it? Bereft of color but rich in form and texture, does it feel like anything is missing? Does it feel whole and thought out or does it feel like an experiment that went as far as it could, a prelude to future work? You don’t need to post your answers (although I love to hear what you all think!) but if you take a moment to ask yourself these questions, maybe even write them down, you might find it interesting to see what you think put into words. There is a certain bravery to critiquing other people’s work and there is certainly a learning experience possible in it.
Sorry for the rambling. I have not had much sleep, battling some crazy neck pain this past week. But hopefully my meandering mind is entertaining! What you might find more entertaining is Sonya’s work. Take a stroll through her Flickr photostream for a better overview of what I have been babbling about here and enjoy peeking in on her artistic journey.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreBusiness first … for all you patient people who have been asking about the Summer issue, we finally know the day of its release. June 11th! This is a Saturday, so I will try to get everything set so the digital version is ready for an early morning release (US side) which should be in time for afternoon tea across the pond. That is also the first possible day anyone might receive a print copy, so that is when you can start watching your mailboxes. My apologies that it ran so late this quarter. It will be likewise a little later in the Fall (which was actually planned), but we will keep you in the know! Pre-orders are ready for you early birds who like to get it one great issue at a time, and of course, subscriptions are available as well at www.thepolymerarts.com
Now, onto wrapping up my week of imperfections as beauty. And what a stunning piece we have! I have probably featured Sonya Girodan a bit heavily over the past year, but this woman is so intensely prolific. She has been whipping out a ton of work this last year or so and they have all been such fascinating pieces. This one just stopped me cold, in a good way. There is something a bit frightening about this, yet the atmosphere and condition feels familiar and close to home. I don’t like to imagine that anyone feels broken, but I think most of us go through this feeling at some time or another. I think it is more common among artists who tend to feel deeply, and so, for all the passion and strength they do have, there is a frailty when hit in just the right spot.
The lack of color paired with the rough edges does more to give this a sense of that frailty than any combination of color could ever do. The choice of texture, the gray and not-quite-white, and the sonorous eyes here combine to make a intensely arresting piece. Not that this is her only one. Take a quick stroll through her recent work on her Flickr photostream and you’ll see what I mean!
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Make a piece with no color. Chose black or white, gray or ecru, or a combination. You will need to depend on texture, form, imagery, proportion, line, etc. … but it will show you how important these aspects are to good design. Don’t be surprised if you thoroughly impress yourself.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
_________________________________________
Read MoreSo, as is traditional for many of us at the beginning of a new year, I have set several new goals for myself. One of them–to schedule regular time in the studio–was on my list last year, but between figuring out how to live and work in two states, constant changes in my staff, and the chaos and construction that commenced at various times at both places I’ve been living, this never really happened. And in the end, those are all really just excuses, aren’t they? Well, this year, I decided my resolutions were going to be much more difficult to set aside. Because I’m going to tell you about them.
Telling someone else about goals or plans to do things makes us much more likely to get them done simply because we know someone else knows, and that accountability to someone else’s expectations is a huge motivator. It helps knowing who will motivate you best, as well. For me, it can be just about anyone. I am heavily driven by the thought that people have an expectation of me, but I am slightly more driven by people not so close to me. I know the people closest to me can see the craziness of my life and are more likely to understand why something didn’t get accomplished. But for those that can’t see it, they will only know it didn’t get done and I will feel I disappointed them.
That kind of motivation isn’t always a good thing, though. For instance, I pull a lot of all-nighters and commonly cut down my sleep to work more when I feel like we are getting behind at the magazine. That brings up another goal. I’m not going to deny myself a full 8 hours each night, not anymore. A lack of sleep isn’t really conducive to strong, productive work time to start with and I’m guessing a lot of time-consuming mistakes were because of that. Plus, I’ve been reading about the long-term effects sleep deprivation has on the brain. It seems it may contribute to Alzheimer’s and an escalation of memory loss as we age. I already have some brain damage from a prior illness to deal with, so to further jeopardize that all-too-important organ just seems silly. Same goes for exercising, which helps with the quality of sleep. I sometimes forego my runs or the gym when it gets busy but I am promising myself not to do that either. So, keep your fingers crossed that well rested and fit also means efficiency and easily kept deadlines.
But back to the creative goals … more time in the studio. How to do that? I could simply tell you I will get into the studio more, but if I’m not very specific it can too easily slip away. One needs a specific plan with specific goals and timelines. So, here is my plan, and you can join in on this if you like.
For each blog post I put up, I am going to add an inspirational challenge. I plan to create from each one of these challenges within a day of posting it. These will be small things that can be applied to existing projects, can be manifested in simple exercises that can include any medium or can be starting points for new projects. The point will be to nudge our creativity in a new direction in order to stretch our creative muscle. It can help energize your existing work or get you out of a slump, but more than anything I am hoping it will help keep up an enthusiasm for creating.
I think I will be able to pull the challenges out of the work I find to share, but I am leaving open the possibility of posting challenges that are unrelated. So bear with me as we figure this out. I am thinking of posting a 4th blog each week with my efforts of the week and/or the efforts of others if you want to send images to me. Or maybe a Flickr page? What do you think?
Here is the first challenge, inspired by Sonya Girodan, who has had quite the year of exploration and has created the most amazing work from it. Here, Sonya takes some of the stylized tribal faces she’s been working on and works them into a painting. The quality of the color and its application are used in both the painting and the polymer masks. The tribal-like masks, a stylistic contrast to the contemporary feel of the painting, adds to the potential meaning of the work, taking us beyond the purely emotive reaction we might have to the painting to questioning how the masks relate and what story there might be behind it. It’s intriguing, isn’t’ it?
Take a look at more of Sonya’s explorations on her Flickr photostream.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Mix your primary medium with another medium. Either work one type of work into another that already exists or take something you have and add to it in another medium. If that doesn’t inspire you, simply ‘doodle’ in an unfamiliar or not regularly used medium and see what your mind comes up with.
Ok … let’s see how this goes!
___________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners:
___________________________________________
Read More