Twisted Color
June 15, 2018 Inspirational Art
Here is another example of using both color and line to create fun and energetic pieces.
Izabela Nowak is well known for her folded polymer but it looks like she has taken it a step further, away from the origami-inspired and into geometry formed from spiraling layers of polymer strips. Her color combinations tend to stay on one side of the color wheel but she doesn’t need a lot of bright or varied colors to give the pieces energy when she has these busy lines twisting back and forth around themselves. The open space in these pieces adds a light and delicate nature to her forms, lending plenty of quiet space between the strands of twisting color.
See what else she has been up to with her new forms by checking out her Flickr photostream, her Facebook page or her Instagram account.
Working on the Inside
June 17, 2017 Inspirational Art
Another way to push the disk element in strung jewelry design is to create designs on those inside surfaces. This might push you to design the disks in such a way as to open up space between them so that the work on the inside could be seen. That might present a bit of a challenge but it will likely present some interesting options for added accents and forms.
Margit Bohmer did just that. Her solution to show off the intricate and highly colorful faces of her disks was to slightly dome them and have them stacked in pairs with the concave sides in, allowing an angled view to all the beautiful color and textures she worked into them. It looks like quite a bit of work too. I just love seeing this kind of dedication and commitment to a piece. Each bead face is different and could stand on its own but all together, they create an engrossing piece that will probably take the owner years to become familiar with all its varied surfaces.
A riot of color and texture is a signature of Margit’s and she never leaves us wanting for more of either. See her latest work on her Flickr photostream.
Weekly Inspiration Challenge: Choose a basic or commonly used design and push it. By sketching, planning, or just playing with your materials, change the form or the way this basic design is constructed as far as you can until you come up with something that intrigues and excites you then create your own original work from the ideas you came up with.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Holes Throughout
April 8, 2017 Inspirational Art
As a decorative elements, holes, more than anything else, reveal things. In some work, there is literally something that would otherwise be hidden, within or behind a layer the artist has cut a hole in. But sometimes, especially with a collection of holes, it reveals space itself.
I have presented work by Mark Doolittle once before but I look in on his work regularly. His work is very hole-y. He carves gourds and wood full of holes to reveal space not just inside his pieces by around it. Sometimes his holes break into the surrounding space, feeling unfinished and maybe even a little broken. But that there is a great metaphor for most of our lives. We gather these holes as we go through the years and maybe they widen or their borders break off but there is beauty even in the damage we endure, especially when we can embrace it for the experiences they represent.
I apologize for waxing a bit on the poetic and abstract this week and appreciate that you allow me to match my writing to my mood. It is hard not to have life creep in on our work some times but in talking about art, I can always find joy, especially when I get to share what I find.
I think you will find further joy in taking a moment to go to Mark’s website and see the huge variety of stunning pieces.
Weekly Inspiration Challenge: Explore holes or what you can take away from the pieces you are working on. See how they give you functional opportunities as well as added design interest. Try some pieces with and without holes. How does having those open spaces change how the piece feels?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
The Landscape of Space
November 12, 2013 Inspirational Art
Landscapes aren’t just about land. Or maybe I should use the term only when talking of land, and should rise to the suggested use of such terms as waterscapes, skyscapes, and moonscapes for other varieties of terrain. But what about vast stretches of scenery for which we don’t have a term? The necklace below is a “scape” of some sort. Maybe a spacescape?
Silvia Ortiz de la Torre always amazes with her ingenious designs and fearless colors. The fitted design of these hanging beads steps just outside of what she commonly does. Silvia is a master of the dramatically sophisticated through highly saturated color and heavy repetition, but here she’s gone a little darker in color and has added all kinds of variation, while still keeping it anchored through the repetition of the mirrored base shapes arranged around that “A”-like center bead.
There is less of a connection between the pieces here than the dragon-scape you saw yesterday, but they are all still related and make up an appropriate scene with the randomness of points we see in the stars.
Enjoy a bit of time on Silvia’s Flickr photostream or her Etsy site for a nice blast of color this Tuesday.
Building out the Box
October 26, 2013 Inspirational Art
With my connection (and faith) in the internet restored, we will resume chatting about boxes and ways to expand on the popular form.
For our weekend peek at lidded containers, I saved a piece by Kim Detmers. The concept here simply stretches the way that you can use your ‘canvas’. Even though a canvas is a flat space to begin with, that doesn’t mean you need to create your work based on that kind of two-dimensional space. Consider possible ways to build up, build out, and work into the space around the vessel, not just the ‘real estate’ that is the surface of the vessel. Kim builds up on the lid, and out into the space above the container. She has also made the lid the unmistakable focal point, which is a bit unusual since it would seem that the tendency is to make the lid an accent or compliment to the body of the box. In fact, with the lid on, it may not look like a container at first, but rather more of a sculpture. And in essence, what should an artistically formed box meant for a bit more than function be but a sculpture?
I know the concept of building into space, considering design and composition in terms of the form, and then using the space around it can sometimes be daunting to ponder. But it is great fun and quite visually impressive when something as simple as a box has been grown into a sculpture that lives in the space around the container, not just on its surface.
If you want a little more information on how to use the space surrounding your pieces, check out the article “Create With Space” in the very popular Spring 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts about this very subject. (Said issue which is just about sold out in the print format, so if you want this or the Summer 2012 issue, you might want to order them soon before we run out.)
And if you like Kim’s work, take a look at her engaging blog and her Etsy shop.
Here is another example of using both color and line to create fun and energetic pieces.
Izabela Nowak is well known for her folded polymer but it looks like she has taken it a step further, away from the origami-inspired and into geometry formed from spiraling layers of polymer strips. Her color combinations tend to stay on one side of the color wheel but she doesn’t need a lot of bright or varied colors to give the pieces energy when she has these busy lines twisting back and forth around themselves. The open space in these pieces adds a light and delicate nature to her forms, lending plenty of quiet space between the strands of twisting color.
See what else she has been up to with her new forms by checking out her Flickr photostream, her Facebook page or her Instagram account.
Read More
Another way to push the disk element in strung jewelry design is to create designs on those inside surfaces. This might push you to design the disks in such a way as to open up space between them so that the work on the inside could be seen. That might present a bit of a challenge but it will likely present some interesting options for added accents and forms.
Margit Bohmer did just that. Her solution to show off the intricate and highly colorful faces of her disks was to slightly dome them and have them stacked in pairs with the concave sides in, allowing an angled view to all the beautiful color and textures she worked into them. It looks like quite a bit of work too. I just love seeing this kind of dedication and commitment to a piece. Each bead face is different and could stand on its own but all together, they create an engrossing piece that will probably take the owner years to become familiar with all its varied surfaces.
A riot of color and texture is a signature of Margit’s and she never leaves us wanting for more of either. See her latest work on her Flickr photostream.
Weekly Inspiration Challenge: Choose a basic or commonly used design and push it. By sketching, planning, or just playing with your materials, change the form or the way this basic design is constructed as far as you can until you come up with something that intrigues and excites you then create your own original work from the ideas you came up with.
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreAs a decorative elements, holes, more than anything else, reveal things. In some work, there is literally something that would otherwise be hidden, within or behind a layer the artist has cut a hole in. But sometimes, especially with a collection of holes, it reveals space itself.
I have presented work by Mark Doolittle once before but I look in on his work regularly. His work is very hole-y. He carves gourds and wood full of holes to reveal space not just inside his pieces by around it. Sometimes his holes break into the surrounding space, feeling unfinished and maybe even a little broken. But that there is a great metaphor for most of our lives. We gather these holes as we go through the years and maybe they widen or their borders break off but there is beauty even in the damage we endure, especially when we can embrace it for the experiences they represent.
I apologize for waxing a bit on the poetic and abstract this week and appreciate that you allow me to match my writing to my mood. It is hard not to have life creep in on our work some times but in talking about art, I can always find joy, especially when I get to share what I find.
I think you will find further joy in taking a moment to go to Mark’s website and see the huge variety of stunning pieces.
Weekly Inspiration Challenge: Explore holes or what you can take away from the pieces you are working on. See how they give you functional opportunities as well as added design interest. Try some pieces with and without holes. How does having those open spaces change how the piece feels?
_________________________________________
Like this blog? Lend your support with a purchase of The Polymer Arts magazine and visit our partners.
_________________________________________
Read MoreLandscapes aren’t just about land. Or maybe I should use the term only when talking of land, and should rise to the suggested use of such terms as waterscapes, skyscapes, and moonscapes for other varieties of terrain. But what about vast stretches of scenery for which we don’t have a term? The necklace below is a “scape” of some sort. Maybe a spacescape?
Silvia Ortiz de la Torre always amazes with her ingenious designs and fearless colors. The fitted design of these hanging beads steps just outside of what she commonly does. Silvia is a master of the dramatically sophisticated through highly saturated color and heavy repetition, but here she’s gone a little darker in color and has added all kinds of variation, while still keeping it anchored through the repetition of the mirrored base shapes arranged around that “A”-like center bead.
There is less of a connection between the pieces here than the dragon-scape you saw yesterday, but they are all still related and make up an appropriate scene with the randomness of points we see in the stars.
Enjoy a bit of time on Silvia’s Flickr photostream or her Etsy site for a nice blast of color this Tuesday.
Read MoreWith my connection (and faith) in the internet restored, we will resume chatting about boxes and ways to expand on the popular form.
For our weekend peek at lidded containers, I saved a piece by Kim Detmers. The concept here simply stretches the way that you can use your ‘canvas’. Even though a canvas is a flat space to begin with, that doesn’t mean you need to create your work based on that kind of two-dimensional space. Consider possible ways to build up, build out, and work into the space around the vessel, not just the ‘real estate’ that is the surface of the vessel. Kim builds up on the lid, and out into the space above the container. She has also made the lid the unmistakable focal point, which is a bit unusual since it would seem that the tendency is to make the lid an accent or compliment to the body of the box. In fact, with the lid on, it may not look like a container at first, but rather more of a sculpture. And in essence, what should an artistically formed box meant for a bit more than function be but a sculpture?
I know the concept of building into space, considering design and composition in terms of the form, and then using the space around it can sometimes be daunting to ponder. But it is great fun and quite visually impressive when something as simple as a box has been grown into a sculpture that lives in the space around the container, not just on its surface.
If you want a little more information on how to use the space surrounding your pieces, check out the article “Create With Space” in the very popular Spring 2012 issue of The Polymer Arts about this very subject. (Said issue which is just about sold out in the print format, so if you want this or the Summer 2012 issue, you might want to order them soon before we run out.)
And if you like Kim’s work, take a look at her engaging blog and her Etsy shop.
Read More