Cracking Up in Spain
September 12, 2013
Inspirational Art
Today we visit Spain. This is one area of Western Europe that truly does revel in heavily saturated color, and tends towards more contemporary design. Miryam Garcia is not an exception to this impression I have. She’s done a lot of exploring over the last few years, not unlike the first two artists we looked at this week. She goes back and forth on the color palettes, working in naturally-inspired muted tones or limited palettes for a time, then suddenly bursting into color. I think her color sense, especially when she pushes the brightness, really shines. This recent brooch is a great example.
Contrast is a consistent and well-used theme here. With blue backing both its tertiary yellow and complementary orange, rough and uneven crackle interrupted by smooth domes, and large, squarish shapes giving up the focal interest to the round accents, we have quite a bit to draw our eye and hold our interest.
Miryam has created a few pieces that tend towards this very thorough design but I think this is definitely her best work yet. If you are interested in looking through the visual history of yet another interesting and exploratory artist this week, take a look at both her Flickr stream and her blog.
Bright Fabric Finish
December 10, 2012
Inspirational Art
After a dreary, cold weekend here in Colorado, I thought a bright bit of color would be just the thing. These beautifully finished necklaces are by Noelia Contreras of Barcelona, Spain. The simple combination of tinted against saturated colors with contrasting ‘buttons’ make the pieces lively, but I think it’s the precise execution of the shapes, lines, and the surface finish that makes them so appealing.
It can be a bit tricky to make a flat surface look uniformly finished. The use of applied texture can accomplish this with relative ease. There is a little trick to that as well, however … the texture should not draw away from the other elements if it’s not to be a focal point of the piece. Subtlety is key here. Noelia favors what looks to be small weave fabric as her texture–a perfect solution that adds subdued textural interest while giving the work a clean looking and even finish.
With the myriad of fabrics available, there is also a myriad of possible texture to be derived from them. Lint-less fabric such as silk, acetate, nylon and many polyesters can create wonderful textures. Imprint lint laden fabrics into a sheet of polymer, baking then removing lint with a good washing, to create a lint-free texture plate.
Noelia has many other quite colorful and inspiring pieces on her blog and Flickr page, including some artful miniatures which, even with the obvious skill she applies to her jewelry, seems to be her first love when it comes to polymer creations.
Today we visit Spain. This is one area of Western Europe that truly does revel in heavily saturated color, and tends towards more contemporary design. Miryam Garcia is not an exception to this impression I have. She’s done a lot of exploring over the last few years, not unlike the first two artists we looked at this week. She goes back and forth on the color palettes, working in naturally-inspired muted tones or limited palettes for a time, then suddenly bursting into color. I think her color sense, especially when she pushes the brightness, really shines. This recent brooch is a great example.
Contrast is a consistent and well-used theme here. With blue backing both its tertiary yellow and complementary orange, rough and uneven crackle interrupted by smooth domes, and large, squarish shapes giving up the focal interest to the round accents, we have quite a bit to draw our eye and hold our interest.
Miryam has created a few pieces that tend towards this very thorough design but I think this is definitely her best work yet. If you are interested in looking through the visual history of yet another interesting and exploratory artist this week, take a look at both her Flickr stream and her blog.
After a dreary, cold weekend here in Colorado, I thought a bright bit of color would be just the thing. These beautifully finished necklaces are by Noelia Contreras of Barcelona, Spain. The simple combination of tinted against saturated colors with contrasting ‘buttons’ make the pieces lively, but I think it’s the precise execution of the shapes, lines, and the surface finish that makes them so appealing.
It can be a bit tricky to make a flat surface look uniformly finished. The use of applied texture can accomplish this with relative ease. There is a little trick to that as well, however … the texture should not draw away from the other elements if it’s not to be a focal point of the piece. Subtlety is key here. Noelia favors what looks to be small weave fabric as her texture–a perfect solution that adds subdued textural interest while giving the work a clean looking and even finish.
With the myriad of fabrics available, there is also a myriad of possible texture to be derived from them. Lint-less fabric such as silk, acetate, nylon and many polyesters can create wonderful textures. Imprint lint laden fabrics into a sheet of polymer, baking then removing lint with a good washing, to create a lint-free texture plate.
Noelia has many other quite colorful and inspiring pieces on her blog and Flickr page, including some artful miniatures which, even with the obvious skill she applies to her jewelry, seems to be her first love when it comes to polymer creations.
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