About The Guild:
Customer Favorites:
Artful Home Catalog:
Art Word of the Week:
Pommele (see examples)
A wood term used in conjunction with wood names; the term means figure, which is the pattern produced in a wood surface by annual growth rings, rays, knots, deviations from natural grain such as interlocked and wavy grain, and irregular coloration.
Archive Calendar:
March 2010
| S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| « Feb |
|
|
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
|
Archives by Month:
Archives by Category:
|
|
|
Archive for the 'Sculpture' Category
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
I have recently returned from Baltimore, where I had been invited to speak at this year’s "Synergy 2" conference, a conference dedicated to artists who work in polymer clay. What’s polymer clay? You might know of it as "Fimo" or "Sculpey", a medium which has the incredible qualities of intense color possibilities, tremendous plasticity, and ease of curing. Because of its association with children’s art, it is a medium that is not always taken with the degree of seriousness it deserves, as I saw well at this conference. I was exposed to the work of dozens of artists, from fantastic to surreal, elegant to playful.
We are fortunate at Artful Home to represent artists who show off the wide range of possibilities in polymer, from the tiniest, most intricate work to large scale pieces. The most common application of the medium is jewelry, because of the ability to create exceptionally tiny details in color and form. Carolyn Tillie’s"Speckled Cupcake Pendant" shows off the artist’s ability to create a perfect miniature object.
Far less common is the use of polymer clay in the furniture by J.M. Syron and Bonnie Bischoff. The "Sun and Shade Wall Hung Cabinet" has veneered doors covered in patternwork created in polymer clay. Pattern is created using a combination millefiore and marquetry techniques, techniques borrowed from glassblowing and furniture making! The pearlescent, opaque and translucent claysare combined with the mastery of a painter.
One of the newest polymer clay artists on our site is Sue Savage, whose use of the material shows yet another approach. In her "Sue Earrings", Savage uses an almost freeform painterly style, showing a looseness and abstraction uncommon to the medium.
As with all newer materials, polymer clay is going to continue to take time for people to appreciate it, as it does not have the same name recognition as porcelain, gold or glass. However, the beauty that artists have shown they can create with it makes it worthy of your consideration. I know it has mine!
Posted in Art Events, Jewelry, Sculpture, Studio Furniture | No Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Posted in Art Glass, Ceramics, Sculpture, Technique | No Comments »
Monday, April 13th, 2009
Soundsuit, 2009 by Nick Cave
Art is terribly personal. What speaks to one of us does nothing for the next. This is a premise that we hold dear at Artful Home. Nowhere is that more true than in the differences in music preferences among different generations. I have absolutely no idea why my 20 year old daughter is attracted to the music to which she listens, and, in fact, have no idea how she is able to stand it! And she feels exactly the same way about my choices.
Yet, together, my daughter and I attend many art shows, and this week we both had our socks knocked off by the show of Nick Cave’s “Soundsuits” at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. (This is NOT Nick Cave the musician, again, one of my daughter’s choices, but rather Nick Cave the Chicago artist.)
We are both attracted to all things textile and are always looking for adventurers in the world of fashion and art. Cave is an artist whose work is hard to describe, and about whom I hate to narrow a definition. Having worked professionally as both a fashion designer as well as a dancer for the Alvin Ailey company, Cave’s work clearly references the body, clothing, and movement. These riotously coloured soundsuits embrace and use all types of textile art techniques, including beading, knitting, basketry, quilting, and sewing, with materials as diverse as fabrics, beads, sequins, old bottle caps, rusted iron, sticks, twigs, leaves and hair. Mad, humorous, elaborate, grotesque, glamorous and unexpected but the work could never be narrowly defined as “craft” nor just as art to wear. His deftly sculpted armatures provide structure and form for these heavily embellished garments which are equally reminiscent of African and religious costumes as they are haute couture. Displayed inanimately in the large light-filled gallery, you can easily imagine the forms coming to life, yet you have the opportunity to examine the obsessively detailed figures. Entire suits covered in multi-colored buttons are meant to dazzle the eye and tickle the ear when worn. Giant shaggy beast-like suits in vivid colors resembling traditional Bokhara cloth turn out to be made entirely of dyed human hair, which sounds gross but in person is not in the least.
Understanding the works, however, would be incomplete without seeing these suits in action, and one room of the show contains a video installation of the work on body in motion. Elegant and amusing, ritualistic and invasive, these suits take on completely new personalities when worn, when danced in, when encountering normal street life, when creating their own demonstration. Luckily for all of us, YouTube exists and you can see them, too.
Posted in Sculpture, Shows | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Infinitely changeable still-life compositions are one of the most enjoyable ways to integrate artwork into your home. This ikebana vase encourages playfulness. Its complex sculptural form creates a balance with larger elements in the room and allows for an unending variety of compositions incorporating natural materials. At the same time, the floral and stoneware arrangement brings nature indoors.
Posted in Ceramics, Decorating, Sculpture | No Comments »
|
|
Great New Piece!

Hear our Voices by Amy Meya – Ceramic Wall Art
Upcoming Events:
Furniture Society 2010 Conference
Jun. 16 – Jun. 19, 2010, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Glass Art Society 2010 Conference
Jun. 10 – Jun. 12, 2010, Louisville, KY
Craft Organization Development Association (CODA) Conference
Apr. 6 – Apr. 8, 2010, Georgia Made Georgia Grown LLC, Savannah, GA
Society of North American Goldsmiths 2010 Conference
Mar. 10 – Mar. 13, 2010, Houston, TX
- more...
Artful Home Twitter
Favorite Links:
Digg This Blog
|