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Into the Forest in Philadelphia

By: ornamento.blog September 15, 2016September 13, 2016

Art, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay conferences, Polymer Clay gatherings, Polymer Clay GuildsArt, artistic collaboration, Emily Squires Levine, EuroSynergy, inspiration, Julie Eakes, Laura Tabakman, Philadelphia, Polymer Clay4 Comments

Last year, polymer artists Emily Squires Levine and Laura Tabakman spent some late summer days in the Colorado mountains and were so inspired by their walks through groves of aspen trees that they decided to collaborate on an installation.

The result is “Into The Forest” which opened for public viewing in Philadelphia on September 12. Located in the South Tower Art Gallery of the Park Towne Apartments in Philadelphia, the installation is part of the “Constructing Organics” show which features work by three other Philadelphia artists. InLiquid and AIMCO co-sponsored the show.

I attended the opening and was excited to see polymer art recognized as fine art. Laura, who lives in Pittsburgh, was not able to attend the opening but Emily did an excellent job of explaining how she and Laura were influenced by their hikes through the aspen forests and how they translated that experience into an intriguing installation.

Here are some pictures

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08-emily — Emily talks about “Into The Forest”

The Philadelphia venue is only the beginning for “Into the Forest.”

I first learned at the EuroSynergy conference this summer that Emily and Laura, who have been joined by award winning polymer artist Julie Eakes plan to expand “Into The Forest” into an international collaborative project. Laura announced the project at the end of her Synergy presentation on “Getting Your Work Ready to Show.” She’d already wowed the audience with her stories about how she scouted exhibition opportunities for her incredible polymer and mixed media installations. After she revealed the plans for the international collaboration she invited everyone to volunteer via a Facebook group set up for the purpose. I volunteered right there on my iPad and many people in the audience did the same.

You can volunteer too. Just go to the Facebook group page, here. You can follow the project on Instagram (@intotheforest17). Read more about the project on the Polymer Arts Blog.

Several polymer events to support the program are in the works. Emily will lead one at the September meeting of the Philadelphia Area Polymer Clay Guild. For information on this meeting, go to the PAPCG blog.

Big, Bold Jewelry Designs at Synergy

By: ornamento.blog July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

Art, EuroSynergy, TravelArt, Bordeaux, EuroSynergy, inspiration, Polymer ClayLeave a Comment

I am finally home after nearly three weeks in Europe. Past of the reason for the trip was to attend the EuroSynergy Conference in Bordeaux. I rekindled many friendships, made some new friends, attended fabulous programs and mostly tried to keep my head from exploding with all the artistic influences, new products, wonderful people and the inspiring and informative program the conference offered.

One of the highlights for me, however, was meeting Jude Parker and seeing her big, bold, colorful jewelry. Jude, who was attending Synergy with her mother Ann Parker is from Sanderstead, England just south of London where Ann has a business selling craft supplies called Monkey Ann. Visit the web site here.

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Jude’s work is large, colorful and light because it is composed of hollow forms. It is big and bold and she carries off the look beautifully. Here she is modeling some of her creations.

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This neck piece has a fabric-like feeling to it , but it is all cane work and deceptively light because it is hollow. I love the limited palate. Jude made the findings because she will never find ready-made clasps for the scale of jewelry she creates.

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