This weeks polymer clay tool is...*insert drum roll here ;) *
Images!
When I say images I mean from the past or present. You could be looking at pictures from online were taken years ago. You could also be walking outside and see a beautiful leaf color.
Why Use Images?
Working with polymer clay allows one to be creative in your own way. Many times are creativity is influenced what what we see, or in other words images that surround our lives. Since we all live in different areas of the world and have experienced different sights using images gives a personal touch to each item made.
How Can I Use Images?
1) The easiest way to use images with polymer clay is to simply look around where you live. As individuals we are all attracted to certain objects, colors, patterns, etc. Pick your favorite item(s) and study them. Try to put something about that object into one of your polymer clay projects.
For example, I love color, and lots of it. I also like it when different colors are woven together to form swirly like patterns. In my house we have a blown glass tube to water our plants with. I picked this object myself online a year ago, and I adore it's look. That is why I decided to use those colors in a pendant I made.
As you can see from the pictures above I used many colors and gave it a swirled effect in the pendant to match the blown glass tube. I also added in blue clay as the base to match the main color of blue in the glass.
2) Other images may not even be from objects in your house, but events in your life that you found amusing, special, emotional, etc. Using your own memory of such events one can make personal projects. I have made two such projects myself, neither of which I will ever sell.
The picture shown above is something I created in memory of one of my birds. I had two love birds, Prince and Princess, when I was about ten years old. Prince was a bit of a jokester, and could get out of any kind of lock. Meaning he would escape the cage every night, only to sleep with me on my pillow. :) I was terribly upset when he died. With this project I wanted to capture the happy moments in Prince's life.
This other picture is of my kitten, Lance sleeping in his cat tree. When we first adopted Lance he couldn't climb up that cat tree, even though he tried for hours at end. Finally, the first time he made it, after about five jumps, he was so exhausted he just collapsed and fell asleep, his head held high.
3) Other images you may find outside of your home. For example, the internet is a great place to start! If one searches on google for images you can find many different things to influence you. I was actually influenced by the image shown below, and thus made my candy corn. ;)
4) Stepping outside of the house, literally, one can find many different sights. Many of my items were made in season because of what I saw outside. For example, I made these pumpkin buttons, as shown, because near our townhouse is a pumpkin patch.
I also decided to make this very funky looking orange and black necklace because of a orange neon sign I saw while we were driving home one night.
Final Words
Images of color, patterns, shapes, etc are everywhere one looks. Since becoming involved with polymer clay I can't help myself but taking a closer look around me. If something does appeal to me then I will try and create something, whether it be abstract or an exact replica of that color/shape/pattern etc.
I leave you with a few images of scrapbook paper, I find these influence my choices as well with different patterns, and color combinations. ;)
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