Rachel Carren on Jan 07 2012 | Filed under: Critical Commentary
Polymer, polymer clay, FIMO, Sculpey, Premo, Katoclay, Cernit? Have you ever wondered how and why this colored, synthetic modeling material got its common name? Prior to 1990 both artists and publications describe the material using a brand name like FIMO or polyform with a modifier such as “modeling compound”. There is no mention of either [...]
Rachel Carren on May 01 2009 | Filed under: Critical Commentary
After spending an intense week in New Jersey working on the polymer collection project, several things came into focus. While examining, cataloging and organizing about a thousand pieces of work, it was very exciting to view the progress of the medium.
Rachel Carren on Apr 10 2009 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Critical Commentary
Ford/Forlano, Big Bead Necklace, 1998
Throughout time, artists have found countless sources of inspiration. Sometimes it comes from the world around them; the song of a bird, the curve of a face, or the color of a flower have all inspired art. Other times, an idea springs from something that is already integrated into an artist’s [...]
Rachel Carren on Feb 13 2009 | Filed under: Critical Commentary, Design-based Works
Debra DeWolff, Bracelet, 2007
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” *
Expressions of love are numerous and vary from culture to culture. In many cultures, not only is holding hands a tangible connection between two people, it generally is an outward sign of affection. Wearing a bracelet that encircles the wrist in [...]
Rachel Carren on Sep 26 2008 | Filed under: Critical Commentary
“The Ambassador of Handmade,” an article about the Do It Yourself (DIY) movement and one of its chief proponents, Faythe Levine, recently appeared in the New York Times. By the time I had finished reading the piece, it struck me that polymer serves as an ideal toggle between the world of fine craft and the [...]
Rachel Carren on Jun 13 2008 | Filed under: Critical Commentary
In Jed Perl’s article, “The Artisanal Urge” American Craft (June/July 2008), he defends the “human desire to make something with one’s own hands” against the current stylistic trend of a more detached approach to creating art. Perl, an author of several books on art and the art critic for The New Republic, argues [...]
Rachel Carren on Apr 15 2008 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Critical Commentary, Narrative Works
The first time I encountered Leslie Blackford’s inventive creations was the summer of 2007. It was decidedly different from the figurative polymer work I had seen before. From the early days of polymer clay, many artists have found the material to be well suited to sculpting. Two notable artists who use [...]
Rachel Carren on Apr 01 2008 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Critical Commentary
Reading Kathleen Dustin’s essay on the early development of polymer clay, which has been so much of the PAA the past few weeks, brings to mind something Victoria Hughes wrote for the archive. Her piece, “On the Road” opens by mentioning a ride with Pier Voulkos and how the two of them were getting to [...]
Victoria on Jan 15 2008 | Filed under: Artist Spotlight, Critical Commentary
One afternoon several years ago, Pier and I were driving slowly around Oakland and Alameda, looping along Interstate-980 in the ubiquitous dense traffic that proves you are in The Bay Area. She had picked me up at Jeremy Gordon’s house in Berkeley to take me over, see her studio, hang out a bit.
We had already [...]
Elise Winters on Oct 20 2007 | Filed under: Artist's Commentary, Critical Commentary
Some people pick up comic books to discover a superhero. I simply stepped into Julie Artisans’ Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City. There, in 1994, I discovered Pier Voulkos, who has been a creative idol for me ever since. Having just discovered polymer clay, I made a mecca to Julie’s where I was [...]