Just as Tory and Lindly built upon Nan’s original concept of polymer mokume gane, others followed and added their own variations to the process.  The approach to “stack and distort” kept evolving.

Celie Fago combined Tory’s and Lindly’s techniques.  Celie used slightly tinted translucent polymer layered with metal leaf,  which was adapted from Lindly, as well as layers of black and pearl opaque polymer, but then pushed down into the stack from above as in Tory’s approach.   Her results achieve a fluid, organic look.
Kathleen Amt, book form with mokume gane employing V-cutouts
By carving into the top, Kathy Amt was able to position and delineate the distortions.   Using a linoleum cutter tool with a V shaped form, and/or a traditional ceramic clay trimming tool, Kathy removed lines and bits of polymer from her “stack”.  This created grooved gouges in the top of the polymer sheet, which was then rolled through a pasta machine to flatten out the gouges and further expose the different strata of color.  Sometimes the layers were so thin as to create an airbrush blended appearance.

Nan Roche, Inro with mokume gane employing stamps and molds
After her initial experiments, Nan varied her approach by pressing deeply cut rubber stamps into the top of the stack/loaf.  The irregular surface was either carved or cut away to reveal the underlying layers.   Unlike so many of the other mokume gane techniques, which sought a random effect, this approach had the potential to recreate the particular pattern of the stamp.   Nan also inverted the concept by pressing a stacked slab of polymer into a well defined mold.  The mold design distorts the bottom layers of polymer.  Once released and cured, the impressed surface of the polymer form is sanded to expose the multiple layers.

Marie Segal, Brooch with mokume gane employing the ripple blade
A new alternative developed with the use of a wavy or ripple blade.  Jami Miller introduced the ripple blade to Marie Segal around 1996.  Marie arranged various colors into a chunky loaf.  This loaf was cut into perpendicularly across the layers using a ripple blade.  Marie used this basic technique to achieve what she called Faux Abalone.

Dan Cormier, Brooch showing mokume gane made in chatoyant polymer
And lastly, there is a group of mokume gane techniques that utilize the chatoyant properties of polymer, which can create dazzling tone on tone effects. While polymer chatoyance was initially explored by Pier Voulkos, Dan Cormier expanded its range by pressing precise shapes into pearlized monochromatic stacks of polymer and then cutting away a very thin, even layer of the surface.  The results are shadow like images that read with great dimensionality but in reality are totally flat.

For a time in the early 1990’s Nan Roche, Tory Hughes and Lindly Haunani were all living in the Washington, DC area. Shortly after the publication of Roche’s The New Clay, Tory Hughes and Lindly Haunani each developed their own version of the mokume gane technique. Tory’s interpretation emphasizes finely delineated impressions in the layered block and a distinct sense of stratification, while Lindly’s is about translucency and harmoniously coordinated palettes of color.  Their results are representative of  their individuality as artists and their two approaches have subsequently inspired others to explore further variations of polymer mokume gane.

Tory, who already was working with the imitative properties of polymer, recounts that she “took a couple of looks” at Nan’s brown, black and white mokume gane samples and “was off and running.”  Mokume gane was already familiar to Tory through her interests in Japanese art and armor as well as damascene sword making.   Moreover, the idea of deformed strata was well known territory to Hughes, who had been a geology major in college.

Victoria Hughes, Earth+Sky, 2009, 2″x 2.75″

Tory quickly worked out her own methods for polymer mokume gane.   First, she created tiered stacks by positioning multiple thin layers of polymer on top of a thicker base pad of polymer.  She then imposed distortions from the top, pressing down into the loaf  with various found objects and tools.  From the beginning Tory looked for tools that would make a fine rather than broad impression into the block.  Eventually, a pronged furniture caster, brought to a workshop that Tory was teaching by Sue Roche (Nan’s mother), became a particular favorite.

Once Hughes had a method for disturbing the tiers, her next step was to combine translucency, painted polymer and metallic leaf into the process of polymer mokume gane.  By now, Tory was well into her investigations of translucent polymer and pigment on polymer as well as the use of metal leaf, so adding these new elements into the blend of mokume gane layers seemed like a natural progression.  She integrated plain sheets of translucent polymer into the stack.

Victoria Hughes, Town for VVG, 1993, 1.75″ x 3″

Sometimes she also inserted a tier or two of polymer which she had painted with one or more colors, or with interference pigment.  Tory’s other inclusion was tissue thin metal leaf adhered to a polymer sheet.  Each of these options created their own unique effects when incorporated in a mokume gane stack and allowed for infinite variety including cutting and reassembling the entire loaf.  Today, almost twenty years later, Hughes is still fascinated by the technique and continues to include opaque, pearlescent, translucent, and metal leaf strata and all their seemingly infinite variations into her polymer mokume gane stack.

Return now to the early 1990’s time frame and Lindly Haunani’s first explorations of polymer mokume gane.  As she tells it, one day soon after Nan’s book was out, she and Nan met for lunch.  Nan happened to mention Tory’s experiments with adding translucent polymer and metal leaf to the mokume gane process.  Lindly had had seen Nan’s basic mokume gane experiment.  She also taken a workshop from Tory and knew about tinting translucent polymer with opaque colors.  The mid-day conversation inspired Lindly to go back to her studio that evening and devise her own version of mokume gane.

Lindly Haunani, Surf Brooch, 1995
2.5″ x 3.5″ x .25″ polymer mokume with aluminum leaf

Not surprisingly, Lindly was looking to add more color to her results than what she had seen in Nan’s monochromatic example.  Lindly also wanted to push the idea of translucency so that it would allow the metal leaf to remain reflective though the polymer.  By the next morning, Lindly had worked out the basics for a variation of mokume gane that alternated layers of tinted translucent polymer with layers of metal leaf.

One of Lindly’s innovations had to do with how to deform the layers of polymer.  She wanted to push up gently from the bottom so that the metal leaf would experience less crackling.  Her solution was to place different sized polymer rounds under the base layer in order to create a series of bumps.   She then worked the fairly large layered expanse of “stack” carefully around these bumpy supports  which resulted in a gently rolling effect on the surface.

Lindly Haunani, Big Bead Bracelet detail, 1998
bead pictured  4″ x 3″ x 1″
polymer mokume with aluminum leaf and elastic cording

Extremely thin slices could then be taken off the tops of the elevated surface bumps.  As the need arose, Lindly was able to move the underneath supports around to form new mounds, which allowed her to achieve hundreds of small slices from the original block.  Since she was using tinted translucent polymer Lindly recognized that she could collage these thin slices to give an illusion of greater depth.

She could either create a single large piece of mokume gane patterned polymer for use as a veneer; or apply the small sliced bits directly onto a form to fabricate a mokume gane surface.

Lindly Haunani, Sushi Brooch, 1993
3″ x 1.25″ x .25′
polymer, photo transfer, mokume with aluminum leaf and translucent millefiore

Lindly describes her first block of mokume gane as reminiscent of a “sun drenched tropical ocean” but she went on to use the technique in particular for illusionistic representations of sushi shrimp and large beads.  Since the mid 1990’s Lindly has taught her method of mokume gane to innumerable students and she in turn continues to be inspired by their color combinations and slants on mokume gane collage.

As had happened with Nan, Tory’s and Lindly’s explorations of polymer mokume gane sent others off to experiment and ultimately augment the technique with further variations.

Mokume Gane creates the illusion of irregular knothole-like configurations on the surface.   Today, mokume gane is integral to the established repertoire of polymer techniques.  Many artists use some variation or derivative of the concept.   However, mokume gane is a centuries old Japanese metals technique devised to reproduce the wavy grain patterning of certain steels used for Samurai swords; so how did it become incorporated into the polymer vocabulary?

First some history:   The concept of mokume gane (moku= wood, me=eye, gane=metal) was introduced to western metal smiths in 1866 by Raphael Pumpelly, an American geologist and explorer.  There was some limited exploration and success with the technique by art nouveau metal smiths but interest dissipated.  Mokume gane remained unknown to modern jewelers until the middle of the 20th century.   Intrigued by the work of Cyril Stanley Smith, during the late 1960s /early 1970s a group of students led by Professor L. Brent Kington at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale began to experiment with layering metals, which this is the foundation of the mokume gane technique.  Around the same time, Hiroko Sato Pijanowski and Gene Pijanowski returned from Japan where they learned about mokume gane methods from Noirio Tamagawa, one of the few Japanese craftsmen able to create it.  After their return to the States, the Pijanowskis began to publish and teach about mokume gane.  By the late 1970s the Pijanowskis had met and shared resources with the SIUC group.   Once introduced, mokume gane began to appear in books of metal techniques, such as Oppi Untracht’s, Jewelry: Concepts and Technology (first ed. 1982).

Nan Roche, polymer mokume gane sample
for illustration in The New Clay, circa 1990

Enter Nan Roche, who has been a lifelong follower of many crafts and consequently has accumulated a large library including the Untracht text.   As she was experimenting and writing about polymer for her seminal book, The New Clay, (1991) Nan turned to Untracht for information about different metal techniques and their possible application to polymer.   In a recent conversation with Nan about her “discovery” of polymer mokume gane, she spoke about studying the images and diagrams in Untracht’s book and then just sitting down to try it.   Since mokume gane is about layers, it seemed well suited to this new medium.  Nan spent a few hours experimenting and was able to create a successful rendition of mokume gane using polymer.  She photographed her results and included it in the book- see page 71.   This was the origin of polymer mokume gane.

Nan’s brief explanation presented two basic approaches for fabrication.  One involved cutting into the top of stacked layers of opaque polymer and then flattening the surface.   The other distorted the flat surface plane by pushing a tool or object, such as a pencil eraser, up into the stack or “loaf” from underneath before shaving layers off the now irregular top.  Little did Nan know how her initial experiments would impact the field.

Read more about the history of mokume gane.

Elise Winters, Garden Esprit Brooch, 2010
5.5″h x 5.5″ w x 3″d
polymer, acrylic, maple, brass

This past weekend at SOFA:NY, my new Esprit Brooches were exhibited for the first time on maple stands.  Brooch forms have always been my favorite.  I approach them as small scale sculpture.  After making these larger ruffle brooches I felt they should be on display when not in use. I love that the stand allows the brooch to float in space.

Also on view at Snyderman-Works Gallery were several of these new hole punch brooches by Ford/Forlano.
Read what they have to say about technique here and about the concept here.

Ford/Forlano, Three Bar Pins, 2010, polymer clay, sterling silver, 4 x 3/8 x 1/2″

Over the course of time, artistic ideas often phase in and out of artists’ work.  Sometimes an idea will emerge, take form and recede only to re-appear a number of years later in a related but distinct interpretation.  Such is the case with F/F’s three sculptural wall pieces:   Figure1, Figure 2 and Figure 3.

Steven Ford & David Forlano, Figure, 2003
wall sculpture with 2 brooches
13.25″h x 12.25″w x 2.25″d

Figure 1 from 2003 is part of F/F’s Nine series which they debuted at the Philadelphia Craft show.  Nine was conceived as a series of nine visually unique wall sculptures that happened to incorporate detachable jewelry items into the compositions.  The composition, Figure 1, explores concepts of early 20th century cubism.  Fragmented visual planes and a staccato rhythm of forms capture the mood and appearance of the groundbreaking artistic movement.   The piece also echoes cubist sensibilities in its collage assembly.  Composed of burlap applied to plywood, black gesso, printing letters, and portions of polymer inset into sterling silver bezels, Figure 1 recalls the collaged works of Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris.

While intended to hang as wall art, F/F included two detachable brooches within this complex composition.  The whole concept of Nine makes a direct statement about art jewelry being art.   Figure 1 in particular expands the idea by evoking art of the past within a work of contemporary art that contains more art.

Upon receiving a commission for a wall piece that would revisit Figure 1, F/F returned to the concepts presented in 2003.   By incorporating found objects, collage techniques and an essentially monochromatic color scheme, elements of the cubist style and esthetic are still very much present in the two recently completed works:  Figure 2 and Figure 3.  However, since 2003 Ford and Forlano’s collaborative partnership has evolved.  The two men no longer live in the same city, which means that aside from verbal and perhaps photo transmitted exchanges, these pieces were considered and created initially through each man’s autonomous interpretation.   Eventually, both artists’ assortment of components was united and together, on site, Ford and Forlano determined the final direction for Figure 2 and Figure 3.

left:  Figure #2, 2010, 27 x 20 x 4″. polymer clay, wood, brass, paper

right: Figure #3, 2010, 24 x 18 x 3″, polymer clay, wood, printed paper, paint

While artistically connected to Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 also are decidedly different.  Each of the two new pieces is larger in scale and comprised of bigger individual components.  The background planes of both are now far more complex and filled with collaged areas of pattern.   Surface additions are fewer, as well as simpler and particular pieces are generally larger in scale.  This reverses the relationship of surface to background from Figure 1 where the background plane was fairly consistent and the surface was highly detailed.  In both pieces the polymer inclusions are well integrated with F/F’s renewed interest in printmaking and painting.

External contours are more irregular in Figure 2 and Figure 3, creating a dynamic effect that suggests an impetus to expand out from the demarcated space rather than turn inward as in Figure 1.   However, unlike the density of core compositional components in Figure 1, the two new works take different forms.  Figure 2 presents a coherent, integrated mix of collaged bits of wood, printed papers, found letters, paint and polymer elements that play upon a motif of square and round shapes.  There is a strong sense of movement and torque as one looks at the piece.   In Figure 3, a similar assembled blend of materials results in an angular, stationary composition.  The viewer is confronted with a visually arresting piece that insists one stop and pay attention.

Perhaps the most significant difference is in the intention of the new works.  At the most basic level, Figure 1 is an artistic vehicle for the display of two well integrated brooches.  With Figure 2 and Figure 3, neither piece contains any hidden jewelry assets.   Ford and Forlano created art that only is meant to be art.   When they first met, Ford and Forlano were both studying painting.  They have recently returned to making art through an exploration of print making and paint.   The incorporation of paper and pigment into their oeuvre, adds a further level of textural and dimensional duality as their collaborative conversation continues.

Editor’s note:

And here’s what Steven had to say about these pieces:
“Last year, we got a call after the Fuller Museum show that featured some of our wall pieces from 2003.  A Boston area collector liked the work and wondered if we would want to revisit some of the ideas in a piece called Figure #1.   We agreed and were excited to be making something other than jewelry  for a change.  That was last summer……….. and finally, this week,  I finished two pieces that were based on some proposed watercolor sketches that the client picked out.

At first, I was more excited about the idea of making this work, while David was more excited about the actual making.  He made sheets of polymer clay pattern, and worked through ideas with some drawings of his own, in his Santa Fe studio.  He brought these parts to Philadelphia in February, and we worked on developing a distinct and focused direction for each piece.  A new element since the original Figure #1, is the print/painting collaboration that we’ve been doing (see earlier posts).  Printed material was incorporated into both Figure 2 and Figure 3.  I think it meshed well with the clay work.

A consistent element with Figure #1, is the use of found objects.  We cut corners off of vintage wooden printing letters (choosing letters for their shape, not their meaning as letters) so they would sit at jaunty angles and would become the “figure” against the “field” of pattern.”

Steven Ford and David Forlano, Diamond Pin #6, 2006
18k gold, sterling, polymer clay, diamonds
1.25 x 2.25 x .5″

After 20 plus years of working together Steven Ford and David Forlano’s artistic relationship is one of inherent trust and respect.  However, it also is very much about each man’s individuality and what he uniquely brings to the process.   In the past few years, Maryanne Petrus, their metals artist, has been invited into in their collaborative mix, but the primary interaction is always between Ford and Forlano.

Recently Ford and Forlano spoke about the nature of their collaborative experience.  Listening to them talk about the process of working together, while simultaneously watching an historical overview of their oeuvre, I was struck by the many manifestations of duality in their work.  Each has a distinctive voice and yet as a team they successfully create art with a single, unified statement.  Ford’s interests tend to focus on dimensionality, line and form whereas Forlano generally concentrates his attention on surface effects, patterning and color.   Finished work embodies both approaches and often seems to address issues of contrast though balancing design and materials.

One example of this study in contrasts is their Diamond Pin 6 from 2009.  This elegant pin incorporates four diamonds for added bling into what would already be an interesting piece.  The use of diamonds furthers the idea of contrast in several ways.  The roughness, apparent and real, of the polymer surfaces and the less finished quality of the metals, differs dramatically from the refinement of the gemstones.   One of the hardest of stones, diamonds were formed from crystallized carbon and have been treasured for thousands of years as highly desirable ornamental enhancements.   In F/F’s pin, the sparkle of the diamonds counters the non-lustrous metals as well as the matte texture and earthy hues of the modern, synthetic polymer surfaces.   F/F expanded the idea with the use of round motifs in the surface patterning which echoes the shape of the actual diamonds.  Furthermore, diamond shaped polymer fields surround the real thing.  These delineated segments of color and texture alternate with areas of void to create a play of positive and negative space.

While neither Ford nor Forlano were apt to have thought about it during the artistic process, the brooch might even take us beyond their intentions and reference the game of baseball.  A baseball field is called a diamond.  It generally is diagramed as a square sitting on one point.   In this brooch, the central void recalls the shape of a baseball diamond, an effect that is enhanced by the repetition of the four surrounding square spaces.  Perhaps this adds one further level of engagement for this piece and even another kind of contrast.   While sport is at times the subject of art, one rarely would consider the connections between the sophisticated artistry of Ford and Forlano’s contemporary pin and the game of baseball.  Yet, art never happens in a vacuum and sometimes interesting associations between art and life emerge.

On going work from Ford/Forlano promises to continue the richness of their artistic collaboration.  Whatever direction this takes them, no doubt, themes of duality will still be a part of their vocabulary.  Stay tuned.

The Polymer Collection at the Racine Art Museum will make its debut in an exhibition scheduled for the fall of 2011. This recent acquisition of more than 180 pieces of jewelry and sculpture by RAM represents the first comprehensive collection of polymer art to be accessioned by a major national museum.

To make possible a full-color hardback catalog to accompany this show, Bruce Pepich, Exec. Director of RAM, and I made fundraising presentations at the International Polymer Clay Association Synergy2 Conference a week ago in Baltimore. Those speeches elicited donations of more than $17,000 from 111 generous and committed attendees.

The museum in Racine, Wisconsin is home to one of the most significant contemporary craft collections in the United States. The new polymer works augment RAM’s existing collections of artist-made jewelry, ceramics and furniture. RAM’s polymer collection, representing gifts from a consortium of collectors, artists and teachers working in the medium, inaugurates a serious, museum-based documentation of the history and development of polymer art ..

We invite you now to join the community of artists, collectors and enthusiasts who have already demonstrated their support for this event. Please make your own donation today. Your tax deductible contribution, made through the secure PayPal button below, will go directly into an account designated solely for support of the polymer collection at the Racine Art Museum. Or send your check made out to RAM/Polymer Collection to the Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St., Racine, WI 53403.

Then mark your calendar to join us at RAM for the opening weekend.

Loretta Lam, Laughing Corn, 2009

Loretta Lam’s Neckpiece appeared in CraftForms 2009, the 15th International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Craft at the Wayne Art Center, Wayne PA from Dec 4, 2009 - Jan 23, 2010.  The exhibition which was curated by Bruce Pepich, Executive Director and Curator of Collections at the Racine Art Museum included more than 100 works in all media.  Loretta comments about her piece:

“The piece is named for a poem by Carl Sandburg about harvest time. The references are all there - wheat and corn, seeds and berries, earthy colors and textures. My favorite time of year, all that bounty - the fruits of our labor. The piece is all polymer with a handmade copper clasp and measures 32″ and the largest bead is 4″ long.”

My own Citron Cascade Neckpiece also appeared in the exhibition.

Elise Winters, Citron Cascade Neckpiece, 2009
from the permanent collection of MFA Boston

Dan Adams and Cynthia Toops, Sleepless in Seattle Necklace detail, 2010
glass, polymer, silver

Dan Adams and Cynthia Toops have new work in the upcoming exhibit called Glass Quake Again 2010.  The show opens on March 12th and runs thru April 24th at Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge MA.

Elise Winters, Denim Cascade RUFFLE Neckpiece, 2010

as seen on models during Cynthia Rowley’s Fall 2010 runway show last Friday during NY Fashion Week.

Elise Winters, Denim Cascade RUFFLE Neckpiece, 2010

Elise Winters, Omni Cascade RUFFLE Neckpiece, 2010