The theme for the May challenge from Art Elements’ blog team was ‘tidepools.” Tidepools are a marine micro-habitat full of inspiration for any artistic medium. They’re filled with textures and colors and movement. In fact, there’s so much inspiration in tidepools that I had an impossible time narrowing down what to focus on. Where to start: the colors, the textures, the critters?
I decided that doing some kind of sculpture for this theme would let me explore the textures and colors and diversity of life found in tidepools all in one piece. After contemplating a photo frame and a trinket box, I landed on decorating one of the repurposed glass jars I use to store my sculpting and painting tools.
The jars I use are a perfect shape and height for holding my tools and paint brushes. They’re wide-mouthed so there’s no wasted space as there would be with a tapered neck. And they’re shorter than the shortest of my tools, so nothing gets lost in the depths. The jars originally contained a condiment without which I cannot survive: salsa. I put salsa on practically everything I eat and usually have no less than three varieties in my fridge at a time. As a result of my salsa habit, I end up with a lot of empty glass jars. Most of them get recycled, but I saved a few from one brand because they are so perfect for holding tools in my studio.
Here is the tidepool jar at work in my studio, holding some of my brushes. You can also see what an uncovered version looks like as there are a couple others behind it holding more of my tools. Yes, I have amassed a large collection of texture tools. No, that’s not even close to all of them. Yes, I eat a lot of salsa. No, I am not sponsored.
To begin, I covered the outside of the jar with a layer of ecru-tinted white polymer clay. I textured the base layer to resemble rocks covered in lichen and algae. Or more appropriately, to evoke the idea of rocks covered in lichen and algae. As Andy Warhol is reported to have said: “If you’re not trying to be real, you don’t have to get it right. That’s art.” Keep that quote in mind as you look at my rendering of starfish, sea urchin, mussels, kelp, and other sea life on this jar.
Here is the sculpting work in progress. I didn’t have an advance plan for the layout or flow and just started adding critters randomly, connecting and overlapping them as I went. One flaw in that approach is that I ended up with an unbalanced piece in which there’s a largish patch of “bare” rock with no critters clinging to it. Then again, nature is not perfectly symmetrical, and I rather liked the underlying texture in that spot.
Some of the critters on the jar were formed from silicone molds, with details added after. The smaller starfish, for example, are from a mold I made from a metal charm. The larger starfish was from a candy/soap mold. I used a flower mold to form the sea anemones, making them less flowery by cutting away some of the petals and reshaping the others to look more tentacular. The mussels were each made by hand, as were the urchins, limpets, and kelp.
This is the jar just before curing. I added this initial layer of color with pan pastels. I tend to use an off-white clay for sculpting when I don’t have a definite plan for how I want the final piece to look. I could use plain white straight from the package, but I think adding a little color gives the final piece more depth. Or is that just my aversion to stark white?
There are several layers of color on this jar. The first layer, added before I cured the polymer clay, is pan pastels. After curing, I used alcohol inks to darken some of the colors or add depth to the textures. A third layer was acrylic paints to grunge up the nooks and crannies and highlight the high points. I had to add a fourth layer of inks to some parts that got too dark or dingy from the paint. A fifth and final layer will be the polyurethane sealant, which I haven’t add yet because I can’t decide if I want to leave it matte or make it glossy.
The colorful tidepool tool jar makes the uncovered salsa jars in my workspace jealous. I am considering themes for decorating them next. Maybe I will find inspiration in future Art Element challenges.
I worked on the jar over several weekends. In between curing the jar, worrying that adding the various layers of color would ruin it, and finally adding more layers of color, I made some tidepool critter jewelry components. I managed to convert some of the components into finished jewelry, but most of them are sitting in a bead tray waiting for me to get back to them.
I had a vision of making sea urchin beads that were very textural, with lots of bumps and lines. After an hour of sculpting resulted in only four beads of that nature, I got less elaborate with the rest and used a ball tool to make rows of dots. Even that was tedious and time consuming. I still have a crick in my neck.
I made some sea urchin spines from polymer clay. While sea urchin spines can be bought for use in arts and crafts, I don’t use real animal bits in my art or jewelry. I don’t want to spend time researching whether they were humanely sourced, and I don’t trust that anything can be “sustainably” harvested these days. Maybe the spines are only collected from sea urchins after they died of old age, having lived a long and fulfilling life in their natural habitat. But just in case not, it’s easier to avoid animal bits all together. And more fun to take artistic license when sculpting my own versions.
Actual sea urchin spines come in several shapes and a wide variety of colors and sizes. I went with the triangular shape for my version, and used pan pastels to give them color. I initially intended them to be more realistic in color, but they ended up brighter than that It’s possible I should have added some gray or complimentary colors to shade or tone them down a bit. I really need to take a color-theory class some day.
While I’m not unhappy with the unnaturally bright colors of my sea urchin spines, I did have to alter my plans for how I used them in jewelry. They were too bright for the creamy ivory riverstone beads I had in mind for a necklace. Instead, I used a strand of turquoise blue glass chip beads. The end result is less earthy and subdued than I planned. But still respectably rustic and boho, I think.
I paired some of the purple spines with matching urchin beads for a monochromatic pair of long dangle earrings. They are big and bold yet very light weight. And now I think I need to make more spines, to match the other urchin beads, so I can make a series of the earrings in all the colors.
When I made the yellow starfish pendant I had a necklace design in mind that involved some of the orange urchin spines dangling from the loops at the bottom. I didn’t like the colors together after all. So, I made a red-orange starfish pendant. And still didn’t like it with the spines. Maybe it’s the shapes or sizes that aren’t working together for me. I’ll figure it out eventually.
Fossil coral are not part of tidepool ecosystems, so far as I know. However, I made these faux fossil coral beads because I thought I might use them as accent beads in a necklace with the urchin spines. I didn’t care for the combination afterall. Sometimes what looks good in my mind’s eye doesn’t work when seen by my actual eyes. I love the beads, even though they didn’t work as intended.
The last thing I made for this challenge before cleaning up the studio and setting up the light tent to take photos was a pair of faux abalone shell earrings. Abalone are more commonly found in the sublittoral zone, but some inhabit the intertidal areas and could theoretically be found in a tidepool. When you think of abalone shell in jewelry, you’re probably visualizing the silvery iridescent nacre, which lines the inside of the shell. On the outside, abalone shells tend to be duller and less showy. The shells I made from polymer clay are painted to resemble the more subdued but still beautiful outsides.
These faux abalone shell earrings are on the large side, but comfortably lightweight because the charms are polymer clay. I used pearl liquid polymer clay to glaze the charms so they have a subtle shimmer and a slightly rough texture. The shells are paired with some “sparkling rocks” lampwork beads from GlassBeadArt in a perfectly apropos seafoam green. The smaller accent beads at the top are some of faux fossil coral I made.
There were plenty of other tidepool critters I could have incorporated into this challenge, if I had spent less time at my day job and more in the studio: chitons, crabs, sculpins, and nudibranchs to name a few. Alas, all play and no work would make Tammy unable to pay her rent and buy more polymer clay to play with for these challenges.
Many thanks to the Art Elements team for these monthly challenges, and to Lesley Watt for the choice of inspiration this month. This challenge is also a blog hop. Visit the other participating artists for a visual feast of tidepool-inspired art in a variety of media.
Guests
Raven
Kelly
Cat
Kathy
Tammy <– You are here!
Alyson
Elaine
Mischelle
Deborah
Anita
Jill
Shirlee
Sarajo
Melissa
AE Team Members
Caroline
Cathy
Claire
Jen
Laney
Lesley
Marsha
Niky
Sue
Lindsay
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Tammy you have been busy, I love that jar, at first glance I thought it was felt as I didn’t know you could use polymer clay that way. I love the earrings and beads too especially the fossil coral ones
Thank you, Jill. One of the best things about polymer clay is you can use it almost any way you can imagine.
Tammy, I love the jar that you created and decorated. It is a real beauty. Another favorite of mine is the faux abalone shell earrings. You did a great job coloring them. Well done!
Thanks so much, Kathy. I meant to show a photo of the earrings with the actual shell I based them on, but I put it away before the photo session.
I’ve been watching your sneak previews on Instagram and new we were going to get a treat from you and you didn’t disappoint! I love all your beads and the jewellery you made with them but I’m especially enamoured with your sculptural tool holder. I’m all for brightening up our working environments and this is just perfect. Many thanks for taking part in our challenge.
Thanks so much, Lesley. Especially for choosing such an inspiring theme.
Like Lesley, I have been seeing sneak previews and knew that you were going to have some fabulous pieces.
I REALLY love the jar you decorated. That is so perfect- It’s too pretty to just use for your tools! The sea urchin beads are so adorable. And I really love the starfish pendants. Eveything is beautiful. You did a lovely job of creating tide pool creatures and elements.
Thank you so much, Cathy. The jar does look too pretty for tools when viewed next to the undecorated salsa jars. I better get busy dressing up the rest of my studio. LOL.
Oh wow wow wow! Amazing! I too watched what you were up to on Instagram, and what an amazing array of things you made! Wow – I love them so much! I love the urchins you made that caused you pain, those spines are so cool, and then fossil coral! I would love to know how long you had to bake that jar, it’s a treasure for you! Tostitos should use it on their web site! Loved seeing what you made!
Thanks so much, Susan. I’d like to make more urchin beads, but I need to set a timer so I don’t spend a solid hour hunched over my counter. I cured the jar for an hour. I cure all my polymer clay pieces for an hour regardless of thickness. Maybe I should tag Tostitos when I share photos on social media. 😉
Oh Tammy these are SO wonderful!!!
Thanks so much, Marsha. 🙂
Oh my! You were a busy bee! My favorites are the cup (holy moly that’s cool!) and the sea urchin spines…they look like the real deal! Fab work!
Thank you, Kelly. I admit to having neglected a few household chores in favor of making beads. It’s all about setting priorities. LOL.
That is so amazing, I’m in love!
All those different pieces and bits, it’s really hard to pick a favorite. I love the fossil coral beads and the urchin beads, but that jar is wonderful!
Thank you, Cat. This was a fun theme which made it easy to be inspired.
Tammy, as usual, you’ve been so busy! And as usual, I love what you’ve made. I haven’t seen sneek peeks of your projects like the others, but I’ve now followed you on Instagram for future glimpses! 😉
Thanks so much, Anita. And thanks for following me on Instagram. I’m still figuring that platform out, but I do enjoy it much more than twitter or FB.
Beautiful work!!! I love all the spines and small pieces but the jar is definitely my favorite as it would be perfect for holding crochet hooks at my work station as well!! LOL I love the amount of texture and depth you were able to make on the jar surface. Just lovely 🙂
Thanks so much, Raven. The jar turned out much better than I expected given that I didn’t have a plan when I started making it.
Such stunning work, I soooo love the urchin spikes, they are my favorites! But the coral fossil beads are really, really close to the spikes. They could all come and live with me 😉
Thanks so much, Claire. I bet you would make magical things with the spikes and the fossil coral.
Looks like you were really inspired by the theme–so many nice pieces.
Thank you. And yes, it was a great theme to work with.
Been following your Insta peeks also, but don’t recall seeing the Urchin Spikes, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Thank you, Alysen. I did share a peak of the spikes, but it was a workbench photo so it probably didn’t stand out. I really love them too. I want to try making some in the earthy colors I imagined. But there’s always so many other things I want to try too.
I love your jar, what a wonderful idea and it looks great! Your components are fab too and I think the bright colours are just perfect!
Thanks so much, Niky. I’m not disappointed that the colors are bright. But it did upset my plans for how I imagined I would use the beads as I was making them.
Your jar is wonderful! Love your sea urchin spine earring!!!
Thanks so much, Shirlee. I am pleased with how everything turned out.
That quote is brilliant!! Wow you have been busy what a creative month!! The beads and jewellery elements are lovely but that jar! Wow! That is a favorite I love it!!
Thanks so much, Laney. When I came across that quote I wrote it down because it is such a perfect reminder for me when I am creating.
You over achiever! I love those fossil coral beads – I know so simple, but so effective. The layering and depth of color you achieved on your tide pool jar is stunning. Plain white IS too stark. I always ivory too, with a little translucent for depth. Coming from ceramics it makes sense to me to have one “clay body”
Thanks so much, Jenny. I took a chance adding all those layers of color to the jar. I was worried it would end up looking like mud. I didn’t mention it in my post, but I put some translucent in my off-white clay blend too. I couldn’t explain why I do it, I just knew if gives the end result something extra. And now I know the word I was looking for was “depth.” 🙂
Your tool jar turned out so cool… what a smart and creative idea!! I really love all the beads you made… especially your urchin rounds and spines. That last pair of earrings is just wonderful too… great soft, beachy colors!
Thanks so much, Sarajo. I am enjoying the jar, even though it makes the undecorated jars look sad.
That jar is brilliant! I love it! I can’t believe how much you managed to get done, even if the darn day job got in the way! Those little starfish(?) beads with the starfish pendants have my heart. So cute! Thanks for participating in the challenge and reading AE. Hope to see you in future challenges!
Thanks so much, Jen. Yes, those are teensy starfish on the beads. And thanks to all the AE contributors for these challenges as well as the regular art inspiration and information.