Initially, my cellular jewellery was based on oval dome-shaped pieces, but it wasn't quite what I envisaged - at least, I could see other possibilities as I had with my nebula jewellery i.e. that it could be much more 3D in some way.
I had never heard of alcohol ink until I came across the Alcohol Ink Art Community group on Facebook and came across some cell art by Christina VanGinkel. The pieces involved painting sheets of Yupo paper with alcohol inks and then holes are made in the paper with a wood burning tool or stencil iron. Finally, the cell layers are separated one on top of another with adhesive tabs to keep the sheets apart and provide the 3D depth before being framed - at least, as I understand it.
Yupo is a synthetic, non-porous paper made from 100% polypropylene. In effect, it is a plastic paper. It is acid free and ph neutral and is perfect for painting with alcohol inks due to their unique properties as paints.
I found Christina's pieces so interesting and, to my eyes, beautiful - although she does not primarily produce art in this style. For her other work, please have a look at her website - Christina VanGinkel Art.
I just love art that is interesting - which, for me, usually means that there is a lot going on in the piece. Yes, I know. We're all different. I have just always loved detail in art and love pieces that you can look at again and again and find something new. I have found that with the cell art I have seen.
These are the pieces that inspired me and the move away from the barely three dimensional pieces I had made so far ...
Christina's pieces inspired me to research further and I came across other pieces by other artists.
The work of the Californian based fine artist, Jess Kirkman especially struck me. Her cell art was the kind of thing I envisaged doing in polymer clay. This is the kind of style I was looking for. Here are some of Jess's wonderful pieces ...
It isn't hard to see that the layers and negative space and colours all combine to produce works of art that are intricate, fascinating and beautiful. Could you really ever bore of looking at any of them? You can find much more of Jess's work on her website https://manifestjess.com/ or at her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/manifest.jess/ or Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/manifestjess/inked-in/ accounts.
When trying to make jewellery even approaching this style, I encountered several problems
Firstly, being jewellery, it has a tendency to be worn which, in turn means that it has to be more robust than a piece of wall art. Polymer clay can be pretty robust, but it has limits - especially if you want the piece to be lightweight and thin, whilst being unsupported at points. Various clays have various strengths, but even so, thin sheets consisting mainly of holes poses a real challenge.
Secondly, is the problem of how to separate the layers so that they hold together and yet provide the required depth and also support and strengthen the layers.
Thirdly, the problem of size. I think the artwork I had seen was roughly A5 size, but even a large pendant would be only 3" (7.5cm) long and 2" (5cm) wide. This is a problem because each sheet needs to be sculpted before being baked and the holes need to be punched and manipulated, which means that it is difficult to not distort the edges. The large holes are quite straightforward, but it is the very small holes which cause most problems - especially on narrow pieces of clay separating two larger holes as these narrow areas of clay can be easily snapped even when the clay isn't cured
Fourthly, to paint with alcohol ink before or after baking. Using the ink before baking results in a darker colour unless the ink is very dilute. Unlike Yupo paper, un-baked polymer clay absorbs ink and if it is applied too dark, it is difficult to lighten the colour. I found that the answer was to add very dilute colours before baking and then to build up darker colours after baking and assembling the whole piece would mean several bakings were necessary.
Strangely, my very first attempt was the only one which turned out as I wanted, but because of the problems outlined above, the clay sheets were thicker than I really wanted. I was happy with the colouring and the overall effect, but the size and the need for it to be strong enough to wear without snapping meant that what can be achieved is necessarily limited and it would be impossible to make a piece with the hundreds of tiny holes found in the Yupo wall art pieces.
Here, then, is my first set of layered cell jewellery although I am considering completely re-making the earrings so they are longer and narrower (bottom photo of these five).
Another decision I had to make was whether to edge the pendant and earrings to neaten them or to leave them as they were. In the end, I decided to leave the edges rough as i felt it suited the organic look more .
Sadly, I didn't keep a photographic record of how this set progressed to show some of the stages involved, but I did make a photographic of the next set I made - my rendition of a coral reef and was soon on its way to its new home in the U.S.A.
I have made other pendants and sets, but my first remains my personal favourite.
One final cell piece I would like to include here is another layered cell pendant. This one was smaller than the previous two and includes microbeads. I decided to put a frame round this piece and seal the layers in, but am pleased with the colouring and the sense of depth I want to achieve, while still being a more 'normal' size for a pendant - whatever normal means.
I doubt very much that I have made my last piece of cell jewellery and, in fact, writing this blog post has inspired me to make another set and to try this time to get the layers of clay thinner. Wish me luck.
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