Impulsive Arts

Sapphires and Rainbows

I'm having a bit of a love affair with sapphires this spring. They come in a luscious rainbow of colours, they sparkle delightfully, and their hardy nature means they can be incorporated at will without fretting over wear and care precautions.

This bracelet was snapped up before I had a chance to show it off:

But I couldn't resist staying with the rainbow theme a little longer (bracelet available here):

Circlets of rubies (technically pink sapphires graduating into rubies - they're all corundum, of course) for the ears (earrings also still available at Impulse of Delight):

This week's project:  an ethereal five pointed leaf sprinkled with tiny blue and green sapphires.

The Mobius: Strips and Sculptures

The Mobius strip, at its simplest, may be modeled by taking a flat strip of paper and giving it a half twist before joining the ends.  The resulting structure has many intriguing properties, most notably the fact that it has only one surface and one edge.   A variety of fascinating hollow structures may be generated from the notion of a non-orientable surface, and metal crochet offers a versatile construction method. 

The properties of the mobius and its derived structures make it a natural symbol for the unity of all things and the illusory nature of duality.  It has also been used to represent concepts such as rebirth, and the cycles of continuous change and renewal in the natural world.

My own Cocoon pendant in silver, gold, and amber:

 

I was intrigued by the idea of combining a symbol of One-ness with a form that is intrinsically sheltering and nurturing.

Further resources:

Mathematics of the Moebius strip and related structures such as the Cross-cap and the Klein bottle.

The Moebiustorus - a fabulous sculpture by Rinus Roelofs - the rest of the gallery is also well worth a look.

Battered Moonlight - a sculpture by George Hart.

M.C. Escher's famous Ants woodcut.

Seeds of Sunshine

My first foray into knitted pods is complete, and I am thrilled with the result:

Spheres of fine amber give the impression of being lit from within.

The earrings are sweetly minimalist, so as not to compete with the necklace:

The necklace and earrings are available now at Impulse of Delight.

Light and Shadow

Sipping coffee in a very sunny window - I used a variety of tools, including the radial blur effect in PhotoFiltre.

Golden Trio

I have a soft spot for tri-coloured gold - the coolness of the white and the cheery warmth of the rose gold add depth and subtle movement to a piece, drawing the eye from hue to hue.  And of course, the triad lends itself to naturally balanced design.

This bracelet is created with 14 kt gold fill, with triplets of rose, yellow and white gold joined in sequence by their complements.

The earring triplets are fashioned from one ring of each hue, completed with handcrafted yellow gold fill earwires.

The earrings and bracelet are available at Impulse of Delight.

Hyperbolic Space

Though easily modelled in crochet and knitting as a steadily increasing ruffle, hyperbolic space was a radical discovery that challenged the old Euclidean notions of linearity.  In hyperbolic space, multiple "straight" lines may pass through a given point without intersecting, a feat not possible in Euclidean geometry and with fascinating implications for the understanding of the structure of our universe.

In biology, examples of hyperbolic planes abound, including ruffled lettuces and, in the ocean reef environment, sea slugs, nudibranches and flatworms.  This pattern of growth is a very efficient way to create maximal surface area in a limited space.

My own Orchid, crocheted in fine silver:

Further reading on hyperbolic space:

From the Institute for Figuring: a very readable introduction to the subject, with lots of illustrations and interesting links:   http://theiff.org/oexhibits/oe1.html  Particularly intriguing is their gallery of crochet models, especially the coral reef project.

The application of hyperbolic symmetry to tiling patterns, particularly favored by the famous Dutch artist, M.C. Escher:  http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20001223/bob8.asp

Hyperbolic tile patterns by Jos Leys:  http://www.josleys.com/show_gallery.php?galid=262

A discussion of the influence of non-Euclidean geometry on modern art: http://math.mohawkcollege.ca/ocma/conf05/Post_Conf05/john_Modern_%20Art.pdf 

Moonglow

I discovered some fabulous rainbow moonstone recently - it has lovely clarity and the most incredible electric blue flash I've ever seen.

I love the mysterious, otherworldly feel of gemstones like Labradorite and moonstone.  The flash catches the eye subtly, transiently, like a whisper of a Presence - certain for a single arresting moment, then gone again.

The bracelet and earrings are created in sterling silver, and available for purchase at Impulse of Delight.

Hope

Despite waking up to another foot of snow this morning, I have not given up on spring.

You just have to look closely to find it.

Self Portrait Challenge

I've seen these around the blog world, but am finally getting around to participating.  It's an odd sensation in a way - showing my art felt awfully exposed at first, but showing myself.... Perhaps this will slowly attenuate my lifelong loathing of my own photographic image.  "Do the thing you fear" and all that.

This month's theme is making use of online tools to create or modify your image.  I used various tools in my favorite freeware photoeditor, PhotoFiltre.

First Crocus of Spring

While tromping through fresh snow to the post office, I came across this hopeful little cluster tucked away in a secluded corner.

Perfect for the new archive project - I have been craving colour rather desperately of late.