Polymer Clay Guild of Minnesota

I went to a parochial school that gave awards of art supplies to young artists and I think that really fed my imagination and interest in art.  I enjoyed art classes through grade school and high school.  And had one of my paintings submitted to the Milwaukee Sentinel Art Calendar while in high school.  I was offered an art scholarship to Kansas State University but my parents  advised me to turn it down and find an area of study with a better financial future.  And so I did.  When I graduated from college I had a double major in Business; one in Management and one in Finance; and I had a minor in Mathematics.  But it wasn’t long after I graduated that I became ill.  That illness prevented me from working in my chosen field.  Eventually, I knew I would need something to keep me busy and feeling useful.  Little did I know that I would find myself back in the art world.

I started making greetings cards, which developed into a small business in the Paper Arts. It was fun and it kept me busy.  Then, one day, I got a call  from another artist who told me to turn on the television to see a project on The Carol Duvall Show.  It was a segment with Maureen Carlson.  I was hooked…I bought one of her books and several others by different artists.  And, I loved it!  I joined the Polymer Clay Guild of Minnesota and I’ve been playing with clay ever since.  Yes, I said, “playing”, it is such a joy to work with.  It also helps that I can work at home and start and stop as my body requires.

I love making beads of polymer clay.  I prefer to roll them by hand.  And I make canes that I like to use on them.  I have always admired Karen Lewis’s (KLEW) canework and beads. I am also intrigued with Jeffrey Dever’s podlike beads.  I took a 4 day class with Jeffery Dever at Maureen Carlson’s Center for the Arts in Jordan, MN in 2008.  I, also, attended a class with Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg.  Lynne Ann is a very talented jewelry artist and makes spectacular flower canes.  I took another class from Christi Friesen and learned how to make some very cute dragons and unicorns.  I also learned some very cool caning techniques from a class I took with Layl McDill at Clay Squared to Infinity in Minneapolis.  Our guild is lucky enough to have both Maureen Carlson and Layl McDill as founding members.  How great is that?

All those classes and all that influence can be seen subtly in my work.  I really enjoy making containers, regular and hollow form beads, buttons, clocks, mirrors, purses and jewelry and much more.  I also like to make Bottles of Hope for cancer patients that are distributed in our metro area.  I spend a lot of time sanding my pieces because I love the natural shine of the clay when it is polished.  I love to work the clay with my hands.

I recently won 3 red ribbons (2nd place) at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair in the categories of polymer sculpture, beads, and earrings (photos forthcoming).

My family teases that they don’t dare sit too long in my home or they might find themselves covered with clay (as if that’s a bad thing!).