I was so excited to finally see the November-December 2009 issue of Step by Step Beads on the magazine stand! One of my polymer clay necklaces, “Circles and Squares”, was chosen as a finalist in their first Colorworks Contest. The challenge was to create a piece of jewelry in the purple, green, and orange triad. Congratulations to the winner, Cheri Stewart, and the other finalists. I was so pleased to see two other polymer clay pieces on the page (by Lindly Haunani and Carol Simmons)!

Maureen
Maureen Thomas Designs

My husband, Clyde, has been busy in his studio (aka garage) creating display busts. He wanted to offer different configurations of neck, shoulders, and textures and ended up with twelve different busts! He’s finally gotten enough of an inventory that there’s a good chance that we already have what someone orders.

This has been a great creative outlet for him. I wanted some unique display for my art shows. We were inspired by some displays that were made by Lorrene Davis (a fellow Clayville California member) and by a local ceramic artist as well as a workshop I took with Robert Dancik.

When I get ahead on my own work (ha!) I’m going to try doing some embellishment on one of the busts…some fancy paint technique or mosaic or ????????

As a texture fanatic, one of my favorite tools for working with polymer clay is the texture sheet. Victoria James, my friend and fellow Clayville California member, creates the most amazing silicone texture sheets. There’s always at least one on my work table. Victoria started by using trees, moss, rocks, and plants to create the texture sheets, but she now offers sheets made from her vast collection of textile print blocks. If you work with any kind of clay I think you will find a texture sheet (or two or three or…) a wonderful addition to your tool collection! They are strong, flexible, and they don’t require a resist. (Note: the sheets are actually green in color.) The polymer clay box shown above is currently on display at The Art Building in Auburn, CA as part of a promotional show for the upcoming Autumn Art Studios Tour 2009. Click here for more details.

Maureen
Maureen Thomas Designs