Synergy2 is only three weeks away. I can’t wait to see all the fabulous polymer clay work in the Gallery and Exhibit. Friend and fellow Clayville California member, Victoria James, submitted this beautiful polymer clay and pine needle basket for the exhibit, which made the back cover of the Synergy2 Exploring Connections exhibit catalog…very exciting news! The conference theme revolves around collaboration. The Exhibit showcases artwork either produced by one artist in mixed media or made by two or more artists working together (or both).

Please stop by the Gallery and say hello if you will be in Baltimore!

Maureen

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 ????????

At several recent art shows we received quite a few inquiries about the papier mache busts that Clyde (my husband) has made for my necklaces. They seem to be real conversation starters because they’re rather unique. A number of artists and gallery owners have asked about buying them so we have decided to place some for sale on both the website and in my Etsy store. We’ve called the collection OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Clyde has been furiously working in his studio (aka: the garage) to streamline the process as much as possible, but they are made individually and they require a lot of drying time on the form before they are removed. Even with the hot days we’ve had in Northern California recently they take surprisingly long to dry and set completely.

Clyde has been enjoying the creative process. If there is enough interest we may offer other finish and color options in the future. We’re hoping that fibers artists will find them as useful as they are for displaying jewelry. Fingers crossed!

I was shocked to see that I haven’t posted here since February. I’m going to make a New half-Year’s resolution to try to write something at least once a week.

Maureen