by Cynthia Tinapple on September 24, 2007 · 3 comments
I’m so pleased to discover that Marie Siegel has a new site which includes some of her recent polymer clay work. Who else can claim to have crocheted a polymer clay sweater or to have worked in the medium since 1971?
"At one point I had 18 employees and sold to Bullocks, Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, the Icing, and lots of other major stores. I remember being the busiest I have ever been, having more money than I have ever had, and having no time or inclination to do more art or anything else. My work was in show rooms in New York and Los Angeles and I produced product lines 5 times a year," Marie remembers.
Marie knows the vagaries of fashion and vows "to be all I can be for myself and my family and not for another company or person." She and Howard have operated the Clay Factory, Inc. since 1980. You’ll want to read all about her.
Thanks to Susan Rose for giving us this heads up.
by Cynthia Tinapple on September 21, 2007 · 3 comments
I’m in New York, mecca for art blogging. Last night I connected with other bloggers at an American Craft Council salon event to hear about what happens when craft traditions and craft new wave colide as they have on the internet. About 40 bloggers from Park Slope and Brooklyn listened as the owners of Rare Device and Greenjeans talked about their blogging experience.
Not only was the topic thought-provoking but the renewed energy of the ACC was palpable. The first issue of the all-new AMERICAN CRAFT 
(the Oct/Nov 2007 issue) is out with a new look and a new voice that reflects the current convergence of craft, architecture, art, design, and fashion, pushing these connections to the forefront of the cultural conversation.
Here’s a sampling of links that will place your finger directly on the pulse of crafts and DIY arts…and polymer clay, of course.
Whip Up | Hear, Hear – Intelligence for Small Business | Saplings Unite | Interview with the Greenjeans owners | Greenjeans review of the last salon | Skinny laMinx | Port2Port (Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine)
It feels all wrong to post without a polymer picture. Here’s some lovely new work from Pennsylvania’s Laura Tabakman (sent in by Barbara Forbes Lyons). You’ll have to talk amongst yourselves, I’m off to roam the city.
by Cynthia Tinapple on September 20, 2007 · 6 comments
Take a peek at Grant Diffendaffer’s updated site where his new polymer clay work and upcoming book are featured. His blog is called Many Parts – the definition of poly-mer, get it?
Grant’s Polymer Clay Beads book will be out from Lark Books in January and it boasts twenty different beadmaking techniques and thirteen pieces of jewelry. "Learn my latest techniques for lathe turned and textured beads, mica beads, recursive molded beads, mandrel formed beads, hollow form beads and more," he promises.
His extruded and lathe-turned bead technique is simply a wonder to behold. If you’re itching to learn something completely different and can’t wait for the book, he’s got a class coming up in San Antonio in October.
And speaking of classes, Dan Cormier still has a few seats left in his October 13 "Form and Finish" class at the ArtWay in Maryland. The rest of his east coast tour is sold out.
by Cynthia Tinapple on September 19, 2007 · 1 comment
Oh to be this playful and to be making a polymer clay Bambi necklace like this one by Emmuzka of Helsinki, Finland. Make no mistake Emmuzka is a clay novice, but a novice with a sense of style and whimsy. Emmuzka’s experiment in making fairy wings for Barbie dolls is very sweet too.
If I were holiday crazy, I’d consider Santa and his reindeer for a necklace design sure to get grins. A quick cruise through Emmuzka’s Flickr site may remind you of your own early efforts and first successes.
It’s a little diversion as I ponder the past and the future of our community of fellow artists around the world. Note that the necklace was made for a swap with an American artist.
