Join the National Polymer Clay Guild Team

NPCG president Judy Belcher and her crew of officers have done a gold-medal job of taking the national (now international) guild to new heights. But this is a relay event and the baton must be handed to a new team of NPCG officers.

The new group will have the support of an executive director plus past and current officers to help realize their vision, their ideas. The same skills you use to create and problem solve in the studio can be used to impact a worldwide community of artists. Read Judy’s tell-all and the list of positions to figure out where you’d fit best. Then submit your nomination. There are only two weeks left and NPCG needs you.

The six open NPCG positions include: President, VP Education & Outreach, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Guild Liaison, International Guild Liaison. Write Julie Picarello for more information.

As long as you’re getting paperwork out of the way, don’t miss the chance to share free NPCG space at the ACRE show. The deadline for application is September 10.

Julie and Judy are mindful of your need for eye-candy and sent along these sweet things to seal the deal:

Just back from touching base with the Euro contingent, Judy Belcher was stunned by the energy and vitality of the polymer clay art there as sampled in the work from Spain’s Ana Belchi.

Julie Picarello sent along a link to fellow Clayville California Guild officer, Maureen Thomas.

A long-time button collector, Maureen was creating a polymer clay tile bracelet based on a Gwen Gibson design and found that her elastic was too thick to knot and pull back into the drill hole. She grabbed a button to use as a clasp and made it a focal point of the bracelet. Check out her can-do approach to polymer on her Flickr site and blog.

It’s a can-do Monday.

Abrams’ pieces go larger

Pennsylvania’s Lauren Cole Abrams(LaBeana) has returned to polymer clay, making graphically inspired, larger necklaces and brooches. She also makes a line of resin purse handles and buckles using molds of her polymer clay designs.

She explains, "I start by honing my designs on paper, drawing ideas from a lifetime of work in graphic arts and painting. Then I bring them to life using polymer clay, a process I enjoy in itself. From there I make RTV molds of the originals and cast them in resins…tinting them with different colorants, dyes and metal powders. When the pieces are cured, I remove them, sand and polish them and do any hand painting, staining, buffing and finishing they require."

Vacation note: I love looking at what other artists are reading. Here are a couple that I found on friends’ desks.

  • The Gift – Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde
  • The Artist’s Mentor by Ian Jackman