NYTimes: Polymer for anxiety

Rebecca Ackermann cures anxiety on PolymerClayDaily.com

In Thursday’s NYTimes, San Francisco’s Rebecca Ackermann reinforces the joys of polymer in her article called, I Cured My Pandemic Anxiety by Making Tiny Food Out of Clay.

She watched friends extract comfort from cooking and tried that. “It was just another thing I was failing at,” she says. She moved on to tie-dye, yoga, face painting, and more. One day she bought some polymer clay to pass the hours with her daughter.

You know the rest of the story!

“My daughter and I still do clay together when she’s in the mood, but she gets angry if her results don’t look like mine. So I’m working to teach her the word “experiment” and the notion that each time she tries, the trying makes her better. It’s a lesson I’m still learning at the end of every strange, horrible, or hopeful day in quarantine when I sit down with my clay and my little tools and I try again to make one small piece of the world just right.” Rebecca is on Instagram and Twitter.

Thanks to Seth Savarick (still in Chicago, moving to Palm Springs) for pointing PCD to this article. If you’re ready to get more newsy bits in one weekly digest, sign up for Saturday’s StudioMojo. 

Big art challenge

Kilgast on PCDaily

Miniaturist Stéphanie Kilgast (PetitPlat) has been on a steady diet of polymer fruits and veggies for 70 days. Can she possibly keep this up for an entire year?

She posts her new food sculptures almost daily on Facebook where you can follow her progress and cheer her on.

“I’m starting to feel a bit tired with this daily challenge,” Stephanie admits. “It is a lot of work to handle and I can’t seem to be able to make them in advance, say make 3-4 veggies in one session. Ah well, I need to get a grip about this, otherwise I’m going to exhaust myself.”

Kilgast on PCDaily

Why miniatures? “Miniatures are usually appreciated because they make you think you can put the world in your pocket,” says Stephanie and the colors are endlessly inspiring. She also ventures into other subjects including a line of City and Galaxy jewelry.

Read more about this French artist on Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr. Yep, she’s got a whole page of tutorials in case you’re inspired and you may enjoy this older video about her work.