Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy

It’s a question you ask and get asked from the time you learn to talk. Color is a big part of daily existence for many of us, and that’s especially true for artists. At PCAGOE this month, we asked the question, What is your favorite color to create with? We’re an eclectic group, so not surprisingly, our answers varied from black to earth tones to the brighter the better. Here are some of our preferred working colors.

ChickieGirlCreations and Camida favor earthtones.

Clayspirits and blockpartypress are turquoise fans.

And some of us prefer a duo of colors, like MadeinLowell’s mint and green or NKDesigns’ purple and teal.

Polymer clay comes in lots of wonderful colors and can be mixed to make an infinite number more! Check our member pages to see samples of PCAGOE creations in every color of the rainbow and then some.

www.saltandpaper.etsy.com

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

I’m a package/graphic designer so I’m always taking cues and inspiration from other good designers. My husband encourages and very patiently critiques my work.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Good package design, poster art, old Marimekko patterns, William Morris wallpapers, Scandinavian folk art, prefab housing, old book covers, vintage signage - pretty much anything made before 1975. And the things I love in graphic design - flat color, patterning, unusual color combinations - show up in my polymer work.  Polymer clay, the way I use it, lends itself to abstract florals and flat, graphic patterns like woodgrain. I layer it almost like paint, often very precisely and geometrically, but in flattening and finishing a piece, the nature of the clay takes over and the end results are unpredictable and very interesting.

WHERE DO YOU CREATE?

I live in a tiny railroad apartment so the kitchen table doubles as my studio.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN USING POLYMER CLAY?

I bought my first clay in 1993 and I think I didn’t leave the kitchen for about a week. I’ve been working with it off and on ever since.

www.designsbyginnybaker.etsy.com

Who inspires you?

Other artists mostly. When I see work that I greatly admire it challenges me to improve my own work. I mostly create hand sculpted dog art in an ever increasing variety of breeds, as well as bas relief that I refer to as clay illustrations. I occasionally also do whimsical figurines and seasonal items. I am mostly self taught as I could never find books that specifically helped me create the dog breeds I wanted to do, and have never found any sculpting classes/workshops nearby I could take. I learned through trial and error - lots of trials and lots of errors! I collect books by a few children’s book illustrators who illustrate with clay, and it is a dream of mine to one day illustrate a book with clay scenes myself.

What inspires you?

Like so many others, I am mainly inspired by nature and color. I was involved with breeding and showing dogs for many years, so creating dogs in clay was a natural choice for me. I am very inspired by watching dog shows and seeing beautifully groomed specimens of the various breeds. I can find something to love about each and every one of them. I can be inspired by a visit to the zoo, a walk through a garden, or looking through a children’s book with wonderfully vibrant illustrations. Of course the internet is a rich source of inspiration as well. Google’s image browser is a godsend when I need to see how to properly create a certain creature!

Where do you create?

I have a spare room dedicated to my artwork, with a big work table and storage for my tons of supplies, but more often than not, I still create on the dining room table. I sometimes feel too isolated being locked away in my upstairs room, and want to be downstairs in the middle of things. But when I’m in the mood, I do enjoy having my own dedicated space to create in where I can leave things spread out, and can listen to the music I love while I create.

How long have you been working with clay?

Well here I go dating myself, but I first worked with polymer clay way back in 1977 as a 17 year old kid. At that time, I received a 20 lb. box of the bulk white Sculpey as a Christmas gift from my Mom.  Not surprisingly, the first things I created were dog figurines. Some years later, I discovered Super Sculpey and I absolutely love sculpting with it, though painting it is another matter! But it blends so nicely when I want to do more realistic dog figurines. In the late ’80’s I discovered colored polymer clay and then there was no stopping me! I started doing craft shows while living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I worked for a time in the ’90’s as a craft designer and did a book for Design Originals on creating Christmas ornaments with polymer clay. I also had many projects published in craft magazines and other books. I worked with both AMACO and Polfyorm as a freelance designer, starting out with Polyform, then switching for a short time to AMACO, and then back to Polyform. I attended all the big trade shows for several years, and then that got too hard to do because of my kids, and school schedules, etc. so I stopped. The last project I had published was a Halloween bat candy jar for Polyform in 2005.

Happy Valentine’s Day from the members of PCAGOE. We hope you have lots of love in your life this February. To celebrate, we’ve written some “Valentines” to our favorite medium, polymer clay, and some of the tools that go with it.
Tejaesart

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Some like diamonds
But I like you.
I can sculpt you til
My hearts content
You don’t mind
That you were 99 cent.

TwinCreekCreations

Oh poly clay, dear poly clay -

you gave me sparkle in my day,

friends who share my crazy play

and gifts for those I love - hurray!

JanZio

To clay, or not to clay, that is the question.

Whether tis nobler to toil at mine worktable

With stamps of sparrows and polymer flowers

Or get sore arm and wrist by lurking in Etsy’s forums,

And by posting in threads, end them? To try to sleep,

By four; and by a sleep to say we end

The shoulder ache from the thousand compulsive clicks

Through Treasury Two, ‘tis a sick obsession -

Dawanda can only wish. To roll, to bake;

To bake: perhaps to burn, oy – what’s that smell?
MarciaPalmer

How do I love thee,

Let me count the ways.

I love mokume gane,

and Skinner blends, always.

Mica shift you move me,

My heart is all a flutter,

and when I slice into a cane

Really, what could be better?

Mosaics, textures, surface designs,

Oh, how the ideas flow.

So many possibilities,

You had me at hello.
PaperPam

clay

soft

moldable
love

RGCreations
Roses are red

Hand-cranking is over

Christmas was good to me

With a pasta-machine motor

My arms’ feeling better

I think I’m in LOVE

Pasta machine motor

You fit like a glove!

StudioBijou
Oh polyclay how I love you,

to squish and to squash and to poke you,

I’m covered in clay,

all night and all day,

For love, you’re the one that I go to.
There once was a girl from Crete

who wished she had something to eat

she created in clay

a stunning buffet

and invited friends over for sweets

BlockPartyPress

You’re supple, and always bend to my will

When I see a new package I get a thrill

There’s never a time I don’t want you in my reach

Every color’s a treat from bright blue to peach

I never get tired of what you can do

I can create lovely jewelry or my own little zoo

Stamping, caning and Mokume Gane

I love you I love you and that’s all I can say

DivaDea

fimo soft in red

will you be my valentine

though you stain my skin

HandmadeByHolly
Clay beneath my fingernails

Clay in my hair

Clay under the table

And also under my chair

I can’t stop thinking about you, baby

Everywhere I look, you’re there

IlysaArt
PCAGOE you don’t know what you mean to me. Friends to talk to, friends to share. We clay together everywhere.
Polymer clay is so fun, I love to share it with everyone!

JackiesDesigns
I love you because you are so forgiving, I love you because you never answer back, I love the way you surprise me when I slice you in the middle, I love you because you make me feel good when I pound you till you become putty in my hands, I love you when I open that oven door and get that whiff of freshly baked plastic, I love you because you do what I want (most of the time). My darling valentine, I love you for keeping me sane on those long sleepless nights, I love you for letting me do things to you like: roll, blend, layer, stamp, mix, reduce, pull, shorten, pinch, slice, bake,add, sand,paint, buff,drill… you never complain and just sit there asking for more.
What more could a person want? My dearest polymer clay, will you be my valentine?
Peggers

I made a bunny

he really looks funny

I smashed him flat

now he is a hat.

This hat is a snake

and now it’s going to bake.

beetreebyme 

Roses of red,
or will they be blue ?
there are no limits to
to polyclay hue !

wonderful blossoms
of every design.
All are just waiting
here in my mind.

Gardens of fantasy
brighten my day.
All of them gifts
of my love, my dear clay .

And thanks to DancinJules for the inspiration!