Fri 18 Jul 2008
Let’s start by telling us a little about yourself and what other mediums beside PC do you work in? My name is Lynda Moseley. I am 49 years old, single with no children except four ancient cats who allow me to mother them. I have been a real estate and probate paralegal for the past 28 years, a free-lance floral designer for 26 years; and a jewelry designer and professional genealogist for the past 25 years. I also created and administer three online DNA projects for genealogy purposes. I am a very proud 9th generation South Carolinian and have lived in the same town for most of my life. I am also the world’s greatest aunt to two nephews and a niece, whom I adore. I love to read and cook, and I am a rabid Atlanta Braves fan. I collect first editions, vintage tin and pressed steel children’s kitchen toys, flour sacks and feed sacks from the 1930s and 1940s, and vintage kitchenware and enamelware. I also tat, crochet, cross-stitch, needlepoint and sew; and I make grow flowers and herbs for potpourri and dried flower wreaths and arrangements.
Do you have any words of advice for beginners besides practice, practice, practice and do you have any formal training or are you self-taught? I have only been working with polymer clay a few months, so I’m still a beginner, too. I haven’t had any formal training. I am self-taught, with the help of internet tutorials and books on polymer clay, but mostly I learn from my mistakes. I love working with polymer clay, first because the combinations of color and pattern are endless and limited only by my imagination; and second because it satisfies my inborn craving to create. I pair my PC pendants with semi-precious gemstones to make one-of-a-kind necklace designs. I don’t see a lot of artists doing that, so hopefully, it will give people a different perspective on what PC can be used for, which will help market the designs.
As far as advice, it helped me to keep a log of my progress. I decided when I started this that it would be with an eye toward designing jewelry around my polymer clay pendants to sell. Since I live in a very rural area, there isn’t anyone locally I could look to for advice, so before I opened the first package of clay, I needed to know as much about the process as possible. For the first couple of months, I did nothing but read every book and online tutorial I could. I also studied color theory. After I started working with the clay, I practiced making beads for three months until I was satisfied with my progress. I kept track of what I’d made and the date I’d made it by putting each batch in a zip-loc bag with the date written on the front. I still do that, and I look at the first bags and am appalled at how terrible some of them are. It is a great learning tool, however; and great incentive for improvement. I also keep a notepad and pencil with me so I can jot down ideas for new beads. Inspiration comes easily from practically everything I see or read, but I can forget a new idea in a second if I don’t write it down. I also tear interesting photos from magazines and keep them in a photo box at my worktable. I look through the box before I start a new batch of pendants. I always start out with a particular design in mind, but I am a firm believer in letting the clay do what it wants, and I’m hardly ever disappointed with the results, even when they don’t turn out as I originally intended. I have lots of ‘happy accidents”.
Is there a favorite PC supply you can’t live without? Kato translucent clay. I intend to corner the market on it. I’ve already made a good start.