Where to Begin???

I'm back home after three weeks away and trying to figure out where to start. Paying bills, of course. Unpacking my goodies from Synergy. I have new toys to play with - some "Pro" bead rollers, faux bone (no idea what to do with that yet), new mold/mould making materials (don't know whether to use American or Canadian spelling), my "Mona-fied" pasta machine, and some new videos and DVDs. I'm full of inspiration but trepidation too.

I consider myself to be an intermediate clayer: definitely not a beginner, but still learning and searching for my "voice." I was already concerned about how to use all the techniques I'm learning without imitating other people's work, and the discussions at Synergy and in recent posts on clay bulletin boards only reinforced those concerns. I tend to paralyze myself. If I can't do something totally unique and original, then I can't do anything at all. Which is a bit too much to expect from someone who is still learning. I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling with these issues.

So, my first project is to finish the vessels I started at Seth Savarick's class. Stay tuned.

And best wishes to Ponsawan, my Synergy roommate, and her daughter.

Synergy, Day Three

My first seminar of the day was Christi Friesen's Art Jewelry Designing. She gave each attendee a pen and a little booklet called "doodle your way to amazing wonderfulness or: how to design art jewelry without hardly trying," and encouraged us to scribble and doodle everywhere we go, even in her lecture. She showed how her inspirations lead to doodles and then to more detailed designs for her elaborate jewelry, although she said her finished pieces often vary quite a bit from her sketches. Then she told us her techniques for assembling her unusual shapes.

Jana Roberts Benzon gave a very detailed demonstration on how to construct her breathtaking dimensional caned pieces and showed how dimension catches light, creates shadow, and results in interest and intrigue. To make it easy for everyone in the room to see what she was doing, she had a video camera pointed at her work surface and sent the image through a projector onto a big screen. I also liked her outfit and the little elf condoms she was wearing on her fingers.









During the afternoon gathering, Tim McCreight got 200 grownups to play with little pieces of paper. His interactive presentation was called Design Decisions: Good, Better, Best, and he started out by challenging us to improve upon a design he put on an easel. Seth Savarick and Donna Kato were forced to do this in front of everyone. Then the people at each table arranged their pieces of paper and talked about their design decisions. Fun.











My last seminar of the conference was Karen Woods "Unconventional Polymer." I was feeling a little sleepy but Karen's amazingly energetic presentation woke me up and kept me fascinated all the way through. She had so much information to share that she talked a mile a minute and ended up quite out of breath. She showed us real items borrowed from other artists and lots of pictures of unusual and different ways of using polymer clay. In addition to looking outside the clay world for inspiration, she told us to "take a class in something you don't want to do," such as basket weaving or mosaic tiling or some other skill that might possibly suggest a use in clay.

Kudos to all the people who put Synergy together. It was a wonderful experience for me, and everyone else I talked to seemed very pleased as well.

Synergy participants at the end of Day 3

Synergy, Day Two

Miss Carol Duvall got the day off to a rousing start with her keynote speech, Television, Polymer Clay and Me. Her tales of the early days of her career were hilarious, and her description of the craft items that didn't make it onto the air (think of cute things made of feminine hygiene products!) were priceless. The whole thing turned into a love fest with members of the audience thanking Carol for her contributions to crafting in general but especially for introducing polymer clay to the public. Many in the audience first heard of polymer clay through Carol. At the end of the speech, all of the artists who appeared on her show gathered for a group photo.

Next the Vendor Fair opened: so many goodies and too little money to spend. Kato Polyclay introduced their new colored liquid clay; Alumilite Corp introduced their new Amazing Mold Putty and Amazing Casting Resin; Robert Dancik introduced Faux Bone; and there were lots of books, videos, tools, Art Clay Silver, and of course, polymer clay for sale.

An afternoon panel discussion chaired by Jeffrey Dever tackled the tough topic of "Inspiration, Originality and Infringement." Is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery? The consensus seemed to be: in order to learn, you must first imitate, but you don't have to sell it! Take the time to develop your own voice, your own style. Use techniques, not someone else's design. The panelists were Elise Winters, Thomas Mann and Dan Cormier.


My afternoon seminar was about the Juried Craft Show Circuit. Louise Fischer Cozzi gave us helpful information about applying to shows, what kind of photography we need, what is required in a booth - lighting, signage, displays, flooring, etc. I didn't know you had to pay extra for electricity!





Later in the day there was time for vendors to give demonstrations. Melanie West showed us how to cover her cuff bracelet blanks with clay.








Finally, after grabbing a quick sandwich, it was time to learn how to blog! Cynthia Tinapple (center in photo) of Polymer Clay Daily led the presentation assisted by Alison Lee of Craftcast (left) and Susan Lomuto of Polymer Clay Notes. I think I still have a bit to learn.

I'm not worthy!

The Gallery

Oos and Ahs filled the room when the Artists' Gallery opened at Synergy today. After looking at so much of this work in books and online, it was a delight to finally see it in person. After a few minutes, though, I suddenly felt overwhelmed by the beauty and craftsmanship I was seeing and blurted out, "I'm not worthy." Based on the hearty laughter that followed, I wasn't the only one feeling this way.





My day got off to an early start with Lindly Haunani's seminar on Eccentric Bead Shapes. Actually, I think Lindly is more eccentric than her beads, and she was lots of fun.





Next Judy Belcher and Maggie Maggio welcomed us and Kathleen Dustin spoke about the history of polymer clay.

Jeffrey Dever chaired a panel Discussion on Hallmarks of Craftsmanship with Donna Kato, Rachel Carren, Sarah Shriver, and Alison Lee.

Nan Roche gave a seminar on Fine Finishing and demonstrated proper methods of sanding, drilling and buffing. She also talked about the chemistry of polymer clay and explained why it behaves the way it does and how knowing about the chemistry helps us handle the medium properly.

My long day ended with Kathleen Dustin's seminar on earring design. Her ideas for making earwires an integral part of the earring design were very helpful.