|
__________
Polymer Clay:
A Force for Community Service
by Suzanne Ivester
| One of the things that originally made me fall in love with polymer clay is the generosity and openness of the artists in our community.
The wealth of free tips, techniques, tutorials and advice offered online in any given week is truly amazing! But beyond the sharing of information, polymer clay artists are outstandingly generous in sharing their time and the tangible fruits of their labors.
The IPCA Retreat committee is overwhelmed with the wealth of beautiful art that's been donated to our Retreat auction. The proceeds of the auction will help to support the RAM polymer clay collection and the IPCA scholarship program as well as guild expenses.
Many ongoing community service projects have been created and supported by polymer clay artists. We'd love to hear how you've used our art medium to help people in need and serve the community worldwide. Here are just a few examples.
 | | Linda Hess, Bottle of Hope |
Bottles of Hope is perhaps the oldest and best-known of these projects, founded in 1999 by Diane Gregoire. The bottles provide inspiration to artists and represent "a wish and hope for health" for people undergoing cancer treatment.
The Heart Pin Project is the passion of Kentucky pediatrician and polymer clay artist Ron LeHockey. As of Valentine's Day 2010, Ron had completed 11,600 pins and raised over $100,000 to support the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies. | | Hearts for Heroes provided small pocket talismans to comfort and encourage American military personnel serving far away from home. |
|
____________
Beads of Courage:
An Opportunity to Help Children in Need
Beads of Courage, Inc., is a nonprofit organization dedic
ated to helping children with serio
us illnesses record their stories of survival. The organization collects and distributes beads handmade of many materials, including polymer clay. Since March 2005, Beads of Courage has established programs in over 60 children's hospitals in the United States, New Zealand and Japan.
In response to the question, "Why Beads?" the organization points to the number of functions beads have served throughout history and across the world. Beads signify strength and courage, they carry value, they convey status, and in some societies they are believed to carry protective and healing powers.
Polymer clay beads are used in three programs that provide a creative way for children with serious illnesses and their families to express their thoughts and emotions and chart their progress through treatment.
For complete information on creating and donating polymer clay Beads of Courage, visit the Polymer Clay artists' page.
|
|
|
|
_______________
Ongoing Call for Artists:
Peaceful Products
In keeping with this month's community-service theme, we'd like to bring to your attention an interesting, juried online sales site.
Peaceful Products, founded by artist and autism specialist Emily Boulger, is an organization that sells artwork and handmade one-of-a-kind products by artists worldwide. A portion of the profits for each product goes to a charity of the artist's choice.
Peaceful Products is looking for artists to post their artwork in their online store. They do not charge artists to sell their work on this site, and instead ask the artists to donate a small part of their commission to an organization or charity in need.
For more information about Peaceful Products, contact Emily@peacefulproducts.info
|
|
|
|
|
_________
Online Resources
| |
|
|
_____________
Calls for Entry
| | |
|
|
__________
Progress & Possibilities 2011
Progress and Possibilities 2011, this year's edition of our time-honored online exhibition, is in its final planning stages.
The Call for Entry will be posted soon on Cafe: CallforEntry, and the deadline for submissions will be in the late fall. Winners of both the juried exhibition and the Members' Choice competition will be announced around the first of the year.
To enter, just choose up to three pieces you've made during 2011--the ones you love the most. Then prepare the best digital images you can for submission. Progress & Possibilities 2011 will be judged by a group of world-class fine-craft artists and curators, to be announced soon.
We are looking for the original and the innovative, however you define those qualities! The mission of Progress & Possibilities is to show not only how far our medium has come but to give some clues as to where it will go from here.
Once again, the work will be submitted in categories defined by the type of object and the artist's level of expertise. You must be a current member of IPCA to enter Progress & Possibilities. The piece(s) you submit must have been created in the year 2011 and must not have been pictured anywhere else, including in books, blogs, websites, or other competitions. The work must be made up of at least 75% visible polymer clay.
Now is the time to tweak your designs, refine your techniques and begin working on those amazing art works that will make this the best Progress & Possibilities ever!
| |
|
___________
Correction | | Thanks to Judy Belcher for pointing out that polymer clay artist Merrie Buchsbaum was incorrectly identified as being from West Virginia. She is, in fact, from Connecticut. Our apologies for any confusion.
|
|
|
|
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2011
|
Tick Tock:
It's Not Too Late to Join Us in Chicago
for Hot Clay, Cool Friends |
|
The IPCA Biennial Retreat is less tha n a week away! If you haven't registered yet, online registration for the Retreat ends on July 9. On-site registration will start on Wednesday, July 13. Banquet reservations must be made by July 12. So you still have a little time to formalize your plans and join your Cool Friends for some Hot Clay adventures!
If you're already registered but you've been procrastinating (as some of us do) in getting your thoughts, your tools, and your materials organized for the trip, you can check the PDF copies of our six Attendee Newsletters on the Retreat website. There's even a map there of the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort so you'll know exactly where to go when you arrive.
If you're staying at the Hilton, you'll check in to your rooms in the main hotel building. The Reception & Clay Trade with the Metal Clay World Conference will take place in the Atrium area of the main hotel building on Wednesday night. All Retreat events, including classes, take place in the Conference Center.
Check-in for the Retreat will begin on Wednesday afternoon, July 13, in the Conference Center.
Swap Details
In addition to the Hot Clay Swap, Rosana Van Horn will be coordinating a daily Brown Bag swap. The concept is simple: make an item, attach your name, and put it in a brown lunch sack (provided). Add your name to the list. Each night at 9 PM, you'll come back to the swap table and receive a bag. You can make items in advance or at the Retreat.
Publishers' Schedule
- Mary Wohlgemuth of Kalmbach Books will be on hand Thursday from 10:30 until noon.
- Jeannette LeBlanc of Metal Clay Artists Magazine will be available on Friday from 4:30 to 6:30.
- Anne Huizenga and Ruth Keessen of Scott Publishing (PolymerCAFE) will be available to meet with participants throughout the Retreat.
Loretta Lam's New Video Will Be Available
Loretta announces that her instructional video, the companion to the "Making it Big" class, is ready for purchase! We'll have the first opportunity to get one, hot off the presses! The 110-minute video covers everything Loretta teaches in the class and will be a great back-up tool. It retails for $34.95; Loretta will accept cash or checks at the retreat. Let her know if you're interested and she'll put one aside for you.
To keep up with the minute-to-minute information, visit the IPCA Retreat page on Facebook.
|
|
|
Polymer Clay as a Therapeutic Tool:
A Story of Creativity and Connection | |
by Mary Sue "Pete" Rumbaugh
I began working with polymer clay a little over two years ago and have found this to be immensely satisfying and fun to do. I have been lucky enough to find a local clay buddy, and to join a guild where I have received tons of support and help as I've stumbled along on my clay journey.
In my job as a chemical dependency therapist at a residential treatment facility, helping folks learn ways  to use their free time in a positive manner is one of the goals. Having enjoyed my experiences with clay, I thought perhaps my clients might enjoy it as well. I began teaching clients how to make covered pens, and they took to this idea like ducks to water. It's been a joy to watch people with little self esteem and belief in themselves create beautiful mini works of art. By the end of the groups, even the quietest, most doubting client has had a successful experience and gotten a boost to his/her self-confidence.
I was doing one of these groups on Christmas Eve. I noticed one of my clients seemed to have the knack for clay, and was moving right along making a pen. When I commented about how well he was doing, he said "Oh, my mom does clay and I used to do this with her." Thinking she might be from the local area, I asked where she lives. He told me, and also the name of the guild to which she belongs.
I stopped short. The guild to which he was referring, several states away, had hosted a retreat that I had attended. I asked her name, and lo and behold, I had met his mother at the retreat! I also stay in contact with her on one of the polymer clay forums on the Internet.
He and I both laughed, and shared stories about his mother. He couldn't wait to call her that evening to tell her he'd met me and what we did in group that day. The next day, he told me when he talked to her, he said "doing clay today made me feel like you were with me."
What a great holiday gift for both of them. You just never know when or where polymer clay will touch your life.
__________________
The image above is from Angela Mabray's video on covering a Bic pen with polymer clay.
|
|
Polymer Clay Artists Aid Animals and the Environment
| Ann Kruglak, of Boulder, CO, and Kaaren Poole, of the Sacramento, CA, area have more in common than being award-winning polymer clay artists. Both are so committed to their favorite causes that they donate 100% of the proceeds
 | Kruglak, "Earth Kachina"
|
from their art to organizations they believe in.
Ann's Art for the Earth is an eco-based service project. She donates her earnings to The World Land Trust - US, a land conservancy charity. She explains, "It is my joy to create, and be of service, so I donate all of my time in creating and marketing the art, as well as the cost of materials to benefit the Earth."
 | | Poole, "Beaver Necklace" |
Kaaren's Wild Hare Studio features her remarkable paintings aswell as polymer clay art, mostly representing animals. All of what she receives from the sale of her art goes to supporting the work of animal-welfare groups including local animal shelters, a cat sanctuary, and the Idaho Black Bear Rehab. In a thought-provoking interview on Fire Mountain Gems website, Kaaren gives advice to other designer-artists who want to support charities.
|
Guild Spotlight:
The French Polymer Clay Association
| |
The French Polymer Clay Association, called "lezart'gil," was created in January 2009 for artists from France and nearby European countries. We have over 200 members. Because we cover a large geographic area, we don't get to meet all together.
We organize two big workshops a year. One is in April with a foreign artist, such as Grant Diffendaffer, Donna Kato, Ronna Sarvas Weltman this year, and Lindly Haunani next year.
Our other annual event, which takes place at the end of October, is designed somewhat like the "Clay Carnivals," featuring five or six French or European teachers with four-hour workshops. This year will be our second one, and the event is already full!
Locally, twice a year, we also organize what we call "brainstorming" sessions. We choose a unique topic. It can be a tool (like the clay gun) or an idea like "knots" and ask our members who would like to invite five to ten clayers. When the meeting spots all around France have been announced on our website, members and non-members get together and work on the same topic; they're encouraged to take pictures. These local events can be spread out over a period of two or three weeks to make sure everyone has a chance to participate. The results are not published until all the groups have had their brainstorming sessions. When all have taken place, we publish pictures of what has been done, and even put up tutorials when possible. We also publish what didn't go quite right, because we all can learn from mistakes.
The association is still very young, but we wish to be useful in making the art world recognize polymer clay as a fine art medium. We fully support what is happening in the States with art galleries and museums exhibiting clay artists' work and hope that this will soon happen in France and Europe, too.
|
Beginning This Month:
The Polymer Arts Magazine
|
 A new magazine is being launched this month, with the stated mission of providing "instruction, insight, and inspiration for the professional and aspiring polymer clay artist."
The Polymer Arts Magazine has been created to provide the polymer clay artist, as well as enthusiasts, collectors, and galleries, the kind of information that will further encourage innovation and support of the art world's youngest and most versatile medium. The publication will reflect the increasing respect for the medium in the art world and combat the persistent image of polymer clay as an amateur or kid's art material. Polymer Arts is the creation of Sage Bray, an award-winning polymer clay artist and jewelry maker. Graphic design and writing have been her primary career focus for nearly 20 years, so a move into publishing is a natural transition for Sage, as well as a way to combine all her passions in a design-conscious and information-focused periodical on her favorite artistic medium. The Polymer Arts Magazine is available in print or electronic format. It will include a rotation of regular features, including theme articles; in-depth explorations of techniques, tools, and materials; artists' galleries; articles on marketing and sales; inspiration challenges; calendars of events; and contact information for artists and related businesses. |
|
Polymer in Print: What's New?
| |
New Books
· Diffendaffer, Grant, Polymer Clay Beads: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration, Mar. 1, 2011
· Duncan-Aimone, Katherine, The Art of Jewelry: Polymer Clay, paperback ed., March 1, 2011.
· Editors of Art Jewelry and Bead & Button magazines, Polymer Pizzazz 2, April 1, 2011.
· Friesen, Christi, Woodland Creatures (Beyond Projects: The CF Sculpture Series, Book 7), Feb. 16, 2011
· Hemachandra, Ray, and Rachel Carren. Masters: Polymer Clay, paperback ed., March 1, 2011.
· Picarello, Julie. Patterns in Polymer: Imprint and Accent Bead Techniques, June 7, 2011.
Books Coming Soon
· Haab, Sherri, Rachel Haab, and Michelle Haab, The Art of Resin Clay, Nov. 22, 2011
Magazines
· Polymer Cafe, August 2011: "Marie Segal: Art From My Heart," Trina William; "Basic African Trade Bead," Marie Segal; "Sugar Sweet Bangles," Hazel Ward; "Soda Can Bracelet," Dottie McMillan; "Spirit Doll Coat Pins," Peggy Davis; "Polymer Clay Vintage Button Box," Cassy Muronaka; "Reversible Faux-Enamel Collar," Karen Mitchell and Ann Mitchell
· Art Jewelry Magazine, July 2011, Heather Campbell, "Make a Faux Batik Polymer Pendant"
· Belle Armoire Jewelry, Summer 2011, Kathy Davis, "Steampunk Trio"; Robert Dancik, "Designer Collection"; Debra Kanzia, "Colorful Clay Canes" and "Clay Swirls"
|
|
|
|
|
