Paying Homage to a Polymer Legend

I was on the phone with a friend today and she asked me if I could name the artists who have been the most influential in my own work with polymer clay. I've been asked that question before and I always give the same two names each time - Lindly Haunani is one of them. The other shall remain nameless until a future blog post. The photos I've included are all pieces of Lindly's work that I've acquired over the years. Although my camera and photography skills don't do them justice the way David Terao does, I'm sure Lindly will forgive me.

When I think about all the ways that I've been inspired by Lindly, color, of course, is the first thing that comes to mind. Taking Lindly's color class was an amazing and clarifying experience that truly gave me the ability and confidence to mix any color I can imagine. Although I'll never have her talent for combining colors that, on their own, don't seem to work, but together, sing so beautifully and perfectly, she's given me such a wonderful gift. She has a magical way with all things involving color and I'm looking forward to her new book which will, no doubt, be just as helpful as her classes.

Lindly's use of texture and simplicity of pattern have both been inspiring to me. I love her jewelry designs that contain numerous tiny bits and pieces and always manage to look clean and uncluttered at the same time. I have to trace my love of mokume gane and inclusions in translucent clay back to Lindly's Tantalizing Translucents DVD. It was one of the first instructional tapes I purchased and remains one of my favorites today.

Although I can't credit Lindly with my love for asparagus, her jewelry and shrines were definitely the force behind all the asparagus clocks I made several years ago. When I was asked to be a guest on the Carol Duvall show, the first question out of the producer's mouth was, "Can you make your asparagus clock for us?" If you read down to the bottom of the tutorial on the HGTV website, you can see who I gave credit to for the design idea.

Today, Lindly continues to inspire and influence me. Her blog is a source of wonderful information and the interesting color tidbits she faithfully posts are always entertaining and insightful. I admire her kindness, her unique sense of humor, and her ability to see the big picture. In addition, as a founding member of the NPCG, Lindly has done more than anyone I know to spread her love and passion for polymer clay and to help promote it as a true art medium. Thank you, Lindly, for sharing so much of yourself with so many of us and for being such a wonderful inspiration along every step of my polymer clay journey.