Faeriology

Pittsburgh's Lesley Polinko is one of the most talented people I know. Besides being an incredible sculptor, she's an incredibly nice person with a fantastic sense of humor. You may have seen her "No Fear Sculpting" articles recently in Polymer Cafe .

She has two pieces available right now on Ebay, including this gorgeous ghost fairy just in time for Halloween. Be sure to check out the hot merman, too!

I'm getting ready to head to Mammoth Cave for a retreat and workshop with the Kentucky Tennessee Polymer Clay Guild. Hope you have the perfect fall weekend!

Plum Perfect

Iowa's Keila Hernandez created her "Plum Blossom" necklace after being inspired by a Chinese painter she saw at Baltimore's ACC show. You can read more about the story here. The initial pieces she made have merged into this lovely creation. Kelia's work continues to evolve and I 'm looking forward to seeing more beautiful things from her.

I'd like to end what's been a pretty rotten week on a happy note. After months of dedication, hard work and an extraordinary amount of courage, our good friend Ponsawan Sila finally has her daughter Ada home again! Because Ada has lots of rehabilitation ahead of her and many special needs that must be met, Ponsawan and her family have had to remodel part of their home in order to care for her. This expense, added to the massive medical bills they've incurred, has become an additional burden on a family that's been through more than I can even wrap my brain around.

Give some thought to skipping the next 99 cent clay sale at Michael's and making a donation to help them start to heal. You can go to the blog that Ponsawan started for Ada and click on the link in the top left corner to donate through Paypal.

Hope all of you have a wonderful fall weekend!

Let Freedom Ring!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or anything and I appreciate the emails asking where I've been the last couple of weeks. I've been feeling a little wiped out and haven't spent much time on the computer since I returned from Philadelphia. I just wanted to take the time to offer a much belated thank you to one of the most wonderful polymer clay guilds out there. I had such an amazing weekend with the talented ladies in Philly and I got to see some incredible things while I was there. Standing so close to the Liberty Bell was just awe-inspiring and a very moving experience, especially in light of the fact that our country seems to be totally falling apart right now. Not really a big surprise considering the way things have been handled the past few years. That's my fleeting version of a political rant and I'm moving on to more pleasant topics now!

Returning to my weekend in Philadelphia, it was a total affirmation as to why teaching is so incredibly rewarding to me. This gorgeous necklace was made by Barbara Egnor of New Jersey. She approached me first thing Sunday morning to thank me for inspiring her to work in a more organic fashion and for giving her the incentive to abandon her previous ideas of what constituted "perfection". She was so sincere and I was moved to tears to have inspired someone to make something so incredibly special. This piece represented freedom of creativity to her and to me, as well. I think that's truly one of the best gifts we can be given in our artistic journeys. Thank you, Barbara, for allowing me to share this story, and to all the members of the Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild, your talent, kindness, good humor and generosity will stay with me always. I'm so grateful to you all.