This is art!

This pin by Asheville, North Carolina's Sharon Solly is such a cool and funky piece of jewelry. Although it's not made of polymer clay, I wanted to include it in this post because it shows her versatility as an artist. She's adept at rubber stamping, mixed media, beading, polymer clay, and many other areas of artistic expression. I first met Sharon when I traveled to Asheville to teach a workshop for her guild and I was so impressed by her use of Kato liquid clay as a finish on many of her polymer clay pieces.
These cabs are made with Lumiere paints,mica powders and Kato liquid. I believe she said she followed the directions that Donna posted here when she described how she got this wonderful glass-like effect. Since I've seen Sharon's work in person, I can attest to the fact that it's just as spectacular in person as it appears in these photos.

Before I went to Asheville, I had been experimenting with using fibers in polymer clay and I was thrilled to discover that Sharon had been working with the same material. I blogged about a pendant I made here and the photo above shows the incredible results that Sharon's achieved through her own experiments with these fibers. I have it on excellent authority that the June 2008 issue of Polymer Cafe will contain an article by Sharon on exactly how she makes these beautiful pieces. So, if you've let your subscription lapse, this would be the perfect time to renew. And, just in case you need another reason, Tammy Garner, who I blogged about last week, will also have an article in that issue.

It appears that "Imagine Uncommon Things" has evolved into a weekly blog at this point. Since I don't seem to have a succinct bone in my body, it's become pretty time consuming to write these long posts more than once a week. So, I'll still be here, just maybe not as often.

Crossing the Pond, Polymer Cafe, and TMI

After several years of doing the Clay Carnival in Las Vegas, it's time to head across the pond! The "Euro Clay Carnival" is set to take place August 1-3, 2008 in Nottingham, England. This event will be a bit different since we have added 2 instructors from England and 1 from Spain. There will be a total of nine different classes included in the package and you can read more about all the details on Donna Kato's website here. I've never been to Europe and I'm really looking forward to meeting all the wonderfully talented artists there who work with polymer clay. Sign ups are starting to come in quickly so, if you'd like more information, visit our good friend Helen Cox for all the registration details. I've already heard from several of my online pals from Spain and France and it's going to be a fabulous time! My class, shown in the picture above, is "A Pigment of Your Imagination", also known as "life's too short to eat cheap ice cream". According to many of the people who've taken this class in the past , it's highly "addictive". To me, the best thing is that it's fun and stress-free with wonderful results.



Speaking of wonderful results, I hope that you've had the opportunity to see the April 2008 issue of Polymer Cafe. Connie Donaldson, the new editor, has done an amazing job with this issue. After
talking to her and hearing what she has planned for future issues, I'm certain it's only going to get better and better. Be sure and give some thought to being a contributor, if you haven't already. The guidelines for submission are on the magazine's website and Connie has offered her help to those who are a little unsure about how to get started.

A couple of weeks ago I was "tagged" by two friends on the same day. I didn't really even understand what this meant until I did a bit of research. Basically, I was supposed to list 6 or 7 (depending on who was tagging me) unimportant or little-known facts about myself and then "tag" three other bloggers to do the same thing. The friends who tagged me made it clear that there was no pressure and it was just for fun if I wanted to participate. So, I've decided I'm going to "kind of" participate just this once. I'm not going to tag anyone else but I'll list thirteen (because I like odd numbers and they both asked) little-known and incredibly boring facts about myself. The two wonderfully talented ladies who tagged me were Debbie Tlach (her work is above) and Linda Peterson (see her work below). I highly recommend visiting their blogs and checking out their artwork. Love you both and my apologies for not playing exactly by the rules!

Here are my 13 things:

1. I think people who abuse children and animals are the lowest life forms on the planet.

2. When I was a kid, my mom had to force me to go outside and play because I only wanted to read books all day long.

3. The places I want to see most in the world are New Mexico, Arizona, Egypt, and Spain.

4. When I was in Jr. High school, I was madly in love with Elton John and named my oldest son after his song, "Daniel."

5. I think about my dog Buster (he died almost 2 years ago) every single day and sometimes I still cry.

6. My career goals have fluctuated wildly throughout my life and have included being a librarian, a writer, a geologist, a lawyer, a teacher, and an artist. I wonder if it's too late for law school?

7. I have a really sarcastic and wicked sense of humor which sometimes gets me in trouble.

8. My favorite comedians are Jerry Seinfeld, Kathy Griffin, and George Carlin.

9. My favorite TV show is Project Runway.

10. I prefer white chocolate.

11. The first thing I ever made with polymer clay was a carrot nose for a fabric snowman.

12. I need music to live. Some of my favorite bands are Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews, U2, and the Beatles.

13. I LOVE chai tea, pomegranate juice, and Bailey's Irish Cream, but never in the same cup!

I won't be around for the next week or two. My kids are on spring break and I want to spend some time with them, I have lots of projects I need to finish , and, as usual, I still need to get the dreaded income taxes together. In the immortal words of Tim Gunn, "carry on." I'll see you soon!

New Beginnings

Seven years ago, a wonderful couple named Joan and Mike Clipp took a giant leap of faith and dedicated themselves to creating a brand-new magazine called Polymer Cafe. The odds were definitely against them. It's almost unheard of for an independent magazine to survive more than a year or two and to have one thrive and be purchased by a major publisher is a wonderful testament to the Clipps' dedication and hard work. When Scott Publications took over the magazine, Joan agreed to stay for a while as editor. But now, she and Mike are ready to start a new chapter in their lives and the editorial reins are being handed over to one of my favorite people, Connie Donaldson. Connie is a past president and co-founder of the Pittsburgh Polymer Clay Guild and a talented and accomplished polymer clay artist. Many of you might remember her gorgeous butterfly wreath that graced the cover of Polymer Cafe's Spring 2004 issue (please ignore the remnants of my address label in this scan). She's been a technical writer and editor for about 30 years and began her career by editing refueling manuals for nuclear submarines until, she says, "I could feel the edges of my brain begin to curl up and die". Two years ago, she temporarily packed up her clay and returned to grad school. Connie received an MA in Counseling Psychology from Waynesburg University 6 months ago. For information on her fascinating work as a workshop facilitator in Family Constellation Work, you can check out her website here.

When I spoke with Connie last week, her enthusiasm and expectations for Polymer Cafe's future were so inspiring and exciting that I wanted to share her words with all of you.


Beauty, beauty, beauty! I honestly believe that we humans have a physical—not just a psychological or spiritual—need for beauty in our lives. We all need to experience it to be fully alive. The lucky ones among us also get to create it, and the really fortunate among us get to share it. That’s one of my goals for the magazine: to have every issue contain something wondrous, something well crafted, something that makes a person stop for a moment and forget the regular cares of the day.

I plan to find artists who are creating beauty with clay and give them a forum—to teach or simply to share—the beauty that can be created in clay. I’m looking forward to working with artists who may be a little shy about writing an article, but who create interesting work. We’ll work together to make it into an article.

I also want to share with newcomers the amazing heritage we have from the previous generation of clay artists. We’re so lucky. Polymer clay and its sister, precious metal clay, are relatively new mediums in this country. Many of the pioneers in the field are still creating and innovating. We have the opportunity to learn from them—not just techniques, but, the spirit that has kept them working with this material for decades.

I owe a huge debt to the National Polymer Clay Guild and to many of the local guilds. I want to repay it by having the magazine serve guilds as well as individuals. I’m very open to suggestions about how to best do this.


As you can see, Polymer Cafe's new editor has some wonderful things in store for us. But wait, there's more scoop to share! Scott Publications has made the decision to publish Polymer Cafe SIX times a year! All the details regarding these changes will be in the upcoming issue and, I'm hoping that many of the wonderfully talented artists whose work I've seen online and at classes and retreats will give some serious consideration to submitting articles and photographs of their work to the magazine. Polymer Cafe is the only publication that's dedicated to this wonderful material that we love so much and it's up to all of us to submit articles, images and ideas that will help keep the magazine's pages fresh and inspiring. Connie's first deadline is coming up in just a couple of weeks, so don't drag your feet! Contact her right away if you have an article you'd like to share. You can find information on submission guidelines here.

I'm so very grateful to Joan and Mike Clipp for their dedication and hard work over the past seven years and, for having the vision to start a magazine dedicated to polymer clay. I know it wasn't always an easy road to travel and I admire them so much for sticking with it. I wish Connie Donaldson much success with her new position and I look forward to seeing her wonderful ideas come to life in the pages of Polymer Cafe.