Member Interview-Janzio
Who inspires you?
Not to sound schmaltzy, but my husband inspires me. He is a jazz drummer (after work), and he makes time to practice nearly every day and is involved in several projects. It used to bother me that he spent so much time on his drums, until I decided to seriously pursue my crafts. Never in my adult life had I given myself “permission” to spend the time or money on creating anything in a serious or sustained manner. But seeing my husband do what he needs to do, and feeling more than a little jealous, gave me a big push in the right direction. Since I have made time every week to work on my crafts or Etsy shop, I have been very happy and feel like the part of my life that was missing – the act of creating – has been filled.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by all of the great work that is on Etsy and on other artisan sites I have discovered, as well as all the polymer clay techniques I have not yet attempted. I love collage, mixed media and sculpture, and it is very exciting to see what artists are doing with precious metal clay – unfortunately for my scattered little brain, I want to try ALL of these techniques/mediums.
Where do you create?
Formerly spread over three rooms, my work is now contained in a fairly well organized little room attached to my son’s room. Sometimes he plays his video games while I do my crafts. The great thing about this room is that three of the walls are filled with windows. Now that I have a dedicated and organized work space, I work more efficiently, and I am so happy to work there. It makes me want to quit my day job and spend all day in my craft room. It is like a little studio I have always dreamed of having.
How long have you been working with polymer clay?
Only a year. I took a few ceramic classes several years ago, and had visions of becoming a potter, but it was not practical to set up a ceramic studio in my home. I started on Etsy with beaded jewelry (doesn’t everyone?), and I came across several artists who were doing wonderful things with polymer clay. I bought a great book by Dotty McMillan and a few other books and realized what an amazing art medium polymer clay is. I get a little philosophical when I think about all the things that can be done with polymer clay – the “great imposter”. Artists can make it look like stone, metal, glass, bone. I have done a lot of thinking about what the clay does best – what is it most suited for. My goal is to discover what it does best for me.
