Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy

www.tonjastreasures.etsy.com

Recently I asked several of our members to write a short blurb about themselves so we can learn a little more about them.    Tonja of Tonjastreasures tells us:

I was born and raised in beautiful Washington State.  At a young age I became a crafter with the help of my grandmother. She taught me to crochet, knit, macrame and sew.  In school, my favorite time was always art class.

In the last few years I’ve discovered that I adore creating jewelry.  I saw Donna Kato on the Carol Duvall Show and polymer clay became a big part of my life.  I bought a kiln and added silver metal clay and dichroic glass to my list of materials.  Every time I open the kiln door and see the results of my designs it’s like Christmas.

Chainmaille jewelry is another thing I hope to perfect. (So many designs, so little time.) It’s quite amazing when you can turn a length of sterling silver wire into a handful of jump rings and create a stunning piece of jewelry.

My accomplishments include:

Being published in Jewelry Crafts Magazine 4 times

• Polymer Cafe Magazine once (on the cover no less)
• My mini masks can be seen in the book Celebrations in Polymer Clay by Sarajane Helm.
• I tied for 1st place at 3-D Memory Trends 2006 with my project called Fresh Flower Candle Screen, which was placed on display at the Amaco/Fimo booth at CHA. A picture of my project was featured in an Amaco ad that ran for 3 consecutive months in Today’s Creative Home Arts Magazine. You can also find 3 of my polymer clay how-to tutorials online at www.polkadotcreations.com
• I have several more articles ideas that I hope will be published in 2009/2010. Not bad for a self taught artist if I say so myself. Now to try the next thing on my to-do list - enameling. Wish me luck. :)

With what we have seen Tonja, you don’t need luck, you already have talent!

www.organicodysseys.etsy.com

She has three shops at Etsy, OrganicOdysseys, AlmostARTifacts and Pokadotsandles.  Kate, in her shop at OrganicOdysseys, has successfully captured the beautiful leaves, fruit and seeds from plants in and around her community.  She says, “Organic Odyssey is my exploration of all the wonders of my local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) organic farm. As an artist and shareholder for the past two years at Quiet Creek Farm, located in the rolling hills of Eastern Pennsylvania, I have been delighted to discover the wonderful nuances of the CSA, which brings one into direct contact with the earth and its bounty.”   Vegetables, fruits and their seeds are carefully hand-picked for size, shape and sometimes state of ripeness. Depending on how she wishes to highlight the particular item, she might impress the vegetation directly into the clay on the piece being made or sometimes make a mold of it first to get a raised impression to apply in a bas-relief method.

The finished work is like finding a modern day fossil. Although not ancient, it will recall many a wonderful memory of the farm days and the great meals from the bounty of the earth.

Kate loves  to recycle and you will see many items using recycled materials.  She is definitely an inspiration to our guild with her awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.

www.chicki.etsy.com

Saskatchewan, Canada is the home of Tina Farthing of Chicki and no, we cannot pronounce it correctly! LOL.  She is a  stay at home mom to two lovely children.   She says, “I started briefly playing with clay before my children came as I wanted to make unique beads. After a hiatus when my children were born, I started seriously creating with clay.   I love the versatility that clay has…you can use it to mimic almost anything…that is great!  I love crafting, including polymer clay, knitting and crocheting.”

Tina also does macrame using hemp and cotton cords.   Another of her interests is soap-making and she currently makes soap for her family and friends to enjoy.

From her feedback, “This brooch is just stunning! Perfect size and this wonderful lightweight appearance! I’m delighted, thank you very much. :-)

NKDesigns

 Linda usually writes the Mystery Featured Artist each week but since she is on vacation, we thought we’d surprise her by featuring her this week. 

Linda is retired from Stony Brook Hospital (administrative), and she’s a wife, mother, grandmother and artist. You can tell by her blog that she adores her family and loves being a grandmother. She also enjoys mixing polymer clay and resin. Her shop is full of pendants, hearts, shields and buttons.

  She may be retired, but this lady puts in lots of extra hours for our PCAGOE group. She’s our membership secretary, welcomes new members, writes up our featured artists articles and helps promote our group by creating treasuries and featuring artists on her blog. She has a great personality and is a lot of fun to work with. Linda’s polymer clay work is always well-executed, and her finishing is flawless. In addition to creating, she also teaches and shares her knowledge with other polymer clay artists. Recently one of her articles was published in PolymerCafe magazine.  

Linda is always willing to lend a hand and help out a friend. So we’d like to encourage you to stop by her shop. You won’t regret it.