Thursday, October 8, 2015

Fun With Clay

Today, Donna from Donna's Artisan Designs shares her experience with working with clay. Donna is one of the members of the Jetteam . You can view all of her gorgeous creations by clicking on her shop link above.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello everyone, it’s been awhile since I’ve shown what I’ve been up to, but trust me, I’ve been having lots of fun. I’ve observed over the years, that generally if you are led to some art form you may start one place, with one medium, then go into other “side roads” along your journey.
Now it may be all toward “jewelry artist” that your “side roads” lead using several different specialties such as bead weaving, metal artist, glass artist, gemstone cutter, wire worker, etc.

For a couple of years I seriously wanted to try PMC (Polymer Clay) but wasn’t keen on spending a great deal before I found out if I’d be good at it. So I stocked up on polymer clay, a few tools a few books and spent time on YouTube!


 

I had played with clay years ago with my kids, so I already had a little experience, but also some tools.  I even had some of the beads we had made. In all honesty, of all the things we had done together, everyone spent many hours on this activity. This time my granddaughter and I spent hours together, which is Nana’s favorite thing to do anyway!
I have to say, once again that I think I chose this for therapeutic reasons. It may sound strange, but you can relieve so much stress just playing with clay!! This medium has grown tremendously both for jewelry artists and so much more. If you do a search (on YouTube, Pinterest, etc.) you are going to see some of the most incredible creations. You may get smitten and you WILL definitely be impressed!

In the collage you can see some ways I’ve explored “canvases” for uses.
 
 
 
I’ve done journals, pens, Candle holders, hair accessories, pendants, cabochons, buttons…and so much more! The things that I love about this medium is its flexibility, it’s inexpensive, gender and age neutral…tons of fun for everyone and perfect for family time.
Wow…that sounded like a commercial! I will warn you, if you are anything like me you can easily become addicted to this medium!
I hope I’ve given a slight overview about a very fun “side road” to venture down some day. At the very least, go take a peek at some seasoned artists' creations or check out a tutorial or two. Polymer Clay is a stress reliever, great family project and a new palette for your creativity!"
Until later,
Donna
 



Jetteam

12 comments :

Jennifer said...

What fun, Donna!!

SendingLoveGallery said...

you're inspiring me! wonderful creations, Donna!

Cher said...

As long as you're enjoying it with your granddaughter... priceless! And if it results in lovely creations, even better. I get the therapeutic part, because that's what I love about metalwork... bending and banging with my trusty little hammer does wonders for me, lol ... Looks like lots of fun, Donna... great feature :)

Brooke said...

You have been busy having fun! Thanks for sharing:)

Keystring said...

I am playing with this too! It's really fun, and there are so many possibilities. Also I agree, it is VERY therapeutic!

capitalcitycrafts said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
capitalcitycrafts said...

Wonderful fun and I love all the colors!

jemsbyjb said...

Donna you are a woman of many talents. Great read.

Gemstones on My Mind said...

Love your creations Donna! I've been accumulating some tools and clay also, hoping to put them to use soon and play a bit. You're such an inspiration with everything you do!

Mollie Ann said...

Donna, you're tempting me too! Beautiful, beautiful work! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with all of us!

LoveStoneArts said...

What fun Donna!! I've also done a little polymer bead making with the grandkids. I read that it can be polished in the tumbler using plastic beads as the tumbling medium. The kids spilled our cured beads onto the floor so I swept them up and tumbled away. 2 hours later, the gooey ones turned out to be stray pieces of dog kibble but the actual beads had a nice satin finish!! Love your creativity always!!

Cheri said...

Working with clay sounds like so much fun! I love that you get to have quality "play time" with the grand kids.

Thanks for sharing this great idea!