Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Introducing tooAquarius


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At tooAquarius you can find georgous beads and beautiful intricate canes.

What got you interested in polymer clay as a medium?
I was completely obsessed with jewelrymaking but finding good quality art beads in my budget was getting hard. So I decided to try making my own. As I had a new baby and a very limited budget, I went with clay over lampwork. And I was hooked!

What inspires you to create?
While I've always been creative I got into clay specifically to make items to sell so you could say my bills inspire me to create. The ideas in my work come from a variety of themes such as the natural world and my love of fairy tales.

Do you have a favorite technique?
I do! Almost all of my work is comprised of millefiori or caning where the artist creates images in logs of clay (or glass, for the original beadmakers or in candy for candymakers). Then I take slices off the millefiori canes and apply it to whatever holds still long enough for me. Usually beads.

Of everything you have created which is your favorite?
There's a tough one! That's like picking your favourite kid. Here is one of my favourite pieces though: am a big fan of Delft type patterns.

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A glass bowl decorated with Delft blue canes, sanded and lightly buffed for a frosted look.

What do you prefer to make out of polymer clay and why?
Even now, after 10 years, I still prefer to make beads. Another, smaller, obsession is to make bowls. For both items I use millefiori for the decorative aspect.

How do you decide what to make?
At this point I have a list of regular designs and patterns that I make to sell on and offline and I keep that in stock (or try to!). I try to always have a few new variations on these going at a time, generally according to season. My production schedule is dictated by my shows and plans for the year.

Is there something you wish you could make in clay that you have not yet?
I would love to dabble more with sculpture! I've done so little of it but would love to try more, especially people.

1 Smooshing Thoughts:

sukigirl said...

That is amazing work!
I particularly love the butterfly beads, they remind me of the beautiful glass paperweights that I saw in a museum!
Gorgeous!