Introducing ElementalDragons

ElementalDragons


Dragon sculptures and pendants.

What got you interested in polymer clay as a medium?
Carol Duvall....my daughter Cortney and myself were watching the many great shows that she did and saw Maureen Carlson making her little dragon and both of us were hooked. Between Maureen and Christi Friesen the Elemental Dragons were born. My daughter came up with the clans and all of their personalities by herself (feel free to read about her at www.PolymerClayforaCause.etsy.com) she has a great story behind her short life.

What inspires you to create?
I have always had the desire to create! I get my inspiration from others work (I lack in my own ability to experiment with creating). It is kinda funny....my house and life in general are very plain and boring, but in my head there is alot going on, I just wish I would sit down and DO IT!!

Do you have a favorite technique?
No not really, unless you just want to say I like to sculpt. Not so much into the jewelry.

Of everything you have created which is your favorite?
I made a dragon (back when I was just starting) who's stick broke in half. He is holding it with such a sad look on his face, I almost wanted to cry for him every time I look at him :(
Ironically he is the one who makes me get off my "booty" to do something....it is like he is telling me "It could be worst, so do it now".

Luigi of the Forrest Clan.

How do you decide what to make?
I vary so much on what I want to make. Again I get inspiration from others, so if one person comes out with something that calls to me, I must go and try it, if I like doing it...I will tweak it around to make it something I did myself (with credit always given - for karma is always with you).

Is there something you wish you could make in clay that you have not yet?
I have always wanted to do "paintings" with clay. Like a Tiger scene made entirely of clay but not that 3D as flat as possible.....if possible???

Visit ElementalDragons.artfire.com

Introducing HaffinaCreations

HaffinaCreations


Unique handmade jewellery, polymer clay beads and more.

What got you interested in polymer clay as a medium?
I am on a beading forum and some of the other ladies there make amazing polymer clay pieces and I so wanted to see if I could do it, so I bought some clay and started to play..the rest is history.

What inspires you to create?
I just get these urges to make stuff... I think everything is an inspiration. Plus I like to have new beadies to make jewellery with.

Do you have a favorite technique?
Not really, although I love mica shift and canes, and I also love to smoosh clay together and make cabachons with interesting swirls and colours.

Of everything you have created which is your favorite?
I think my favourite would be some prayer beads I made for a friend.. because they are so loved by her. She nearly wouldnt let me photograph them.. we sanded and buffed them together and she watched while I strung them. A couple of weeks later they got a major work out while she was dealing with some rough stuff.



What do you prefer to make out of polymer clay and why?
I prefer to make beads and cabochons.. because then I can use them to make unique pieces of jewellery.

How do you decide what to make?
I make what the clay tells me to make.. I play with it and see where it takes me. Sometimes I say \'I\'m going to make little beads\' and the next thing I know I have these large cabochons ready to cook.

Is there something you wish you could make in clay that you have not yet?
I wish I was better at sculpture.. I\'d love to be able to make little critters.

Visit HaffinaCreations.artfire.com

Introducing Dragonsglass

Dragonsglass

"retired paramedic, SAHM to a bunch of fur kids. artist"
What got you interested in polymer clay as a medium?
Let's see. What got me interested was a swap with a friend. I swapped her fresh grapefruit for an anklet made of PC. My thought when I saw it was "OOOOO I can do this!" and that's all she wrote.

What inspires you to create?
Nature and the great outdoors is my main inspiration. The colors of nature sometimes blows me away. I love using the color palettes in canes and focals.

Do you have a favorite technique?
my favorite of all techniques is caning. Not like flower canes but intricate images canes and kaleidoscopes. And of those, monster canes and reducing them :D

Of everything you have created which is your favorite?
I have tons of fav's I have made. Most if not all can be seen on my Flickr site. I have put some of my newer work here. I also have some video instructions on how to do some cane things on my web site.

What do you prefer to make out of polymer clay and why?
My creation of choice is realistic or pictorial canes. I love making the PNW indian style totem animals into canes. I am not much into flowers and leaves but i can do those too. I have a monster cane reduction tutorial on my website that shows my PNW totem cane....a measley 13 pounds. Due to two wrist surgeries on the same wrist my caning has been pretty much non-happening for the last year. I am now able to make smaller (under 1 pound) canes and reduce them now.

How do you decide what to make?
Unless I have a specific cane in mind I usually surf the web or look at my Indian art books for inspiration for a cane. Sometimes I just shut my mind off and let what ever happens come out in the clay. Most of the time what comes out of the oven surprises me a lot.

Is there something you wish you could make in clay that you have not yet?
I really want to sculpt a dragon. Not a happy go lucky cutsie fartsie one....but not an angry one either. Some day.

Visit Dragonsglass.artfire.com

Six Petal Flower Cane Tutorial

tooAquarius makes gorgeous canes with polymer clay. She shares with us her Six Petal Flower Cane tutorial. You can see some of these six petal flowers on her glass bowl here in her introduction.
Thank you tooAquarius!

Introducing RoxysRox

RoxysRox


RoxysRox makes jewelry and says her passion began with an interest in polymer clay.

What got you interested in polymer clay as a medium?
I used to watch the Carol Duvall show on HGTV and Donna Kato was on there several times and what she did with PC was fascinating and I just had to try it. I got some clay and dabbled in it over the years. Now I am trying Millefiore canes and I have made some pendants and beads and actually sold them. lol. What can be done with PC just amazes me.

What inspires you to create?
Right now, what inspires me is if I cannot find a particular bead style to buy, I think, I should try to make it. I am making a black and white necklace and earring set and I could not find a large black/white pendant to use for this person that loves big pendants and so I am working on making one.

Do you have a favorite technique?
Well, my technique right now is Millefiore and making canes.

Of everything you have created which is your favorite?
My favorite that I have made is a focal bead that I made a necklace out of that I just cannot part with. Here is my picture of it.



What do you prefer to make out of polymer clay and why?
I prefer to make beads with polyclay, well, because my passion is jewelry and I have seen some of the most beautiful beads made from polyclay and I want to be able to do that.

How do you decide what to make?
What makes me decide what to make? For instance, right now I am looking for a special pendant for a customer that like big pendants and she has ordered a black and white necklace set and I do not seem to be able to find that one special pendant that is "her" so I am contemplating making it from polymer clay.

Is there something you wish you could make in clay that you have not yet?
I wish I could make life like figurines out of clay. I have tried to make faces a couple of times and they just are not what I pictured in my head. I am making it a challenge to be able to do that.

Visit RoxysRox.artfire.com

Introducing tooAquarius

tooAquarius

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.

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.

Visit tooAquarius.artfire.com

Introducing KellysClayCreations

KellysClayCreations



Kelley makes adorable cake toppers, ornaments and more. Her pieces are fun and whimsical.

What got you interested in polymer clay as a medium?
I was first interested in PC back in Middle School, then lost it until 2005 when I wanted to make a unique snowman for my mom. I was hooked just making an orange carrot nose. Then my mom bought me all this stuff and a book and the rest is history.

What inspires you to create?
I am inspired by things that make me happy and smile, happy daisies, cute snowmen, babies, pregnant ladies that are so happy yet feel so horrible. heehee.

Do you have a favorite technique?
My favorite technique is...hm I am not sure it has a name. I like making sheets of clay and cutting patterns and making outfits for my people, sometimes I feel like a fashion designer and a hair dresser.

Of everything you have created in polymer clay which is your favorite?
My favorite change everyday...every time I make something new. I seem to get better every day so I like my newest stuff the best. Here is a picture of something I really like..

.

Visit KellysClayCreations.artfire.com

Flowers for Mother's Day

Continuing with our flowers theme for Mother's Day...

Sweet Cake Trinket Box by sartavia



Winterflower Pillow Beads by tooAquarius



Love Is Blue Trinket Box by ClayItAgain



Pretty Blue Heart by treeseaoriginals

Flowers for Mother's Day

Our theme for Mother's Day is flowers. Here is a small sampling of items with flowers on them that are currently listed on Art Fire. Discover many more items by our artists by clicking the PCSG on Art Fire tab at the top of the page.

Teal and purple flowers necklace and earrings set by HaffinaCreations.

Funky flowers earrings by LaDeDaCreations

Unicorn Switch Plate by WelcomeToMyWhimsy.




Daisi of the Celestial Clan by ElementalDragons.



Tropical Turtle Charm by BGobbleArt.

Polymer Clay Smooshers

PCSG of ArtFire
Originally uploaded by coltpixy

We are a group of artists and crafters who work with or incorporate polymer clay into our work. We are the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild of Art Fire. This blog will showcase our artists and keep you up to date on upcoming events.
Mother's Day is coming and we are currently working on a flowers theme.