Valentines Day is Right Around the Corner Why Not Send Some Hearts 4 Heroes

// January 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

This week on Polymer Clay TV we will be talking about creating Hearts 4 Heroes http://www.hearts4heroes.com This is an awesome program where polymer clay artists create hearts about the size of a quarter that are made with tender loving care to give to our troops. They should be made with lots of care to make them smooth and without any bling so that they can carry them with them as a reminder that the people back home appreciate what they are doing for our country.

Kira is at the airport as I write this getting ready to board a plane to Las Vegas for an E-Learning conference, I look forward to the things she will learn there. As you know e- learning is the wave of the future and everything seems to be going online. I am sure she will share a little about her trip on next weeks Polymer Clay Podcast. Don’t forget to come back on Friday to tune into Polymer Clay TV.

Polymer Clay Podcast Artist Interview This Friday

// January 19th, 2009 // No Comments » // , Blog

This Friday we have a new episode of Polymer Clay Podcast and we will be doing an interview with a woman I met recently via etsy. Her name is Jeanette of http://www.clayhappy.etsy.com I met her while looking for a butterfly cane for a gift I was making. Jeanette does incredible work and has all kinds of interesting techniques under her belt. One of the things she does so well is sanding and buffing. As many of you know Kira and I hate to sand and buff so we thought it would be nice to have Jeanette share some insight into getting started since she is so good at it.  If you have never seen what the clay looks like sanded and buffed well you are in for a treat, check out Jeanettes shop. You can get a glass like finish with the clay that I greatly admire. Make sure to come back Friday to listen to the interview.

Time to step-up.

// January 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // , Blog

We have great plans in the works for Polymer Clay Productions this year. We plan to begin blogging and videocasting in a more transparent manner- you will be seeing and hearing more about our lives and in our studios. We will be nailing down more “famous” polyclayers for interviews. We will be making our goals, interests, and needs known to our audience.

We’ve been at this for almost 2 years now! It’s gotten to the point where several companies have contacted us to ASK US!!!!! if we would be at the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) show in Anneheim, CA, this spring. Wow! What an honor. People are starting to expect our presence.

HOWEVER, our answer this year was, since we cannot continue to spend out-of-pocket for the travel, we will not be going to CHA this year. We asked a couple of companies who expressed interest in our presence if they would like to sponsor our trip, and they all said no. They want us to be there, to cover their products and give them free publicity, but they do not want to pay for our airplane tickets to insure that we are there. And as for our audience on the website, when we ran a survey asking about support for the show, over 50% of the responses were “I never intend to give you any money.”

So, at this point, we are wondering, does everyone just want us to keep doing this for free? The equipment, travel, and thousands of hours it takes to create the show and maintain the website has been pretty costly for us. When we started out, we had a loose plan in mind, for doing demos, providing polymer clay start-up info for beginners, and promoting our passion for polymer clay.

Well, we still have our passion! It’s intact. But you may see a slight difference in our programming. Now that we have covered a lot of basics, we will be promoting what, and who, WE want to promote. We will travel if and when we have the extra cash lying around. We hope you continue to enjoy the show, and the glimpses into our personal and artistic lives that are coming in the near future.

Polymer Clay TV This Friday Creating Pocket Mirrors

// January 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

This Friday we have a new episode of Polymer Clay TV and we will be showing you some pocket mirrors. These are easy to make and you can use a variety of techniques to create them. These also make great gifts too. I used Glimmer Mists on mine and I also silkscreened over the Glimmer Mist and then sprayed the Glimmer Mist on top of the silkscreen. It came out really cool, I just loved the effect. Try experimenting with the different techniques, why not use gold or silver leaf or pigment powders or ink, the sky is the limit.

Kira and I had a meeting yesterday and we talked for hours, so whats new.lol We hashed out some plans for some new and exciting things that will be coming soon. We are planning some more interviews for the show as well. We have an upcoming interview with an artist who sands and buffs all of their beads and pendants and she will be sharing some tips of hers and sharing how to get started with it. Kira and I do not sand normally so Jeanette will offer some good insight into this technique, so make sure to come back next Friday for that on Polymer Clay Podcast.

Is there an artist that you would like us to interview? Let us know we are planning our future shows and we are open to anything. We will have some interviews coming up with the artists who will be teaching at the Orlando Clay Fandango in March so that should be a lot of fun too. Check back often to see what we have in store.

Are you teaching any upcoming polymer clay classes, do you have a retreat planned, let us know and we will be sure to share it with our audience. Hope everyone has a creative week!

Polymer Clay Podcast This Friday Creating Pocket Mirrors

// January 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

This week we will be talking about creating your own polymer clay pocket mirrors on Polymer Clay Podcast. You can use a variety of techniques to embellish your mirrors. All you need is a plain mirror and you can bake the clay right on it. The mirrors are available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes but we will be showing a round style that is great for carrying with you. These make great gifts too.

There are several ways you can make the mirrors, you can cover the entire back and bring the clay around the front encasing the mirror in the clay or you can just make it so it goes on the back of the mirror. We show examples of both next week on Polymer Clay TV. If you make the style where you just put the clay on the back you must remove it after baking and glue it on for it to be permanent. The sky is the limit so make sure to tune in to see what we have made.