I first started working with polymer clay back in the nineties. A friend of mine, artist Julie Pearson, was making incredible jewelry with it (scroll down to see). I instantly fell in love with the possibilities it affords, especially when combined with stamping. Julie is much more than a clay artist, but taught me the magical things that can be done with the inexpensive and easily manipulated medium. I have used clay in some of my work, and also employ it for making molds for paper casting (which I will show you soon). Later I discovered Laurie Mika and her amazing Icons built with gorgeous patterns and rampant colors. I resonated to Laurie's work immediately, and upon further inspection was thrilled to discover she was using some of my stamps in the clay! How cool is that? We collaborated on an Exemplar for Somerset Studio (Nov/Dec 2005) and eventually sold the piece in an auction to raise money for Katrina Relief.
Julie Pearson does not have a website but you can find her current work of mixed media assemblage at Gallery 50 in Traverse City, Michigan, click HERE.
Laurie Mika's website is HERE. She teaches workshops around the globe, visit her site for details, and take a look at her really cool book, Mixed Media Mosaics, click HERE. And good news! She just launched (finally!) a blog, HERE.
